Computer Hardware

The newly released multi-touch enabled Magic Mouse by Apple lets users scroll by touching anywhere on the top of the mouse. In addition, users can use two-finger swipes to navigate scroll to the...

If you are about to purchase your first computer, you may have heard the term "booting a computer" and wondered what it meant. Booting is the process of starting a computer and loading the...

A corrupt or failing hard drive can be difficult to troubleshoot. If the drive has not completely stopped working there may be little evidence to support replacement. A noisy drive may not be...

USB and Firewire ports supplanted the serial port, a ubiquitous hardware port on older personal computers, in the early 2000s. While you may find serial port PCI cards that you can install...

Bootcamp is a program that comes preinstalled in all Mac computers. The program allows a Mac to run Microsoft Windows on the system. This can be helpful for individuals who want to own a Mac but...

The X-Plorer Controller first appeared in 2007 and was included with the Microsoft Xbox 360 version of "Guitar Hero 2," the first game in the series to appear on the Xbox 360. The basic...

The processor (or CPU) is the virtual "Brain" of your computer. Any keystroke, mouse click, or computer command has to go through the processor. The more powerful the processor, the more you can...

There are thousands of audio devices available for a computer. Some are built into the motherboard, and some are add-on cards that can be installed in a machine. Still more plug into a USB port....

Choosing the right netbook computer may seem a little overwhelming, but after you make some careful considerations it can be easy. Netbooks are the hottest thing in computer sales, since the...

Install a TV Tuner on a personal PC and have access to a personal media center. Most TV Tuner's are packaged with software that the user can install on their computer to record programs, save...

Occasionally, a problem can occur with a computer that is severe enough to render it virtually inoperable until it is rebooted. If you are using a Toshiba notebook, there are several different...

Microsoft introduced true plug-and-play support for USB devices such as flash drives, also known as memory sticks, starting with Windows 2000. Depending on your computer, with a little effort you...

Computers sold with the Windows 98 operating system preinstalled were among the first to offer USB (Universal Serial Bus) ports. Although the ports offered slower data transfer than what we...

With the ever-increasing sizes of video, audio and application files, the only way to store and distribute them is through a DVD. This media also has the advantage of being lightweight, durable...

Boot problems can be caused by many things. The official way a computer boots is when it is first started up and the BIOS loads. This is usually accompanied by a beep that confirms a successful...

Using a laptop or desktop computer as a lightshow doesn't require any knowledge of programming or expensive software. In fact, software for producing an effective light show for parties and...

If you are experiencing problems with your Gateway, you may need to reinstall Windows XP. Don't worry if you don't have the operating system disc, since you can reinstall Windows XP from your...

Choosing the perfect laptop for you or anyone else should be a fun experience. There's no need to make it difficult!

Many consider Apple's ultra-thin aluminum keyboard to be one of the most attractive keyboards ever. The design is so sleek that some PC users have been inspired to use it on their own computers....

Changing a motherboard in a PC running Microsoft's Windows operating system can sometimes be an arduous task. The installation of the motherboard itself is just a matter of physically swapping out...

One thing that improved with the release of Windows XP (from Windows ME) was driver support. Hardware devices often start working almost immediately after being plugged in. XP works in the...

If you would like to burn one file to two CDs, and are running Windows XP, Windows Vista or Windows 7, your computer can do so with no tweaking and without installing extra software. Use the...

The Asus P4PE is an Intel-based motherboard. It features four USB 2.0/1.1 ports, along with a on-board connector that allows for the installation of two additional ports. While USB 2.0-ready, the...

Partitioning is quite useful. Keeping your data in a partition separate from your operating system, for example, means that if your operating system crashed completely you can reinstall without...

Putting files on a floppy disc can be accomplished in a few simple steps. Floppy discs can be useful for storing small amounts of data and are very inexpensive. They don't have the capacity of CDs...

The master boot record is the first physical section of the hard drive that the computer reads when booting up. The boot record contains the disk partition table and operating system start up...

Computer technicians are notorious for charging large fees to configure a laptop for wireless networking, but paying these fees is completely unnecessary. Prepare your laptop for wireless...

If you're considering a new laptop, you definitely should do your homework. Don't make an impulse purchase. Both the Sony and Apple laptops have more assets than liabilities. However, to truly...

This article will show you 11 steps on how to protect your home computer.

Typically, Windows Media Player burner problems occur because of a missing updates or incorrect device settings. For example, it is not uncommon for the wrong burning speed to be set or the...

A Universal Serial Bus (USB) thumb drive, also known as a pen drive or flash drive, is a type of memory device. The storage capacity of a USB thumb drive ranges from 2GB to 16GB. These drives...

While shopping for a new video card, you may have wondered about the term "DirectX." DirectX is a ubiquitous term among modern computer games, and nearly every video card supports it. DirectX is...

Over the course of your time with your computer, you may find yourself in need of a way to boot into it without doing so straight from the hard drive. When this happens, you will need a bootable...

According to CNET in 2005, laptops make up about 55 percent of the computers sold in United States. Deciding which brand of computer to purchase is tough enough, but deciding which major...

Released more than 10 years ago, Microsoft's Windows 98 operating system's requirements are basic enough to work with any new personal computer today.

Properly shutting down your Dell laptop is essential to maintaining the operating system's health. There are several different options to choose from to properly shut down your Dell computer which...

A sound card is a piece of computer hardware that provides sound and audio effects. External devices such as speakers, a microphone or headphones are connected to the sound card. Replacing an...

Embedded systems can be found in nearly all of the world's electronics. They enable electronics to perform a wide variety of functions, and can be implemented inexpensively.

Some users of Windows computers, commonly called PCs, find them unreliable, unstable and frustrating. However, the prospect of switching from a Windows PC to an Apple Macintosh computer can be so...

You should be updating your computer on a regular basis. Some people choose not to have Windows Update automatically. There is still an option that you can get the updates you need for your...

If you begin to notice that the performance of your IBM ThinkPad is decreasing, you may want to consider reformatting the laptop's hard drive. Reformatting the computer will install a fresh copy...

There are several occasions when your computer will need to be completely wiped. These include prepping a computer for a new operating system, selling it or preparing it for disposal. There are...

While the Microsoft Fingerprint Reader can eliminate the hassle of constantly entering passwords to gain access to frequently used websites, it is not effective on all sites, has limited browser...

A 64-bit PC is faster at handling data in the computer's memory, because it processes 64 bits of data at time, as opposed to the more common 32-bit PC. However, the benefits are only easily seen...

Windows Movie Maker is a free video editing software program that comes installed on most PC computers. As with any software program you may experience some glitches. For example, if you have a...

There are many tips and tricks for Bluetooth devices when you are using Windows Vista. The average user just wants to fix it when it is not working and make it do exactly what they want. When it...

Deleting a hard drive from a Windows computer enables the user to start fresh. This is an ideal way to clean spyware or viruses off the computer, or it can be used to delete the information from...

Did you know you can use Windows Vista to transfer pictures from your camera to your computer? Switching the photos over isn’t very difficult when you have Windows Vista on your pc. The steps for...

If you happen to be one of the many computer users running the Windows Vista operating system on a computer or laptop, you might run into the problem of not being able to hear sound from the...

Many problems with the Hewlett Packard ZV6000 notebook PC's LCD display are related to battery power and can include the display failing to resume from standby. Contact HP if the screen flickers...