PCAnswers #189 Healthcheck your PC

Issue 189 Sept 2008

ESSENTIAL 11-PAGE GUIDE!

in just 4 steps!

The complete guide to servicing your PC and peripherals for free

8

✔ Fix annoying PC niggles now ✔ Revive system files & drivers ✔ Get longer lasting hardware

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Get a healthy PC setup

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Joe Cassels guides you through the free tests to ensure a fitter and faster PC

MONITOR

Flat-screen monitors can suffer from stuck and/or dead pixels, which may or may not be covered by the manufacturer’s warranty. Calibration for optimum colour reproduction is useful, as are software tools that help detect troublesome pixels.

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PC

PCs need maintenance to ensure that their fans turn smoothly and aren’t clogged up with dirt. You can also check that each component is seated correctly and run a series of tests on items such as memory, graphics and the hard drive.

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C

SCANNER

Damage to a scanner’s moving head can make scanning images all but impossible. You also need to ensure that the glass bed is clean and scratch free, and calibrate the device correctly to ensure that it picks up as much detail as possible.

PORTABLE MUSIC PLAYER

It’s good to ensure that tracks are stored in a sensible manner and delete ones that you no longer listen to. Removing old podcasts is often a good way to make room.

Those that contain hard drives may need a little disk maintenance too.

EXTERNAL HARD DISK

External hard drives can benefit from the maintenance run on them, but you may also want to ensure that the drive isn’t using unnecessary power or turned off at a time when you’ve scheduled an important backup.

omputers are often compared to cars in terms of reliability and power. There’s some truth to the comparison, especially when it comes to the speed of technology development and price decreases, but with reliability the common notion that the PC regularly lets us down is a little unfair. Most cars have a full service a couple of times a year, yet computer owners generally treat their machines with a little less respect. A poorly maintained tool is bound to let you down some time or other, so why not treat your computer to a complete service, without the financial burden of third-part maintenance fees?

This feature will take you through key ways to test and maintain various parts of your computer system. This includes the monitor, printer and scanner that most home PCs have in addition to the machine itself. Maintenance isn’t difficult and regular upkeep will help prevent niggling problems turning into fullblown hardware failures.

PRINTER

The printer causes more woes than any other peripheral.

You can check that moving parts aren’t obstructed and clean any that have a build-up of dust, and also run calibration tests to ensure that its output is clear.

ROUTER

Once set up your router should provide you with a secure wireless connections. Save a copy of the router’s configuration in case of accident, but other than this and the occasional reboot, there’s little more maintenance required.

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INTERNAL MAINTENANCE There are several areas to concentrate on inside your PC’s case 1

Power supply

This converts mains electricity to the lower voltage, direct current that’s used in the PC. It has its own fan that you can clean using compressed air. Don’t think about opening a power supply up – it’s unsafe to do so. If it’s very dirty or noisy then consider replacing it.

2

Processor fan

This keeps the CPU running as cool as possible in conjunction with the heat sink that’s directly below the fan. Dust can build up here, making the fan less efficient. So consider using an artist’s brush to carefully clean it, catching the residue on some paper.

3

RAM

Ensure that all memory modules are properly in place. It’s worth reseating them occasionally to combat chip creep. If your PC has less than 2GB RAM installed, consider upgrading. This shouldn’t cost too much and can provide noticeable performance gains at this level.

4

Hard drive

Today’s high-capacity hard drives can run very hot, so consider investing in a hard drive cooler. This is a unit that provides additional fan cooling for the hard disk and can extend hard drive life considerably. See some models at www.quietpc.com.

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Case fan

Like the CPU fan, this fan ensures that your system is as cool as possible, by keeping fresh air circulating throughout the case. It, too, can become as grimy and inefficient, so take a soft brush to it and remember to catch the dust so it doesn’t just land somewhere else in the case.

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Motherboard

This is the main circuit board holding the pieces of your computer together. Keep it dust free using a blast of compressed air. Make sure that no metal objects, including screws, touch it when the PC’s powered on. Check that all cable connections are secure.

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Your PC’s health Follow these tips to ensure that your system is running smoothly It’s important to check that the basic hardware which makes up your PC is working to the best of its abilities.

