Computer Repair Tips- Replacing Power Supplies

After the previous blog about basic PC maintenance and you find your desktop computer is still just shutting off after a few minutes then you may want to consider if the power supply is going out. Changing the power supply is not that difficult but safety should be number one in concern.

Dallas' PC Virus Doctors Recommendations:

1. ALWAYS, disconnect the power cord from the computer along with all other USB plugs, monitors, keyboards, the mouse, modem, etc.
2. Remove the one side of the computer that allows you to unscrew it from the back or has a lever for the user to lift and remove the designated panel.
3. Now view the power supply located on the rear computer panel and located against the upper case; the supply is connected by about four phillips screws on the rear panel.
4. If the power supply is rectangular, almost square, then most certainly it follows the 'form factor' and any good power supply with the same wattage rating should work well and fit 'true to form'. If you find two power supplies with similar rating see which one is heavier and choose it.
5. Before removing the old power supply the next step becomes obvious to the most novice computer repair tech: documenting where the plugs go from the old power supply into the mother board, hard drive and other removable drives like a floppy-drive or cd-rom.
6. After documenting the plugs' whereabouts then remove the old supply and replace it with the new power supply.
7. Attach the plugs from the new supply into the motherboard and drives.
8. Replace the cover and plug in all the peripherals.
9. Turn it on.
10. If the computer does not shut down and reboot then one knows it was a faulty power supply shutting the PC down, not software problems.

Another PC tip from PC Virus Doctors' Dallas Computer Repair.

Computer Repair Tips- Temp File Cleaners

#1 PC Repair Tip- Dumping Temp Files

An often overlooked aspect to keeping personal computers running like they should is dumping temporary files. File extensions that may be dumped include:

1. .bak
2. .chk
3. .gid
4. .log
5. .old
6. .syd
7. .tmp

***PLEASE NOTE: PC Virus Doctors will NOT be responsible if you dump these files and things go bad, KNOW WHAT YOUR DOING!

There are many freeware programs that are from good to decent cleaners. Just as always, be aware of freeware programs and malware that may be included. Some good cleaners include CCleaner from Piriform, HDCleaner available from MajorGeeks and other temp file cleaners can be found at SnapFiles in the freeware category. These cleaners are worth the time learning and evaluating how well each cleaner does by running them in different orders every day or every other day.

Temp Files Cleaners and Their Advantages

CCleaner is nice as it has a mild registry cleaner to delete bad registry entries. Users are given the option to backup the registry which is always a good idea before beginning a computer repair. After a few weeks if everything seems like it is opening and executing then the old registry backup can be deleted. CCleaner or Crap Cleaner can be operated with just one touch for temp file deletion and one touch for the registry cleaning minus options provided like backup.

HDCleaner is nice and allows users to add file masks such as .log, once again caution to readers about dumping files. HDCleaner also allows the most recent opened documents to be dumped with a DOD erasing method. This utility also has other great tools such as duplicate file finder where one duplicate may be deleted, the utility has a tool to wipe free space, users can check disk and perform other maintenance/repair from one interface.

Built-in Programs for File Deletion

Also do not forget to [1] dump files by going to start> all programs> accessories> system tools> disk cleanup. Many megabytes or even gigabytes can be deleted/dumped from there. [2] Firefox and Internet Explorer users should go to "Tools" on the upper toolbar on the browser and find where the temp file deltion is located, very important.

Users would be surprised at the difference of performance after this simple 'computer repair' which is not really a repair but a maintenance issue. Temp file deletion is one of the first items that PC Virus Doctors' Dallas computer repair performs before malware removal. This eliminates other issues that can complicate a diagnosis that may not be malware but just temp files all over the drive that number in the thousands if not hundreds of thousands with volumes in the gigabyte range.

The easiest computer repair/maintenance/tuneup tip: dump temp files!