Why won't my PC work at all?

• If your PC won't start at all, check that it's plugged in and the power point is switched on. (Obvious, but it's an astoundingly common problem.)
  
  
• If you've recently added some new equipment (such as a printer or external drive), disconnect that and try again.
  
  
• Make sure there are no disks in any DVD, CD or floppy drives, since these can cause start-up problems.
  
  
• If you can't get your Internet connection to work, check whether your home phone line is working.
  
  
• If running a particular program causes problems, try uninstalling it. (Make sure you've backed up key personal data files first.)
  
  
• Be wary of seeking out advice on the Internet. While there are lots of good help sites around, implementing the wrong advice could simply multiply your problems.
  
  
• Don't pretend to be a geek if you're not. If you can't easily work out the source of a problem, then attempting to fix it may do more harm than good.