How to Clean RAM
Cleaning up RAM usually begs the question: "What is RAM?" RAM is an
acronym for random-access memory. The key to understanding why it needs
to be cleaned or cleared is the keyword "random." A hard drive allocates
memory in RAM randomly, with no allocation protocols. If the hard drive
cannot find enough RAM for a high-draw program or application such as a
video game, it will crash or freeze. This RAM cleaning trick will
remove any nonactive data that might have been stored on your RAM
instead of your hard drive. You should see a marked improvement
regarding processing speed.
How to replace the CMOS battery
Issue
How to replace the CMOS battery.Cause
Like any battery the computer CMOS battery
can fail or lose its charge.
Solution
If your computer is losing its time or date settings, or you are receiving a message CMOS Read Error, CMOS checksum error, or CMOS Battery Failure, first try leaving the computer on for 24-hours. In some cases this can charge the battery and resolve your issue. This often resolves CMOS battery related issues when a computer has been left off for several months. If this does not resolve your issue follow the below steps.
Locate your CMOS battery
Caution: When inside your computer
make sure you're aware of ESD
and all it's potential
dangers.
Open the computer case and
find the battery on the computer motherboard,
verify that it will be accessible and that it can be removed. Most
computers today use a coin cell CMOS battery as shown in the image to
the right.
If you are unable to locate your CMOS
battery refer to your motherboard or computer documentation or contact
your computer
manufacturer for additional assistance in locating it
.
Obtain battery information
Unfortunately,
most manufacturers will not list the exact type and model of your CMOS
battery; therefore, once you have located the battery, write down all
information about the battery (Voltage, chemistry, wiring, and
packaging). If possible, remove the battery and take it to the location
you plan on purchasing a new battery from.
The part number for this battery for most computers is CR2032.
Additional buying information can be found on our battery buying tips
page.
Removing the battery
Caution: When inside your computer
make sure you're aware of ESD
and all it's potential
dangers.
If you're computer is using a coin cell
battery similar to the above example picture. Removing the battery is
relatively simple. use your fingers to grab on the edge of the battery
and pull it up and out of the container holding it. Some motherboards
have a clip holding the battery down. If your computer has this clip you
may need to use one had to move the clip up and the other hand to pull
the battery out.
Unfortunately, not all CMOS
batteries are removable; some manufactures will only allow a replacement
battery to be added. If you're not using a coin cell battery and are
not able to determine how to remove it refer to your motherboard or
computer documentation
or contact your computer
manufacturer for additional assistance in removing the battery or
how to insert a new replacement battery.
Users with
computers that do not have removable batteries only options to install a
new battery will most likely also need to set a jumper when
adding the new battery into their computer.
Insert the
new battery
Once you have purchased a new
battery, remove the old battery (as instructed above) and replace it
with the new battery.
Enter CMOS values
Once the battery is replaced turn on the computer and
resetting the
CMOS values to the defaults. After the values have all been entered
make sure to save the settings before exiting. Many CMOS setups allow
you to press a key (such as F10) to save values and exit all in one
action.
If after following all the above steps you continue to experience
the same error when your computer starts
or your computer is still unable to keep the stored values it's likely
that you're experiencing a more serious issues. Most likely causes are
bad power supply
or bad motherboard.How to Avoid CPU Overheating
In the normal way of things, very little or no attention at all is paid to the choice of a case for housing a computer. However, nowadays processors are heating up ever more, so choosing the right case is critical for avoiding computer overheating.
Nowadays, overheating is not only due to the computer’s processor: the motherboard’s chipset and video card’s video processor are also responsible for heating the air inside the case.
If your computer is having overheating trouble, you surely will be able to solve the problem through this tutorial. The typical symptom an overheating computer is when it locks (freezes up) too much and issues errors of General Protection Failure (”This program has carried out an illegal operation and will shut down“) and the infamous ”blue screen of death“. If you remove the case’s cover and, with the computer open, the computer stops being troublesome, the problem is overheating. Note that these symptoms also turn up in other maintenance situations, i. e., they do not necessarily mean that the computer is overheating.
Usually the case comes with its power supply installed. Few people are aware of it, but the power supply plays a basic role in cooling the computer’s innards. To understand this, you must understand how the air circulates in a case. You must have noticed that every power supply has a fan. This fan should always be operating in the exhaust direction, that is, blowing towards the outside, expelling hot air form inside to outside the case.
Look at Figure 1 to get a better picture. As hot air has a natural trend to move upwards, the hot air produced by the computer automatically flows to the upper part of the case. The power supply’s fan then draws out this hot air, thus providing proper computer ventilation. Cool air automatically comes in through the case’s front via a suitable slot placed under the space intended for the hard disk.
Figure 1: How is the airflow inside your computer.
