Why some computers run slow

Why some computers run slow

Ever wonder why your personal or office pc is running slow? Try to check if you’ve installed some programs or plugged in new devices and forgot to unplug them. Some windows health programs have this feature called scandisk; you may be able to use it if you have the privileges on that particular computer and that if your department has an IT, you may consult it to them as they know more about it.

Considering that you know a little about computer stuff, make sure your computer has passed the system requirements of the programs that you are running or say you have 1 gig of virtual memory and the system requirement is 1 gig also, you may be able to install that certain program but your memory requirement (1 gig) is just barely able to pass the minimum memory requirement of the program. In such case you must have 1 gig or more of virtual memory to be able to achieve maximum performance while running the program.

In some ways, performance of computers also rely on good hardware health; let’s consider that you know the basics of computer hardware and peripherals. Having good hardware health is knowing what is happening inside your system unit. Like cleaning out the dust sucked in by the cooling fans, adding some additional cooling devices, and maintaining a dust-free system unit. Dust can cause a lot of problems as time goes by especially when you just let it stay there. It will cause the cooling fan to work poorly and everything inside the system unit will become unusually hot and the computer’s speed is very much affected. Again, you should consult a professional when you are not familiar about computers.

Windows: NTLDR is Missing

Related errors

Below are the full error messages that may be seen when the computer is booting.

NTLDR is Missing
Press any key to restart

Boot: Couldn’t find NTLDR
Please insert another disk

NTLDR is missing
Press Ctrl Alt Del to Restart

Causes

1. Computer is booting from a non-bootable source.
2. Computer hard disk drive is not properly setup in BIOS.
3. Corrupt NTLDR and NTDETECT.COM file.
4. Misconfiguration with the boot.ini file.
5. Attempting to upgrade from a Windows 95, 98, or ME computer that is using FAT32.
6. New hard disk drive being added.
7. Corrupt boot sector / master boot record.
8. Seriously corrupted version of Windows 2000 or Windows XP.
9. Loose or Faulty IDE/EIDE hard disk drive cable.
10. Failing to enable USB keyboard support in the BIOS.

Solutions

Computer is booting from a non-bootable source

Many times this error is caused when the computer is attempting to boot from a non-bootable floppy disk or CD-ROM. First verify that no floppy diskette or CD is in the computer, unless you are attempting to boot from a diskette.

Note: This error has also been known to occur when a memory stick is in a card reader and the computer is attempting to boot from it. If you have any card reader or flash reader make sure that no memory stick is inside the computer. Additionally disconnect all USB drives, cameras, ipods, iphones, etc. from the computer.

If you are attempting to boot from a floppy diskette and are receiving this error message it is likely that the diskette does not have all the necessary files or is corrupt.

If you are attempting to install Windows XP or Windows 2000 and are receiving this error message as the computer is booting verify that your computer BIOS has the proper boot settings. For example, if you are attempting to run the install from the CD-ROM make sure the CD-ROM is the first boot device, and not the hard disk drive.

Second, when the computer is booting you should receive the below prompt.

Press any key to boot from the CD

Important: When you see this message press any key such as the Enter key immediately, otherwise it will try booting from the hard drive and likely get the NTLDR error again.

Note: If you are not receiving the above message and your BIOS boot options are set properly it’s also possible that your CD-ROM drive may not be booting from the CD-ROM properly. Verify the jumpers are set properly on the CD-ROM drive.

• Verifying the CD-ROM cables are correctly connected.

Computer hard disk drive is not properly setup in BIOS

Verify that your computer hard disk drive is properly setup in the CMOS setup. Improper settings can cause this error.

Corrupt NTLDR or NTDETECT.COM file

Windows 2000 users
Windows XP users

Windows 2000 users

If your computer is using Microsoft Windows 2000 and you are encountering the NTLDR error. Create the below boot.ini file on the floppy diskette drive.

[boot loader]
timeout=30
default=multi(0)disk(0)rdisk(0)partition(1)\WINNT
[operating systems]
multi(0)disk(0)rdisk(0)partition(1)\WINNT=”Microsoft Windows 2000 Professional” /fastdetect

Copy the NTLDR and NTDETECT.COM files from another computer using the same operating system. Both of these files are located in the root directory of the primary hard disk drive. For example, C:\NTLDR and C:\NTDETECT.COM should be the locations of these files on many computers.

• How do I view hidden files in Windows?

