Computer Support - Free Advice on Solutions to Common Problems

Helfpul Solutions to Common Problems


My computer is really slow.

frustrated computer user

A slow computer is usually the result of unknown, malicious programs running on your system. The best solution is to find these programs and delete them. Fortunately, there are programs available that will scan your system for rogue software and remove it. These programs will also try to prevent this "malware" from re-loading itself on your comptuer. One of the best programs is called Spybot Search and Destroy. You can download a copy of Spyboy Search and Destory from http://www.safer-networking.org/index2.html.
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I can't find a file or document that I saved.

If you can remember the name of the document the easiest way to find it is to use the Windows "Search" function. Click on the Windows Start menu button and one of the menu items will be called Search. Click this and then select "For Files and Folders" in the pop-up menu. Enter some or all of the name of the document in the "Search for files or folders named" box and then click the "Search Now" button. If windows is able to locate the item it will appear in the list. Click the item to open it, and then resave it in a location that you can easily find. A word about filing locations in Windows. In Windows 2000, XP, and Vista, files are stored according to the user that is logged on. Each user has their own "My Documents" folder. Often, a file or document is downloaded or created when the person is logged in as "User A", and then can't be located when the person logs in again, this time as "User B". Check the username you're logged in as if you're having a hard time finding a document. Another common problem occurs when working on documents that are attached to e-mails. You must either download attachments and save them to your computer in your My Documents or some other directory, or use the File->Save As option to save the document directly to you disk. Editing an attachment and using File->Save will save it in one of the Windows System Folders where temporary documents are stored. These documents can be located using the Search method above but the best practice is to download attachments before editing them.
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My computer won't boot after applying a Windows upgrade

When this happens you typically see an error message indicating that a ".dll" or other file is missing. The only chance to fix this is to try to boot your computer in "safe mode", and then load a copy of the missing file. The missing file can often be found on the original operating system disk or downloaded from the internet. One solution is to check the windows knowledge base at http://support.microsoft.com/ to see if there is a known issue with the upgrade that you attempted to apply and a solutions to installation problems. Another solution is to reinstall the original operating system software, but this will not include any of the upgrades that have already been applied and you will have to manually apply them. Be very careful of following this route because some of your application programs might not work properly with an older version of Windows.
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#@$%^! - I accidentally deleted a file.

frustrated computer user

The first thing to do is not "save" anything new to your computer. That means don't download anything new, don't surf the internet, and don't edit or save any changes to any existing documents. Now, check to make sure the deleted file isn't in your Recycle Bin. If it is, right click on it, select "Restore", and it will be restored to its original location. If it's not there, make sure you're logged in as the user under which the file was saved, so that you're accessing the right My Documents folder and desktop. If that checks out and the file has definitely been deleted, as long as you don't save anything new to the computer there is a chance that some or all of it can be recovered. Even though the file has been "deleted" as far as Windows is concerned, the underlying data is still on the hard drive. To accomplish this, it would be best to give us a call.
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I don't have any room left on my hard drive.

The main hard drive on all systems is designated the "C:" drive, and some systems have additional hard drives which could be designated "D:", "E:", or "F:", drives. If you only have one hard drive and you receive an error that the disk is full, the only option is to remove some application programs or data files. If your system contains additional hard drives that are not full, you can transfer some data to them. Often, application programs like photo viewers, photo editors, and iTunes will automatically install onto your "C:" drive. Then, anytime songs or pictures are added, they are downloaded to the "C:" drive as well. We recommend creating a directory called "Program Files" on a secondary disk drive, and installing photo, video, and audio programs into that directory. If these programs are already installed on the C Drive, often one can specify that a data area on a secondary hard drive be used. Be sure to follow the instructions included with application programs like Napster or iTunes before moving music libraries as they may become inoperable if not moved properly.
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