I received this email a few days ago from M Kendrick:

"Hi Tim - quick question. I can't find BIOS anywhere. I know I need to open it to change how my computer looks at my DVD drive but I can't find the program anywhere. Is there something I need to type to open it? I had to do that once with another program I had. Can you help??"

and here's what I told him:

"M, BIOS isn't actually a "program" in the typical sense. It's not located inside Windows at all. In fact, you don't even have to have an operating system installed to use BIOS. BIOS is actually software that's stored in a chip on your motherboard and you can access it immediately after your computer turns on. Here's some more info: How to Access BIOS."

Confusions about what BIOS is and how to get to it are common among computer users that haven't yet had the opportunity to work with PC hardware.

Anyone else have any other questions about BIOS?

From mustang6tsix (Chad) in the PC Support Forum:

About a month ago my sister dropped her year-old HP Pavilion laptop. Since then the computer is unresponsive. No blinking LEDs, fans, hard drive activity appears to occur. Obviously the power supply is providing power to the motherboard, as confirmed by the led indicator at the main board power port.

Fortunately the hard drive seems to be okay. Fortunately, I was able to pull all of the pertinent information off of it with an enclosure I bought. I'm guessing since the hard drive is still accessible, the problem is either a cracked motherboard or damaged memory?

I'm leaning towards a cracked motherboard because I would assume it would still make an attempt to boot even if the memory was damaged.

Am I on the right track? Does anyone have any ideas how to isolate the problem even further?

Any thoughts for Chad?

From SeniorSam123 in the PC Support Forum:

When I click on the icon for WMP, nothing happens. I have checked that the program is still there but cannot find a way to start it. Any ideas?

Thanks, Malcolm

Any ideas for Malcolm? Help him out by posting a reply.

I occasionally get the chance to promote some computer support related videos on my site thanks to the talented Don Schechter.

Here's one of his newer ones: How to Clean Inside a Computer Safely

Have you ever had any problems cleaning out your PC? (Have you EVER cleaned out your PC?)