Every so often I come across someone who has a laptop that won't power on. The description is often that the laptop has a blank screen, won't boot, or has no power. The effects are the same: When you push the power button, nothing happens. Its as if the battery and power adapter aren't even hooked up.
Fortunately there's an easy fix for this.
1) Remove laptop battery
2) Detach laptop power supply
3) Hold power button for 60 seconds
Now put the battery back in, reattach the power cable, and power it up. This generally solves the problem. If it doesn't then either your power supply doesn't work and your battery is dead because of it, or there's a serious hardware fault in the laptop. You can use a volt meter to check the voltage of the power supply to see if it is powering up. If not, its time to replace it.If it is, then something else is wrong.
Why this works:
There's a power supply inside the laptop that keeps the battery charged, and the laptop powered up from either external power or battery power. Sometimes, it gets locked up and won't provide any power at all. By removing all power and then holding the power button, you're doing a reset on that power supply. It should deplete all stored energy in the computer, and the funky state that it is in gets reset and life gets normal again.
I hope this helps you!
Thursday, May 9, 2013
Saturday, April 27, 2013
Microwave WiFi interference- it is real!
For years I've heard rumors and seen articles online that discuss the interference that can be caused by microwave ovens. It goes like this: Using your microwave oven can disrupt your WiFi because they use very close frequencies. Because of this, it is advisable to place your WiFi equipment at least 10 feet (3m) from your microwave oven.
That all makes sense, and it is true to a point. Today I unraveled a mystery that has plagued my own household for a couple of months. My WiFi router (an Asus RT-N16 running TomatoUSB, toastman's build) is in a far end of the house where our modem is. My computer is about 40 feet from that. My sons computer is about 60 feet from it. The kitchen is placed roughly between all of this. I have had various issues with unexplainable intermittent dropouts for many weeks. My son has had the same problem. During games his connection lags out and his skype calls drop.
Today, I got hungry during work (yes, I work from home) and so took my lunch and went and made some food. It required heating in the microwave. While my food was warming up, I came back to the computer. My internet connection dropped. Interestingly, my WiFi connection was still at 4 bars as it was before, but I could not connect to sites, and my work chat dropped.
A thought occurred to me. No. It couldn't be.
The microwave timer chimed and my food was ready. Within a few seconds, I was back online and running normally. After I was done with work, I tested it again. Both my WiFi connection and my sons both dropped out after the microwave oven was on for just a few seconds. I'm about 20 feet from it, he's about 40 feet from it. That's a LOT of interference.
To understand the problem, you have to understand microwaves. They work by pumping Radio Frequency radiation into food, which excites the water molecules, heating them, and thereby heating the food. A Radar engineer in the 40's figured this out when his candy bar melted while he was working on live equipment.
Microwave RF radiation can't be contained like HF or VHF (or even UHF) radiation can be, in coaxial cables (like what your TV uses). It has to use what are called waveguides. Metal. Think of it like mirrors. The magnetron that makes all that energy directs it to a waveguide, and the waveguide directs it to the cooking chamber.
My coworkers suggested maybe it was an insulation problem. So tonight I removed the top cover of the microwave oven and took a peek at any issues.And THIS is where the problem was:
That's right, waveguides don't work if there's a gap. Imagine not closing your door all the way- light will shine into the next room (and if the other room is dark, you'll really notice it). Normally I'd break out the duct tape for things like this. It just needed to be nudged back into place so that it would stay. I didn't have duct tape, and so I used what I had on hand.
Yep that's right, hot glue! It should hold fairly well. I used TONS of it. The only downside is I had to stand there holding it together for a while while the glue cooled into its final shape. Once the piece was held down fairly well I put lots more on there to try to keep it together.
After putting the top back on the microwave, I put something in it and turn it on for a minute. WiFi is now stable, no drops and no more interference from my microwave. This also explains why my wife said she saw it spark a couple of times! Operating it in its defective state couldn't have been safe!