It’s a good idea to take a look inside the case from time to time. Fans draw air through the case and over your components whenever your computer is powered up, to ensure that they don’t overheat. However, over time this can cause a build-up of dust inside.

Most housekeeping routines involve some dusting, but even the most house-proud owner is unlikely to think of dusting inside the computer.

However, rubbing round with a feather duster or yellow cloth could prove fatal to some components because it results in static build-up, so you’ll need to employ alternative dusting techniques inside your PC’s case.

One popular method is to use compressed air, which you can buy in cans from

specialist computer and electronics shops. This enables you to blast away dust with a swift blow. It’s important to hold the can upright and a reasonable distance from the component that you’re cleaning. If you hold it too close or point the nozzle downwards, you could leave a build up of propellant liquid dripping inside, which can be harmful.

Some PC engineers are quite happy to rely on lung power to blow dust away, although if you go down this cheaper route, take precautions to ensure that you don’t breathe dust in or get it in your eyes. This is definitely not a sensible idea for asthmatics or anyone with dust intolerance.

You can remove dust that’s built up on fans using a soft paintbrush

Dust removal A household vacuum cleaner can be used to remove dust that isn’t directly on components. Take care not to directly touch components

Jumper switch A hardware setting usually on the motherboard that is switched using a little cover that makes a connection between two metal prongs.

with the tube and ensure that there are no loose jumper switches or screws around that could disappear inside the dust bag. If the PC hasn’t been opened up for a long time, there can be a fair bit of hair, dust and lint present that are ripe for a vacuuming.

While you have your computer open, it’s worth plugging it in and turning the power on so you can check that the fans are turning properly. If any are running very slowly or are producing noise, consider replacing them. You can find replacement fans at Overclockers.co.uk or at Maplin.

A small fan will only cost a few pounds, but the components that they protect and your data cost significantly more.

STEP-BY-STEP Use the BIOS to monitor your PC’s health

1

Access the BIOS

BIOSes vary but generally it’s a matter or rebooting your PC and pressing [Del] repeatedly as it starts. If this doesn’t work, check your PC’s documentation to find out the key combination. Once there, use the keyboard to navigate.

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PC Health

Select PC Health or System Monitor. This screen has details on voltage to components, the temperature of the CPU and the overall system, and the fan speeds. In this case, they’re not working and so need attention.

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SMART monitoring

While in the BIOS it’s worth checking that hard drive SMART monitoring is enabled. You’ll usually find it under BIOS features setup. When it’s on, you can run software that can predict hard drive errors before they happen.

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Run diagnostic software

There’s more to checking hardware than simply keeping it clean...

High temperatures can damage components as we mentioned on the previous page. With this in mind, it’s a good idea to check how hot your PC is running to see if any components are at risk. The simplest way to do this is by entering the BIOS. However, checking the BIOS can only give you a quick overview of temperature at any particular time, because you can’t use your PC for work and monitor the BIOS at the same time. This is where a diagnostic program can help.

To test your hard drive try HD Tune, which is available from www.hdtune.com. the program is free for personal use, and scans the disk for errors and test its seek and transfer times so that you can find out if you need to take some action. The full error scan enables you to find out if you have any damaged blocks

on your disk, which can be rectified by marking them as unwritable. It can also perform SMART monitoring to let you know if your drive is healthy or needs urgent replacement.

Get free advice If you’re looking to upgrade or need to know more detailed information about your hardware and software, use Belarc Advisor. This is free for personal use and available from www.belarc.com. Install and run the program to get a full specification of your PC. The walkthrough (right) demonstrates how to use Memtest86, which we think is the best memory test around.

The program runs outside Windows so that it can probe every part of your RAM. To test your processor and other areas of your system see the box below, which has details of SiSoft Sandra Lite.

Benchmarking This simply means running a program or set of programs to find out how well a piece of hardware or software performs, compared to an average or a known standard.

Monitors aren’t easy to test thoroughly, although if you have an image on screen then that’s usually enough. To find out if it’s working properly, you need to be able to send a number of test images to the screen so that you can see if the alignment and colour reproduction are correct.

