Do-it-yourself computer repair - practical advice. Do-it-yourself computer repair - practical advice How to repair a computer system unit

Sometimes, your computer may freeze due to software or hardware problems, in which case, you need to understand what is causing the problem. Notice at what point your computer freezes. You may have connected a new device, such as a printer or scanner; In such a situation, a driver conflict is possible. If the problem appears after adding new hardware, it may be due to lack of power or overheating. If you experience this type of problem, then follow the instructions below to fix your computer.

Give your computer a rest. If you leave your computer on all the time, then very often, you can solve the problem by unplugging it for 30 seconds. By turning off the voltage to the motherboard, you reconnect the hardware devices and clear the computer's memory.

Make sure your computer is not overheating. You will have to look inside the computer. Remember that before you open your computer case, you need to unplug it. If you have long hair, then use an elastic band. Remove any jewelry that might be in your way. Also, try not to wear clothes that can generate static electricity, as a small spark can ruin the internal parts of the computer and cause irreparable, difficult-to-solve problems.

Open your computer case and check the temperature of the metal parts. If they are hot, then most likely your computer is overheating. Carefully inspect the fans and blow any dust out of them. You can use a clean rag to clean the covered areas. Remember: Before you do anything, you must disconnect your computer from the network.

• If you are using more than one hard drive, try not to install them close to each other to avoid overheating. To install a hard drive in a wide slot that accepts devices such as CD-ROM or DVD-ROM, purchase one from any computer store.
• Cleaning the fans is a good preventative measure, even if your computer doesn't develop problems.
• Before you close the case, check the wires and make sure they are connected. If you need to reconnect the video card or RAM, then “do not press too hard on the motherboard,” as this may damage it.

1. Check the drivers for your devices. Very often, while downloading and installing updates, Windows may install the wrong drivers for your devices, which as a result can lead to computer freezes. You can check the status of your drivers in Device Manager. Disconnect USB devices, if any are connected. Turn on your computer to check its functionality. If it works, great; if not, you can restore your computer to an earlier configuration. System Restore will roll back your computer to the previous driver build.

In general, and if so, then it comes to loading the operating system. If these steps are successful, look for signs of failure in the operating system itself. Observe the behavior of the computer and try to formulate the problem as concisely as possible. Try searching for descriptions and solutions to similar problems on the Internet. Surely, you are not the first to encounter such a problem.

The result of your search should be an understanding of the severity of the breakdown and its source. At a technical level, problems most often cannot be eliminated without direct intervention, but, nevertheless, carry out special tests of the equipment. For each computer component, be it memory, video card, hard drive or anything else, there are special utilities that allow you to diagnose the problem. If you find a breakdown, try replacing the problematic device with a similar one. This should solve the problem.

At the software level, problems also occur quite often. For example, a computer can be damaged by various viruses. Fortunately, in most of these cases, computer treatment occurs with little effort. Use the LiveCD assembly, from which you can boot bypassing the hard drive and will be able to repair your computer using programs preinstalled in the assembly. The most widely known assemblies of this kind are Alkid Live CD and Hiren's Boot CD, which contain many tools for diagnosing and restoring the system.

Video on the topic

Sources:

• Why doesn’t the computer turn on and what to do in this case?!

Daily use of a computer implies a gradual depletion of the resources of the computer itself. You can feel the so-called “aging process” when the operating system freezes or other problems occur. To a large extent, the reason for such freezes lies in the gradual failure of some parts that make up the system unit.

You will need

• Electric soldering iron, solder, rosin, new capacitor.

Instructions

Those capacitors that are located on the motherboard are less impressive in size. They are barrels that are located vertically on the motherboard. In order to find out the health of a particular capacitor, you need to take a closer look at it. The top of the cylinder is the cap of the capacitor. If this cap is swollen and not flat, then this capacitor should be replaced soon.

Use a soldering iron to remove the damaged capacitor. Do not forget that all operations with the internal devices of the system unit must be performed only after turning off the power to the entire computer. Dip the heated soldering iron tip into rosin and place it against the contacts of the damaged capacitor. After you remove it (there may be several of them), go to the nearest electronics store. Show the seller all non-working capacitors and buy new ones.

