Sometimes your printer prints without problem, other times throws at you error messages. In worst cases, it neither says anything nor does anything. There can be several reasons for such problems. In the following account, you will find ten most common things that cause all these problems in a printer. If you will follow them, you fix at least 95% of the printer problems then and there. You can, of course offer an IT support ticket for assistance. So, go through this account that tells you how to troubleshoot a printer.

Troubleshooting a Printer

Here are some tips for troubleshooting a printer-

1. Ensure that the Printer is Plugged in: Undoubtedly, your printer is plugged in. still, check it and after plugging in the printer, try printing once again.

2. Ensure the Printer is Turned on: Find out whether it is turned on and all its status lights are green.  Problem like a low toner, paper jam, no paper, etc. are indicated by a yellow or red light.

3. Find out Whether Printer is connected to the Network: Ensure about the connectivity of your printer with the network unless it is directly connected to your PC. A network cable that may enter into the back of your printer; also ensure green light.

4. Execute a Test: Maximum printers have a self-diagnostic program. It prints out a test page having printer information. Toner levels, errors and other diagnostic data may be included in it.

5. Send your Print Job to the Correct Printer: Occasionally the default printer may be altered by a security update or by another user. Set/reset your default printer by clicking Start>Settings>Printers/Faxes. Right-click the printer you need. Select ‘Set as Default’ from the list of options.

6. Check your Computer’s Connectivity to Network: Sharing the printer with other computers in a networked environment is vital. go to a website you don’t visit often after opening an internet browser. Some computers may store your common destinations and you may get some help you look for.

7. Look for an Application Error: Sometimes Word/Excel or any application you use can hang up and result in a problem. Save your work, restart the application and print again.

8. Find whether the Printer shows it is Online: Go to: Start>Settings>Printers/Faxes and double-click the printer you are sending your job to and check its status. If you find it online, try to print a test page if it goes through. If the printer is offline, then turn the printer on, wait for 30 seconds and turn it on again. Sometimes reboot the printer to re-register on the network. If it doesn’t display online status after rebooting, it can’t be mapping suitably and you may have to call your IT support for help.

9. Restart your Computer: May be the machine is troubling you. Restart your computer but don’t use hibernate or sleep and try printing again.

So, if from now on your printer has some trouble, you need not wonder how to troubleshoot a printer. You can fix all its problems by yourself with the help of tips mentioned above.

It might be one of the easiest things for many of us to burn DVD but are you sure, you know the proper method of burning DVD?

The quality of the DVD that you want to burn matters a lot. Branded DVDs may cost you more but at least you will be sure that burning would be complete and accurate. If you want better quality burned DVDs, then aware of those bargaining brands, which may affect the final output of DVD. There is no need of wasting your time in burning defective copies of DVD. If you have to do a lot of burning, then you can do experiments with top brands but don’t ever go for any cheap and local brand. It may happen that while transportation or shipment, your DVD gets damaged. So always make a quick check visually for cracks, scratches, peeling. So rather then finding fault in DVD while burning, try to check them before burning. Even dirt or dust can be the main cause of error while disk burning. Keep your DVD writer/reader clean and keep dusting it regularly in order to extend its productivity to some extent. Try to keep your DVDs away from the reach of kids and directly touching the base of the DVD can also make scratches on it. As we do a lot of work in our daily routine, so this is obvious that our hand carry impurities like dust, dirt, oil, moisture all the time, so it is advisable to always carry DVD by the sides.

Choosing the right software for burning DVD also matters a lot. Any local software can affect your DVD burning process in between. So try to use the software that is easy to install, easy to use and provides excellent service thereby avoiding mistakes. Keep updating software instantly as it will help in running your software smoothly. You try to purchase licensed burning software as you will get information related to latest updates timely. DVD burning process utilizes a lot of computer processor and memory so it is advisable to close all the unused applications when you are doing burning process. Also check, if the antivirus is scanning your computer, stop it as this may help you in performing DVD burning process smoothly.

Most of us would believe that having a good quality software and DVD is enough to burn DVDs but the fact is that burning speed also matter a lot. Higher the speed of your DVD writer/reader, chances of occurring errors will be more.  Running your DVD writer software at a speed just below the maximum would help you in your DVD burning process. We usually use marker to write on the DVD about the content it holds, this may be fine for your home use but if you are burning DVDs for official use, don’t do this as ink of the marker can affect your DVD in some way. You can use printed labels as it is inexpensive and would cost you less but make sure that you paste these labels only after your DVD burning process gets over as putting labels on the DVDs before burning can effect the lens of the DVD writer/reader and can reduce the life of it.

Burning DVDs is not at all tough but what matter is how you are performing this operation. Even a small mistake can affect your work in some way, so follow these instructions and save your data into these DVDs for longer durations.

A short computer battery life is a common problem that many users face nowadays. Fortunately there are ways through which you can maintain the life of your computer battery regardless of the type of computer you own. Whether you have an IBM computer or an Apple, or any other brand, these ways can help you maintain computer battery life for longer periods of time. Mentioned below are some of the ways to maintain computer or laptop battery life.

Tips to maintain computer battery life:

1. Most of the computers have the ability to dim the computer screen.  So in order to do your work in brightest screen setting, you can work on dim screen setting in order to save some battery life.

2. Avoid playing computer games, music or DVD movies on your computer as all of these multimedia activities drain computer batteries while playing.

3. Turn off external devices such as USB devices, Bluetooth and wi fi as they drain computer batteries. You should remove or turn them off when not in use if you really want to save computer battery life. Remember that when you charge other devices like your iPod or MP3 player with your computer then the battery of your computer will drain out. So charge these kinds of devices only when you required.

