Information Addicts

As computer users, we all eventually fall prey to PC errors, bugs and minor niggles that can give us major headaches. At first glance they might seem complicated to fix, but don’t despair as many of them can be rectified with the right help and a little patience.

In this article I am going to show you how to fix 10 common PC problems quickly and easily.

1. Unable to delete file or folder as Access is denied.
Have you ever tried to delete a file or folder but received the below error message?

Try Unlocker and this will fix the problem. All you need to do is right click the file, select Unlocker from the menu and then unlock the file access restrictions. You should then be able to delete, move, or rename the item.

2. How do I resume from my previous session using Firefox?
More and more users are turning to Firefox as their preferred web browser.
A really useful and handy function is for Firefox to automatically restore the last session every time you reopen it. To do this click Tools > Options, on the main tab click on the drop down box that reads ‘When Firefox starts‘ and select ‘Show my windows and tabs from the last time‘. Click ok.

3. Application or Program freezes.
When an application or program freezes, sometimes the only way to close it is to restart your PC. You can always try Windows Task manager but this very rarely works and the application stays on screen. One of the best ways to end a frozen program is using Process Explorer
which will close the offending program down. To do this right click on the program in the Process Explorer window and choose “Kill Process“.

4. How Can I stop certain programs from running at start up?
Often when you install a program it automatically adds itself to the start up folder. The more programs you have in this folder the longer it takes your PC to start up.
You can stop any program from starting up by clicking Start > Run (or press the Windows and R key) which will bring up the Run box, type ‘msconfig‘ into the box, click on OK. This will bring up the System Configuration Utility, click on the ‘Startup‘ tab and untick any of the boxes that corresponds to the software that you don’t want to start up. If you are not sure which program is which, then drag the command bar to the right to reveal more information and the programs full path, see picture below.

5. How do I bring back the volume control icon.
Now and again the volume icon in the taskbar likes to do a disappearing act. To quickly bring it back click Start and then Control Panel, when the Control Panel opens click on Sounds and Audio Devices and on the Volume tab place a tick next to ‘Place volume icon in the taskbar‘.

6. The taskbar has moved to the top or the side of the screen.
Most users have the taskbar at the bottom of the screen as this is the default place, but sometimes it gets moved to the top or the side of the screen by accident. It is very easy to move back to the bottom, click and hold on an empty space of the taskbar and drag it to the bottom of the screen. You can prevent it from being moved again by right clicking an empty space on the Taskbar and choosing ‘Lock the Taskbar’.

7. How to turn off or remove the iritating Office Assistant in Office 2000 and XP.

1. If the Office Assistant is not visible, click Show the Office Assistant on the Help menu.
2. Right-click the Office Assistant, click Options,and then in the Office Assistant dialog box, click the Options tab.
3. Untick the ‘Use the Office Assistant’ check box.

To modify or remove the Office Assistant in Office 2000 click here, for Office XP use this link.

8. My desktop icons have disappeared.
Right click on the Desktop, choose Properties, Desktop tab and click on ” Customize Desktop“. Internet Explorer, My Computer, My Documents and My Network Places can be added or removed here.

If all of your desktop icons are missing, right click on the Desktop, select Arrange Icons By > Show Desktop Icon.

9. Every so often I receive an irritating message which asks me if I want to run the Desktop cleanup wizard.
To switch off this irritating message, right click on the Desktop, choose Properties, Desktop tab and click on ” Customize Desktop” untick the box “Run Desktop Cleanup Wizard every 60 days“.

10. Windows won’t reopen a programme that has crashed because it says it is still running.
Press the Ctrl+Alt+Del key to bring up Window’s Task Manager. Click the Processes tab and look for the programme or applications name, click on it to highlight it and then click the End Process button at the bottom.

You could also use Process Explorer, which I recommended earlier.

Have I missed out any common PC problems? Please share them in the comments box.

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This entry was posted on Monday, April 7th, 2008 at 1:00 pm and is filed under PC Tips. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.