Once these files have been copied to a floppy diskette reboot the computer and copy the NTLDR and NTDETECT.COM files to the root directory of the primary hard disk drive. Below is an example of what commonly should be performed from the A:\> drive.

copy ntldr c:
copy ntdetect.com c:

After the above two files have been copied, remove the floppy diskette and reboot the computer.

Windows XP users

1. Insert the Windows XP bootable CD into the computer.
2. When prompted to press any key to boot from the CD, press any key.
3. Once in the Windows XP setup menu press the “R” key to repair Windows.
4. Log into your Windows installation by pressing the “1″ key and pressing enter.
5. You will then be prompted for your administrator password, enter that password.
6. Copy the below two files to the root directory of the primary hard disk. In the below example we are copying these files from the CD-ROM drive letter, which in this case is “e.” This letter may be different on your computer.

   copy e:\i386\ntldr c:\
   copy e:\i386\ntdetect.com c:\

7. Once both of these files have been successfully copied, remove the CD from the computer and reboot.

Misconfiguration with the boot.ini file

Edit the boot.ini on the root directory of the hard disk drive and verify that it is pointing to the correct location of your Windows operating system and that the partitions are properly defined.

Attempting to upgrade from a Windows 95, 98, or ME computer that is using FAT32

If you are getting this error message while you are attempting to upgrade to Windows 2000 or Windows XP from Windows 95, Windows 98, or Windows ME running FAT32 try the below recommendations.

1. Boot the computer with a Windows 95, Windows 98 or Windows ME bootable diskette.
2. At the A:\> prompt type:

   sys c: <press enter>

3. After pressing enter you should receive the “System Transferred” message. Once this has been completed remove the floppy diskette and reboot the computer.

New hard disk drive being added

If you are attempting to add a new hard disk drive to the computer make sure that drive is a blank drive. Adding a new hard disk drive to a computer that already has Windows installed on it may cause the NTLDR error to occur.

If you are unsure if the new drive is blank or not try booting from a bootable diskette and format the new hard disk drive.

Corrupt boot sector / master boot record

It’s possible your computer’s hard disk drive may have a corrupt boot sector or master boot record. These can be repaired through the Microsoft Windows Recovery console by running the fixboot and fixmbr commands.

Seriously corrupted version of Windows 2000 or Windows XP

If you have tried each of the above recommendations that apply to your situation and you continue to experience this issue it is possible you may have a seriously corrupted version of Microsoft Windows. Therefore we would recommend you reinstall Microsoft Windows 2000 and Windows XP.

If you are encountering this issue during your setup you may wish to completely erase your computer hard disk drive and all of its existing data and then install Microsoft Windows.

Loose or Faulty IDE/EIDE hard disk drive cable

This issue has been known to be caused by a loose or fault IDE/EIDE cable. If the above recommendation does not resolve your issue and your computer hard disk drive is using an IDE or EIDE interface. Verify the computer hard disk drive cable is firmly connected by disconnected and reconnecting the cable.

If the issue continues it is also a possibility that the computer has a faulty cable, try replacing the hard disk drive cable with another cable or a new cable.

Additional information

• See the NTLDR definition for further information and related links.

Some Basic DOS Commands

MS-DOS is a trademark of Microsoft Crop. Unix is a trademark of AT&T Bell Laboratories. VAX is a trademark of Digital Equipment Corp. IBM PC is a trademark of International Business Machines Corp.

To use SST on an IBM Personal Computer (or compatible), it helps to know a little about the disk operating system (DOS) used on the IBM PC. The best reference is your DOS manual (supplied with your computer), but we will review a few simple commands here. SST requires version 2.0 or higher of PC-DOS or MS-DOS.

 

Disk drives

Your PC has one or more floppy disk drives and possibly a fixed (or hard) disk to store programs and data. The advantage of a hard disk is that it can store large amounts of data which can be accessed relatively quickly. SST, however, can be run successfully on a PC with only a single floppy disk drive (see the section in Chapter 2, “Tips on using SST without a hard disk”).

 

Default drive

The “default drive” is where DOS expects to find your programs and data. To remind you which drive is currently the default, the DOS prompt is preceded by a letter which refers to it. A and B refer to floppy disk drives, while C refers to the hard disk (if one is installed). In the User’s Guide all examples of DOS commands are preceded by a default drive designation (typically A>) to avoid confusion with SST commands.

 

Changing the default drive

To change the default drive, type the desired drive letter followed by a carriage return. DOS will respond with a prompt that gives the desired drive as the default.

