From a user viewpoint, the computer is only as good as the data it contains. If the computer can’t boot up, it’s practically useless. If it can boot up but the files are corrupted and cannot be opened for reading or writing, the file is useless. This happens often enough that data backup and recovery tools are a must with computer users. In fact, it’s a good idea to have two copies of important data, just in case the first backup fails. Data recovery tools make sure that the backup is restored and the user can go back to using the computer in as little a downtime as possible.

You might say that the root cause of data corruption is the hard disk. And of all the various parts of a computer, the hard disk is most prone to failure. There are only so many moving parts to a computer. These are usually either fans or the disk drives. And a hard disk spins much faster than a cooling fan. A slowest hard disk spins at 5,400 RPM, and some expensive high performance hard disks spin almost three times faster at 15,000 RPM.

Aside from the processor, the hard disk generates a large amount of heat. The faster it spins, the hotter the disk. Although the expected life span of a hard disk is five years, with the continuous spinning and the generated heat, disks start to fail after three years of use. Within the first three years of use, hard disk failure in one form or another is expected to occur.

Data corruption can occur due to any of a number of reasons. An electrical outage or a spike can cause data corruption. An improper shut down can also cause data corruption. In most instances the data corruption might not go unnoticed. Unless the file is hit and the computer does not work properly, only then will the problem show itself.

Worst case would be when the hard disk’s master boot record (MBR) is corrupted or a boot sector develops a bad sector. In which case the computer would not be able to boot up and the user is forced to do a data recovery as well as a hard disk recovery.

Any hard disk recovery effort would also be useless if it does not recover the latest data. Part of any data recovery tool kit would be a backup program and procedure. For data backup, the simplest tool is a file copy on a separate disk. This is especially useful for important files. Recovering from corrupted files on the computer is as easy as copying from the remote computer or hard disk.

It would be better however to have a data backup or a data recovery software. A data recovery software can schedule file backups to a tape backup device or a another drive. Windows has a backup software included called Backup.

Data recovery for corrupted files or folders should not be a problem if the data backup is up-to-date. Windows Backup also has the facility to restore data from backed up files.

When the computer fails to boot up, it might be because the master boot record or the operating system is corrupted, or the partition might be lost. For lost partitions or lost boot records, a simple file backup will not suffice. The computer has to boot up first before it can start any file backup.

Some data recovery tools have the facility to recover hard disk partition information. As with regular file backup, the recovery tool needs a backup. To recover a hard disk, either a hard disk as a whole is backed up (called a mirror) or just the partition. Commercial data recovery packages such as DriveClone and Ghost can backup a partition or a hard drive and recreate it to repair the failed hard drive, or to write it to another hard disk or computer altogether. These programs can boot from a recovery CD and proceed to do a hard disk and data recovery.

For larger installations, there are data recovery software from vendors like Acronis and Veritas which can backup multi-volume disks and RAIDs using disk backups and tape drives.

Hard disk failure and data corruption is a serious concern. In cases like these when the computer fails to boot up, or the data could not be read, it helps a lot if data recovery tools are ready, in use and allows easy recovery of data.

A laptop is essential for students and working individuals. Because of its portability, users can write important papers, connect to the Internet via wireless modems, and can even watch movies anytime and anywhere. But without proper care, this machine can break down, and especially, there can be problems with the LCD monitor. Here are some tips that can help you in troubleshooting your laptop’s LCD monitor.

Is there something wrong with your screen? If this is so, then there is a possibility that the LCD (liquid crystal display) backlight of your laptop is broken. The LCD backlight is the source of light that gives you a clearer visual of your screen. Symptoms of LCD damage include:

- Dim laptop LCD

- Flickering screen

- Faint images on your LCD

- No video image

- Faded laptop LCD

A laptop backlight is composed of four parts and these are:

- Laptop inverter

- LCD lamp

- Inverter cable

- Toggle switch

Damage to any of these parts may result to the symptoms stated above. Unfortunately, there is no other way to be sure if one of these parts are damaged without using a tester. Some of the main causes of damage to these parts include age and excessive use of your laptop. Parts such as the LCD lamp usually last for two years minimum.

