Hot Computer Hardware Posts
How To: Install memory in a 2009 Mac Mini
This video demonstrates how to install memory step by step in a Mac mini (2009), as it is a complicated method; it is advisable to watch through the process then attempt to do the same. First step is to remove the old memory from the Mac Mini. Shut down and unplug the Mac mini and place it on a soft cloth to prevent any scratch. Turn-over the mini to get into it using a small buddy knife. Carefully place the buddy knife between the inner and the outer case. Try to detach the inner clips using...
How To: Pick the right RAM for your computer
How to pick the right RAM for your computer
How To: Edit or delete tiles on your HP TouchSmart homepage
TouchSmart demonstrates how to edit or delete tiles on your HP TouchSmart homepage. Editing and deleting tiles is a useful way to keep your homepage up to date. To edit a tile, first tap the personalize button at the bottom of the screen. Then, tap the pencil icon next to the shortcut that you would like to change. Edit the information for the tile as desired. Tap the okay button when you are finished editing your tiles. To delete files, tape the pencil icon next to the tile that you would li...
How To: Replace a hard drive in a 15" macbook Pro
The video starts by informing about the basic safety precautions, tools needed and backing up data prior to hard drive replacement. There are a series of screws which need to be removed in the following order.1. Removing the battery from the back and then remove three screws thereby removing the RAM cover.2. Two more screws to be removed under the RAM cover.3. Two screws from inside front edge.4. Four screws from the bottom rear.5. Two screws each from the slim sides.6. Two screws near the hi...
How To: Install memory in a 2009 Mac Pro
MacOSG demonstrates how to install memory in a 2009 Mac Pro. When performing this upgrade, be sure to take precautions for static by discharging static electricity before beginning. Shut down, unplug and place the Mac Pro on a static-free surface. To access the memory, you need to open the side access door by lifting the latch located on the rear of the Mac until it locks in the open position. You can then the door forward and then remove from the body. The memory is attached to the processor...
How To: Disassemble & clean a white Apple iMac keyboard
This video is a tutorial on how to disassemble and clean a white Apple keyboard. Most of the keys pop out easily, but the bigger ones have metal clips on the back and need to be removed very carefully. Take a picture of your keyboard to remember where each key goes, and don’t lose any.
How To: Navigate with your fingers using an HP TouchSmart PC
Navigating on your HP TouchSmart 3.0 PC is easy, fun and takes nothing more then your fingers. To click, simply create a single point of precise contact between your finger and the screen. The HP TouchSmart uses optics to determine clicks so avoid leaning on it with your hands, knuckles, large jewelry or the random fly. The screen is not pressure sensitive so pressing harder has no effect. To right click you simply press and hold. For tasks that require multi-touch input use more than one fin...
How To: Unlock the fourth core of an AMD Phenom II or X2 CPU
In this video tutorial, viewers learn how to unlock the fourth core of an AMD Phenom II or X2 CPU. Begin by installing the CPU chip into your computer. Then turn on the computer and wait for the black screen to boot up. Go to the setup by pressing the Delete button and select MB Intelligent Tweaker (M.I.T). Select the Advanced Clock Calibration and select Hybrid for the EC Firmware Selection. Select Auto for the Advanced Clock Calibration and press "y" to save it. The system will then reboot....
How To: Install a hard drive in a Power Mac G5
This video is about installing second serial ATA drive into a Power Mac G5 system. The video is a step by step demo starting with the removing of the door to the machine and the air pack. The first hard drive is at the top rack and you have to remove the four screws at the bottom and insert them into the top and bottom screw alls on each side of the drive. The hard drive is inserted below the first hard drive and the data and power cables are plugged into their respective slots. The video is ...
How To: Connect hardware peripherals to an HP TouchSmart PC
HP TouchSmart PC is a powerful computer with various features. You can use you PC to connect to other hardware devices like printer, scanner etc. A hardware device might not even work with you computer because the connecting cables might not match. So if you want a printer to connect to your computer you will need a USB connector. If your printer has a normal pin connector, you cannot work with it directly. In this case the other option is to print wireless, provided your printer supports it....