 

Directories

To obtain a listing of the files on the default drive (a directory), give the command:

 

A>dir

To a listing of the files on another drive, type:

 

A>dir a:

to see, for example, which files are on the A disk. You could, of course, first make A the default drive and then give the previous command, but this is more cumbersome. This example illustrates a general feature of DOS. Unless you specify otherwise, DOS assumes that it will be dealing with the default drive. You can perform most operations without changing the default drive by specifing another drive letter at the appropriate spot.

 

Specifying a filename

Most DOS commands require you to specify one or more filenames. Valid filenames are composed of up to eight characters and are optionally followed by an extension of up to three characters. The filename and extension are separated by a period. Some examples of DOS filenames are:

 

sst.exe
demo.cmd
junk

Extensions can be used to remind you what the file contains. SST uses the extension`.cmd’for files of SST commands and the extension`.sav’for SST system files.

 

Copying files

Frequently you will want to make a copy of a file. To copy a file (named oldfile) to a new file named newfile, enter:

 

A>copy oldfile newfile

The file newfile will have exactly the same contents as the file oldfile. As always, DOS assumes oldfile is on the default drive and also places newfile on the default drive. The syntax of DOS commands when two filenames are required is usually “from to”, i.e. the first filename is the source (or “from”) file and the second is the destination (or “to”) file.

To copy a file from one disk to another, it is only necessary to precede the filename by a drive designation. If you are copying files between disks, then the copy can have the same filename as the original. In fact, if you do not supply a filename for the destination, DOS assumes that you want to use the same filename as the source. For example, if B is the default drive, the following command makes a copy of the file oldfile from the A disk on the B disk with the same name:

 

B>copy a:oldfile

On the other hand, if oldfile is on B (the default drive) and you would like a copy on the A disk, type:

 

A>copy oldfile a:

(It is not necessary to precede oldfile with a drive designation since it is on the default drive.) If there is already a file named oldfile on A (the destination drive), it will be overwritten.

 

Abbreviating filenames in DOS

DOS allows you to use a simple scheme of wild cardsto refer to multiple filenames without having to type out the entire list of filenames that you want. There are two wild cards, the question mark and the asterisk. A question mark matches any character while an asterisk matches any string of characters. For example,`s?t’matches`sat’,`sst’, and`st’. Similarly,`s*t’would match each of the previous names as well as`short’,`s123.45t’. The abbreviation`*.sav’would match any filename with the extension`.sav’(i.e., any SST system file), while`*’(or, equivalently,`*.*’) would match any filename.

To obtain a listing of all the files on the A drive with the extension`.sav’, type:

 

B>dir a:*.cmd

To copy all files from A to B, you could use the command:

 

C>copy a:*.* b:

SST uses a similar scheme of wild cards to abbreviate variable names.

 

Listing the contents of a file on the monitor

To display the contents of a text file on the monitor, you can use the DOS type command which has the following syntax:

 

A>type filename

As always, if the filename is not preceded by a drive specification, DOS assumes the file is on the default drive. To type a file on the A drive, use instead:

 

B>type a:filename

Not all files in DOS are textfiles. Files with the extension`.exe’or`.com’are executable programs stored in a binary format which cannot be typed.

 

To stop scrolling output on the screen

If you attempt to type a large file, it is apt to scrolldown the screen faster than you are able to read it. To stop scrolling, press the <Ctrl> and the <Scroll Lock> keys simultaneously. To restart output, press the <Ctrl> and <Scroll Lock> keys again.

 

To print what is on the screen

If you have a printer connected to your computer and you would like a “hard” copy of what is currently on the screen, depress the <shift arrow> and <PrtSc> keys simultaneously, and DOS will send a copy of what is on the screen to your printer. If you want to obtain a printed copy of the rest of your computer session, depress the <Ctrl> and <PrtSc> keys simultaneously. Further output will be sent to the printer as it appears on the screen. To stop printing depress these keys again.

 

Subdirectories

DOS allows you to organize disks into subdirectories–groupings of files in a tree structure. For most purposes a subdirectory on a disk is used as if it were a separate disk.

