PCinfospace

You will be able to record using your VCR just as you did before.    If you are hooked to cable or Satellite you will not need to do anything. What if you don’t have Satellite or Cable? You will need to purchase a converter box.  This box converts digital signals to analog (older) signals. You will be able to record any channel that you can get on the converter box.  SEE: www.dtv2009.gov or call 1-888-388-2009 to get answers and to get started. The complexity of the setup may depend on the area you are in and what channels you want to watch.  In some cases you may need two antennas if you want to watch one channel and record another.  If you want to watch a station without moving the direction of the antenna you can get away with using a splitter. How do I set up my VCR? I will briefly describe it.  Wow! now you will have yet another remote to deal with.  Tune the VCR to channel 3 or4 (follow instructions shown in the converter box manual), and set you TV to display video from your VCR (this is the remote for your TV not for the converter box).   The biggest problem I have been seeing is that people try to do this physically on the TV.  You need to use your remote.  These days most if not all the setting are on the remote. Now pick up the new remote for the converter box (not the one for the TV) . Click the menu button and scan for channels.  Mostly I found that the instructions in the manual are pretty good and even come in English.  Would you believe that?

How do you repair a speaker if it doesn’t work?
FIRST and foremost BE SURE it is plugged into the right port of your sound card.  This is by far the biggest error I have seen.  It is normally a light green color.  If your unsure try each one.  You will need to reboot your computer each time if you want to hear the ever famous tone of windows.  BUT! here is what I do.  I find a CD with music on or load a song that is in the computer.  While it is playing try each plug.

What else could it be?
Most speakers come with a power adapter.  (Cheaper ones use batteries) Be sure it is plugged into a live outlet.  If you use a surge protector be sure it is turned on.  Another big one! Be sure the on button is pushed in or turned on and that the volume is turned up.   It is really embarrassing if you pay a technician to turn a simple dial just to hear sound.  Oh! did I mention that you need to pay technicians?

What if this doesn’t work?
Find the picture of a speaker in the lower right corner of you desktop.  You may have to click the small left pointed arrow to see the entire area. Double click it.  This should bring up “Volume Control” screen. Check to see that “Volume Control” is not muted and that the bar is up as far as it will go.  Also check to be sure nothing else is muted.

OK! what if that doesn’t work?
There could be something wrong with your sound card or you don’t have the right driver loaded for the sound card.  Many computers now come with the sound card integrated in the motherboard.  This doesn’t matter.  It either works or it doesn’t.  They both will need driver software to work.  Also be sure the software is for the proper operating system.  Many time the problem occurs when you upgrade from one operating system to another.  Windows 98 drivers very often do not work on VISTA as an example.  Usually the driver can be downloaded from the manufacturers web site.  If the sound card is integrated into the motherboard you need to go to either contact the manufacturer of the mother board or go to their web site.  Some of them have online forms to fill out.

This is an article that could be very long.  I will try to keep it as simple as possible.  The reason is that there are so many different kinds.  Although the most popular is the so called 101 keyboard. There are many sizes, shapes, prices and even number of keys.  Some laptops do not have the numerical keyboard included due to their small size.  You can buy USB add on numerical keypads and other peripherals.

Some types of keyboards:
It is hard to explain some types.  I will do the best I can.  There is the 101 keyboard which is somewhat standard.  It is called that because it has 101 keys.  There are several sizes of this keyboard, some of which are for laptops or very small computers.  There are ergonomic keyboards.  The manufacturers try to mimic the way your hands are shaped so you don’t get tired or get carpal tunnel syndrome when you type.  Most older keyboards used a cable with a ps2 connection.  Newer ones use USB connections.  Very popular keyboards today are the ones that are wireless.  There are multifunction keyboards that do almost anything.  You can access the internet, control the sound, etc.  Some of these have special function keys also.  They may also take a special driver which is on a CD that comes with them.  Wireless keyboards are very popular and normally come with a wireless mouse.  It is possible that you pay less for the “kit” than if you buy them separately.

How can I fix a keyboard?
This can be difficult.  The first thing you need to do is make sure it isn’t connected to the computer.  The only thing that you can really do is clean them.  There are several schools of thought about how to do that. I usually take a warm rag with soap in it and wipe off each key.  If they are really dirty you may need to remove them. Removing them can be risky since they could break.  REMEMBER!! if you do remove any key be sure you know were they were located.  I normally take a very small screwdriver and carefully pry one corner.  Take some canned air and blow out the surface of the board. I have seen some very dirty keyboards.  In that case you may need to use the damp rag with mild dish soap I mentioned above.  After you clean the board reassemble it making sure you put the key back in the right order.  If you have a wireless keyboard be sure you have a good battery installed before you call it bad.

What if that doesn’t work?
Properly dispose of the keyboard and buy a new one.  They are cheap enough that it doesn’t pay to spend all year on it.

What else could be wrong?

• The cord could be bad.  This is rare but I have seen environments were this could happen.
• The Computer motherboard could be defective.
• A driver may be needed.  If it’s a “fancy” keyboard this could be possible.  So-called multifunction keyboards could cause this issue.

What if none of this works?
If you don’t know don’t try.  Get somebody that is an expert.  It just isn’t worth the pain and agony for something this simple and inexpensive.

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How can I repair a mouse that doesn’t work?