After purchase, you can begin installing new capacitors. Use a heated soldering iron: dip its tip in rosin and run the tip along the legs of the new capacitors. Take the capacitor in your left hand and the soldering iron in your right. Each capacitor has a pin designation. Place the capacitor on the board so that the “pluses” of the capacitor and the motherboard are side by side, in the same position.

Take a few drops of solder with a soldering iron and solder the joint. After soldering all the capacitors, connect the computer to the network and check its functionality.

Video on the topic

With a computer, like with any technical device, problems will happen sooner or later. Sometimes the car becomes completely unusable. What to do if an irreplaceable tool breaks?

The computer is out of order: what to do and who to contact?

Firstly, if a problem occurs with your computer, you need to determine the type of problem itself: perhaps the problem can be solved without wasting any money or precious time.

If you observe errors or “bugs” related to the operation of the operating room (“blue screen of death”, other errors related to the BIOS environment, or banner viruses popping up on the desktop), then it is not at all necessary to go to the service center or use the warranty.

Often the cause of such problems is viruses or user actions that lead to such errors. The best and 100% working way to solve such problems is to reinstall the OS.

To reinstall the OS, you will need a disk or flash drive with the so-called “setup” of the OS, as well as minimal skills in working on a personal computer.

If neither one nor the other is available, you can turn to the Internet for help: download a “pirated” OS on the network, and then transfer it to a flash drive or disk (if you have another computer). Otherwise, you can turn to a neighbor or friend.

If there is neither a disk with the OS nor a person who has knowledge about the process of reinstalling the system, you must contact the service center of the manufacturer. This, of course, will cost extra money and time.

Preventing computer health

In order to avoid problems with a computer or laptop, you need to perform a set of very simple steps that will help increase the “shelf life” of the machine.

A common cause of computer malfunction or complete hardware failure is overheating of one or another part. Overheating occurs for two reasons: due to lack of cooling (broken cooler, too much dust, etc.), or due to an unsuccessful attempt to “overclock” the processor, video card or other component of the computer.

Firstly, you should clean your computer every three months: this will reduce the load that occurs naturally due to dust lying on the surface of a particular part.

Thus, the popular “overclocking” of a processor or video card is carried out only by experienced specialists, and not by amateur users. To improve the performance of a part, you need to have knowledge of the OS and the PC components themselves.

The most common reason for OS failure is that the system is littered with viruses. To prevent the operating system itself from breaking down, you need to do regular global scanning of your hard drive for viruses or, even better, install and activate any antivirus that has a real-time scanning function. Although such a program will slow down the system, it will increase the security of your data.

In this section, we will look at how to repair a computer yourself. First of all, let's come to an agreement that computer repair actually consists of two independent procedures: identifying the cause of its inoperability ( diagnostics) and, actually, the stage of troubleshooting ( repairs).

How to repair a computer? This is a question a person often asks himself when his faithful iron “friend” suddenly refuses to turn on or begins to “freeze”, spontaneously reboot, or detect any other defects in its operation.

Remember? First things first: DIY computer repair begins with diagnosing the problem. From a visual examination of the “patient” :) With time and experience in this matter, some strange feeling appears, which can be roughly compared with intuition. Are you starting to “feel” computer hardware? :)

You must also understand that computer repair is (quite often) a banal replacement of one or more of its inoperative components. This is, in fact, a large-modular reassembly of it. It also happens that you need to sit on it with a soldering iron, but more on that a little later :)

Naturally, in order to successfully repair a computer, we need spare parts. Moreover, the more there are, the better. Sometimes it happens (especially with older equipment) that one replaced part works great on one computer, but does not work on another, or vice versa. In my case, there are no problems with this: there are enough different “hardware” in the work warehouse, choose any, but what to do at home?

I can give advice: it’s trivial to collect everything that comes into your field of vision (a processor that was left after the motherboard burned out, “unnecessary” due to an upgrade, a RAM module, an outdated video card that won’t “run” a new game etc). I think you understand me? I can assure you that over time, with this approach, you will have a sufficient collection of various spare parts and components at home that can be used to repair your computer.

Over time, you will absolutely easily be able to assemble yourself from such parts, for example, a second computer (especially for tests), organize your own local mini network at home, and in general - get the necessary basic experience of “tinkering” with computer hardware. For example, I now have three fully assembled computers at home, connected into a small network, and there is always the opportunity to assemble several more from what is stored on special shelves.