To create a subdirectory named sst, type:

 

C>mkdir sst

The subdirectory sst now exists. There are two ways to access files in the subdirectory. First, you can make the subdirectory the default directory in the same way that you make a disk drive the default drive. This is done by changing directories:

 

C>cd sst

You are now located within the sst subdirectory. To obtain a listing of files in the sst subdirectory, give the command:

 

C>dir

Unless you specify otherwise, DOS assumes that you only want a listing of files in the default subdirectory–which is whatever subdirectory you happen to be located in at the time you issue a command. To return to the main (or root) directory, give the command:

 

C>cd \

The backslash (`\’) is DOS’s symbol for the top directory.

The other way to access files in a subdirectory is to provide DOS with a path telling it how to find the file you are interested in. If you are in the root directory and you would like to see the contents of a file in the sst subdirectory, try:

 

C>type sst\filename

Thus, it is not necessary to change directories to access a file in another directory.

DOS allows you to create subdirectories in subdirectories so directory structures can become rather complicated. We do not recommend this practice if you are a newcomer to DOS. For the purposes of this manual we will assume that you do not have subdirectories to subdirectories.

Specifying pathnames can become rather tedious and DOS provides a facility for specifying which directories are to be searched for programs with the path command. If you type:

 

C>path \;\sst

DOS will search the root directory (\) and the sst subdirectory (\sst) when it looks for programs to execute. With the above path command, it is possible to execute sst, for example, without being located in the sst subdirectory.

 

The AUTOEXEC.BAT file

Every time you start your computer, DOS looks for a file called autoexec.bat on the default drive and, if it finds this file, it executes the commands there.

What is a firmware?

Firmware refers to read-only memory (ROM) chips that store permanent instructions. Firmware boots up computerized or digital devices, as ROM chips are non-volatile, meaning they do not require a power source to hold their contents. This differentiates firmware from random access memory (RAM), for example, which loses stored data at shutdown. Perhaps the most familiar firmware is the basic input output system (BIOS) chip. The BIOS chip on a computer motherboard holds instructions that, upon powering up, initialize the hardware, ensure components are working, and finally roll out the operating system to take over.

In the past, firmware chips could not be rewritten. When the BIOS became outdated, the only option was to buy a new motherboard. New firmware would understand the latest hardware so that the user would not be limited to older drives and other legacy technologies when facing inevitable upgrades.

It became clear that a new type of firmware chip that could be updated would be extremely beneficial. This became possible with flash memory chips. With the BIOS written to this type of chip, a user could connect to the manufacturer’s website, download a firmware upgrade to diskette and flash the BIOS chip during boot-up to install a new set of instructions. All quality motherboards today feature a flash BIOS, or upgradeable firmware.

 

How to Recover Deleted Files with Free Software

Ack! The computer ate my term paper!We’ve all been there at some point. You delete an important file, somehow it skips your Recycle Bin altogether, and for all practical purposes, it’s disappeared into the ether. But before you hit the big red panic button, there’s a very good chance that your file is still alive and kicking somewhere on your hard drive—you just need to know how to find it. With the right tools, finding and recovering that deleted file can be as simple as a few clicks of your mouse.

Part I: The Overview

Ok, so you’ve lost an important file. Don’t panic. Take a breath, and let’s see if we can find it. Before you go into full-on file recovery mode, make sure you double-check the folder you had saved it in and the Recycle Bin or Trash. Still nothing?

1. Stop What You’re Doing

When your operating system deletes a file, all it really does is mark the space on your hard drive that your file occupies as free space. It’s still there, but your computer is now perfectly happy to write new data on top of it—at which point the file recovery process becomes a lot more difficult. That means you should do as little computing as possible until you find the file you’re looking for, since every time you save a new file—every time your computer writes information to your hard drive—your chances of recovering the file go down.

2. Find the Right File Recovery Program

Windows: You’ve a lot of really great freeware options for file recovery if you’re running Windows. Notable apps include Undelete Plus (original post), PC Inspector File Recovery (original post), and Restoration (original post). Undelete Plus is the most user-friendly option of the bunch, with advanced filtering options that make it easy to find your needle of a file among the haystack of deleted garbage, but in my tests I found both Restoration and PC Inspector File Recovery to be more effective at recovering files. (Of course, your mileage may vary.) As an added bonus, the bare bones Restoration is portable, which makes it an excellent addition to your thumb drive.

UPDATE: Per several readers advice, you may also want to check out Recuva (original post), another freeware Windows file recovery tool.

Mac: If you’re on a Mac and aren’t afraid to lay down a few bucks in the name of data recovery, the $99 Data Rescue II is the go-to application for file recovery with a friendly graphical interface.

