power anomaly, a magnetic field, or even a virus. Try selecting the option to
reset the BIOS to its default settings. Be sure to save your changes to the BIOS.Turn off the computer, let it rest for a few seconds, and then restart. If the
LCD still does not display properly, this tells you that the likely problem is
with the LCD or its connection to the motherboard. Alas, this is a job for an
expert technician, and should only be done if it makes economic sense.The good news here is that you can use the alternate monitor or television
to view the contents of your hard drive as you offload important files to a
recordable CD or over a network to another machine.If you see the opening splash screen...............................................
This tells you that the LCD, its connection to the motherboard, and the dis-
play adapter are working. Press the key to display the system BIOS and go to
the section that deals with video output; reset the BIOS to its default settings.
Save the changes to the BIOS.Restart the computer and see if it proceeds through to Windows. If not, you
may have a problem with the system tracks on the hard drive. See the sug-
gestions in the disaster earlier in this section, “Your Hard Drive Imitates a
Pancake.”Something Wicked Comes Your Way .........................................................
Files are missing. Your hard drive is clicking away at times when it should be
quiet. The machine runs painfully slow and keeps crashing. You are receiving
angry notes and angrier phone calls from friends and business associates
accusing you of sending them a virus-infected e-mail. And every once in a
while a truly strange message appears on your laptop’s screen: “Kilroy Was
Here” or something a bit more profane.If these are the things you see, you just might be infected by a virus, whether
you are a redneck or not. But (say it with me, class) don’t panic.First of all, you should have been running a fully capable and current
antivirus program on your laptop. The best of the programs include Norton
AntiVirus, McAfee VirusScan, and PC-cillin. Any of these should detect a virus
when it arrives on your machine, and they should detect and warn you if
your machine starts to perform actions worthy of suspicion: changes to the
system tracks, alterations to file indexes, and mass e-mailings with recipients
randomly selected from your address book.314 Part VI: The Part of Tens