This is what CheckeMON 1.1 (available free from www. ykwong.com/checkemon. html) does. Download and unzip it, then launch CheckeMON.exe.

This opens a window that provides a number of tests shown as hyperlinks. Each displays a full screen image that’s designed to highlight possible weaknesses in your display. Click one to run the test and press [Esc] to stop it.

These include various colour, pattern and interference tests.

Use your monitor’s controls to adjust the image if necessary.

EXPERT ADVICE Benchmark your PC Find out if your computer is performing up to expectations using Sisoft Sandra Lite SiSoft Sandra Lite is an analysing utility that checks over your PC, benchmarking your hardware and testing it to ensure that it’s working.

It’s available from www. sisoftware.co.uk and the Lite version is free for private or educational use. Overclockers often use it to ensure that their tweaks haven’t broken anything, but it can be useful for general users as a diagnostic utility, too.

Launch the program and click the Hardware tab,

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followed by Computer Overview. This checks all your installed hardware, giving a full list of what makes up your PC. Close the overview window and select a component to test, for example the processor.

Double-click it to receive a report on its performance and capabilities. Move to the Benchmarks tab to see how your components compare with known standards. Select a test, launch it and then click Refresh to find out how it shapes up.

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SiSoft Sandra Lite gives a full report of your hardware and can test it against standard benchmarks

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STEP-BY-STEP Test your RAM for errors

1

Download the software

3

Burn to CD

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Automatic testing

Go to www.memtest86.com, choose Free Download and opt to download the latest version in ISO image form.

Using CD Burner XP (http://cdburnerxp.se), burn the ISO image to CD. Click File > Write Disc from ISO file. Browse to the image > Write disc.

Memtest86 runs a number of tests on your RAM. If errors are reported, you may need to replace one or more of your memory modules.

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Extract the image

4

Boot from CD

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Memtest configuration

The ISO image file is downloaded as a zip archive.

Choose “Extract All files” in Windows Explorer.

Follow the wizard to extract the ISO file.

Restart your PC and boot from this disc. You may need to enable CD booting in the BIOS or select the boot menu at startup.

Configure the program by pressing [C]. This gives you the choice of tests to run and enabling you to set a memory range to test.

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Review your software

It’s time to check out Windows and its accompanying software

GET TO KNOW EVENT VIEWER

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Applications and services

Expand here to see logs related to specific applications. Under Microsoft > Windows you’ll find log files for native Windows services, which can be useful if you already have a good idea of where the problem lies.

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Use this option to open a previously saved log file. This would have been saved using the option below marked Save Events As. This enables you to share log files with people using other computers, so you can get their advice.

3

Views & Logs

Open saved log

Log events

Each event has an entry in the main pane. You can sort them using the table headings to arrange them by date, source or event ID. Use the scroll bar at the side to reveal events further down in the log.

Click this arrow to reveal any custom views. Expand here to see the list of logs made automatically by Windows.

These include set-up events, Those associated with specific applications or ones related to security. To examine a log, select it here. Its contents appear in the main pane. Right-click a log and choose Properties to see its location and size.

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Event details

This pane provides additional information about the selected event in the current log file. The general tab contains much of the information available in the main pane. Switch to the Details tab if you need to investigate this event further.

STEP-BY-STEP Read the logs at Event Viewer

1

Computer Management

Click Start, right-click My Computer > Manage. This launches the Computer Management console. Choose Event Viewer to see logs for Applications and Services, Windows Logs and Custom views.

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2

Pick a log

Select one of the logs and double-click it to see each recorded event. Events are provided in order, most recent first. Errors are flagged with an icon showing a white cross on a red background. Select one to find out more about it.

3

Event properties

Right-click your event and choose Properties.

This gives you details of that event, including a description of what happened, and a link to more information. Click the copy icon to transfer this information to the clipboard.

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System files and drivers

Make sure that Windows has all the data it needs to operate properly In the natural course of using your computer you’ll leave behind junk data, modify key files and pick up unwanted software.

