Basic Computer Troubleshooting Tips

Everybody has that story, that one about writing 100,000 of doctoral research/an essay for the next day/film editing that, in the stroke of a key, was disappeared down the Memory Hole when the computer froze; the screen flickered and went blue, and it barks some computer jargon babble at you. By then you are already foetal, rocking back and forward on the floor weeping with indignation at this box of chips and wires that has ruined your life.

Well, that might be a slightly apocalyptic version of the story, but it still stands to reason that computers, though we love them, do burp, hiccup and break just like any other object. So, is there anything you, as a computer layman, can do when your computer gives you the blue screen of death?

Well, without meaning to sound particularly straightforward, resetting your computer is often a panacea for all sorts of computing ills. Freezing is not always symptomatic of a larger problem, it might just be a short-term blip in a piece of hardware of software that caused the machine to overload. Not trying to do too many things at once can also help with not overloading. So, just unplug, or press reset, and hopefully all should be OK.

Also, software bundles will often have specialist help software packaged with it, with the option of recovery disks and back-ups to be made. Prevention is often better than the cure.

As well as overloading there is the everyday problem of peripherals choosing not to work, keyboards, mice, and other things. Often this is merely a case of either the peripheral itself breaking down, a dead port on your computer, or the lack of a correct driver for the accessory. In this case, you can find drivers online, or try plugging something else into a port to see if it really is broken. Another thing that happens with older computers is that they will spontaneously switch off. This is a defensive measure as it is overheating, so clean out the fan and see if it works better then.

For other problems, the internet truly holds a wealth of effective maintenance and troubleshooting tips for your computer. The Windows website at Microsoft has a mammoth support section that talks you through all manner of computing problems and suggests ways of putting them right.

If you truly do not trust yourself with computers or if the problem seems a little more complex than you think, it is always best to leave it to professionals. Good computer sites, such as broadband genie, can offer links on to reputable computer specialists and offer other helpful information too.

In short, maintain your computer, keep anti-virus and spyware detection up-to-date and try not to clutter the hard drives and this could go a long way to you keeping your computer in good shape.

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