DIY computer repair tips

In detail: advice on repairing computers with your own hands from a real wizard for the site my.housecope.com.

Do you repair your computer yourself? Is quite real. Here we will work specifically with computer hardware using a measuring and installation tool. Or we will try to replace individual computer components on our own.

DEAR READERS! If you are not confident in your abilities, you should not start. Not everyone, due to certain and understandable circumstances, is given the opportunity to independently figure out the malfunctions of your electronic friend. Think again if it's worth it ...

If you are going to delve into the physical repair of a computer, laptop, monitor, etc. in more detail, you cannot do without theoretical training. Repair of specific devices, examples of which will be considered here, most likely for your specific case will be useless and incomprehensible. So take a look at the site, I will make links to articles on theoretical training. I will try to chew thoroughly.

Further. The main focus will be on recovering information from hard and floppy disks. This is the most important place in the matter of renovation. Storage media are not expensive, but the data stored on them is of great importance to the user.

If we are talking about a stationary version, then I tend to the problems of repairing only its individual units. Blocks that make sense and can be repaired at home. Specific blocks:

power supply and troubleshooting due to an impending or detected malfunction
replacement of computer components. Repairing microcircuits (from the motherboard to RAM strips and replacing bridge chips) makes sense if the components of the computer are really expensive. And in this case, you have a direct road to the workshop. Save time, money and hassle. But with the help of my lessons, you will not allow yourself to be deceived both in terms of the cost of the issue and in terms of repair time. If the cost of the board does not exceed 2000 thousand, then believe me - sometimes it is better to save a month on beer and buy a new copy.
monitors. Separate column. CRT monitors are gone. Modern screens in their electronic stuffing no longer allow us, home-grown repairmen, to dig with grandfather's soldering irons with thick tips and an orderly dusty and gray solder. Soldering stations of considerable cost are now to help real fighters, allowing them to work with small radio components. So I will limit myself to a demonstration of the repair of dimensional attachment electronic equipment.
printers and other office equipment. I practically do not do it, but for the sake of replenishing my baggage of knowledge, we will also consider this issue.

Video (click to play).

I deliberately do not provide a list of the necessary equipment for repair. It is different for each example and will be cited separately.

Last thing. Assess your strength and margin of safety. Computer repair is the lot of diligent professionals. Both are key words. The apparent speed when restoring your equipment is a sign of a great experience of the repairman. Most of us are far from this, and it is necessary to come to terms with it for now. If you decide to call the master, first read the article on how not to be deceived by unscrupulous craftsmen.

Repair of equipment. Theory. Tool. Measuring instruments.

With your own hands

Installing Windows

Repair of equipment. Practice.

Computers are constantly working, the system and programs are updated. Due to our actions, or because of errors in programs, or maybe from the consequences of viruses, the system may start to fail. Of course, almost any problem can be solved with someone's help or on our own.

Many people want to do their own computer repairs, but there are 5 things that you better not do if you do not have experience, or at least 100% accurate instructions on how to do it right. Instead of solving the problem that has arisen, it may turn out to be even worse. There is a lot of different information on the Internet, both in the form of articles and step-by-step video instructions. But a computer is a complex device, so some things should be done only with full confidence in the correctness of the actions.

