How to clean RAM sticks

Normally, RAM isn’t something you have to think much about once you have it installed. But if your computer is having stability issues or giving memory errors, that can be an indication not all is well with your computers RAM. In this blog post, I’ll talk about several ways to clean RAM sticks.

Read more

Is a 500 GB SSD enough for gaming?

Is a 500 GB SSD enough for gaming?

I think we can all agree, you can never have too much storage space. But most of us don’t have unlimited budget for storage space, and we have to Make room in our computer budget for other things, like RAM, a CPU, and video card as well. So that raises the question, is 500 GB SSD enough for gaming? In this blog post, I’ll help you determine the answer.

Read more

Why my Ethernet cable is blinking orange

Why my Ethernet cable is blinking orange

It can be a little bit jarring to see a blinking light on your Ethernet cable when the device you plugged it into isn’t even powered on. Why is my Ethernet cable blinking orange? For that matter, why is that light constantly blinking? Is that bad? In this blog post, I will explain what the two lights on an Ethernet port mean.

Read more

Is a smartphone a computer?

Is a smartphone a computer?

Is a smartphone a computer? The short answer is yes. The reason why I answer that way is a little bit more complicated, but a smartphone meets every definition of a computer.

Read more

Phone charger won’t plug in? Check this

Phone charger won’t plug in? Check this

The other day I went for a walk, threw my phone in my pocket like I always do, and didn’t think anything of it. But then when I got home, the charger didn’t want to plug in. Here’s what to do if your phone charger won’t plug in or your phone doesn’t want to charge when you plug your charger in.

Read more

16 GB in a Dell Latitude E6420

16 GB in a Dell Latitude E6420

Officially, the maximum memory in the Dell Latitude E6420 laptop is 8 GB. That is the maximum stated Dell’s website, and the large memory vendors state the same thing. It’s hard for them to guarantee compatibility when the OEM states the maximum is 8 GB. Unofficially, numerous people, including yours truly, have upgraded them to 16 GB. Here’s how to install 16 GB in a Dell Latitude E6420 successfully.

Read more

What dot pitch is on a monitor or graphics

For a few years in the ’90s, dot pitch was a really big deal. It was one of the standard ways people compared computer monitors. Lower dot pitch was better, and worth paying a premium to get. But what is dot pitch in computer graphics? What is dot pitch in a computer monitor?

Read more

Writeback vs writethrough cache

Writeback vs writethrough cache

I was fixing a PC with a fairly late 486DX2-66 motherboard in it. In checking it out, I found an interesting setting in its BIOS: I can use its L2 cache as either writeback or writethrough. But what’s the difference? What are the pros and cons of writeback vs writethrough cache?

Writeback is faster but was harder to implement than writethrough, so not all systems support it. If it’s available and your software doesn’t malfunction, use write-back.

Read more

Remembering Computer Shopper

Remembering Computer Shopper

Computer Shopper was a monthly computer magazine, but it was more than that in some regards. Like the name suggests, it changed the way a certain demographic but computer. As hard as may seem to believe today, the main reason people bought it was for the advertising. The articles were good, but nobody bought it for the articles.

Read more

Identify a cable with a multimeter

Identify a cable with a multimeter

I spotted a useful cable at a used computer store recently. I wasn’t 100% certain what it was, but I had the ability to rewire it into what I needed if it turned out I was wrong. Here’s how I went about identifying the cable with my multimeter.

Read more