Gigarefurb Refurbished Laptops News

If you’re having trouble turning on your PC or laptop, then take a breath and look through the possible causes and the fixes that just might make it work again. 

Method 1. Check the power supply

Laptops

This is one of the most common problems. There are various things that can go wrong, from using the wrong laptop power supply (delivering the wrong voltage) to a blown fuse in the plug.

So check that the adapter is indeed the correct one for your laptop and is delivering the right voltage and amps. Stickers or markings on both the power supply and laptop should confirm this. Many laptops – especially from the same manufacturer – use the same size plug, and if you own more than one, it’s not too difficult to plug in the wrong power supply, which might provide a different voltage or not enough current.

Other gadgets may also use the same tips, such as a battery powered speaker, and are unlikely to use the same voltage as your laptop, which typically requires 16-22V.

If it’s the correct charger, next check the fuse in the plug. Use a screwdriver to remove the fuse and swap it for one that’s known to be good. If you have a spare power cable that will plug into your power supply, this is a much quicker way to test that it isn’t the fuse at fault.

Check over the wire itself, as power supplies get beaten up, especially if you carry them everywhere. Weak points are at the ends where it joins the black brick and at the plug which connects to the laptop. If you can see the coloured wires inside the black outer protection, it could be time to buy a new PSU.

If you’re having problems with a touchpad, also check out our top tips to fix a laptop track pad.

PCs

PC power supplies can also be problematic. It’s unlikely you’ll have a spare to install and test, so first check the fuse in the plug. There’s also a fuse inside the PSU itself, but it will require you to take it out of your PC (no mean feat) and then remove the metal case to check if that’s the problem.

One of the most common PC power supply issues is that the PC will turn off unexpectedly rather than fail to boot up at all.

If the LED is on showing that power is reaching it, make sure the power button in your PC case is properly connected and working.

You can short the appropriate motherboard pins together (check which ones in your motherboard manual) to eliminate the power button from the equation. Some motherboards even have a built-in power button.

Method 2. Check the screen

Laptops

Try disconnecting any external displays including projectors and monitors to make sure they’re not stopping your laptop from booting into Windows.

If your computer’s power LED lights up and you can hear the hard disk or fan(s) whirring, but there’s no image on the screen, then make the room dark and check that there isn’t a very faint image on the screen.

It’s easy to think a laptop isn’t booting when in fact, it’s the screen that’s the problem.

If there is a faint image – maybe the Windows logon screen – then the inverter could have failed, but this applies only to old laptops before LED backlights came along. 

Replacing an inverter is difficult and it’s crucial you buy the right replacement part. As inverters aren’t exactly cheap, you can’t afford to get it wrong. It’s a job best left for the professionals, but as your laptop is likely to be old, it’s probably time to buy a new one.

If your laptop appears to be booting fine, but there’s no image at all, the LCD panel could be at fault. Replacing a laptop screen is possible, but difficult, and screens can also be costly. 

PCs

There isn’t much you can do to fix a broken PC monitor, but it’s easy – or easier – to swap the power cable and video cable or even the whole monitor to see if that’s the reason your PC won’t boot.

Method 3. Unplug and removable USB drives or memory cards

Assuming everything is ok with the power supply and screen, your computer may be getting stuck before it loads Windows.

A classic culprit here is a USB drive or memory card left inserted into a USB port or card reader. Typically you’ll see an error message such as “Operating system not found” which can lead to unnecessary panic. 

For the majority of the time, it means the BIOS is set to try booting from removable storage drives (including cards) before the internal hard drive.

It could also be a disc left in the DVD or Blu-ray drive, so check those too.

Method 4. Try a rescue disc

If none of the above has worked, you can try booting from a rescue disk or USB drive.

If you have one, the Windows DVD can be used, but otherwise you can download (using another computer – obviously) a rescue disc image and either burn it to a CD or DVD, or extract it to a USB flash drive. You can then boot from this and attempt to fix the problem with Windows.

If a virus is causing the problem, use a rescue disc from an anti-virus provider as this will include scanning tools which can find and remove the malware.

Here’s a full guide to making and using a rescue disc.

 

Method 5. Boot into Safe Mode

Even if you can’t boot into Windows, you might be able to get into safe mode. Press F8 as your laptop is starting up and you’ll get a menu offering to boot into Safe Mode. Here’s how to enter safe mode. That won’t work in Windows 10 though, as you need to be in Windows before you can get to safe mode. In that case, you’ll need to boot from a rescue disc or drive as described above.

