PC Problem Prevention and Resolution
Longtime subscriber Clif of the Clif Notes Newsletter wrote about my Windows 7 installation experience articles in last week’s online issue:
Hi Terry,Thanks for the preview of the hassle to come when I move my laptop to win7 from the RC. Hopefully the drivers I have backed up will work. I’m hoping the driver backups I have will help me avoid the issues that you had getting the correct drivers installed.
See the following:
Continue reading Comments on Upgrading to Windows 7
One of the problems that plagues Windows users is the “locked file” problem. You know, the one that you want to rename or move, but you can’t because the file is in use…
If you’ve opened a document in Word, you can not rename the document on the disk drive until you close the copy in Word. You can save the copy that’s in Word, either with the same name or a different one, but that’s not always what you wanted to do.
Tech Tip
I’m using Word as an example, but the same issue applies to any file that you open in a program. Until the program tells Windows that it has released the file, Windows protects you from making a dumb move.
Sometimes, though, Windows gets connfused. It won’t let you rename or move a file, but you’ve already closed the program that was accessing it. There doesn’t seem to be any reason that Windows should balk and refuse to make your change.
Continue reading Which Program Has Locked My File?
Reader Scott Adler wrote about a problem he was having with his computer getting stuck at 100% CPU Usage…
to correct a problem I’m having with Adobe Updater I need to get to change the preferences
Start the AdobeUpdater.exe application from …”\Program Files\Common Files\Adobe\Updater 5″
How do I get to this application??
The symptoms are that the updater runs and uses 100% of the processing capability of my CPU thereby making use of PC virtually impossible. I found an Adobe tech note that suggests changing the preferences by unchecking the “automatically Check for updates”
Scott has very good question. The problem is that Adobe removed that feature in Adobe Reader 8…
Continue reading CPU Running at 100 Percent
I received an email recently from PC Pitstop (I bought a license for PC Pitstop’s Optimize 2.0) announcing their new version Internet speed test.
That got me thinking about the variations in connection speed that I’ve seen over the years — over days and even between sites.
Typically, the closer the bandwidth-measuring site is to you, the higher the results you will get for download speed and upload speed.
But, sometimes, the closest site isn’t the fastest. It all depends on the congestion on the net…
Continue reading Internet Speed Tests
Optimize 2.0 Review Number 2
Back in February, 2008, I bought a license for Optimize 2.0 and was very impressed with its cleanup and speedup changes it made on my computer.
Now, five months later, is it still a worthwhile tool?
As I ran the program on Friday night, it had been several weeks since I had used it to check the optimization and for cleanup.
Continue reading Optimize 2.0 Review – Five Months Later Review or get more information
One of the neat features of Windows is the drag-and-drop system, where you can use the mouse to drag an icon (or a file name in Windows Explorer), over a target icon — and drop the dragged icon on target icon.
When you do that, many Windows programs will start and do whatever they do to that file.
Drag an icon onto the Recycle Bin, let go, and the icon will go into the Recycle Bin.
Drag a document icon over the icon for Microsoft Word, Word will start and open the icon.
Drag an image icon into Internet Exporer when it’s open, or drag and drop it on the IE icon if IE’s not open, and IE will display the image.
Many programs work that way and it’s a big convenience.
But, there are times where you don’t have an icon…
Continue reading The Windows Right-Click Send-To Menu
Whether you are buying a new computer or wanting to expand an old one, desktop or notebook, additional memory is one of the cheapest and easiest upgrades you can do.
Sites like Crucial Technology, from whom I buy my computers’ memory, offer easy to use wizards to find the right memory for your particular computer.
Read more in Saving Money on Computer Memory
If you’re still using dialup Internet access for use from home, you should start thinking about “broadband”.
What’s broadband? That’s the term for getting your Internet access via a cable or DSL connection, or even a fiber-optic connection if that’s available to you.
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During the roll-out stage of cable and DSL Internet access, there weren’t too many choices. If only one was available in your neighborhood, that’s the one you got.
For some of us, that’s still the case. Although I live in a relatively large city (Baton Rouge), my area of Baton Rouge does not have DSL access available. The phone company’s equipment servicing my subdivision is not compatible with DSL.
Unfortunately, just a few years before the DSL rollout started, the latest-and-greatest phone switching equipment was released — and it turned out to be incompatible with DSL.
Read more in Thinking About Broadband Internet Access
One of my forum readers in my Windows XP /2000/etc forum (which are now shut down thanks to too many spam posts) wrote about a problem he was having.
He wrote:
IE6 SP1 browser..links take long time to downloadMy computer contains: Athlon 3200gb, 1 gig Ram, I have WinXP SP2 Home, and IE 6 SP1. When I click on a link in my OE e-mail, I am immediately taken to the web-site. When on a web-site, and I click on a link within the site, it takes “forever” to download the page….I watch the green progress bar, not much happens. It says “done”, but I still have to wait a long time for the page to download. I click the F5 key to refresh and still it takes a long time for the page to download.
I’ve checked for malware (AdAware, SpyBot, MS anti spyware, CCleaner….none), I ran a system scan for viruses (AVG and then TrendMicro Housecall….no viruses), I cleaned out cache, Temp files and cookies. Nothing helps.
I also ran Start/Run/ sfc /scannow with my original Win XP CD and this didn’t help. I also ran IE Fix…didn’t help.
This problem occurs on e-mails with Links from e.g. PCMag.com; Lockergnome.com; AllExperts.com, etc.
What suggestions can U offer??
I would hate to format/reinstall.
_________________
Irving S.
I wrote back to Irving with a list of suggestions — and his problem was solved.
Read how in Slow-loading Web Browser Links
Microsoft has released patch for IE7 that speeds up the built-in phishing filter, which otherwise can slow down your web surfing.
Unfortunately, MS did not push it out in their December updates on Tuesday. If you can pass the Genuine Microsoft test, you can download the patch from Microsoft’s site.
Thanks to Infoworld for spotting this patch.
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