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Ten ways to troubleshoot your internet connection

How to troubleshoot your internet connection - Ten ways to troubleshoot your internet connection

Dave’s Computer Repair Blog – Ten ways to troubleshoot your internet connection

We take the internet for granted and for good reason. We can access it anywhere, at any time from just about any device. Why would we not take it for granted? How about when it goes down or when your computer cannot connect to the ‘net?

There are a range of steps you can take to troubleshoot your internet connection. I shall list the most effective ones here for you to try. As always with my guides, try each step, retest and only move on to the next one if you’re still seeing problems.

Troubleshoot an internet connection

There are many things that can interrupt your service so we require a process of elimination to identify exactly what is wrong. I’m using a Windows 10 PC as an example, but many of these steps will be relevant to a whole range of connected devices. Adapt them as you see fit.

  1. Check the connection light on your router or modem as the fault might be on your connection.
  2. Reboot the router by switching it off at the mains and leaving it off for 60 seconds before switching it back on.
  3. Reboot your computer.
  4. Right click the Windows Start button and select Device manager. Make sure your network adapter doesn’t have a red X or yellow triangle next to it.
  5. Right click your network adapter and select Disable. Leave it a few seconds and then select Enable. This will force Windows to reload the configuration.
  6. Open a CMD window and type ‘ipconfig /all’. Make sure you can see an IPv4 address that doesn’t begin 169 and a default gateway.
  7. Type ‘ping www.google.com’ in the CMD window. You should see a reply if the network is up.
  8. Right click the Windows Start button and select Network connection. Right click your network card, select Properties, select IPv4 in the window and click the Properties button. Select ‘Obtain and IP address automatically’.
  9. Select IPv6 in the same window and uncheck the box.
  10. In Network Connections, click ‘Diagnose this connection’ and let the wizard troubleshoot.

Those are my top ten ways to troubleshoot your internet connection. One of these steps is sure to have your internet running again!

Thank you for reading Dave’s Computer Repair Blog, if you ever need computer repair or data recovery assistance give us a call or fill out the contact form on the bottom right of the website.

How to get the Windows 10 Anniversary Update

How to get the Windows 10 Anniversary Update - How to get the Windows 10 Anniversary Update

If you haven’t got it already, the Windows 10 Anniversary Update is a significant collection of bug fixes, improvements, feature updates and more. It’s a large download and takes a while to install but all updates from now on will likely require it to work properly. It brings Windows 10 up to version 1607 which is now the current supported version.

If you want to get the Windows 10 Anniversary Update, here’s how.

Windows 10 Anniversary Update

Love it or hate it, Microsoft’s new way of forcing updates onto Windows 10 machines means you may already have the Anniversary Update. Let’s find out before we go any further.

  1. Navigate to Settings, System and About.
  2. You should now see a screen with a Windows 10 header and your machine information.
  3. Check the Version. If it says 1607, you already have the Windows 10 Anniversary Update. If it is any number lower than that, such as 1511, you haven’t yet installed the update.

To download the Windows 10 Anniversary Update, we can use Windows Update. Bear in mind that the download is quite large and will take anything up to an hour to install, depending on how fast your computer is.

  1. Back up any critical data that you do not want to lose. Preferably somewhere other than your Windows drive.
  2. Navigate to Settings, Update & Security and Activation.
  3. Click ‘Check for updates’ and allow Windows to check for any updates. Chances are, it will find a series of updates up to and including the Anniversary Update.
  4. Perform the update.

The system will take over and the installation wizard will perform the update. The process includes a lot of loading and a few reboots, so don’t be alarmed if your computer restarts a couple times. If something goes wrong with the update or you would prefer to perform a clean install of Windows 10 with the update, try this:

  1. Download the Microsoft media creation tool.
  2. Select 32-bit or 64-bit Windows. It has to be the same version you’re using now.
  3. Choose ‘Upgrade this PC’. You can select ‘Create installation media for another PC’ if you want to use it on other machines or perform a clean install without keeping any of your files.
  4. Choose the media, language, edition and architecture and create the media.
  5. Burn to a DVD or save to USB.
  6. Set your computer to boot from the media and follow the installation wizard.

If you need help upgrading to the Windows 10 Anniversary Update or need to fix problems after attempting the update, Dave’s Computers can help. Contact us today and we’ll take care of everything!

How to fix Windows 10 black screen issues

How to fix Windows 10 black screen issues - How to fix Windows 10 black screen issues

Windows 10 Black Screen Issues can be a real pain. Even a Blue Screen of Death is more informative than your monitor turning black and giving you nothing. Typically, these black screens happen just after a Windows update or as you log in. It seems no amount of key pressing or mouse clicking can fix it. Fortunately, the experts at Dave’s Computers can.

There are a couple things you can do to fix Windows 10 black screen issues depending on when it occurs. If you’re experiencing this problem, here is what you can do.

Fix Windows 10 black screen issues

There are four ways that we know of to address these black screen problems. Let’s begin with the simplest.

  1. Press Ctrl on your keyboard. While you won’t see anything happen, bear with us.
  2. Type in your Windows 10 login password and then Enter. Windows may log you into the desktop as normal. If it doesn’t, try step 3.
  3. Hit Enter, retype your password and hit Enter once more. This will retest this quick fix and make sure the password is entered in the right place.

