Mini-ITX is a motherboard form factor which has been designed to produce quieter and smaller computers. Electronic devices like computers contain a motherboard which is basically a circuit board that contains the circuitry required to perform the basic functions of the device. You can find different motherboards from different vendors and these motherboards are available in a form factor called as ATX. The VIA Technologies created the Mini-ITX standard in 2001 and a Mini-ITX board is around one-third of the size of the traditional ATX board. The considerable reduction in Read More

EM64T (Extended Memory 64 Technology), now known more commonly as Intel 64 or the x64 (that is when including AMD64 too), is a 64 bit superset/extensions that central processing units (CPUs) process. It is widely used in Intel’s processors, including Pentium 4, Pentium D, Pentium Extreme Edition, Celeron D, Xeon, Pentium Dual Core, and Core 2 processors. Originally codenamed Yamhill, the EM64T was first “announced” in 2004 when the Intel chairman at the time, Craig Barrett, announced that it was underway. This technology went through quite a bit of name Read More

An Integrated Drive Electronics (IDE) drive is a device that meets the Parallel AT Attachment, ATA or AT Attachment Packet Interface, and ATAPI standards. IDE drives include hard drives, floppy drives, and CD/DVD players. IDE drives have a specific type of cable that allows multiple streams of data to be shared between the device and computer simultaneously. IDE drives also use a specific power cable and have a unique control feature called Maxtor jumpers. Maxtor jumpers allow the user to specify what role the drive plays regarding the computer and Read More

As the price of blank, burnable, DVDs has dropped over the past decade, the demand to learn how to burn a DVD has increased amongst computer users. Single-sided, single layered DVDs can now store 4.7 gigabytes (GB) of data, music, movies, or combination of the media types. If using a double sided, or dual layered disc, the capacity increases to 9.4 GB, and if using a dual layered, double sided disk it is 18.8 GB. As a result of the increased capacity, consumers can now store entire music libraries, multiple Read More

Formatting a hard drive often becomes necessary when Trojans or viruses that are difficult to remove infect it or when there are bad sectors on it. A hard drive should be divided into small partitions to utilize the space effectively. A hard drive can also be formatted in order to reorganize the space available. Remember, formatting the hard drive or any of its partitions will completely erase all data. This article gives the steps to correctly go about the formatting exercise. Reformatting a Hard Drive with the Windows Installation Disk Read More

A Lithium Ion battery is a type of battery that is rechargeable and lasts longer than any other type of rechargeable battery currently on the market. Lithium Ion batteries are used for a wide variety of applications and are currently extremely popular due to their ability to be used in a wider range of temperatures than Nickel-Cadmium batteries and be charged more times. Lithium Ion batteries are used in digital devices and portable mechanical devices alike and can be charged over 1,000 times.   How Lithium Ion Batteries Work Lithium Read More

Inkjet printers are cheap but they are still expensive enough to make some repairs worthwhile. There is a surprising number of parts in them, and every part is a potential failure point. The most common failure is a clogged print head. They are notoriously difficult to clean because of their microscopic nozzles. The first attempt should be to use the self-cleaning command, found in the printer properties dialog. If that fails, the print head will need to be removed and wiped with alcohol. Both the contacts and nozzles should be Read More

How to build a custom PC ultimately depends on your overall working experience with computer hardware and specifications; as well as the budget you have allocated for this type of project. Most folks who desire to build their own custom PC are either seeking a powerful game machine, Computer-Aided Drafting (CAD) machine, or high end multimedia production editing bay. If this is the case, the best independent component investments to take into strong consideration are: As much RAM as permissible (factory matched pairs, in all cases, to avoid RAM ‘bottleneck’ Read More

A MIDI interface is a device that connects MIDI devices to a computer and lets the computer record from them and plays back through them. MIDI interfaces do not pass sound or audio data through them, they pass MIDI data. Through MIDI you can connect keyboards, sound modules, samplers, effect processors and put them all under computer control. The original Musical Instrument Digital Interface (MIDI) specification defined a physical connector and message format for connecting devices and controlling them in "real time". A few years later Standard MIDI Files were Read More

Dielectric grease is a translucent substance used to seal electrical conductors in order to prevent dirt, dust, sand, and other foreign materials from sticking to the conductor and preventing it from transferring a current between the two contact points. Dielectric grease also blocks moisture, thereby preventing corrosion. How Dielectric Grease Works Dielectric grease is a translucent substance. Therefore, some light passes through it and causes distortion. Dielectric grease is usually gray in appearance and a 0.33 ounce bottle sells for $5. Dielectric grease insulates, lubricates, and protects hardware from foreign Read More