What am I getting at with this introductory article? Moreover, the question of how to repair a computer cannot be effectively resolved without a sufficient number of spare parts. This is a very important point! Have you ever walked into the assembly and repair department of any small computer company? I assure you that there you will see a very wide variety of components that often help the guys there successfully diagnose computer malfunctions.

At the end of our introductory material, I would like to note that before repairing a computer, we (as banal as it sounds) will need to rid our “patient” of the dust that has accumulated in it. It must be said that sometimes it happens that this procedure itself replaces the entire repair :) For this purpose, an old (Soviet) vacuum cleaner, switched to a mode not for blowing in, but for blowing air away from itself, is very suitable for us. Simply unscrew the “trunk” of the vacuum cleaner from the front and screw it on from the back.

I wanted to supplement the article with some practical material, otherwise it turned out to be a lot of letters and not enough specifics. I would like to introduce (those who don’t know) you to such a wonderful program as “” (you can download its version for 32 and 64-bit systems from the link).

Don’t think that the program will not tell you how to repair your computer, but it will significantly facilitate some aspects and practically allow you to “look” into the system unit without opening it. Well, here I exaggerated a little, but just a little :)

What is so special about the CPU-Z program? Firstly, because it does not need to be installed. It runs immediately in RAM. Its main advantage is that it will show us complete and detailed information about the main elements of our computer:

1. processor, its connector type (socket);
2. motherboard (separately with information about its “northern” and “southern” microcircuits);
3. we will be able (without opening the case) to determine how many RAM slots are installed on the motherboard, which of them are occupied and what is installed in them;
4. Data on the graphics adapter (video card) is displayed separately;

As you can see, there is a whole basket of advantages. And all this happiness fits into 2 megabytes! Let's take a closer look at the program, which will be very useful to us, even if not in the process of repairing the computer itself, but at the stage of collecting data about it.

After launch, we see the following window:

This is the first tab called "CPU" (processor). Let's look at it in more detail:

• The “name” field is the model of our processor;
• “Code name” “Max TDP” - the code name of its core and the maximum power consumption in Watts;
• “Package” - name of the processor socket (slot or socket);
• “Technology” and “Core Voltage” - what technological process (45 nanometers) is used and the voltage on the core;
• “Specification” - the full name of the product and its clock frequency (2.80 GigaHertz)
• At the bottom of the screenshot, the system bus clock frequency and the characteristics of the first and second level cache are indicated;

Let's look at the "Mainboard" tab - motherboard.

• The “Manufacturer” field indicates the manufacturer (Asus);
• “Model” is the full name of the board model;
• "Chipset" - chip manufacturer (Intel) and its model (G41). This - " north bridge" chipset;
• "Southbridge" - data about " south bridge";
• Section “BIOS” - provides data about the motherboard chip of the same name;

• The “Type” line tells us the type of RAM (DDR2) and the mode of use (dual-channel);
• The “Size” field displays its full volume installed in the system;
• The “Timing” section shows the frequency at which it operates (Frequency) and its various delays (timings);

And let’s look at another screenshot - a very useful tab “ SPD"(Serial Presence Detect) or - "sequential detection circuit".

It is remarkable in that it gives us the opportunity, by opening the list under the inscription “Memory Slot Selection,” to “see” how many RAM slots are installed on the motherboard (in this case, two: slot#1 and slot#2). This greatly simplifies the situation when, for example, you need to quickly determine whether it is still possible to add a module to the computer and whether it has free connectors for this? We don't need to open it for this.

Below is detailed information on each slot separately. You can see which chips are used, which manufacturer, and the serial number of the product (I once used this number to check the additional characteristics of the Corsair branded module on the manufacturer’s website). Again - operating frequency, operating voltage (Voltage).

Now - let's move on to practice and find out how to repair a computer if it breaks down?

Hello, it's been a while since I wrote on my blog. It’s a lack of time, or a lot of things to do, or a spring mood, or maybe I’m just looking for “excuses.” Apparently, we need to find a way to “kick ourselves.” Perhaps you should read some book on motivation. Okay, let's move on to the post itself.

Since my blog is dedicated to the topic, I simply had to write this post. I think the situation is when the computer just won't turn on familiar to every PC user. What to do in such a situation? You just need to read my article and take a couple of methods to note. I am sure that the answer to this question has already been written thousands of times, but I know that useful information is never superfluous, and I will try to contribute.

