Mac vs Pc

Wednesday, February 21, 2007

The Laptop Disassembly Guide

This guide is to provide some help for those who want to disassemble their laptop. You have to be sure that the problem you face is from the hardware, and that your laptop is not under warranty, since that laptop disassembly void warranty.

Search on the net for service manuals some are free and other cost around 6$ . Not find your model ? download some free service manual from different brands and read them many steps are the same in laptop disassembly. But i do recommended to find the manual that fit your laptop because you may need to know the part number of the defective part to change it.

Now you have to prepare a clean working area with small box for the different parts and their screws, and maybe a pen and a paper to remember particular step.

To disassemble the computer, you need the tools below:

Wrist ground strap and conductive mat for preventing electrostatic discharge
Small Phillips screw driver
Flat head screw driver
Hexagonal driver
Tweezers

NOTE : The screws for the different components vary in size. During the disassembly process, group the screws with the corresponding components to avoid mismatch when putting back the components. When you remove the stripe cover, please be careful not to scrape the cover.

In most of laptop you can actually access by the base to these bays :

battery
memory
hard disk

Remove them all, to remove the optical disk just release the screw securing the optical disk module,push the ODD module using a screwdriver and remove the ODD module from the main unit.

After that look on the keyboard area to find how to remove the keyboard for example with an Acer aspire 5100, you have to remove the middle cover from the edge of the middle cover and carefully detach the middle cover, then you just have to release the two screws securing the keyboard plate and carefully detach the keyboard plate from the edge of the keyboard plate finish by release the keyboard FFC lock carefully because it is fragile. Then remove the keyboard plate.

After that you can either disassembly the lcd module or try to access the motherboard.

For the LCD module carefully disconnect the LCD cable and any other cable that you can see, release any screws holding the LCD module on the bottom side of the main unit, release any other screws securing the LCD hinges on the main unit, then detach the LCD module from the main unit.

For the motherboard every model are different then you have to explore by yourself, but not forget to read some service manuals before. You can find some free service manuals at laptop support. I hope that this will give some help.

Didier Pradel is the webmaster of laptop support where you can find many useful informations, and help for your lovely laptop.

Article Source: http://EzineArticles.com/?expert=Didier_Pradel

NEC P8000 Printer Repair Secrets

If the complaint for NEC P8000 printer was a missing line across the printout, immediately we will suspect the printer head or the ribbon or even sometime the ribbon mask. Among so many brands of dot matrix printers, only this model has one common fault which is the printer head and the printer driver ic’s spoilt.

If you just replace the printer head without changing the main board or checking the printer driver ic for any short circuit, then chances are high that once you switch on the printer, the printer head would immediately breakdown again.

Thus it is wise for you, if you ever comes across this type of printer, besides replacing the printer head, you must check the six printer driver ic on the main board. As for the printer head, you can buy a new one or send to a specialist to refurbish it. Now the real question is, how do we check or test the printer driver ic’s? It’s simple, remove the main board and you will observe that there are six ic’s that have the same part number which is the STA476A.

If one of them shorted, it will short the printer head pin. Each printer driver ic control 4 pins thus six printer ic would take care 24 pins! That’s why in the market, they called it as 24 pin dot matrix printer.

Normally I would use huntron tracker to compare the signature between a good and a bad ic. It is very easy to find the culprit when you can compare them. Using an analog meter also can do the job. Compare the resistance of all the printer driver ic’s leg, if there are any shorted printer driver ic, the meter would register the reading and usually the needle would kick to most far right.

Sometimes it could be more than one ic shorted. Once you have determined which ic that gave way, solder it out and replace with a new one and you have just completed a printer repair job.

Whether you are checking the NEC P8000 printer or any brand of dot matrix printers, use the procedure above to test out all the printer driver ic before you switch on the printer. This not only saves your new printer head, it will save you money of not having to buy a new mainboard.

Jestine Yong is a electronic repairer and a writer, if you want more about printer repair information, please visit his website now at http://www.electronicrepairguide.com

Article Source: http://EzineArticles.com/?expert=Jestine_Yong

The Many Uses Of An All In One Printer

With products being introduced every day that streamline systems and work space, it’s no wonder that the all in one printer has become something of a staple in modern homes and offices. For the home office especially, the all in one printer can revolutionize a work environment, bringing unsurpassed organization and functionality to all projects.

