How to troubleshoot unknown devices in Windows XP Device Manager?

Working computer have all the drivers for the hardware used, and you might not even think about all these pieces of computer code supporting the functionality of all systems. However, after computer crash or following the complete re-installation of the Operating System, you may find that not all the hardware elements are recognized automatically by Operating System. If you are advanced and careful computer user, you might have the drivers backup somewhere, or, at least the original drivers disk, which came with computer purchase. But, what if you miss this information? The devices, where the drivers are not assigned or improperly assigned, might not properly function, or not function at all.

First of all, visit your Device Manager to see, what kind of problems you have. Device Manager displays a list of all devices that are installed on a Windows XP-based computer. When you view device information in Device Manager, you may see a device listed as Unknown Device next to a yellow question mark. It may be difficult to determine the cause of this unknown device, because there are few indications of what generates it. There are several ways to access Device Manager. One of them is choosing My Computer on your desktop or menu and with right click calling Properties. Next, select the tab Hardware and click on the Device Manager button.

When you located the questionable device, try to update the driver, pointing the search to the disk with the stored drivers collection or just let computer search Internet for the suitable one, if you do not have a disk. The worst situation is when your problematic device is related to networking, not allowing you to go online. For this case, you will have to operate from another computer to locate and download the required driver.

There are several ways to update the driver, if it is not recognized automatically:

1. Visit the following Microsoft Web site to see whether the Web site autodetects an updated driver for your device. Install all recommended drivers.

http://www.windowsupdate.com (http://www.windowsupdate.com)

2. Search for Universal Drivers Pack in Google for your Operating System. Download it and burn DVD or copy to the external drive. Then, direct for the updated driver search to the location where the drivers are placed. I have several packs for Windows XP, and there was no single case, when the drivers were not recognized, except for the hardware malfunctioning issues.

3. Visit directly the manufacturing site for the device you need to troubleshoot:

• Visit the Web site of the computer manufacturer if the device came with the computer.
• Visit the Web site of the device manufacturer if the device was installed after you purchased your computer.
• Visit the Web site of the device manufacturer if the device was preinstalled on your computer and the computer manufacturer does not have an updated driver.

Look for a Drivers section or a Download section on the manufacturer’s Web site, and search for the device name. Download and install the Windows XP version of the driver. If you do not know the identification and manufacturer of the malfunctioning device, follow the steps:

• Right click on the unknown device and click on Properties.
• Under the Properties window click on Details tab and select Device Instance Id (or Device Instance Path) from the drop down box.
• You should see a code similar to this
  
        PCI\VEN_8086&DEV_27DC&SUBSYS_30868086
        &REV_01\4&1E46F438&0&40F0
• The portion of the code highlighted in RED is the Vendor ID and the portion highlighted in GREEN is the Device ID. In this example:
  
        Vendor ID = 8086
        Device ID = 27DC
• Once you have obtained both the IDs, proceed to PCI Database. There you can either search for the vendor from the vendor ID or directly get information about the device along with the vendor name by searching with the device ID.

4. Locate the required driver from the specialized websites

In case, the manufacturer does not provide the drivers download option, or ceased to exist at all, you can search for the required drivers on the websites collecting all kind of drivers. There is a list of the sites, you can use:

• http://www.driverguide.com/
• http://www.driverskit.com/
• http://download.cnet.com/windows/drivers/
• http://driverzone.com/
• http://www.opendrivers.com/

Sources and Additional Information:

http://support.microsoft.com/kb/314464

http://www.computerhope.com/forum/index.php?topic=110364.0

http://www.worldstart.com/tips/tips.php/2647

10 Ways to fix your monitor problems

Computer monitor problems can be the result of a number of culprits, including electrical and cabling issues, interference, a problem with the computer's video adapter or drivers or a problem with the monitor itself. Use the following tips to help diagnose problems you may be having with your monitor.

