CD-ROM Drive is Ailing

You've come in the office this morning,  looking forward to jamming to the sounds of your favorite CD'S on your laptop's CD ROM.   You turn on  the CD ROM only to discover that your CD- ROM drive is  ailing. And you're like 'what's going on here?'


Well, let's consider these possible scenarios.


A Bad or Dirty CD
A bad or dirty CD CAN cause your CD ROM to freeze up.  To ascertain this possibility, test all your CD'S to ascertain the CD'S condition, if most of them don't work, it's likely your CD'S are either bad or dirty. In that case make sure you clean your CD'S and CD-ROM regularly with a CD-ROM cleaner. If you still get errors it's likely the CD is bad.

Then Seek verification within the Device Manager as to whether the CD-ROM has exclamation marks. If that's the case highlight the CD-ROM drive an d then press the delete key. After seeking verification, reboot your laptop to reinstall the CD -ROM.


Windows Operation System is Corrupted
It's also possible your Windows Operating System is corrupted. This suggests that your windows operating system has been infected by bad sectors. To get rid of the corruption:

• Test the CD-ROM in safe mode. If it works in safe mode but not normal windows, it 's likely another program that is running is causing your CD-ROM to go corrupt.
•   In that case open Open Device Manager, highlight the CD-ROM Drive and remove  the drive by pressing the delete key.
• Once You delete the CD-ROM, reboot the and let Windows reinstall the CD-ROM 

 Bad CD-ROM Drive or Improperly Connected Cables


Either you have a bad CD-ROM drive or improperly connected cables.It's either your CD-ROM has stopped functioning or the cables were not properly connected during installation.   In that case, verify whether your cables  are connected or not.
  
How Do I Verify that the Cables are connected?
 

 
• If you're mechanically inclined, open your laptop and make sure that the power cable and IDE cable are connected to the motherboard
• Disconnect the IDE cable from the back of the CD-ROM and re-connect it.
• Do the same on the opposite end of the cable.
• Make sure that the audio cable is not disconnected from the back of the cable.

If you're still encountering problems after trying the above solutions, you are still encountering problems, it's highly likely that your CD-ROM is damaged. I am sure the next question is: 

How Do I Test My CD-ROM Drive For Failures?  

Try the following diagnostic programs: CD Roller(www.cdroller.com). Use this program to test and if possible recover your data from your CD'S(www.kvipu.com/CDCHECK).  This program helps check CD drives for damage and also helps recover data from damaged disks. If after performing these diagnostics, your CD-ROM is still not performing, I suggest you buy a new  CD-ROM. 

         That's a wrap on what to do when your CD-ROM drive is ailing. I pray that this tutorial doesnt leave you scratching your hair. Hopefully, you would have solved your CD-ROM problem by then. So if you want to learn how to fix your laptop including your CD-Rom Drive,  Click to Watch Laptop Repair Videos in HD

Your Hard Drive Has Crashed

You are in the middle of a very important document when all of a sudden  you hear this clicking sound resembling a drum beat or that famous grrrrrrrrrrrrrr sound! I've come some bad news for you! Your hard drive has crashed, kaput, finito. . I'm sure your next question, is 'How did that happen?

Well, there are four possible causes

Head Crash
The first possibility is a head crash. And I'm not talking of banging of human heads here! This is caused by the head of your laptop's hard disk rubbing(or scratching) against the surface of the disk. In that case, turn your laptop off and get a new one.

Bad Sectors
Bad sectors come about due to physical damage to the disk. This is a consequence of the clicking sound that I described earlier because the disk head is trying ever so hard to read the damaged disk so many times even though the damaged disk is crying" I'm sick and in need of a doctor." The clicking sound also occurs when the disk head fails to read the disk's media tracks caused by the deterioration of the hard disk's magnetic domain which activates the hard disk's reset mechanism. Assuming the disk is not yet damaged goods, it wouldn't hurt to do a disk surface scan . This helps identify all the bad sectors and avoid fresh data  being written on the damaged areas on the disk.  If you need software to help you fix bad sectors, I suggest Reimage.  . It's the most reliable sector repair tool around.

