Build Your Own Computer

Build Your Own Computer

If you’re in the market for a new desktop computer (you can’t really build your own laptop), you don’t have to buy a prebuilt computer. It’s surprisingly easy to build your own computer from components you can order online. This is generally cheaper than building a new computer – you can get better hardware and choose exactly the hardware you want.

For step-by-step instructions for everything from choosing components to assembling your new machine, check out our guides:

1.  Building a New Computer – Part 1: Choosing Hardware
2.  Building a New Computer – Part 2: Putting it Together
3.  Building a New Computer – Part 3: Setting it Up
4.  Building a New Computer – Part 4: Installing Windows and Loading Drivers
5.  Building a New Computer – Part 5: Tweaking Your New Computer

Upgrade Your RAM or Hard Drive

Some computer upgrades are particularly simple. Adding new RAM to your computer is a very simple process – as long as you buy the right RAM for your computer, installing it is will be easy (even in many laptops.) You can also upgrade your hard drive (or add a new hard drive) to increase the storage space you have available. This is a bit more complicated, as you’ll have to reinstall Windows or move your existing operating system over if you’re replacing the original hard drive, but it’s not too hard.

We have guides that will walk you through performing these simple upgrades:

1.  Hardware Upgrade: How To Install New RAM
2.  Hardware Upgrade: How To Install A New Hard Drive, Pt 1
3.  Hardware Upgrade: How To Install A New Hard Drive, Pt 2, Troubleshooting

RMA Your Computer

If you bought a laptop or pre-assembled desktop computer, you don’t need to take it to a repair place if it breaks. If it’s still under warranty, you can contact the manufacturer to RMA the computer and have them repair it. RMA stands for “return merchandise authorization” – you’ll need to tell the manufacturer’s service department your problem and receive an RMA number before mailing it to their service center.

If you built your own computer from scratch, it can get a bit more complicated here – you’ll need to pin down which component is defective and RMA that component alone.

For information on RMA’ing your hardware if it breaks, consult your computer’s warranty documentation. You can also visit your computer manufacturer’s support website online.

Recover Deleted Files

If you’ve accidentally deleted an important file, you’ll be happy to know that it may be possible to recover it. This is because deleted files aren’t actually erased immediately.

If you need in-depth forensic data recovery of critical business documents, you might want to contact a professional for that. This is an expensive service, so unless it’s extremely important data, you may as well just try doing it yourself to

Build Your Own Computer.

These are all things you can do on your own fairly easily if you can follow instructions. We haven’t touched on the more complicated stuff here, but a lot of what people pay computer repair places to do is simple. This is the computer equivalent of changing your own windshield wiper fluid.