1. Hardware Problem: Computer consists of different hardware such as Printer, mouse, flash drive etc. Windows assigns an IRQ number for each of these hardware. When due to some reasons more than one hardware use the same IRQ this will result in a crash. In order to find if you have any hardware conflicts you can goto the ‘Device Manager’ in your computer properties. (Start-Settings->Control Panel –> System->Device manager), an yellow exclamation mark will be placed against the hardware that has a conflict. You can resolve this by selecting the device, uninstalling and reinstalling it again.
2. RAM memory: When you upgrade RAM memory, if you have two unmatched RAM cards or a RAM card that is not compatible with your motherboard, then a “Fatal Exception Error” will occur when you start the computer. If you are technically savvy then you may try to fix this by going to BIOS settings and editing the ‘Wait state’ of RAM or you can replace the cards with the same speed and capacity.
3. Hard Disk Drive: After using the computer for a few months or years, the hard disk gets fragmented with temporary files, or fragmented files. This will result in slowness of hard disk and may even result in computer crash eventually. You can maintain your harddisk by defragmenting your hard disk frequently and deleting unwanted files.
4. Video Card: If you see “Fatal OE exceptions and VXD errors” then it is due to the video card. To solve this reduce the video display resolution. You can do so by going to the control panel and display settings. Choose the correct screen resolution to match your monitor and change the color settings to 16 bit or match it with your monitor.
5. Virus: Most of the computer crash is due to Virus infection in your computer. You should install or enable windows firewall and install an Anti virus application to prevent unwanted virus applications infecting your computer.
6. Printer: Sometimes you may notice that the computer crashes whenever you try to print something. This is due to low memory buffer in the printer. Therefore when you send a lot of data to the printer or if you have multiple applications open and you print at the same time, this may happen. Unplug the printer from power outlet for 10 minutes and connect back again. Close other programs and try to print again.
7. Software: If a particular software is not installed properly or is not complete then it may result in a crash when you try to start that software. You have to uninstall such software properly. Otherwise some entries may still be in the registry referring to that software and result in instability of the computer. You can use registry cleaning software to clean your registries frequently.
8. Heat: Computers have inbuilt fans to cool down the processors. You can control the CPU speed from your BIOS settings. If the speed is set to higher than the normal CPU speed, this may result in overheating of the CPU which will result in Kernel Error.
9. Power Supply: Use UPS to regulate the power supply to your computer. This will reduce the chances of your computer crashing.

1. You formatted your hard disk and reinstall the OS. So you need to reinstall all the drivers for your external hardware.
2. You buy a used computer from someone but forget to get the driver CDs.
3. Your computer has all the drivers, but you want to upgrade the drivers. But you are not sure about the driver name and the device manufacturer.

To solve all these issues you need to download drivers from somewhere. There are many websites such as

• www.windrivers.com
• www.windowsdrivers.com
• www.driverguide.com
• www.pcdrivers.com

If you know which driver you need you can goto any of these websites and download the appropriate driver.  If you don not know which driver you want then these websites will not be of any help. Therefore you should first know about the drivers in your computer.

Driver upgrade utilities:

If you would like to test the drivers in your computer and see if they are functioning properly or needs to be updated then you can use the Driver Detective utility. Goto www.drivershq.com . You will see the ‘Driver Detective’ link. If you click on this link, this utility will check all the external devices that are currently connected to your computer and list all the drivers. If the list shows ‘Bad’ for any of your device such as scanner for example, then the driver for your scanner needs to be installed. If you click this link the appropriate driver will be installed.

Another such utility is Driver wizard software. You can download this utility from http://drivermagic.com/p/nph-home.php This utility will also check all the drivers in your computer and you can install any drivers that is BAD.

Belare Advisor is another utility that can be used to detect all your hardware from your computer. You can download this utility from www.belare.com

Who invented the computer mouse?

Many falsely think that Apple was the company that introduced the computer mouse. Some think that ‘Steve Jobs’ from Apple saw the the mouse used in a computer named ‘Star’ in Xerox company and then copied this mouse into the Apple computers.

In truth, neither Apple nor Xerox introduced the computer mouse.

Computer mouse was invented by a Scientist at Standard Research Institute in Menlo Park in California. His name is Doug Engelbart. He invented computer mouse in the year 1960. In his research he invented and tested many devices such as mouse, light pen etc., to see which of these devices made it easier to bring the cursor faster on a specific object in the computer screen. Obviously mouse was the winner.

What are the mouse buttons for?

Generally a mouse has two or three buttons. They are referred as left, right and centre button. For right handers the left button is very important. For left handers the right mouse button is very important.(See tips to configure the mouse for left handers). The following functionality of the buttons is based on right handed users.

To press the left button once is called single click or just a click. Pressing the left button very fast twice is called double click.

You need some practice to get accustomed to mastering double click. If you click twice but not so fast, then the computer will not consider it as double-click, it will take as two single clicks.

