I've deleted a file by accident, my PC wont boot up.
1. Write down the name of the missing file and where it lives, (say for example you have deleted the Himem.sys file, which lives in the C:\Windows Folder).
2. Turn off the PC and insert a Windows 95/98/ME boot disk in the Floppy Drive (this can be created by going into the Control Panel in My Computer, selecting Add/Remove Programs and selecting the tab Start Up Disk, "on someone else's computer, obviously!".
3. When the boot disk finishes you will be sitting at an A:\> (A Prompt).
4. Type "copy himem.sys c:\windows" and hit "Return".
5. Remove boot disk and "restart PC".
6. This can also be used for a missing ".dll" file for example which can be copied to a floppy disk and copied in the same way to the c:\ drive.
I've installed a new Soundcard/cdrom drive in my PC, but when I put music CD's in the cdrom drive there is no sound.
1. Reopen the computer after discharging static from your body by touching the side of the case.
2. There should be a cable with three pins on each end which, should be attached to both the Soundcard and the cdrom drive.
3. If this is not the case, connect it up.
I've just bought a new PC, but there is no Operating System on it.
1. Make sure you have in your possession a Windows 95/98/ME/2000/XP disk and a Start up disk for that Operating System.
2. Connect everything up to the tower/desktop unit. When PC begins to "boot" hit the delete key and enter setup, go to "advanced setup" and set the boot order to: first - floppy, second - IDE0, third - CDROM, then go to "exit"
3. Insert the Start up disk into the Floppy Drive and turn the PC on.
4. You will be given a series of options to start the PC, select "with cdrom support".
5. The PC will stop at the A:\>, type FDISK and then "return".
6. You will be prompted "Do you wish to enable large disk support (Y/N) ............? [ ]. Type "Y".
7. At the next screen select "Create DOS partition or Logical DOS drive".
8. At the next screen hit the "escape" key.
9. At the next screen select "Create Primary DOS Partition"
10. At the next screen you will be asked "Do you wish to use the maximum available size for a Primary DOS Partition (Y/N)...............? [ ], type "Y".
11. The next screen displayed will say "Primary DOS Partition created". Now hit "escape".
12. Now that you have "partitioned the disk" you need to restart the PC. Make sure the floppy disk stays in the drive.
13. When you arrive at the A:\> again, we need to "format the disk" (this resembles cutting grooves into a blank vinyl record).
14. At the A:\> type FORMAT C:, you will then be prompted with "WARNING:.................. Proceed with format (Y/N) ?". Type "Y".
15. Go get a cup of coffee as this will take a while depending on the size of your Hard disk.
16. Once this has finished you will arrive back at the A:\>. You now need to insert your Windows CD into the cdrom drive.
17. Now what happens here is quite strange, you have a C: drive therefore your CDROM drive should be D:, but this is not the case. A RAM drive is created in D: which makes the CDROM drive E:.
18. Now you need to tell the boot disk to look for the Windows CD. At the A:\> type E: and hit "return", you should hear the cdrom drive "spin up".
19. You will now be at an E:\>, type "setup" and hit "return". The Windows CD will begin the installation.
20. Follow the simple on screen instructions, making sure you have the "25" figure serial number to hand. Good Luck.
I've just bought a PCI card, how do I install it.
1. If you are upgrading a card, eg changing a 16mb graphics card for a 64mb graphics card, you'll need to remove the original card from the system (via Device Manager) before it is removed from the case.
2. Right click "My Computer" and select "Properties", then select the "Device Manager" tab.
3. Locate your old card under "Display Adapters" and highlight it (it will turn blue).
4. Select "Remove" and shut the PC down.
5. Open the case making sure to touch the frame before taking out the card, this will avoid any static electricity damaging the system.
6. Insert the new card using downward pressure directly above the PCI slot (the same anti-static precautions should be taken before inserting the new card).
7. When the card has been installed the PC should be switched on, so that the system can find the new "Hardware".
8. Windows now reports "Found new hardware". You will then be asked for a driver disk which comes with all pieces of hardware (usually a cdrom). Follow the instructions on screen and your new card will be automatically configured.