The power supply must have slots on its side in order to let hot air get out of the case and prevent computer overheating. The precise location of such slots will depend on the case size, since depending on the size of the case and power supply the power supply can be located in above, in front or besides the CPU – which is the main heat source inside the PC. With a bit of common sense, it is easy to see where these slots should be located. Looking closer at the computer shown in Figure 1 (see its close up in Figure 2) we can conclude that its power supply is correctly sized for its case. Note that the slots on the power supply are in the proper path for expelling hot air produced by the computer’s processor and other internal components, i. e., the position of the power supply does not hamper exhausting hot air from the processor and the slots are practically in front of the processor in order to allow hot air to flow correctly out of the computer.
Figure 2: Detail of the space between the power supply
and the system processor.
Maximum CPU Temperature
Introduction
Just like all electronic components, CPU produces heat while it is running. Heat in excess, however, isn’t good and can even lead your CPU to burn or to work in an unstable way. In this tutorial you will learn what are the effects of high temperature over the CPU, will learn how to measure your CPU current temperature and will have access to tables listing the maximum supported temperature for the main CPUs available on the market.
Microprocessors heat due to Joule effect, which is the process of transforming electrical energy into heat. Inside the CPU there are several wires (conductors) in charge of its internal interconnections. The Joule effect appears due to the shock between electrons and the conductor ion mesh, leading to an increase in the temperature of the conductor.
The heat generated by an electronic device needs to be removed as soon as possible; otherwise its internal temperature will increase. If the device gets too hot internally, its internal circuits can be damaged, thing that we don’t want, of course.
The maximum CPU temperature is usually written on its body in a coded format – i.e., a letter added somewhere indicates what the CPU maximum temperature is. This code isn’t standardized; it varies according to the CPU. On the CPU datasheet, which is available at the manufacturer’s website, there is a section that explains the coding used on the CPU, which includes the CPU maximum temperature.
This temperature is the maximum temperature the CPU can work without burning. The lower the CPU temperature, the better. Good quality CPU coolers and the correct use of thermal grease will make your CPU to work way below its maximum rated temperature. Read our tutorial How to Correctly Apply Thermal Grease to learn more about this subject.
Effects of High
Temperature on a CPU
When the CPU works above the maximum admissible temperature set by its manufacturer, the following problems can occur:
Reduction of CPU life-span;
Random freezes;
Random resets;
Eventually the CPU can get burned.
Cases of PCs giving the infamous Blue Screen of Death while you are loading or installing the operating system because the CPU is overheated are not rare (keep in mind that other problems not related to overheating can also present this same symptom). Another typical overheating scenario is the computer working correctly and then after some time it starts to malfunction.
In order to solve overheating problems some measures must be taken, besides choosing the correct CPU cooler and applying thermal grease correctly:
To reduce the room temperature;
To enhance the case internal airflow.
We have already addressed this issue on two tutorials: Typical Assembling Problems and Cases: Avoiding Overheating. We recommend you to take a look at them.
Measuring the CPU Temperature
The CPU temperature can be measured through a sensor located on the motherboard, below the CPU, or inside the CPU itself, feature available on the latest processors, like Core 2 Duo. Practically all motherboards come with a program that allows you to read this sensor. On the Internet you can find several programs for this task, like Motherboard Monitor and Hardware Sensors Monitor (both can be downloaded at
Motherboard Monitor is very efficient not only because it can be accessed through the taskbar (see Figure 1), but because it allows you to configure an alarm that will let you know if the CPU reaches a certain temperature level. This program also monitors the system fans and the power supply voltages. This program is highly recommended if you are overclocking your system, since the CPU temperature tends to increase when it is overclocked.
Another way to check the CPU temperature is through the motherboard setup (pressing Del right after turning your PC on), on an option called “PC Health Status,” “System Health,” “Sensors” or something similar. The CPU temperature can be easily checked there, as you see in Figure1.
Figure 1: Monitoring CPU temperature through setup.
The motherboard setup isn’t the best way to check the CPU temperature because while it is running the CPU isn’t being pushed to its maximum processing power and thus won’t achieve its maximum temperature. Because of this we recommend a software-based solution
Protecting Your PC Against Overheati
There is a way to protect your PC from overheating through the motherboard setup.
On the motherboard setup you will find one or two options to deal with CPU overheating. You can configure your PC to play an alarm (which sounds like a fire truck; “CPU Warning Temperature” option, see Figure 2) or to shutdown (“CPU Shutdown Temperature” option) whenever the CPU reaches a certain temperature.
If you are going to use these options, be careful to not configure them with a value that is too low, otherwise the PC will make a siren noise or will shutdown even with the computer working inside its normal temperatures. We recommend you to measure your CPU temperature while running a “heavy” program (games, for example) and make the desirable configuration with a value above from the one measured.
