How to Sync a Mobile Phone With Your Computer

How to Sync a Mobile Phone With Your Computer

Mobile phones have the ability to store a lot of useful information available at your fingertips, which is a blessing in today's fast-paced world. Like any device that stores information, you will want to back up your mobile phone in case it ever gets lost or broken.

1). Figure out the make and model of the cell phone you own. This information is usually on the rare side of cell phone. You can open the battery compartment and check the information on the sticker inside.

2). Select your method of syncing. You can either use a syncing service which is offered over the Internet or you can download syncing software onto your computer. With syncing software or services, you can enter or edit your data via the computer using a USB cable.

3). Choose the right software for the syncing process. There are many different software packages available on the Web. Make sure that you buy software that is compatible with your mobile phone and computer.

4). Find the USB cable that is compatible with your mobile phone. Check phone documentation for the right USB cable.

5). Connect the USB cable according to the instructions.

6). Look for the "PC sync" menu on your mobile phone. The PC sync menu is most likely located in the "Utilities" menu of your phone.

7). Select the "Send" option from your phone and wait for the data to transfer to your PC. When the send is complete your data in your PC and mobile phone is synchronized.

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What is DVI Port

What is DVI Port

DVI Port (DVI stands for (D)igital (V)ideo (I)nterface)

DVI is a new form of video interface technology made to maximize the quality of flat panel LCD monitors and high-end video graphics cards. It is a replacement for the P&D Plug & Display standard, and a step up from the digital-only DFP format for older flat panels. DVI is becoming increasingly popular with video card manufacturers, and most cards purchased include both a VGA and a DVI output port.

DVI Formats

There three types of DVI connections:

1. DVI-D (Digital)

2. DVI-A (Analog)

3. DVI-I (Integrated Digital/Analog)

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How to install a Network card

How to install a Network card

Installing Network Card

1). Power down PC and remove the AC power cord and the computer case.

2). Find an available Peripheral Component Interconnect (PCI) slot on the motherboard and remove slot insert if one exists.

3). Carefully remove the network card from its static-proof plastic envelope, and slide it into the slot.

4). Seat the card in the slot firmly with gentle pressure along the length of the card, especially right about the slot itself.

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Types of DVD Drives

Types of DVD Drives

There are many different types of DVD drives that are used on computers. Laptops computers use different drives than desktop computers. Also, different technologies allow your DVD drive to do different tasks.

Desktop Internal DVD Drives

Desktop internal DVD drives are exactly what their names infer. They are designed for mounting inside of the computer to allow easy access to the drive whenever you may need it. Often times, desktop DVD drives are mounted using a bracket on the front panel of the computer case. These types of drives connect directly to the logic board of the computer using two main types of connections: IDE and SATA. Internal desktop DVD drives commonly use a 5.25 inch form factor.

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How to Replace a Laptop DVD/CD ROM Drive

How to Replace a

Laptop DVD/CD ROM Drive

1). Turn off the laptop and unplug the AC adapter. Remove the battery.

2). Turn over the laptop. The CD drive is normally held in place by only one or two small screws, located towards the middle of the computer. Sometimes, there is a picture of a CD drive next to the screw. Many times, the screw is underneath a label, necessitating the removal of the label.

3). Remove the screws.

4). With the screws removed, the old drive should slide out easily. Slide out the drive.

5). Slide the new drive into the case, and replace the screws.

6). Boot up the laptop. Install driver software if necessary, and make sure that the drive is recognized by the operating system.

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How to replace laptop hard drives

How to replace laptop hard drives

1). Don't rush into replacing the hard drive before troubleshooting the problem. The first step to take when working on any laptop or notebook computer is to remove the battery. Even if the power button is well protected, like under the closed lid of the screen, it doesn't mean that the power might not come on due to a mechanical jolt or a short when you're working on the innards, so the best bet is to just get the battery out of there.

2). Laptop batteries generally require two actions to remove them. In this case, the lock is on the front edge of the case, and it slides to the side. After the lock is released, the battery slides back just an inch or so to release from the connector, after which it's lifted out and removed.

3). As we lift the lid over the hard drive, you can see the long plastic tube that serves both as a screw guide and as a mechanical support. It should be immediately apparent that the hard drive isn't going anywhere without the cage either being removed first or coming with it.

