Basic Input/Output System(BIOS) is the critical part of your motherboard and should not be fiddled with if you do not have any idea or you do not want to risk bricking your motherboard. BIOS updates are meant to solve few issues and also bring in support for new devices.

Warning : Flashing your computer BIOS can damage your motherboard if not done properly!

Step 1 : Backup your current BIOS

This step includes manually copying down all the settings that you use in your BIOS so that you can restore it to the same state after upgrading the BIOS. You can also use utilities such as cmos.zip to backup the BIOS.

Step 2: Determine the BIOS version

You need to check the maker of the BIOS. To do that, check the motherboard manual or open up motherboard manufacturer’s site to know the maker of the BIOS and possibly any updates for it. You can also see the BIOS chip to know the BIOS manufacturer.

Continue reading ‘How To Flash BIOS’

Bought your laptop but still searching for the perfect wireless mouse for it? Your search ends here. Logitech VX Nano Cordless Laser Mouse is one of the best wireless mouse that you will ever come across. It also boasts of the world’s smallest USB receiver. Comfort, style and loads of features is what you can expect with Logitech and this mouse is no exception.

Logitech VX Nano Cordless Laser Mouse specifications :

• Wireless Receiver : USB
• Connectivity : Wireless
• Movement Detection Technology : Laser
• Buttons :Five
• Programmable buttons
• Battery : 2 AAA cells
• OS Compatibility : Windows XP, Windows Vista, Mac OS X
• Warranty : 3 years
• Approx. Price : $56

Continue reading ‘Logitech VX Nano Cordlesss Laser Mouse’

Dell monitors are some of the best value for money monitors that you can buy. Dell apart from their laptops also excels in making monitors that are better than the rest. Dell SP2208WFP is one of the latest creations from Dell which is a 22-inch wide screen LCD that delivers rich performance and a really affordable price.

Dell SP2208WFP specifications :

• Display Type : Flat Panel display / TFT active matrix
• Dimensions : 20.2″ x 5.8″ x 16.3″
• Display size : 22″ diagonal
• Max. Resolution : 1680 x 1050
• Color support : 24-bit
• Input : DVI-D, VGA, HDMI
• Approx. Price :  $325

Continue reading ‘Dell SP2208WFP’

Point and Shoot cameras come in all shapes and sizes now, ranging from extremely skinny ones that can fit in your pocket to mini-SLR sized cameras that pack a large punch. Deciding which camera is for you can be extremely hard because of the sheer number of choices, but hopefully this list will provide enough of a choice that you can find the camera that best suites your needs.

Before I start listing the top 10 point and shoot cameras, please keep in mind that I’m not listing the cameras in any specific order and that my choices are based off the reviews of a number of different point and shoot cameras. If you’d like to see a full review of each camera please click on the name of the camera. If you feel differently please feel free to post your list. Now, without further adieu, here’s the list for the “Top 10 Point and Shoot Cameras”.
Continue reading ‘Top 10 Digital Cameras’

Today’s two queries are regarding whether to repair an existing laptop or buy a new one and other ones deals with motherboard and processor buying decision.

The first query is by PatrickG :

I have a HP Compaq nx6125 laptop about 2.5 years old. I have genuine XP and mostly use open source programs/apps and have the home version of avast. I’m a bit of a stickler for updating so almost all the programs/apps i use regularly are updated. I like this laptop quite a bit actually but I have 3 problems:
1. the touch pad is not working
2. the dvd r/w is not working
3. the battery is nearly dead, and the power pack to the ac connection is giving me problems.

I think the warranty period is over and I know I can take it across to the HP service centre and get it attended to. My question is, should I? Or should I just trade this one in for a newer model?

And then, what value can I expect for a trade-in in Kolkata? And what would a upgraded similar laptop cost today?

You are in a similar dilemma that everyone is after spending a couple of years with a laptop! Getting back to your query, the problems you are facing are minor and can be resolved easily without spending loads of money. If you don’t carry your laptop around then the first one can be solved by using a mouse. The DVD-RW and the battery can be bought from HP and won’t cost a bomb. The AC connection problem will have to be looked by service center guys but it doesn’t seem serious.

Continue reading ‘Laptop And Desktop Queries’

Touchscreen got a big boost with the release of Apple iPhone and other companies pushed into making phones that could compete against it. Samsung has come out with a phone that has lot of potential and can challenge the iPhone. The Samsung F700 features a large 3.2″ touchscreen display and a full QWERTY keyboard!

• Dimensions : 112 x 56 x 15.9 mm
• Weight : 139 g
• Display : 3.2″ TFT screen with 240 x 440 resolution
• QWERTY keyboard
• GPRS, EDGE, 3G
• Bluetooth 2.0 with A2DP
• 3.2 Megapixel with autofocus and flash
• Approx. price : $450

The Samsung F700 looks pretty similar to the Apple iPhone and that can also be attributed to the fact that its display size is quite close to its Apple counterpart. But what sets it apart is the full QWERTY keyboard that gets revealed when the slide the phone sideways.