Vista is significantly better than previous versions of Windows in terms of looking after itself. It regularly defragments the hard drive and runs spyware scans using Windows Defender, but you can still improve on its maintenance schedule.

The box below explains how to best defend against spyware infection - marketing software that collects information about your PC use and online habits without your express permission. Spyware can slow down your PC if it’s poorly written, in addition to compromising your privacy.

You may also want to ensure that Windows’ key system files are intact and in place.

The best way to do this is by

using a command line utility called System File Checker or SFC. It needs to run with administrator privileges, so click Start > All Programs > Accessories and right-click Command Prompt. Select Run as Administrator and give your permission to continue.

Type sfc /scannow and press [Return]. This runs a scan of the main system files to ensure that they’re in place and haven’t been corrupted.

Beat back corruption Keep your Windows install CD available if you have one, because you may need it to restore a lost or corrupt file. If Windows came preinstalled and you only have a restore disk then you may need to consider resetting your PC if there’s a lot of file corruption present. If you go down this route then make sure that you have a full back up of your

Device driver This instructs Windows how to work a particular device. Think of it as an interpreter that helps your computer tell, for example, the printer what to do.

data, programs and any device drivers that weren’t in place when you first bought the PC. Talking of drivers, incorrect ones can result in crashes or inefficient PC performance.

Make sure that you have the correct drivers for your hardware and are using the most up-to-date versions available. Use the hardware list generated by Belarc Advisor to provide you with details of your existing hardware and drivers. Check Windows Update and the device manufacturer’s web site to see if there’s an updated version of the driver available. You can check the version you have installed and update it if necessary in Device Manager. Click Start and right-click Computer, choosing Properties, followed

by Device Manager. Right-click the hardware you want to update, choose Update Driver and follow the wizard.

EXPERT ADVICE Spyware cleaning Working out what’s spyware often depends on your perspective. Objective tools are best Vista’s Windows Defender protects against spyware.

It’s well worth using because you can set daily scheduled scans by Choosing Tools > Options and ticking the box marked “Automatically scan my computer”. You can also set the preferred time for a scan and opt to automatically check for updates before scanning.

This provides a good basic level of protection but, unlike firewalls, running multiple spyware scans can be a good thing.

One person’s spyware could well be another one’s legitimate income method. Products from commercial bodies often err on the side of caution.

Spybot S&D from www. safer-networking.org is free and arguably the least compromising of the spyware removal applications. Launch the program, click Update and follow the instructions.

Follow this with clicking Check for problems and then remove the high-risk items identified.

Spybot S&D is worth running on a weekly basis to doublecheck that your PC is spyware free

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Look after your printer

To get the best results ensure that your printer is regularly maintained If you want top-notch prints you’ll need to keep your printer clean, dust free and run the occasional test to calibrate it. Most printers will produce an internal test page that you can generate by pressing or holding the right combination of buttons on the printer itself. Test pages enable you to see if the printer can generate lines, colour and shading correctly and can help you decide if there’s an ink blockage, a messy drum or a feed issue.

Always try to use the manufacturer’s test page rather than those generated

by Windows. These really only confirm that Windows is able to communicate successfully with the printer and won’t provide much information about its capabilities. If you can’t find an internal test page or want to look at a specific rendering issue like shading or line generation, you can find a variety of test images at www.northlight-images. co.uk/article_pages/ test_images.html. Once

you’ve identified an issue, you can alter printer settings in the printer’s Properties dialog. The walkthrough below demonstrates colour calibration adjustments that you can make in Vista.

Other common printer issues include feed problems,

Make alterations to your printer’s settings in its Properties dialog

which can be caused by dirty pick-up heads. Clean yours with a damp cotton bud. In addition, be aware that when loading paper it’s a good idea to fan it out first to make sure that the pages don’t catch together, causing them to feed through in batches instead of singly.

STEP-BY-STEP Colour calibrate for better prints

1

Printer properties

Choose Start > Control Panel and select Printer under Hardware and Sound. Rightclick the printer and choose Properties.

This displays a dialog including all settings for this printer.

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2

Colour management

Move to the Colour Management tab and click Colour management. Select your graphics card or monitor and tick “Use my settings for this device”.