All Platforms: If you’re not afraid to crack open a terminal window or command prompt, the free, cross-platform command-line tool PhotoRec (original post) is a crack shot at recovering photos (as the name implies) as well as virtually any other file type from your removable media or hard drives.

 

3. Recover Your Files

Once you’ve picked a tool, it’s time to scan your hard drive for your lost file or files. This process varies depending on the app you’re using, but it’s basically the same for all of them: Just point the program at the hard drive or folder that was holding your missing file and start your scan. Once the scan is complete, you’re going to see a big list of jumbled file names. Often most of these files are nothing more than system files that your operating system has created in the course of basic operation, and you won’t need to worry about them. You’re just looking for the file type and name that matches what you’ve lost.

Once you find what you’re looking for, saving it is a matter of right-clicking the file and choosing where to save it.

Went through steps one through three and still aren’t having any luck? It might be worth trying again with a different application, since there can be a lot of variation between apps. If you’re still not having any luck, part two discusses a few other ways you can try addressing more specific problems when your data goes missing.

Part 2: More Specific Problems

Above you got a basic overview for recovering deleted files from your computer. Now we’ll take a closer look at some more specific problems, methods of data recovery, and tools that may be of help in your quest for your elusive lost data.

Recover Files from a Wiped or Unbootable Hard Drive

So you didn’t just accidentally delete a file or two and empty your Recycle Bin prematurely—instead you’ve got a whole hard drive worth of missing data. You can still use many of the applications mentioned above to recover files from these drives as long as you have or can get the hard drive into a bootable computer. For more details, check out how to recover files from a wiped hard drive with PhotoRec (original post) or how to recover data from a crashed hard drive with PC Inspector File Recovery (original post).

If you can’t or don’t know how to get your unbootable drive into another computer, a Linux live CD can be perfect for rescuing files. If the Linux route scares you off, give the popular BartPE (original post) a try.

Finally, if none of these options can even read your hard drive, you still might be able to get it working for just long enough with a few tricks of the data recovery trade, like putting the busted hard drive in the freezer.

Recover Lost Photos

If you need to resurrect photos from a damaged flash memory card from your digital camera, you’ll be happy to know that most of the applications listed in part one above will do the trick—you just need plug in your camera or insert the card into your computer’s card reader before running your data recovery application of choice. That said, you can find other applications, like Zero Assumption Digital Image Recovery (original post), that are focused specifically on image recovery that you may want to add to your data recovery toolbox.

Recover Lost Word Documents

If your lost dissertation was saved as a Word document, you’ve got a few more interesting options for getting to your lost or deleted documents—read more about them here and here.

Recover Data from Scratched or Corrupted CDs and DVDs

If your munged data is sitting on optical media like a CD or DVD, the recovery process can be slightly different. Freeware application CD Recovery Toolbox (original post) is made specifically to read the portions of a CD that are readable in an effort to rescue as much data as possible from a damaged disc. If that doesn’t work, you may want to give a look at the 30-day trial of shareware application CDCheck, as recommended by a reader. Then again, if scratches are the issue, you may be able to get away with simply fixing your scratched CD or DVD yourself.

Part 3: Don’t Let This Happen Again

Whatever the cause of your lost file, the best method of data recovery is a good preemptive data backup plan. If you’re on Windows, we’ve taken you step-by-step through how to automatically back up your hard drive so that this sort of thing never happens again. If you’re running a Mac, do yourself a favor: Get an external hard drive and flip the switch on the easy-to-use Time Machine. Linux users should check out backup options like FlyBack, TimeVault, or the time-honored rsync.

Have you ever raised deleted files from the hard drive graveyard? What software did you use to do it? Tell us your tales of file recovery victory and woe in the comments.

Taking care of your computer’s HDD

Use of Computers that are too long without any treatment from the owner may cause decreased computer performance. One of the causes decreased computer performance is Harddisk. As we know, hard drives have a very important role in terms of data storage.

All the important data in data stored in the computer if one day the harddisk. hard disk becomes damaged and you have not had time to backup data .. so your important data will disappear immediately.

Although existing software that can restore the data that was deleted data, but it would be nice reply us from the beginning has been prevented in advance so that such things will not happen. As the saying goes, an umbrella ready before the rains.

The way we do to prevent it is to perform maintenance on the hard drive .. as for how these

1.Install an antivirus just in case if there is a virus that will attack and destroy your data .. You should update the antivirus routinely.

2.Try to always make backups of important data.