4). Closer inspection shows that this hard drive mounting system relies on the cage being attached to the hard drive before the hard drive is installed in the laptop. The only things that secure the hard drive and cage in the laptop are the power and data connector on one end, and a spring steel tab on this end.

5). Once the locking tab clears the stub projection that holds the hard drive cage in place, the end still has to be lifted up till it clears the bottom of the laptop. There's simply no room within the laptop bay to pull the hard drive back and disengage from the mating connector. One the cage clears the laptop; it takes a bit of force to pull the hard drive out on as shallow an angle as possible.

6). The first step in replacing the hard drive is removing the cage from the old drive, which is held in place with four screws. Make sure you note which way the cage goes on the old drive before you take it off, because it will need to be mounted on the new drive the same way, even though more than one orientation may be possible. You can see the corner of the new drive in the picture, in case you thought we only had one:-)

7). Once the replacement hard drive is mounted in the cage, the whole assembly can be reinstalled in the laptop. Again, keep the drive on as shallow an angle as possible, i.e. close to the bottom of the laptop, as you slide the pins into the connector. The close tolerances on the laptop bay usually make it impossible to mate the connector improperly.

8). If you worry about prying the drive against the connector when depressing the end of the cage so the tab clears the locking ear, you can hold the top edge of the cage out as you pry the tab in, as I'm doing here. Laptop hard drives aren't terribly rugged; they're so light and slim that I hate putting any more mechanical stress on them than I have to. Replacing laptop hard drives is a bit nerve racking for people who haven't done it before, but as long as you don't use an unreasonable amount of force, it should work out fine.

9). We replace the lid and use the long screw to reattach it to the bottom of the laptop. The emergency restore CD that comes with the laptop is used to reload all the software on the PC, but your data is gone unless you backed it up. The shiny circular thing is called a platter, on which the data is magnetically recorded and read by a read/write head on the end of the arm (currently in its park position away from the platter). The noise you here when your hard drive is operating is the arm swinging in and out over the surface of the platter, which spins under the read write head to provide access to all the usable locations on the drive.

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External Sound Card

External Sound Card

Sound cards are usually internal devices that plug into peripheral component interconnect, or PCI, slots. Computers have limited internal space and a predetermined amount of PCI slots. A user can still upgrade a sound card even if there is no space left inside the computer case by using an external sound card. External sound cards may operate slower than internal cards because they are physically located further from the CPU, but this change in speed may not be noticed by average users.

How to Install an External Sound Card

1. Read your computer's documentation to find out if the computer's current sound card must be disabled before installing a new one. If so then you must disable the sound card before installing the External Sound Card.

2. Consult the sound card documentation. The sound card may have a disk to install drivers. The documentation will explain if the drivers should be installed before or after the card is installed. Many external hard drives are plug and play USB devices, which means your computer will automatically recognize the device as soon as it is connected and powered and may not require any separate drivers to be installed.

3. Plug the sound card in. External sound cards are typically not externally powered. USB devices which require external power should be powered before connecting to the computer via the USB port.

4. Install applications for the device. You may not need to install drivers because the computer's operating system should automatically install drivers unless they were installed in a previous step; however, sound cards are often bundled with software pages including programs such as sound editors, media players or audio optimization software.

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How Does Flash BIOS Upgrades Work

How Does Flash BIOS Upgrades Work

Your manual should state whether the board has a Flash BIOS (most modern ones do), but if you don't have a manual, or just want to make sure, look under the sticker and look for these codes on the chip (xxx just denotes the capacity):

# 28Fxxx - 12v

# 29Cxxx - 5v

# 29LVxxx - 3v (not often seen)

# 28Cxxx - EEPROM (like Flash, but needs a special device - Flash works in the motherboard)

# 27Cxxx - EPROM, so you need UV to erase it and a programmer to rewrite it.

# PH29EE010 - SST flashable ROM chip

# 29EE011 - 5v flashable Winbond chip

# 29C010 - 5v flashable Amtel chip

All the software you need will fit onto a boot floppy, which should naturally be checked for viruses. Aside from DOS, you will need the upgrade utility and the data file for your motherboard. Both will be obtainable from the web site or BBS of either your motherboard or BIOS manufacturer (try the former first). It will usually be a self-extracting compressed file with a .bin extension. The disk should have the DOS boot files only - no memory drivers! However, you might want to include an autoexec.bat file to automate the process, in case you have to do the job blind.

