5 Tips For Newbies On
Computers
By Tony Angiola
Field Technician
Sounds simple enough…push
the power button and you’re done. Well for newbies on computers there are a few things you can do before hitting
that power button to ensure that every time you hit that power button everything goes
smoothly:
1. First, make sure that your PC and monitor are plugged
into a UPS
2. Make sure that the room is climate controlled and
comfortable. Heat is a computers enemy.
3. If you move the computer and have to unplug
everything, make sure everything is back in the same place. This includes USB
devices.
4. If you still use an old fashion modem then make sure
that the analog line for the phone line is protected going through the UPS.
5. You also protect the Ethernet cable through many
modern UPS units
What is a UPS? This stands for “Uninterruptible Power
Supply”. What is that you ask? Well, it’s basically a
battery. Just like laptops that can run on their own battery for a while, so can your desktop
PC in the event of a power outage. Many of today’s UPS
units have smart software that you can install on your computer to monitor power outages. The software can be
programmed to automatically test the load and ability to recharge as well as run programs or shutdown
programs in the event that you lose your main source of power. The larger the UPS the
longer it can keep you’re running when the power goes out. Ideally you want to use
the run time to finish up an important document or function then shut the computer down. It’s always a good idea
to close running programs when you leave your computer (assuming you leave it on all the
time). This way if you are at the store and power goes out to your home or office then the
UPS has less work to do to close your programs and shut the computer down. Closing your programs
when you leave your computer also ensures that your data is safe and not open in memory. Even though the UPS is
capable of shutting down the program you have loaded in memory, it’s considered "best practice" to close the
program and be safe.
Here is a picture of a UPS:
Or it
may look more like this:
Most homes use air
conditioning right? Even still I think most homes don’t really monitor the humidity
levels. I think a lot of damage happens to PC’s during the winter when the humidity in the home
drops and there is a lot of static electricity in the air. In the summer with the AC
off can be a killer too. I just love those commercials of people at the beach with their laptop just having a
jolly time typing away in the sun and sand and making you wish it was you. All I can say is AS
IF! There is no way I would take my laptop to the beach. The risk alone is bad
enough, like spilling a drink on it or the hot sun beating down on the thing or the wind blowing it over and
there is still sand in the wind in case you forgot. I don’t think I have ever
seen anyone on the beach with a laptop. Keep your computers inside
with the AC on and try not to smoke around it. Smoke particles get into
your computer and stick to everything. This will heat the machine
up and require more maintenance.
Remember the old phone
modems? In case you forgot here’s a picture of a more modern unit:
Here is an even older unit that uses the old fashion handset that is placed into a
coupler. If
you want to see how one works check out the movie Grand Canyon with Danny Glover where he uses one to communicate
with his deaf daughter on some sort of teletype unit.
These modems use RJ11 phone
jacks, basically a telephone cord. You should connect the
line that comes out of the wall to a UPS with an RJ11 protection jack and then from the UPS to the
modem. This way if there is a surge or lightning strikes you won’t fry your
equipment. A lot of the newer UPS units have protection for a variety of jacks but the most common
are the RJ11 (Telephone) and RJ45 (Ethernet). Some units offer
protection for Coax cable and RGB or VGA and just about any type of connection that can be damaged from an
electrical spike. I would concentrate on the power connection for the PC and the monitor and possibly the
Ethernet connection.
I know it may be obvious to
most of you but I have to mention this because I have seen it with my own eyes by a newbie and if this is you
then make sure to turn off your PC correctly. By this I mean don’t just
push the power button or push and hold the power button when turning off the PC. Make sure to click START and
then click SHUTDOWN.
5 Tips For Newbies On Computers
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