Not to long ago my son and my dog tag teamed my computer while I was taking a break from swapping out parts. The boy pulled out the wires to my front power button and the dog came along and ate them. This made me oh so happy. I batted around a few idea's which included soldering up wires from another case, replacing the case, or possibly ordering a new power switch. Then it hit me. I looked at the motherboard and sure enough the reset switch (you know that small button under the big power button that no one ever uses) has the same connector as the power switch. So I simply moved it over and now I have a fully functional and smaller power switch.
Moral of the story is never leave your computer unattended when it is open. And now I finally know why they put that little back-up power switch in there.
Thursday, May 5, 2011
Wednesday, May 4, 2011
Upgrading to Ubuntu 11.04
The other day I upgraded my computer by installing the latest version of Ubuntu Linux. 11.04. My Computer is a dual boot system with Windows XP. The install went fine but for some reason my Grub stopped working. For those of you who do not know Grub is a program that allows you to select which operating system you wish to use each time you turn on your computer. I was very lucky that I also have a laptop because I ended up having to download Ubuntu on it and burn a disk and then fix my grub that way. I don't know if it's me or what but it seems that every time I upgrade Linux I have the same problem. So my advice to anyone else out there that is getting ready to upgrade is to make sure that you make a startup disk before you even start the upgrade.
Wednesday, April 20, 2011
Hard Drive
The hard drive is the device on your computer that holds all of the programs and data that you have stored. You're O/S (Operating System) is stored on your hard drive. Any games, music, pictures, documents, ect... are stored on the hard drive.
Basically your hard drive is a set of disks a little smaller than a CD.Inside of a small metal box. Your Operating System is the first thing to get put on the hard drive. Usually this is done at the factory before you receive your computer. I'm not going to go into Operating Systems in this article but I just wanted you to understand what type of information is kept on the hard drive.
Many people have more than one hard drive inside there computer. It is also very common for individuals to have what is known as an external hard drive. Usually kept for backing up information in the very common event that Windows (The most common operating system) messes up and needs to be reloaded, which results in all of the information on the main hard drive inside of the computer being lost.
One thing that many individuals who are looking to purchase a computer get confused about is the difference between memory and the size of there hard drive. Without going into to many details just know that when the ad says a computer has 2 gigs of memory. That is something completely different and has nothing to do with how much storage space you have on the computer for your pictures and music ect... The size of your hard drive will be stated as something like (250 gig HD) Sometimes they will spell out hard drive but many times you will see it just called an HD. Bigger is not always better. Most people never use all of the space on there hard drive anyway and if you do find that you're filling it up at some point down the road, it is pretty cheap to add a second especially if you know someone who can put it in for you or if you put it in yourself. The point I'm trying to make is that if you are shopping for a computer do not spend a lot more money simply because one computer or the other has a larger hard drive. In almost every case it is not worth it.
Basically your hard drive is a set of disks a little smaller than a CD.Inside of a small metal box. Your Operating System is the first thing to get put on the hard drive. Usually this is done at the factory before you receive your computer. I'm not going to go into Operating Systems in this article but I just wanted you to understand what type of information is kept on the hard drive.
Many people have more than one hard drive inside there computer. It is also very common for individuals to have what is known as an external hard drive. Usually kept for backing up information in the very common event that Windows (The most common operating system) messes up and needs to be reloaded, which results in all of the information on the main hard drive inside of the computer being lost.
One thing that many individuals who are looking to purchase a computer get confused about is the difference between memory and the size of there hard drive. Without going into to many details just know that when the ad says a computer has 2 gigs of memory. That is something completely different and has nothing to do with how much storage space you have on the computer for your pictures and music ect... The size of your hard drive will be stated as something like (250 gig HD) Sometimes they will spell out hard drive but many times you will see it just called an HD. Bigger is not always better. Most people never use all of the space on there hard drive anyway and if you do find that you're filling it up at some point down the road, it is pretty cheap to add a second especially if you know someone who can put it in for you or if you put it in yourself. The point I'm trying to make is that if you are shopping for a computer do not spend a lot more money simply because one computer or the other has a larger hard drive. In almost every case it is not worth it.
Wednesday, March 23, 2011
The Computer Case
This article is part of a series that I'm writing for people who may not know as much about there computer as they would like. I'm going to try to cover the major components of the computer without going into to much detail. Later I plan to add articles going more in depth.
One of the most important parts of any computer system is the computer case. Unfortunately it is also one of the most overlooked. In this article I'm going to try to explain some of the important features of the computer case and, hopefully help you to get to know your computer a little better.
The case may also be called the cabinet and is actually, just that. It is a cabinet that holds the power supply,motherboard,hard drive, cd/dvd drives, and all of the other various parts of your computer.
To put it simply the case must hold all of the internal components of your computer system. Probably the most important role of a computer case is to aid in keeping the internal components cool. Modern cases will have multiple fans to cool different parts of the computer. The case may also have usb, audio, card reading ports and various other ports on the front or top of the case to make it easier for the user to connect there favorite equipment, ie: mp3 players,earbuds, microphones ect...
If you are buying a computer system at the store then it's not so important to know a lot about a computer case. As long as the size fit's your space requirements and it has all of the outlets you want that's about all you need to know. But if you plan to build your own computer I would suggest doing a little research before making your decision. Don't just jump on the first case you see online with neon lights on sale for $30.00 bucks. Trust me most of the time it really doesn't pay off.
One of the most important parts of any computer system is the computer case. Unfortunately it is also one of the most overlooked. In this article I'm going to try to explain some of the important features of the computer case and, hopefully help you to get to know your computer a little better.
The case may also be called the cabinet and is actually, just that. It is a cabinet that holds the power supply,motherboard,hard drive, cd/dvd drives, and all of the other various parts of your computer.
To put it simply the case must hold all of the internal components of your computer system. Probably the most important role of a computer case is to aid in keeping the internal components cool. Modern cases will have multiple fans to cool different parts of the computer. The case may also have usb, audio, card reading ports and various other ports on the front or top of the case to make it easier for the user to connect there favorite equipment, ie: mp3 players,earbuds, microphones ect...
If you are buying a computer system at the store then it's not so important to know a lot about a computer case. As long as the size fit's your space requirements and it has all of the outlets you want that's about all you need to know. But if you plan to build your own computer I would suggest doing a little research before making your decision. Don't just jump on the first case you see online with neon lights on sale for $30.00 bucks. Trust me most of the time it really doesn't pay off.
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)