Perhaps someone will want to immediately take the computer to specialists, but there is no need to rush, I sure that in half the cases you can fix it yourself. Just imagine in 50% of cases you don’t have to spend at all not a penny for repairs!

I will give a short list of steps that will help you, if not fix your computer, then at least identify the problem. Knowing what exactly is faulty is already half the battle; you can try to replace the part yourself or still take the computer to be repaired, but be sure that they will not “put noodles on your ears.”

So let's look at 2 options for computer failure:

• the computer does not start at all;
• The computer starts up, but there is no image on the monitor.

Let me make a reservation right away that there is no universal repair algorithm that is 100% suitable for any computer. My article is more of a guide to actions that even an unprepared user can take to repair his desktop PC.

Option 1. The computer does not turn on (the coolers do not spin, the indicators do not light up).

Let's take the path from simple to complex.

Checking the power supply

First, you should check the electricity in the outlets. Yes, yes, don’t be surprised, but many people don’t think about this basic action. This is especially true for apartments with separate electricity circuits for lighting and sockets. That is, the lights in the house may be on, but the sockets may not work.

Then we be sure to check all connections from the outlet to the power supply itself, since the surge protector or UPS may be turned off.

The power supply went into protection

Quite often, the computer refuses to turn on after a power outage. The fact is that all modern power supplies have a protection function against voltage surges or short circuits. In such cases, it simply “goes into protection,” that is, it does not supply power to the motherboard.

To bring it back to life, just unplug the power cord from it for a few seconds (10-20 seconds), then plug it back in and try to turn on the computer. It is very interesting to watch the surprise of users when this method works =)

If this time everything is quiet, then don’t be upset and have to arm yourself with a Phillips screwdriver. First of all, remove the left cover of the system unit.

Disable everything unnecessary

After we get to the computer components, we just need to carefully inspect the motherboard and other components. If you do not see any signs of overheating or other visible signs of a malfunction, then we try one by one turn off power to the hard drive and optical drive, you can even remove the RAM, which will help eliminate their malfunction. In addition, by turning off the components one by one, we reduce the load on the power supply, which can also cause a malfunction (this is written a little below). After each disconnected part, we try to turn on the computer, if it eventually works, we try to return the components to their places, finding out which part is causing the malfunction.

I almost forgot, pay special attention to the capacitors on the motherboard, if they are swollen, they need to be replaced. If you have no experience in soldering components, it is better to contact a service center.

This is what a good and swollen leaked capacitor looks like.

Checking the power and reboot buttons

After disconnecting the components, you should try to disconnect the front panel of the computer to prevent malfunction or sticking of the power and reboot buttons themselves. To do this, you need to find a connector on the motherboard that is connected to 3 or 4 thin wires from the front panel of the case. Typically, such a connector is signed as “ f-panel", and the connectors for the power or reset buttons are " power sw" And " reset sw" respectively. You just need to pull these connectors out of their places, but before that it’s better to remember how they were located.

After disconnecting the button connectors, you need to try to close the contacts of the power button with a screwdriver (indicated as power sw or +pw- on the board itself), as in the photo below!!! Be careful not to short-circuit anything unnecessary, as this may lead to undesirable results.

In my case, I bridged the 3 and 4 upper left contacts. On the motherboard designation they are signed as “ +PW-»

If after this procedure the computer does not turn on, return the button contacts to their places and move on to the next step.

Checking the power supply

If the basic steps do not help, we can assume that the power supply is faulty. It’s good if you have a spare unit at hand, then we simply connect the power supply to the processor and motherboard from a new power supply unit; if there is no spare unit, then we try to test the voltage of the installed one. How to do this, I wrote in the article How to check the power supply.

Quite often, the cause of a malfunction of the power supply is swollen capacitors, for the replacement of which a service center will charge about 500 rubles.

Turn it on on your knee

Let's assume that all the previous steps did not produce results, then you can try to turn on the computer on your “knee”. What is the essence of this method?

You need to remove the motherboard from the case, having first disconnected all the wires from it and unscrewed several bolts (usually 6 or 8). Thus, we will receive a motherboard with an installed processor, cooler and RAM. You also need to connect the wire from the monitor to the video card, which will have to be plugged into the connector if there is no built-in one. After the motherboard is removed, connect power to the processor and the board itself. That is, we must reproduce the process of assembling a computer, only outside the case.

