How do I know PC power supply failure?

The story,

The power distribution in many industrial areal aren't so consistent. Therefore we frequently have dead PC power supply.

So if we cannot turn on the PC, how do we know if it is the power supply failure and not the motherboard?

Here's a simple solution,

1. Open the PC casing, and look for a small LED green light (mostly beside the power connection to the motherboard. 
2. This is a power standby indicator that signal there is power into the motherboard.
3. If there is green light when AC power from wall socket is turned on, this signal that the power supply is OK and vice versa (picture below).
4. If there is no light, change a new power supply.
5. If after change the power supply also no light, then it's the motherboard problem.

Additional note :

• Don't attempt the repair the power supply unless you are a trained electrical technician. The power supply is so cheap that it's not worth to repair even you are a technician or engineer.
• There are still charges in the capacitor that might kill you even it's not plugged in. Don't pass these hazardous things to children or anyone else. Stay safe.
• To keep your power supply healthy and lasting, I suggest you use a AVR (automatic voltage regulator  or UPS (uninterruptible power supply) regulate the AC input power.

Increase PC life span, sleep, hibernate, or shutdown?

The story,

People always ask me how to increase the lifespan of their PC or laptop. If they really want it to last very very long,  I would suggest keep if off and don't use it ... just joking :-).

Amazingly, PC components nowadays are built to last even we never turn it off. In fact, some reports show that PC last longer without turning it off.

But there are things that we must consider, heat and vibration. If you don't want to turn off the PC/laptop, make sure it is in a cool place and not getting lots of vibration (Don't move or carry it around).

Here's a link to Cnet  forum for more information.

Desktops forum: What's the best for a PC life: Sleep, hibernate, or shutdown?

How to hide your wifi network from you neighbours.

The Story,

Have you notice that your router wifi light blinking even no one is on the net? Someone (your neighbour) might have already hacked the wifi key and using your Internet access for free.

Here's some tips on how to hide your wifi.

How To Hide Your Wireless Network From Your Internet-Leeching Neighbors.

Have you accidentally deleted important files before? Even emptying the recycle bin as well?

How do you recover those deleted files? Here are some good software that help you recover the files.

16 Free File Recovery Software Programs

  

How to increase Dropbox size for free?

If you are are an existing Dropbox user, you can increase your storage size (500MB to 16 GB) by inviting friends to use Dropbox.

Here is the link.

How to access Gmail using Microsoft Outlook

The Story :

My friend emailed me to teach him to access Gmail using Microsoft Outlook. With outlook, he can download his company and personal email and work from one email client instead of checking the web based Gmail.


Here's how to do it,

• Log into Gmail and have IMAP access is enabled . (Check bottom)
• Select Tools | Account Settings... from the menu in Outlook.
• Go to the E-mail column.
• Click New....
• Choose Microsoft Exchange, POP3, IMAP, or HTTP is selected.
• Click Next >.
• Type your name, under Your Name:.
• Key in Gmail address under E-mail Address:.
• Please include "@gmail.com". If your Gmail account name is "mike88", make sure you type "mike88@gmail.com" (not including the quotation marks), for example.
• Choose Manually configure server settings or additional server types.
• Click Next .
• Select Internet E-mail .
• Click Next .
• Select IMAP under Account Type:
• Type "imap.gmail.com" under Incoming mail server:.
• Enter "smtp.gmail.com" under Outgoing mail server (SMTP):.
• Type your Gmail account name under User Name:.
• If your Gmail address is "mike88@gmail.com", for example, type "mike88".
• Type your Gmail password under Password:.
• Click More Settings ....
• Go to the Outgoing Server tab.
• Choose My outgoing server (SMTP) requires authentication is checked.
• Go to the Advanced tab.
• Select SSL under Use the following type of encrypted connection: for both Incoming server (IMAP): andOutgoing server (SMTP):.
• Type "465" under Server Port Numbers for Outgoing server (SMTP):.
• Click OK.
• Now click Next >.
• Click Finish and Close

To access a Gmail account in your email program or mobile device via the IMAP interface:

• Choose Settings from the top Gmail navigation bar.
• Go to the Forwarding and POP/IMAP tab.
• Make sure Enable IMAP is selected under IMAP Access:.
• Click Save Changes.

Get SkyDrive 25GB Free now

ATTENTION MY FRIENDS!!

Just now when I logged into my SkyDrive, it showed 'upgrade 7GB to 25GB free'.

So, I clicked' Free 25GB' and woola.. I get 25GB free cloud based storage.

I can now put all my work and fun stuffs in the SkyDrive for free. Cool.

Wonder how will Google Drive or Dropbox respond to this.

If  each give 25 GB free, we would have 75GB free. :-)

Lets hope so!

P.S. If you are wondering what is cloud storage, let me explain. Cloud storage is a virtual storage in the internet that act like a hard disk in your computer. You can copy and save any files into the virtual storage and the files can be accessed from the Internet on any PC, tablet or smartphone with Internet access.

However, the files aren't stored in your PC, it will be stored in the server in the Cloud Storage provider. You must have Internet to use it.

More information : http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cloud_storage