PCinfospace

The quick answer is no.

The power supply unit in your computer is the square metal box normally found in the top rear of the computer case and is easily identifiable by the cooling fan and power cord receptacle within the box. A power supply is the component that supplies power to the computer. It converts the high voltage alternating current (AC) electric power supply to a usable low direct current (DC) power for the internal parts of the computer.

One of the main problems that a computer faces is the power supply. The power supply heats the computer and the components within it every time the computer is turned on. The overheated components can create a power supply failure and can be indicated by a stalled cooling fan located in the power supply. The burning smell normally noticed before the computer shuts down is usually due to failure of the power supply unit. Other symptoms of failure are random rebooting of the computer which causes stoppages in the operating system. It may also be possible that the computer will not start at all.

If you want to test the computer’s power supply, then follow the instructions below.

WARNING!! DO NOT take the power supply apart or try to repair it. Trying to repair a power supply could get you electrocuted due to the high voltage that is present in a capacitor inside the unit.

Obtain a tester from an electronic supply store.
Carefully remove all the cables from the power supply unit and unscrew it from the computer case. Care must be taken not to damage any cables or the component they are attached to.

Plug in the tester to the cords of the power supply as per the instructions supplied for the tester. They vary to some degree.

Connect the electrical cord to the unit and be sure the power is on. You may need to flip the switch in back of the unit if it has one.

This should tell you if it is good or bad. If the supply is bad replace it. DO NOT take it apart. Dispose of it according to you local ordinances.

If the unit is good you need to find out what else may be wrong. This is where you may need an expert if you don’t know what to do next. There could be numerous reasons in this case.

One other thing you can do, and is recommended, is to replace the power supply with one you know is good.This is the best fastest way to do it.

Although it is possible to check the power supply at home or in the lab, it is not logical to repair it. The cost would be too high even if you were to repair it. Replacing the supply is the only thing that makes sense if it is bad.

Unfortunately no! It is not possible to record one program and watch another if you have a single converter box. The best option is to get one box for each device.  It is also ideal to have one antenna for each device.  See antennaweb.org for the best antenna for your area. If the antenna signal is strong enough, an antenna splitter can be used.  If you have more than one converter box in one room or close to each other it best to get them from different manufacturers so that each uses a different remote. That way if somebody changes a channel on their box it doesn’t affect you.  Instead of purchasing a converter box you could buy a Digital TV.  They have their own tuners so you will not need the converter box.

COST SAVING NOTE !!
You can keep you cost down by trying the equipment you have before you buy anything.  Don’t let people talk you into anything.  Your old antenna may be good enough.  If you have have Cable or Satellite TV you don’t have to do anything. This is only for those that still want to use antenna along with the old TVs.  You do not need a converter box in that case.

Suggestion
If you don’t understand any of this ask around.  Many people have already made the switch including me.  You shouldn’t have to call any experts here.  There should be somebody that will help you get set up. FREE !! or pretty much so.

I am writing this as a product review.  It is a good camera!

Logitech QuickCam Pro 9000 Webcam
Stay face-to-face, wherever your road takes you! The Logitech QuickCam Pro 9000 is a versatile and easy way to take your webcam on the go. Whether you’re putting together your next home movie for your favorite video sharing site, or just staying in touch with far away loved ones, the QuickCam Pro 9000 allows you to see others face-to-face anywhere. Images stay razor sharp, even in close-ups. Shoot high definition video with the QuickCam Pro 9000-up to 960 x 720 pixels and a 2-megapixel sensor. You can get up to 30 frames per second with the Carl Zeiss lens, which provides more clarity and detail to your shots.

Still photographs look great too, with 8-megapixel resolution. With an easily adjustable attachment, you can place the camera on top of your laptop display. Add an element of fun to your videos with the Logitech Video Effects, which allows you to customize your face and create several avatars. Connectable to your PC via USB 2.0 connection, the Logitech QuickCam Pro 9000 eliminates the guesswork of traveling with a portable Web camera. No matter what application you need the QuickCam Pro for, it’s the perfect fit. Go pro – choose the Logitech QuickCam Pro 9000.

This can be difficult to answer.  You have to know:

What operating system you have.
What motherboard you have.
If the particular PCI or other card is compatible to the board.

