AS
REPRODUCED IN ENTIRETY FROM AN ARTICLE BY BILL HUSTED “TECHNOBUDDY”
Do
you hear that chattering sound? Don’t count on it being a bunch of reindeer with a
bad sense of timing. It could be your computer’s hard disk saying goodbye. Once
you’ve heard that mechanical chattering, you can start writing the obituary for
it.
The
hard disk an example of a device that has both electronic circuits and
mechanical parts. You can put hard disks and other gizmos with moving parts at
the top of the list of prime suspects when it comes to PC hardware failures.
Here
are some of the symptoms and possible cures for hardware problems today.
A
lot of what we’ll talk about is based on common sense, which – when it comes to
PCs and life in general – admittedly is an uncommon virtue. For some reason,
really smart people get frozen brains when it comes to PCs, and they abandon
the problem-solving skills developed in life. If you avoid that pitfall, you’ll
find that good sense will go a long way toward identifying and sometimes fixing
minor hardware problems.
Common
sense tells us that mechanical parts eventually wear out, whether you’re
dealing with a washing machine, a nuclear submarine or a PC. So some of the
most vulnerable parts of your PC are the hard disk drives, DVD drives and even
the on/off switch on the front of your
computer.
When
it comes to a hard disk the symptoms are fairly clear. Usually the first sign
is that death rattle – the mechanical clattering noise. Before that happens,
you may find that the computer slows and files either get lost or – when you
try to open them – produce an error message that says the file has been
corrupted. The final blow comes when you turn on your PC and it fails to start
up.
It
will happen to most computers eventually, so try to keep back up copies of your
most important data on CD or even floppy disks.
It’s
not just the hard drive that can give you headaches. All drives are subject to
that same eventual death sentence. With a floppy disk or CD drive, you’ll find
that an ailing drive will have trouble reading the disks you place in them.
There are times when you can use one of the many cleaning disks you’ll find at
the computer store to get them going again.
But
the good news is that unlike a hard disk, a failure of these other drives won’t
cause permanent harm, except to your pocketbook. You don’t lose data when any
of the other drives die. And with a little help from the folks at the computer
store and the manual that comes with them, you should be able to easily pop in
a replacement yourself, or hire someone to do it.
Hard
disk replacement is also possible. But generally, my best advice is this: Those
of you who are competent to replace a hard disk already know who you are. Go to
it. If the idea horrifies you or you’re not exactly sure how to go about it,
it’s probably best to pay the $100 or so for a new disk and then the $45 to $75
a repairman will charge to install it.
While
we’re talking about this high-risk category of devices with moving parts, let’s
briefly discuss the cooling fan. It’s generally at the back of the computer.
Dust can clog
In
the exhaust port, the fan blades can hit the grille or the fan can simply burn
out.
Cleaning
it is easy; just remove the crud. Replacing it is easy, too. But since that
involves opening the case, many users will wisely decide to let a professional
do the job. Since I get nervous when I realize the vast range of computer
ability levels out there, I will state the obvious: Unplug the machine before
you mess with the innards.
Not
all the likely suspects for PC failure have moving parts. One that may
eventually give you trouble is the power supply. You’ll find it in the back of
the computer near or attached to the cooling fan. You won’t have any trouble
knowing when it goes bad, because your computer will stop working. Symptoms
that may warn you of a failing power supply include spontaneous reboots or
freezes and even memory errors.
While
experienced users often consider the replacement of a power supply to be a do
it yourself job, I’m going to recommend you leave this one to the
professionals. I don’t feel comfortable telling all my readers to do this job –
there are safety concerns here, since the power supply connects directly to the
AC mains.
If
you have occasion to open up your PC – whether it is to add memory or to make a
minor repair – take the opportunity to clean out the dust. A canister of
compressed air
(sold
at almost any camera store) will do the job nicely. The circuit board has tiny
connections – called traces – that can actually be short circuited by dust.
Hardware
failures are inevitable. But with a little common sense you can either do it
yourself – or be sensible enough to get someone else to do it for you.