Then you need to put it on cardboard or any other non-conductive surface and try to “start” it by closing the contacts with a screwdriver, as described above. Do not place the motherboard on carpet - be aware of static electricity!

If this method worked, then you need to look for a problem when assembling the computer inside the case. For example, sometimes the cause of a malfunction is a bolt lost during assembly, which gets between the motherboard and the case and, accordingly, closes the contacts on the back of the board.

If none of the above methods have made the computer work, then you need to prepare yourself for one of the most unpleasant breakdowns - replacing the motherboard. Of course, this should be done if you are confident that other components are in good working order. It’s good if the model is not too old and you can buy a new one with similar parameters at a component store. Quite often it happens that it is not possible to find a new analogue, then there are two options:

1. buy a used board (which I do not recommend);
2. buy a modern motherboard with replacement of the corresponding components (processor, RAM, cooler).

Option 2: The computer turns on, but nothing on the monitor

We rule out a malfunction of the monitor itself

As a rule, on working monitors, an orange/yellow or red indicator should light up when turned on, and after a signal is received from the computer’s video output, the indicator changes its color to green or blue. If you are not sure how the monitor works, then you can check it by connecting it to another computer or to the video output of a laptop.

Quite often, the cause of monitor malfunction is a dead backlight. This malfunction can be diagnosed if with the computer on try turning the monitor off and on again. If the “picture” appears for 1 second and disappears, then the monitor backlight is faulty. Alternatively, you can also try looking at the screen from above from a higher angle. In some cases, you will be able to see a barely visible familiar image, which will also indicate a malfunction.

Checking the video card

If we are confident that the monitor is working properly, we proceed to inspect the system unit.

Of course, the first thing you should do is check the integrity of the video cable connection. If there are no problems with this, then the first thing that comes to mind in this situation is a faulty video card, but checking its performance is quite problematic if there is no integrated video card or a spare one. Therefore, in such cases, the simplest thing would be to check the RAM, and leave checking the video card for later if nothing else helps. You can also ask your friends for a video card and try to run it with it. The only condition is that the video card connectors must match, and it is advisable not to take a very powerful one, since your power supply may not have enough power.

Checking RAM

I already wrote an article about how to test memory modules using the MemTest program, but such a test is suitable for cases when the computer spontaneously reboots or goes into BSOD.

In a situation where no image is displayed on the monitor, you need to try removing all memory modules. If they are absent, the computer should emit a continuous squeak. If you hear this, this is very good and means that the computer is getting to the point of checking the RAM, which means that most likely the problem is in the “slats” themselves. In this case, you should try installing the modules one by one and find out which of them is causing the failure.

Resetting the BIOS

Reason for resetting BIOS There may be unsuccessful efforts to overclock the computer system by the user or installation of incorrect settings. One way or another, this simple action will help avoid many problems.

At the next step, it is also advisable to make sure that the power and reset buttons are not stuck. How to do this is written above.

As you can see, any user can perform all these actions independently. I really hope that my tips will help you fix your computer. And only if none of the above actions bring results, you can give the computer to specialists for a more thorough study of the problem.

When our trusty iron “assistant” suddenly stops turning on or begins to “stupid and freeze,” reboot spontaneously, or blue screens constantly pop up. Then we will have to take our system unit to a service center or we will have to independently repair the personal computer. Do-it-yourself computer repair should begin with diagnosing the malfunction using special utilities and programs; a little intuition and special diagnostic devices will also not hurt.

Dust and dirt inside the computer often cause problems in its operation, and sometimes a complete failure of the entire system. It is difficult to give recommendations on the frequency of cleaning, since it greatly depends on environmental conditions and the design of the PC system unit. I recommend removing the cover at least once a year and looking inside the system unit. To remove dust, it is advisable to open both covers.

To remove the covers, they need to be moved back a little. Cleaning the inside of the computer can only be done using the dry method using a small brush and a vacuum cleaner. The size of the brush is no more than 20 mm and it is better to use it with a flat working part and a hair length of 30-40 mm, so that it can freely penetrate the fan blades.

