You are here: Homepage

Wizcrafts Computer Services

Specializing in Computer troubleshooting, spyware and virus removal, online consulting and security and freelance Webmaster services

Are you having problems with your computers, or computer network, or websites?

Wiz Feinberg Wizcrafts Computer Services, owned and operated by "Wiz" Feinberg, can help diagnose computer hardware failures and assist with replacing failed or failing components, or upgrading to larger hard drives or adding RAM (More). I can troubleshoot software problems, remove viruses and other malware, upgrade your out-dated software, install back-up solutions, assist you with new software acquitions and troubleshoot networking problems. As a Webmaster, I can create, and/or secure (see my blocklists), modernize and update your websites. Learn about my Webmaster services here.

Computer Hardware Problems

The term "computer hardware" refers to disk, solid state and optical drives, chipsets, capacitors, resistors, motherboards, graphics, audio, wireless and network adapters, power supplies, the CPU, RAM modules and other internal components and sometimes external optical and backup drives that allow a computer to function, whether it is a desktop, laptop, all in one computer, tablet, or smart phone. Unfortunately, these components can fail over time from fatigue, leaking capacitors, power spikes or surges, or from heat buildup due to dust clogged ventilation screens, cooling fins and fans. When computer components go bad they usually need to be replaced, often with little or no warning.

Search Amazon for home and office networking components, including modems, routers, range extenders and network adapters.

Read more details about various causes of computer hardware failures. You may be surprised.

Heat build-up has a long term effect on the harware inside a computer case. Eventually, critical parts can overheat and cause sudden shutdowns, or random hanging of the system. Before you have your computer serviced for shutdown or freezing up, unplug it from the power outlet, open the case and carefully vacuum out as much dust and hair as you can (use a snout attachment). Get a can of compressed air with a long thin hollow tube and aim it at the CPU and any other heatsink fins and fan blades, to clear off as much accumulated dust as possible. If your problems were caused by heat build-up, you may fix it by clearing all ventilation holes, fans and heatsink blades.

Sometimes, it's too late to save a device that has suffered from heat exhaustion. I have had bargain RAM modules go bad, after just two years of normal use. The only suspect was heat from being heavily used and components not made up to snuff to take real world use. I replace them with matched pairs of better quality RAM, which usually lasts many years.

Any part can fail, including the power supply. A computer that will not fire up probably has a failed power supply, or other major component, like a hard drive, or the CPU. CPU failures are uncommon, but do occur if their heatsinks and fans are plugged up with dust, or if the clamps holding them down to the motherboard come loose.

Sometimes, the companies that build computer motherboards may skimp on the quality of the electrolytic capacitors used on certain lines of motherboards. It is a known fact that some of the lesser quality capacitors can buldge from heat then leak corrosive acid onto the motherboard. This leaked acid will cause random shutdowns and reboots. Eventually, it can eat through the solder joints and etched metal connecting components. If your PC is suffering from random reboots, or shutdowns, open the case, shine a good light onto the motherboard and examine the little can shaped capacitors to see if they are bulging or leaking fluid. This usually requires that the motherboard be replaced.

Let us not forget that the chipset that loads the Basic Input Output System (BIOS) is powered by a wide-flat battery (usually type CR2032). Those batteries eventaully lose their charge. When that happens, the system forgets about all of the installed hardware devices and will refuse to "boot."

Computer Software problems

While a physical computer is made up of hardware components, they cannot compute very much on their own, other than booting the device and activating the drives and input/output devices. In order to make the chips, modules and adapters do the things we associate with computers and smart devices, they require properly encoded instructions known as "software" (aka: programs, or apps) to interact with the hardware. As most of us already know, stuff sometimes goes wrong with operating systems and software programs that are commonly used in computers. Computer software problems are caused by programming instruction errors in applications (especially recently updated programs), or bad interactions between applications and the operating system (usually after an update to the operating system). Some of the best known computer security programs have toasted the computers they were installed on after receiving bad updates that lock up the system. In addition to coding mistakes, software problems can be caused by incomplete/failed upgrades, file corruption from improper sudden shutdowns, or viruses and other malware interfering with the operating system and security programs.

Problems in Windows computers caused by bad updates can often be reversed by running a system restore to a time before the problem manifested itself.

Computer Viruses and Malware

While there are many causes for irratic computer behavior, one of the most common causes of problems for computer owners comes from infections by spyware, viruses and various forms of what are commonly known as malware.

I have been fixing personal and business computers and setting up networking for over 15 years, and have seen and fought off many a computer virus.

Read more details about computer viruses and malware.

When I got into computers, viruses used to be physically delivered via infected disks (floppy or optical). With the explosion of the Internet, what were known as viruses (delivered to each victim) morphed into self-replicating Internet Worms, which spread from computer to computer. A little while later the viruses and Worms were supplanted by spyware and key loggers, then IRC controlled backdoors, which have morphed into Bots. All of these computer threats are now referred to as Malware (Malicious software).

The threats from malware have grown increasingly more sinister over the last three decades. When I began building and servicing Windows computers, viruses were quite destructive and were distributed by miscreants seeking notariety among the hacker community.

In fact, many viruses damaged so many operating system files that we usually had to reinstall the O.S. to get things working properly.

Nowadays, computer "malware" is usually designed to either be invisible to the victim, while it steals your credentials and money, or uses your computers to send spam and launch denial of service attacks.

Other types of malware, known a rogue, or fake security or disk utility programs, display warnings about all manner of alleged problems, then harass you to death, until you either pay a virtual ransom (to fix the non-existent problems), learn to fix it yourself (time consuming), or pay someone like me to cure the problem.

Here are some symptoms of an infected computer.

Sometimes the operating system needs to be reinstalled.

Despite advances in the virus/malware removal field of free and commercial security programs, some malware infections are so insidious that the operating system must be reinstalled to restore normal functionality. Click here to see how this is done.

If you have a physical CD or DVDs, with the operating system and hardware device drivers, or a hidden restore partition (accessible by a particular key press - when you first boot the computer), you can reinstall the OS yourself. You will lose all saved data if it is on the system boot disk, so, save everything of value to a thumbdrive, or another drive. After you finsih installing the operating system you may have to reinstall your device drivers, using a drivers disk.

Once setup has completed you may be faaced with reactivating your operating system license. The pertinent product key codes for Windows computers are found on a hologram stitcker affixed to the computer case, or the case that the OS disk is in. Write the product key down before you get to this point, then type it into the required input fields, then try to Activate Windows. If your computer's network card was recognized and a driver installed during setup, this should proceed without any problems. If not, you will be shown a toll free phone number to call, where you can activate by speaking the letters and numbers of your product key into the phone, or speak to a real person.

Once you have re-activated your freshly reinstalled Windows computer, the first thing you should do is install any drivers for devices that Windows did not recognize. Then, with the Internet connection working, go directly to the Windows Update website and begin the process of polling for and installing all available updates for your OS. You will have to install-reboot and install again several times, until there are no more updates available.

Once your PC has all available updates and patches, it's time to secure it against malware. Install your preferred, legitimate anti-malware security program and update it, then set it to automatically check for updates as often as it allows.

Do you need the services of a Webmaster-website designer, or personal computer guru, but only on an as-needed, or temporary basis?

Contact "Wiz" Feinberg to solve your computer troubleshooting, virus, backdoor and spyware removal, maintenance, upgrading, security and website development needs! And, be sure to read Wiz's Security Blog for the latest news about program vulnerabilities, spam, threats in the wild, security program and Windows updates and patches.

I have been troubleshooting Windows computers since 1995.

(back to top)