Aside from the blacklight, it is possible that your LCD screen itself is damaged. This problem can be very serious because the LCD is the most fragile and expensive part of your laptop. Symptoms of LCD damage include:

- Decolorization of your screen

- Appearance of stripes or lines on your screen

LCD damage is usually caused by hard impacts to your laptop. Remember, the LCD is a very sensitive and fragile piece of equipment. Even the slightest amount of pressure on your LCD can cause it to break.

The only way to repair the backlight and the LCD monitor is to replace them. Replacing the LCD monitor alone can cost you around $250 and that is apart from the $120 service fee that most laptop repair companies charge.

Computer networking is very important when it comes to in-house office jobs where the mutual connection of computers constitutes an important part of the whole work. Therefore, networking is an important element in today’s corporate world.

There are many professional technicians who have the to securely install whatever type of network you require. All networking vendors use the highest quality hardware and software to help insure that your network is trouble free so that you don’t have to worry about it. They also troubleshoot and maintain existing networks in homes and offices.

Most technicians are friendly, professional and qualified and will do everything in their power to make servicing your computer or network a positive experience. This means speaking in non-technical, easy-to-understand terms and explaining exactly what’s wrong, what your options are and what the estimated costs are. Computer network vendors and repairers provide support for all network platforms.

Of course, security should be your main concern. It should always be your number one priority when it comes to choosing a company to do your computer network repair. They should be fluent in all security program-related language, and should be able to communicate it in lay terms when needed. That way, you can work with them to decide what is the most efficient and least expensive route to take. However, do not skimp on this investment, for such skimping could hypothetically cost you your entire business in the long run.

Shop arouond for the most thorough and holistic service, and find the best situation for your company and your employees.

Hard Drive Failure Parts

Typical hard disk components that fail include:

Platters Hard disk platters, or spindle, is rotated by an electric motor. The speed of this rotation is measured in rotations per minute (RPM) and the higher the performance of the hard drive…the higher the RPM is which increases the reading and writing of data to the platters. Any surface contact to the platters can cause serious damage to the magnetic strip the contains the data. This includes dust, finger prints, water, and most important of all, the heads of the hard drive. Platter damage is the most serious type of damage to cause hard drive failure.

Heads (Head Crash) When the hard disk is not actively in use, the heads are parked until the hard drive needs to read or write data again. It is when this head moves outside the super thin cushion of air between platters that causes the head to crash and touches the hard disk platter.

Firmware Firmware is the program instructions located on the chips on the Printed Circuit Board (PCB). Each firmware revision is specific to its hard drive type and each hard drive can go through dozens of firmware revisions to increase that particular manufacturer’s disk drive’s performance. The older the hard drive, the more difficult it could be to find a working firmware for that specific hard disk model.

Printed Circuit Board (PCB) The PCB of the hard drive is the electronics of the hard disk that manages and operates the hard drive. If a PCB becomes damaged it is often replaced with an identical PCB with the same firmware on the original hard drive. Typically PCB damage is from water or fire, but there are other reasons why a PCB would fail. And many times a failed PCB affect other aspects like firmware or heads.

Types of Hard Drive Failure

Generally speaking, when a disk drive fails it is due to one of the following causes:

Media Failure Otherwise known as a head crash (as described above), the heads of the hard drive have physically touched and damaged the magnetic coating on the platters.

Mechanical Failure Generally speaking, any electronic failure to the hard drive falls in this category. Fire, water, electrical damage to the hard disk would require ‘parts’ replacement.

PCB Failure As described above, PCB failure falls in the mechanical failure type and typically can be ‘swapped out’ for an identical PCB for that specific hard drive type. Along with the correct firmware for that disk drive, a PCB replacement can be a difficult type of hard drive repair if the hard drive is an older model.

Logical Drive Failure This type of hard drive failure is usually the least damaging to the data. This type of error usually means that the operating system of the computer (or utilities) can see the drive, has marked it as unallocated space, but because the computer’s MFT is corrupted or damaged, can’t read the data. Hard drive failure of this type is not that destructive and the chances of a complete successful data recovery are high.