First I need to say that there are numerous kinds of mice. I feel it would be hard to talk about every kind and price range.  I will give an overall idea of what (if anything) you can do if your mouse doesn’t work.  The oldest type of mouse has a ball on the bottom of it. If this ball gets dirty enough the mouse will become extremely hard to use.  There are three rollers under the ball that pick up dirt and grime from rolling them on a surface which is usually a mouse pad.
How can I fix this type of mouse? Be sure that your computer is turned off and that you disconnect the mouse cord. This makes it easier to work on and it will be easier on the computer.  If you leave the computer on the curser (arrow shaped pointer) will run wild and may activate a program or cause an unpredictable circumstance. Remove the cap on the bottom of the mouse and remove the rubber ball. If  you look inside you will notice the rollers I mentioned. You should be able to see the dirt that is wrapped around them. Get a cotton swab and some Isopropyl Alcohol. Wet the tip of the swab with the alcohol.  Now is the time consuming part.  You need to rub the roller until they are very clean. This may take a while so be patient.  If they are real bad you may need a knife or whatever works to loosen the dirt. Be careful not to damage the rollers no matter what you use. Now take the ball and rub it with a warm rag that is soaked in soap water.  Use a mild detergent and then rinse and dry the ball.  DO NOT!!! Use alcohol for the ball.  It is rubber and it may deteriorate if you do.  Reassemble and test the mouse.  If it is still erratic it may need to be replaced.  Wheel mice are no different as far as repair goes.  It is just an added feature that was added over time.

What about mice that don’t have a wheel? Now that’s a different story.  Laser mice, trackball mice, wireless mice.  Mostly they can only be replaced. You can clean the light emitter (the “thing” that emits the light that detects movement and tells the mouse were to go) on the bottom of the mouse and the pads that the mouse glides on.  Sometimes the cord goes bad or they just stop working.  The main thing you need to know about wireless mice is the batteries. If a wireless mouse does not work, the first thing to do is replace the batteries.  Also, the latest thing is mice that use the USB port instead of the PS2 port.   If the mouse doesn’t work either the driver is bad or the motherboard could be defective.  Try a different mouse or try the mouse you have on a different computer.  If that doesn’t work you can try a PS2 mouse.  If that doesn’t work you have big problems.  See an authorized technician if you don’t know what to do.  It is easy to miss an easy solution so think through what your doing.

IMPORTANT !!! Be sure to clean off the mouse pad or surface the pad glides on.  This is were the dirt comes from in the first place.  I just use a mild soap and rag.  Be sure the surface is dry before you use it again.

That’s about it.  It is mostly a throw away world but be sure the mouse is really bad before you panic.  Like I said, test it on another computer and/or try a different mouse.  Get a professional if need be.  Get an estimate before you do however.  They usually have a minimum that they charge.  It may be cheaper just to buy a new mouse.

I have seen this problem several times.  Normally it means you have a drive bigger than the operating system will handle.

The first thing to do is check to see if you have Service Pack two or higher.  Service pack one only supports internal or external drives up to 120 Gigabyte.  That’s OK! I didn’t believe it either.

How do I know what service pack I have?
Click the start button.  Right click “My Computer”. ( This could be on the desktop on certain computers).  Left click “properties”.    Wait for the screen to load all the way.  You should see: Service Pack one or two.   If it doesn’t say anything you probably have the original release of XP.  If you do not see any release number you definitely need to update you computer.  The newer releases were to plug holes in the security of the operating system and to prevent hackers from altering your security settings along with other critical reasons.  Please see the WARNING below before you start.

Here’s what to do:
Left click on your start button > Left click “All Programs” > Click on widows update.  This will take you to a Microsoft web site.   From there you can update to service pack two and even three (see warning below) if you wish.  Follow the instructions.  WARNING !! Be sure you have DSL or CABLE high speed connection.  These really take a long time to do.   It is close to impossible to update these if you still have dial-up.

What if that doesn’t work?
Now you may need to be sure you want to open the case and go deeper.  You may want to seek professional advice if you are uncomfortable doing this.  If you want to try to troubleshoot you can try this:  (Be sure your computer is turned off)

• Open the computer case
  • Verify that the cable going to you drive is securely attached.
  • If it is an internal drive you may need to remove the drive and verify that the jumper setting is correct.  If it is the only drive on that cable it should be set to master.   If you have the newer ATA (seriel) hard drive just check to be sure the cable is securely attached.  There is no jumper on this kind of drive.
  • If you are installing a second drive, you should understand the master/slave relationship. That’s because it depends on if it is installed on the same cable as the master (main) hard drive or not.  If you have an ATA (seriel) drive disregard this step.
  • If you do not understand this relationship seek help.
  • You may need to hook up a drive that you know is good so that you can zero into the problem.
  • You can try replacing the ribbon cable going from the motherboard to the hard drive.  However, this very rarely is the problem.
• What else could be wrong?
  Your motherboard could be bad.  You need to be sure of this.  If you want to be sure I would suggest to find a professional that can verify it and that can tell you what to do.

WARNING!
When you update, it may want you to update to Internet explorer 7 and/or Service pack 3.   If you install Explorer 7 it may slow down your computer due to the way it handles RAM.   See how it works on your system.   If it does slow you down you can go to Control Panel and uninstall it.  I do NOT recommend installing service pack 3 at this time.  Although some may disagree with this, I am talking from experience.  I needed to uninstall it several times.  It either slows the computer down significantly or it freezes it.  I have also seen were it lets viruses in when it downloads.  Not a real good thing!  I tell people to avoid it.  If you try it and it doesn’t work you can uninstall it through the control panel’s uninstall utility.  If it freezes your computer you may have to force the computer to reboot.  Then restart it and rapidly tap the F8 key to get to “Safe Mode”.  Then go to the control panel and uninstall it.   I have also seen were people can not connect to the Internet after the updates also.  It appears it handles it different if you have an Intel processor versus an AMD processor.   It appeared that AMD processors had trouble handling it.