Brief Troubleshooting Guide:

1. First thing first! Check to make sure your monitor is on! Some monitors have more than one power button or switch - check to make sure they're all switched on.
2. One of the most common problems is when the computer monitor fails to blink the green light, which indicates that the computer is not attached to any source of power. Most of the monitors normally include an activity light in their front which is automatically turned on as soon as the computer is switched on. However, if the monitor fails to blink the green light, it will not get turned on thus, indicating that the monitor is not able to receive any power. An individual can easily tackle this problem by checking whether the monitor plug is properly attached to the main power switch or not. Remove the electric cord from the back of the monitor, then put it back in place. Plug the monitor's electric cord into a different outlet. If you're using a UPS or surge protector, plug it directly into a wall outlet.
3. Another computer monitor problem is that the lights are turned on, yet the monitor fails to work and connect with the power switch. In such situations where the green light is turned on but the monitor is not able to depict any images on the screen, it is better to check the resolution settings. It could be possible that the brightness and contrast settings were accidentally changed, thus turning the screen pitch dark. Remove the VGA cable from the computer and monitor and put it back in place. Make sure the connection is tight. Remember that each cable has two connectors and you should verify both of them.
4. One of the main reasons why computer monitors go blank is - wetness. Believe it or not, when your computer monitor is exposed to humid air, sometimes water can condense and accumulate in the monitor. This causes the monitor to malfunction and go blank. I've had this happen to my desktop PC at least three times before. What you need to do is to leave the monitor alone for some time and allow the water to evaporate. That usually solves the problem.
5. Attach the monitor to a different computer. If the monitor still doesn't work, replace the monitor's cable. Make sure the cable is less than 5 feet long. If it still doesn't work, the monitor will need to be replaced or repaired. If it works with no problem on the other computer, troubleshoot your video card.
6. Unplug your computer from the monitor and power outlet. Remove the cover. Pull the video card out carefully of the slot on the system board. Push it back into place. Be sure the connection is secure.
7. Poor picture quality is yet another common PC monitor problem which may seem frivolous but can actually hamper the user’s performance. The image on the screen may appear blurry or distorted at times. This problem can be easily treated by restoring the default settings of the screen resolution. Some computer screens are not able to clearly represent images which have a relatively higher screen resolution. In such situations, it is better to check the resolution settings once again so that the monitor can clearly depict the image.
8. Determine whether the problem is caused by electrical interference. Electrical interference will make the monitor appear jumpy or wavy. Move any speakers, radios, fans or other items that can cause electrical interference away from the monitor.
9. If after monitor connection, the picture is still bad, enter safe mode and uninstall the monitor there to let computer reinstall it upon reboot:
1. Start the system in Safe Mode by rebooting the system and pressing the F8 key once per second while it is rebooting. Once you see the Windows Startup menu, select Safe Mode from the listed options. Press Enter.
2. Go to Start>> Right click My Computer>> Properties>> Hardware tab>> Device Manager button.
3. Click the plus (+) symbol next to the Monitors entry to expand it.
4. Once expanded, right click on the installed monitor(s) and select Uninstall.
5. Exit the Device Manager and restart your system.
10. Another common monitor problem is that individuals do not take care of the safety instructions and end up cleaning the surface of the screen with liquid detergents which may harm the monitor again. It is better to use a dry cloth to clean the monitor screen and steer clear from liquid cleaners.

Sources and Additional Information:

http://www.ehow.com/how_2293087_troubleshoot-computer-monitor.html

http://www.preventiveguru.com/computer-monitor-problems.html

http://www.5starsupport.com/faq/monitor.htm

http://www.build-your-own-computers.com/top-5-reasons-why-a-monitor-goes-blank.html

http://pcsupport.about.com/od/findbysymptom/ht/testmonitor.htm

Hot BIOS entry keys for different computer models

There are multiple reasons, why you need to enter the computer BIOS mode, mostly, for troubleshooting purposes. For example, your Hard Drive boot sector is corrupted, and your computer is just hanging up trying to access the primary master disk. You need to boot-up from DVD or USB, so the boot sequence should be altered in BIOS.