Sometimes, login gets stuck loading your profile and will present a black screen. By hitting Ctrl, you select the password box in the login screen. Entering your password should log you in as usual and allow Windows to load your profile and your desktop as normal.

If that doesn’t work and you have just installed or upgraded Windows 10, check your monitor cable. Windows can often default to a different configuration than you would like and may switch between an onboard graphics chip and a graphics card. If your motherboard has onboard graphics, plug your monitor into the DVI/VGA port on the motherboard and retest.

Otherwise:

  1. Start your computer with your Windows 10 installation media inserted and boot from it.
  2. Select Troubleshoot instead of Install in the bottom left of the new screen.
  3. Select Advanced Options, Startup Repair and let Windows do its thing. If there are file issues, this should repair it.

If it doesn’t:

Boot your computer with your Windows 10 installation media inserted and boot from it.

  1. Select Troubleshoot instead of Install in the bottom left of the new screen.
  2. Select Advanced Options and Safe Mode. Press F5 and let Windows reload.
  3. Install the latest graphics driver for your computer and reboot and retest.

In most cases, one of these will fix Windows 10 black screen issues. If you still can’t fix it or have any other computer problem you need help with, contact Dave’s Computers today at 908-428-9558. We’re here to help!

How Do I Find a Driver Version Number?

 

Hardware on your computer uses drivers to work properly. These drivers are updated for a number of different reasons, such as malfunctions, new operating systems, new features, and security issues. If you have an old driver, then you may find that components of your computer will not work properly. Additionally, sometimes, drivers become corrupted, which can result in issues as well. Before you contact a computer support service, consider ensuring the problem doesn’t have to do with an out of date or bad driver. Updating this is quick and simple, and all you will need to do is follow a few steps that start with determining what driver you have in the first place.

If you have Windows 7, then this tutorial can help you. If you have a different version of the operating system, then keep in mind that you will need to locate the device manager on your computer. If you are unsure of how to do this, then contact a computer support service.

If you have Windows 7, though, then follow these steps to get the information you need.

  • Click on the start button at the bottom left of the screen.
  • In the start menu, choose control panel.
  • In control panel, choose device manager.
  • In the device manager, you will see main categories for the different types of devices you may have on your computer. You will need to look for the specific devices by clicking on the > symbol that appears beside each main category.
  • When you locate the device you need to find out the driver number for, right click on it. You will see a small menu come up, and choose properties from this menu.
  • When you open the properties window, there are a few tabs you could choose from. Click on the tab labeled driver.

Once you open the driver tab, you will see different bits of information about the device drivers, and then the actual driver version information as well. There are two things you should note: the driver version number as well as the driver provider. Of course, you will need to know the provider so that you can go to the right company in order to download the proper drivers. You may also want to make note of the driver date. That way, when you look into a newer version of the driver, you can make sure it actually is newer. You definitely don’t want to install an older version. If you accidentally do download an older driver and you are unsure of what to do, then a computer repair service will be able to help you with the problem.

There are a few reasons why you may need the driver version number, so if you have trouble with this process, and you need computer help, then don’t hesitate to contact at the bottom of the website. We can help you locate the driver version and even update the drivers as needed. We also offer a variety of different remote computer support options.

Disable Devices in Windows 7

device manager disabledaves 300x199 - Disable Devices in Windows 7Device manager is designed to give you access to different pieces of hardware and ports on your machine. There are times when you may need to disable a device whether it is causing a problem or you suspect it may be. In either case, you don’t have to call in a computer repair service to perform this diagnostic. Instead, you just need to know how to get to device manager and then what to do once you are there. In this tutorial, we will be discussing disabling devices if you have Windows 7. If you have a different version of the operating system and you cannot find the device manager, then you may need the assistance of a computer support professional.

The first thing you need to do is access the control panel, which means clicking on the start menu in the bottom left corner of your computer screen. Then, you can choose control panel from the start menu that will appear. Then, to disable a device through device manager, follow these steps:

  • When you are in the control panel, you will need to locate device manager. Look for the icon or listing and then click on it.
  • When the device manager is open, you will be able to sort through lists of all your devices. You will see a variety of major categories, and there will be an icon that looks like this: >. Click on it so that you can locate specific types of hardware within the category.
  • When you find the device you want to disable, double check to ensure you have chosen the right thing. Then, right click on it and choose properties.
  • You will see a new window for properties. Within this window, click a tab that says driver.
  • Then, you can choose disable from this window. You will receive a message asking if you are sure you would like to disable the device. Click yes.
  • Then, click ok. This will disable the device and then return you to the device manager.

In the device manager, you can ensure the device you were trying to disable has been done so by looking it up again and checking the status. Of course, if you determine you have made a mistake, you can re-enable the device without a computer repair service whenever needed. Just go back to device manager and go through the steps above until you get to the spot where you clicked disable. This time, you will need to click enable and now your device will be fully operational again without you needing to call for computer help.

If you are having trouble with your computer, and you believe it is hardware related, then disabling the device in question can be a good start. Then, you may wish to contact a computer repair service to fully rectify the problem. When you require this service, contact www.DavesComputers.com. We will be glad to assist you with your computer support needs. Give us a call today and we will get started on your problem as soon as possible.