WEB MEDIA SCHOOL session 51-PC PROBLEMS
WEB MEDIA SCHOOL session 51-PC PROBLEMS
What happens if you get the message - "Hard Drive Not Found" - Restart your PC with the emergency start up floppy disk you created when you got your system or installed Windows 95. Does the computer boot? Can you access your hard drive? Restart PC and enter system setup during boot process (see your manual if necessary). Verify all drive parameters. Restart, now can the PC boot with the emergency start-up disk and can you access drive C:? At the C:\ prompt, enter DIR /A Do you see command.com, io.sys, and msdos.sys in the directory list? If not, reinstall them from the emergency disk. Remove the emergency disk and restart. Is the problem solved?If not Power down computer and open PC. Verify that all hard drive cable and wires are correctly connected. Boot with the emergency disk. Restart with the emergency disk. Run your antivirus program. Remove the emergency disk and restart. Is the problem solved.?
Power down, remove a nonessential peripheral card and restart computer. Repeat with other cards, example - modem, sound card, etc. You will need your video display card and any drive control cards, if you have an older computer system. Can computer boot with emergency disk and can you access your hard drive?
Restart with emergency disk. Enter FDISK/MBR - . The MBR switch replaces the Master Boot Record with a DOS boot program that does not look for a boot.ini file. All information, of course, would be lost. Remove emergency disk and restart. Is the problem solved?
SCREEN DISPLAY Restart your PC. If "Starting Windows 95" appears during the boot process, hit F8 and select Command prompt only. Does display look OK? Check all your plugs, cables, and switches. Plug the monitor into a different outlet without an uninterruptible power supply or surge protector. Check brightness and contrast levels. Is display OK? Restart your PC. At the message, "Starting Windows 95", hit F8 select Safe Mode, which sets the display to VGA. Is the display OK? Try testing the monitor on another PC, then with another cable, if necessary. Is display OK? Check your documentation to verify you have the correct video driver installed. Try reinstalling the video driver. Restart the computer. Is the display OK? Video card or drivers may be incorrect. Turn the power off to your computer and open the case, verify that the video card is seated securely and that jumpers and switches are connected tightly. (Make sure you are grounded, so as not to short something in your computer.)Restart the computer. Is display OK? Power down, remove a nonessential peripheral card and restart computer. Repeat with other cards, example - modem, sound card, etc. You will need your video display card and any drive control cards, if you have an older computer system. Is display OK? Restart your PC and enter system setup during the boot process, see your manual if necessary. Verify the proper video adapter settings.
MODEMS Unplug the phone jack cable from the wall jack and plug the cord into a working phone. Does the phone work? Does the modem light turn on when the device is switched on? Connect the modem to a working wall jack. Does modem work? Verify modem power supply is connected. (External type) Does modem work? Replace the modem's cord. Does the modem work? Turn modem off, check serial port connection and DIP switch settings for IRQ and COM port settings. Turn modem on. Does modem work? Does Windows 95's Device manager indicate you have a modem installed? Replace data cable, or connect modem to a different computer. Does the modem work? If YES, you have a possible bad cable or serial port. Replace cable or port, or switch to another port. Does the Device Manager indicate a harware conflict (yellow excalmation point)? Power down your PC and open the case. Verify that the modem is securely in the slot and the IRQ and COM port jumpers are properly set. (You may have an PnP modem). Does the modem work? Change the modem's serial port or IRQ or remove the conflicting hardware. (Click the Properties button, then Resources tab to see). Restart the computer. Does the modem work?
Is this an external modem? Check to see that the Serial port in BIOS, corresponding to the COM port setting on the modem itself, is disabled; then remove and reinstall the modem drivers. (If you have a PnP modem it should detect the proper port connections without having to look in the BIOS.) Does the modem work?
Printer If you printer simply isn't printing, or you recieve a error message such as, "Error writing to LPT1", first check the obvious. Check your power cord, printer cable, and paper supply. Make sure the printer is on-line. Your indicator light should tell you that you are on line and the printer is ready to print. Today's printers require a good quality bi-directional IEEEE 1284-compliant cable, not just compatible.
If you are installing a printer, Double click My Computer - Printer - Add Printers. Follow the on-screen instructions. Windows should recognize your printer. If the printer drivers are not installed on your computer, you may be prompted to insert your CD-ROM or disks for Windows 95. If your printer came with an installation disk, your drivers will be found on the printer disk. When you see a button in the dialog box that reads, Have Disk, insert your printer disk. You may have to browse the disk to find the correct folder that the printer driver resides. Follow the prompts. Once the setup is complete, right click the new printer icon in the Printer's Window and make sure the printer is selected as the Default Printer.
If the Printer freezes up when printing several files at once: Usually, this is a sign of not enough printer memory (for laser printers). The whole page needs to be loaded into the printer's memory before it can print. Laser printers usually come with 256K - 512K of memory and ink jets can have anywhere from 2K to 64K. One of the first things to do is go to the printers folder and see if you have the spool options set. To do this, Hit Start, Settings, Printers, right click your printer, select Properties, Details tab, and hit the Spool Settings button. See that you have "spool print jobs" selected. This will allow files to be sent to temporary disk space while the printer prints its first page. Right click the printer icon in your Window 95 Taskbar to display all the pending print jobs, then delete some of the print jobs. Press the printer's reset button to clear the printer memory. If that doesn't work, try turning off the printer, (wait for a few seconds before turning it back on). If that doesn't work, try re-booting your computer. You will lose all print jobs, so make sure you have saved any unsaved work. Now try printing, if still no, proceed to the printer window. Right click your printer icon, select Properties and see if your printer can print a test page. If not, check cables, printer driver, and ports.
Documents don't print correctly - These problems are usually due to format and keystroke mistakes, hitting the space bar too many times or holding the enter key to include blank lines in the document. The correct procedure is to use tabs or other tools in your processor's menu selections. The best thing to do is use the print preview option before printing.
Printer jams with paper: Pulling paper out of a jammed printer can cause damage to the printer. There are little plastic parts inside the printer that guide the paper and act as switches. Pulling paper out without caution can break these tiny parts or knock them out of place. On a laser printer you can easily scratch the toner drum. A scratch in the drum can cause smears on your print out or missed print areas. Bring your printer in for repairs to a knowledgeable technician.
Check your ports: Go to the device manage by right clicking My Computer and selecting Properties. Navigate to PORTS (COM and LPT1) and double click on the LPT1 setting. Check the device status box to make sure it is free of conflicts with IRQ's and DMA's. If you have a DMA conflict with your parallel port, check to see if it's configured as an ECP port. ECP is used on most new printers. ECP can speed up printing by using your computer's RAM. If your printer uses ECP and you have a DMA conflict, assign your parallel port an unused DMA via the CMOS setup program or Device Manager. If your printer doesn't support ECP, you need to configure the parallel port to a slower, compatible setting in the CMOS settings. If all that hasn't worked you may have a corrupt driver or need an updated one. First try removing the current printer through Add Remove Printers (Start-Settings-Printers) and then reinstalling it.
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INDEX