Usually, when you turn on your PC, there is a very short period, when the BIOS entrance command appears on the screen, but if you miss the moment, you will have to start all over again. If you know, what the keys combination you should use is, you need to execute it immediately upon computer reboot, and sometimes it requires multiple repetitive clicks to activate it.

The BIOS keys are different as per computer manufacturer and even as per computer model. Per you convenience, I am listing the BIOS start up keys combinations for the most popular computer models.

Acer - Aspire, Power, Veriton, Extensa, Ferrari, TravelMate, Altos

• Press Del or F2 immediately after powering on.
  
• The BIOS on the Acer Altos 600 server uses the Ctrl+Alt+Esc key and the F1 key for advanced options.
  
• Older Acer computers may use also use the F1 or Ctrl+Alt+Esc keys to access BIOS.

AST - Different models might use the following combinations: Ctrl+Alt+Esc or Ctrl+Alt+Del.



Cannon - F1.

Castex - Del.
Compaq - Presario, Prolinea, Deskpro, Systempro, Portable

• Press F10 while the cursor in the top right corner of the screen is blinking.
  
• Older Compaq computers may use the F1, F2, F10, or Del key to give access to BIOS.

CompUSA - Del.


Cybermax - Esc.


Dell - XPS, Dimension, Inspiron, Latitude. OptiPlex, Precision, Vostro

• Press F2 when the Dell logo appears. Press every few seconds until the message Entering Setup appears.
  
• Dell 400 - F1
  
• Dell Dimension - F2 or Del
  
• Dell Inspiron - F2
  
• Dell Latitude - Fn+F1 (while booted)
  
• Dell Latitude - F2 (on boot)
  
• Dell Optiplex - F2 or Del
  
• Dell Precision - F2
  
• Older Dell desktops and laptops may instead use Ctrl+Alt+Enter or Del to enter BIOS.
  
• Older Dell laptops may use Fn+Esc or Fn+F1.

Digital - F2.


eMachines - eMonster, eTower, eOne, S-Series, T-Series

• Press Tab or Del while the eMachine logo displays on screen.
  
• Other eMachine computers may use F2 to enter BIOS.

Enpower - Ctrl+Alt+S.



Fujitsu - LifeBook, Esprimo, Amilo, Tablet, DeskPower. Press F2 once the Fujitsu logo appears.

Gateway - DX, FX, One, GM, GT, GX, Profile, Astro

• Press the F1 key repeatedly after restarting the computer.
  
• Some older Gateway computers use F2 to access the BIOS Setup utility.

Hewlett-Packard (HP) - Pavilion, TouchSmart, Vectra, OmniBook, Tablet

• Press the F1 key after restarting the computer.
  
• HP Tablet PCs may use F10 or F12.
  
• Other HP computers may allow access to BIOS using the F2 or Esc keys.

IBM - PC, XT, AT

• Press F1 immediately after powering on the computer.
  
• Older IBM computers (including some laptops) may utilize the F2 key for BIOS entry.
  
• IBM PS/2 - Ctrl+Alt+Ins after Ctrl+Alt+Del.

Lenovo (formerly IBM) - ThinkPad, IdeaPad, 3000 Series, ThinkCentre, ThinkStation

• Press F1 or F2 after powering on the computer.
  
• Older Lenovo products allow access to BIOS using Ctrl+Alt+F3, Ctrl+Alt+Ins, or Fn+F1.

Leading Edge - Ctrl+Alt+S.



Micron (MPC Computers) - ClientPro, TransPort

• Press F1, F2 or Del immediately after powering on the PC.

NEC - PowerMate, Versa, W-Series

• Press F2 or F1 to enter the BIOS Setup.

Packard Bell - 8900 Series, 9000 Series, Pulsar, Platinum, EasyNote, imedia, iextreme

• Press F1, F2, or Del to enter BIOS.

Quantex - Del.



