FAQ

1. What is a motherboard?

A motherboard is the main circuit board inside your computer that is responsible for things such as transferring data between all the components such as your sound, video and network cards. It’s also where the processor (CPU) and RAM connect into the system. It also has slots such as PCI, AGP, PCI-E etc which all you to install your components in your computer. Many motherboards have built in components like sound, video and network cards. Motherboards will also have other ports such as USB, HDMI, VGA and DVI built in. Newer motherboards will have SATA hard drive connectors while older ones will have IDE connector

2. How do I clean my monitor?

This will depend on what type of monitor you have. If you have the older CRT monitor then it will have a glass screen and be easy to clean. You can spray some glass cleaner on a soft cloth then wipe down the screen and follow it up with a dry cloth. LCD and LED monitors are more sensitive and are not as easy to clean. You never want to put too much pressure on an LCD\LED screen since it may cause damage. First try a soft cloth like a microfiber cloth and gently wipe the screen. If its just dusty then you can use something like a Swiffer duster that is good at picking up dust. There are also special purpose LCD\LED cleaning kits that do a good job of cleaning your screen without causing damage. Just be sure to never spray anything directly on your monitor.

3. How do I upgrade my computer’s RAM or memory?

This will depend on the age of your computer and if you have any available RAM slots on your motherboard. If you have an older computer it may not be easy to find the right kind of RAM for your computer since it’s not all the same and will depend on the type of motherboard you have. You can take out a RAM chip/DIMM and see if it has a sticker on it saying something like DDR3 PC2800 to give you an idea of what kind of RAM you have.

If all your RAM slots are full then the only way you will be able to upgrade will be by taking out some of the smaller RAM DIMMs and replacing them with larger capacity ones. RAM is pretty cheap and easy to replace so it’s a wise investment if your computer does not have enough.

For Windows Vista and up you should have a minimum of 3 GB with 6 to 8 GB being the ideal amount.

4. Should I leave my computer on or turn it off?

There is no right answer to this question but there are some things to consider if you are trying to decide whether to leave your computer on or off. One reason to leave it on would be for instant access rather than having to wait for it to boot up each time you want to use it. If you are constantly on and off your computer all day then you may be better off leaving it on. Or if you have an older computer that boots up really slow or does not boot up successfully every time then leaving it on may be the way to go. Some people say leaving your computer on wears it out faster but they are really designed to be left on. Many computers have been left on for years nonstop with no problems. You can have your computer hibernate or shut down components like the hard drive and monitor after a set amount of time to save energy.

If you don’t use your computer too often then turning it off after each use may work better for you. If your computer is located in a hot room with poor ventilation then you should shut it down after using it to avoid damage from excessive heat. You should also look into keeping the room or computer cooler when it’s in use as well. Occasional reboots are good to “freshen up” your computer if it’s been running for a long time. It will clear out the RAM and reload processes and programs that may not be running as well as they could be.

The bottom line is that it is up to you to decide whether to leave your computer on or off when not in use.

5. When I hit the switch to turn my computer on it goes on for 1 second and then it seems like it looses power and goes off, is there a problem with the power supply, or is it something else?

It could be a power supply or possibly the power switch or even the motherboard. You can bypass the power switch by finding where the 2 pin wire connects on the motherboard and unplug it. Then take a flathead screwdriver and short the connection. That is make contact with both pins on the motherboard at the same time to start the computer and see if it stays running. If so you most likely have a bad switch on the case.

Next I would try the power supply. They are cheap and easy to replace. If that doesn't work it may be that you have a bad motherboard.