Here are some frequently asked questions with possible solutions to help you troubleshoot them some computer problems by yourself. Computers are very technical and complicated machines, so not all solutions will work 100% of the time for your particular problem.

COMPUTER

My computer won't power-on, now what?

• Make sure the power cable is properly connected to your computer and the wall socket. Check your power board and wall socket to make sure all power switches are on also.

• Some desktop computers have a power switch located on the back of the power supply unit. Make sure the power switch is on also.

• Some laptop computers will power back on by unplugging the power cable and/or removing the internal battery. Once this is done, press and hold down the power button for 1 minute to discharge any residual power. Reconnect the power cable and/or reinsert the battery then see if your laptop powers back on.
  

• The power supply unit inside your computer may be faulty or blown due to a power surge. A replacement power supply unit would be required in this situation with a computer technician to perform the installation.

Windows won't start-up, what's going on?

• Press and hold down the power button on your computer until it turns completely off. Now turn it back on to see if it was just a one-off glitch.

• If you have any external devices attached to your computer (e.g. external USB hard disk drive, printer or mobile phone), unplug them and try to start the computer again. Some computers will not start-up if these devices are attached to your computer.

• If your computer displays the Windows Start-up Logo on the screen but fails to start Windows, you could have a software problem. You can try to perform a Windows Start-up Repair upon turning the power back on by entering Safe Mode. Refer below to see how.

• If your computer doesn't display the Windows start-up logo on the screen, you could have a hardware problem. You need a computer technician to troubleshoot this problem.

My computer crashes and freezes, why is this happening?

There are far too many reasons why a computer may crash or freeze to explain any meaningful solutions here. Hardware failure is common, and software is so complex that occasionally you will experience problems. Virus and malware infections can cause problems as can a corrupted hardware driver. If your computer isn't responding at all, try re-starting it to see if it was just a one-off glitch. Anything beyond that requires a computer technician to troubleshoot the problem. 

A puff of smoke and a burning smell came from my computer, is it dead?

The most common cause to this question is that the power supply unit inside the computer has blown. A power surge is the most likely cause for this, so be sure to use a decent power board with built-in surge protection to protect you against this. There is also the chance that other components inside your computer have also died. A power supply unit is easy to replace but anything beyond that requires a computer technician to perform.

My computer turned off by itself while I was using it, why?

This problem is most likely caused by overheating or a faulty power supply unit. There could be a build-up of dust inside your computer preventing the fans from properly cooling components inside. Dust deposits cause the heat inside a computer to rise and if the temperature gets too high, your computer switches itself off to save itself, otherwise certain components could melt and die. All the dust needs to be removed carefully otherwise you could damage delicate components. You can remove the side panels on a desktop computer easily to perform this by yourself. A laptop is harder as it needs to be disassembled to clean.

I think my drive is faulty, have I lost all my data?

Not necessarily. Access to your drive can be attempted, but it depends on what the fault is and the condition it's in. If the partition is corrupt, there's a chance to obtain the data with data recovery software. However, if it's physically damaged, faulty or malfunctioning, you will need to enlist the services of a Professional Data Recovery company to help you. They deal with this specific area exclusively and can retrieve data from almost all devices, no matter what the condition. This can be a very expensive procedure. It ranges from hundreds to thousands of dollars, so make sure you backup your data regularly.

A scammer has hacked my computer via remote desktop software, what do I do?

Turn off your computer immediately once you're aware of the scam/hack. Hopefully the scammer hasn't deleted any of your data or installed any malicious software. Never let any company remote access your computer unless you're totally sure it's legitimate. This is almost always a scam designed to get money from you and if you don't comply with their requests, will continue to damage your computer as much as possible. You'll need a computer technician to inspect and diagnose your computer for potential infections and dodgy software. Most banks will require this to be before letting you continue to use their banking facilities.

MICROSOFT WINDOWS

Do I need to upgrade from Windows 7, 8 or 10?

If you're still using any of these older unsecured Windows Operating Systems on your computer, it really is time to consider purchasing a new computer. Microsoft has ended all support for Windows 7, 8 and 10. You can extend Windows 10 support via Microsoft's ESU program if you can't upgrade to Windows 11.

Is Windows 11 Free?

Windows 11 is a free automatic upgrade to all existing Windows 10 users if your computer hardware supports it. Installation and activation of Windows 11 is also possible with an existing Windows 10 Product Key.

There is no direct upgrade path to Windows 11 from Windows 7 or 8 and will require a full system reload of Windows 11 and only if your computer hardware is supported. If your current computer is more than 7 years old, then you'll definitely be out of luck. To check if your current computer meets the system requirements, download the Microsoft Windows 11 Health Check app from here.

How do I determine the basic specifications of my computer?

Simply click on the Start icon on the Windows Taskbar, then go to Settings, System and scroll down to About and click on it. All your computers basic specifications will be displayed.

How can I recover a file from the recycle bin after I have emptied it?

Simply download and install the free app Recuva from www.ccleaner.com/recuva. It will scan for recently deleted files and allows you to recover data. As long as too much time hasn't elapsed and you haven't installed too many programs, apps or games, you should have access to your deleted data. For more advanced data recovery, purchase EaseUS Data Recovery software.

How do I get into Windows Safe Mode to diagnose a problem?

Once your computer has attempted to boot 3 times in a row and failed, Windows 11 will automatically try to perform a start-up repair by itself. If this fails, you will have to option to enter the troubleshooting section to perform more advanced repairs. Alternatively, if your computer is working and you can boot into Windows, you can simply hold down the SHIFT key on your keyboard upon a restart, and the required options will appear. Navigate to the Advanced Settings area, select Restart Options and continue from there.

How can I see what programs and services are running on my computer?

