Townsville Computer Repairs

USB Flash drives are miniature hard drives that you connect to your computer using a USB port. Typically, the capacity for a Flash drive is between 128MB to 1GB. The larger drives should provide enough storage capacity for you to back up a great deal of data (even more than a CD if your Flash drive is 1GB).

However, if the data you want to back up exceeds the limit of the drive, you will need to use an alternate form of external media such as a CD,

The instructions outlined here are based on a Windows XP computer. If you have a different version of the Windows operating system, these instructions may not work exactly as they are outlined here. For example, the images of dialog boxes or windows may look slightly different.

1. Insert the Flash drive into a USB port on your computer.
2. Click Start in the lower-left corner of the computer’s desktop.
3. Click My Computer.
4. You should see an icon for the Flash drive in the My Computer window.
5. Resize the My Computer window so that when you open the location (window) where the files/folders you want to back up are located, the windows do not overlap each other on the desktop.
6. Open the location of the files/folders you want to back up. (There are many ways to locate your files—use the procedure you normally use.)
7. Move the mouse cursor over the file/folder you want to copy and hold down the left-side button on your mouse to select the file or folder icon.
8. Drag the icon over to the Flash drive icon.
9. When a small plus sign (+) appears over the Flash drive icon, release the mouse button. A copy of the file or folder will now be located on the Flash drive.
10. To verify that the file or folder has been copied to the drive, double-click the Flash drive icon to open it. The file or folder that you copied should be listed.
11. Repeat steps 6-9 until you have copied all the files or folders you want to back up.

Before you start cleaning your laptop’s keyboard, make sure it is unplugged and powered off. (It is always better to have a dirty laptop than to shock yourself or ruin your machine during the cleaning process.) Also, remove the mouse, any discs or CDs, USB drives and anything else that is protruding from your machine.

The process you will use to clean your laptop has to do with how ambitious you are feeling at the time and how hardy your machine happens to be. For example, on some machines it is easy to pop the keys off and put them back on. But on others, it is about as simple as performing brain surgery. In other words, if you’re not confident that you can get the keys back on your laptop’s keyboard, do not take them off. You will still be able to clean your laptop pretty well. Not sure? Check the owner’s manual.

If you feel comfortable doing it, you can also hold your laptop upside down over a trash can and tap on it lightly to dislodge any remaining debris that might be hiding in there once you’re done spraying.

If you’ve decided that you would like to take off the keys, use a knife or similar object to gently pop them off. Then store them in a safe place so that they don’t get lost. Even if you’re one of the confident ones, it’s still recommended that you leave the space bar and other larger keys in place. They are a real doozy to get back on due to their design.

Once you’ve pried all of the keys off of your laptop that you will be prying, place them in a small bowl, such as a cereal bowl, and add a couple drops of dish soap for hand washing to clean them with some light scrubbing. (Be sure to plug the drain if the bowl is in the sink.) Then follow the rest of the steps below while they soak.

Unlike a traditional desktop keyboard, your laptop has many more nooks and crannies that need to be cleaned, such as drives, ports and the touchpad. For any nook and cranny type areas, the best thing to do is just spray inside them with the compressed air. Remember that the air is pressurized so you don’t want to get too close to the surface or this pressure could damage your computer.

For the rest of the keyboard, such as the touchpad, you can use a cloth that will not leave fuzz, such as an old t-shirt or handkerchief, a microfiber cloth, or one made specifically for electronics.

Dampen the cloth by dipping it in a solution of half lukewarm water and half isopropyl alcohol, a bowl of lukewarm water with a drop of dish detergent for hand washing, or just lukewarm water if your laptop is not that dirty. Wring out the cloth (water dripping into your machine, bad thing) and then wipe the keyboard top, sides and bottom. If you’re having trouble cleaning a tight area, such as where the monitor meets the keyboard, you can use a cotton swab. Just be careful that the swab doesn’t shed.

*You can also use electronics cleaner of course. Always spray it on the cloth, not the machine.

If you have the little rubber nub in the middle of your keyboard, known as the pointer, you can remove it from the keyboard and drop it in the cleaning solution or give it a quick onceover with an old toothbrush to remove any gunk from the grooves.

Leave your laptop out so that it can dry. Do not shut the lid. Hopefully, since you used the water or cleaning solution sparingly, it should not take very long. If you removed the keys from your keyboard, you can set them out on the counter or table or wipe them dry with your cloth (if it’s not dry, use a new one of course). Then pop them back on when you’re sure that your machine and the keys are both fully dry.

Never plug in and/or turn on your machine until you are positive that it has dried completely.

If you’ve had a major accident with some Starbucks and your laptop is swimming in non-fat latte, you may have to remove the entire keyboard in order to clean up the mess. Of course, this is easier said than done. Consult the owner’s manual or call the manufacturer to determine your best course of action in this situation.

Of course, there is no way your laptop will remain spotless with regular use, but you can attempt to keep it from harm by not eating or drinking in its presence. Also, try to find a non-dusty area in which to use it. Not only is this better for your computer, it’s also better for your lungs.

PCI Express (Peripheral Component Interconnect Express), officially abbreviated as PCIe (or PCI-E, as it is commonly called), is a computer expansion card standard designed to replace the older PCI, PCI-X, and AGP standards. Introduced by Intel in 2004, PCIe is the latest standard for expansion cards that is available on mainstream personal computers.^{[citation needed]}

PCI Express is used in consumer, server, and industrial applications, as a motherboard-level interconnect (to link motherboard-mounted peripherals) and as an expansion card interface for add-in boards. A key difference between PCIe and earlier buses is a topology based on point-to-point serial links, rather than a shared parallel bus architecture.

The PCIe electrical interface is also used in a variety of other standards, most notably the ExpressCard laptop expansion card interface.

Conceptually, the PCIe bus can be thought of as a high-speed serial replacement of the older (parallel) PCI/PCI-X bus. At the software-level, PCIe preserves compatibility with PCI; a PCIe device can be configured and used in legacy applications and operating-systems which have no direct knowledge of PCIe’s newer features. In terms of bus-protocol, PCIe communication is encapsulated in packets. The work of packetizing and depacketizing data and status-message traffic is handled by the transaction-layer of the PCIe port (described later.) Radical differences in electrical-signalling and bus-protocol require the use of a different mechanical form factor and expansion connectors (and thus, new motherboards and new adapter-boards.)

After many years working in Townsville, Melbourne and the Gold Coast I have noticed one irrefutable fact.  Power supply issues relating to computer damage is significantly higher in Townsville than down south.

I don’t know exactly why, but problems with computers in Townsville due to power damage is much higher than down south.  Power problems to your computer can include motherboard and hard drive damage, loss of data, power supply unit damage or central processing unit damage or malfunction.

What can you do?

Well for starters if your computer is exhibiting any of the above symptoms call Townsville Computer Repairs straight away on 0402 807 890.  Not only can we repair the problems and damage, but we can also help in preventing further damage. Just because your computer is running slow or not at all doesn’t mean all your data is loss.

A good Power Supply Unit.

Having a good PSU (Power Supply Unit) in your computer (pictured above) can help and aid in protecting your computer from power problems such as surges and malfunction.  Many computers are actually underpowered to run the applications and components contained within the computer they own.  Having a good power supply unit can protect and maintain the life of your computer.

Surge Protectors.

Don’t under estimate the need for a good surge protector for the socket in the wall you computer is connected to.  For the sake of $15 at any good electronic store you can protect the life and integrity of your computer quick and easily!

I hope these suggestions have helped you and please dont forget to call us on 0402 807 890 if you have any questions.