The system unit is placed on a table or flat on the floor, after first removing the power cord from the power supply connector. The remaining wires can be disconnected, but not necessarily, if their length allows. When cleaning from dust, first of all you need to pay attention to the cooling system and processor fan, since the radiator very often becomes clogged with dust, dirt, and hair, this can cause the processor to overheat. You also need to clean the motherboard and all the fans and heatsinks on it.

Another critical area is the video card, many of which have their own axial fan. Sometimes so much dirt gets packed under it that it stops and burns out because of this, and most likely the video card will go the same way. It is better to remove it and clean it thoroughly.

Sometimes the cause of operating system glitches is also contamination of memory modules, especially those that are closer to the processor.

Do not forget that during operation the power supply fan accumulates a huge amount of dust. It is even advisable to unscrew the power supply, unscrew the cover and clean it with a brush and a vacuum cleaner, and then assemble and install it in place. But if you are afraid to make connections, then you can simply fold the power supply on the wires and remove the cover.

If you are too lazy to bother, then you can at least suck out the dust through the ventilation holes using a vacuum cleaner at maximum power.

Never wipe the dust inside the system unit with a cloth, especially a damp one. Do not use sharp objects and do not lose anything, especially various metal objects inside the system unit.

Many people have a large black box on their computer desk, called the system unit of a personal computer. Let's open it and figure out its structure and filling.

The central processing unit, or CPU, is the heart of any computer or laptop. It is he who executes all commands sent by the user or the operating system, processes all information and controls all computer devices.

The principles of the design and operation of the motherboard are described. From the article you will learn what connectors are on the motherboard, how to check it and find out what exactly the problem is, as well as some secrets for repairing the motherboard yourself.

CPU-Z– a program that reveals detailed information about the processor, memory, cache and motherboard available in the computer.
Easy Recovery- for data recovery and diagnostics of hard drives and others

Some users have difficulty connecting a regular computer system unit. Sometimes, due to connection errors or a poorly inserted connector, the computer may refuse to work at all. In general, the operation of connecting a system unit is not at all difficult, but there are some specific points in which it is easy to make a mistake.

The easiest way to make sure that the power supply is working is by replacing it with a similar one; we’ll find out how to do this and then how to repair the old one by reading this article

Personal computer power supply - designed for uninterrupted power supply to the entire system unit and all its components. Therefore, the failure of this unit completely de-energizes the computer and it usually stops turning on. A malfunctioning computer power supply is the main cause of various freezes, blue screens, and errors in the operating system and other programs, so you need to check this unit first. The algorithm is somewhat different, but you can do it yourself.

The video card in the system unit is designed to work with graphics, that is, it performs the functions of processing and displaying images on the monitor display. A modern video card has its own RAM, graphics processor and interface bus through which data is exchanged with the central processor and RAM of the computer.

In order for a laptop or computer to work optimally and quickly, periodic maintenance of the laptop using software is required. In this case, maintenance means the use of specialized utilities and programs.

Deciphering codes for Bios from the following manufacturers: AMI BIOS (AMIBIOS8), Award BIOS, Phoenix BIOS and others

A very important point in the maintenance and software repair of a laptop or computer is the knowledge and skills in cleaning the Windows registry, which is a hierarchical database of settings and various parameters of the operating system. The registry is a storage place for information about settings and configurations of hardware and software, user profiles and presets, data about installed utilities and their changes. The registry can be represented as a directory that briefly describes what is stored, where and how, what parameters it all has and how it all interacts with each other.

When repairing computers and laptops, they often do preventive cleaning of dust and replacement of old thermal paste. Sometimes dried thermal paste can stick to the heatsink. It turns out that you planned to remove the radiator to replace thermal paste, but it is removed along with the processor.

If your computer or laptop, which has been in use for 2 years or more, suddenly begins to glitch or freeze, then it is worth inspecting its motherboard for swollen capacitors. In this article, we will try to answer the question about the correct replacement of capacitors on the motherboard and in what cases should this be done?

The causes of malfunctions and problems of an inkjet printer very often are not a breakdown requiring the intervention of a service engineer and disassembling the printer and can easily be eliminated by an ordinary user. Symptoms of inkjet printer failure can be divided into two groups.

To create a local network or connect to the Internet, you will need to connect computer network cards and switching devices using a network cable. And the cable is connected to the network adapter using special RJ45 connectors, which are installed on the network cable using twisted pair crimp.