Angry frustrated office worker having problems with his laptop and connection, computer problems and troubleshooting concept
The average American spends more than an hour and a half on the computer each day. Some spend as much as 14 hours on the computer. That kind of time investment can make it a real pain when something goes wrong.
If you’ve got computer issues, you want it fixed fast. You don’t want to take it to a technician if you don’t have to, especially if it’s a desktop and not a laptop. Fixing a computer takes time, and you may not have that.
We’ve compiled some of the most common computer problems out there and some basic fixes you can try.
Computer Problems With Printing
Printers often struggle to communicate with PCs. Almost everyone who owns both a computer and a printer has had to troubleshoot them at least once, and unfortunately, a lot of different issues can pop up. Business computers, which deal with a lot of printing, can run into printer problems all the time.
Try these solutions first.
Check the printer’s drivers, ink reservoir, and paper tray. Sometimes paper can get misaligned, ink can run out, and software can get out of date.
Failing that, try turning both the computer and the printer off and on again. Sometimes rebooting helps.
As a last resort, try clicking on the printer’s status icon in the system tray. This will show you if something’s wrong with its queue.
Computer Making Strange Noises
A computer making strange noises often has an issue in the case. GPU and CPU fans both can fail or accumulate gunk, leading to persistent whining from the fan.
Sometimes you can address this by spraying the fans with compressed air. Make sure the computer is off before spraying it. This can even speed up your computer by allowing your parts to run more effectively.
If this doesn’t help, it might be the hard drive making noises. This should serve as a warning to back up your files, as a noisy hard drive sometimes indicates impending failure.
Black Screen
If your computer and monitor are both on but not displaying anything, you should start by checking your connections. Sometimes a wire just gets knocked loose and needs to be put back in place. Try unplugging everything and plugging it back in, if nothing seems to be working.
If all that fails, you may have a broken computer. At that point, you can either try switching to a different type of connection or take it to a professional.
Wireless Connection Drops
Wireless connections dropping sometimes happens because Windows has a power-saving feature that turns off your wireless interface card. You’ll have to turn this feature off to check if that’s the culprit.
From your computer’s Power Options, go to Advanced Settings. Under the Wireless Adaptor Settings category, you should have an option for Power Saving Mode. Set this to Maximum Performance.
Skip the Squad
The next time you’re worried about computer problems, try these simple troubleshooting tips and avoid a potentially expensive repair. Whether you’re dealing with powerful business computers or your home PC, you should know how to perform at least basic checks.
If you want to learn more about how to take care of your gear, look at our technology section. We’ve got information on all the latest gadgets.
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