What? More Facebook? | Inside Your PC

Yes, folks. A bit more on Facebook…

• Facebook: What happens to active users when jobs come back?

“There may be an inverse relationship between jobs and Facebook growth. In other words, more jobs may mean less Facebook time.” Read more..

(I like that optimism.)

Really busy again today, so how about a quick repost of a good article you may have missed.

What The Inside Looks Like…

Today’s article is going to be just a little bit different, and it will be ‘short and sweet’. On several recent onsite repair jobs, I have opened the computer’s side panel and heard the client exclaim, “that’s all that’s in there? I was expecting more.. more.. stuff.” I am always bemused by people’s reactions when they look inside a PC for the first time.
(Yes, there’s a lot of open space inside a desktop PC. Laptop’s are different, and every nook is filled.)

So today – for those of you who have never seen the insides of a computer – I provide two simple photos: inside a desktop, and inside a laptop. (Your configuration will have some differences..)

Fairly high-end desktop (aka “loaded”), yours may not have so much in there..

Inside a laptop

Today’s quote: “Remember, men need laughter sometimes more than food.” ~ Anna Fellows Johnston

Copyright 2007-2011 © “Tech Paul” (Paul Eckstrom). All Rights Reserved.

---

>> Folks, don’t miss an article! To get Tech – for Everyone articles delivered to your e-mail Inbox, click here, or to subscribe in your RSS reader, click here. <<

---

Two items of (possible) interest..

Loyal friends and true of this site have seen me mention a certain other Tech website quite frequently. Bill Mullins posts (in addition to his top-drawer articles, and sometimes articles submitted by Guest Authors) a daily feature he calls “Daily Net News” which is sort of a ’round up’ of news items, other items of interest, terrific downloads, and a section called “off topic”.

I visit his site each and every day, and I make sure to at least scan all the items in his Net News. I am fairly well informed and ‘keep my finger on the pulse’, but I always find something I hadn’t seen elsewhere (or, otherwise didn’t know about).

I invite you to take a look at two items that caught my fancy, and I think you – Dear Reader – might like/find interesting too.
First, click here (it will open a new window) and scroll down to the link titled, “The Top 10 Things We’re Glad The Recession Killed“.
(It is supposed to be humorous, but durned if it isn’t spot-on)

And then click here and scroll (and you will have to scroll a bit, as there are many entries in each Daily Net News) until you come to the entry titled, “60 Selected Best Famous Quotes II“.

Of course, you’re welcome to click on any other item that catches your interest… and, I’m perfectly willing to wager a shiny new copper penny you will find several!

Copyright 2007-9 © Tech Paul. All rights reserved. post to jaanix

Share this post :

It’s a car. It’s a plane. It’s SUPERcar.

Friday’s “must see” video. On March 5th, this.. well, just click the play button and see for yourself…

Copyright 2007-9 © Tech Paul. All rights reserved. post to jaanix

Share this post :

Troubleshooting the Blue Screen Of Death

BSOD’s, spontaneous reboots, freezing, and “incorrect password” lockouts. Bad computer. Bad.

Ah yes, the Blue Screen of Death. I sincerely hope you never see this rascal. The BSOD, or more properly, the Windows Stop Message, occurs when Windows detects a problem from which it cannot recover. The operating system halts and ‘diagnostic information’ is displayed on a blue screen as a series of hexadecimal numbers (there actually are a few humans capable of understanding, and using this information to effect repairs…but as far as I know, they all live in Seattle) which, frankly, will be of little use to the average user. Usually, a simple reboot resolves the issue. But sometimes it doesn’t–you reboot, Windows loads, you get the Welcome screen, and bingo! BSOD. Wash/rinse/repeat. Aargh!!!

If this happens to you, the odds are pretty good that you have (quite recently) added a new device (or card) or memory module to your machine, or installed a program that your machine just doesn’t like.
If it was a module, device, or card, try removing it and restoring your machine to the way it was before the install. If you run for a day or so with no BSOD’s, then you can be fairly sure you’ve found the culprit. It may be that the device is defective. It may be that you didn’t install it exactly correctly [maybe it didn’t “seat” all the way into its slot?], or maybe your machine was being fussy the day you installed? Don’t give up on your new card/device/module just yet. Go to the manufacturer’s Website and download the latest device driver for your version of Windows, and “unzip” and install it (by double-clicking on the downloaded file). Then reinstall your card/device/module–taking extra care to fully seat it, and double check your wires and cables–and reboot. If it is a defective unit, it will not be long before our friend the BSOD revisits…return the unit to the seller (or manufacturer) for exchange or refund.

If you suspect a recently installed application (or…Microsoft Update) is the cause, then use the Add/Remove Programs tool to uninstall it. (XP+older: Start> Control Panel> Add/Remove Programs, Vista: Start> Control Panel> Uninstall a program.) [Note: in Vista, uninstalling Updates is done through Windows Update itself, not Add/Remove.]
If you are unable to get into Windows, reboot and start hitting the F8 key to get into Safe Mode. [For more info, click here] Again, run for a day or two, and if you do not experience any BSOD’s, you’ve (most likely) found the perp. Again, you need not despair and abandon the program. It may have simply been an incomplete or corrupted install that was causing the stop errors. Try reinstalling it, but first make sure that there are no other applications running–turn off your AV, your IM, and close IE. You will soon know whether it is simply an incompatible or poorly written application.

I am going to stop here, but I want to acknowledge that this is far from a complete discussion on all the possible causes (nor cures) for BSOD’s and the other woes mentioned at the top of this post. I will return to this topic again, and I invite your comments and critiques, and suggestions. I close by suggesting you also read my article on the Windows System Restore tool (click here) and reminding you that — should all your efforts fail, my services are available at http://aplusca.com.

Today’s free link: Sandra Lite from SiSoft. This is a benchmarking and system analysis tool that shows you a wealth of information about the workings of your computer, and detects areas that aren’t working as well as they should.

Copyright 2007-8 © Tech Paul. All rights reserved. post to jaanix

Share this post :