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More Components How-To

  • 27 February 2012

  • How-Tos: Overclock Your Graphics Card

    Many PC gamers eagerly await the release of next-generation graphics cards, hoping that the new hardware will boost frame rates and enhance eye candy in the latest games. However, while a graphics card upgrade is almost always a good way to increase game performance or improve image quality, new cards tend to be expensive--and they aren’t always necessary.

  • 23 February 2012

  • How-Tos: How to build a compact, energy-efficient PC

    We show you how to put together a space-saving, energy-efficient PC for home or office use - UPDATED: 23rd Feb 2012

  • 20 February 2012

  • How-Tos: My PC Doesn't See My Hard Drive

    When Wendell tries to boot his PC, an error message announces a disk read error. It's as if his hard drive--with three year's worth of work on it--doesn't exist.

  • How-Tos: Install an Old Laptop Hard Drive in Your Desktop

    Reader Fred wants to know if a laptop hard drive can be plugged into a desktop PC. "The pin out appears to be the same," he notes, "but there is no separate power-supply connector."

  • How-Tos: Troubleshoot your motherboard's network adaptor

    When a reader noticed that the LED on his PC motherboard's Realtek LAN adaptor was permanently on, our Helproom Expert diagnosed a software or driver issue, and showed how to troubleshoot your motherboard's network adaptor.

  • 30 January 2012

  • How-Tos: Automator workflow of the month: Clear the iPod photo cache

    Many Mac users discover that their Macs' storage space mysteriously declines over time. This can happen for obvious reasons, of course--you've downloaded a lot of files or created movie projects. But it can also happen because of the operating system's work behind the scenes.

  • How-Tos: How to fix a faulty laptop screen

    When your laptop screen breaks, here's how to understand the problem, then fix or replace the laptop screen.

  • 27 January 2012

  • How-Tos: How-To Setup Intel Smart Response SSD Caching Technology

    When Intel launched the Z68 Express Chipset for second generation Core family processors, one of the chipset's differentiating features was support for Smart Response Technology, or SRT, a solid state caching technology designed to enhance overall system performance and responsiveness. Smart Response Technology is not a feature specific to the Z68 Express chipset hardware, however. The technology is actually implemented fully in Intel's Rapid Storage Technology drivers and software (v10.5 or newer), but is only enabled on the Z68 Express or newer 6- and 7-Series Intel chipsets.

  • How-Tos: Help! My PC can't read memory cards

    Not all SD cards are created equal, and your PC may not be able to read certain capacity cards, but it is simple to fit an inexpensive memory card reader that will solve the problem.

  • 03 January 2012

  • How-Tos: Bugs & Fixes: Bridge over troubled modem

    In the beginning, I had a Comcast cable modem attached to my AirPort Extreme Base Station. All worked well. At least reasonably well. Most of the time.

  • 30 December 2011

  • How-Tos: How to Install a CPU Cooler

    You don't need an electrical engineering degree to properly install a cooler on your CPU. As is the case when installing many PC components, however, the procedure involves some subtleties that can have a measurable impact on the computer's performance.

  • 26 December 2011

  • How-Tos: New year's resolution: A backup plan

    You've heard the advice countless times, but it is oh so easy to ignore: You simply must back up your Mac. If you don't back up your files, it's a question of when--not if!--you'll lose something important or irreplacable. Instead of making a hard-to-keep New Year's resolution like losing weight or exercising more, this year resolve to do something that only takes a smidgen of willpower to get started and then mostly takes care of itself: Make--and manage--regular backups of your computer.

  • 15 December 2011

  • How-Tos: What to do when your PC won't boot

    You switch on your PC or laptop, and instead of booting up as normal, it simply emits a series of beeps. Our Helproom Expert explains what this means, and what to do about it.

  • How-Tos: How to recover data from a damaged hard drive

    Your hard drive overheats and then shuts down, leaving precious files and photos beyond your reach. How do you recover data from the damaged hard drive? Our Helproom Expert explains all.

  • 18 November 2011

  • How-Tos: How to connect to Thunderbolt

  • 17 November 2011

  • How-Tos: Is That Grinding Sound the Death of My Hard Drive?

    Ericuse165 has a friend with a PC that's making a grinding noise. Eric asked the Hard Drives, NAS Drives, Storage forum for advice.

  • 14 November 2011

  • How-Tos: How to Boost Your Smartphone Battery Life

    Do you know where your smartphone is? Unless you're using it to read PCWorld.com, your phone is probably plugged into an outlet somewhere to charge, because the battery stinks. You can find plenty of good reasons why your smartphone battery sucks, most of which stem from the failure of lithium ion batteries to keep pace with the exponentially increasing power demands of rapidly evolving smartphone technology. Thankfully, plenty of tips and tutorials are available to help you wring every last drop of juice from your smartphone battery, and such tricks can be distilled down to two critical steps: Configure your smartphone for maximum battery life, and then download a reliable and trustworthy battery-optimization app.

  • 08 November 2011

  • How-Tos: Help! My PC can see only 3GB of RAM, 8GB is installed

    When a reader complained that his PC could utilise only 3.25GB of the 8GB RAM he's installed, our Helproom Expert was quick to diagnose the problem: a 32bit version of Windows 7.

  • 17 October 2011

  • How-Tos: Build Your Own Network-Attached Storage System

    With cheap storage readily available, the temptation to build vast libraries of music, movies, photos, and documents is ever present. But when each PC in your home is packed to its aluminum gills with gigabytes upon gigabytes of digital goods, managing all of that data can be a hassle.

  • 14 October 2011

  • How-Tos: How to install a new graphics card in an old PC

    One reader wanted to install a graphics card in the spare PCI Express x16 slot in his PC. Our Helproom Expert explained the options.

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