Common tech problems -- and treatments

By BILL HUSTED

Cox Newspapers

September 15, 2009

ATLANTA -- Your computer, like your car, microwave oven and TV, will develop problems over time. That's not a prediction -- it's a sure thing. One day it'll be toast and you'll be in a jam.

Maybe because computers are such a big part of our personal and work lives, a failing machine often causes angst and even anger. I can't offer therapy for that but I can tell you some of the likely causes of death. We'll look at them today and learn the symptoms and treatments.

Hard disk

If you hear a clatter from your computer, it's a likely sign your hard disk's days are numbered. It's possible your fan blades could be hitting the protective grating and causing a rattle, so check that first.

If it's not the fan, a surer way to check the health of a hard disk is by using a program I love. It does a bunch of different things but, among them, it'll check the status of a hard disk equipped with what is called SMART (Self-Monitoring Analysis and Reporting Technology). The program, Belarc Advisor, can be downloaded free at www.belarc.com.

The best defense against hard disk failure is having your data backed up. Then either head to a repair shop or do the hard disk replacement yourself. It's a fairly easy job. Several Web sites offer instruction; just Google "hard disk replacement." I've also been impressed with the directions that come with replacement hard disks. This may be a job you can do yourself.

Power supply

The computer's power supply takes the current from the wall socket and transforms it to juice needed for the circuit boards, hard disks and other components. I'm not sure why, but readers have reported power supply problems more frequently lately. Maybe my readers are becoming savvier, or maybe manufacturers are cutting corners.

One of the most common symptoms of a failing power supply is this: Your computer flicks off and restarts again. Other signs include failure to deliver power to one of the computer's components -- say, a disk drive. You can read a lot about power supply problems at this Web site: http://tinyurl.com/nb4tog.

Replacing a power supply is easy and you can buy a replacement unit at a place like Fry's Home Electronics -- www.frys.com. While this is an easy job, I can't know how competent you are or how safe you'll be. That's why I routinely advise folks I don't know to take the machine in to a shop for the replacement.

Computer freeze

When nothing works, that's not the problem. It's a symptom.

Here's what I mean: With humans, a fever is a symptom, not a disease. Having a fever tells you something is wrong but diagnostic work is needed to find the cause. It could be the measles, an infection or a cold, or dozens of other things.

It's the same when a computer freezes. Here's a Web page that talks about some of the possible causes: http://tinyurl.com/c46bq9. I can't tell you how to fix the problem since you'll have to narrow things down to find out what's wrong. But I can offer some advice that will help. Try one fix at a time rather than using a shotgun approach. Otherwise, you could make things worse.

Slowdown

I've listed problems that can stop a computer in its tracks. More common is a computer that slows to a crawl. The most likely cause is spyware and adware infestation. Each piece of adware is a tiny program running on your computer. Some computers end up with hundreds of this malware running at once.

The cure here is also the prevention. Get and use a good anti-spyware program. Commercial programs such as Norton 360 police against spyware and adware, as well as doing other chores including finding viruses. There also are some excellent free anti-spyware programs out there. I continue to like Spyware Search & Destroy, which can be found at http://tinyurl.com/ngnh3p.

My parting wish is that this column will be your only acquaintance with any of these problems. But keep in mind that a computer is very much like a house cat. Just when you think things are going fine, it'll sink its claws in.

Bill Husted writes for The Atlanta Journal-Constitution. E-mail: tecbud(at)bellsouth.net.