Sharp - Notebook Laptops, Actius UltraLite

• Press F2 after the computer starts.
  
• Some very old Sharp PCs require a Setup Diagnostics Disk to access BIOS.

Shuttle - Glamor G-Series, D’vo, Prima P2-Series, Workstation, X Mini XPC, Surveillance

• Press F2 or Del on startup.

Sony - VAIO, PCG-Series, VGN-Series

• Press F1, F2 or F3 after turning on the computer.
  
• Sony VAIO - (After Sony start up screen) F2 then hit F1

Tandon - Press the Ctrl+Shift+Esc keys.


Tiger - Del.



Toshiba - Portégé, Satellite, Tecra

• Press F1 or Esc after powering on to access BIOS.
  
• Toshiba Portable PC (Phoenix) - Press the F2 key while the system processes its Power
  On Self Test (POST).

If all else fails, hold down the space bar during startup. This should halt the machine and allow the customer to enter the startup key. The computer will display the BIOS key option.

Amber Light of Death (ALOD) Troubleshooting on Dell Computers

Dealing with customer computer troubleshooting for significant period of time, somehow, I was lucky not to get the “Amber Light of Death” before. But, obviously, this problem is quite frequently discussed in the online computer-related forums and message boards, thus is quite common.

Problem Description

The computer power is pushed, and the power light is continuously blinking, you see power monitoring leds are ON, and fans are working. But computer does not proceed to the OS boot, and even does not go to the BIOS. The computer monitor is essentially blank.

Problem Source

Based on the Dell users manual description the following problem points out on the power distribution failure inside the computer, while the computer does receive the electrical power from the power outlet.

Troubleshooting

Unfortunately, the problem has multiple explanations, and there are many things that can go wrong in its relation. Therefore, I will propose the following troubleshooting plan, starting from easy-to-do items and continuing to more complicated. Following every step, verify the computer performance. This way, you will know exactly, what the problem source is.

1. Check the power selection switch at your computer and ensure that the voltage selection is set properly to match the AC power at your location. Switch it back and force to ensure that it is indeed at the right position.

2. If you use UPS, reset it.

3. Try different power outlet to ensure that the problem is coming not from your external power supply.

4. Perform the computer “cold reboot” - shut it down, wait 5 minutes, and turn it again.

5. Shut down your PC, open the case, and verify all the cables are connected properly. Ensure that the processor power cable is securely connected to the system board.

6. Examine all your USB ports (front & back) for pins that are bent or pushed in and fix any that are bent. This appears to be the most frequent reason of the problem appearance.

7. Reset 3V battery on the Motherboard.

8. Replace 3V batter on the Motherboard.

9. Remove one-by-one all the nonessential hardware elements in the computer by disconnecting them from the motherboard, like non-essential boards, Floppy, DVD, network cards, etc.

10. Blow carefully with air blower inside the computer case. That will ensure that no pieces of metal or debris could cause the short circuit.

11. Swap the power supply in from another PC. Dell claims the power supply replacement is the #1 solution to this problem.

12. If there is no improvement, there is a good chance that the Motherboard should be replaced. Several users reported that the Motherboard was a core source for the problem appearance. But, in most cases, it means that it might be easier and cheaper to shop for a new computer.

Hard Drive Benchmarking and Information - HDTune

HD Tune is a hard disk utility that can burst speed test, temperature, reference and information. You can use it to measure the raw performance of your drive, including transfer rate, burst rate, access time and much more. In addition, it provides detailed information about the features supported disk, as well as the current temperature, SMART information (if available) and an error scanner.

HD Tune is a Hard Disk utility which has the following functions:

• Benchmark: measures the performance
• Info: shows detailed information
• Health: checks the health status by using SMART
• Error Scan: scans the surface for errors
• Temperature display

HD Tune may also work with other storage devices such as memory cards, USB sticks, iPods, etc.
Users reported that this software is able to find bad sectors on the HDD, when chkdsk fails to locate and report them.

