The first thing you should do is turn off anything that makes noise in your place, because we need to listen to what our hard drive is doing. So turn off everything but your computer, it’s ok you can keep the lights on in your house. ^_^

Take the side cover off of your computer but keep all the wires plugged in to it, except any peripheral devices like a printer or camera, unplug them. Now get your ear up against your hard drive and see if you can hear any clicking or scraping. If you hear something like this then it is one of the parts in the hard drive that moves.

Either the platters, motors, or copper arm. Turn your computer off at this point and you need to bring your hard drive to your local computer repair shop and tell them what you heard. You need them to advise you on where to go to have Hard Drive Data Recovery done.

This is not an advertising plug in any way but I get all my computer parts from Newegg.com you can read reviews on different brands and figure out what is the best one for you. So I suggest looking up “internal hard drive” on that site and then getting one with a very good rating from other people.
Make sure you know what type of hard drive you need. It is either Sata drive or an IDE drive. The sata cable is usually red and smaller the IDE cable is usually gray and wider. Here are images of both:

IDE Hard Drive Cable

Sata Hard Drive Cable

Make sure you buy the correct cable from Newegg because you are going to need it when you install your 2nd hard drive.

Begin by taking the side cover off of your home computer system. Look for the first hard drive and the place where it is mounted. Usually this mounting place actually comes out and you can add the second hard drive in the mounting area so it is hear the first hard drive. This wil prove useful because if it is an IDE cable, then you have limited room.

Install the hard drive and put them cover back on your computer. Then go into your control panel in Windows and then into administrative tools and make sure the hard drive shows up there. Format that hard drive to start out with.

And now you are done with your installation of your second hard drive in your computer system.

So the hard drive comes in the mail in about 4 days and you want to install it.

can’t find the file Program.exe

or

can’t find file file.exe

where the words program and file are the actual names on your computer of the things your computer cannot find. It can also be one of the components of the exe, like a dependency of the program like for example a .dll file. And it can be followed up with an error message like this:

Error starting program. A required .dll file dll_file.dll was not found.

Where dll_file is the actual name of the .dll file that might be missing or corrupt. So what exactly causes these .dll file errors exactly on your home computer? There a few major reasons:

• An important file is needed by a program that may have been deleted. This will usually happen if a program is uninstalled or removed.
• A virus or spyware program has infected the given .dll and changed it in one way or more
• .dll entries in the registry in windows are corrupt or missing

How Do You Fix The .dll Errors

First, try to uninstall and then reinstall the program that the error message was referring to. This will replace old files with new ones and hopefully replace the .dll file that had the error on your home computer.

If that does not work when trying to detect missing dll files on your home computer then, uninstall any recently installed programs. So anything that has changed on your computer from the time when it worked fine to the point where you needed home computer repair, flag those as maybe problem events, and uninstall those programs. You can always reinstall them later after the .dll problem is fixed.

Then do the same for any drivers or hardware devices that were installed. Uninstall them all and if the dll error goes away then you can go ahead and reinstall them again.

If that still does not work, try a system restore to a point most recent to when the error was not taking place. Restore to a point that you remember where your computer was in good shape. Keep in mind you might need to reinstall programs after the restore has finished.

If all of that fails you should immediately start to backup all important documents that you do not want to loose. We suggest you call your local computer repair shop and see if they can help you or if you know someone who knows how to do home computer repair that is an option also. But do not try to detect missing dll files on your computer many more ways because you can damage to your PC.

Here are some ways to save yourself money of bringing it to a PC service shop, and instead do the home computer repair yourself:

You cannot turn your computer on
Generally it is one of a few things that it could be. The power cord that plugs into the back of the computer is bad and probably needs to be replaced or maybe it came dislodged and just needs to get plugged back in.

You turn on your computer and it freezes before fully booting up
Typically this will happen when you do not have enough memory for your computer. Check with how much you have installed in the DIMM memory slots. Compare that number with how much the software on your computer requires in order to run in a stable environment without needing home computer repair tips.

Your mouse, monitor, disk drive, CD ROM drive, or speakers don’t work
Check and double check every connection on both ends of every wire. You might possibly have to even check that there is not dust on the wires at their ends, if so clean the ends thoroughly. It could possibly be a software issue also where you need to uninstall and reinstall specific software like the audio driver, or video driver. If it’s the mouse, take that apart thoroughly and give it a good clean.

Your keyboard doesn’t work properly
Again, clean your keyboard just like you would something else, clean in between all of the keys. It could have gotten dirt in where dirt does not belong over time as you used it. If the keyboard seems ok but the computer or laptop just won’t recognize it then it may be the connection on the computer. Try a keyboard that is a USB keyboard and see if that works, if it does you know it was the computer’s actual connection and no home computer repair tips can fix that connection

Your computer has an interior grinding noise
It is probably the hard drive making this type of sound. The hard drives spin, they are disks that rotate. The hard drive might crash soon so first back up all of your data right away. It might also be an interior fan that is rubbing up against maybe a wire so check this also.