Editing the system registry... The Windows Registry is a complex hierarchical database of information. It stores all the settings and parameters of the operating system, installed programs and equipment. Stable and correct operation of the system directly depends on the registry. Corrupted or incorrect data in the registry can lead to a system crash. If Windows stops loading or starts to work worse after manipulating the registry, use checkpoint recovery.
Removing files from system folders... In general, Windows warns that you are entering system folders, and by default their contents are not displayed (in the case of using the standard Explorer). But sometimes you need to delete or change files to solve a specific problem. But without special knowledge or correct and detailed instructions, it is better not to go there. There is a great risk of getting a broken system, and restore points may not help.
Do not dig into the system unit... I'm not talking about the fact that in no case open the system unit. You just need to clean it from dust, add a memory bar or replace the video card. But some people try to replace the motherboard or the cooling system on the central processor or video card, and then they cry that nothing works. Computer components are very fragile and capricious things that are afraid of static stress and awkward movements. Step to the left, step to the right and at the exit we have a non-working computer, or even smoke. If the computer does not turn on, you can try what you are sure of, and leave the rest to the specialists.
Don't play with BIOS... In addition to the operating system, the computer has another "mini-operating system" that controls the computer before Windows boots. The BIOS controls the CPU, fans, hard drives, and other devices, and stores the parameters of their operating modes. Changing the BIOS settings incorrectly can lead to a complete inoperability of the system, or to minor problems such as slow operation or inaccessibility of some devices. Do you need it?
Command line manipulation... As many people know, the command line is a powerful tool for controlling the behavior of the operating system and other programs, but only with skillful use. If you run the command line and start executing commands, especially those related to changing the file system or other data, you must be sure that you are doing everything right. Otherwise, you may find yourself face to face with a more serious problem than it was before. And this is really bad.

Do not repair your computer yourself if you do not understand or have precise instructions. It is better to ask a friend or a computer foreman for help for little money, or at least use reliable sources of information! For novice users, I advise you to watch a video on the program for optimizing computer performance and solving problems.

Very often a computer crashes at the most inopportune moment. At the moment when he is especially needed. The question arises: "What to do?"

In most cases, there are only two options: contact a professional computer service or repair your computer yourself. Naturally, the work of a professional is expensive. Therefore, self-repair of a computer is a more acceptable option financially.

Here are some recommendations just on the issue of do-it-yourself computer repair using specific examples.

The article describes how to remove a porn banner from the desktop without reinstalling Windows. Very often, in order to remove the banner, they offer to replenish the account mts or beeline. However, the terminal does not issue any password to unlock the banner after the account is replenished.

Here you will find a 100% solution to the problem!

Many users ask the question: “Why does the browser not go to some sites?”. In most cases, this is a consequence of viruses.

Many viruses block access to some sites, as a result of which the browser does not enter the sites. Also, a consequence of viruses is that when you try to open a site, another site opens, for example, a porn site or an advertisement.

So your computer began to turn off on its own First of all, the computer turns off during the game, when watching a video and on the Internet.

The reason for the above symptoms, when the computer is working and suddenly shuts down itself, first of all, may be overheating of the central processor. The fact is that all modern motherboards have protection against processor overheating. When a certain maximum temperature is reached, the computer simply turns itself off.

Computer repair is a very promising profession that you can master yourself and turn into a source of constant considerable income. You can start your own business, you can work as a private foreman, going home to a client to fix broken equipment or repairing it at home, you can get a job in one of the computer repair firms.

The latter option will provide the master with a social package and permanent orders, and many employers interested in first-class craftsmen also arrange voluntary medical insurance for their employees. Whichever option a novice computer wizard chooses, he needs to get all the necessary tools first.

Sometimes, in order to perform some operation on the computer, for example, install windows,
you need to configure your computer to boot from a drive, that is, from a disk.
This is easy enough to do. First you need to reboot
computer and go to BIOS. In order to enter it, you need to immediately enter
the moment the computer starts to restart, simultaneously press three buttons:
F2, F4 and Delete, after which you should get into one of the following
menu..

Before we figure out how to open the DMG format, let's first find out what this format is and what it is generally used for. So, files with the .dmg extension are nothing more than a disk image in the Mac OS X operating system, it is a special operating system that is used only on Apple computers.
And since many computer users very often dock with
the problem of opening this type of file on your computer, on which in
in most cases, the operating system is Windows, then
in today's article we will consider with you a simple, and most importantly convenient
a way with which you can easily open files in .dmg format.

What is a disk image, or rather a system disk image for? I will try to explain it in a nutshell. Each of us has repeatedly faced a situation when we have to
install Windows. I am sure that for everyone this situation is unpleasant for those
what:

- installation takes about 2 hours;
- after installing Windows, you need to install a bunch of programs that are used on the computer.

