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Press F1: Where's the power?

We answer your questions.

By PC World Staff / Wednesday, July 28 2010

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Unexpected power loss
My PC automatically shuts down
15 minutes after startup. I’ve replaced the power supply, but it hasn’t solved the problem.
Jim Oram

It sounds like an overheating issue, Jim. As your PC warms up, a component or area of motherboard solder may be expanding to the extent that it breaks a connection.

First, turn off your PC and disconnect it from the mains. Earth yourself by touching something metal, then open the case. Remove and reseat each component in turn, ensuring that all components are replaced and cables are reconnected correctly.

If your machine continues to shut down without warning, take it to a local PC repair shop – it may require a new motherboard or other component.

The missing links
My new Windows 7 PC won’t let me navigate websites’ internal links in Internet Explorer (IE) 8.0.
George Hayter

This is a common issue for which there are several possible fixes, George.

Touchscreens and misaligned pointing devices can cause problems, so it’s worth uninstalling these one by one to rule out each in turn. If one is out of kilter, it can cause the cursor to appear to hover over a clickable link when it’s actually several pixels away from the active area.

Turn off your PC and unplug all pointing devices except the mouse. Now click Start•Search and type in device manager. Find the ‘Mice and other pointing devices’ category and remove each device listed by right-clicking it and selecting Uninstall. Once all have been removed, reboot the PC.



If this doesn’t solve your problem, go to Start•Control Panel•Programs and Features. Select Turn Windows features on or off and untick Internet Explorer 8. Reboot the computer, then revisit this menu and turn IE 8.0 back on again.

A third fix is possible by downloading the scripts and following the instructions given by Vistaheads at tinyurl.com/ybl9e6h.