Working & Learning at Home

TSNickW · March 2020

Working or learning from home can present new challenges, but Micro Center has solutions:

Like many of us you may have found yourself in the unfamiliar situation of working or learning from home. What used to take seconds to accomplish, now can take several minutes or longer. Issues with your home network, PC, keyboard, mouse, among other things can sometimes leave you yearning for the days of being back in the office or at school. Fear not, as many of these hang-ups can be overcome with a few quick tweaks.

Before we get started, if something suddenly isn’t working, remember the first rule of IT/Tech Support. Try turning it off and rebooting. Sometimes its as simple as that. Plus you can impress all your friends and family with your newly found technical skill-sets!

If rebooting just does not get the job done. Here are a few additional ideas to try.

Suddenly, my wireless keyboard and/or mouse have quit working.

Make sure you have your USB dongle plugged in to your computer and try unplugging and plugging the dongle back in.

You could also be too far away from the computer and/or need to replace the batteries in your keyboard and mouse.

My monitor quit working.

Have you checked the connections to make sure they are secure? If so, try a different cable if you have one.

If your computer has a video card, make sure the monitor is plugged into that port.

Also, check the internal menu using the buttons on the monitor itself to make sure it is getting signal from the correct input.

I need a second monitor! How can I do this?

Plug in the monitor into another display port on the computer. Check to make sure you have the proper connections as you may need an adapter of some kind.

After you’ve gotten everything connected properly, right click on the desktop and go to display settings. If there are two monitors showing, scroll down until you see multiple displays and choose to “extend these displays”.

Here’s a helpful article with pictures to walk you through the process: https://www.microcenter.com/tech_center/article/11108/how-to-set-up-multiple-displays-in-windows-10

I’ve lost my network connection!

Make sure that you accidentally didn’t turn off the network by a hotkey. Many laptops have a Function key that will turn off wireless capability.

Try checking to make sure that airplane mode is off.

Here is an article that will help: https://www.microcenter.com/tech_center/article/8620/how-to-turn-airplane-mode-on-or-off-in-windows-10.

If you’re still having issues, uninstall the network adapter. This will make the computer forget the network connection so you can add it (or another one) again.

Here’s an article that will help: https://www.microcenter.com/tech_center/article/8766/how-to-reset-a-network-adapter-in-windows-10. Make sure you have your Wi-Fi password.

I can’t get connected to my company’s network.

First try the steps above just to make sure it isn’t an issue with the overall wireless connectivity issue with your computer.

Next make sure your antivirus isn’t blocking the availability to get connected.

Lastly, are you using VPN to connect? If so, try uninstalling and reinstalling the program just to make sure everything is set up correctly. If you’re not sure, reaching out to your company’s IT program is the best choice.

While the above items can usually be resolved with the steps provided, sometimes new hardware is needed to remedy the situation, or simply just to make the home office more productive, enjoyable or in some cases bearable.

Need some “quiet” to focus or think? You may want to invest in some noise canceling headphones for those times when you need to block out the noise and focus….

JBL Live 650BTNC Wireless Noise-Canceling Headphones - Blue

Bose QuietComfort 35 Noise-Canceling Wireless Headphones II - Rose Gold

Possibly your 2007 15” VGA monitor is just not getting the job done. Here are some options that will ease the strain on your eyes and your blood pressure.

AOC 24B2XH 23.8" Full HD 60Hz HDMI VGA IPS LED Monitor

Dell Ultrasharp U2718Q 27" 4K UHD 60Hz HDMI DP HDR IPS LED Monitor

HDD full, or taking WAY to long to access the data you need? You may want to add an internal or external SSD. You may find this makes a HUGE difference in your PC’s access time.

Inland Premium 1TB 3D QLC NAND SATA 3.0 6GB/s 2.5" Internal SSD

Inland Professional 960GB SSD 3D NAND USB 3.1 External Solid State Drive

Is that kitchen chair you drug into the office not doing your back any favors? How about a new office/ gaming chair? You might find yourself eating in the office rather than the kitchen after this!