October & November 08

Site Hints | Shop Hours

Clean it up!

Newsletter Index

Shop hours --top

Due to a change in Kelly's schedule and with the random nature of service calls, it is increasingly important you call before stopping by. 

Steve will continue with these hours, but at any given time there may be no one available at the shop...

Windows over other windows --top

On occasion under Windows XP we would see a dialog box or message window open under the main application's window, e.g., an error message, save dialog box, etc., would become lost to the user because it is not on top.  In this situation XP would typically blink that hidden dialog box in the taskbar.

Under Windows Vista, this problem seems to occur more often, especially with the extra
are you sure security questions.  But rather than blinking noticeably, Vista changes the taskbar item to a slightly different color that may or may not blink.

So if you are working on something and the application seems to have become unresponsive, check the taskbar for a hidden dialog window...

Odd failures --top

Computers (including Macs) can have sudden and unexplained failures.  It does not matter how old they are or how much care you give them.  Sometimes the failures are mechanical like the fan, hard drive or CD drive.  Sometimes it is an electrical failure of the power supply or motherboard due to a power outage, power surge or the mysterious Tin Whiskers.  But sometimes it is just a software corruption.  Because problems like these are so unpredictable, be sure you back up your data often!

Recently we had an odd but non-critical failure on our workstation.  It was not caused by an update or other change to the computer, it just occurred.  While it worked just fine the day before, the sound system stopped working after a reboot. 

The speaker/volume control appeared in the taskbar and it was not muted.  The speakers were plugged in, turned on and turned up... 

So the next place to look was in the Device Manager.  The sound system was active and apparently ok as there were no markings to indicate otherwise (e.g., Unimodem). In this case, the fix was very easy.  We right clicked on and uninstalled the SoundMax device.  Then from the Dell site, we downloaded and (re)installed the audio driver.

That method can be used on most any hardware that stops working.

Google Chrome --top

Out of curiosity, a while ago we attempted to try out Google's Internet browser. We were unimpressed back then as it continually crashed out at any site.  Recently we gave it another try, but even with the latest release, nothing has changed. - - - > There was no other error message, no report and no information why this crash occurs or how to fix it...

But since Microsoft's Internet Explorer has always worked just fine for us, we still have no reason to change. 

Problems with your browser? --top

In the past we wrote about issues that could cause problems, but we failed at that time to mention toolbars!  Two very popular toolbars are Yahoo and Google.  These may become installed from a variety of unrelated sites, e.g., when installing Adobe's PDF Reader or Flash Player. 

We have found on some computers having website access problems, uninstalling all of the add-in toolbars resolves the problem.

In the Control Panel's Add/Remove Programs (Programs and Features for Vista users), look through the list and uninstall those toolbars.  There may be other toolbars installed as well, so look at each item in the list!

(Fake) Windows Update  --top

Once again, an email is circulating telling people to "click here" to download the latest security patches from Microsoft.    The article.

But remember, Microsoft does not offer security updates that way...

(Genuine) Windows Update --top

We are constantly reminding you to get available Windows updates, and even though you may have your computer set to automatically obtain these updates, it may not be working. The reason is the latest Windows Genuine Advantage (WGA) engine does  not automatically install and without that, the remaining updates will not come through. So manually check for updates! Open the Internet and from the Tools menu, select Windows Update.  Once at that site, install the WGA if required, then continue by selecting a Custom scan as show here... Then look for and install any High Priority updates available.  If you are running Windows XP, be sure to get Service Pack 3 (SP3).

Note, we have seen problems:

• With some hardware updates, especially video drivers.  So even if hardware updates appear in the list, we recommend installing them only if you are having specifically addressed problems...

• With SP3 but only with a very esoteric installation and that was a company running networked Konica printers.

Disk space & Internet performance  --top

If you are running low on disk space and/or you are on a high speed (DSL) connection, you could reduce the amount of disk space used by the temporary Internet files. To change that setting, open the Internet Browser and from the Tools menu, select Options.  On the General tab click the "settings" button for temporary files. In there, lower the amount of disk space used... Note: In many cases, a low setting will improve your Internet performance.

How do you check available disk space? Click here.

Check your drive for errors  --top

If your computer is a few years old, or has abruptly shut down due to power failures, or is running sluggishly, check the hard drive for problems!

Odd, erratic computer problems could be the results of lost clusters and can only be corrected with a thorough disk scan.

To check the drive under XP or Vista: Open (My) Computer from the Start menu Right click the C: drive Select Properties Select the Tools tab Click the Error-checking button Select BOTH options Reboot the computer Upon reboot, the computer will scan the disk.  This process could take a couple of hours; however, if the process completes quickly, the scan probably did not run completely.   If not, repeat the above steps...

Here are some other things you can do to clean up...

Automatic image resize  --top

The Internet Explorer has a default setting that would automatically resize an image based on some arbitrary size.  If you want Internet images to show as the website designers planned, go into the Internet Tools menu > Options > Advanced tab and clear the checkbox for that setting - - >

Quick Links...  --top

Here is a handy little cut and paste application from HP.  It allows you to copy images and text from different websites and paste them into one document.   Thanks, Mickey

Assuming it is accurate, this clip shows the explosive growth of Wal-Mart in the US.  Wow!

Computer fonts conference (very clever).

Have a little time to kill?  This is interesting...

Largest ever re-enlistment ceremony.

We will leave you with these from Al Lowe

Two Wall Street traders were bemoaning the recent stock market gyrations. "This is worse than a divorce!" said one. "How's that?" asked the other. The first grimaced, "I've lost half my net worth but I've still got the same wife!"

How is an investment banker different from a pigeon? A pigeon can still leave a deposit on a new Ferrari!