To press the right button once is called right-click. Right clicking will show a short cut menu. This menu is called ‘Context Sensitive Menu’, or ‘Shortened Menu’. Once the menu is shown you can do a single click (using left button) to select that option.

If you press the left button once and keep the button pressed and move the curser to a new place and release the button, this this action is called ‘drag and drop’. If you do the same thing with the right button, then it is called ‘right drag and drop’ and you will get an additional menu for this.

What are different types of computer mouse?

The conventional mouse has a ball at the bottom. The mouse is connected to the computer using a serial or USB cable. The mouse is placed on the mouse pad. When the mouse is moved, the X and Y is calculated and accordingly the cursor will move on the screen.

Then the Wireless mouse was introduced since the cable caused many problems But this wireless mouse is not so widely used as it is quite expensive.

Then the Optical mouse was introduced since the ball at the bottom caused many problems when dust and dirt accumulates inside. The optical mouse is quite popular as it is more useful and cheaper than the wireless mouse.

Scroll mouse is a mouse with a scroll button on top of the mouse which makes scrolling easier.

It is always a common dilemma while buying a computer. Whether to buy a branded computer or to buy an assembled computer. There are many pros and cons of branded pcs and assembled pcs. Here let us list the pros and cons of these two types of computers.

Pros and Cons of Branded PCs

The mere name of the brand is a reason to be proud. These branded PCs are usually the result of many years of research and they usually come in many different models to suit different needs of different people. You can buy any of them very confidently.

These companies design their computers from their experience and feedback from their dealers and customers. Therefore you can safely choose any branded pc without fear.

The different hardware components in these branded PCs work together very well. Each part is tested. Therefore on hardware device will not damage the other. All of them function well together.

The software installed in these branded computers work well with these hardware. Hence there is no problem caused by these software to the hardware or by these hardware to the software.

The Operating System and applications that comes with the branded PCs are licenced software. These software is installed only after getting required permission and licence from the respective software companies. You will get the certificates of these ‘Preloaded software’. Therefore you will not have licence problems.

Usually the branded PCs do not Hang or Crash unexpectedly. Even if it happens rarely, the support engineers will help you to fix the computer.

Generally, the branded PCs give 1 year on site warranty. You can usually opt for more years of warrant for an additional price.

Pros and Cons of Assembled Computers

Compared to branded PCs the assembled PCs are very cheap. The price may be 30% cheaper than the assembled pcs price.

You may get many free software and applications but not necessarily licenced software. So you should be careful not to use pirated software.

The company that assembles your computer is usually small and therefore they will bend to your needs and satisfy your requirements.

Individual hardware devices can be selected as per your wish. For example you can choose any brand of hard disk and any size. As well as any brand of CPU and any speed based on your requirement.

It is very easy to upgrade an assembled computer. You can buy RAM or any other card like TV tuner as and when you need and add it to your computer.

You will get warranty for individual parts as specified by the manufacturer of each device. For example the hard disk warranty is usually 3 years.

So carefully weigh all the advantages and disadvantages of assembled computers and branded computers and then make a good decision.

If you are one of those who doesn’t know what to do with your old computer, here are some tips to make use of your old computer.

1. Sell your old computer

   Your friends, your neighbours, inform everyone you know that you have an old computer to sell. There may be someone who wants to get a computer very cheap. Even if they offer to buy at very very low price, just sell it to them. Remember that old computers do not have much commercial value. It is better than stocking it in your store room for no reason.

2. Remove parts and sell

   Remove each computer part separately and try to sell individual parts. Some may be looking for just one part of the computer like keyboard, mouse, hard drive, video card or network card. Or try the Yahoo auction website. You can list your computer there and wait for people to bid.

3. Donate your old computer free.

   Many schools, community centers or even someone poor whom you know may need your computer. Even some voluntary organisations may accept your donation of your old computer.

4. Learn about computer hardware

   What is a motherboard? what are the components? How to remove and fixhard disk? Where is the RAM in the computer? Which is the power connector? Which is the data connector for harddisks and floppy disks. How to fix them?

   If you need to know the answers of these questions then use your old computer to learn about the computer hardware. Open it and learn them.

5. Create a computer network

   You can connect your old computer to your new computer and create a computer network. You just need two network cards and cables. You can then enjoy the network’s benefits. You can use a single internet connection in two computers. You can play Multiplayer Games. You can install the games in these two computers and you can play a two player game with your fried. Isn’t it better to play against a person rather than the computer?

6. Install Linux and try it

   Linux is a free operating system. You can install and try linux in your old computer.

Upgrade the BIOS

BIOS – Basic Input Output System – is a software in your computer. BIOS determines how to communicate with the basic hardware installed in your computer such as Memory, Drives, Display, CPU, Keyboard etc.

After you bought your computer new devices may have been introduced in the market. Security may have been enhanced. There may have been Patches for detecting and rectifying system errors. If you upgrade your BIOS you can get all these.

Go to your Motherboard manufacturer’s websites and see if you can upgrade your BIOS. There are also third party BIOS providers. You can buy and upgrade your BIOS software for your old computer.

