Why Is My Computer Not Booting?

Strange and annoying it may seem to you when your computer doesn't boot after you push the power button on it. You may only see a blank screen with no Microsoft Windows logo or your computer manufacturer's sign indicating that something is wrong with your computer. All the hell might have broken loose by now if you were supposed to online chat with an old friend or join an online meeting with your boss or shareholders. It happens with most of us and you are just not alone. To help you troubleshoot your computer boot up problems, here is short (self-explanatory) computer support guide for you.

Step 1

Check if your computer makes the usual beep when it restarts. If it does make the usual beep while restarting, it indicates that it just did a Power On Self Test (POST) and the CPU is just fine. You need not worry about computer and the CPU. You must now check a few other things. Do you hear the fan running or the optical drive spinning (usually)? If you do hear the usual sounds when your computer starts, it may indicate a bad graphics\video adapter (card), faulty RAM, Motherboard, or PCI cards etc.

Step 2

Before you begin, grab your computer manufacturer's user manual (computer support guide) and keep it aside. The next few steps will make you go checking your PC's hardware components. If you are not at all comfortable opening and examining the components, you better contact a computer technical support service. If you think you are okay doing it, continue with the steps. Power off your computer and let it cool for some time. Discharge your body current by touching the unpainted surface of a metal. When done, grab a screwdriver and open your computer (CPU).

The Benefits Of Antivirus Software

There is no doubt that the internet has revolutionised our lives, to the extent that it is often difficult to imagine how we would get by, either a social context or in a business environment, without access to the internet. All of which makes it so much more irritating when our access to the web is adversely affected by a virus which disrupts the operation of our computer, either temporarily or on a more long-term basis.

So what can you do to protect yourself from these kinds of malicious attacks? The simplest solution is to ensure that the device on which you access the internet - be it a PC, Mac or tablet - is protected by antivirus software.

When it comes to choosing antivirus software there is no shortage of choices out there. Each has its own pros and cons and the one you opt for will be determined to a certain extent by personal preference.

These programmes all operate in a similar way. The programme scans the files on your PC or other device, searching for any patterns or other identifiable trends which might be suggestive of a viral infection. To an extent what any antivirus programme is looking for is determined by data which has been extrapolated from viruses which have been previously successfully discovered, which means that it is important to ensure that if go to the bother of running an antivirus programme you have it regularly updated, the better to combat any new, previously unseen or updated viral infections.

Who Do You Trust? Website Security Certificates

We have warmed up to the ideas of banking and shopping online, partly because we understand the technology a little better and, partly because we tend to trust big institutions. But, mostly because more and more brave pioneers began using the new technology without being eaten or suffering other terrible consequences.

We can feel even better about trusting online banking and shopping if we better understand the Internet's definition of trust. On the Internet, trust is established by an organization's reputation but, more importantly by their web site's security certificate.

Do you remember Ralphie's Ovaltine secret decoder ring? He really, really, really had to have it so he could understand the secret radio message! Of course, Internet encryption is vastly more complex but the basic idea is the same.

HTTPS AND SSL

HTTP is the default protocol that your browser uses to communicate with web servers. You have probably seen a web address or URL (uniform resource locater) look like this: "http://www.southsidetech.com."