3.Use ScanDisk to check whether there bad sector in the disk.

4. Always do defragment  for data 2 weeks once so that data within the hard disk is always neat.

5.Gunakan third-party software to clean junk files, duplicate files, and recycle bin .. you can use the System Cleaner

6. Don’t remove too often and put back into the hard disk for CPU. Hard hit by turmoil very sensitive, then the data in the hard disk data loss risk.

7.Don’t store  too much data until hard disk just only a few kylobyte remain .. but give little space to hard disk is not too congested at least reserving about 20 MB .. if you use Windows OS will usually appear warning if we drive too full.

8.Uninstall useless programs so  that do not burden the hard disk

9 Use UPS or Stavolt point if we use the UPS is if when we’re using the computer power suddenly went out, the computer will not directly went out. So we can save the new data first and turn off.the computer, Computer who die suddenly, without the prior shutdown will make a hard disk is fast damaged.

10. Enough ventilation.
Do not put the CPU is too crowded places or narrow .. because it can make the air can not get out, causing a fast hard disk panas.Jadi should select the CPU that has a lot of fans and put a little wide place ..

10 quick tips so take care of your hard drive .. hopefully after reading these tips to your hard disk can be short-lived and not easily damaged

Computer system fan so loud

Some computers are just loud. Cheaper fans make more noise, and some systems don’t make any attempt to reduce noise by throttling fans down.

If, on the other hand, your system -used- to be quiet, but has for some reason gotten louder during recent months… there is a possible solution.

Most new computers have a temperature sensor on the CPU (and on other heat-sensitive bits) a special circuit keeps track of this temperature and when it rises, increases the fan speed.

What happens is the heatsink (and fan) get clogged up with dust, so it dissipates less heat, the sensor detects this & cranks up the fan to compensate. Cleaning the dust out of your heatsink and fan may go a long way to quieting your computer.

You can get a can of compressed air at any office or electronics supply store. With the machine turned off & unplugged, open up the side panel & blow everything out.

Note: DO NOT use compressed air to blow inside your floppy, cdrom or DVD drives.

What a cigarette smoke can do to a computer

I have seen computers die prematurely from 2nd hand smoke. What most people don’t realize that while they are chain smoking for hours in front of their system, their computer is sucking in the ailments. Electronics are hot, and naturally create an environment for dust to collect around its circuitry. What makes cigarette smoke the worse kind of “dust” is that it isn’t dry. The smoke carries moisture with it.

So in time, the smoke and all of its by-products attach themselves to the computers fans, heatsinks, capacitors, and anything else that has heat. Apart from this, smoke changes the color of the exterior of the computer. This includes the keyboard, monitor (really rough on LCD screens), mouse, and any other component exposed to the open air.

In this lens you will see visuals of what happens to a CPU heatsink. In this case, the computer is 3 years old, overheated, and motherboard gave up.

Hopefully after reading this lens, you may consider twice before lighting up in front of your system, unless you like throwing away your money on new computers often.

How to clean a laptop

Cleaning a laptop computer is a simple process that only requires a few common household items. It’s an important computer maintenance thing to do regularly (yearly or more frequently if needed), to get rid of dirt and dust that can damage your display or other parts, affecting your laptop’s performance.

Laptop Parts to Clean

The five general parts of the laptop you should keep clean are: the case, the LCD screen, the laptop keyboard (and touchpad), the ports, and the cooling vents.

You can also open up your laptop to expose and clean its cooling system (the fan and heat sink), but only attempt that if you’re comfortable opening up your laptop. Cleaning the cooling system can help solve laptop overheating problems and related symptoms like your laptop freezing or having issues shutting down.

As always, defer to your laptop manufacturer’s manual for the recommended procedure for laptop cleaning.

Materials

You’ll need the following things to clean your laptop (click on the links to compare prices and buy them online):

• Isopropyl alcohol, available at drugstores and supermarkets. Because it evaporates quickly and doesn’t leave a residue, isopropyl alcohol is safe to use on electronic equipment and LCD displays. Not safe to use: ammonia, tap water, mineral water, and household window cleaners.
• Distilled or purified water or bottled water. Avoid tap water, which can leave permanent mineral spots.

 

• Can of compressed air, also commonly available at many types of stores.
• Lint-free cloth, like the kind used for cleaning eyeglasses. In a pinch you can use a soft, 100% cotton cloth. Do not use: paper towels, facial tissues, or scratchy or abrasive cloths.

