Common Causes and Solutions for Your Laptop's Overheating Issues

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There are a lot of issues and scenarios that we commonly encounter with computers. It doesn't matter what operating system, brand, or architectural structure of the motherboard we have, may it be a desktop, laptop, or a netbook computer. Some common reasons why a computer crashes are due to hardware failure or malfunction, corrupted program files and/or drivers, virus infections, and overheating.

This article will discuss the common causes why a computer experiences overheating. To briefly define overheating, this is when a piece of hardware on your computer generates enough heat, which will simply cause the hardware component to malfunction or break down. A common scenario where a computer malfunctions due to overheating is when the user operates it for some time without proper ventilation.

So why do computers overheat and what are the symptoms? How do we avoid such problems?

These are the following symptoms when a computer is overheating:

• The system tends to restart or switch off by itself while being use. If ever the CPU temperature is too high, this causes the system to reboot once it exceeds the maximum temperature allowed to withstand heat.

• The system application would sometimes become unresponsive or sluggish. Either the screen would tend to freeze so you would have to power it down by pressing the power button for a few seconds or unplugging the power cord to start it up again.

The following are causes why computers overheat:

• The CPU fan is not working due to a problem with the power supply.

• The CPU fan is faulty.

• Dust or small particles impedes and clogs the CPU fan, which causes poor air circulation.

• The location of your computer does not have proper ventilation due to objects that blocks the airflow.

• Overclocking the computer can also cause overheating since it requires greater power consumption, which generates more heat.

To avoid computers from overheating, make sure to do the following:

• Don't forget to clean your computer regularly. Make sure to remove dust accumulating on your computer to avoid clogging and blocking the fan’s air flow.

• Place the computer on a spot that doesn't have any obstruction, which can affect the fan’s air flow. This will provide proper ventilation to your computer.

• Make sure that the fan is working properly on your computer.

• Check the heat sink and make sure to apply thermal paste before properly reseating it. A thermal paste is a substance form, which helps the computer CPU to improve heat conduction. There are three types of thermal paste that you can use namely metal, ceramic, and silicon.

• Sometimes, it is necessary to install an additional fan on the computer to avoid overheating the components on the motherboard.

I hope this article would be of help, especially if you encounter any issues that I have mentioned above.

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By: Mercedita Tagaca - Tech Article Writer and Support Engineer at SUPPORTrix

Tips in Keeping Your Computer Highly Functional

Computer plays an important part of our everyday lives in the twenty-first century, from downloading and listening to music, editing photos, banking transactions, and communication. It’s pretty obvious that computers changed the way we live and work. Since the beginning of time, humans have been making fun on new inventions. The Homo Habilis specie started inventing tools for hunting and weapons for protection. Inventions never stop from cars, computers, and even space crafts. Computers are destined to be invented not just for wants, but for survival to make our lives much easier as well.

Since computers are important in today’s generation, I have provided a few tips for you to properly keep your computer units highly functional Proper maintenance of your computer will provide you with substantially better speed and performance, regardless of your computer’s hardware setup and configuration. According to the Law of Thermodynamics, it states that all systems atrophy (degrade) over time. So here are some of the few steps on how to delay the inevitable for software and hard drives.

• Clean out all the junk left behind by browsers by using the disk clean up utility of Windows or you can also download a freeware program such as CCleaner. It'll aid you to do the clean-up process. But that's only for Windows and MAC-based OS. If you are using Linux, you can use Kleansweep or Bleachbit. The cookies and cache pages left behind by browsers can amount up to gigabytes of wasted space on your computer hard drive. So it is a must that it should be deleted.

• Scan and remove spyware / viruses on your computers. There are a lot of free antivirus software that you can download on the Internet. A good example of this is the AVG antivirus. You can log on to download.com so that you can obtain these tools legally.

• Performing a defrag on your computer’s hard drive once a month can keep it running smoothly. Magical Defrag is a tool that does the same job; performing automatic defrag on your system during periods of inactivity.

• Remove programs, documents, and other files that you no longer use. The more hard drive space you free up, the faster your computer will be. You will be surprised how much disk space you will free up and how much it will improve the performance of your computer.

• Uncheck start up programs that you don't use. To do this, go to the RUN command, then type “msconfig” and then hit OK. It will open a window where you can uncheck the start up programs. This procedure will help make your computer boot up much faster.

• Use the computer’s disk management systems. It allows you to rearrange items and free up space on your hard drive at the same time.

Those are some tips that can help you make your computer highly functional. At the end of the day, it totally depends on how we take care of our devices. We have to keep in mind that devices, like the computer, doesn’t last forever. So we have to be smart users make our computers last longer.