All this takes a total of at least one day or afterward.
you have to install programs as you use them. But
or otherwise, a lot of time is wasted that could be spent with
more benefit.

This article explains how to format your hard drive, including how to format your system drive.

Now almost every home has a personal computer.Each user can do a computer repair himself, with his own hands.

The technique is quite reliable, especially in capable hands. Also, reliability, or better to say, the lifespan, will be added to it by a surge protector or UPS (uninterruptible power supply), because it is no secret to anyone that the voltage in the electrical network periodically jumps.

This phenomenon is associated with various factors, breakdowns in the network itself or a transformer box, the inclusion of three kettles, two hair dryers and a pair of heaters in one outlet, a strong wind plays with wires, well, and so on. And some elements of the computer are afraid not only of a jump in the network, but simply of the static electricity of the human skin. So, before we climb inside the computer, we will not grab our heads, but put our hands on the battery, after which we will take up the repair of the computer with our own hands, so to speak, closely.

So, the first problem - the computer does not turn on. The first thing we do, usually, we look to see if it is included in the network, after which we press the button ten times again. If it doesn't help, panic begins. You should not panic, check if there is electricity in the house. If so, there may be several faults. The most common problem is a faulty power supply.

By itself, it looks like a box with a fan inside. You can find out by connecting the computer with a different power supply. But few have one. You can also, after disconnecting the computer from the network, disconnect the power supply from the motherboard (wide connector, more often white, do not forget about the second smaller connector). When all the wires are disconnected, now we reconnect the computer to the network. On the wide connector of the power supply, we need to close two contacts: green and black (any black). If it does not start, we go to the store for a new one.

Wide power supply connector

Very rarely, the reason may lie in the breakdown of the power button. This is also easily verified. On the motherboard we find two pins where PWD SW is written next to them.

Power plugs on the motherboard

The easiest way to do this is to follow the wire from the button. We remove the button connection connector, and close them with a screwdriver. If it does not start, then it’s not her problem. Once again, this is an extremely rare occurrence and most likely the reason is in the power supply. After all, even a faulty motherboard will turn on, even for a second, but the cooling fans will work.

By the way, it is the cooling fans that are the main culprit for the huge amount of dust inside the computer case. Any electronics are afraid of dust. Especially difficult. So we periodically clean and blow out the computer. You can do this with a can of compressed air, a vacuum cleaner, a watercolor brush will help us a lot in this matter, I confess, I like the fox more.

The second problem is that it turns on and, immediately, turns off. I came across this several times in my practice. Either the motherboard or the processor is defective. Let's go in order. There are many voltage-rectifying capacitors on the motherboard. Due to overheating, they, over time, lose their capacity and fail. Therefore, make sure that the computer does not overheat. But don't rush to throw out the motherboard. The motherboard gradually fails from overheating. This is accompanied by the freezing of the computer, very often, with the same "Blue Screen of Death". So, the "mother" will not be covered right away, but will still shake your nerves for several months before that.

Processor and applying thermal paste to it

If it happened spontaneously.

Most likely, the processor is to blame, or rather, its insufficient cooling. And there is even a possibility that he is intact. What are we doing? Do not forget to put your hands on the battery. Disconnect the computer from the network. Remove the housing cover. We need to get to the processor.It is located under the largest heatsink, which, in turn, is located under the largest fan (in general, it is correct to call such a fan in a computer a "cooler") on the motherboard. You can see that there is a wire coming from the cooler, or rather three wires usually wound. Disconnect them. Now we are going to remove the cooler with the radiator. We are in no hurry to grab the screwdriver. On almost all modern motherboards, modern radiators are fastened with clips and removed / installed by hand.

