Take Care of Your Computer Part 5 -- How to Work on Your Own PC

How To Take Care of Your Computer for Little or No Money 6 Part Series Part 5 – How to Work on Your Own PC – Buying and Replacing Hardware, Adding Memory – Where to Buy the Parts - Who and How in Fixing Your Machine if It’s Broken - Clean Your Computer, Before the Dust Kills It – Question and Answer Session Ted WhittemoreThe Working Computers Blog & Kinnelon Computers www.kinneloncomputers.com

Who is Ted Whittemore?• Owner of Working Computers and the Working Computers Blog• Has worked in computer services industry since 1987 building, servicing, and selling computer systems, software and maintenance

www.kinneloncomputers.com

What’s the Plan for today?• Talk About Buying and Replacing PC Hardware• Where to Get What You Need• How to Add Memory, Replace a Power Supply …• How to Clean a PC – a Dirty PC can Fail or Die• How to Hire Someone to Fix a PC, What to Pay• Answer questions and solve problems*All of the subjects covered are also in articles in the Working Computers Blog, @ www.kinneloncomputers.com

Before We Deal With These Issues• Feel free to ask specific questions about the topic we are covering• Please save general questions for the end

I Don’t Want to Do Work on MY PC Why Should I learn This Stuff?• Knowledge is Power –• At Least You Will Know What the Job Is• You May Decide That an Easy Job IS Worth Doing Yourself• Lose the Fear of Opening Up the Box• You Will Have a Better Idea of What You Are Hiring Someone Else to Do …

I Do Want to Work on My PC – What Can I Do Without Killing Myself or My Computer?• You Can Replace Basic Parts that are Easily Removed and Replaced• You Can Upgrade Parts – Video Cards, RAM, etc.• You Can Clean It• Always Disconnect the Power Cord!!!

Where Can I Buy PC Parts? How Do I Know What to Buy?1. The 2 Best Places are Newegg and Amazon.2. Both have a great selection.3. Always look at Newegg first – it’s organized better4. Both have user reviews of the product – discount the nutcases.5. Use the Reviews to Help You Decide, as well as Price and Product Info

Buying a PC Part for example, a Blu-Ray Drive1. Start with Newegg – go to BR Drives2. Determine the Drive You Like3. Copy the Model # to the Clipboard4. Go to the Amazon Site – Paste Model #5. Compare Price and Availability6. Choose

Newegg

Copy Model # to Clipboard

Enter Model # in Amazon Search

Amazon Newegg Comparison• Roughly Comparable in this case• Amazon has no tax and can offer free delivery $100• Newegg has a cheaper price that does not include NJ sales tax, or delivery $90• Choose based on your preference

We Break Here to Do a Hands-On Demo ofOptical Drive Replacement, and Look at theOther Parts of a PC, the Power Supply, the Drives, the Expansion Cards, Memory, Fans, Cables, etc.We Will Also Demonstrate Proper Cleaning of both a Laptop and Desktop PC

Inside a Modern PC Case Motherboard CPU Fans Heatsink RAM Opt. Drive Hard Drive Video Card Other Exp. Cards Cables

What Have We Learned about Desktop PC Construction???• Desktop PCs are Modular• They are made up of mix- and-match pieces that can be interchanged – within limits• Replacing a dead component is easy• Upgrading is a little harder but doable – more expertise about compatibility is required

What Can the Average User Replace? Easily: Some Difficulty: Don’t Do It! Optical Drives Hard Drives CPUs Fans Video Cards Cables Memory Power Supplies CPUs are delicate, & require a special application of thermal paste, and a careful mating with a heat-sink and fan assembly that needs to be done by a pro Boot Hard Drives require OS installation and/or re-installation of the OS Video Cards require Driver Installation and rebooting as well as Display Resolution Adjustment

Principles of Cleaning Your PC1. Work Outside if Possible2. Use a Hairdryer or a Vacuum Cleaner with the hose reversed3. Remove clutter from inside the PC4. Blow from the Center of the Case towards the Outside5. Blow out unused Expansion and Memory Slots6. Blow out the Power Supply from both openings7. Blow out intake and exhaust filters and openings

So You Want Somebody Else to Work on Your Computer• Your Choices Run to:• Local Shops and the Techs Work There• Or, National Chains, i.e., Geek Squad, etc.• Which is Better???• That’s the Problem – Neither is Better.• The Work Done is Only as Good as the Service Person Doing It

How Do I Know if the Computer Person is Good? 1. That’s the Sad Part – You Don’t 2. With the Chains You are Essentially Trusting that They Have Automated the Process to Take Competence and Intelligence Out of It – It’s All Programmed 3. With a Local Store, You Either Know Who Is Working On Your Machine or You Don’t and If You Don’t You Are Playing Russian Roulette. 4. What Do They Charge??? 5. There are Different Prices for Different Services, but at the End of the Day, Prices Run About $100 per Hour with the National Chains for On-Site Work

How Do I Make Sure I Get the Work I Pay For?1. Understanding Your Computer and Its Construction Puts You in Charge of Its Repair2. You Determine What You Think Is Wrong3. You Discuss the Specifics of the Repair with the Service Person4. You Agree on the Extent and Limits of the Work5. You Get an Estimate for the Agreed Upon Work

Summary• Do Not be Afraid to Open the Computer• You Now Have a Basic Idea about How to Replace or Upgrade Components• You Should Check Out and Compare Prices for PC Hardware on Newegg, Amazon, and also Mwave.• Read the User Reviews• Clean Your PC

Where to Find More About this Subject• This Presentation and all links will be up on the Working Computers Blog shortly – you do not need to take notes if you don’t want to.• These Topics and a lot more are covered on the Working Computers site, along with links to software and sites for easy downloading.• Remember, it’s all at www.kinneloncomputers.com

June 14th Thursday 7PM Next Talk• Dis-Infecting a PC Taken Over by a Wild, Live Virus – RealTime Demo• Backup Software – Installing, Configuring, Scheduling and Testing Microsoft Backup (Free with Your OS), and Free Disk Mirroring (Cloning) Software – Live Demo• As Always – Ask Your Questions/Open Mike

Questions??

Please Assess Seminar• There are Assessment Sheets for this talk available on the table, and I should have already handed them out – Please take a moment to tell us what you think and give us any suggestions you may have.• Thanks!

www.kinneloncomputers.com

Contact Information• Ted Whittemore – Working Computers in Kinnelon, NJ – http://www.KinnelonComputers.com – 973-838-2368 – Ted@amgpi.com

Take Care of Your Computer Part 5 -- How to Work on Your Own PC

by Ted Whittemore on Jun 05, 2012

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