Don't panic! How to fix 5 common PC emergencies
Your PC may not be as essential to you as your smartphone, but chances are it’s still pretty damn important. So it’s completely understandable if your first reaction is to freeze and freak out when you run into a PC emergency, such as a broken screen, accidentally-deleted important file, or a virus. But panicking is counter-productive, because time is often of the essence.
Don’t worry. While you can’t call 9-1-1, here’s what you can do to fix five common PC emergencies.
Broken laptop screen
A few months ago, I was working on my MacBook Air next to my French bulldog, Blanka. For some unexplained dog reason, Blanka suddenly decided he needed to be in my lap, so he jumped on me—and landed on my laptop’s screen. A laptop screen is no match for a 27-pound Frenchie, so, needless to say, my screen was toast.
First things first: Check to make sure that only your laptop’s screen, and not something more important (such as the graphics card) has been damaged. If your screen is visually damaged or cracked, just continue to use your computer normally to see if any other issues arise.
If there’s no visible damage, but the screen is acting weird, you can try plugging an external monitor into your laptop. You will need an output port (HDMI, mini-HDMI, DisplayPort, mini-DisplayPort, DVI, or VGA) and an external monitor or TV to do this, as well as the correct cable. Some laptops also have an external display mode that you will need to activate, usually via Function keys. If your laptop’s output looks fine on the external display, you likely have a simple screen issue and not something more serious.
Fix it: The good news about a broken screen is that you don’t need to fix it right away. If your screen has a hairline crack along the edge, you can continue to use your laptop as usual, though it’s probably a good idea to avoid moving it, closing it, or traveling with it, because any pressure on the screen can cause the crack to get bigger. If you have an external monitor on hand, you can simply use your laptop as a desktop for the time being.
If you do want to fix your screen, you have two options: You can do it yourself, or you canhave it repaired by a third-party repair shop (or, if you purchased an extended, accidental damage-covering warranty, by the manufacturer). A DIY repair on a basic laptop screen is simpler than you think, but if you have a specialized laptop such as an Ultrabook, a two-in-one, or a MacBook, it’s better to see an expert. Ultra-thin screens, such as those found on Ultrabooks and MacBook Airs, can be especially tricky to replace, and sometimes aren’t even worth replacing at all.
Deleted an important file
There are two types of “important” files: The ones that are important to you, such as the pictures from your teen’s high-school graduation, and the ones that are important to your computer, such as system files. Hopefully you don’t make a habit of snooping around your PC’s root folders and indiscriminately deleting files, but critical files can sometimes be deleted or corrupted by system crashes, malware, or overzealous antivirus programs.
First things first: If you accidentally hit delete on an important photo or document, don’t panic. First, see if you can find it—open up Windows Explorer and type the file name into the search box in the upper right corner. It’s possible you didn’t delete the file at all, but just moved it to a different folder with some inadvertent mouse action.
If you can’t find it in a search, open up your Recycle Bin, which is located on your desktop, and look for the file. If there are a lot of files in the Recycle Bin, right-click inside the window, hover over Sort by and click Date Deleted. The most recently deleted files will appear at the top of the window.
If that doesn’t work, try using a deleted-file recovery tool like the superb Recuva to reclaim your lost data. (Recuva’s on PCWorld’s list of the 22 free programs new PCs need for a reason.)
If your file is not in the Recycle Bin and can’t be found by Recuva, you may be able to restore it easily from a backup. Windows 7 automatically creates “previous versions” of your files, but in Windows 8 you will have to manually turn on a feature called File Historyin order for this to happen. In Windows 7, open Windows Explorer and find the folder that contained the file. Right-click on the folder and click Restore previous. You’ll see a list of folder backups by date modified. Click on a backup that was created before you remember deleting the file, and click Restore…
In Windows 8, you can recover deleted files by opening the File History menu and clicking Restore personal files.
Fix it: If you can’t find your deleted file or easily restore it from Windows’ File History, you’re still not completely out of luck. If you regularly back up your computer, you can try looking for the file on your backup drive—and if your backup “drive” is a cloud service, such as Dropbox, Copy, or OneDrive, you may be able to recover your file from the cloud service’s website.
If you don’t regularly back up your computer, shame on you. But now is the time to try a professional fix: You can either use recovery software, which will deep-scan your drives for the deleted file, or you can go to an expensive, but very effective, data recovery service such as DriveSavers.
If the deleted file is not a personal file, but a critical system file, you will probably need torepair your PC with a System Restore, or possibly even completely reinstall Windows.
Spilled something on your stuff
It happens to everyone – you’re drinking at your desk, when all of a sudden whoops!There’s Diet Coke all over your keyboard.
First things first: Liquid damages electronics because things in the liquid, such as salts and minerals, conduct electricity (technically, spilling pure water on your computer would be perfectly safe). If your computer or component is turned on when you spill something on it, that random, free-flowing electricity conduction can cause the circuits to short. So the first thing you need to do, before you do anything else, is turn off your computer as fast as possible—unplug it and remove the battery (if applicable) pronto. The faster you can get it into a powerless state, the better.
Fix it: Once your computer is turned off, remove all cables, components, media cards, and swappable drives and turn it upside-down. If it’s a laptop, you’ll want to try to avoid getting liquid near the screen; if it’s a desktop, you’ll probably want to turn it on its side rather than completely upside-down. Turn the computer toward the spill (i.e. if you spilled something on the left side of your keyboard, lay it on its left side). You can mop up any liquid on the outside of the PC with a lint-free cloth.
After most of the liquid has drained, you should try to disassemble the PC as much as you are able. If you can completely take it apart, great. If you can’t, don’t hurt yourself, but you should probably try to at least pry the keys off of a keyboard to get all the liquid out. If you spilled anything other than water, it’s a good idea to clean your PC with some circuit cleaner, as many drinks are sticky and corrosive and will wreak havoc on your PC’s insides.
Once your PC is powerless, disassembled, and cleaned…leave it there and wait. Wait for as long as you possibly can, and then wait for another two days (ideally, at least a week). Then, pray to the PC gods that you were just quick enough, and try turning it on.
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