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Written by: Reino Kerwin Gabriel Adaza - Technical Support Engineer at Supportrix

Troubleshooting Tutorial: Basic Home Network Configuration

As an end user, we only care about being able to use our computers and gadgets on the Internet. Now when something goes wrong like we can't go online or open some applications it seems to be the end of the world. Sometimes we don't have any clue on what to do. If we try to fix the problem on our own we tend to make things worse. What if we don't have anyone who can help us fix it or if there is someone then it might cost us if it’s already out of warranty. I used to ask myself before how I can save myself from that situation and I came up with this tutorial on what to do to resolve the problem. You may use these troubleshooting guidelines to isolate and solve network problems involving your router. Just remember that there may be more than one issue involved.

Check Physical Connections

You may need to double check if the devices are properly connected and are turned on. Start checking the modem, then the router, and other peripheral devices attached to your primary Internet device.  Also make sure that the power strips are switched on and receiving electricity from the outlet. Also make sure that it is using the correct power adapter. Make sure the Ethernet cables are firmly seated by unplugging and re-plugging them. A clicking sound when snapped into position is an indication that it is properly seated. You may also perform power cycle to all the devices involved. Always start powering on the modem and then router and the connected devices. If everything fails, bypass the router and connect the computer directly to the modem and check if it works that way. If not, then call your ISP.

Check Wireless Settings

The most common cause of wireless issue is if the wireless settings on the router were changed or if the client device is not compatible with the type of security set on the router. You may access the router user interface to verify the wireless settings in order for you to connect for the first time as well as reconnect if there were changes made. If you are sure that the wireless settings are correct and if only one device couldn't connect, it is possible that it is not compatible. In this case, you may need to update the driver of the wireless adapter. Refer to the computer/device’s manufacturer for possible driver update.

Limitation on the Wireless Signal and Interference

The home network connections sometimes fail because a device's signal cannot reach the router due to limited range of Wi-Fi signals. If the signal is enough, maybe there are other wireless devices running on the same frequency with the router.

Those that use the 2.4 GHz radio bands may experience this issue. There are some who experienced wireless disconnection as soon as anyone in the house turned on appliances like microwave, garage door openers and other consumer gadgets inside their homes. These can interfere with the signal of Wi-Fi networks. What you can do is change the wireless channel on the router and see which channel will work best. You may also try to reposition or relocate the router. Also, you may try changing your router's name (SSID) if you noticed that there is an identical name.

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By: Shirley Bon Go

About the Author: Shirley is one of the tech support engineer at Supportrix for more than 5 years. Loves to write about tech reviews, tips, and troubleshooting steps to help people who are technically challenged.

What to Do When Your Windows 7 Computer Freezes After Being Idle

The computer is genuinely one of the most incredible gifts of Science. It has improved our lives beyond man can ever imagine. It is important to a variety of people for a variety of reasons. It is important to me because I use it for a living and it keeps me connected with my friends and family around the world. The way it influences our daily lives, needless to say then that in this fast changing world of advancing technology that most of us cannot live without our computers.

Life is perfect if everything works the way we desire it to be. But computers are not made to be perfect. In some way or the other you will experience certain software or hardware related issues that will surely challenge your patience. Here is one of the most common problems that most of us give a little bit of attention but may result to annoyance and discomfort at some point.

What if your Windows 7 computer freezes after being idle? Holding down the power button until it goes off and push it again to turn it back on should do the trick. How about if it keeps on happening again and again? In most cases, it would be just an easy fix. However, there are instances that things are much complicated and finding the original cause is like finding a needle in the haystack.

Here are some of the steps that you may try to resolve this issue:

• Do not under estimate the power of the firewall. Firewall is designed to protect the computer from viruses and security threats, but it may cause some problems if not configured properly. Temporarily disable the firewall and antivirus software on the computer and check if that fixes the issue.

• If the above step doesn't solve the issue, you may change the power plan. Simply go to Control Panel, select Power Options, click on Change plan settings and select Never. Click Change advance power settings, and go to each setting and change them to Never, and hit OK.

• If the issue still occurs, restart the computer in clean boot. This is to check whether the problem has something to do with third-party software conflicts. To perform a clean boot, you may follow the link http://support.microsoft.com/kb/929135.

• If the problem persists, you may perform an SFC Scan. The System File Checker tool scans Windows system files and restores corrupted files. For more information, check the link http://support.microsoft.com/kb/929833.

If it's still not working, then you may consider updating the drivers. This issue could also be traced to outdated audio and video drivers. You may need to uninstall the sound and graphics card, restart the computer, and let Windows 7 to automatically reinstall the drivers. Download the latest driver available on the manufacturer's website and install it on the computer. If the latest driver is not available, you may refer back to the previous version.

Hope this article will serve you if ever you will encounter such issue. You really don't need to be a genius to fix computer problems but rather a curious individual. Just open up your computer, launch any browser, Google your queries and you'll be amazed that all the information you need is right at your fingertips.

