Purchasing a new computer is an exciting event, but with so many varieties on the market it can be a challenge to narrow down your options and pick one quality computer. It might be tempting to focus on the numbers and specifications like RAM or CPU speed, but those should be secondary to answering some other major questions about what exactly you need to get out of your computer. By answering these four questions about what you need and what you expect, you can find the perfect computer to purchase for yourself.
Tag: Hardware
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How to Share a Printer in Windows XP
I recently wrote a post that outlined how to connect to a network printer. The post, however, didn’t talk about how to setup a network printer at home so that any computer connected to your network can use the printer.
In this post I will explain the steps involved to setup a network printer so you can then connect, and use it from any computer that is connected to the network.
Sharing a Printer
For many people with multiple computers, printing from a printer involves disconnecting the printer from one computer, and then reconnecting it to another. For those connected to a wireless network, you would literally have to go to the printer, and then connect the printer directly to the laptop.
Print sharing allows a printer to connect to a computer, such as a desktop, and then allows any computers that are on the same network to print to that printer. This means that if you are wireless, you can just connect to the printer and print, without having to physically connect to the printer.
Sharing a printer in Windows XP is easy to do and involves the following steps:
- Click Start->Control Panel to open up the control panel.
- Click Printers and Other Hardware, and then click Printers and Faxes.
- From the Printers and Faxes window, right-click the printer, and then select Sharing… from the menu.
- In the Share name box, enter a name for the printer.
- Click OK to save your changes.
To connect to the printer from another computer, use the steps outlined in how to connect to a network printer. When you need to print to the printer, ensure the computer that is sharing the printer is turned on.
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How to Connect to a Network Printer in Windows XP
For most home users it is very easy to connect to a printer. Older printers are usually connected to the parallel port, while the new printers are connected to the USB port. Once the printer is connected and drivers loaded you can easily select the printer from the list and begin printing.
For those on a network that have printers you can use, you have to take different steps to connect to the printers. While the steps to connect to a network printer are different than connecting to a local print, they aren’t complex and can be performed very easily.
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What is a Hard Drive?
I have decided to start writing more posts geared towards talking about computer components, what they are and how they work. For many, it can be confusing to buy a computer and trying to understand what is in the computer.
Since I recently wrote a post about recovering data from a hard drive with bad sectors, I decided to begin my computer component discussion by talking about hard drives.
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Testing for Bad Sectors
In my last post titled Recovering Data from a Hard Drive with Bad Sectors, I mentioned that I had recently recovered data from a hard drive that had bad sectors. In that post I also talked about what bad sectors are and what happens when they appear.
One thing I didn’t talk about was detecting bad sectors. In this post I will touch on some tools you can use that can help identify if your computer has bad sectors.