The Random Computer Stuff Blog

Ever wonder exactly what it is those people at computer repair shops do when you hand them your computer, along with your money? Wonder if you could do it yourself instead of paying all that money? This guide will show you how to diagnose and repair the most common hardware problems.

ESD: Electro Static Dish charge is one of the most common causes of damage to computers. When you walk around on certain materials, including carpets, you gain a negative charge. When you touch something conductive, like another person or piece of your computer, it can cause damage when the charge equalizes.

The best solution is to wear an anti static wristband, shown above. If you don’t have one, be sure to never work on computers while standing on carpets, and to make sure to touch the back of the case before working on any sensitive components.

PSU: If your computer is plugged in and nothing happens when you press the power button, the most likely culprit is your power supply unit. The fist step is to open up your computer and make sure there are no loose connections. If there does not seem to be any, the PSU will need to be replaced.

If you have a high end computer, and are using a low end PSU, it may not be able to provide power to all of your components. This can cause instability when your computer is under load.

PSU’s are most often damaged during power surges. However, lower end PSU’s, including those put inside many manufactured computers, can die simply from normal use.

Hard Drive: If your computer is able to turn on fine, but is unable to locate an operating system, then your hard drive has probably become damaged. SATA connections, which are common in computers produced in 2005 and later, are often not very secure. The first step should be to check for lose connections.

If that does not fix the problem, the next step is to determine if the data on the drive has become corrupted, or if the hard drive has been physically damaged.

Boot into your computers BIOS (basic in out system). Check your manual or computer’s support site to see how to do this. It is usually the delete key, f4, or f7.

Once inside the BIOS, look to see if a hard drive is recognized. BIOS’s differ between computers, but it should not be to hard to find. If you are able to find one, then the data on your computer has been damaged, but not the physical component. You can then use a live boot CD, like Ubuntu, to try and recover data off your hard drive, and copy it to a DVD or external drive. After that is complete, you should use your restore disk or OS media to reinstall the operating system.

If your computer is unable to recognize the hard drive, then it will need to be replaced. At this point, you would need to go to a computer shop to have them recover the data.

RAM: Random access memory damage is the most common reason computers are unable to boot, and can cause numerous other problems. If your computer turns on, but no image is displayed, and you hear a beeping sound coming from the computer, your RAM has been damaged. You can try taking out one of the sticks, and seeing if you can boot. If so, you will see reduced performance unless you replace the damaged RAM, but will be able to use your computer. If not, all of it will need replacement.

Alternatively, if you boot into your operating system and see less physical memory available then you expected, one of your RAM sticks may have been damaged. You can test this by downloading a memory test program. I recommend memtest86, which can be downloaded online, or one can be found on the Ubuntu boot CD.

RAM can also cause random crashes, forcing you to reboot. Using a memory test program will help find these errors. If one is found, the RAM stick with errors will have to removed or replaced.

GPU: The graphics processing unit, also known as a graphics card, is what you plug your monitor(s) into. If your computer seems to turn on, and shows sign of activity, but no picture appears on screen, the problem is most likely caused by your GPU. The first step is to check the cords on the back of your computer to make sure the monitor is properly connected. If they are secure, open your case and make sure any power connections to the graphics card are secure. If they are, and you still do not get a picture, your graphics card is probably damaged. You could try using a different port on the back of your graphics card, as most modern ones have two. If you still do not get a picture, it will need to be replaced. Be sure to get the correct type of card. Modern computers use PCI-E, older ones use AGP or PCI.

If you do not use an external graphics card, and plug you monitor into a port on your motherboard, then your motherboard will need to be replaced. This is among the most difficult parts of a computer to work with, and if you are not comfortable working on computers, you should probably have a computer shop do it for you.

CPU:The central processing unit is the brain of your computer, doing billions of mathematical operations a second, and it tends to become very hot. That is why 99% of computers have a dedicated heat sink and fan on top of the CPU. If this fan becomes clogged with dust, or stops working properly, then your computer will, depending on the type of CPU, become unstable.

If your computer reboots while you are playing games, burning a CD, watching a movie, or doing other CPU intensive tasks, then it is likely it is over heating.

Bad RAM and an overheating CPU have some symptoms in common. The best way to tell is to run a program that uses lots of processing power, but not lots of RAM. There are a number of free programs that can do this, one can be found here.

If you determine that your CPU is cause of the problem, the next step is to make sure your fan is spinning. You can do this by opening the side of your computer, then looking at the fan. If it is not spinning, make sure the power connector is attached to the motherboard (turn of your computer first). If it still does not spin, it will need to be replaced.

On the other hand, if the fan is spinning but appears to be dirty, you should clean it. You can do this by either blowing on it, or using a can of compressed air. If this does not remove most of the dust, use a swab or towel (non moist) to wipe the blades of the heat sink.

If your computer has been jolted, it is possible, though unlikely, that your CPU broke its connection with the thermal paste. If you think this has happened, you will need to purchase new thermal paste, and apply it to the bottom of your heatsink. Arctic Silver is a commonly used brand. Be sure to clean off the heatsink before applying the new thermal paste. You can buy special chemicals for this purpose, or use an alcohol based solution.

Some CPU’s are more likely to over heat than others. The Pentium 4 and Pentium D’s were notorious for becoming extremely hot. On the other hand, the new E21XX series has been able to operate without a fan installed, although this is not recommended.

Motherboard Problems: Motherboard problems are difficult to diagnose, because they can cause all of the other components to go wrong. For example, a have had a PCI-E slot go bad, causing my SLI setup to crash. While this seemed to be caused by my GPU, it was actually caused by the motherboard.

If you replace a component, and still have problems with that component, the motherboard is the most likely suspect. Unfortunately, unless the motherboard you replace it with is identical to the old one, you will need to reinstall Windows (and possibly other OS’s, although I have never done so). Otherwise, the wrong drivers will be loaded, which makes all sorts of stuff go wrong.

Other Problems: These are the most common hardware based reasons a computer can become unstable. However, they are not the only reason, just the most likely. If you have any other computers available, it would be wise to test your RAM, hard drive, or graphics card in them, to make sure they are really the cause of the problem.

If you have any additional questions, please feel free to contact me. You can find a from to do so at our About page.