If you have an older system things can get tough.  Mostly I have found very few people have their original restore disk.  In this case, if you do ever have to reload your system for any reason, you will need to have a WIN98, WIN-ME (or other system) disk and hope that you have the KEY CODE that came with it.  This is the license you need to be “legal”.  If you don’t I would suggest to take it to a professional to figure it out. DO NOT use a copy of any operating system for any reason.  This can only get you in trouble.  It could be defective and carry viruses or worse also.

MOTHER BOARDS

These have been changing at the speed of light.  I will not go into all the changes. I don’t have enough room on this web site for that.  I will say that most of the newer boards are much much faster and have far different connections for interface cards.  PCI express is only one example. The newer boards have  integrated LAN cards, Sound, and Graphics and others.  Years ago they were all separate cards.  Now if you need to find drivers you MUST know what motherboard you have.  Here’s how: Look at the board very close.  Normally the brand (such as Intel) is stamped on the board along with the model number.  You can try going to the board manufacturers web site.  See if you can find all the drivers and download them to any computer and put them on a disk.  Since you probably do not have any LAN card driver  running you may have to use a different computer.  I normally load them on a USB drive or in the case of WIN98 or ME I normally cut them to a disk.  Why? because the USB drive needs a WIN98 or ME driver to load and work.  Yup! Hay! this is some old stuff.  If you have Windows XP or later  you usually just let it load the driver by itself.  Normally the second you plug in the Thumb drive into a USB port on an Windows XP machine it will start loading the driver immediately.  Most of the drivers will normally load.   If one doesn’t you need to download it from the board manufacturers web site. If it is a major manufacturer such as Dell, Gateway etc. go to their site and download the drivers from there.

TIP

If you have a Dell or any other major manufacturer you go to their site.  All the drivers for that particular computer are there.  Do NOT go through the pain of finding a separate driver for sound, Video etc.  You will wear yourself out.  If you added a different Graphics card than originally came with the computer you need to get the driver off the install disk for that card, get it from the web site or try to figure it out by reading the very small  writing on the chip that is on the Graphics or other card. In other words: don’t lose your original driver disk.  I can’t believe how many people don’t have the disks they need when they need to reload their computer.

Why would I need to reload my computer in the first place?
Although there are more reasons than can be listed here, it is normally because they get really slow.  This is normally caused by Viruses, Spy-ware or other nasty things that get in your computer (on your hard drive) over time.

What if I can’t find a driver?

This happens a lot when you have to reload a Windows 98 or ME computer.

Here is were the work comes in.  You need to remove the separate PCI (or other) card from your computer.  Now get a magnifying glass (seriously) to see the very small numbers on the chip. (picture above)  WRITE THEM DOWN.  Do not trust your memory and you don’t want to do this over.  Now you need to go to a driver site.  Here are some of them:

driverguide
driversearch
driveragent
driverheadquarters
mrdriver
and more. Use a search engine if necessary.

Find the driver you need and load it to a disk and then load it on the computer that needs it.  If you just can’t make things work you need to find a technician that can help you.

This is a wide subject.  That is to say there are possibly hundred of ways this can be done.  There are a huge amount of software programs out there.  Some computers come with some brand of photo editing software.  Some of these are only trial programs.  That means that after a certain amount (normally 60 days) of time you will need to buy the product.

Roxio

A dynamic program that does many things as you can see in the picture of the product. You can work with music,Photos,Videos and even burn CDs and DVDs.   Please pick the product that suits your needs.

Photoshop

This is still pretty much the big bang of the industry.  I will just say that there isn’t much you can’t do with this product.  The biggest problem is that it is very expensive.  I would only recommend this product if you are a photographer or if you want to do a lot of editing.  I do use it for photos that I want to put on web pages.

This dynamic program is simple and can do great photo editing. Please be sure you get the version that is meant for your particular needs.

Nero

This is also great.  Again be sure you are buying the product that is for you.  Nero StartSmart is a great product.  It even takes out noise from sound recordings.  The photo editing isn’t real extensive but it is fine if you aren’t real picky.

Here are other web sites that may interest you
SHUTTERFLY
SNAPFISH
SMUGMUG
BLURB Great if you like scrap booking or picture books
Wal-Mart allows you to upload your pictures and pick them up at your local store.  It also has a wide array of conversion options. Several other stores offer similar services.

These are only examples of what is available.  Most of them work similar.  You can normally resize, adjust colors, rotate along with numerous other features in almost all similar programs. Some programs offer the ability to overlay your photo with another photo.  Try to be sure what the capability of the program is before you buy it.

Here is a great opportunity if you like to edit photos, burn CDs or DVDs and much more