If you can enter safe mode, you might be able to undo any changes that caused your laptop or PC to stop booting. You could try uninstalling any new programs that you recently installed, uninstall a driver that was recently updated, or create a new user account if the account is corrupt.

Here’s a more detailed guide on how to fix a corrupt user profile.

If you see an option to repair your computer, try that.

Method 6. Check for faulty or incompatible hardware

If you’ve just installed some new memory or another piece of hardware, it might be preventing your computer from booting. Remove it (reinstalling the old memory if necessary) and try again.

If your motherboard has a LED readout showing POST codes, search the manual or online to find out what the code shown means.

Often it can be tricky to get a newly built PC to boot. The best tip here is to disconnect everything except the bare minimum needed to boot to the BIOS:

• Motherboard
• CPU (with heatsink attached)
• Graphics card (if there’s a graphics output on the motherboard, remove any plug-in graphics cards)
• One stick of memory (remove any others, and leave the single stick in slot 0 or whichever the manual recommends)
• Power supply
• Monitor

All other hardware is unnecessary: you don’t need a hard drive, optical drive or any other components for the PC to start.

Common reasons why a newly built PC won’t boot are:

• Power leads improperly attached to motherboard. If your board has an extra 12v socket near the CPU, ensure the correct lead from the power supply is attached in addition to the large 24-pin ATX connector.
• Components not installed or seated properly. Remove memory, graphics card and CPU and reinstall, checking for any bent pins on the CPU and CPU socket.
• Power button wires connected to wrong pins on motherboard.
• Power cables not attached to graphics card. Ensure PCI-E power leads are correctly connected if required by your GPU.
• Hard drive connected to the wrong SATA port. Ensure the primary drive is attached to a SATA port driven by the motherboard chipset, and not a separate controller.

Sometimes the reason a PC won’t boot is because a component has failed and there’s no easy fix. Hard drives are a common issue. If you can hear a regular clicking, or the drive spinning up and the powering down over and over, these are signs that it’s broken.

Occasionally, people have found that removing the drive and putting it in the freezer for a couple of hours (in a freezer bag) does the trick.

However, this is usually a temporary fix and you should have a second drive on hand to quickly back up or copy any files off the drive that you need.

If you can’t get the drive going again, it’s time to start afresh with a new hard drive. In fact, you’re better off buying an SSD. Hopefully you have a recent backup of all your important files!

Click here for the best Microsoft voucher codes.

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Asus has announced the limited edition ZenBook 13 Edition 30, a super-stylish luxury laptop to celebrate its 30th birthday.

Encased in a hand-crafted and fitted genuine Italian leather body in Pearl White, with Rose Gold diamond-cut edges and 18-karat rose-gold logo, this is an insanely premium-looking (or garish, depending on your tastes) laptop, and it seems like Asus is going all out to celebrate its 30th anniversary.

To accompany the design, the ZenBook 13 Edition 30 will come with some exclusive accessories, including a Pearl White mouse, a leather-look box and mouse pad, and a genuine-leather sleeve.

ScreenPad star

It’s not all about the outside bling, however, as Asus has packed in some new features within the ZenBook 13 Edition 30 as well. This includes the new ScreenPad 2.0, which is a touchscreen placed where the trackpad of a laptop usually is. According to Asus, the ScreenPad 2.0 of the ZenBook 13 Edition 30 is more energy efficient, more than doubling battery life when the ScreenPad is in use.

It also features impressively thin bezels around the screen, with a 95% screen-to-body ratio, which Asus claims makes it the world’s most compact laptop in its class.

Other specs include an 8th generation Intel Core i7 processor, Nvidia GeForce MX250 graphics, 16GB of RAM, SSD and Wi-Fi 5. It’s available exclusively at the Asus Store for $1,399.99 (around £1,200, AU$2,000), which isn’t too bad considering the flashy design.

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Ransomware is any malware that holds your data ransom. These days it usually involves encrypting a victim’s data before asking for cash (typically cryptocurrency) to decrypt. Ransomware ruled the malware world since late 2013, but finally saw a decline last year. The general drop in malware numbers, along with defensive improvements by the IT world in general (such as more widespread backup adoption), were factors, but have also led this threat to become more targeted and ruthless.

Delivery Methods

When ransomware first appeared, it was typically distributed via huge email and exploit kit campaigns. Consumer and business users alike were struck without much discretion. Today, many ransomware criminals prefer to select their targets to maximize their payouts. There’s a cost to doing business when it comes to infecting people, and the larger the larger the group of people you are trying to hit, the more it costs.