Prepare to Clean

• Make sure the computer is off and unplugged, and remove the battery.
• Make a 1:1 cleaning solution using the water and alcohol.
• Dampen the cloth with the cleaning solution–it should be slightly moistened rather than very wet. Also, never spray anything directly on the computer; the liquid should go on the cloth first.

Clean the Laptop Case

Use the damp cloth to wipe down the exterior of the laptop. This will help you make it look brand-new again. Then open the lid and wipe the areas around your keyboard.

Clean the LCD Screen

Clean the display using the same cloth or a new moistened one if the original is too grimy (again, don’t spray any solution directly on the screen). Use gentle circular motions or wipe the screen from left to right, top to bottom.

Clean the Keyboard and Touchpad

Use a can of compressed air to loosen and remove dirt, crumbs, and everything else that may be stuck in the keys. Alternately, you can turn the laptop over and gently shake out any loose debris, running your fingers over the keys to aid the process.

If you have stuck keys or a very dirty keyboard (due to spilled drinks, for example), you can also remove the individual keys and wipe beneath them with a cotton swab dipped in the cleaning solution. Be sure you check your laptop manual to make sure the keys can be removed for cleaning, and, of course, put them back the right way.

Some laptops have drains built into the keyboard tray. If yours is like that, you can pour distilled water into the keyboard and let it air-dry. Check your manual to be sure.

Finally, use the damp cloth to wipe the keys and the touchpad.

Clean the Ports and Cooling Vents

Use the can of compressed air to clean the case openings: the ports and cooling vents. Spray from an angle so the debris is blown away from the computer, rather than into it.

Also, be careful when spraying the fans, because if you spray too hard liquid may get in the fan blades. To prevent the fans from overspinning while you’re blowing the air on them (which can damage the fans), place a cotton swab or toothpick betweent he fan blades to hold them in place.

Last But Not Least

Make sure your laptop is completely dry before turning it on.

 

What is an engine ECU? How does it work?

The ECU (aka electronic or engine control unit) controls many aspects of the modern engine. It takes readings like the intake air temperature and mass, amount of oxygen in the exhaust, engine load, rpm and other factors to calculate the optimum duration and timing of the spark.

Manufacturers tweak the settings rather conservatively so the car will run reliably in adverse conditions. These adverse conditions vary from poor quality fuel to missed service intervals and general neglect. It is worth noting that two identical engines are rarely exactly that.

We have seen massive differences in power output and curve from what should essentially be the same block and this highlights the difficult job of a manufacturer who needs a one setting for all ECU.

For this reason alone there is a good argument for uprating and tightening up the timing. When you add additional tuning parts and other modifications into the mix it becomes essential to upgrade the ECU.

Some modern ECU’s have a degree of self learning and will trim the fuelling and timing based on readings taken over a reasonable distance. This is better than a set of fixed parameters but it still needs improving, especially if you have done other modifications.

Sadly though some engines are just too old to have the ECU reprogrammed. Even some engine ECU’s are protected or locked and cannot be altered.

One answer to this is adding an aftermarket ECU. This effectively replaces the cars standard ECU and allows the user to program a custom fuel and timing map. The benefits are even greater on turbocharged engines when this is mated to an electronically controlled boost controller.

Do not confuse an aftermarket ECU with a piggy back ECU or plug in box. We are discussing complete engine management systems suitable for adding to older Carb engines converted to fuel injection and also used to upgrade cars with non remappable ECU’s (mostly cars made before 2001).

The benefits are many. A standard NASP engine can see power gains as high as another 10% and if you have added other modifications you can unleash the full potential of these. On turbo charged engines the gains are even greater at around 30% extra power and even more combined with other mods.

There are many types of aftermarket ECU, basic ones control fuelling and timing on 4 cylinder engines with more complex ones offering management of V8 and faster processing and a finer degree of control. There is a big case for getting the best you can afford and to set these up properly you really should be using a rolling road. This allows you to see what the engine is doing at any given time and allows easy diagnosis of lean or rich running and other potential problems.

If you get the ECU settings wrong it is easily possible to destroy your engine. A mis timed spark, overfueling or other issue can literally tear an engine apart.

Immobiliser and other settings (windows, air conditioning and even some auto gearboxes) in some cars are also controlled by the ECU so in some cases you may need to bypass these or find a way to keep the cars standard ECU happy whilst the aftermarket one gets on with the real job of engine management.