How To: Replace a space bar on a Dell laptop keyboard
Is the spacebar on your keyboard out of whack? This simple video will show you how to re-seat it in less than two minutes. Start by using your fingers (or a small screwdriver or spudger if needed) to gently pry up along the top of the spacebar, working from one direction to another. Continue working along the top until the key is free from its mounting clips. Observe the location of the mounting clips. After the key is free from the keyboard, you can also remove the metal support bar from the...
How To: View your printer's secret dots (fingerprints)
Imagine that every time you print a document, it automatically includes a secret code that could be used to identify the printer -- and, potentially, the person who used it. Sounds like something from a spy movie, right?
How To: Take apart a computer's keybaord & clean it
In this video, we learn how to take apart a computer's keyboard & clean it. First, turn the keyboard upside down and remove the screws from the side with a screwdriver. After this, flip it back over and remove the keys from the top. Put the keys into a bowl of soap and water and let them soak. Then, remove the screws from the top of the keyboard and set them aside. Open up the keyboard and then dust and clean the inside of it until clean. Next, you will replace all of the parts you removed in...
How To: Clean a laptop screen
A dirty laptop screen can be distracting and make it difficult to see what your are trying to work on. Don’t suffer though this for another moment. With products you have at home you can get that screen looking like new.
How To: Align the printhead on your Epson printer
Not aligning your printer before you print is like going to a job interview without brushing your hair: Everything else looks right, but you somehow still look unprepared and messy. Aligning the printhead on your printer will help ensure all text prints out where it's supposed to print out and there's no awkward color blurring with pictures.
How To: Set up and customize a Wacom Intuos4 pen tablet
In this clip, you'll learn how set up and use a Wacom Intuos4 tablet. Special emphasis is given to customizing the ExpressKeys, Touch Ring, and on-pen buttons. It's easy. So easy, in fact, that this video tutorial can present a complete, step-by-step overview of the process in just over five minutes. For more information, including detailed, step-by-step instructions, take a look.
How To: Clean an aluminum Apple keyboard by removing its keys
In this tutorial, we learn how to clean an aluminum Apple keyboard. You will need: soap , q-tips, and water. First, remove each individual key to your keyboard gently, then, clean off the keys and the inside with a mixture of soap and water on a q-tip. When finished, place your key back onto the keyboard. Repeat this step for your entire keyboard, making sure to be gentle when you remove and replace the keys back on. Don't do more than two at a time or you run the risk of forgetting where the...
How To: Set up an Epson printer wirelessly
Learn how to set up an Epson printer wirelessly when you bring your new printer home you will want to start by installing the software that came with the new printer. You can set up your printer to work without wires and it will print from all over the house. There are 3 ways to set up the printer including the Epson way, with cables, and WPS. To determine is you need to use WPS, which is more complex, check your router to see if it has a sticker on it that says Wi-Fi Protected Setup. If that...
How To: Fix AMD Radeon HD Series Not Detecting Second Screen
Since I recently had this problem and fixed it, I might as well share the solution. This is actually REALLY simple to fix but will impact your cards' performance.
How To: Repair a MacBook Pro 17" Unibody - Remove hard drive
The new Unibody MacBook Pro's are a little different in design than the older MacBooks, so it may be a little confusing on how to see the innards of the laptop. Watch this to see how to remove the hard drive and battery of the MacBook Pro 17" Unibody.
How To: Open ports on your Windows XP computer
In this video tutorial, viewers learn how to open ports on a Windows XP computer. Begin by clicking on the Start menu and open Control Panel. Double-click on Network Connections and select your network connection. Right-click on it and select Properties. Click on the Advanced tab and click on Settings. Select the Advanced tab again. Click on your internet connection and click on Settings. Click Add and fill in the port information. Click OK. T forward a port, users need to go to their router'...
How To: Extract an ".exe" file
Looking to open an .exe file? In this video, learn specifically how to extract an exe file onto your desktop, but additionally where to find & download the free 7-zip file archiver.
Tech Tip: Clean Your LCD Screen With a Coffee Filter
Apparently paper towel + Windex is a no-no when it comes to cleaning your computer or television's LCD screen. Apple's official guidelines for proper cleaning are as follows:
How To: Replace a laptop CMOS battery
In this video, we learn how to replace a laptop CMOS battery. First, turn the laptop upside down and remove the screws around the panel you need inside. Set these aside and then pry the top up with a flat screwdriver. Now you will see the CMOS battery, remove this with the tab that is on top of it. Remove the battery from the area it's at and then replace it with the new one. Make sure you place it in just how it was before. After this, replace the panel on the top and screw the screws back i...