Exploit kits

Simply visiting some websites can get you infected, even if you don’t try to download anything. This is usually done by exploiting weaknesses in the software used to browse the web such as your browser, Java, or Flash. Content management and development tools like WordPress and Microsoft Silverlight, respectively, are also common sources of vulnerabilities. But there’s a lot of software and web trickery involved in delivering infections this way, so the bulk of this work is packaged into an exploit kit which can be rented out to criminals to help them spread their malware.

Renting an exploit kit can cost $1,000 a month, so this method of delivery isn’t for everyone. Only those cybercriminals who’re sufficiently motivated and funded.

Eric Klonowski, Webroot Principal Threat Research Analyst, says, “Because the cost of exploitation has risen so dramatically over the course of the last decade, we’ll continue to see a drop in the use of 0-days in the wild (as well as associated private exploit leaks). 

“Without a doubt, state actors will continue to hoard these for use on the highest-value targets, but expect to see a stop to Shadowbrokers-esque occurrences. The mentioned leaks probably served as a powerful wake-up call internally with regards to who has access to these utilities (or perhaps, where they’re left behind).”

Exploits for use in both malware and web threats are harder to come by these days and, accordingly, we are seeing a drop in the number of exploit kits and a rise in the cost of exploits in the wild. This threat isn’t going anywhere, but it is declining.

Email campaigns

Spam emails are a great way of spreading malware. They’re advantageous fo criminals as they can hit millions of victims at a time. Beating email filters, creating a convincing phishing message, crafting a dropper, and beating security in general is tough to do on a large scale, however. Running these big campaigns requires work and expertise so, much like an exploit kit, they are expensive to rent.

Targeted attacks

The likelihood of a target paying a ransom and how much that ransom is likely to be is subject to a number of factors, including: 

• The country of the victim. The GDP of the victim’s home nation is correlated to a campaign’s success, as victims in richer countries are more likely to shell out for ransoms;
• The importance of the data encrypted;
• The costs associated with downtime;
• The operating system in use. Windows 7 users are twice as likely to be hit by malware as those with Windows 10, according to Webroot data;
• Whether the target is a business or a private citizen. Business customers are more likely to pay, and pay big.

Since the probability of success varies based on the target’s circumstances, it’s important to note that there are ways of narrowing target selection using exploit kits or email campaigns, but they are more scattershot than other, more targeted attacks.

Remote Desktop Protocol (RDP)

Remote Desktop Protocol, or RDP, is a popular Microsoft system used mainly by admins to connect remotely to servers and other endpoints. When enabled by poor setups and poor password policies, cybercriminals can easily hack them. RDP breaches are nothing new, but sadly the business world (and particularly the small business sector) has been ignoring the threat for years. 

Recently, government agencies in the US and UK have issued warnings about this completely preventable attack. Less sophisticated cybercriminals can buy RDP access to already hacked machines on the dark web. Access to machines in major airports has been spotted on dark web marketplaces for just a few dollars.

Spear phishing

If you know your target, you can tailor an email specifically to fool them. This is known as spear phishing, and it’s an extremely effective technique that’s used in a lot of headline ransomware cases.

Modular malware

Modular malware attacks a system in different stages. After running on a machine, some reconnaissance is done before the malware reinitiates its communications with its base and additional payloads are downloaded.

Trickbot

The modular banking Trojan Trickbot has also been seen dropping ransomware like Bitpaymer onto machines. Recently it’s been used to test a company’s worth before allowing attackers to deploy remote access tools and Ryuk (ransomware) to encrypt the most valuable information they have. The actors behind this Trickbot/Ryuk campaign only pursue large, lucrative targets they know they can cripple.

Trickbot itself is often dropped by another piece of modular malware, Emotet.

What are the current trends?

As we’ve noted, ransomware use may be on the decline due to heightened defences and greater awareness of the threat, but the broader, more noteworthy trend is to pursue more carefully selected targets. RDP reaches have been the largest source of ransomware calls to our support teams in the last 2 years. They are totally devastating to those that are hit, so ransoms are often paid.

Modular malware involves researching a target before deciding if or how to execute and they have been surging as a threat for the last six months.

Automation

When we talk about selecting targets, you might be inclined the assume that there is a human involved. But, wherever practical, the attack will be coded to free up manpower. Malware routinely will decide not to run if it is in a virtualised environment or if there are analysis tools installed on machines. Slick automation is used by Trickbot and Emotet to keep botnets running and to spread using stolen credentials. RDP breaches are easier than ever due to automated processes scouring the internet for targets to exploit. Expect more and more intelligent automation from ransomware and other malware in future.