How To: Video chat on an HP TouchSmart
HO TouchSmart is a all-in-one PC with many essential features. You can video chat using your HP TouchSmart PC. Note that you will need a internet connection to use the video chat feature. There are lots of messengers available on the net like Windows Live messenger, Yahoo messenger, AOL and others. You will need to have a messenger to chat with an other person using the same messenger. So first go to the respective websites and download the required messenger. Install the messenger as shown i...
How To: Hook your computer up to stereo speakers
Ready to rock and roll? You don't have to listen to music through those teeny tiny computer speakers anymore! Check out this cool tutorial, and learn how to connect stereo speakers to your laptop or PC and get the most out of your music.
How To: Upgrade the hard drive on your laptop computer
Not enough space on your laptop? No problem! Grab a new hard drive from your local office supply store and follow this tutorial to learn how to install it.
How To: Safely clean an LCD screen
This video answers the question, how do you safely clean an LCD? Remember that LCD’s do not have glass so you have to be careful how much pressure you apply, as well as the kind of cloth you are using, or you can damage or scratch the screen.
How To: Fix a stuck labtop key
You are typing along and you notice one of they keys on your keyboard isn't responding like it should. It is common to get a stuck key and you won't need to take your keyboard to fix this problem. You can do it right at home.
News: Yes, Please. Future MacBooks To Have Built-In Projectors
It's only a patent, so don't get too excited (though I have to admit, I'm already pretty excited). Via PatentlyApple,
How To: Thoroughly clean your keyboard
A lot of things come into contact with our keyboards throughout the day: dirty fingers, food, beverages, dust..they are full of germs and crumbs of who knows what. In this 4 part tutorial, learn how to take your keyboard apart and clean it completely. This process should bring your keyboard back to its original glory. So, follow along and clean up your workspace.
How To: Properly clean your MacBook screen
To clean your MacBook screen use a micro fiber cloth and some water. Before you use water on your rag use the dry micro fiber cloth to wipe down the screen and get rid of all the dust. Once you have wiped the dust off of the screen take the micro fiber cloth and dip it in some water. Make sure that the cloth is not soaking wet all you want to do is put a fine layer of water on the screen as you wipe it down. Once you have wiped it with the damp cloth take a dry cloth or the dry part of your m...
How To: Identify computer parts
This video tutorial helps you identify the various components within a desktop computer. The CPU, a circular windmill-looking piece, consists of a fan that keeps the CPU cool. The CPU chip is located underneath this fan. There are four RAM slots in this particular motherboard featured in the video. The video card connects toward the middle and clicks into a PCI Express slot, which provides video. On the bottom there are expansion slots, which audio or network cards can be connected into. The ...
How To: Apply thermal compound to a CPU
This is a great video demonstrating how to apply thermal compound to your CPU. This is useful to know in order to build your own operating system and computer.
How To: Clean an LCD screen without harming it
There are a variety of substances that you can use to clean your LCD screen. The one thing you don't want to use is anything that has alcohol in it. Alcohol will damage your LCD. Any LCD cleaning liquid will work to safely clean your LCD. It is also good to use a microfiber cloth also so that they don't put any scratches in the screen. You should never use napkins, paper towels, or Kleenex. The primary ingredient in most LCD cleaners is water. The key is that they remove the impurities and ch...
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: Make your computer run 30-40% faster with CCleaner
CCleaner is a executable freeware that will help clean up some space in your bogged down Windows machine. This tutorial will demonstrate exactly how to use CCleaner to drastically boost your machine's speed up to 40%.
How To: Clean your PC or laptop screen in 1 minute or less
You can clean your laptop or computer screen in under a minute with no problem. To clean your screen you will need some anti-static cleaning spray to clean the screen. This spray doesn't cost very much. Spray some of the cleaning spray onto the screen. Use a clean soft cloth to wipe the screen dry and get all the dirt and grim off of the computer screen. When you wipe it down make sure that you are very gentle. It doesn't take much pressure to get the screen clean.
How To: Copy a DVD
Justin from Top Ten Reviews demystifies the DVD copying, ripping, and burning process as well as understanding regions, AAC, and other encoding codecs.
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.
How To: Right click on a Macbook
This video explains how to right click on a Mac laptop like Macbook Pro or Macbook. First you need to check if your right click is enabled. You can do so by right clicking and seeing if the menu opens up. If the menu does not pop up, it needs to be configured. The video explains how to enable the right click by going to the system preferences and then to the trackpad. Once you are in the trackpad menu, the video explains the options that need to be checked in order for the right click to work...