The all in one printer executes a variety of functions including printing from the computer, general copying, scanning, and faxing. Its compact size maximizes space; gone are the multitude of machines that would be required to complete all that an all in one printer handles on its own. You will find that this greatly increases your workspace - clearing up an ordinarily crowded desk.

Of course the downside of having an all in one printer that encompasses all of these job functions is that if one system breaks, they all break to a certain extent. Having one portion of the all in one printer repaired requires you to part with the entire machine. Also, users must operate only one system at a time with an all in one printer; for instance, you can not copy while you are also scanning. If your work environment is such that multiple functions must take place simultaneously then an all in one printer may not be appropriate for your needs.

The cost of an all in one printer is really quite reasonable considering how much it would cost you to purchase all of these machines separately. They range in brand, size, and price from store to store. So take the time to shop around; you may even want to investigate online deals through the Internet. There are many office supply websites that offer comparable, if not deeply discounted prices, on machines such as the all in one printer. You may want to consider purchasing an extended warranty on such a machine, as it carries the responsibility of multiple functions.

The all in one printer, like most products continuing to appear on the market today, is meant to provide a streamlined alternative to commonly “bulky” equipment. If it fits your particular needs, you will find it to be an essential part of your home office.

For easy to understand, in depth information about printer visit our ezGuide 2 Printer.

Article Source: http://EzineArticles.com/?expert=Michelle_Bery

Samsung 510bn LCD Power Supply Repair Secrets

The complaint for this Samsung 510BN LCD monitor was no power, after the cover was opened I found that the power filter capacitor still hold some charge and the voltage was quite high. A good monitor by right the filter capacitor stored voltage should be discharge in less than 10 seconds. This indicates that there was something not right in the circuit. If you happen to repair this type of power problem, make sure you discharge the filter capacitor first before checking on others components. After the filter capacitor voltage already discharged , I used dick smith flyback tester to measure across the primary winding of the switch mode power transformer to see if there are any short circuit occurred.

The result of the test was the flyback tester LED light all goes off which means there must be components shorted either in the primary or secondary section, sometimes the primary winding can go shorted also. A shorted power ic (this monitor is using the 4 pins 5L0365R power ic) in the primary section or a shorted diode in the secondary section would pull down the flyback tester LED bar to the minimum.

If the flyback tester LED have 8 full bars, this means that the components such as power ic (power fet if have), power transformer primary winding and all the secondary diodes are not shorted. To isolate if the shorts is either in the primary or secondary section, you must desolder the power transformer. Check the primary winding of the power transformer off board first before you test on all the secondary diodes using analog meter set to times 10 K ohm.

A shorted diode will show two reading registered at the analog meter. In this Samsung 510bn LCD monitor power supply, the caused of the no power and filter capacitor take longer time to discharge was due to a shorted secondary diode which is from the schottky type with the part number of SB5H100. Searching the internet, I found this diode technical datasheet; it is a 100Volt 5A schottky diode. This shorted diode is located at the 12 volt rail which means it converts the ac to 12 Volt dc.

After the replacement the LCD monitor work perfectly fine! Whether you are troubleshooting the Samsung 510BN Lcd monitor power supply or any type of switch mode power supply, basically the procedure of testing it is the same. Of course there are many more methods to locate the shorted secondary diode such as directly test the diodes, but this method can check for components shorted even without touching the soldering gun.

This means, if the flyback tester shown 8 full bars, then don’t waste your time to test on all the secondary diodes again. Get one dick smith flyback tester and you could see how valuable this meter is in performing variety test for you such as checking the computer monitor B+ coil, flyback transformer, crt horizontal yoke coil, ballast and many more.

Jestine Yong is a electronic repairer and a writer, if you want more lcd monitor repair information, please visit his electronic repair website now!

Article Source: http://EzineArticles.com/?expert=Jestine_Yong

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The Importance Of Protecting Your Computer From Viruses

Unless you're completely new to owning a PC, you will know how important it is to protect your self from computer viruses. Back when people first started using the home computer and the Internet as we know it today (perhaps around 10 years ago), protecting your self from computer viruses wasn't too important. Unless you were visiting dubious websites or the like then finding a virus was nowhere near as common as it is today. In fact, you may remember that if a widespread virus was discovered it would be newsworthy and you would probably find out about it on your TV before your computer.

But, back then we used the internet far, far less and the technology available today simply wasn't around to the general consumer. Therefore you really didn't think to protect your self from computer viruses. As broadband connections weren't even thought we were forced to use a dial-up connection, or if we were very lucky we had an ISDN line. The point is that when you have to wait minutes for each page to load and pictures took forever, the interest in browsing the internet was really only for the Die-hard PC users.

