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FREQUENTLY ASKED QUESTIONS |
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How can I get
the latest BIOS update for my CUSTOM BUILT computer?
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You can find them
by going to the manufacturer’s site to download the latest BIOS. |
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Where can I get the latest drivers for a
Creative sound card?
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You can find them
by clicking on the site below:
http://www.americas.creative.com/support/welcome.asp?rd=download,
then choosing your selected device to get the newest driver |
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Why won’t my CD burner work?
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There are many
possibilities that play into why a CD-RW will not burn. It could be related to
Windows corruption, a corrupt burn software or a defective drive. First thing to
do is to uninstall and then reinstall the burn software that you use. Try
different burn media, check with burn software manufacturer to see if the type
of media is compatible, such as TDK blank CDR’s are compatible with Roxio
Adaptec EZ-Creator. Update the burn software. Simply reseat the cables. The last
step before replacing the drive would be reinstalling your operating system.
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I have a virus. What should I do?
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If you have found
the virus from anti-virus software, and it is quarantined, or is deleted, most
often you do not have anything to worry about. If you found a virus and could
not remove it, there are only two solutions: if you have a restore disk, you can
use it to restore your system back to the factory setting. However, all files
will be deleted on your hard drive. If you don’t have it, you will need to
format your hard drive, and then reinstall the operating system. It will take a
little longer time loading Windows and all the drivers In some cases, the virus
can be found in the boot sector. In those cases you would need to delete the
partitions on the hard drive, and then repartition and format it.
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I cannot connect to the Internet. Who do
I call?
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If the problem is
that you cannot get a dial tone. Please contact us at tech support. If you are
connecting or getting error while connecting, please contact your Internet
Service Provider first. They maybe experiencing problems and are able to resolve
the Internet connection problem faster. Before contacting us, make sure all the
connections are correct and intact. Check to make sure that you can get a dial
tone from the phone jack, uninstall and reinstall drivers. If you are getting a
port busy or open message, please refer to system restore FAQ.
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What
programs do I need in my start up group?
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With 95, 98, ME
you can remove everything except for anti-virus software and scan registry. With
XP you can remove everything except anti-virus software. In both cases
anti-virus software is advisable but not absolutely necessary.
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How do I change the display size of my
system?
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Right click on your desktop, left click on
properties, left click on settings. Choose the screen size that
you want.
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How do I install a new CD-RW (CD Burner)? |
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ANSWER: The first step would be of course to open the case.
Check to make sure that your existing CD-ROM has a ribbon cable that has two
connections spots. If not, you will have to purchase one that can connect to
Optical drives. Also, you will decide which cd-rom will be the master drive and
the other will be the slave drive. There is a jumper on the back of the cd-rom.
Changing this jumper will set the cd-rom as master or slave. If your case comes
with slide rails, they will be mounted on the case. If not, put the drive into
the slot, then mount with the screws or drive rails. Now you are ready to
connect the drive to the power source. You will want to make sure your power
cable is disconnected. You can find an extra power source cable hanging from the
power supply. Look for a red, yellow, and two black cables. Then connect the
thin gray ribbon cable to the drive. Make sure that the lower drive is connected
to the middle of the cable. The top drive is connected to the end of the cable.
That’s it.
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How big is my Hard Drive?
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Double click
on “My Computer”, Right click
on Local disk C: and then left click on Properties. You will see
how much free space, how much used space, and total disk space.
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What causes non-system disk error?
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If you have a non
bootable floppy disk in your floppy drive. You will receive that message when
booting up. All you need to do is take out the floppy disk and strike any key to
continue to boot from the hard drive.
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How do I format my Hard Drive?
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If you have a
Windows startup disk or one of our emergency boot diskettes. You can format your
hard drive. Simply put in the floppy and restart your system. Follow the on
screen prompts. For the Windows start up disk, you will need to type in format
c: and press y to confirm. Notice, all information on your hard drive will be
lost.
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What type of Modem do I have?
