How to Check the Speed of a USB Flash Drive
Many people don’t realize that all USB flash drives are not created equal. Depending on the type of memory they have, their speeds can vary greatly. Being in IT, I have accumulated a small collection of these drives and have needed a way to test them to see which ones are worth using. I have [...]
How to Find Drivers for Unknown Devices in Device Manager
Yesterday I reinstalled Windows on a laptop for one of our users at work. When the installation was complete, I popped in the driver CD to begin the process of installing the drivers that Windows didn’t install. For some reason the CD only contained two of the eight drivers that I needed. Normally, tracking down the right driver can be a huge annoyance, especially when your devices are showing up with generic names like PCI Device, Video Controller, System Device, or Unknown Device. But with the help of a little utility, I was able to find all of the drivers that I needed saving me lots of time and frustration.
How to Assemble the Ultimate Tech Toolkit
It’s never fun when you show up to work on a computer and you don’t have the right tools. Unfortunately, this has happened to me a lot. With the experience I have gained, I would like to show you what you need to assemble the ultimate tech toolkit so you are always prepared to fix a computer.
How to Test a Power Supply Using the Nspire Power Tester Plus
After getting tired of taking power supplies into our local tech shop to be tested, I purchased the Nspire Power Tester Plus. It is very cheap, easy to use, and gets the job done quickly. With it, you can test 20Pin or 24Pin Power Supply Connectors, P4 Power Connectors, Molex Connectors, and Floppy Power Connectors. This is also one of the few testers for this price that has the ability to test S-ATA Power Connectors. Although this walkthrough is specifically for the Nspire Power Tester Plus, I’m sure that the following information can also be applied to other power supply testers as well.
How to Fix a Stuck or Dead Pixel
Stuck pixels usually show up as small red, blue, or green dots on your LCD monitor and can be very annoying. The good news is that they can be fixed. In this article, I will give you instructions on how to get rid of them yourself without having to send your monitor off to [...]
How to Make an Ethernet Patch Cable
Making an Ethernet patch cable is easier than most people think. I am going to share with you one of the best tutorials that I have ever found on how to create one. Just follow the steps in this video by ViewDo to learn how to create your own.
BIOS Beep Codes Desktop Tent and Pocket Guide
I have put together a list of beep codes for the three largest BIOS manufacturers, AMI, Award, and Phoenix that can be folded and set up as a tent card for your desk or used as a pocket guide. I have also provided links to the manufacturer’s websites where I obtained the codes. [...]
Determine Memory Type Without Opening The Computer
With so many different types of RAM these days, purchasing a memory upgrade is not as easy as it used to be. Since there are so many different types, you will want to make sure you know what you need before you place your order. I would like to show you some quick [...]
How to Recover Data from a Crashed Hard Drive
If you are a tech, then you probably know that hard drive failures are inevitable. Chances are that sooner or later it will happen to someone you support or possibly even you. Even with a successful backup, you still may not have files that were created or modified after the last backup. [...]
How to Permanently Wipe All Data from a Hard Drive
My previous job was at a state university. Before sending our old computers off to auction, we had to wipe all hard drives according to Department of Defense 5220-22.M standards. This was to ensure the next owner would not be able to recover any sensitive files that were stored on the computer even [...]
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