Checklist On How To Revive A Dead Computer

What To Do When Your Computer Dies 

Its not something we tend to think about much but ... make no mistake about it, your computer will eventually fail if you keep it long enough. It may be a simple problem, such as the hard drive not reading the disk or it could be as severe as a major system crash. Because computers are run by humans, user error is the most common cause of computer malfunction or failure. When the user is at the computer, he or she may add or delete certain files, or he/she may remove or exchange certain hardware features which may effect the operating systems function. Believe it or not, simply pressing the wrong keys at the wrong time (not knowing exactly what you are doing) could reek havoc on an otherwise efficiently running computer system.

When we look at user error, we must remember that since we're human, the user error may be as easy to solve as simply asking the last user if he/she installed any software, re-configured any software or hardware settings, etc. Case in point: A dear friend of mine was having a problem with his laptop, it would not type the proper letters. It would type numbers when certain letters were typed. It would continue doing so after rebooting and nothing seemed to help. In steps the computer geek-a-zoid (moi). The casual user may not be aware that almost all laptops have alternate keyboard settings to access special characters. Reason being that most laptops "do not" have the extended keyboards (with a numeric keypad) that are somewhat standardized with external keyboards and desktop computers. Turns out my friend had accidentally pressed the alternate keyboard key sequence and was not aware that he had done so. All it took was a quick Google of the situation and the answer was found 3 or 4 links down the list. Laptops are different so the key sequence is not the same as per manufacturer.

A large percentage of computer malfunctions are due to environmental factors such as power surges caused by lightning, resulting in over voltage. This is especially common in areas where there is a lot of rain and thunderstorms. In this situation you may have to check your home circuit breakers. Modern circuit breakers are more intricate and area/outlet specific. These circuit breakers are for specific things now like, kitchen appliances, heating, separate rooms (or only half of the room in some cases). Extreme temperatures and extreme changes can cause problems with computer function also. Queen City Example: I am a resident of Buffalo, AKA snow city. We had a very serious snow storm a few years back (48 hours continuous, 7 foot accumulation) ... circuits were going haywire. We also had another situation where there was 3 feet of snow in one day prior to the Autumn leaves falling (city called in National Guard to remove damaged trees). I did not have an uninterrupted power source, so in both cases nothing could be done until the calm after the storm.

Another cause for failure may be room temperature being too high or low, as well as dust, dirt, or sunlight. I find that servers are more prone to fall in this category however, newer computers are on the fast track to achieving server status. If you're in business and heavily dependent on your computers, such factors as room temperature, sunlight and protection against power surges is of the utmost importance and simply cannot be overlooked. The accumulation of dust on integrated circuits causes major problems. The dust retains heat and can actually be the culprit to overheating and the cause for circuits burning out prematurely. And as most of us are aware of this, overheated computers do strange things ... lol.

Speaking of strange things ... Malicious viruses that aggressively replicate themselves can bring your computer to a grinding halt. Not to be taken literally because there may not actually be "grinding" sounds but, you'll be stuck for sure. Before you know it, you're scratching your head or pulling your hair out and cursing your life-mate's existence. Hypothetical Example: If you click the Microft Word icon and nothing happens ... The first thing you should do is a virus scan. If there are any strange anomalies similar to this, do a virus scan right away. Doing virus scans on a regular basis (weekly at a minimum) can prevent a lot of problems before they become serious.

The most common PC problem is when you can't access your PC at all. When you turn on the power switch, NOTHING HAPPENS! Below is a quick checklist of troublshooting procedures you should follow if you encounter any of these problems. There are also videos available that you can download from the Internet (YouTube) should you need assistance in knowing exactly how to perform any of these procedures:

1. Try the Power Switch a second or third time.
2. If nothing happens... Check the wall outlet (switch sockets)  for power. 
3. If the outlet has power. Check the power cord itself (for damages or breaks) from wall to computer. 
4. Check the Power Supply inside the System Unit. 
5. Replace the Power Supply rather than trying to repair it, they are fairly inexpensive. 
6. If the system makes those normal click noises during booting, but the screen is blank, check the Monitor. 
7. If the monitor proves to be good, check the video card, even new systems may have manufacturers design flaws or defects in it's components.
   
8. Don't forget we live in a world of greedy corporate entities (built-in obsolescence), so one or more of the major components may have to be replaced.

Another big headache you will most likely encounter if you're a regular user of your computer system, is the fact that Windows will fail to load or the system's POST will fail to run. Google "Power On Self Test" to learn more about the Windows program used to handle this situation. Don't forget those other Windows programs used as preventive maintenance procedures that should be done often to keep your PC running at peek performance. Running such Windows ultilities as Scandisk, Disk Defragment, and Disk Cleanup will help your computer performing at its best. Using a can of compressed air removes dust that could build to the point of causing a short. If you get the computer to boot but it does not want to read from the hard drive'the Master Boot Record on the hard drive may be corrupted or even missing. To verify that the master boot record has not been damaged... Boot from the floppy disk that contains the FDISK program and type the command "fdisk mbr" to restore the master boot record onto your hard drive.

This is by no means a complete "tutorial" on how to keep your system running trouble free with so many variables of things that could go wrong, but ... this advice is more of an investigative starting point to determine what the problem is and how it may be remedied at little or no cost. Unfortunately, this is not always the case. There are situations that may call for a heavy outlay of cash for service repairs (labor) or major components (motherboard or CPU). Depending on the age of your computer this may be where you have to consider a last resort. You'll have to ask yourself, "Is it worth it?"