If something goes wrong, Award BIOS chips have a small amount code hardwired into them that will allow at least a boot from a floppy, although you will have to use an ISA video card, as the code only supports that type of bus. Intel motherboards have the same arrangement, and the code is activated by moving a Flash Recovery jumper, which activates a small amount of code in the boot block area (which, luckily, is non-erasable). Put the jumper in the recovery position, start the machine with a bootable diskette, listen to the speaker and watch the floppy access light (there’s no video available, due to the size of the code). When you hear a beep and the light comes on, the recovery code is being reloaded. When the light goes out, switch the machine off, put the jumper back to its normal position and continue.

The Flash ROM requires relatively high voltage to burn it, and this is usually set with a jumper on the motherboard (it may be marked 12v or 5v). If you don’t have a jumper, it will probably be done by the Flash software. The chips concerned can only be flashed for a limited number of times, and not a high one at that.

Take note of the current settings, so you can reinstall them after you have upgraded - turn off the System BIOS Cacheable option as well. In fact, it's a good idea to save your BIOS contents to a floppy as soon as you get your motherboard up and running. If updating a portable, run it from the mains, as a failure during the upgrade will cause severe problems. You may need to set a jumper or switch on the motherboard to allow the ROM to be written to, or to enable Boot Block Programming, if you want the official phrase.

Boot from the upgrade floppy, and run the utility. The command line will include the name of the utility and the file for the upgrade, typically:

flash p5_aw.14g

In the above example, flash is the name of the utility (flash.exe) and p5_aw.14g is the file containing the code for the BIOS; in this case, it's for the P5 motherboard, which has an Award BIOS (aw), revision 14g. Always save the current BIOS, if asked, so you can recover later. DO NOT TURN THE MACHINE OFF DURING THE UPGRADE, even if there is a recovery procedure-just repeat the process. If the problem persists, reload the BIOS you saved earlier. It's not a good idea to use another manufacturer's flash software, but, if you have an emergency, it would appear that Award's (awdflash) works with all except Asus boards, and MR's 29C010.exe is good, too.

Once everything has finished, check for a successful upgrade with the BIOS identifier on the screen, turn the machine off, reset the jumper, reboot and enter all the previous settings (though you may have to accept the defaults). Reboot again.

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How to replace the CMOS battery

How to replace the CMOS battery

If your computer is losing its time or date settings, or you are receiving a message CMOS Read Error, CMOS checksum error, or CMOS Battery Failure, first attempt to leave the computer on for 24 hours. In some cases this can charge the battery and resolve your issue. This often resolves CMOS battery related issues when a computer has been left off for several months. If this does not resolve your issue follow the below steps.

Locate your CMOS battery

 When inside your computer make sure you're aware of ESD and all it's potential dangers.

Open the computer case and find the battery on the computer motherboard, verify that it will be accessible and that it can be removed. Most computers today use a coin cell CMOS battery as shown in the image to the right.

 If you are unable to locate your CMOS battery you will need to refer to your motherboard or computer documentation and/or contact your computer manufacturer for additional assistance in locating it.

Obtain battery information

Unfortunately, most manufacturers will not list the exact type and model of your CMOS battery; therefore, once you have located the battery, write down all information about the battery (Voltage, chemistry, wiring, and packaging). If possible, remove the battery and take it to the location you plan on purchasing a new battery from. The part number for this battery for most computers is CR2032.

Removing the battery

 When inside your computer make sure you're aware of ESD and all it's potential dangers.

If you're computer is using a coin cell battery similar to the above example picture. Removing the battery is relatively simple. Simply use your fingers to grab on the edge of the battery and pull it up and out of the container holding it. Some motherboards have a clip holding the battery down. If your computer has this clip you may need to use one had to move the clip up and the other hand to pull the battery out.