Realistically, if this happened to one of my customers, I'd tell them to toss their microwave oven in the trash and go buy a new one. But, having gutted a few microwaves in my time (I built a welder... another story) I knew what I was looking at. But, the stories and folklore are true. A microwave oven can and will interfere with WiFi, especially if there is a major defect like in this one.
Fun Microwave Facts
- The first commercially available microwave was sold in 1947. It weighed 750lbs and cost $5,000.
- The first food to be deliberately cooked with a microwave was popcorn
- The first food to be cooked at all was a Mr. Goodbar
You can read more about the history and workings of microwave ovens at Wikipedia.
That all makes sense, and it is true to a point. Today I unraveled a mystery that has plagued my own household for a couple of months. My WiFi router (an Asus RT-N16 running TomatoUSB, toastman's build) is in a far end of the house where our modem is. My computer is about 40 feet from that. My sons computer is about 60 feet from it. The kitchen is placed roughly between all of this. I have had various issues with unexplainable intermittent dropouts for many weeks. My son has had the same problem. During games his connection lags out and his skype calls drop.
Today, I got hungry during work (yes, I work from home) and so took my lunch and went and made some food. It required heating in the microwave. While my food was warming up, I came back to the computer. My internet connection dropped. Interestingly, my WiFi connection was still at 4 bars as it was before, but I could not connect to sites, and my work chat dropped.
A thought occurred to me. No. It couldn't be.
The microwave timer chimed and my food was ready. Within a few seconds, I was back online and running normally. After I was done with work, I tested it again. Both my WiFi connection and my sons both dropped out after the microwave oven was on for just a few seconds. I'm about 20 feet from it, he's about 40 feet from it. That's a LOT of interference.
To understand the problem, you have to understand microwaves. They work by pumping Radio Frequency radiation into food, which excites the water molecules, heating them, and thereby heating the food. A Radar engineer in the 40's figured this out when his candy bar melted while he was working on live equipment.
Microwave RF radiation can't be contained like HF or VHF (or even UHF) radiation can be, in coaxial cables (like what your TV uses). It has to use what are called waveguides. Metal. Think of it like mirrors. The magnetron that makes all that energy directs it to a waveguide, and the waveguide directs it to the cooking chamber.
My coworkers suggested maybe it was an insulation problem. So tonight I removed the top cover of the microwave oven and took a peek at any issues.And THIS is where the problem was:
 | |
| Waveguides don't work if there's a gap! |
That's right, waveguides don't work if there's a gap. Imagine not closing your door all the way- light will shine into the next room (and if the other room is dark, you'll really notice it). Normally I'd break out the duct tape for things like this. It just needed to be nudged back into place so that it would stay. I didn't have duct tape, and so I used what I had on hand.
 | |
| Hot Glue! |
After putting the top back on the microwave, I put something in it and turn it on for a minute. WiFi is now stable, no drops and no more interference from my microwave. This also explains why my wife said she saw it spark a couple of times! Operating it in its defective state couldn't have been safe!
Realistically, if this happened to one of my customers, I'd tell them to toss their microwave oven in the trash and go buy a new one. But, having gutted a few microwaves in my time (I built a welder... another story) I knew what I was looking at. But, the stories and folklore are true. A microwave oven can and will interfere with WiFi, especially if there is a major defect like in this one.
Fun Microwave Facts
- The first commercially available microwave was sold in 1947. It weighed 750lbs and cost $5,000.
- The first food to be deliberately cooked with a microwave was popcorn
- The first food to be cooked at all was a Mr. Goodbar
You can read more about the history and workings of microwave ovens at Wikipedia.
Friday, April 26, 2013
24x7 Help - How to remove
Crawler, LLC, purveyors of crapware and adware are repsonsible for this garbage. It usually gets installed along with other garbage software. Thankfully it is very easy to remove 24x7 Help from your computer. In Windows XP, go to your Control Panel and click on Add/Remove Programs and then look for the 24x7 Help entry and uninstall it. The same applies to Windows Vista, Windows 7 and Windows 8, except the Control Panel icon to go to is Programs.
 |
| 24x7 Help. Click "Remove" |
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