Fast-Forward a few years and we can safely assume that around 80% of us use a computer every single day. I personally use my PC for around 4-5 hours a day, (yes it's a little more than average considering I have a full-time job that doesn't involve a PC). So, now we have broadband and most of us have an "Always On" connection. It only costs a small amount however much time we spend on the internet.

The problem is that this gives all the Scammers, Crooks, Virus Creators, Phishing experts, (the list goes on ) an enourmous target to aim for. For example, a scammer can very easily send out a million emails with a virus attached to them. If you have no means to protect your self from computer viruses then this could not only infect your system, but obtain passwords or even worse, your bank details. The trouble is you wouldn't even know until it was too late.

As long as you are sensible it is not difficult to protect your self from computer viruses. There are many free Anti Virus Programs available and depending on the level of protection you need there are some excellent paid choices. The most common advantage with paid virus protection software is the fact that it will have an auto-update feature, (if it's a good one). This means that every time you connect to the internet your Virus Software Program will automatically connect to the company website and download all the latest updates. This means that as long as you keep paying your subscription you will always have the highest level of protection available.

You can protect your self from computer viruses with free software as mentioned above. But, if you do this you will need to make sure that you regularly update your software to stay protected. You will also need to be prepared that you will probably lack in some features. Or, your virus protection software maybe AD-supported, (i.e - display advertisements when you use the program).

One thing to be extremely careful of is 'Free PC Scans' . They are a great way to protect your self from computer viruses and alert you if there is anything abnormal going on BUT, only ever use one of these from a trusted website. There are people out there that will offer a free pc scan and then infect your computer with a virus. Of course when the scan comes back saying that your PC is affected they will then tell you to buy their software in order to remove the virus.

In summary always make sure you protect yourself from computer viruses buy choosing the right level of protection for you. If you shop or do your banking over the internet, then I recommend subscribing to an Anti-Virus Software Company. If you are just an occasional browser then you are probably better off to use a free Anti Virus service.

After first-hand experience in dealing with the problems tha viruses can cause, Dawn Smith has now made an information website to help others decide on the right Anti-Virus solution for them. You can visit the article page here, Protect Your Self From Computer Viruses. Alternatively, you can see her website homepage here, Free Virus Downlaods.

Article Source: http://EzineArticles.com/?expert=Dawn_Smith

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Seven Tips for Successfully Using OCR Technology in a Legal Setting

The average legal practice is buried under an avalanche of paper. Documents are crucial elements for the communication, reference and execution of every legal transaction. But the management of these documents can severely impact your law practice’s billable hours. Finding necessary paperwork still requires human intervention to search and identify the document.

However, a little bit of computer hardware and the right software can transform that paper into usable, searchable, storable data, saving you time and money. As you move through your day, look at the ways you handle paper—and then start leveraging the power of document imaging to cut costs and increase efficiency. Here are a few suggestions:

1. Cut outside copying costs. Rather than paying outrageous copying costs to replicate documents while away from the office, you may want to take a digital camera with you to photograph them. When choosing a camera for OCR tasks, look for one that includes an image stabilizer and offers resolutions of at least four megapixels.

2. Pick the perfect OCR tools.
Invest in an optical character recognition (OCR) product that will convert your digitally photographed images into text. ABBYY FineReader 8.0, for example, takes a JPEG file and converts it into a searchable PDF and/or an editable Microsoft Office document. The software allows for accurate translation even in the face of a variety of photo mishaps. It also corrects some environmental factors, such as the curve created in a page when it is part of a very thick book

3. Pick the perfect scanning tools.
Although a simple scanner can do the job, choosing a model that offers some more advanced features can further boost your productivity. Most duplex scanners, for example, incorporate an Automatic Document Feeder, which automatically feeds stacked pages into the scanner one at a time.

4. Keep up with the news.
When scanning the latest legal periodicals or newspapers, there’s no need to read every word. Instead, scan them with your OCR program and use the Hot Folder feature available in many OCR programs to automatically create a special in-box directory of items you want to peruse later.

5. Create good email habits.
Your email box is likely to be flooded with important briefs, articles, letters and other documents that are sent as email attachments. These image-only PDFs can be opened and viewed but are not searchable so they can get lost in the shuffle. Use your OCR software to translate them into a searchable PDF that allows the documents to be managed and searched electronically. For example, you can convert image PDFs into searcheble with PDF Transformer.