What can I do?

• Secure your RDP;
• Use proper password policy. This ties in with RDP ransomware threats and especially applies to admins;
• Update everything;
• Back up everything. Is this backup physically connected to your environment (as in USB storage)? If so, it can easily e encrypted by malware malicious actors. Make sure to air gap backups or back up to the cloud;
• If you feel you have been the victim of a breach, it’s possible there are decryption tools available. Despite the brilliant efforts of the researchers in decryption, this I only the case in some instances.

Kelvin Murray is a Senior Threat Researcher at Webroot.

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Huawei staff have been told the company plans to go into “battle mode” to survive the ongoing US ban disruption, founder Ren Zhengfei has said.

Earlier this year, the US Department of Commerce effectively blacklisted the Chinese mobile giant on national security grounds, preventing American firms from doing business with the company.

The ruling limited Huawei’s access to important components and to the Android operating system as well as Google applications. It is a huge blow to Huawei’s bid to gain market share in the west and overtake Samsung as the world’s leading smartphone manufacturer.

Ren Zhengfei

Huawei has persistently denied any accusations of wrongdoing, while the US has never produced any evidence to support its claims that the company’s networking equipment represents a threat to national security.

In a memo to employees, seen by Reuters, Ren said Huawei would invest in production equipment to ensure business continuity, would make certain roles redundant, and give more powers to frontline staff.

 “The company is facing a live-or-die moment,” the memo reportedly states. “If you cannot do the job, then make way for our tank to roll; And if you want to come on the battlefield, you can tie a rope around the ‘tank’ to pull it along, everyone needs this sort of determination!”

Ren also called on Huawei to do their best in meeting previous sales targets of around $125 billion, but admitted the company’s most recent quarterly results – which saw a 23 per cent increase in revenue despite the ban – were not reflective of the current situation. He suggested the figures were aided by sympathetic Chinese clients making payments in time.

Sanctions

Washington has offered some wiggle room, allowing Huawei to procure technologies from certain suppliers in order to serve US rural operators that use its equipment. The US government has now extended this arrangement for another 90 days, but has also added more than 40 divisions of Huawei to the ‘non-entity’ list.

The debate comes amid a backdrop of significant trade tensions between the US and China, leading some to believe the US’s actions against Huawei are politically motivated and its position could be changed should a trade deal be struck.

“It’s clear that this decision, made at this particular time, is politically motivated and has nothing to do with national security,” said a Huawei spokesperson. “Attempts to suppress Huawei’s business won’t help the United States achieve technological leadership. We call on the US government to put an end to this unjust treatment and remove Huawei from the Entity List.

“Today’s decision won’t have a substantial impact on Huawei’s business either way. We will continue to focus on developing the best possible products and providing the best possible services to our customers around the world.”

Via Reuters

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A free email client can change your life. That might sound ridiculous, but consider how long you spend each week checking your inbox, replying, forwarding and composing. It could easily be several hours, and even more if you use several different email addresses (as many of us do).

Using a dedicated email client not only makes it easier to deal with multiple email accounts, it also means you can take full advantage of extra features such as a calendar, contact management, and neat integration with other desktop software you’re using.  As with so many other types of software, email clients are not born equal, and it’s important that you don’t lumber yourself with one that is underpowered, confusing to use, or that offers poor performance.

Take a browse through our best free email client selection and you will undoubtedly see a few familiar names. But you’ll also find some that you may not have heard of or tried, so perhaps it’s time for you to test drive a new email client!

(Image credit: eM Client)

1. eM Client

August is a fantastic month to find deals on cheap activity trackers with back to school sales happening at most online retailers. Amazon is discounting its most popular Fitbit models that include the Fitbit Alta HR, Versa Lite, and the Charge 3 smartwatch. Amazon also has a rare price cut on the Fitbit Inspire HR, discounting the popular watch down to $79.95. That’s a $20 discount and the lowest price we’ve found for the fitness tracker.

The Inspire HR is Fitbit’s latest activity tracker that’s priced lower than most of their watches but still loaded with fitness and health-focused features. The ultra-slim Inspire HR tracks 24/7 heart rate monitoring, calories burned, popular workouts, and even sleep. The activity tracker will send you friendly reminders to stretch your legs and keep moving and features 15+ goal-based exercise modes to help keep you motivated. The Inspire HR allows you to connect to your phone’s GPS to see real-time pace and distance during walks, jogs, hikes, and bike rides. The swim-proof watch also keeps you connected with the ability to receive calls, texts, and notifications and provides up to five hours of battery life.

