How to Rebuild a Computer (Yes, You Can Do It!)

how to rebuild a computer yes you can do it

Whether your PC has finally given up the ghost or you simply want to upgrade your components, the time to rebuild your computer has come. Don’t worry, it’s not nearly as daunting as it seems. With a little patience and forethought, you’ll soon be beaming with pride at your state-of-the-art computing machine.

  • First of all, unless you aim to replace all of your components anyway, it might be a good idea to see if you can figure out which ones really need to be replaced. For example, if your system is displaying something along the lines of “disk boot failure”, you may want to consider replacing the hard drive for sure. Or, if it’s all dark and silent on the home front, it could be either a power supply or motherboard issue.
  • If you anticipate replacing the entire motherboard, order it ahead of time. Even if you can’t find the exact model number, you should at least be able to obtain the same type. Another important consideration with the motherboard is ensuring that your existing components, or any new ones you’ll be installing, are compatible.
  • Disconnect your power supply, moving the cables neatly out of the way.
  • Remove pluggable components, such as the processor and memory modules.
  • It’s vital for your computer’s future to avoid the danger of static electricity. Touch a bare metal surface inside your PC before removing each component. Try storing your removed components in an anti-static bag. Unless replacing, you’ll want to keep track of these to re-install later.
  • Before installing the new motherboard, make sure that its front-panel sockets match the front-panel plugs in your PC case. If not, you’ll also need to replace the computer case.
  • Re-install all of the pluggable components that you removed earlier and so carefully set aside.
  • Now it’s time to install your operating system. By the way, if installing Windows, you’ll also need to install motherboard drivers.
  • Test it!

Now, pat yourself on the back and bask in the glow of knowing that you just rebuilt your own computer!

Contact us for more information on how we can help to meet all of your technology needs.

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How to Recycle Your Technology?

We love our computers and electronics. That is, until they stop working. Then these computers and their peripherals, from printers to monitors, not to mention your handhelds, batteries, and accessories, often become digital garbage.

These things aren’t made to last after all. (No computer or phone maker is going to mind if you buy an upgrade every year or two.) Consequently, all of this junk ends up in the back of your closet or stored in your garage, collecting dust, because you aren’t sure what to do with the stuff. The best thing to do with this growing accumulation of old electronic equipment is to either donate or recycle it.

Donate your old computers and phones whenever you can to groups that will fix and clean them up and then put them back to good use. Even the oldest computer, something you consider the most obsolete of digital dinosaurs, can probably be used by someone.

There are times, though, when a device is too far gone and there’s nothing else that can be done to bring it back to life again. Even a charity doesn’t want your unusable junk. That junk—called e-waste—is potentially dangerous. Electronics are filled with “heavy metals” (read: toxic metals) and carcinogenic chemicals that are fine when you’re using them, but not so much when sitting in a landfill or, worse, when people try to recycle them incorrectly. Thousands of tons of e-waste is shipped overseas yearly to countries like China and India where it gets dumped and maybe burned, which puts mercury and lead into the air.

So on this 41st Earth Day, we want to point out the places you can take your old or even dead electronics, so they can end up either being used by someone in need or safely recycled.