Come back next time for more home computer repair tips so you can save yourself money and do the PC services yourself.

Like the previous years versions of Kaspersky Anti-Virus, this version was very good at finding and removing threats. I won’t go into what sites I would visit in order to make sure I infected the Windows XP computer nice, but we can say they were not all G rated. And of course I wrote all the sites down and kept a log of it.

After installing Kaspersky Anti-Virus 2009, which did not go all that smoothly to begin with. It kept telling me I had a conflict with Norton Anti-Virus, which has not been on the PC for over 2 years. Probably something in the registry but either case, very annoying. Another annoying thing was it made me manually enter the emailed CD key they had given me, which reminded me of when Macromedia would do the same, I hate that! Copy and paste is our friend let us use it for god sakes.

Next in this Kaspersky Anti-Virus review we’ll talk about the actually scanning for threats or viruses. I was not very pleased with how it did this, or rather how we were notified when things were found, removed, or not found at all. After a quick scan I was very unsure what happened because it had taken me back to the opening window. I later learned its a very tiny report button that I need to click to actually see what was removed.

I hated this because I want the option to remove things and see what they are before it is removed or not removed for me. I like to be driving, not in the back seat just watching. The look or the UI is good and the time it took to scan my computer in full scan and quick scans were very good.

Overall, it does need some work in terms of the functionality and usability for its users. Not every computer user is PC literate as I am, and if I found myself confused at times then well maybe others will also. But overall it is not a bad anti-virus software and still very good. Check in next article, which will be a comparison between AVG Anti-Virus and Kaspersky Anti-virus 2009 Review.

The following are directions for removing viruses from your home computer, whether it be a laptop or a desktop PC. Keep in mind some basic knowledge of your computer will be necessary as we will assume certain things like the location of things inside of Windows.

Step 1) Disable System Restore In Windows

Go to the start menu then control panel and then go to Backup and Restore Center. Now when that window opens click on “create a restore point or change settings. System Properties window should open here. Remove the check marks next to the hard drive which is usually C:\. Another protection window will open, turn off system restore.

Step 2: Install Anti-Virus Software

First remove any previously installed anti virus software that is installed. Do this from the Programs icon in the Control Panel. Now either download AVG AntiVirus or if your computer does not connect to the internet, try and download it on a friends computer and save it to a disk (with updates). Go here for more information on home computer repair and AVG antivirus.

Install this program on your PC in need of Windows Vista virus removal and make sure you do an update right away. Either via the internet or do an update from the disk you saved the program to. Make sure to remove, heal, or quarantine at the least all viruses that it finds and any warnings also.

Step 3: Restart Your Computer

Restart your computer and run the AVG virus scan once again to ensure it did not miss anything and was able to remove everything. Possibly on the restart go into Safe Mode and do the same Virus Scan.

Step 4: Enable System Restore

Go into Start panel then into the control panel and back into Backup and Restore Center. Click on create a restore point or change settings. You will see a System Properties window, check the boxes of you hard drives then click ok. We are almost done our Windows Vista virus removal instructions so just a few steps left.

Step 5: Automatically Update Windows Vista Software

Enable automatic updates and make sure you do a full update of all required components, this is a must here do not skip this.

If your computer you feel is still not virus free and there are problems, you should seek a professional to assist you. If everything seems ok make sure that your AVG antivirus is always running on your computer so you are protected in the future. And if something happens in the future come back and read the Windows Vista virus removal instructions.

I hear many people these days who are using Windows Vista are having problems, well of course they are but specifically with the popup which asks them if they want to authorize certain things. This authorization comes up every time no matter what they choose. Yes I agree that can get annoying!

Some people I read about are even disabling their user account control so that they do not have the authority to run those programs that ask for control, but that doesn’t solve it. All that does is make those programs not execute which is not the goal. Automatic User Authorization makes it so we have to say either yes or no to these programs which we do not want to do. We want the programs to be able to run in the background but we just don’t want to have to say “yes” each time we restart Windows Vista.

There Is A Solution

Fortunately there is some thing we can do to automate this process so we do not have to say yes each and every time we restart Windows Vista. We need to be logged into an account with administrative rights first of all.

So we are trying to get the Automatic User Authorization screen to not display any more so do this. Lets begin with launching the Task Scheduler which we can do by clicking start and typing “task scheduler” in the box and hitting enter. Click where it says create a task link in the panel.

Give it a name there and make sure you run it selecting the highest privileges. Go over o the Triggers Tab and click where that new button is on the tab. At the top now choose “at logon” where the being task drop down is. This will make the Automatic User Authorization screen be effecting by the “logon” event which is exactly what was annoying us!