Continue reading ‘Samsung F700′

With the applications becoming resource hog the need for more computer memory is never ending. The prices for computer memory have fallen drastically over the years due to the rapid development in memory technologies.

It all seems very easy to install a new stick of RAM in your PC but there are few very important points that you need to check before you proceed to buying/installing the extra gigs of memory.

Things to check before proceeding :

1. How much memory your PC can support?

You can check the amount of RAM supported by your motherboard in the manual or log on to the manufacturer’s website and check out the motherboard specifications from there.

2. How many memory slots do you have?

You need to open the cabinet at look at the number of memory slots that you have in your motherboard. Also check how many of them are used up by the existing memory modules that you have installed in your PC. Generally most motherboards have two slots, so you need to check if you have an empty one before you rush out to purchase that memory stick!

3. Fine the frequency/type of RAM

This is very very important part of a RAM upgrade. You just can not purchase any RAM module and plug it in. All the memory modules installed in your system need to be of the same frequency and type to run the system smoothly. If there is a frequency mismatch, your system might hang up or give BSODs frequently. To check for the frequency and type of the RAM installed, you can download the CPU-Z software which will give you all the necessary details you need. You need to check the frequency of the RAM ie. like 667 MHz and the type ie. DDR2 etc. Latency is also an issue but it varies with different manufacturers and will be hard to get of same value.

Continue reading ‘How To Upgrade Computer RAM’

Psystar Open Computer is a controversial concept , that aims at running Leopard OS X Operating system on non-Apple hardware which “might” be against the ToS of Apple.  The company aims at providing a cheap alternative to Apple systems which are overpriced and give users an oppurtunity to try out proprietary Apple OS ie. OS X.

The Psystar Open Computer is priced at $740 is even cheaper than cheapest Mac Mini. Here are its specifications :

• CPU : Intel Core2Duo E4500 2.2 GHz
• Memory : 4GB 667 MHz DDR2 SDRAM
• Hard Disk : 250GB, 7200 rpm
• Graphics : 512MB Nvidia GeForce 8600 GTS
• Optical Drive : Dual Layer DVD Burner
• OS : Apple Leopard OS X 10.5
• Approx. price : $740

Continue reading ‘Psystar Open Computer’

I am here to answer a couple of queries from we have had on our Ask-Us page that gives you the liberty to ask all your hardware related queries and get their solutions right here on this blog.

The first query is by John :

Hi,

I bought 2 500gb hd for my NAS 200. Because of its slow speeds, i decided it was best to put them back in my main tower. However to my sad surprise, windows would not recognize them. I recalled that the NAS took the liberty to format my hdd to an unreadable format.

Is there a way to format them back to ntfs form? or ideally access them whilist in my pc?

Thanks

John

Yes you can easily format the hard disk back to NTFS/FAT32 partition. As you are using windows just go Disk Management which is there is Right Click My Computer>Manage and in the left pane you will find the Disk Management option.

In the bottom pane you will find all you external drives listed there if they are installed properly and are getting detected by BIOS.

You will also see the unrecognized partitions when you click on the NAS Hard Disk. You can then format them to the desired format by right clicking on the partition and selecting format.

If by chance, that does not work, you can download the GParted Live CD which is especially made for this purpose and you can boot into the Live CD and format the Hard Disk to the desired format. Continue reading ‘NAS Hard Disk,Wireless Router Queries’

Portability is rapidly becoming the need of the hour as we switch between office and home and other places, we need to have access to all our important documents,bookmarks and other stuff we use often.

Linux has come to the rescue by offering small linux distros which can easily fit into pen drives even as small as 64MB!

Damn Small Linux , the linux distro that is preferred by most due to small size and high functionality is what I will guide you through on how to install in on a pen drive.

Here are a few requirements that you need to have during the tutorial:

• A 64MB or larger Pen Drive
• Extracting Utility like WinRar
• DSL zip files
• syslinux
• HP-USB Format Tool (optional)

Tutorial on how to install Damn Small Linux(DSL) on a Pen Drive :

Step 1 : Format the USB Pen Drive

You need to format the pen drive in FAT or FAT32 format to install DSL on it. You can use the inbuilt utility in windows to format or you use download the HP-USB format utility for the same purpose.

Step 2 : Download DSL and extract it to pen drive

You need to download the DSL file to your PC. The file is in zip format and can be downloaded from here. You can either use one of the FTP mirrors or download the torrent. The file size of this file is 49MB. After downloading the zip file, you need to unzip the contents of the zip file to your pen drive. You can can any extracting utility like WinRar for this purpose.

Continue reading ‘Installing Linux On Pen Drive’