How To: Make a USB drive out of an old floppy disk
Want to make an old floppy disk useful again? Turn it into a USB drive. It's easy. So easy, in fact, that this free video tutorial from CNET can present a complete overview of the process in just over three minutes and a half. For detailed instructions, and to get started modifying your own floppy disks into working USB drives, watch this handy how-to.
How To: Clean the printhead on your Epson printer
If you're printed pictures and photos aren't coming out the way you expected, then something might be wrong with your printer, specifically, the printhead might be dirty and might need to be cleaned. This is an easy troubleshooting step for Epson printers.
How To: Password protect a USB thumb drive
Have important files that you want to put on a USB drive but do not want anyone else to be able to access them? Put a password on it using USBSecure.net free resource.
How To: Fix Stuck Pixels in LCD TVs, Monitors & Displays
This video will show you a few techniques for removing stuck pixels from an LCD screen. This is not a guaranteed fix. Please only use these as a last resort, as some of them can cause more damage to the LCD. Only attempt these if you are experienced and know what you are doing.
How To: Replace the hard drive in a Apple MacBook
It's not as hard as you think to replace a hard drive in an Apple MacBook. This video shows you how.
How To: Save Money Cleaning Your Gadgets' Displays with This DIY Screen-Cleaning Solution
Keeping your computer screen or smartphone display clean is impossible. And those stupid little cloth cleaners that come with your device are about as useful as the new Apple Maps (yes, I am still upset about it).
News: High School Grad Builds 8-Bit Computer from Scratch
Age doesn't matter in the world of programming, only skills, and recent high school grad Jack Eisenmann definitely has them. He recently built a homebrew 8-bit computer from scratch, calling it the DUO Adept. A worn television makes up the monitor and speaker system, an old keyboard acts as the input controller and the actual computer itself is housed inside a clear Rubbermaid container, consisting of 100 TTL chips and a ton of wire.
How To: Fix the click of death on a hard drive
If you have owned a lot of hard drives, you probably have experienced the clicking of death that indicates that your hard drive is having serious problems. This video will explain why the click of death happens and show you some processes you can try to fix the problem yourself.
How To: Defragment your hard drive for Windows Vista
This is a video tutorial in the Computers & Programming category where you are going to learn how to defragment your hard drive for Windows Vista. Running a disk defrag is a great way to improve your computer performance. Go to start > control panel > systems and maintenance. Under the administrative tools click on "defragment your hard drive". In the next window, you can schedule an automatic defragmentation or initiate a defragmentation right away. To start defragmentation, click on "defrag...
How To: Partition a hard drive in Windows Vista
In this video, we learn how to partition a hard drive in Windows Vista. First, go to your desktop and run computer management. From here, go to disk management underneath the storage section. After this, right click on the D drive and then choose "shrink volume". Now you will see a new window appear with different options on what to shrink the volume to. Enter in the number, then click on the "shrink" button. After this, your partition will be finished on your hard drive. This will help you b...
How To: Turn an old WiFi router into a wireless repeater
In this clip, you'll learn how to boost your WiFi signal strength by building a wireless repeater from an old WiFi router. It's an easy process and this video presents a complete guide. For more information, including a full demonstration and detailed, step-by-step instructions, watch this helpful home-computing how-to.
How To: Install a Nvidia GeForce 8600 GT graphics card
Installing new pieces into a desktop PC can be stressful for people who don't do it routinely because it constantly feels like you are going to wreck your computer. If you use the correct procedure, you won't, don't worry. This video will teach you how to install an Nvidia 8600 GT graphics card in a desktop PC. This will allow you to run games and graphics-intensive applications much more smoothly.
How To: Protect sensitive files with an encrypted flash drive
Have a file or a number of files too sensitive to be stored on your desktop hard drive? Thwart would-be snoopers with an encrypted USB flash drive. This free video tutorial from the folks at CNET TV will show you everything you'll need to know to create your own password-protected thumb drive directories.