Types of Non-Mechanical Hard Drive Failure

Other causes for data loss and why data recovery would be required could include the following:

Natural Disasters Extreme weather conditions that are out of our control can make a bad day even worse. Whether the computer was submerged in water due to a flood, scorched by fire or in the proximity of a lightning strike, there is still a chance to recover data from the hard drive.

The Human Factor Accidentally deleting files, formatting the wrong hard drive, and attempting to upgrade you operating system only to have it fail are common issues that come up. Also, as careful as most people are with their laptops, a small drop from the couch to the floor or down a flight of stairs, is the type of forceful jarring to the disk drive that could cause serious damage to the hard drive platters.

Viruses E-mail typically are the way most viruses are spread from computer to computer. Also, visiting questionable websites that have scripts, malware or spyware waiting to comprise your system and put your data at risk. It is recommended to run the most recent anti-virus software to protect your data from this sort of data loss and to reduce the need to require data recovery service.

No app is marketed as being designed to break your phone, and never is this the primary function. However that does not stop many apps from often causing your phone to physically smash resulting in a cracked iPhone screen as a secondary bi-product that we could all do without. How can running an app cause physical damage to an iPhone such as a cracked iPhone screen? Well that’s what we will look at here, as well as precisely which apps are the worst culprits for it.

Firstly, apps can cause a cracked iPhone screen by causing you to throw the phone. They do not explicitly instruct you to do this, but rather the way in which you use them makes it likely. The most famous example was the iPhone app that came out early on which allowed you to simulate hitting a golf ball by swinging it and allowing the built in accelerometer in the phone to estimate how hard and fast it would have connected with the ball. The problem is that the iPhone design has no gripping points and that means that the phone could very easily slide out of the hand particularly when it was forcefully swung. This resulted in a lot of people not only dropping their phones, but actually launching them great distances through the air where they would fall and hit the ground or collide with the wall.

Obviously that’s a fast track to a cracked iPhone screen. Similar apps have been released since with the same problem – such as one that gets you to chop wooden boards like a Karate expert.

Using these apps is possible without breaking your phone, you just need to be careful and to do so with care. That means not lending your phone to others to play the game – just using it yourself (this can otherwise cause an awkward disagreement. At the same time you should invest in a rubber protector for your iPhone that can add extra grip thus preventing it from slipping out of your hand.

Another app that is prone to causing a cracked iPhone screen is the camera. This native built in app is one of the most often used but is responsible for many broken iPhones. That is because it can be difficult to operate – rather than having a physical camera button on the side it instead just has the image of the camera button on the screen you need to touch. This means it instantly takes two hands, and when you’re trying to take a photo of yourself it means fumbling around with the camera.

What you need to do then is to be strict with yourself and not use the camera when you are out and about somewhere unsafe. For instance in a concert do not try and get a photo with your phone. Likewise if you are thinking of taking a photo of yourself or yourself and a friend then think again – it is much better to wait until you have another friend around who can take the photo for you.

Here are some bad situations that I have encountered with customers over the years in regards to poor usage of their disc duplicating and printing equipment. Hopefully you can learn from their mistakes.

1. Set up your Rimage Everest 600, III, or II printer in a dust filled location and on the floor. Warehouses and other dusty areas are good places to get dirt and dust build up on the fans, printhead and other electronic sensors, which will lead to premature failures and downtime. Also choose a room that has no environmental control with regards to temperature and humidity levels.

2. Instead of using genuine Rimage Everest ribbons use generic Everest printer ribbons slowly wear-down your printhead. Printheads for the Everest III and 600 printers cost at least $1200 to replace so it will be no big deal to continually buy them. Even though a printer cleaning kit is available, not taking the time to clean your printheads every 2000 discs will also expedite the replacement process.

3. Use the cheapest CD, DVD or Blu-ray media made by a sub-standard manufacturer. Cheap discs made in China, Taiwan and India tend to stick together which will increase friction on your printhead and cause the printing process to stop. This will waste your valuable production time.

4. Never turn off your Rimage printer or publishing system when not in use. Leaving it on will hasten the need to replace expensive parts or the entire system

5. Use sharp objects like a knife, pliers or screwdriver to try to repair your Everest or Prism printer to clear a disc jam. Ignore the fact that the Rimage thermal printhead is highly susceptible to being damaged by sharp objects and also could cause an electrical short.

