singer246

General Tips
+Check your cables
-Check to see that cables and cards are plugged in properly.
-Always try unplugging and plugging it back in, to ensure proper seating.
-Look for dust contamination. When unplugging a card, inspect for dust that can lodge in slots [frequent with PCI/AGP cards].

+Check your jumpers
-Sometimes when swapping devices or doing major overhauls, jumpers can be neglected, either from being temporarily removed or from not being repositioned correctly [e.g. master to slave].
-Some motherboards have jumper settings that you haven't encountered before [such as +5v USB or PS/2 standbys].

+Check your manual
-Yes, it's always worth a shot.

+Check for grounding problems
+Motherboards
-Some solder jobs leave longer leads than others. Take some electrical tape and put it a) Between the standoffs of your case and your motherboard and/or b) on the backplate of your case [NOT on back of the motherboard, as it can insulate heat].

+Boards and Cards
-Make sure no wire leads are touching your circuitboard [this goes to you modders that forget to connect or insulate your wire leads].
-Make sure they are seated correctly. This is especially true of RAM and PCI cards, where one side can be slightly off, either not contacting at all or contacting the wrong contacts on the board, leading to shorts.

+Drives
-Hard drives in particular, which aren't electrically insulated on the bottom, can occasionally short against the bottom of the case, bottom of the drive cage, or top of another drive. This also holds true for rheostats, system monitors, and fan controllers.

Floppy Drives-The most common issue is the little metal slider snapping off. Using a standard 12-piece toolkit, use the small screwdriver to prop the door open. Depending on ambient light, use a flashlight to find the offender. Use tweezers to gently remove the metal scrap from the drive.

Optical Drives
-Most problems stem from dust contamination. Don't use compressed air, as it can push the dust further INTO the drive. Try to get a mini vacuum cleaner, it will come in handy with the rest of your system as well.

More to come on other hardware.

singer246

Add: check your memory! I do this even with brand new hardware before I even try to install Windows or anything now. Defective ram is extremely common.

Memtest86.com - Memory Diagnostic
Memtest86+ - Advanced Memory Diagnostic Tool

Or try Ultimate Boot CD - Overview for a bootable CD that has multiple versions of memtest, plus every other utility you'll ever need, and some you won't.

singer246

Don't forget to WEAR AN ESD WRIST STRAP!

anna

Thank you for sharing these tips.I have to copy it and print it out so I will remember it.

sphinx

Thanks for sharing these tips! Is it advisable to take the cover off the CPU when it's hot? I see a lot of computer shops doing this and I think it might not be good at all.

singer246

It's ok but it the dust can easily enter in your board. The right solution is COOLING! Install cooling fans inside your system unit or decrease the temperature of your Air-Conditioner in your room. Do I make sense? ..LOL..

lino

thanks for the tips..my brother used to do it..i mean pulling out the cover when its already hot..it really helps a lot...i mean installing cooling fans!

sphinx

I think cooling fans are installed but they still do it... Oh well, that's because most of the time it's above 30 degrees C here so they do that.

jobau

Hi singer246! =)
Thanks for these tips =)
They are very informative...

sousuke689

+Check your cables
+Check your jumpers
+Check your manual
+Check for grounding problems
etc.
Thanks a bunch, This is really helpful. Thanks.