Top Ten Troubleshooting Tips

We’re a busy lot, here at the ExtremeTech laboratories, and we can’t always personally answer your email. We certainly do hear you, however, especially when you write in with PC and tech conundrums that have you stumped.
Gremlins

The emails keep coming. Your computer won’t boot. Your roommate’s PC ingloriously shuts off at random intervals. The game your sister is trying to play doesn’t look like it should. Your daughter spilled milk into your keyboard.

The troubles don’t stop with PCs, either. Your Xbox 360 is flashing the dreaded Read Rings of Death. Your PlayStation Portable can’t read its Memory Stick anymore. What gives?

There are times we swear that our technology is haunted. We’ve had problems that induced us to check every cable, every connection, and every slot and socket, and conclude that the problem must be gremlins. Even the harshest of stumpers, however, can almost always be explained—or at least worked around through brute force.

Stroll with us through ten scenarios and what just might be the solutions you’re looking for. Even if we don’t figure out your particular dilemma, remember one thing: Gremlins are best killed with a big hammer. Continued…