Manaig, Kathleen Ann L.

BSCS-CS 1-1

HOW TO FORMAT A COMPUTER

Formatting a computer involves erasing all of the data on the computer's
hard drive, and then reinstalling the operating system so that the
computer is restored to factory defaults. This can be useful if your
computer is malfunctioning, or you are planning on selling or donating it.
Follow this guide to format your Windows 7 or Mac OS X computer.
1. Backup your data. When you format a computer, you will lose all of
your files and data. The programs cant be backed up; they will need to be
reinstalled. Any filesincluding documents, music, pictures, and videos
that you want to save need to be copied to a backup location.

You can use DVDs, CDs, external hard drives, flash drives, or the
cloud, depending on how much data you have to backup.
2. Set your BIOS to boot from CD. To do this, restart the computer and
enter the setup screen when the manufacturer logo appears. The key to
do this will be displayed, and varies by manufacturer. The most common
keys are F2, F10, F12, and Del.

Once in the BIOS menu, select the Boot menu. Change the order of
devices so that your computer boots from CD before booting from the
hard drive. Save your changes and exit. Your computer will restart.

If you are installing from a flash drive, then you will need to set the
BIOS to boot from removable storage
3. Begin Setup. If the CD has been inserted and the BIOS is set
correctly, you will see a message telling you to Press any key to boot
from CD Press a key on the keyboard and the setup process for
Windows 7 will launch.

Your system may automatically launch the setup program without

asking you to press any key.

4. Watch the Windows files load. After completion, the Windows 7

logo will appear. No files have been altered on your computer yet. Your
data will be deleted in later steps.
5. Choose your preferences. You will be prompted to confirm your
Language, Time & Currency format, and Keyboard or input method. Select
the appropriate options for you and click Next.
6. Click Install Now. Do not click Repair Computer, even if you are
repairing a computer by reinstalling Windows. Once clicked, Setup will
begin loading the files it needs to continue.
7. Read and accept the terms. In order to advance, you must indicate
that you have read and agree to Microsofts terms of use. Be sure to read
through it so that you know your rights and limitations as a user.
8. Choose Custom install. This will allow you to perform a clean
installation. Formatting the computer means wiping it of all the data that
is on it, so you will be performing a clean installation, so that you will be
given the option to erase the disk.
9. Delete the partition. A window will open asking where you would like
to install Windows. In order to perform a clean install, you need to delete
the old partition and start with a clean slate. Click Drive options
(advanced). This will give you the ability to delete and create partitions.
1 Select the partition of your existing operating system and click the
Delete button.
2 If your hard drive has multiple partitions, be sure to delete the
correct one. Any data on a deleted partition is lost for good.
3 Confirm the deletion process.
10. Select the Unallocated Space and click Next. There is no need to
create a partition before you install Windows 7, this is done automatically.

11. Wait while Windows installs files. The percentage next to

Expanding Windows files will steadily increase. This part of the process
can take up to 30 minutes.

Windows will automatically restart your computer when finished.

Setup will launch again, and a message will tell you that Setup is

updating registry settings.

Setup will then configure your computers services. This happens

every time you start Windows, but will happen in the background next
time.

A window will open letting you know that Windows is completing the
installation. Your computer will restart again when this is complete.

Setup will now load drivers and check video settings. This part does
not require any input from you.
12. Enter your user name and computer name. Your username will
be used to log in to the computer and personalize your account. Your
computer name is the name that your computer will display on the
network.

You can add more users later through the Windows 7 control panel.
Windows will ask you for a password. This is optional but highly
recommended, especially if the computer will be accessible by users
other than yourself. If youd rather not have a password, leave the fields
blank and click Next.
13. Enter your product key. This is the 25-character key that came
with your copy of
Windows. Check the Automatically activate Windows when Im online to
have Windows automatically verify your key the next time it is connected
to the internet.

14. Select your Windows Update option. To make sure that your copy
of Windows runs securely and stably, it is highly recommended that you
choose one of the first two options. The first option will install all updates
automatically, the second option will prompt you when important updates
are available.
15. Select your date and time. These should be correct already as
they are linked to your BIOS, but you can change them now if they are
not. Check the box if your area observes Daylight Savings.

16. Select network preferences. If your computer is connected to a

network, you will be given an option to identify that network. Most users
will select Home or Work network. If your computer is being used in a
public place, select Public network. Mobile broadband users should always
select Public network.

Windows will now attempt to connect your computer to the network.

This process is completely automated.
17. Explore your desktop. After one final loading screen, your new
Windows 7 desktop will appear. Installation is now complete.

Valle, Jeanne Marie G.

BSCS-CS 1-1

HOW TO TROUBLESHOOT NETWORK CONNECTION

Because of the variety of network configurations, operating systems,
setup, etc. not all of the below information may apply to your network
or operating system.
Adapter resources . Verify that the network adapter is properly
installed and detected by the computer with no conflicts. If you're
using Microsoft Windows check in Device Manager and verify there are
no errors and "Network adapters" is present with each network adapter
installed in the computer listed, similar to the example on the right.
If conflicts exist or the network adapter is being detected as an Other
device. The network card has not been properly installed in the
computer. Try letting Windows re-detect and install the Network card
by removing the network adapter and any other conflict devices from
Device Manager and then rebooting the computer. If Windows redetects the card but does not find the drivers, download the network