You may have to tinker. Above all, do not apply force with your entire arm or body weight. Only gently and only with your fingers. Having removed this "construction", we see a small metal (on modern computers) box. The cover is opened by lifting the metal tab. We opened the lid and very carefully took out the processor. You will not see that it burned down, unless you throw it into the fire. First, look at the place where the processor was installed. There are many, many little paws. Look closely to see if one or more are bent. If it is bent, then holding your breath, you can try to straighten it with a needle, but I do not advise. We will postpone this procedure as a last resort. Next, we need thermal paste. You can purchase it at a computer store. Thermal paste helps transfer heat away from the processor to the heatsink. After all, if there is even the slightest angle between the planes of their surfaces, then there is also a gap. Thermal paste, as you might guess, eliminates this gap.

Extruding thermal paste onto the processor

You need to apply it to the processor, having previously cleaned it off from the old, dried one. Having put the processor in its rightful place, we install the heatsink with the cooler in place. We connect the cooler. We turn on the computer. If everything is the same, then most likely the processor will have to be replaced. We also apply thermal paste to the new processor.

Third case. The computer turns on and beeps without booting further or even without turning on the monitor. And we are all used to one short squeak every time we turn it on. This signals that the initial test is complete and that all components are in good working order. But when he beeps something like a melody, this is already a signal about a malfunction of some component. The set of these melodies is quite decent, the meanings of each melody depend on the firm and model of your BIOS. You can find out by finding the BIOS chip on the motherboard.

BIOS chip from AMIBIOS

If AMI is written on it, then we look at the table below, if Award, then we look at the second table even lower, and if not both, we go to a friend, neighbor, turn on the computer and go to Google: my.housecope.com/wp -content / uploads / ext / 1717. Search by the name of your BOIS.

This phenomenon is mentioned earlier in this article. May be caused by overheating of the motherboard. But not only this can become its cause. Overheating of the video card also results in a blue screen. Monitor the condition of the video adapter cooler. And, as has already been said, you should not play resource-intensive games in the summer heat. But this phenomenon itself is associated with a fatal error in the operating system kernel. When any program or driver running in the kernel tries to execute an invalid command, this error occurs. The only way is to reboot.

Fifth case. The computer hums like a tractor. This is due to the cooling system, namely the coolers (fans). Over time, the plastic gasket in the cooler bearing wears out, it gets clogged with dust. This leads to its vibration and buzz. The easiest way to fix this problem is to identify which cooler is buzzing and replace it with a new one. In general, it is very easy to identify this. The cooler in the power supply almost never buzzes. The cooler on the video card and the cooler on the processor can buzz. Let me tell you a little secret. There are coolers that can be disassembled, and there are that cannot. If the decision is made to eliminate the hum, then the old cooler is no longer a pity.We remove it from the radiator, for this we will have to twist it with a screwdriver. We need a small cross. So, here it lies in front of us on the table.

The place where the wires come out is usually covered with adhesive tape. We remove this film and watch. If you can disassemble it, disassemble it. The cover can be removed with a small flat screwdriver. Next, freely remove the axle with petals from the cooler case. You will probably see an off-white piece of plastic - this is the remainder of the gasket. It is necessary to clean the axle and where it is inserted with a match, cotton wool, cologne. Making a new gasket is not difficult. Take a clerical knife, find an unnecessary helium pen refill and carefully cut off a thin ring. It will be the new strip. As a lubricant - even sunflower oil. We put the axis in place, fix this case with a plug. And voila, the cooler runs as quietly as new.

Sixth case. The computer turns on, the system boots (but very slowly). Everything seems to work, but, again, the "My Documents" folder opens for almost a minute. Etc. A typical case of a hard drive failure. The hard drive is very afraid of dust. Try to blow it well. Do not try to disassemble. It must be sealed. If it does not help, apparently, you will have to buy a new one. If such a situation arises, it is better not to hesitate with the purchase. At any moment, he can finally give up. The result is irreparable loss of your data. Here I would like to say that a backup copy of your data is an insurance not to lose it. Buy yourself an external hard drive that connects to your computer via USB.

