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Computer Tips

Using your solitaire skills (Drag & Drop) – Video Tip

Believe it or not, Microsoft put Solitaire in Windows to help new computer users get comfortable with the mouse and its functions. After years of playing solitaire, this tip will help you put the skills to use. I like to call this technique the "ol' 8 or hearts on the 9 of clubs trick." In computer talk, what you are doing when you move one card to another in solitaire is the "drag & drop."

Drag & drop ( " the ol' 8 or hearts on the 9 of clubs trick") is an extremely helpful and time saving skill to use in other computer activities. One of my favorite places to use it is moving files (pictures, documents, etc) from one location to another. For example, if you open a CD or memory card full of pictures up in one window and open another folder on your computer (like My Pictures) in another window, you can then drag files from one window to another.

Options and Preferences

I had a brief epiphany today as I helped two of my customers. When I'm setting up a computer or troubleshooting one, I am constantly in an out of the Options or Preferences of many programs. Almost all programs, from Quicken to Word to image editing software and of course Internet and email software, contain a section that allows you to customize the experience. For example, in Internet Explorer, I always click Tools –> Options, then the Settings button to lower the amount of saved temporary files to 4 or 5 megabytes. Sometimes this setting is set as high as 3000 megabytes! That's a lot of temporary files.

Block Internet Explorer 7

Internet Explorer 7 finally became final last week and is starting to be deployed as a Windows Update. While I believe that IE 7 is a huge step in the right direction, the changes in the look and feel of the browser will throw many for a loop. Even after working with IE 7 for the past five or so months as it made its way through the beta stages of development, I don't think it holds a candle next to the Firefox browser . If you aren't afraid to learn the new nuances of IE 7 and don't want to change to Firefox, I say go for the upgrade. However, if you are perfectly comfortable where you are right now with Internet Explorer 6, then you might want to download and install this tool , made available through Microsoft, that prevents the automatic installation of the new Internet Explorer 7.

Solution for computer that can’t change desktop wallpaper / background

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!

Fix the AutoPlay wizard

If you use a memory card reader (internal or external) and Windows does not bring up the AutoPlay wizard (little window that pops up when a card is inserted giving you choices of what you can do), the solution is to download and run this utility from Microsoft . The tool, called AutoFix, will re-enable the AutoPlay function Windows normally displays when a memory card or USB drive is inserted into the computer.

If your AutoPlay works fine now, do NOT download and use this utility. 

A short tip for LCD monitor users

If you use an LCD monitor and it seems a little fuzzy, there are two possible solutions.

Probably the biggest reason for fuzzy flat panel monitors is that the resolution is set too low. Most LCD monitors require at least 1024×768 and most are 1280×1024. If your monitor is set on 800×600, then the text is probably plenty large to read, but it will be fuzzy. The solution of increasing the resolution will make the image much sharper, but the text will be a lot smaller so there is a tradeoff.

Another cause of the problem may be that your monitor has never been setup correctly. I think every LCD monitor I have ever seen has an Auto button or Auto setting. Look for this word Auto. It might be in the monitor menu that you will find by pushing the indicated button on your monitor or it may be a button all by itself.

Never assume a problem is on YOUR end

Specifically, I'm talking about the Internet. If you have been working along merrily on the Internet for weeks, months, or years and all of the sudden you aren't able to get email or connect to the Internet, DON'T PANIC. Instead, calmly turn off your computer, shut off your computer and if you have high speed Internet, shut off your high speed modem and router if you have one. Then slowly walk away from the computer and have a nice cool or warm beverage of your choice, take a nap and or a walk.

After about an hour or two, walk back to  your computer, turn on the high speed modem and router (if you have one), wait a few moments, then turn on your computer. If the Internet is working, great. If it isn't working, then repeat the steps above and try again.

Changing the XP Startup Logo

Warning: If you mess something up, your operating system may not boot. 1) First, create an image that you want to use. Paint is the easiest to use. It has to be 640X480 and 16 colors(not 16 bit). Save it as “Boot.bmp“. 2) Copy Boot.bmp to the C:\Windows\ directory. 3) Right click on My Computer > Properties > select the… Read More »Changing the XP Startup Logo

Quick Access to Outlook Express Addresses

Outlook Express users can quickly access their address books by enabling the Contact view. Here's how:

 

  1. In Outlook Express, click View from the menus

     

  2. Click Layout
  3. Check the "Contacts" box
  4. Click OK

Now with this mode enabled, you can simply double-click on an address book entry to pull up a new email addressed to that person.

Remember that you can also quickly get to your address book in the new email composition window by clicking on the TO button (see picture).

OpenOffice – Revisited

I wanted to give a quick update on a product that we started talking about on the show about four years ago. It's called OpenOffice . OpenOffice is considered an open source project which means that no one entity owns it (although Sun Microsystems pushed it hard in the early going), and anyone can use it for free. OpenOffice, as the name implies, is a productivity software. It contains a Microsoft Office compatible word processor, spreadsheet, presentation manager and database. I installed it for my kids almost a year ago and have been rolling it out for more and more clients. I can honestly say that I'm impressed with the product.