This is not only a rare discount on the Inspire HR but also a fantastic price for a newer model Fitbit. The Fitbit Alta HR is currently on sale for the same price but lacks connected GPS, waterproof technology, and features a smaller display. We don’t know how long Amazon will have the Inspire HR on sale, so you should take advantage while you can.

Amazon Fitbit deals: 

You can find more Fitbit offers with the best cheap Fitbit sale prices and deals that are currently available.

You can also learn more about the above activity trackers by checking out our Fitbit Inspire HR review, Fitbit Versa Lite review, and Fitbit Alta HR review.

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It’s difficult to debate against the argument that credit cards are a useful financial tool for a variety of purchases and situations. They can obviously help you purchase items that you may not have the ready cash to afford, and can also help boost your credit score and open the doorway to freebies and vouchers.

But anybody applying for a credit card should be fully aware of the potential hazards, too – the downsides of having a credit card should be kept in mind as well.

In this article, we’ll take you through through some common pros and cons of obtaining a credit card. By the time you’ve read them through, you should be in a much better place to decide whether you really need one and, if so, what dangers you may be facing.

TechRadar has partnered with The Points Guy Affiliate Network for our coverage of credit products. TechRadar and The Points Guy may receive a commission from card issuers.

Credit cards – the pros

Payments

This is the most obvious benefit to having a credit card on hand. They can provide flexibility in payments, so rather than having to pay for the entire purchase at once a credit card can make it more affordable by allowing the payments to be spread out over a longer time period. This is especially useful for an unexpected financial need, such as a car and home repairs or sudden need to travel long distances.

Rewards

The reason why so many people in the US get themselves a credit card…rewards! Yep, we all like to get some points, freebies or even cash when we spend. Many credit cards offer a reward system, where the more that the user charges the greater bonus is offered. This reward can take different forms, commonly as cashback, airline miles or points to be used for the purchase of future travel, such as plane tickets.

These types of reward can certainly be a valuable incentive to use the card. However, be aware that the cards that offer these rewards often balance this giveaway with a higher interest rate, or higher annual fee so it may not be the best overall deal when considering your usage pattern.

Safety

While perhaps a little counter-intuitive, purchasing with a credit card can actually be safer than with another payment method.

This is because credit card companies have built in fraud protections and other services for when you use them. For example, if you are sold a service that was misrepresented or a product that has not lived up to expectations, then the charge can be protested and the credit card company is on your side to make it right with the merchant. There is also protection for a product that breaks prematurely, with many credit cards doubling the manufacturer’s warranty for up to a year, which is like getting an extended warranty for no extra charge. 

Credit cards are inherently safer than a debit card as there is protection from fraud with a credit card, while with a debit card the account it is tied to can be totally cleaned out with potential difficulties in getting the money back.

Credit cards – the cons

Overspending

This is the main problem with credit cards, in our eyes. Once you have one, there’s nothing stopping you spending all the way up to your credit limit…even if you can’t really afford to.

With cash, you at least get limited to purchases at a cost that is less than the cash in your pocket. With a credit card, the higher spending limit can entice a user into spending more and living beyond their means. Financial discipline is key to avoiding this situation through responsible spending, but that isn’t always easy if you know the ability to abuse it is at your hands.

So if you know that you have little willpower and love to spend, spend, spend, we’d seriously suggest avoiding credit cards or else risk landing yourself with an ever-growing mountain of debt.

Annual fee

When considering a credit card, be sure to look into the associated fees. An important one is the annual fee, which is paid to the issuing bank. Also be aware that there are cards available with no annual fee to keep the cost down. Our handy guide on picking the right credit card should help you to choose.

Fraud

Now we’re by no means trying to scaremonger you here, but owning a credit card does expose your account to fraud. That’s because your credit card number can be stolen by thieves and then used in attempt to use your credit. There are many ways this happens, with common scenarios being that the card gets physically lost or your information gets stolen online. 

Be sure to keep your card with you and take appropriate precautions to keep yourself safe online. That might include having your cellphone operating system up to date and using good antivirus software. Also be aware that if you do become a victim of fraud with a crook using your credit card, be sure to report the theft right away to your credit card company so they can cancel the card – you are only responsible for the first $50 of liability, with many banks not even charging that if they are notified in a timely fashion.

Editorial Disclaimer: Opinions expressed here are the author’s alone, not those of any bank, credit card issuer, airlines or hotel chain, and have not been reviewed, approved or otherwise endorsed by any of these entities.

Inbody image credit: Shutterstock

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