CMOS checksum error - Defaults loaded

If you are using an old computer, there’s a possibility that you already encountered this error message during bootup; “CMOS checksum error – Defaults loaded”. At this point, the PC will halt its operation and requires you to press F1 to continue or DEL to enter setup (mostly but also depends on motherboard) to proceed.

This is caused by incorrect or corrupted CMOS values. BIOS settings are stored in CMOS. Each time the system is booted this number is recomputed and checked against the stored value. If they do not match, the error message will be displayed.

For most cases, this is caused by the motherboard battery. Buy a new one to any electronic retailers in your area and replace it. Turn on your computer and press the stated key to enter the BIOS setup. It can be DEL for some or F2 but this depends on your computer. On the BIOS menu, try to change the DATE and TIME settings because their values are reset to different value. Most settings are set to default so leave it as it is. Save the settings and reboot your computer.

How to reduce size of your picture

Using digicam today, we often set it to the highest quality settings to achieve the best picture. Unknowingly, this takes a lot of space due to large size of its image. So when we transfer it to our computer, size is over 1Mb. If the size of the image is big, the actual size of it also is bigger than what you can display on your monitor. I’ve encounter lots of user’s asking me how to reduce the size of the picture even though they don’t have any picture editing software. The solution is by using MS PAINT, a built in software in Windows OS.

Open your MS Paint software and open the picture you want to reduce the size. On the top menu, choose IMAGE then click STRETCH/SKEW. A dialog box will appear for you to edit the picture. Under STRETCH options, try to change the HORIZONTAL and VERTICAL value below 100. Let’s say you want it to change to 50%, type 50 then click OK. Now it’s time to save the picture and for sure, the result will be a smaller size picture file.

Turn off applications that load at start up

Have you ever wondered why your computer loads very slow during start up? It may be because of those unwanted applications running during start up. This applications maybe be an spyware, a virus or any unnecessary programs. To resolve this problem, let’s turn off those applications.

To begin with, click the start button of your computer and click RUN. On the run box, type MSCONFIG and you will see a the dialog box shown below.


Go to the STARTUP tab to view the applications running. On the first column, you will see the application name and the application location on the second column. The question now is which program to turn off. Be careful with this procedure as it may end your system unstable and other programs not running. To give you idea on what to do, do not turn off those applications from reliable software like YAHOO, ACER, ADOBE or any applications from Microsoft. On the picture, notice that I unchecked some applications that I consider not necessary for windows applications. After unchecking all those programs, click OK and it will ask you to reboot the system so that the new settings will be applied. Your windows will now load faster than before.

Blue Screen of Death

Windows Operating system is build to give its user a friendly and problem free environment. However, no matter how they tried to do it, your computer will probably experience some problems like this one. There are lots of reasons that will lead to this screen. It could be attributed to hardware or software problem. This is inevitable and may strike anytime so you have to deal with it.

BSOD is an error screen with blue background displayed in your Windows Operating system when it experienced problem when loading. This can be caused by several factors such as faulty memory, power supply voltage spike, incorrect drivers installed, overheating of components, HDD problems or many other things. This problem is present in all versions of Windows.

If you encounter this problem, the best thing to do is reboot your system. In most cases, the problem will be resolved by this step. However, this may not work all the time. If you recently add new hardware on your computer, try to remove it first and turn on your computer to see if the problem is still there. If it solves the problem, congratulations. Don’t ever use the device again. If you recently installed new hardware or software before this problem occurs, there is a big possibility that it is caused by software driver issue. Try to boot on safe mode and try to uninstall the software that you recently loaded. If the computer cannot boot on safe mode, try to select the LAST KNOWN GOOD CONFIGURATION.

These are the basic steps on recovering from this error. If the problem still exists, it’s time to reinstall your operating system. Goodluck!

Create PDF file for free

When you heard the word PDF file, one software always come to our mind, the Adobe Acrobat. I’m not sure but I guess they are the one who introduce this file format which is very useful. It reduces the file size and makes any document very easy to access. However, only the PDF reader is free. If you want to create your own PDF file, you need to purchase a license copy from ADOBE and the price is not cheap. I have encountered lots of user’s asking questions about this if there are any way to create the PDF file for free. The answer is yes, its possible. Thanks to PRIMO PDF free software.

First, download a copy from their site and install it on your computer. How to install? Just double click the file you download and click button NEXT or OK for default installation.

To be able to use it, here is the procedure. Open any file that you want to convert to PDF file. On the top menu, click FILE then PRINT, same like your printing any documents. The only difference is, you need to choose PRIMO PDF on the printer list. Once you click OK, a dialog box will appear asking you for the file name and location for the output file. You now have PDF file courtesy of PRIMOPDF.

For a copy, please visit their site at www.primopdf.com

Installing Windows XP

To begin with, I will discuss how to install Windows on your computer. Assuming that you have a ready computer, complete and running that only needs Operating System. Start the computer and insert your Windows XP CD. After a few seconds, the screen will clear and you will see a 'press any key to boot from CD' prompt. Press any key to begin installation. The 'welcome to setup' screen appears. Press enter to continue. View the licensing agreement and hit F8 to continue. The installation program will then search your drives for any prior installation of XP. If it finds one, you will be given the option to repair it, which essentially reinstalls most system files while leaving the registry and installed programs intact. Otherwise, move forward to the partitioning and formatting section of the install. You will be prompted to format the drive with one of four file systems: NTFS quick, FAT quick, NTFS, or FAT. I suggest you choose NTFS then press ENTER.

After formatting, the system will copy all the necessary files needed then it will restart to proceed with it. You can now use your mouse and the first window will ask you to choose the language. Then you will be prompted to enter your name and company. After that, it will ask you to enter the serial key found on your CD case. Next, you must specify your computer name and choose password for administrator account. Click next to proceed and the Windows time and date settings will appear. Ensure that all are correct.

After another installation period, the XP setup will prompt you to specify your networking settings. These specify the default settings of your network adaptors, and whether certain Windows services such as file sharing are enabled. Your windows will now finalize the installation. Eventually, it will restart and run for the first time.

During first boot, it will ask you for users who will use the computer so you need to specify. After that, click next and you will see the welcome message on screen. You now have a Windows OS installed on your computer. Congratulations!

Helpdesk at your service

According to SearchCRM.com, helpdesk is a place that a user of information technology can call to get help with a problem. In many companies, a help desk is simply one person with a phone number and a more or less organized idea of how to handle the problems that come in. In larger companies, a help desk may consist of a group of experts using software to help track the status of problems and other special software to help analyze problems. This word offers a very broad meaning in terms of work but this blog will tackle only about IT Support. This is what I am doing for the last 9 years of my life, supporting user's on different problems that they may encounter on their everyday computer use. Sounds boring and easy to some, but I like this job. I like to see people smiling at you after you help them. That makes my heart full of joy and my life complete.

By the way, I am an ordinary helpesk guy on mid 20's. Currently I am employed in one of the companies here in Singapore with the position of IT Support Engineer. Everyday I encounter different computer problems as well as different users. Everyday is a very special day for me doing my job. Thru this blog, I want to share some basic knowledge that I acquire, providing simple solutions to simple common computer problems. For computer geekz, this is not a blog for you. This is only intended for computer beginners and ordinary users who value all the help that I can give.

With pleasure, I am here to help you!