Ask A Geek

Q: I have a Dell Inspiron 1521 laptop computer. There was a blinking orange battery light going off to the right of the keyboard. When I checked the battery meter setting, it said that the battery was plugged in but not charging. When I clicked the icon that says Battery Health, it said the battery has malfunctioned and needs to be replaced. I called Dell and ordered a new battery for a $172. An hour later, my battery shows that is 100% charged, and when I checked the Battery health, it says your battery is performing normally. The blinking orange battery light, however, is still lighting up. Can you give me any ideas about what is going on or what I could do? Also, can you suggest any websites where I could order a new battery for a better price? I have tried to cancel the Dell order, but it is after normal business hours, and even the website won’t allow me to do so. Any info you could give me would be greatly appreciated.

Q: I have a Dimension 3k running Windows XP service pack 3. Windows tells me that everything is working properly even though it is not. Neither one of my DVD drives will work. I can not get them to load or read anything. Any help would be way cool.

Q: I have a Dell Dimension 3100 which is about 4 yrs old and runs like a dog. I think I need to nuke everything on it and reload – there seems to be an F11 option that I tried and didn’t work, so do I just need to reinstall using the XP re-installation CD that came with it? And before I do that do I just do a format C:? I have no idea so any help would be fantastic.

Q: I am a fashion student, gamer, photographer, videographer, and general media nut! I need lots of memory, a video card, the latest Windows, and something internet ready & super fast!

What would be best for me?

Q: I have a Dell Inspiron 1545 that was upgraded to Windows 7. It has a known compatibility issue that has caused my CD-ROM to function only intermittently. I have tried a few of the fixes published by Dell and Microsoft and they have not worked. I would like to simply replace the CD-ROM but I need to make sure that I purchase one that is compatible with both my computer and windows 7. Can you recommend an appropriate CD-ROM?

Q: I need to totally take this computer to the original backgound. I heard that Dell Dimension 4550 has a hot key that would do a total wipe out of the system and reboot it to it original settings; Does anyone know what this is about?

Q: Will replacing the motherboard on my Dell Dimension 8400 running Windows XP – SP3 resolve the following problems which occurred after what I believe to be a surge protector failure. I did replace the surge protector.

After the monitor went blank, I replaced the graphics card and restored the monitor, however, I had no sound. I replaced the sound card but that did not restore the sound. I tested the speakers and they are working.

I am no longer able to send and receive faxes.

My computer still runs the computer applications and accesses the internet

Q: hi. please help me..
i’m sorry my english is so bad.
i have a dell studio 1558..i7 core, 4Gig ram, ati graphic card & with windows 7 os.
how can i install leopard mac osx 10.6.2 on it?
i made a free partition on my hard and. i boot from dvd but when the apple screen appear on my monitor, system restarted.

Q: How do I return my Dell laptop to original factory settings?

Q: I currently have a Dell Inspiron 520 running Windows Vista. I would really like to purchase a Mac but I was wondering if Mac OS X would work on my Personal Computer. I know Mac OS X can run Windows Vista and Windows XP but can a Dell run Mac OS X ?