This week’s online newsletter includes:
- Computer Can’t Connect to Network
This reader needed help because his computer could no longer connect to his home network or to the Internet… - The Lighter Side of Technology
This week’s computer technology cartoon at Terry’s Computer Tips… - Parallel Port Print Server in a USB World
This reader had a print server for parallel printers. But, he has a USB printer. What to do? - The Case of the Dying Router
My own Internet connection got flakey. Email didn’t work. Web browsing didn’t work. But, I could "ping" www.google.com so I knew the connection worked and the domain name servers were being accessed. The solution was a surprise… - My Security Software Recommendations
My recommendations for anti-virus, anti-spyware, firewall, anti-spam software, and backup software…
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I would think your machine has more than one USB connection, and if it does just get a USB hub and you won’t have to worry about the one bad connection, and can infact increase the number of connectors available for use..
re broken usb:
There is a cheaper option than trying to DIY a fix or sending it to the shop. As you pointed out, fixing laptops isn’t cheap.
The other option to consider is a USB hub. Unless it is a relatively old “low powered” laptop, it is almost a certainty that the laptop has 2 or more USB ports. If he is down to only 1 now all he has to do is buy a USB hub for $10-20 and he will be back up to 4 or even 7 USB ports. More than enough.
USB devices can be chained together, up to 7 deep if I remember correctly. The main trick is to make sure that he buys a USB hub that includes an external power supply so that if any of the devices plugged into the hub draw their power from the USB port, like thumb drives, the power draw won’t exceed capacity of the single USB port on the laptop.
Re: Can’t connect to Internet.
Recently two people contacted me at different times with a similar symptom. In both cases, the cause was the same. The Fn F1-F12 keys gives a laptop owner instant access to hardware functions and one of them is the internet. Most people don’t know about these Fn key settings on laptops and can accidentally lock out the internet. In one case it was a 3 year old playing on the keyboard, in the other case it was a pet cat walking across the keyboard. connection. Once I told them what to look for, they quickly fixed the problem.