Computer Hardware – Turn to the Greener Side
Many people know how to use a computer but only few are aware of the great need for disposing off the used parts of a computer, in a safe manner. Many IT organisations have failed to assume sufficient responsibility for the ultimate end of used PC. The first step to be taken towards greening the computer hardware should be initiated by the manufacturers and retailers end. Manufacturing and selling companies should take a closer look at the policy of the IT organisation, towards the PC and computer hardware take back, before even buying. They should also keep account of the Electronic Take back Coalition, and maintain a list of recyclers that have pledged to adhere to certain corporate responsibility standards, including incinerate e-waste.
Even the people who own computers at home should be not reckless regarding the disposition of their used computer hardware. They too should be conscious about utilizing waste in the right manner. The initial step is not to throw away any used or outdated computer hardware in the dumpster. Instead recycle it. Be it your hard drive, monitor, keyboard, mouse, or printer, one can dispose it by recycling it in the right manner. Today, there are many recycling centres like City of Lubbock Solid Waste Department in Texas. Here they inspect all the disposed parts of a computer to check whether any hardware is working or not. Special care is taken to assure hard drives are completely erased prior to refurbishing activities. They have their own group of engineers who refurbish these computer particles and offers them to the state agencies counties, cities or school districts at no charge.
Some other ways to make your computer hardware green are discussed below –
- Green Search â Instead of using the Google search engine, use Blackle.com. This is an eco friendly site that works on black resolution, thus saving less energy that is consumed by the white resolution. Further there is option for switching to black wallpapers and screen savers that consume lesser power than white or colored backgrounds.
- Use LCD Screen â Replacing your CRT monitors with LCD screen will help you save up to 70% of electricity and the lifespan of the LCD is also twice more than the CRT.
- Optimise Your PC’s Power Setting With iYogi Toolbar â One can optimize energy consumption of a PC by switching it to the power saving mode. For this one can take the help of Yogi Green PC tool bar that can be installed on all Windows-based systems.
- Switch to Vista Green â Power consumption in Windows Vista is less than in Windows XP. Switching off to that mode will help one saving a lot of energy.
- Last but not the least, always remember to shut down the monitor when not in use. Always remember to unplug all the input as well as storage devices to save power.
Its time for everyone to realize the environment hampering that are caused by throwing the e particles into waste bins. The impact of that negligence on the environment worldwide can be huge. It is estimated that around 1.8 billion pounds of PCs are retired worldwide each year, but only about half â865 million poundsâare processed by recyclers, as per the report issued International Data Corp. Although some of the remaining 900 million pounds of computer hardware is rebuilt or reused, much of it is just plain discarded into landfills or incinerated. Incorporate the above few points, the next time you are thinking of discarding these unused or old parts of your computer.
pvyas
http://www.articlesbase.com/hardware-articles/computer-hardware-turn-to-the-greener-side-676637.html
May 20th, 2010 at 6:49 am
Is it my video card? What should I do?
First, let me provide some basic specs…I’m using:
an HP Pavilion computer, model a6152n
an HP w2207 monitor
Windows Vista Home 32
nvidia 8800 graphics card with upgraded power supply
approx. 3 gigs ram.
I’m having a problem with my computer, and I think it’s linked to my video card. I’ll explain:
I left my computer on while I was doing something across the room, and when I looked back at the computer, the monitor looked strange. The screen saver had frozen, and the screen was divided along a diagonal line — with everything underneath the line blacked out, except for some vertical lines that ran across the screen every few inches. I ended up having to hard-boot the machine, and told it to start in safe mode with networking. During startup I noticed a few oddities: 1) the normal blue-colored start-up screen had some darker vertical stripes along the left side of the monitor; 2) the start-up screen showing the Microsoft progress bar did not appear, but otherwise I reached the safe mode desktop normally; 3) the screen had more lines once I did reach the desktop. They occurred in groups of 8 or so vertical lines, in about 5 groups across the screen. When over a black background they appeared red or green, but turned blue if I moved the cursor over the lines. Since everything otherwise seemed normal I told the computer to restart.
This time, problem number 2 was not present, though the lines from problem number 3 were. I told the computer to restart again, only this time I’m not sure if it completed the process because the screen told me it was receiving no signal, Monitor Going to Sleep."
With my hardware setup, I have the option of using either VGA video or DVI. Both were plugged in. When I turn the monitor on now, regardless of whether it’s connected to the computer or not it says VGA: No input signal, DVI: No input signal. The DVI entry on the list has a black arrow pointing to it, leading me to believe that it’s been using the DVI option. I’ve tried connecting the monitor to my wife’s laptop using the VGA cable, which worked, but I have no way to test the DVI. I wonder if the DVI cable might be the problem, but I don’t know how to make the computer and monitor work using the VGA instead of the DVI. I also tried hooking my CPU into my TV using the VGA cable, but it gave no input — not sure if that’s because I don’t have the TV configured correctly, or if it’s something to do with the graphics card (with the computer’s ability to spit out a video signal).
What does it sound like the problem is, here? Is my video card not working? If I need to replace my card, I might as well take the opportunity to buy a better card. Can you tell me what models would be compatible? Thank you for any help you can give me!
May 20th, 2010 at 11:51 am
I would update your Video Card driver and if it is already updated then reinstall it. Otherwise I think its your monitor.
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May 20th, 2010 at 11:53 am
if you want to see if your monitor is working if your monitor displays something when you turn the monitor on then the monitor is fine.
did you recently installed driver updates to your graphics card?if you did that must be the problem
the worst thing that could happen is you burnt out the graphics card. or one of the cords connecting got damaged.
if you want another graphics card then something like the GTX 260….the 9800gt is exactly the same thing as the 8800gt if your wondering.
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