You can right-click on the Windows Task Bar on the bottom of your screen and select Task Manager. Alternatively, you can press the CTRL+ALT+DEL keys simultaneously on your keyboard and select task manager from the list. From here you can view all the programs and services running on your computer under the Processes and Services tabs. You can right-click on a running program and select end-task (a confirmation box will appear) which will shut down a program if you're having trouble with it. The same applies for a running service, except when you right-click on it, a Start or Stop option will be displayed instead.

Is it safe to turn off my computer without doing a proper shut down?

No, you should never press the power or restart buttons on your computer while Windows is running unless there is a major problem and you have no other choice. The shut-down feature in Windows allows a computer to safely close all running programs and services before it switches off. You can cause damage to Windows by doing this, so use it only as a last resort.

SOFTWARE

Do I need to keep my software up to date?

Yes, you should always keep all the software on your computer up to date, within reason. This includes free minor updates to existing versions (e.g. 2.31 to 2.32 or 2.4 to 2.5) and purchasing the next major version of a product (e.g. 10 to 11 or 2024 to 2025), whether it's a free or paid for product.

Most free software is updated automatically while paid for software can be purchased every year if a new version is released. If a new version includes features you would love to have and use, then purchase it, however it's not essential to do so.

Do I need to maintain and service my computer regularly?

Yes, you definitely should consider it. I usually recommend every 3 to 6 months for a checkup and update. Your computer won't stop working if you don't do this, however your computer will run better for it. Download CCleaner and it's corresponding maintenance guide from the downloads section and use the built in Windows 'Defragment and Optimise Drives' utility to keep your drives fully optimised.

VIRUSES & MALWARE

What is a computer virus and what security should I use?

A computer virus or malware is malicious software that has been intentionally created to cause multiple problems on your computer. Some examples include destroying data, stealing important information, pop-up advertising and making your computer slow and totally unusable. Viruses and Malware aren't as much of a problem today due to better security software measures and Microsoft Windows being a lot more secure than older versions used to be.

It's recommended that you use a good security suite that can protect you against many online threats. Norton 360 is recommended, but all versions of Microsoft Windows since Windows Vista, come preinstalled with basic virus protection and a firewall.

Will using a security suite slow down my computer?

All security suites will slow down your computer a little, some more so than others. This is normal as the software is designed to run in the background to prevent threats from getting into your computer and to monitor various aspects of it. If you have an old computer with a low amount of memory (RAM), consider upgrading to 16GB minimum. Most security suites today don't hinder a computers performance and resources too much, if at all.

If I format my drive, will it remove all infections?

If your computer is badly infected with viruses and malware to the point of not being easily fixed, then formatting your drive and reinstalling Windows from scratch will remove everything from your computer, including viruses.

INTERNET & EMAIL

Why can’t I connect to the Internet?

There are many reasons why you may not be able to connect to the Internet. Your Internet provider may have an outage in your area, a power outage may have erased the user data from your modem router or become faulty, or you could have a virus blocking the connection. There are too many reasons to list here but try these methods and you may have some luck.

• Turn off the power to your NBN box and/or Wi-Fi modem router and wait for 3 minutes. Power on the NBN box first and wait for all the lights to display. Power on your Wi-Fi modem router second and wait for all the lights to display. Check your internet connection now.
  

• Make sure all the necessary cables are pushed in and properly connected.

• Make sure that Wi-Fi is actually active on your computer/device and not disabled.

• Make sure you can actually connected to your Wi-Fi from your computer/device.

• Restart your computer/device.

• Contact your internet service provider for help first before contacting Kristian's Komputers in case of an outage in your area.

What web browser should I use?

It’s your personal preference on which web browser you want to use. Each one has its advantages and disadvantages when compared to one another, but overall it doesn’t matter. There are various web browsers to choose from including Mozilla Firefox, Google Chrome and Microsoft Edge, to name a few. The old Internet Explorer was discontinued some time ago.

My internet is working but webpages aren't loading. Is there problem with my web browser?

There definitely could be. There are many reasons why your web browser may not open or display anything at all. Web browser extensions are usually the root cause. Check your web browser settings and remove any third party extensions that you don't recognise to see if this fixes the problem. You can also try resetting your web browser back to default or even uninstall it completely off your computer then reinstall it.

How do I perform a Google web search?

Click on your web browser and navigate to www.google.com in the address bar. The google website will appear with a search box in the middle of the page in which you can start typing. Type absolutely any question, phrase or website you're searching for in plain English (or other language) and click on Google Search or press Enter on your keyboard. A listing of websites will appear based on your search criteria in which you can click on to explore.

I’m unable to send or receive email, what’s the problem?

Make sure you’re connected to the Internet to begin with. Having no Internet connection means that no email will come through. If your Internet is working, contact your Internet Service Provider and ask about faults in your area. There could also be a problem with your modem router, settings for your email server may have changed or you could have a corrupt database file in Microsoft Outlook. There are too many reasons to list here.

Why can’t I open certain email attachments?

Make sure you have a program installed that is associated with the attachment file type. For example: Adobe Acrobat Reader opens .pdf files, Microsoft Word opens .doc and .docx files, Microsoft Excel opens .xls and .xlsx files and VLC Media Player can open any number of audio and video file types.

MONITOR DISPLAY

There is no picture being displayed on my screen, how can I fix this?

• Make sure that the power cable is plugged in firmly at both ends of the monitor and that it is turned on.

• Make sure that the data cable is also connected properly to the back of the computer and monitor.

• Press the power button a few times to see if you get any response from the monitor.

• If your computer has gone into sleep or hibernation mode after being away from it for a while, try moving your mouse or pressing a key on the keyboard to wake it up.

• Some part of your monitor may be faulty or dead. In this case, simply buy a new one, as it's not worth getting fixed.