Tips
Don't buy a piece of hardware before checking
its compatibility with your system. Does
your version of Windows support it. Do you
have the right interface (USB, Parallel,
FireWire, etc.). You might be able to determine
this at http://www.microsoft.com/hcl/default.asp .
All you ever wanted to know about hard drives:
http://www.pcguide.com/ref/hdd/index.htm.
Information on hardware upgrades.
Drivers
"Drivers" are just the software
that the operating system (Windows) needs
to control the hardware in your computer.
Sometimes drivers have bugs or need to be
updated. New drivers are available for download
on the Internet. The "Drivers" page has more information. If you upgrade from Windows 9x to Windows
XP, you'll very likely need updated drivers
for your hardware to get everything running
again.
Printers
Fix It: If you use your printer for "plain
vanilla" purposes and it stops working,
the easiest and cheapest fix is probably
to buy a new (or used) one. However, if you
have an expensive one, then go to http://fixyourownprinter.com/ and see what your options might be.
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