Unfortunately, not all CMOS batteries are removable; some manufactures will only allow a replacement battery to be added. If you're not using a coin cell battery and are not able to determine how to remove it refer to your motherboard or computer documentation and/or contact your computer manufacturer for additional assistance in removing the battery or how to insert a new replacement battery.

Users with computers that do not have removable batteries only options to install a new battery will most likely also need to set a jumper when adding the new battery into their computer.

Insert the new battery

Once you have purchased a new battery, remove the old battery (as instructed above) and replace it with the new battery.

Enter CMOS values

Once the battery is replaced turn on the computer and resetting the CMOS values to the defaults. After the values have all been entered make sure to save the settings before exiting. Many CMOS setups allow you to press a key (such as F10) to save values and exit all in one action.

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How to install Heat Sink/Fan

How to install Heat Sink/Fan

Today’s processors are running quite hot. Advancements are being made to make them run cooler at higher speeds, but the importance of a high quality heat sink and fan cannot be overstated. PCs that are not properly cooled can be quite unstable, or at its worse, it may not even boot properly.

It used to be that you could attach a heat sink and fan to your processor directly and not worry about it. Today, though, processors run too hot to do this and expect a reliable PC. One must use heat sink compound to seal the gap between the heat sink and the top of the processor.

Some heat sinks have a rubber heat pad on the bottom of them. In these cases, you don’t really need to use heat sink compound because the rubber pad will create the seal. It should be kept in mind, though, that if you are using a heat sink which has been used before and had a heat pad, that heat pad is now likely melted in the spot where the previous processor contacted it. In these cases, you cannot use the heat pad again as it will be ineffective. Instead, you need to clean the old rubber pad off of the heat sink using a non-abrasive cleaning compound.

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Smartphones Cross Into Dual-Core Territory With LG Optimus 2X

Smartphones Cross Into Dual-Core Territory With LG Optimus 2X

South Korea's LG Electronics unveiled the LG Optimus 2X, a smartphone with a dual-core processor.

This uses Nvidia's (Nasdaq: NVDA) Tegra 2 processor, making for faster, smoother Web browsing and a better multitasking experience.

The Optimus 2X will be released with Android 2.2; it will be upgradable to Android 2.3 later.

Optimus 2X Tech Specs

The Optimus 2X will offer 1080p high-definition video recording and playback with HDMI (High-Definition Multimedia Interface) mirroring.

This will let users run the videos on external displays at full HD quality. It will also allow a console-like gaming experience on external DLNA (Digital Living Network Alliance)-compatible digital device, such as HD TVs.

The Optimus 2X will be able to connect wirelessly to external DLNA devices.

The phone includes an accelerometer and gyro sensor. It also has a micro-USB port. The phone has a 1500mAH battery, LG said. It has a 1.3MP front-facing camera and an 8MP rear-facing camera.

Other Optimus 2X features include a 4-inch WVGA screen, and 8GB of memory expandable to up to 32GB using a microSD card.

Optimus 2X's Heart

The Optimus 2X uses a 1GHz Nvidia Tegra 2 processor. This is claimed to be the world's first mobile dual-core CPU. It is a dual-core ARM (Nasdaq: ARMHY) Cortex A-9 CPU.

The Tegra 2 includes an ultra-low power GeForce graphics processing unit (GPU). This lets it offer up to two times faster Web browsing and up to five times faster gaming. The GPU also includes what's claimed to be the world's first mobile 1080p HD video processor.

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IPS Technology in LCD's

In-plane switching was developed by Hitachi Ltd. in 1996 to improve on the poor viewing angle and the poor color reproduction of TN panels at that time. Its name comes from the main difference from TN panels, that the crystal molecules move parallel to the panel plane instead of perpendicular to it.

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How to Install an ATI Radeon Video Card

How to Install an ATI Radeon Video Card

ATI Radeon video cards are high end dedicated graphics cards produced by AMD (Advanced Micro Devices). ATI Radeon cards are used primarily for computer gaming and playing HD video, as many cards have HDMI and DVI ports to connect to HDTVs. To install an ATI Radeon card, a computer must have a PCI express slot, and the appropriate power connector for the card.

 

To install the ATI Radeon Video Card, follow the below steps:

1. Turn off the computer and unplug all the cords.

2. Open the case by unscrewing the screws on the right hand side of the case. This will release the side panel covering the motherboard.