Photos and other personal files that are dear to you are best stored on an optical disc. When stored properly, that is, in a box on a shelf, this is the most reliable way. Here are some examples from my personal practice. I had an eight gigabyte USB flash card. There were a lot of documents, all kinds of programs and other small things. A friend asked to throw off the antivirus. It happens that the USB port does not supply the correct voltage. The faulty motherboard is to blame. It was in such a USB port that my flash drive was destined to please. It just burned out instantly. Nobody will return your data to you, but the program or reinstalling the operating system is a matter of fifteen minutes maximum.

I would like to give you some general tips for using your personal computer.

Disfigured Lyser Disc

And at best, to the terribly tedious process of disassembling the drive, cleaning it from disc debris, and reassembling it. This is a simple procedure, but not everyone can handle it. Do-it-yourself computer repair, after all, requires certain knowledge and skills.

When something breaks, and after reading this article, I think you can determine it yourself, when going to the store for a replacement, be sure to take the broken device with you. This is especially important for people who are far enough from technology. Indeed, in our time, you will be sold anything without a twinge of conscience. They will hardly care what kind of RAM you need (will fit your motherboard). With a smile on his face and with the words “Take it! This is the newest RAM. Better yet not invented! ”, You will be sold the newest, most expensive and most unnecessary for your computer.

In conclusion, I will say that I have done computer repairs with my own hands more than once. Friends and acquaintances often ask about this. We have sorted out all the main points. There is no point in fixing the rest of the faults. What is broken in a computer cannot be repaired without special education and equipment. Nothing lasts forever, all computer components have their own resource. The majority, by the way, will not run out of this resource even by the moment when they are completely obsolete. I have an old computer, it is over thirteen years old. During this time, only the coolers have changed in it, the buzzing was too loud.At one time, it was an expensive and very worthy purchase, but now, after so many years, most of us have mobile phones at times more powerful than that computer.

I would be very grateful if you share this article with your friends on social networks and blogs, it will be great to help my blog develop:

No technique, even the most expensive, is everlasting. Therefore, no matter how sad it may sound, in any case, someday your computer will fail. No, it can turn on and work somehow, but we don't want to work on a PC that freezes and slows down every minute? The problem needs to be addressed. By the way, if you still have a warranty period, and you are sure that you yourself did not contribute to the breakdown, without further hesitation, hand over the equipment under warranty. Otherwise, check out the article thanks to which you will find out how to fix a computer with your own hands.

First of all, there is no need to immediately look for mechanical damage. It is possible that your computer freezes or does not work very well solely due to malware (users encounter such a nuisance very often). Also, the reason may be in some drivers that are not suitable for your system. Or due to the fact that you have installed some important, but unlicensed version of the program. In any case, first make sure that there are no viruses on your PC; this can be done using Kaspersky or a simpler utility - DrWeb Cureit. Next, clean your computer from various unnecessary files using the popular program - Ccleaner. This can cause the PC to seriously freeze.

Attention! If you need to disassemble the system unit, then in no case should it be done until you turn off the power. This is very easy to do - you just need to unplug the power cord. If you can, I suggest you get an ESD wrist strap. It will be safer for you to work with, but this item is optional.

Computer power supply - a very "vulnerable" thing that can fail at the most inopportune moment. The fact is that it is this very thing that regulates nutrition, stabilizes it in the event of unexpected changes. But if suddenly your voltage is constantly jumping, then this stabilizer will simply burn out. How not to face such a problem? Do not use an unreliable power source. Purchase a "Pilot" that will control the power supply, act as its fuse in case of surges. Bad weather, namely a thunderstorm, can not only destroy our power supply, but also "walk" through all other devices connected to the network. So, be sure to turn off the computer at such times. But if you have a laptop and you work with it offline during such weather, then there is nothing to worry about.

In some cases, RAM can let us down. There is, of course, a special program for checking it (MemTest), but you should not rely entirely on its verification results. If you need to check the memory performance with a 100% guarantee, then install another memory bar that works for sure. Thus, having at hand one, or better several planks, we will definitely be able to make sure which of them is working and which is not.

