Virtual Desktop

Virtual desktop is an online guide to help us better understand the hardware that is used in a computer and how it is put together to build a computer. The few different aspects of this online guide is the learning aspect and the physical aspect where you have to physically place a certain part to whereabouts it goes on the motherboard. One example would be placing the CPU (Central Processing Unit) into the direct slot on the motherboard.

Whenever you click on a piece of hardware to place in the computer then a paragraph of text pops up and explains exactly what this piece of hardware is and exactly what it does. This gives the user more knowledge to whereabouts it should be placed and more knowledge on how a computer works.

My personal opinion on this online guide is that it really helped me and i feel that now i am really confident to build my own computer even though i know that the real thing is much different

Laptop Repair

Today in our computer maintenance class one of our class mates had brought in there computer so the rest of the class could take a look at it and find out certain problems. We suddenly realised that the computers hard disk memory was almost used up. This shouldn't have necessarily been the case as the hard disk was quite large and that not much software was stored.
We had a few solutions to this problem. We firstly decided to back up the system to see if the memory was still as big when transferred to another hard disk.
If this was the case then all that was needed was to override the former hard drive.
The other solution was to back up the hard disk and just to restore factory settings which would be much simpler.

Ransomware

Ransomware is now the new type of virus that is attacking local computers. This new type of virus can show up on your computer if you do any of the following:

• Open an unsafe E-mail
• Download an unsafe file
• Open an unsafe website

This virus is shown as a pop-up on your computer and will not be able to be removed. It shows information saying something like this;

"Internet access is blocked due to violation of the license agreement schedules of uFast Download Manager

You must activate your copy

Get a registration code by sending an SMS with the following code fw0004199 to number 7122

In response you will receive an activation message.

Enter the activation message received from the SMS response ________"

This virus is becoming very common throughout computer systems and should be dealt with immediately. Here is a few simple steps to keep your computer safe:

• Backup your systems frequently
• Update software frequently
• Then simply keep your computer maintained.

Most common faults and solutions in a computer

The sound in a computer
There is nearly always a problem with the sound in a computerbut there is many solutions to this. the solutions are as follwed: Check the back of the computer and be sure the external speakers are plugged in, Some computers may have speaker connections on both the soundcard and modem, you will need to plug the single stereo speaker plug into the socket on the soundcard usually marked audio out (orin some cases speaker) and sometimes the correct audio driver needs to be installed.
The computer starts up as normal but nothing appears on the screen
The problem with this usually occurs with an unplugged lead in the back of a computer even though this is quite simple. If the problem still proceeds then you may want to buy a new power lead.
Windows Crashing
Sometimes the computer may crash for no apparent reason but this usually occurs on windows based operating systems as there is a fault, a solution could be just to back up your system regularly and be sure to keep it maintained.
Fuzzy image on monitor
Monitors can be very sensitive to electro magnetic interference, so the problem would usually lie with a television, microwave, Radio's,dishawashers and the most common interference would be the mobile phone.
DOA (Dead on Arrival)
Sometimes when ordering a computer for delivery off a website the computer could come to your house and it may not work, this is called DOA and the only form of solution to this would be to send it back immediately.

Vincents Website

sites.google.com/site/maintainingcomputer

Computer Maintenance Practical

Today in our practical class we attempted to fix a computer that had a busted power supply. Firstly had we set up the static mat for health and safety reasons which aloud us to work with the broken computer. we decided that we needed to swap an older power supply unit from one computer to the other. One of the power supply units was to big and wouldn't fit in the other computer, so our practical cannot be completed at the moment.

Seven Computer Maintenance Essentials

Establish a relationship with a reputable vendor.
A reputable vendor is one of the most important decisions to concider. With a good vendor your computer could be backed up and clean with viruses in one night which is much handier than a computer manufacturer collecting the computer and fixing it in several weeks.
Regular and automated backups.

Always be sure to regularly back up your computer when maintaining a computer as the computer could easily crash or be shutdown incorrectly, therefore work would be lost. This would be even more devastating if you where running a business.

Automated firewall and virus protection.


Alternative Internet connectivity.

Alternative email addresses and backup websites.

Good records of your installed applications.

Outsource external facing services to a supported data center company.

Policies and Procedures in South West College.

There is a lot of policies and procedures that the College needs to carry out to help maintain a computer system.The security in the College has been getting ever more strict because of these policies and procedures which only allows us to have certain programs on our computers.
Whenever each student enrolls at the start of there year they are asked to fill out an enrollment form. On this form the person is asked either to accept or decline an agreement to say that they will nottake part in any illegal activities or commit copyright enfringement etc. The result of any illegal activity throughout your course after signing the agreement will see you kicked off the system.
Not only does the College disagree with any illegal activity, they also block certain sites which should not be accessed, and with access to a certain site through a proxy website then you will again see yourself kicked off the system.

Health and Safety (Computers)

Employers laws
There is a lot of aspects to do with health and safety when using a computer. The laws state that an employer must ensure that the computers that his/her employee's are using have: Titable screens, anyi-glare screen filters, adjustable chairs, foot supports, suitable lighting, worksatations are not cramped, when working on a computer there are frequent breaks and appropriate eye and eyesight tests by an optician. Although this is the law towards an employee from an employer this is not the same towards students or pupils.
The picture below states the correct way to be seated to ensure health and safety at a computer:

Electrical Appliances
Electrical appliances also play a role when it comes to computer safety because you cannot have any trailling wires around the computers while working at them. food and drinks are also not allowed as you could easily destroy the computer and easily damage your health. There are also a lot more rules regarding electrical appliances.

Ergonomics

Ergonomics is the science concerned with designing safe and comfortable machines for humans. This includes furniture design and the design of parts of the computer like keyboards.

Repetitive Strain Injury - RSI

Damage to the fingers,wrists and other parts of the body due to repeated movements over a long period of time.

www.BBC.com/bitesize

Preventative Maintenance

Preventative maintenance (PM) is generally seen to be quite efficient even though there are risks towards using PM such as human error.
Preventative Maintenance is concerned with anything that can prevent any component on a network from failing. These components include Client computers, servers, peripherals, devices such as hubs and the software running on all this equipment.

• Preventive maintenance is conducted to keep equipment working and/or extend the life of the equipment.
• Corrective maintenance, sometimes called "repair", is conducted to get equipment working again.