adapter drivers from the computer manufacturer or the network card

manufacturer.
How do I remove a device in Windows Device Manager?
Listing of network drivers and network card manufacturers.
Verify connections. If this is a wired network, verify that the network
cable is properly connected and make sure the LEDs next to the
network jack are properly illuminated. For example, a network card
with a solid green LED or light usually indicates that the card is either
connected or receiving a signal. If the green light is flashing, this is an
indication of data being sent or received. In the picture is an example
of LAN port with two LED indicators next to the RJ-45 port. With this
port, one LED will light up if connected properly and the other will flash
when transmitting data.
If there are no lights or the lights are orange or red the card may be
bad, not connected properly, or that the card is not receiving a signal
from the network. If you are on a small or local network and have the
capability of checking a hub, switch, or router verify that the cables are
properly connected and that it has power. If after checking the
connections the LED indicators appear bad, the network adapter, port,
or cable may be defective.
If you're using a laptop with a wireless network make sure if the laptop
has a Wi-Fi button that it is turned on. Many laptops have a Wi-Fi
button that allows the wireless network to be turned on and off. In the
picture is an example of a Wi-Fi button that is currently enabled.
If the Wi-Fi button is turned on, make sure you're connecting to the
correct Wi-Fi hotspot by right-clicking on the Network icon in
the Windows notification area and clicking "Connect to a network".
Usually, the network with the strongest connection (the most bars) will
be your wireless router.

Finally, when connecting to most wireless networks you need to enter

the proper SSID (password) in order to connect to the network. If the
incorrect SSID has been entered you cannot access the network.
Adapter functionality. Verify that the network card is capable of
pinging itself by using the ping command. Windows users can ping the
computer from a Windows command line. Unix and Linux users can
ping from the shell.
To ping the card or the localhost, type either ping 127.0.0.1 or ping
localhost.
Doing either of the above commands should get replies from the
network card. If you receive an error or if the transmission fails the
network card is not physically installed into the computer correctly, has
the incorrect drivers, or that the card is bad.
Connect to the router. If all of the above steps have been checked
and your network has a router, make sure the computer can connect to
the router by performing the below commands.
Determine the routers address
Using the ipconfig command (or ifconfig command for
Linux) determine the router's address by looking at the Gateway
address. Below are the steps for Microsoft Windows users, Linux users
can substitute ipconfig for ifconfig.
1. Open the Windows command line.
2. From the command prompt type ipconfig and press enter. This
command should give you an output similar to the example
below.
Ethernet adapter Local Area Connection:
Connection-specific DNS Suffix . : computerhope.com.
IP Address. . . . . . . . . . . . : 192.168.1.103
Subnet Mask . . . . . . . . . . . : 255.255.255.0
Default Gateway . . . . . . . . . : 192.168.1.1

The Default Gateway is the address of your router. Most home routers
have a gateway address that starts with 192.168 like the address
shown above. Assuming your gateway address is 192.168.1.1 attempt
to ping the router to see if it can send and receive information by
running the below command. ping 192.168.1.1
If you get replies back from the router, the connection between your
router and computer are good, and you can skip to the next step.
If you do not receive any replies back from the router either the router
is not setup properly or your connection between the router and the
computer are not correct. Reset your router to make sure it is not a
problem with your router by following the steps below.
1. Turn off the power to the computer and leave it off.
2. Unplug the power to your router and cable modem or DSL
modem.
3. Leave the power cables disconnected for 10-15 seconds and
then plug in your modem and then your router again.
4. Finally, turn on your computer again and repeat this step to
see if you can ping your router.
If you're using a wireless network and have followed all the above
steps and still are unable to ping the router try turning off the
computer again and connect the computer to the router using a cable
instead of trying to connect using wireless. If a wire does also not work
connect the manufacturer of the router for additional support or
replacement.
Firewall. If your computer network utilizes a firewall, make sure all
required ports required are open, especially port 80, which is
the HTTP port. If possible, disable the firewall software program or
disconnect the computer from the firewall to make sure it is not
causing the network problems.

Internet is not working

If you're able to ping the router, but are still unable to connect to the
Internet, either your router is improperly configured or the ISP is having
issues.
If your Internet has been working but recently stopped working, give it
a few minutes to make sure it is not a temporary outage. If after
waiting a few minutes, you still have problems and you have not
disconnected the power to your router and modem already follow the
steps below.
1. Turn off the power to the computer and leave it off.
2. Unplug the power to your router and cable modem or DSL
modem.
3. Leave the power cables disconnected for 10-15 seconds and
then plug in your modem and then your router again.
4. Finally, turn on your computer again and repeat this step to
see if you can ping your router.
If after following the above steps the Internet is still not working, open
the Windows command line and run the below command. ping
google.com
Running the above command should get a reply from Google. If you get
a reply, this is an indication that the Internet is working, but you may
be encountering a problem with the Internet browser you are using to
browse the Internet. Try an alternative browser such
as Firefox or Chrome.
If you're getting no reply from Google, your router or modem is not
reaching the Internet. If you have a router, make sure your router
has DHCP enabled and that theWAN or Gateway address is the proper
ISP address.
Finally, after verifying all of the above settings if your Internet is still
not working we suggest contacting the ISP to make sure it is not a
problem on their end and to assist you further with any special
configurations that may not be mentioned in this document.

Additional troubleshooting. Another method of determining

network issues is to use the tracert command if you are a Windows
user or the traceroute command if you are a Linux or Unix variant user.
This command gives you an overview of each of the devices (routers) a
packet travels (hops) over a network and can give you an idea of
where a problem exists in your network or outside of your network.
To use this command you must be at the command line and type one
of the below commands depending on your operating system.
tracert google.com or traceroute google.com. If run successfully you
should begin to see each hop between the computer and network
devices. When the connection fails, determine what device is causing
the issue by reviewing the traceroute listing.