How to Bypass or Remove a BIOS Password

A BIOS password is a protection measure that can be used to stop someone powering up a computer system or making changes in some of the computers most sensitive areas. Many big name computer manufacturers such as Dell and HP lock the customers out of this area because they don’t want the customer changing anything and potentially damaging the machine (which the manufacturer may have to warranty). However, when someone like a computer technician or hardware enthusiast needs to make some hardware changes to the computer, they will need to access the BIOS. Here are some methods to bypass or remove a BIOS password.
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How to Clean the Inside of a Computer Case

Computers have moving parts such as fans on their CPU’s, Power Supplies, Video Cards and in some cases, on the case itself. Each fan is important for the smooth operation of the computer because they keep the system cool. Should Dust, Cigarette Smoke (which forms a paste when in contact with dust) or Pet Hair clog up one of these fans and prevent it from spinning, can cause those parts of the computer to overheat and become damaged.
In light of this, cleaning a computer is something that should be done every 6 months to a year. In this article, we’ll show you how.
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Modern Motherboards: Out with the old and in with the “new” new

In the real world, I work as a data and systems architect. A client surprised me this week by asking for a “10 year architecture plan” to include detailed hardware specifications. I found this interesting as we usually don’t venture more than five years into the future and in a scenario like this will specify the latest and greatest in server technology making sure the hardware has room for expansion. We can usually specify three to five years but without a crystal ball it’s difficult to know or even guess where processors, storage and especially motherboard technology will be ten years from now.
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How to Replace a Power Supply (and buy a good one)

Once upon a time there lived a PC who killed video cards. He was a nice, quiet PC, middle aged and had always performed his duties well. At some point he changed though. He went through several video cards without regard to brand or price and eventually a lengthy investigation uncovered the defect in him responsible. It was his power supply…..
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Computer Business Kit


The Computer Business Kit is a collection of sample business forms and documents that are needed in the computer business. The Computer Business Kit Contains:
  • Maintenance Contract
  • Backup Checklist
  • Work Order Samples
  • Invoice Samples
..and much more.
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How to Safely Dispose of your Old PC

Computers are one of those things which have its novelty wear off pretty fast. I find myself upgrading several components of my system every year on a regular basis, in order to keep up with the technological evolution (though often it feels like a revolution rather than an evolution). Even then, every three years or so, I usually end up buying a completely new system. Upgrade is not always a viable solution. As your system grows old, most of its components are no longer compatible with the latest available on the market.

If you do it the way I do, after a few years or so, you’ll usually find yourself heaps of computer relics in the corner of your garage, and wondering what you are going do with them.
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FireWire vs USB

Life would have been easier without choices, wouldn’t it? Sure it might be dull, but at least we wouldn’t have to choose, occasionally make mistakes, and suffer the consequences. It happens all the same in the IT world, where we occasionally have to choose between one and another, be it between Intel and AMD, NVIDIA and ATI, or in the case of this article; FireWire and USB.
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Beginners Guide to Upgrading your RAM

Are your applications running slow or the whole computer running a little sluggish? Chances are you might need some more memory.
So what is the ideal amount? What do I need to know before I start? In this guide we answer these questions. Read on.
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Computer Technicians 204: RAID Guide

Last time on TNCT 301 we discussed approaches to constructing computers for different roles. One of the buzzwords that appeared while explaining a server setup was RAID. Originally called Redundant Arrays of Inexpensive Disks, RAID arrays have become a neccessity in every storage-intensive field, in order to both speed access up, as well as provide additional protection for stored data.

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Computer Technicians 301: Planning computer configurations - the right tool for the right task

Welcome to the expert section of the Computer Technician series. Although the topics we’re going to deal with here are mostly organizational in nature (with a couple of really troublesome, migraine-inducing problems), the “expert section” title isn’t misleading. Both small and large-scale, short or long-term, planning always takes a lot of knowledge and a great deal of intuition.
In some cases, more knowledge than fixing a computer problem, because the variables you have to count in are much more numerous. With any science, be it electronics, chemistry or digital circuitry, synthesis (creation) is much more complicated than analysis (disassembly).
In this issue we will discuss tailoring a computer configuration to a specific task, currently available components, and, of course, the depth of the client’s pocket. By doing a bit of planning you can ensure you know exactly what kind of workplace needs what kind of machine.

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Computer Processor Codenames: What the processors are and the inspiration behind the names.

In the computer industry there are plenty of buzzwords that get slung about when talking about the next generation of computer hardware and CPU codenames are quite possibly the hardest to keep track of due to the sheer amount of them. We have put together this list with the codename of each of the existing AMD and Intel processors.
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