3. Locate a PCI express slot. This slot is longer than the other expansion slots (PCI and AGP slots), Some motherboards have two PCI express slots.

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How to Check Network or Wireless Adapter Driver Status in Windows 7

Its is advised to check network or wireless adapter driver status in Windows 7 after installing the driver in order to make sure it works well before trying to connect to wired or wireless network. This avoids facing network connectivity problem due to incorrect or problematic driver.

To check Network or Wireless Adapter Driver Status

1)    Go to Start and click on Control Panel.

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How to install and Setup a SATA Hard Drive

This article will show you how to install and setup a SATA Hard Drive without any hassle

This article is applicable for Windows 7, Vista and Windows XP.

Warning

Always remember to discharge yourself before touching the HDD. This is done by touching the metal inside the case with you hands, as showed in the picture below

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How to Lock a Drive to a Specific Letter

Information

This tutorial will show you how to lock a drive into a specific letter

Most external hard drives will switch to the earliest available letter. This can be a problem if you want to create a shortcut to a file on that drive and use it after disconnecting and reconnecting the drive.

METHOD

• Plug in your drive
• Open Disk Management
• Start > search "Computer Management" > Open Computer Management > Storage > Disk Management
• Right Click on the drive in question > Change drive letter and paths > Choose Drive Letter You Wish To Use > OK
• Unplug your drive
• Plug you drive back in, it should still be assigned to that letter.

Tip

It's best to use the first available drive letter, or first consecutive set of drive letters in the case of multiple partitions

This tutorial is for Windows 7, Vista and Windows XP.

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How to Customize your Power Button on the CPU

Information

This tutorial will explain how to change the start button in your computer to another button of your choice.

This article will work on Windows 7, Vista and Windows XP.

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How to Change the Displayed Name of the Processor in Windows 7, XP, and Vista

INFORMATION

This short tutorial will teach you how to change your computer's processor's name. For example, before my computer's processor's name was displayed as Core 2 Duo T9600 @ 2.80 Ghz. After the simple hack, I changed the name to i7 @ 2.80GHZ. The processors new hacked name doesn't have to be a name of a real processor, you can name it something silly!

This tutorial will work on Windows 7, Vista and Windows XP.

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Acer ICONIA

Not so long ago mobile computing devices with touch screens were only found in science fiction. Now Acer presents ICONIA, a new concept device set to add a brand new tablet experience, combining the versatility of a conventional 14” form factor with a unique dual-screen layout and highly intuitive all-point multi-touch functionality, which means you, can use all the fingers of your hands to navigate ICONIA.

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Driver Verifier - Enable and Disable

INFORMATION

Driver Verifier monitors kernel-mode drivers to detect incorrect function calls or actions that might corrupt the system. For Windows 7, Driver Verifier has several features that did not exist in earlier versions of Windows, that detect new classes of driver defects, and that provide information for debugging these driver defects.

Warning

If Verifier flags a critical driver, it could leave your computer unbootable. Make sure you have created a system restore point and Windows 7 installation DVD or repair disc.

This article is meant for Windows 7, it may or may not work on Vista and Windows XP

OPTION ONE

To Enable Driver Verifier

1. Start typing verifier.exe into the start menu, and open Verifier.

2. Select "Create custom settings (for code developers)", and hit Next.

3. Make sure Standard settings, Force pending I/O requests, and IRP Logging are selected, and hit Next.

4. Select "Select driver names From a list", and hit Next.

5. Click on "Provider" at the top to sort the list by manufacturer. Select all drivers not provided by Microsoft Corporation. The only other drivers that do not get selected are amdxata.sys, and secdrv.sys.

6. Press Next, and OK to the resulting window.

After a reboot, driver verifier should be enabled.

OPTION TWO

To Disable Driver Verifier

1. Start typing verifier.exe into the start menu, and open Verifier.

2. Select "Delete existing settings"

If you cannot get into Windows to turn off Verifier, try using Safe Mode.

If you still cannot get into Windows, then boot up the Windows 7 disc and do a system restore.

This article is meant for Windows 7, it may or may not work on Vista and Windows XP

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