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Article Written By: James Ryan Ylanan - A Supportrix tech engineer

Samsung Galaxy Tab 3 vs. Amazon Kindle Fire HDX

Technology has evolved from big computers to netbooks, from landline phones to smartphones. Nowadays, tablet computers or tablets, are one of the hottest technological trends, allowing users to enjoy mobile Internet, calls, and messaging all in one device. Tablets are mobile computers with display, circuitry, and battery in one unit together with added or enhanced features. A lot of different brands are out in the market. Amazon’s Kindle Fire HDX and Samsung’s Galaxy Tab 3 are two of the hottest selling tablets by far.

So now, let us compare these 2 new tablets:

	Samsung Galaxy Tab 3	Amazon Kindle Fire HDX
Display:
Screen Size	7”	8.9”
Display Resolution	1024 x 600 (WSVGA) Resolution	2,560 x 1,600 (Supports 1080p HD)
Chipset:
CPU Speed	1.2 GHz	2.2 GHz
CPU Type	Dual Core Application Processor	QUALCOMM Snapdragon 800 quad-core
Battery:
Battery Life	4.000 mAh; up to 8 hrs. Internet usage time(Wi-Fi); up to 7 hrs. video playback time; up to 109 hrs. audio playback time	Up to 12 hrs. mixed used; up to 18 hours when used only for reading
Storage:	8 GB + 1 GB	16, 32, or 64 GB
Operating System:	Android 4.2 (Jelly Bean)	Android 4.2 (Jelly Bean)
Camera:	Camera Resolution (Front): 1.3 MP	HD Camera (Front)
	Camera Resolution (Rear): 3 MP	8MP Camera (Rear)
Connectivity:
Wi-Fi	802.11a/b/g/n 2.4 + 5 GHz	Dual band, dual antenna (MIMO) Wi-Fi
Bluetooth Profile	A2DP, AVRCP, OPP, HID, PAN	BT 4.0 + EDR (HID and A2DP profiles only)
Audio:	AAC, AAC+, AMR-NB, AMR-WB, eAAC+,MP3,OGG,WAV, WMA, AC-3 FLAC	Built-in Microphone, Dolby Audio, Dual Speakers

The Samsung Galaxy Tab 3 has a sleek, thin, and light design, while the Kindle Fire HDX is a content-oriented tablet with a class-leading display, great battery life, decent camera, and light that can hold an episode of a TV series.

With each tablet’s features and differences presented, you now have the liberty to weigh your options which one offers better features. Technology evolves in the speed of now. What may be hot and trending today may already be outdated in the next three to six months.



By: Chindy S. Moreno
About the Author: Chindy is one of the tech support engineer at Supportrix. Contributing and sharing her knowledge to E-Drive Tech.

Things You Should Do To Avoid Printing Errors in Windows 8

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With Windows 8, printing has changed and there's now a more standard way of doing it. However, due to Microsoft’s new graphical user interface, printing has become less user-friendly, especially for end users who got accustomed with old style of printing. In a technical point of view, everything is pretty much the same despite the change in interface.

This new operating structure by Microsoft has a new system for printer drivers that attempts to brace all printers and use less printer drivers. Thus, preventing disk space consumed by drivers and also eliminating free software that comes with printer drivers commonly called bloatware services, wherein these services tend to install in your computer and gives out annoying additional sponsored software that offers free service, to say the least.

And these are common printing issues to avoid when using windows 8.

One common issue behind the printer are cartridges, toners, or inks that are not checked regularly. Compatibility is one that we need to check for every printer. Most printers that have low ink level give out pop up messages using its own software that is installed in your computer. It will be a good time then to change the cartridges, ink, or toners by following a printer user guide on how to properly change it. Papers are also one of the things to be checked to avoid printing issues. A user should make sure to check the appropriate paper type and size that will work great with the printer. Not reading the user manual would give out problems such as paper jams and non-alignment of print cartridges. Printer maintenance needs to be regularly done. We cannot deny the fact that cleaning the printer heads should be done regularly to evade blurry text and images. You can do this by going to your computer’s Devices and Printer options, then right-click on the printer model that you’re using, and then select Properties. You should see a Maintenance tab, where you have an option to check your printer’s nozzles.

As we all know, printer drivers are needed in order for your printer to be detected, installed, and configured according to your preference using your computer. Check if the drivers are compatible with Windows 8, which can be determined via the printers installation setup CD. If in case you find out that it’s not compatible, you can download a Windows 8-compatible driver from the printer’s manufacturer website. Make sure to select the correct model number of your printer before downloading any drivers.

These are just simple things to take note of when using your printer or if you’re just about to install one. Most printers can give out all sorts of problems that keep it from printing. But you can perform a diagnosis and fix on these printer problems automatically in Windows 8. Just go to Settings, search for Printing, and look for Find and Fix Printing Problems. Next, select the printer you want to troubleshoot, and make sure to repair it as an administrator. Lastly, click Apply on the appropriate fix to complete the troubleshooting process. With this method, it will surely resolve some printing issues with Windows 8.

Article Written By: Jeehan Michael Daroy - Tech Support Engineer at Supportrix