3

Colour rendering

Move to the Advanced tab.

You can now select different settings for different image types. Choose Business graphics for charts and graphs, but opt for Perceptual for photographs.

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Service your scanner

Good-quality scans come from well-maintained imaging kit

You don’t need an expensive scanner to get adequate results for most uses. Photos for web use don’t need to be high resolution and the equivalent of faxing or photocopying can be done by the most basic kit. However, it’s well worth taking a little time to keep your scanner working smoothly.

Flat-bed scanners are designed to take a sheet of paper or another flat object and to copy the image on it. This is done by drawing a light source and some lightsensitive cells across the image. The light reflected by the image is then detected by the light sensors and converted into digital information. Just as printers suffer from the problem of recreating a luminous image shown on a monitor on a reflective surface like a page, scanners can run into the reverse problem. A little time taken previewing your image and selecting the correct scanning settings will ensure that the final result is

as good as possible. See the walkthrough for details.

Physically, there’s little to go wrong with a scanner. If the glass becomes dislodged, the motor that runs the scanning head may not work. Breaking the glass is a definite no-no.

Cracks and scratches will show

Gently clean your scanner bed using a soft cloth to avoid scratches

up on scans and you can’t scan if there’s no flat bed to put your original on. If you have a dusty or grimy scanner bed, the images you scan will include the dirt. Don’t wipe it with tissue or kitchen roll; the wood fibres can scratch the glass.

Use a soft cloth instead.

STEP-BY-STEP Tweak your scanner settings

1

Preview pane

Scanner software enables you to preview the image within an image program.

This is a quick scan, providing a thumbnail result so you can check that the original is loaded correctly.

2

Simple options

Most scanners enable you to choose the kind of scan you want, Use line art (black and white) for diagrams or plain text. If you need to include any kind of shading, select greyscale or full colour.

3

Advanced settings

Advanced options enable you to change the brightness and contrast of the scanned image before it’s scanned. You can also select a resolution here.

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Check your external drive

A portable hard drive is just as vulnerable as an internal one...

External drives are often overlooked when it comes to maintenance because they aren’t plugged in at all times, which means that they aren’t always caught by scheduled maintenance. Furthermore, because you can disconnect or power down the drive at any time, you can end up scheduling a backup that fails because the drive isn’t available.

Clearly, it’s important to have regular local backups and today’s huge external drives are ideal for the job, but having them permanently powered on isn’t energy efficient. It makes sense to power down the drive when it’s not in use. Yet how can you be sure that the disk is available when it’s needed?

One simple solution is a timer plug. Many external drives can be turned on and simply powered on and off at the mains adaptor. Be aware that the drive can sustain damage if the power is cut during a write operation, so if you do plan to use timers in this way, make sure that they coincide with

your back-up schedule and that you leave sufficient time for the full backup to complete.

Run back-up software Some drives come with backup software that enables you to set a back-up schedule and then put the drive to sleep when it isn’t needed. This will use a little more power than the time switch option, but there’s less chance of sustaining drive damage due to mixed up schedules.

Check the software and its documentation for details.

External drive cases often incorporate cooling fans. Clean these from time to time with a burst of compressed air.

Windows includes a number of drive maintenance tools, including Error checking and disk defragmenting. See the walkthrough to run these tools manually in case your external drive isn’t included in scheduled maintenance. If you do lose power while writing to the external drive, run error checking immediately to find and fi x any problems caused. ■

Using Scheduled backups? Use a timer plug to ensure that your external drive is on when the backup is due.

STEP-BY-STEP Maintaining an external hard drive

1

Drive properties

Once you’ve powered up your drive, it should be visible in Windows Explorer. Choose Start > Computer to check. Right-click the drive and choose Properties to view available space and file system.

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2

Error checking

Press Tools and click Check Now under Error Checking.

For a full check, tick both options to automatically fix file system errors and to scan for and attempt recovery of bad sectors. Click Start.

3

Defragmenting

Under Defragmentation, choose Defragment Now. You’ll be shown the current schedule. Click Select volumes and clear all boxes except your external drive. Click Ok to defragment it.