You can make this utility portable to run it from your USB Drive, but software will right some registry settings. If you leave the default options/configurations intact (at the options, just DO NOT click OK), the only registry entries left will be the regular entries for recently used documents, recent files, MRU, etc. But these cannot be avoided because they are Microsoft generated, and their impact is insignificant.

Download the installer and extract to a folder of your choice. The application files are located in the {app} subfolder. Copy the folder content to the desired location and launch HDTune.exe. If needed, you can uninstall the utility from your HDD. Anyway, I have loaded both versions for your use. You can choose which one you want.

Operating Systems: Vista/ Win2k/ WinXP

Developers Website: http://www.hdtune.com/

How to Log In Properly to the Web Site: 15 General Recommendations

"Your Password or Username is Invalid. Please Try Again."

“Sorry, the member name and password you entered do not match. Please try again.”

“Invalid ID or password.”

I bet, you have seen these and other similar error messages multiple times. You try again and again, and the stupid server does not want to recognize you. How frustrating and depressing! In some cases, the problem is real, and is caused by the mess in the service database, or by the server being completely down. There is nothing you can do in this cases, but patiently wait until it will be up again. But, sometimes, the problem is on our side and its resolution is within our troubleshooting capabilities. Several recommendations for the case investigation are presented below:

1. Make sure that you are using the correct login information. If you have multiple online accounts, you might forget the correct one for this particular site. It is recommended to use password manager for logins preservation (as browser built-in, as third party like Roboform).
   
2. Verify that your CAPS LOCK key is OFF as, in most cases, login information is case sensitive. In many keyboards, there is the monitoring led, showing the status of the CAPS LOCK key. Please, put attention that the it is disabled.
   
3. Do not copy and paste your password or username into the text boxes again and again. Stop, and type it manually.
   
4. Retype your login information, carefully proofreading all the data inputted. The most common mistakes are related to use of the dot key instead of comma key, or neighboring letters accidental substitution on the keyboard.
   
5. Use your mouse cursor to move from one login field to another, instead of using the Tab key. This way, you can better control the proper information filling as per site requirements.
   
6. Avoid hitting the Submit or Log In buttons more than once with your mouse. While using keyboard, hit Enter key just once as well.
   
7. Wait patiently until your login is properly completed, before you do anything else on your computer. I know that the computer operator is usually multi-tasking. he will rush forward, with no particular patience to wait for the login completion. It is fine for you, when it is fine. But, in most cases, when you badly need to login, and you can’t, you will be ready to do whatever needed to get in and show any degree of the patience needed. So, after hitting the login request, do not touch anything on the keyboard, do not touch or move your mouse, do not switch to another screen, window, or program, and do not open any new applications.
   
8. Do not connect any external hardware devices and do not insert DVD or Floppy, while in the process of logging in. Do not use your RAM for side operations.
   
9. Nothing helps - close all browser windows, and restart the browser.
   
10. Security settings of your browser might be too tight to enable your login. Set your browser security to its default settings and try again.
    
11. Many web sites use cookies to identify registered users. If you have disabled cookies on your computer, you will not be able to login. So, change this setting in your browser.
    
12. If cookies, for some reason, have not been properly accepted, you might have problem of being logged out of your account as soon as you move to a different page, or you might be completely unable to login. Delete your cookies: close all browser windows, find the "cookies" directory, and delete the cookie files inside. Or, use any of the special software to clean cookies safely.
    
13. In some cases, you might need to clear your browser’s cache to refresh the content of the recently visited web pages.
    
14. And the last generic recommendation: perform the “cold” computer reboot. Shut down your computer, wait for 5 minutes, and turn it back again.
    
15. If the problem persists, for further investigation, you can try to login to your account using a different browser, or from another computer. At least, you will be clear if the problem is server or your personal account related, or it can be linked to your computer and settings. Remember also, that in some servers there is a limited amount of attempts you can make entering incorrect login. You will not be able to login, if the you try to input the correct login after that for safety reasons. Call to the company tech support and clear the issue.