4. Also try to avoid running many programs at the same time as these add to the CPU load resulting in cut down of computer battery life. So try to use single programme that is crucial for you at a time.

5. You can have extra RAM in your computer as that will allow you to process more memory than the actual memory present in your computer, rather than and relying on the virtual memory. Virtual memory requires the use of hard drive and is much less power efficient. RAM will consumer large amount of energy, however if you will use large amount of virtual memory then the extra RAM can help you to conserve power.

6. You should try to clean the battery’s metal contact of your computer in every couple of months with a cloth moistened with alcohol as this will keep the transfer of power from your battery more efficient.

7. You can use the options such as hibernation or sleep mode in your computer when you are going away from the computer for a short time while working as it will save your computer’s state as it is in the Ram and completely shut itself down. You can use the computer again and you will find that your desktop is restored exactly as you left.

It is important for you to take proper care and maintain the battery of your computer so that you can use it proficiently. If you really want to avoid the need to replace the battery of your computer again and again then you should follow the above mentioned tips. By following these tips for computer battery maintenance you can make your computer ready to be used for a continuous period.

Computer crash is a problem or a condition when a computer programme stops working and does not responds to any other part of the entire system. This problem can cause unnecessary trouble in your work. If you are frustrated due to computer crash problem in your computer then this article might help you. This article includes the common reasons of a computer crash that might help you to prevent your computer from crash.  There are numerous reasons why a computer can crash and for some one it can be difficult to find which of the reason has caused the crash. Every reason of computer crash depends on different factors such as type of operating system, main uses of computer and many more.  However it is not that hard to find out the reason behind the computer crash. Mentioned below are some of the common reasons of computer crash.

Reasons behind computer crash

1. Random Access Memory (RAM) problem can also be the reason behind your computer crash.  RAM problem can bring on the blue screen of death with a fatal error message that indicates fatal exception error. Fatal error generally consider as a serious hardware problem.  At time it may refer that a part of it is damaged and will need to get replace. The fatal error in which is caused by RAM can result due to the mismatch of chips or mismatch speed of RAM. One way to protect your computer from this problem is to enter the BIOS settings and increase the wait state of the Ram. The other way is to troubleshoot a suspected RAM is to the rearrange the RAM chips on the motherboard. While doing this remember not to touch  gold connections as they can easily be damaged,


2. At times computer crash is caused when computer is not shut down properly.  You can prevent your computer from this kind of computer crash by buying an uninterrupted power supply.   As this way you will be able to shut down your computer properly in case of power cut.


3. Overheating in CPU can also lead to computer crash. Though it includes fans that help it to stay cool, however at times the fans fails to operate and may get overheat.  You can prevent your computer form such kind of computer crash by installing a bigger and faster fan in your CPU.  Try to clean the fan of your CPU on regular basis.


4. Badly installed software is the common cause of computer crash.  You can prevent your computer form such kind of computer crash by uninstalling such software in your computer.


5. Viruses remove the boot sector of a hard drive resulting it impossible to start. Viruses can also damage your files in your hard drives including your system files. You can prevent your computer form such kind of computer crash by installing and updating antivirus in your computer.

Computer crash is a very common problem these days and you can prevent it by knowing the root of the problem. If you are frequently suffering from computer crash problem then call a professional for technical support.

The type of modem in your computer is amongst the most important information you must have. Find out whether your modem is Hardware (DSP) modem or Software (HSP) modem. While encountering modem problems, don’t rush to get a new modem. You can enhance the performance of the modem you have. The following account holds some of the common problems that occur with modems and the ways to solve them as well.

Problems of Modem

The type of modem is really vital. Mostly, you can assume the problem just from the modem type. Some basic problems that you might encounter regarding modem issues are-

• Error messages like "You've been disconnected" or "Unable to Establish Connection".


• Repulsive sounding handshake noises that end in an error.


• Constant/unsystematic disconnects.


• Long time for login and disconnection.


• Appalling transfer rate.

Certain clues will tell you about the assumption that something like phone line is not the problem but that the modem is. The type of the above mentioned two categories will give you the first hint. If it is software category then, being modem is the problem or a part of the problem is highly possible. If it is in the hardware category then, you have to sort out phone line or other issues.

Troubleshooting Your Modem

When you encounter problems using a modem with your computer, remember the following points-

1. Various modems are case-sensitive. Employ uppercase letters for the AT commands.


2. While operating normally, it is preferable to reset the modem when the DTR is dropped. When you are setting up the modem for the very first time, it is worthwhile not to have the modem reset if the DTR is dropped. If the modem manages to resets itself, all of the programmed settings that are not saved in the memory of the modem, will be lost. Changing of the Carrier Detect status may result the carrier identify line to toggle on some modems. It causes the cu command to drop the line. You might want to set up the modem to &D3 after the final setup is made.


3. The commands given here are applicable to the maximum categories of modems. So you must take care about their application to your modem. Measure up the commands with your modem manual before proceeding ahead.


4. You can conveniently debug any problem through which your modem is going and hampering your experience. You can do so by removing the modem and attaching an ASCII terminal with a null mode m or an interposer to the very same port and cabling the modem as well. Try and set up the terminal having the very same speed of the line, parity and bits per character. In case the port is made enable for the login, the screen should display a login herald. If the terminal screen shows up the herald, then the problem is fast secluded to the modem configuration.

With the above steps you can sort out and address your modem problems. Just be careful to any hint of the problem and you can identify and answer it in time.