| What can I do before I call the experts? |
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There are some basic troubleshooting steps take to get back on the road quickly.Did you just make a change to your hardware or software?
If you've just changed a setting on your computer, installed some new piece of hardware, or a new program, or updated something in your computer, it's possible that this is causing your current problem. See if you can change back to your previous set up for a quick solution, then call us to see if we can advise a long term fix.Have you rebooted or restarted your computer recently?Unfortunately, as computers run, small mistakes in software (bugs) or hardware cause little errors to occur. The longer the computer has been running, the more these mistakes can pile up, causing inexplicable or unexpected behaviour in things you've never had problems with in the past. By shutting down and immediately restarting the computer, all programs load from the beginning for a fresh and clean start. Further, if you or some software has installed an upgrade or update to drivers or software, some components may not begin working correctly until the computer has been restarted. In our experience stable computers running Windows XP or Windows Vista can run for about a week before they need rebooting. Are all cables plugged in securely?We've all fallen into the trap of something not working perfectly only to find (sometimes 30 minutes later!) the plug has come loose! Follow every cable to and from the computer and make sure it's secure and snug in it's housing. You'll find most plugs should only snugly fit in one receptacle and that it works best if you do this with the computer off. Have you reset any external accessories (modem/printer/scanner)?Our computer is the hub of all our digital accessories, and sometimes they might have experienced a glitch themselves! Try turning off and then back on again any self powered accessories that may have something to do with the problem: If printing is the issue, try turning off the printer. If you can't connect to the Internet, try turning off the modem and/or router (you may have two boxes, and you'll need to power cycle both!). Everything else failed?Give us a call, and we might be able to suggest additional simple troubleshooting tips, customised to your particular problem, before we come on site. |