You know the kind I’m talking about: they’re not life threatening to your PC, but at the same time they are infuriating in that they are a constant source of bother and wasted time, leading you to loss of focus, lost productivity and a generally sour frame of mind. Here are seven ways to make your computing life ever so much easier, and they’re easy fixes as well!
The Dang Things Starts Up SO Slow! - I’m sure you’ve experienced this one, if you owned a computer for any length of time. You’re sitting there, and sitting there, and sitting there, and finally it crawls open, all the while leaving you wondering about the magic of computers! More than likely the problem lies in the amount of programs demanding access at the
moment you start up Many times when you’ve downloaded new software or computer programs, they automatically are set to open at the startup of your PC.
In fact there are also a bunch of programs that your computer wants to open that aren’t really necessary. You can delete and limit the number of these resource hogging programs and get your startup much more vibrant by clicking Start, Run and type in msconfig, and this will display all the programs that are set to open at startup. You can then uncheck the ones you don’t want.
Make sure you do this one by one with a notepad nearby, as many of these programs are necessary to run your computer, and if you make a boo boo you’ll be able to go back and recheck it.
You Don’t Like The View - You sit at your computer for hours, and there’s just something about the way it looks. Not a problem; we can change this! Start by right-clicking on the desktop, then click Properties in XP, or Personalize in Vista, and then Settings, and you’ll be presented with many ways in which you can change the screen properties. I mean, if you have to look at it all day you may as well like what you’re looking at.
Your Printer Has Gone Haywire - It just won’t stop printing out either old print jobs or ones that were not cleared from the queue. First try turning off the printer and see if this doesn’t do the trick, and if that doesn’t work, go to your printers menu in the Start menu and delete anything you see let there, assuming of course you no longer want it to print. If this doesn’t solve your problem, then you may be forced to download and reinstall drivers for your particular printer.
My Videos Are Now Mute Or Invisible - If the videos are now playing without sound or even worse, without picture or both, then it may well be that the codecs are out of date. There are several places where you can get free updates. DO a search for K-Lite Codec Pack for a nice easy fix. Also, before you go to that length, check and see that you didn’t accidentally hit your keyboard’s mute button! (Speaking from experience!)
You Accidentally Broke A Key Off Your Keyboard - Okay, I won’t ask how this happened, or just what you were so angry at that you slammed your fist down onto it, but you need to know this can be an easy fix. If you happen to have an old keyboard lying around, it’s possible to salvage a good key with an intact key mechanism that you can swap out for the damaged one.
If you are unsure how to do this, do a search for “keycap replacement”, and you should find some good help. It’s fairly simple. If the entire keyboard needs replacing, you’re still in luck: keyboards are some of the cheapest things to replace on your PC. If it’s your laptop that needs a new keyboard, try eBay for good replacement keyboards for laptops, and search out instructions for this as well.
Your Wi-Fi is Now Slow-Fi - Another trial of your so far interminable patience, assuming that you are not a victim of a general network outage, you more than likely have come up against some rather stiff interference. Sometimes your phones router, (If you have one installed , as I do) can be the culprit, sending confusion into your otherwise well designed network. (As it did mine!) Make sure you have the connections in the proper order, as per manufacturers instructions, and you should have no further problem.
Interference can also come from the likes of a microwave oven, cordless phone, or many other types of electronic devices. You may end up having to change the channel to one less populated on your router by taking a peek into your routers config page, and try another channel, most commonly 1, 6, or 11.
You Keep Getting Messages About Your Memory - And no, I’m not talking about YOUR memory, as that is beyond the scope of this article. However the memory on your machine is something you can take steps to improve. If you find yourself constantly getting system messages regarding your system’s memory capacity, or your computer is unusually slow, you may want to look into this. It may be a bad section of RAM, or you may simply need more. Run a memory test; there are several free ones available, and see if boosting your memory might not clear things up and speed it along quite nicely.
While most of these annoying problems won’t necessarily sink your ship, they are a bothersome interference in your computing experience, and you don’t have to put up with them. This list is by no means comprehensive, and you may have demons of your own that bug you to no end, and you have my sympathy. (I find new ones everyday!) These fixes, along with sound general maintenance should keep you from tearing out your hair every time you sit down to use your computer!
Did you know that all Bug Doctor members get unlimited tech support for any computer problems they have? You can get help for anything from outlook express errors, to internet problems, word errors and anything else computer related. Download a free trial of the bug doctor now