You can Use Overclock

If the speed of your CPU is not sufficient then you can increase the speed of CPU using Overclock. See your ‘User Manual’ of your motherboard and see if there is an Overclock upgrade facility.

You can do Overclock by changing the jumper settings in your motherboard. You can search for manuals on how to do this from internet.

But if you do Overclocking the CPU will be overheated very fast. Hence the CPU may get worn out soon. If you do not want to take the risk then do not do overclocking. If the warranty period of your computer is not over then do not do overclocking. Because some comapnies do not give warranty if they come to know that you used overclocking.

Use a new hard disk to Boot.

If you already have a hard disk and it is almost full then you can buy a new hard disk. In which case, you should change your new hard disk as C: drive and your old hard drive as drive D:.

You can make the new drive as Master and the old drive as Slave. The hard disk drive user manual will have details on how to configure the hard disk as master or slave. It is done using a jumper at the back of the hard disk.

The Operating System and the Application software can be installed in Drive C. and these data has to be removed from the old disk properly. This may take some time. If you are not prepared to spend time on this then there are software that can be used to transfer the systemd files, hidden files and data files from your old hard disk to the new hard disk.

Power Quest’s Drive copy ( www.powerquest.com ), Micro House’s EZCopy
( www.microhouse.com ), Symantec’s Ghost ( www.symantec.com ) can be used for this.

Additional tips for increasing computer performance

If your computer often hangs or you get ‘General Protection Fault’s then the CPU or the RAM memory is not fixed on the motherboard properly and may be loose. Open the cabinet and remove and refix the CPU and RAM.

If your computer get very hot after some time or if the computer hangs after a few hours then the CPU fan and SMPS fan may be faulty. Or there may be dust and dirt around these fans. So open the cabinet at specified intervals (every month once) and clean the computer’s motherboard, fan etc using a vacuum cleaner.

At frequent intervals check whether all the cables are connected tightly. Similarly check that all cards in the motherboard’s expansion slots are tightly secured.

CPU (Central Processing Unit)

Most of the computers have Pentium Processors. Pentium processors are very
popular CPUs. Pentium Processors are manufactured by Intel.

Other than Pentium, Intel also manufactures Celeron processors. AMD
manufactures Athlon processors.

If you want to save money then go for Celeron processors. If you want
higher performance then choose Pentium processors.

Pentium processors come in 2.6 GHz, 2.8 GHz, 3.0 GHz and above while
Celeron processors come in 950 MHz to 2.80 MHz speed.

RAM (Random Access Memory)

There are many types of RAM namely DDR and SDRAM. The type of RAM you
choose depends on the motherboard you choose and what your motherboard
supports.

Get a RAM as big as possible. 256MB of RAM is the minimum RAM required for
a decent computer. But it is recommended that you go for atleast 512MB RAM
or even higher if possible.

Motherboard

Intel, Asus and Mercury are some of the motherboard brands. Generally
computer buyers overlook on motherboards. This is wrong. A good quality
motherboard will provide an efficient and faster computer.

The Chipset of a motherboard is very important. Intel’s 845 and 915G
chipsets can take in Pentium processors. Likewise nVidia’s nForce 4SLI
chipset takes AMD’s Athelon 64 and Athelon 64 FX processors.

Hard Disk

Harddisks with 7200RPM speed are available. Harddisks with 40GB, 80GB,
120GB storage capacity are available. 80GB harddisk capacity is suitable
for home as well as office use.

HardDisks come in two types of interfaces. EIDE or SATA among which SATA
interface is better.

Graphics Card

Graphics card is integrated inside the motherboard. Unlike before the
graphics card and the motherboard are now integrated. Intel’s Extreme
Graphics, Graphics Media Accelerator 900 are popular. If you go for nVidia
motherboard then Riva TNT2 graphics card is better.

Sound Card

Like graphics card, sound cards are also integrated in the motherboard.
Many motherboards come with Ac97 Audio cards.

CD Drives

Until 2004 the sale of CDROM drives was good. All computers came with 48x
or 52x CD drives.

But sales of CD Writers took over CDROM drives in late 2004. From 2005 it
is DVD writers and the combo drives that can handle both CDs and DVDs. So
choose either combo drives that can read and write CDs and read DVDs or go
for DVD Writers.

Monitor

15″ and 17″ monitors are very popular. The CRT monitors occupy more space
on the table and consume more power. Where as the flat LCD panel monitors
occupy less space and consume less power. So choose a LCD monitor

KeyBoard

A simple keyboard is usually sufficient. You may also try multimedia
keyboards or Internet keyboards. But most computer users usually do not
use these additional short cut keys provided in these new keyboards.

Membrane keys or mechanical type keys are available. Of these Mechanical
keys are more durable.

Mouse

Optical mouse is better than the ordinary mouse. The ball inside the ordinary mouse tends to gather dust and therefore the optical mouse is better to use.

Others

If you are an audio buff then you can buy good speakers, earphone and head set.

Try to get integrated network interface card and modem if you will be using networking or dialup internet.