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If you go into
your Device Manager, you can see what Modem you have. For Windows 95, 98, or ME,
right click on My Computer, left click on
Properties, then left click on Device manager. For Windows 2000
and XP, right click on My Computer, left click on
Properties, left click on Hardware, left click on
Device manager. Once your are in device manager, then click on the plus sign
next to modem. To see what modem you have, simply look at modem properties by
going into control panel and double click on Phone and Modem |
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How do I perform a clean install of
Windows XP?
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Boot to the XP CD,
follow the prompts to delete the partition and then format with NTFS quick.
After it is done, it will automatically load Windows files to the hard drive.
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How do I do a system restore with my
operating system?
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For Windows
ME and XP, click on Start, click on Programs, click on Accessories, click on
System Tools, click on System Restore, follow the prompts, and choose a bold
date prior to the problem occurred. For Window 98, click on Start, click on Shut
Down, click on Restart in MS-DOS Mode. Once you have. C:\WINDOWS\>, then type
in cd command and press enter. You will see C:\WINDOWS\COMMAND>.
Then type in "scanreg /restore" and press enter. A list of backup dates will
show on screen. Choose a date before the problem happened and press enter. After
it has restored to that date, restart your system. |
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When the system is booting up, there
isn’t any image but it keeps beeping. What is the beeping?
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It is most likely
a part that is damaged or loose. The first thing to do is turn the power off on
the system. Unplug the power chord. Then open the case. You will need to reseat
all the cables and cards. Most likely the beeps and then no video are caused by
memory or video card. So double check to make sure that those cards are intact.
If you have more than one stick of memory, try only one stick. Continue to try
all the sticks to rule out just one or more being bad. Refer to the motherboard,
or main board manual to determine what the beep code is. Listen carefully to the
pattern. It clearly will tell what type of error message it is.
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My computer doesn’t keep time. What is
the problem? |
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If you have
Windows XP, the chances are the problem is caused by the software. You can go to
the
http://www.support.microsoft.com website and
then get the patch to fix the time problem. If you do not have Windows XP, it is
probably your motherboard battery. You can replace the battery on the system to
see whether the system is able to keep time correctly.
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Why is my computer shutting off
repeatedly? |
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: If you are
getting video during start up and the computer restarts by itself, then most
likely it is the processor. The best thing to do is to disconnect every thing
from the back of the system and try it without any peripherals. If the problem
persists, leave only the video card and monitor connected to see whether the
computer will stay on. If the problem is still present, try reseating the memory
and disconnecting the CD-ROM drives. If all in vain, bring your system in to
Martin Computer Solutions for repair.
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My system is slowing down. What can I do
to speed it up? |
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You can go to
“add/remove programs” in Control Panel, and remove any added programs that you
no longer need or use. After removing unwanted programs, restart your system.
Sometimes, you could have too many commands in the startup causing the conflict
and slow down your system. Click start, type msconfig in run. Go to Startup to
uncheck some of the commands, and press “apply” to save and then restart your
system.
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Why doesn’t Windows recognize my 2nd
hard drive? |
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If your system or
BIOS sees the additional hard drive but Windows doesn’t, chances are that you
haven’t partitioned the drive yet. You can use the emergency boot disk to go
into Fdisk to partition the drive. When you are in Fdisk, choose 5, then enter.
If there isn’t a fifth choice, it indicates your system doesn’t see the hard
drive. You will want to check the cables or the drive. After choosing 5, switch
to the second drive listed. That will be your 2nd hard drive. Then press enter,
press enter 2 more times, it will start to verify the drive integrity. After it
has reached 100%, if will ask you if you would like to use maximum disk space,
press y to confirm. If not, select the size of the partition you prefer. When it
is completed, restart the system. Once in Windows, you should see the additional
drive. Then you can proceed to format that drive. |
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My modem cannot connect to the Internet.
It says that the port is busy or opened. How do I fix the problem? |
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The easiest and
quickest way to fix this is to do a system restore.
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Why does my display only show 16 colors?
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There is a problem
with your video driver. Either your video card is not working, or the video
driver is corrupt or missing. Try to install your video card driver first. Go to
Device Manager, and then click on Display Adapters. If it says standard VGA
graphics adapter, then you don’t have a driver installed. You will need to
reinstall the driver.
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© 2008 – Martin Computer Solutions |