Mechanical Faults
This is a strong signal that your disk is about to crash!  Mechanical faults are sounds caused by defects such a faulty spindle, a flawed right head or loose components. If I were you I'd back up all my data, that is if you can still access it. If you're not sure of how to recover your data, take your laptop to the nearest repair shop. The techs should be able to help you out. But if you're anxious to recover the data yourself, I suggest  Restore My Files. This recovery tool will help you recover all your files.

Virtual Memory Paging
This is where your hard disk does a double shift! when the hard disk's physical memory fills up, The hard disk performs virtual memory paging while running the operating system at the same time. The problem with this scenario is that it puts undue stress on the hard disk.   You can remedy this problem by adding more RAM to your hard disk or get a secondary disk to store the swap files.  These files act as the virtual memory extension of the physical memory of the hard disk.



So that's a wrap on  what to do when your hard drive has crashed. A hard disk crash can be very distressful. It just throws your whole day, not to mention life, upside down.So long as you recognize the above scenarios and act accordingly you'll do fine. If you want to learn how to  fix your laptop including testing your hard disk, Click to Watch Laptop Repair Videos in HD

The Laptop Fell To The Ground

Okay, here is the situation. You leave a laptop to a trusted friend because you have to go on a trip. Upon your return, your so called trusted friend gives you the dreaded news that you don't want to hear" THE LAPTOP FELL TO THE GROUND!"

You then say to your "Oh My God!I hope nothing is broken in there!"   Sorry pal,  anytime  a lap top crashes to the ground, the probability of a few screws or body parts fallen off are quite real-It's a fact of laptop life. So to allay your fears, I'm going to talk about the laptop parts that usually take a hit when the laptop falls to the ground and how to nurse them back to health and what to do when all else fails!

LCD Monitor
The LCD monitor is usually the first body part to scream discomfort when your laptop hits the ground. When the lap top hits the ground, the  screen either doesn't turn on or dims out. Now how do we diagnose a broken Laptop screen?, first, assuming the laptop is set to an external monitor we press the Fn key in the lower  left hand corner and the corresponding key between F1 and F12 at the top. You should get a picture of two monitors using either key. If that doesn't happen, you move on to the next test, which is, plugging in an external monitor where we want to ascertain the health of your video card and whether your screen shows on the external monitor. If the screen doesnt show on the external monitor, then it means it's time to get a new LCD monitor.. However, the good news is that the video card is intact!

Laptop Hinge
If you suspect that your laptop hinge has unhinged from your laptop crashing to the ground, get your screw driver ready. First remove the covers hiding the screws and holding the hinge. Once the covers are removed, you then attempt to tighten the two screws with the screw driver. If you find the screws are still tight, then the problem goes much deeper than that , meaning it's time to get new hinges

Laptop Keyboard Keys
Naturally, when your laptop takes a hit your keyboard keys  bear the brunt of the crash. No one knows why they disappear from the keyboard but they just do. When that happens, buy yourself a spanking new keyboard. It may be expensive, but it saves you the trouble of hunting for the exact replica of the lost key.

Lost Laptop Power
Lost Laptop power is  the scenario most laptop owners  fear the most when their laptops come crashing down. The first thing that comes to mind is "Oh My God Please don't tell me I have to buy a new one!" Well, the good news is you don't necessarily have to buy a new one, but I'll tell you a few things to look out for! First, check to see whether the blue led light on your adapter is on or off. If the light is on, then your adapter is in the clear. If it's off then your adapter is bad. 


Even if the light is on, it doesn't necessarily mean your laptop is in good health.  You will need to turn off the laptop, remove the battery and and unplug the power adapter from the wall.  Now plug the power adapter into the laptop and shake it slightly. If it feels loose then the solder(the metal alloy in the adapter) is broken, causing  a disconnection between the power plug and the motherboard inside the laptop.  When this scenario takes place, you're off to the repair shop again! Your  PC tech shouldn't find any difficulty fixing your power problem.




So that's a wrap on "The Laptop Fell To The Ground.." if you  suffer the indignity of losing your laptop to the laws of gravity,don't panic. All is not lost. Just try out the above suggestions and you'll be just fine. Cheers!

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