Thru this same setup menu you can monitor PC fans, especially the fan from the CPU cooler. You can also configure an alarm to play whenever the fan stops working or to increase the CPU fan according to the CPU temperature. Since the faster the fan spins the more noise it makes, there are users that prefer to configure the CPU fan to rotate at a lower speed if the CPU temperature is working under an acceptable temperature level, making the fan to spin at its full speed only when the CPU is generating more heat, what usually happens when the user is running a “heavy” application, like games.
The number of options present on the motherboard setup varies according to the motherboard model.
What is the maximum temperature your CPU support? Instead of making you looking for and downloading your CPU datasheet, we compiled a series of tables containing the maximum temperatures for the main CPUs present on the market today.
Intel CPUs - Part 1
- Core Duo: 100º C
- Core Solo: 100º C
- Pentium M: 100º C
- Core 2 Duo:
Model
|
Clock
|
Max. Temp. (º C)
|
E6850
|
3 GHz
|
72
|
E6750
|
2.66 GHz
|
72
|
E6700
|
2.66 GHz
|
60.1
|
E6700
|
2.66 GHz
|
60.1
|
E6600
|
2.40 GHz
|
60.1
|
E6600
|
2.40 GHz
|
60.1
|
E6550
|
2.33 GHz
|
72
|
E6540
|
2.33 GHz
|
72
|
E6420
|
2.13 GHz
|
60.1
|
E6400
|
2.13 GHz
|
61.4
|
E6400
|
2.13 GHz
|
61.4
|
E6320
|
1.86 GHz
|
60.1
|
E6300
|
1.86 GHz
|
61.4
|
E6300
|
1.86 GHz
|
61.4
|
E4500
|
2.20 GHz
|
73.3
|
E4400
|
2 GHz
|
61.4
|
E4400
|
2 GHz
|
73.3
|
E4300
|
1.8 GHz
|
61.4
|
- Core 2 Quad:
Model
|
Clock
|
Max. Temp. (º C)
|
Q6700
|
2.66 GHz
|
71
|
Q6600
|
2.4 GHz
|
62.2
|
Q6600
|
2.4 GHz
|
62.2
|
- Core 2 Extreme:
Model
|
Clock
|
Max. Temp. (º C)
|
QX6850
|
3 GHz
|
64.5
|
QX6800
|
2.93
GHz
|
64.5
|
X6800
|
2.93 GHz
|
60.4
|
QX6800
|
2.93 GHz
|
64.5
|
X7900
|
2.80 GHz
|
100
|
X7900
|
2.80 GHz
|
100
|
QX6700
|
2.66 GHz
|
65
|
X7800
|
2.60 GHz
|
100
|
- Pentium Dual Core:
Model
|
Clock
|
Max. Temp. (º C)
|
E2180
|
2 GHz
|
73.2
|
E2160
|
1.8 GHz
|
73.2
|
E2160
|
1.8 GHz
|
61.4
|
E2140
|
1.6 GHz
|
61.4
|
E2140
|
1.6 GHz
|
61.4
|
T2080
|
1.73 GHz
|
100
|
T2060
|
1.60 GHz
|
100
|
- Pentium D:
Model
|
Clock
|
Max. Temp. (º C)
|
960
|
3.60 GHz
|
63.4
|
960
|
3.60 GHz
|
68.6
|
950
|
3.40 GHz
|
63.4
|
950
|
3.40 GHz
|
63.4
|
945
|
3.40 GHz
|
63.4
|
945
|
3.40 GHz
|
63.4
|
950
|
3.40 GHz
|
68.6
|
940
|
3.20 GHz
|
63.4
|
940
|
3.20 GHz
|
68.6
|
935
|
3.20 GHz
|
63.4
|
925
|
3 GHz
|
63.4
|
930
|
3 GHz
|
63.4
|
930
|
3 GHz
|
63.4
|
925
|
3 GHz
|
63.4
|
915
|
2.80 GHz
|
63.4
|
915
|
2.80 GHz
|
63.4
|
920
|
2.80 GHz
|
63.4
|
840
|
3.20 GHz
|
69.8
|
840
|
3.20 GHz
|
69.8
|
830
|
3 GHz
|
69.8
|
830
|
3 GHz
|
69.8
|
820
|
2.80 GHz
|
64.1
|
820
|
2.80 GHz
|
64.1
|
805
|
2.66 GHz
|
64.1
|
- Pentium Extreme Edition:
Model
|
Clock
|
Max. Temp. (º C)
|
965
|
3.73 GHz
|
68.6
|
955
|
3.46 GHz
|
68.6
|
840
|
3.20 GHz
|
69.8
|
- Pentium 4 Extreme Edition:
Model
|
Clock
|
Max. Temp. (ºC)
|
SL7Z4
|
3.73 GHz
|
72.8
|
SL7RT
|
3.46 GHz
|
66
|
SL7NF
|
3.46 GHz
|
66
|
SL7RR
|
3.40 GHz
|
66
|
SL7GD
|
3.40 GHz
|
66
|
SL7CH
|
3.40 GHz
|
67
|
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