The hard drive, of course, does not break so often, but still with such a problem as hard drive recoveryevery user may encounter. It is very easy to understand that the reason for a PC malfunction is in the HDD. When you turn on the computer, pay attention to what "notifications" the BIOS gives us. For example, if the hard drive is not working, then when the PC is turned on, we will see the following warning: "Select Proper Boot Device". Sometimes there may not be any notifications, but the external signs of a breakdown will be "on the face".The hard disk can sometimes make too strange sounds, in some cases it stops working, then works again. In the event of a breakdown, the user can also hear something like a crunch, crackle, and so on. If your disk is working, but you notice such external signs, urgently copy all your data to the media, because soon you will not get access to the HDD. We will not bother with the repair of such a spare part. So feel free to go to the store and buy a new disk, and I advise you to pay attention to SDD, not HDD. This type of hard disk works much faster, and most importantly, this work will not distract you with its noise.

No matter how silly it may sound, but even because of the most common button used to turn the PC on and off, you may experience a breakdown. The fact is that if the contacts are slightly damaged, or the button is too close to these contacts, the system will recognize the computer shutdown and shutdown signal. Thus, the user can disassemble the entire PC and not even guess that the cause of the breakdown lies before his eyes. So be sure to make sure everything is in order with this part (check the contacts).

We will have really serious problems with the PC in the event that the motherboard "flies". And here even the breakdown will not be in the board itself, but in the digital tracks on this spare part. The assembly of the motherboard is important here. For example, very often the board can be connected to the processor heatsinks not directly, as it should be, but using a separate connector. And when the PC is diagnosed (it needs to be done every year), you have to constantly "push back" the radiator, and that is not easy to do. Naturally, with such efforts, the board wears out. Small and imperceptible cracks appear. Now manufacturers are already quite serious about the protection of the board, but nevertheless, each of you can face such a problem. In this case, there is nothing left but to purchase a new motherboard. Because under the guarantee they will not accept such a PC from us, because the board was actually damaged by us.

If suddenly, when parsing the block, you saw that you have such a situation from the motherboard, this mount will need to be replaced with a direct connection of the heatsink to the board.

When you turn on the PC, there is a small but loud enough sound (bios signals). Many users believe that this is "just the way it should be," and this sound does not tell us anything. But in reality, if we hear one signal, then everything is fine with the PC, the whole system works without interruption, and while working with the computer, we should not have any troubles. This check is carried out by a special built-in program.

What if a series of signals sounded at once? Or there was one, but very long. This signal, which, by the way, is emitted by the BIOS, is simply impossible not to notice. In this case, we obviously have some problems with the software, but which ones, let's try to figure this out.

Basically, manufacturers put one of 2 BIOS versions on ordinary computers: either AMI or Award. The signals for the two versions are the same, but the reasons for these sounds are completely different. So first you need to figure out what kind of BIOS we have. Before Windows boots up, a small window will appear, at the bottom of which it will be written how to start the BIOS. In most cases, you need to either press the F2 key or Delete.

As soon as we got into BIOS after pressing the specified button, the following appears in front of us:

Above, the version of our BIOS immediately catches the eye. As you can see, I have an Award.

If your computer breaks down, don't rush to shell out for a professional repair! Here are a few simple tips that can help you bring your computer back to life.

None of our tips will cause further damage to your computer if you follow all of the following steps correctly.

We specialize in repair tips for Windows PCs, not Macs, which tend to be prone to more glitches - although some of the tips will also work for Macs.

If your computer starts up!

If your computer starts up, but immediately after starting up there is a problem such as screen freezing or is very slow, there are a number of tricks you can try:

1) Restart your computer

It has become a cliché, but it solves many problems, so you should always try restarting your computer first. If the screen is frozen, you can force the computer to shut down by holding down the power button until the computer turns off, and then restarting.

If the computer still does not turn off, you can perform a complete shutdown: - for a stationary PC - by disconnecting power from the mains, and a laptop - by removing the battery.

2) Back up your files

Back up data to disks or external hard drive so you don't lose data if your computer is not working.