6. Throw away the original shipping container and packing foam in case you need to send your machine in for service or repair. Any box and old newspaper will do in case you need to send it back for repair. Also make sure the shipping screw on the Everest printer is in the box somewhere. We all know how careful shipping companies or the US mail is for delivery.

If you treat your Rimage Everest printer poorly and follow the above tips, you will be lucky to get a year of highly of disc production out of your thermal disc printer. No worries, there are many more where they came from as your budget is limitless.

Computer crashes and viruses are certainly very frustrating. Both your time and money will certainly be wasted down the drain if you frequently experience these troublesome problems. As they say, prevention is better than cure. Here are some tips for those who are tired of computer crashes and viruses.

Computers that are frequently connected to the internet are prone to viruses. There are many websites that infect your computer, especially when you are downloading files from unsecured sources. Avoiding unsecured websites and not opening emails and files from people you don’t know is a way to prevent this problem.

You should avoid opening too many programs at the same time. Your computer may not be able to run all the programs at once and it will force your system to crash. This commonly experienced in slow-running computers. If you really need to run all these programs, consider upgrading your machine or buying a new, faster one.

Low disk space can also be a factor. If your computer is full of files and programs, it will certainly run slower than it should and would eventually crash. If you have a small hard drive, uninstall unimportant software and delete useless files, or transfer them to an external memory device to free up disk space.

There are many anti-virus programs available and if you don’t have one installed in your computer, it might be the reason why your computer would easily be infected by viruses. Most virus protection programs offer free trial versions, so you could check out which one would suit your computing needs then decide for an upgrade. Regular updates should be done on your anti-virus software to ensure optimum security.

You could also perform regular checks for your computer’s operating system in case updates are available. Sometimes the problem may be only cause by an unstable system and an update or patch might already be waiting to be downloaded by you.

Registry cleaners and disk defragmenters are also very important tools and a must for every computer. Registry cleaners helps by removing useless registry information, otherwise known as registry errors that fills up your system and cause crashes while disk defragmenters organizes the contents of your hard disk to fix fragmentation. Registry errors and fragmentation slows down your computer and will also lead to system crashes.

Overheating can also cause your computer to crash and this is an issue that some might overlook. Dust can collect in your computer and prevent proper air circulation. This will then cause your computer to heat up and crash. Regular cleaning will prevent this problem and a cooling pad would be a great idea for laptop users.

Computer crashes and viruses, especially when you’re chasing a deadline at work could really be nuisance. So, follow these tips and you are sure to experience less or may even never experience computer crashes or viruses, ever again!

How many times have you found yourself on the computer just sitting there waiting for a program to open or even just for your computer to finish booting up? How many times have you been in the middle of something and your computer either freezes or even crashes leaving you with nothing but a blue screen error. Its problems like these that often times make people either go and simply purchase new computers or to even take it into their local computer repair place and have it looked at by a professional. The truth of the matter is that you can easily restore your computer performance by yourself without any special training and get a slow computer fix.

One of the most common yet least recognized reasons for this type of poor performance in a computer is problems within the entries in a computers registry. Most times these problems come up simply from day to day use, but can also be caused by things such as malware or spyware.

The registry is such an important part of the computer because it stores detailed information of the location of each and every files located on the hard drive. When running properly, all your computer has to do is locate the file it needs in the registry and then go to exactly where that files is on your computer. If there are problems, either missing or corrupt entries it makes locating files on the hard drive much more difficult because the files has to be manually located. In the worst cases your computer may not even boot up. This is why staying on top of your registry is just as important as security software for your computer.

Another common reason for issues with slow computer performance is a lack of available system resources. This is a combination of things, but mainly consists of both the hard drive and systems RAM. One of the best ways you can reduce the load on both of them is to both uninstall programs you no longer use and go into the msconfig and actually turn off unimportant programs from your boot up process. if you are not sure how to do this a system scanner will do it for you.

Not only will your hard drive have more room, but you will have less programs running silently in the background of your computer, eating up small chunks of RAM to keep themselves running in the background. Don’t forget to defragment your hard drive to organize all the files on it, this simply makes sure that all the associated files are next to each other for faster access.