Now choose an option that says “specific” to the group it will show the current user account that you are on now, and then click OK. Now go for the actions tab and click “new”, and fill in the program that you do not want to receive these notifications for any longer and use any Arguments in there also.

We Are Done Now disabling Automatic User Authorization

There that should do the trick. You are wondering how come it’s just not like this by default, well the answer is short is a security issue. Some programs like spyware or malicious programs will try to execute without authorization so this window gives you the user the option to not let them execute and possibly harm your computer. Changing the start up processes would hurt many existing programs. However accounts that are not administrators cannot access the Automatic User Authorization control like we did so we do not have to worry.

In The Past


Before it was always too expensive and complicated back when laptops cost about $2,000 for a brand new one, and parts were about $500 or more each. When the internet became larger and computer parts started to become cheaper, the prices of laptop parts started to drop alot. Also more people on the internet started developing ways of repairing these expensive laptops and writing very extensive guides about it.

The LCD Screen


The big part of a laptops cost is the LCD screen, even as we speak though that price is falling. Replacement LCD screens can run you anywhere from $140 to $335, but also keep in mind that some larger laptop screens and especially Apple Macbook laptop LCD screens. But doing the research will lead your laptop repair quest in the right direction.

Where To Start


So you know what you are up against but you need to know where to start. Why don’t we start doing some online research to find a guide for your specific laptop LCD screen. Next lets get out our broken LCD screen and do some Laptop LCD screen repair. Take time and read the guide thoroughly. Identify the parts and make sure you have all of the tools.

How To Find The Right Guide


So we need to know how to find the right guide and that it’s right for our version of our laptop. Start with Google and end with Google. Type in the brand of laptop that you have so if it is a Toshiba Tecra Laptop, then do a search for “toshiba tecra lcd screen repair”. Try different variations of that search term maybe with the exact model name used in the terms. Remember also to not just search the first page of Google but to go in to the 2nd, 3rd, and even 4th pages.

So now you are on your way to Laptop LCD Screen Repair just don’t get discouraged and remember if all else fails then you can always get a new screen at the cost of what it would of been like if you had not tried to repair it yourself at no cost what so ever.

Home computer repair is nothing but you protect your home computer on by yourself without any help from outsiders. There are various ways that you protect your computer from these dangerous and some not so dangerous threats to your home PC.

The most important threat when you connect your computer to the internet are viruses. These are the computer programs which are designed with only one purpose and that is to attack the PCs. Some viruses are harmless and some are very bad. To protect yourself from the viruses and the first step to your home computer repair is that you need to have a good antivirus software. There were very many available. Among them there were few which are free to use such as Avast and AVG antivirus, and Antivir. You can actually install any of these antivirus to protect yourself from the dreaded viruses and take the first step on the home computer repair.

The next major threat is spyware. This is also very similar to viruses but the functionality is different. These spywares, as the name suggest, will spy on you when installed on you PC and might transmit your personal info to a server which is located elsewhere. To protect yourself from spywares and second step towards your own home computer repair is by installing a decent anti-spyware software. A good anti-spyware is Spybot Search and Destroy as well as Spyware Doctor, and by the way both are free to use.

Adware is very similar to spyware but only difference is that this will show only unwanted ads when you are browsing the net by way of pop-ups and other sources. To protect yourself from adware and you can install a good anti-adware software. The best that is available right now is Ad-Aware and this is also free. This is your own way to protect your PC with home computer repair.

The best way to protect yourself from hacking is by installing a firewall on your PC. By the way, hacking is accessing your computer from a remote place without your own knowledge. The best free firewall should definitely be ZoneAlarm Firewall.

The first and last and most annoying and threatening issue you could face with a home PC would be viruses, you can actually prevent viruses from entering your home PC by installing a good antivirus program. There are a very good number of antivirus program available in the market, both paid and free. You can install any one as all antivirus programs has their own ups and downs in catching some viruses and omitting some. You should scan your home computer with the antivirus at least once a day if you browse the internet regularly and download lots of stuff online.

Even with this precaution, if your computer has been infected with a virus, the best way to remove it is by your existing antivirus software. But not all viruses can be removed by all antivirus programs. If your existing antivirus program cannot remove the virus present in your home computer then there are alternative ways to do your own home computer repair.

Apart from antivirus programs which you can download and install in hour PC, there are some antivirus programs through which you can scan your home computer online and do the home computer repair yourself without even installing any softwares.
Some prominent and useful online virus finding and removing tools or sites are TrendMicro Housecall, Kaspersky, Bitdefender, and Panda Security. Most of these online virus removal tools are free to use. Some only finds the viruses but some not only finds the viruses but also removes them efficiently without any fuss.

You can visit the respective sites of the above free online virus removal tools and can get your home computer repaired without any extra cost from these dangerous viruses.

This is the best way to get your home PC clean without the need for even having your own antivirus program being installed in your PC and do your own home computer repair.