6. Throw out the fax machine.
A dedicated fax line can be a costly proposition when one considers the cost of equipment, phone charges, paper and time spent in upkeep. An electronic fax service (or a fax server) provides a practical alternative. Electronic faxing allows your office to send and receive faxes as TIFF graphics files, which can be read but not readily used in any other way. To further enhance usability of these documents, use OCR to transform them into editable text or searchable PDFs.

7. Scan for discovery.
Rather than having a secretary retype and reformat responses, use scanning and OCR to convert discovery, motions and pleadings to word processing documents. Document formatting will be retained, and the process takes mere seconds.

Because OCR introduces far fewer errors than retyping, you’ll also save time on proofreading. This approach allows you to provide electronic copies of documents to clients faster and helps clients store and access documents easily. In addition, you’ll be able to readily create an electronic storage system for files and improve accessibility to past work products.

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Article Source: http://EzineArticles.com/?expert=Tatiana_Sushchenko

The Advantages Of Choosing Linux Web Hosting

Linux web hosting refers to web hosting services that are based on a server that is running the Linux operating system. It is probably the most widely used type of web hosting, especially for individuals and small to medium sized businesses, simply because Linux web hosting is cheaper than other options like Windows based hosting. The reason for this is that Linux is an open source software product and as such does not incur the high licensing fees that other operating systems do; you can freely download and use it at no cost. On the other hand, a web hosting service that offers Windows based hosting has to pay for the software and maintenance fees.

Some of the advantages of Linux web hosting are: cheaper than Windows, support for PHP scripts and MySQL databases and some hosts may offer telnet accounts at no or little additional cost. In many circles Linux is believed to be more secure than Windows, and for that reason it is also the more popular choice for web designers and programmers. Linux web hosting also offers users many configuration and customization options.

The Linux operating system is also very stable, so you can expect high uptime from a Linux web hosting service. Linux supports most scripting languages and types of web files, and you can use files with all the following extensions: .html, .htm, .pl, .php, .shtml, .asp, .xml and others. The biggest disadvantage of a Linux based web hosting solution is that it is not compatible with Microsoft technologies, like ASP scripts.

On the other side of the coin is Windows based hosting, which is generally more expensive, but it does support ASP and, usually for an extra fee, can support Cold Fusion, Access databases and SQL Server databases.

In conclusion, if you are new to building websites and web design, Linux web hosting is the better, and cheaper, option. However, if you need specialized services that are Windows specific, then you will have to use a Windows web hosting service.

Evert DuToit is a writer and website publisher from Pittsburgh, PA. To learn more about web hosting, and finding the best web hosting provider, please visit us at http://www.webhostingpages.info

Article Source: http://EzineArticles.com/?expert=Evert_Du_Toit

How To Find Cheap Software

In an age where the computer is as much a fixture in the home as any appliance or piece of furniture, the accessories that complement them grow by the numbers every day. Part of the enjoyment and convenience of owning a computer is having a variety of software to accomplish a multitude of tasks – both professional and recreational. But, as anyone who owns a computer can tell you, the purchase of computer software can be exceptionally expensive – especially if you are purchasing several pieces at a time. Luckily, with the help of the very thing that we are purchasing for, we now have access to a variety of cheap software.

First and foremost, the purchase of cheap software does not mean the purchase of used or in any way low quality software. This does not make any financial sense, as the money you will have saved on the software is lost in the money you will spend to replace it when it doesn’t work, or worse, to repair your computer if it has been damaged in the process.

The Internet today is the most comprehensive resource for finding cheap software. Unfortunately, it’s also the prime location for getting on the receiving end of a bad deal. In your search for cheap software, it’s certainly worth taking advantage of the rock bottom prices found on the Internet as long as you are able to confirm that you are dealing with a reputable company. Use the Internet to access reviews regarding cheap software so that you can find out where other software consumers are finding their bargains. Word-of-mouth is critical to finding a trustworthy company with whom you can build an on-going relationship. But if you are able to do so, then you can ensure that you’ll have continued access to cheap software without the threat of receiving low quality products.

Of course, cheap software does exist outside of the Internet but it can be harder to locate; keep an eye out for sales hosted by computer supply stores and large retail chains. You may be surprised how often cheap software is available for someone who stays alert.

For easy to understand, in depth information about software visit our ezGuide 2 Software.

Article Source: http://EzineArticles.com/?expert=Michelle_Bery

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