Create a docked Quick Launch bar in Windows Vista ...

One of my favorite tips to teach people is the use of the Quick Launch bar (click here for the tip for all other versions of Windows) for always having your most commonly needed files or programs at your ready. Microsoft made the process harder to accomplish in the new Vista, but it can still be done. Here's how: RIGHT Click on a blank part of your desktop. Click New —> Folder Push Enter on your...

RAID: Something geeks often do because they can

HelpMeRick.com is not a geek website so I'm not even going to get into what RAID is other than it is something geeks do to their computers. However, I will say that I have had a number of clients over the years who have had a friend, relative or computer salesman talk them into going with a RAID setup and it has turned out to be a giant problem. Often RAID is installed as a "backup" system. Essentially this...

Temporary Internet Files – Don’t let t...

Cleaning out temporary files on our computers (see the archives for Disk Cleanup) remains an extremely important step in keeping them running clean and error free. Programs and Windows create temporary files, when needed, to perform certain functions. The Internet uses temporary files to store cookies, and recently visited web sites and their graphics. Temporary Internet files serve a useful function when you visit web sites...

Dial-up users: Are you tired of waiting for email ...

I have been utilizing this tip much more lately as dial-up users get pummeled with email containing pictures that haven't been resized and an endless parade of forward spam with large attachments from friends and family with high speed connections. For every one megabyte of space an attachment contains, it takes 5-8 minutes for a dial-up user to download it. Many joke emails, slide shows or movies being passed around...

Delete only one entry from Internet Explorer Addre...

The address bar in Internet Explorer (or any web browser) allows you to type in known web sites and visit them quickly. Sometimes you might want to clean out individual entries from the address bar or history, but this isn't possible in Internet Explorer unless you edit the registry. Watch the video below to learn how to perform this delicate Windows tweak. The video has a surprise ending to make this process a whole lot...

Email Preview Button in Outlook Express – Vi...

This tip evaded me for many years, but now you can benefit from its use. The tip works in any versions of Windows including Windows Vista's Windows Mail. When asked how to delete a message without opening it in Microsoft Outlook Express, I traditionally answered by directing the computer user to the View menu (See Tip #156). This works, but if you want to turn the Preview back on you have to go through the same number of...

Reset Internet Explorer 7 or 8

Microsoft released Internet Explorer 7 in October of 2007 and version 8 in the summer of 2009. Although it contains many improved features, it has also brought on a slew of new problems for computer users just moving to it. If you are bent on using Internet Explorer 7, but continue to have nagging problems, Microsoft did build in a feature that lets computer users have a do over”. The following tool will reset Internet...

Downloading programs is like buying a program pack...

My analogies are usually pretty bad and often more confusing than the original idea that I'm trying to explain. However, I think that I have come up with an analogy for downloading and installing files that might make a few light bulbs go off above computer users' heads. Let me know if this makes sense to you: Install from CD Install from Internet (download) Buy computer program packagefrom retail...

Discover the “Contact Us” link

Last week I was at a local used video game store browsing through the titles of games on the shelf. While I could plainly see what titles were available, I couldn't see the prices. The games were under a locked cabinet and the only way to see the price of a game was to go to the service desk or checkout and request someone to come over. Since I typically buy games based on price, I wasn't about to ask someone to come...

Create a new toolbar in Windows – Video Tip

Desktop icons are great to access commonly used programs and files, but I have found an even faster way to access those commonly used programs and keep my desktop a little cleaner at the same time. After following the outlined steps below, you will have an orderly toolbar that contains easy one-click access to your favorite programs or files: RIGHT Click on your Taskbar (next to the Start button) Click...

HP printer jam recovery

Overall, HP printers are my favorite. They are dependable, they do a great job and they are fairly economical on a price per page basis. I have seen some good things from Canon printers lately, but HPs have a much longer track record. Every brand of printer has its problems and HPs are no exception. One of the biggest problems with HP printers is that they get caught in a loop. If you turn the printer off in the middle of...

A word for our Dial-up readers (and our high speed...

Lately, I have helped many dial-up computer users get their email unclogged. It became clogged because their friends and family who have high speed Internet sent them messages that were way too big for email. Usually these messages contained either large digital photos or video jokes or messages that bring dial-up users email to screeching halt.  DIAL-UP USERS: You absolutely need to know how to check your email using your...

Internet Explorer 7 Keyboard shortcuts

General shortcuts table with 2 columns and 9 rows Turn Full Screen Mode on or off  F11  Cycle through the Address Bar, Refresh button, Search Box, and items on a web page   TAB   Find a word or phrase on a page  CTRL+F  Open the current webpage in a new window   CTRL+N   Print the page   CTRL+P   Select all items on the page   CTRL+A   Zoom in   CTRL+PLUS   Zoom out   CTRL+MINUS   Zoom to 100%...

Good security can only do so much

One of my customers today had a problem with general computer slowness, pop-ups and couldn't hook up to their cable connection. This particular client is well known to me because I help clean up the computer on a fairly regular basis. My advice is always the same:  don't use free download services (Bear Share was loaded), online poker sites are known spyware beds (two different online poker programs were loaded),...

Solution for computer that can’t change desk...

This solution WILL fix your problem, but don’t run away afterwards and forget about us. HelpMeRick.com contains hundreds of tips (and video tips) that YOU can use as a reference for yourself and especially as a reference to send links to your friends/family so you don’t have to write out or explain the steps yourself! I ran into this problem earlier this week and found the solution. The customer could not change...