How To: Right click on any Macbook using the track pad
Start by dragging your mouse down to system preferences on the dock and open it. If system preferences is not on your dock you can get to it alternatively by opening finder and selecting applications. Scroll through this until you find system preferences which should be located near the bottom because it's usually organized alphabetically. Then select the keyboard and mouse icon. After that click on the trackpad tab and check the option in this screen that says "place two fingers on trackpad ...
How To: Install a computer graphics card
You don’t have to be satisfied with the graphics that are on your computer. There are great graphics out there and with a little time and a screwdriver you can install killer graphics on your very own computer.
How To: Install memory in a 17" MacBook Pro laptop
The geniuses at Other Word Computing (OWC) show you how to install new memory cards in your 17" Macbook Pro pre-unibody, only by using a screwdriver and a little elbow grease. The only thing to keep in mind is that your laptop must be an older model, created prior to February 2009. Newer unibody models will not allow you to crack the case. Once you have your screwdriver, it's as easy as flip, unscrew, slide the old cards out, and slide the new modules in. Don't be stuck with an out of date Ma...
How To: Force eject a disk from a Mac
In this video tutorial, viewers learn how to force eject a CD/DVD from a Mac computer. There are two ways to force eject the CD/DVD. The first option is to begin by turning off the computer. Then turn it on again. Right click while you are turning on until the disc ejects and the login screen appears. You can also restart the computer. While restarting, hold down the option button until startup disk shows up on the screen. Then let go op option and hit eject. This video will benefit those vie...
How To: Fix laptop screen scratches
You paid a lot of money for and now your worried your computer screen is ruined with scratches. Just open up your bathroom cabinet and you will find everything you need to get your trusty computer screen shining like new.
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: Right click on a Mac using the Apple mouse
Jonathan demonstrates how to right click on a Mac using the Apple mouse. There is a short cut: holding down control while left clicking to make the right click menu come up. The Mighty Mouse has a right click function but you have to enable it. To enable this feature, go to system preferences and click on mouse and keyboard. The mouse and keyboard menu will now open up. Locate the right drop down menu. The default is set to "Primary Button" so you will need to change that to the "Secondary Bu...
How To: Fix a laptop fan
You can help keep your laptop cool by fixing a malfunctioning laptop fan. With a screwdriver and some compressed air you can clear away any obstructions. Think about where you are setting down your laptop as soft surfaces can block air intake.
How To: Handle a Mac freeze
One of the most frustrating events in life is a computer freeze. When your Mac freezes don’t freak-out. Stay calm there are things you can do. And, hey, if you can’t do them, there is a professional out the happy to help you out...for a price.
How To: Handle a computer crash
You can learn to deal with the thing we all dread, a computer crash. Hopefully you diligently back up work but even if that's not case, stay calm. There is still hope and even if you're not a wiz at computers there are people out there who can help.
How To: Partition & resize your hard drive with EASEUS
This is a step by step tutorial how to Partition & resize your hard drive with EASEUS. To resize hard drive Open EASEUS Partition Manager. Click on the drive you want to resize. Then click Resize/Move. Go to the end and left-click with your mouse dragging in the direction you want to go. In the display you can see the size that's being created. When you have the size drives you want, just stop and click OK. If you shrunk one drive you can now create a new drive using the unallocated space. Th...
How To: Fix a computer that doesn't power up or has no power
This quick video tutorial will show you how to fix a computer that has no power. If your computer won't power up, follow these steps: Check the back of the computer to make sure the power cord is plugged in, and check the other end of the cable to make sure it's plugged into your power strip, and that the power strip is turned on. Try plugging your computer directly into the wall. Check the switch at the back of your computer to see if it is in the 'off' position. Unplug the power cord. Hold ...
How To: Partition a hard drive on a Mac
This video teaches the secrets of partitioning a hard drive on a MAC in simple steps. First open the disk utility, select the root directory of your hard drive and click partition. Now select the required partitions under the volume scheme, adjust the drive space and name them. Select the format a MAC OS Extended (Journaled) and select GUID Partition table from option if you want to boot it. Click 'Apply' to start the partitioning and when its done start using it.