How To: Open ports in Windows 7
This video tells us the method to open ports in Windows 7. Click on myu icon and go to 'Preferences'. Copy the port number from the resulting window. Go to 'Start', 'Control Panel' and 'System and Security'. Go to 'Windows Firewall' and 'Advanced Settings'. Go to 'Inbound Rules' and 'New Rule'. Click on 'Port' and select 'TCP' and 'Specific Local Port'. Type the port number in the text box. Click 'Next' and 'Allow Connection'. Press 'Next' twice and put the name in the space provided for it. ...
How To: Back-up & compress UMD games on a memory stick
If you’re having trouble getting games on your memory stick, this video will walk you through the steps of just what you will need to do to compress files onto a thumb drive. There are a variety of steps you will have to follow and you’ll have to have a little bit of time to wait for your game to compress but the effort is well worth it.
How To: Completely format a hard drive
In this video tutorial, viewers learn how to completely format a hard drive. Begin by downloading the Knoppix Live Boot CD. Then burn the newly download ISO onto a CD as a bootable disc. Use your BIOS to tell your computer to boot from the CD-ROM instead of the hard drive. With the Knoppix CD still in your CD drive, restart your computer to load up Knoppix. Once loaded, use Knoppix to run the “dd” command and reformat your hard drive. This video will benefit those viewers who want to learn ho...
How To: Burn an img file to dvd on the Mac
In this quick video tutorial Mike will show you how to burn an IMG file to DVD on the Mac. Follow these steps to burn an IMG file to DVD on the Mac: Click on Finder Applications Utilities Disk Utility. Highlight the file, click Burn. You will be asked if you want to burn it to the superdrive. Click Burn. It may take a while, but when you are done you will have a CD or DVD that is ready to use.
How To: Repair a Power Mac G5 - Remove the power supply
Your power supply on the bottom of your Mac may need to be replaced. If you're not sure how to remove it, no problem. See how to remove the power supply from the Power Mac desktop computer.
How To: Mod a USB flash drive with Household Hacker
Household Hacker brings you fun hack how to projects in a variety of areas: electronic hacks, computer hacks, pranks, etc. Search Household Hacker on WonderHowTo for more videos by this creator. In this video, learn how to mod a USB flash drive.
How To: Hack a Windows PC with a USB key
In this episode of Hak5, Darren shows us a USB key, dubbed the USB Hacksaw, that instantly and silently installs on target Windows 2000 or higher computers with guest or higher privileges which will monitor USB ports for flash drives and automatically download their contents for silent archival and email. For detailed instructions on replicating this hack yourself, watch this video hacking tutorial.
How To: Turn an Iomega ZIP Drive into a USB drive enclosure
The good old Zip Drive introduced by Iomega in late 1994 served its purpose as a medium-capacity removable disk storage system until obsolescence kicked in as it was replaced by flash drives as well as rewritable CDs and DVDs. This video presents a number of fun, DIY art projects that you can do with your old Iomega Zip Drive. Specifically, this how-to looks at how you can take your old Zip Drive and make of it a USB driver enclosure. For more, or to get started on your own Zip Drive project,...
How To: Clean white apple keyboards
This is a brief overview of how to clean the surface of a white Apple Keyboard using Mr. Clean's Magic Eraser. This works well on MacBook, iBook G4, and Apple desktop keyboards (both slim aluminum and older PowerMac keyboards).
News: Steampunk Computer - "Windows 1900"
A fully functional steampunk computer workstation. With attention to detail this unique computer was manufactured from old materials. The ensemble consists of iron, steel, wood, brass, glass and leather. Perfect for timetravelers office or as ether terminal. Consists of a 150 years old base frame, a keyboard, a monitor, a mouse, together with a separate, free-standing mouse pad, webcam, plasma tubes, lighting, a Nixie clock and various gadgets ...
How To: Enable or Disable USB Port in Your PC
This video will show you how to enable or disable USB port in your PC. If you disable USB port nobody could insert a USB device on your computer and could not copy your data. You could enable the port whenever you needed. Watch the video and follow all the steps.
How To: Disable or Enable USB Port in PC
This video will provide an idea how to disable or enable the USB port on your PC. By disabling USB port will restrict people from copying your files into USB devices. This is a very effective trick to save your data. Watch the video and follow all the steps.
How To: Clone Macbook Pro Hard Drive to SSD
Want to breathe some life into your Macbook Pro? Get an SSD! But how to swap your data over? Here's how!