You already have all the tools you need to clean up and defragment your hard drive on your computer. But you will need another program that will effectively take care of your computers registry and system files for a slow computer fix, just as easily as you scan your computer for viruses. You can do this by downloading and running a system and registry scanner which will do the job for you minutes and keep your computer running error free.

Troubleshooting computer hardware problems can be quite complicated especially if you don’t have enough knowledge on computer repair. There are various PC problems faced by users. New computers may work perfectly at first but old ones tend to show signs of wear and tear and experience plenty of troubles. If you want to do basic computer repair, you should read a lot of user repair guides and also read your computer’s user manual to learn about your PC’s specifications.

For computer problems related to the power supply, you should check it as soon as possible and determine if there are irregular voltages coming from the power supply. This may cause short circuit and overheating. Faulty power supplies may even lead to fire so it’s not something to be taken for granted. Symptoms include a burning smell and smoke coming from your computer, frequent hang ups and crashes. You might experience such problem if you have done any upgrade on your system and added new graphics card, disk drives, hard drives, or something else. The power supply tends to be overloaded with the hardware.

To diagnose the power supply, check the connectors first and ensure that all are plugged correctly to the motherboard. The power cable should also be plugged to the power supply. Also check if the power switch is turned on, just in case somebody accidentally turned it off. Examine if the fans are spinning at the right speed. If they are dirty, clean them using a can of compressed air. Next, assess if the cables give out appropriate voltage amounts by checking in the BIOS menu. Generally, normal power supplies provide the following voltages: +5 volts DC, -5 volts DC, +3.3 volts DC, +12 volts DC, and -12 volts DC.

If your RAM is defective, your computer system might be greatly affected. Some troublesome effects are memory error messages, frequent freezes, rebooting, crashes, and refusal to boot up. These are signs for other computer problems, but if you think that the memory is the main cause, you can check some programs to determine the memory’s performance and errors.

A good memory diagnostic program is Memtest86+ which you can download from their website. This memory check test is easy to run even if the operating system does not boot up. You can search for specific instructions on how to use this program with a floppy drive to test your computer’s memory. After performing the diagnostic tests, you will find out how many errors your PC has had. You can try your memory in another computer to check if it’s fine. If it passes the memory diagnostic tests, then it means that your PC is experiencing problems due to another reason.

The iPhone is one of the fastest selling products to ever grace the planet and the number of people that now own one is quite astounding. However, one small design flaw that many people have commented on is that they are an especially slippery phone to hold on to, which can lead to many an accident. Those of us that are really unlucky may even end up dropping our iPhone into some kind of liquid. Read on to find out how to undertake leak detection on your iPhone and what to do if you are a victim of water damage.

Checking for damage

All iPhones have a Liquid Contact Indicator built into them during the manufacture process. This can be found at the bottom of the headphone jack, with models after and including the 3G also having an indicator on the bottom of the dock connector housing. These indicators are activated if they come into contact with any liquid. If your iPhone has come into contact with a liquid of some kind you can carry out a leak detection check my shining a light down into the headphone jack. There is a small dot that will usually be white or silver in colour. If the indicator has come into contact with a liquid then the indicator will turn partially or fully red. The indicator in the dock connector housing can be checked in exactly the same way.

Where you stand

Even if your iPhone is still covered by the Apple warranty you will not qualify to have the phone repaired or replaced free of charge. This is because Apple deems that you have not fulfilled your responsibility to take proper care of the product.

Fixing the problem yourself

If you have undertaken leak detection and found that your iPhone is water damaged there are still options available to you. The first option is to try and dry the iPhone out – most phones will eventually start working again after they have been wet. First put the iPhone in an airing cupboard or boiler room where the air is hot and leave for a day or two. Now use a hairdryer on a low setting to thoroughly dry the item and get some air flowing through the inside of it. Finally you should place the iPhone in an uncooked bag of rice for two or three days, which will serve to soak up any remaining water that is present.

If the above process does not work then the only options available to you are to sell the iPhone for spares or get in touch with Apple and see what they can offer. They may fix the item for a price, or possibly offer you a replacement product at a reduced rate.