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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!


Amazing Photoshop Elements: Layers

Everyone always seems mystified by Photoshop's layers features.

While layers are very complex, I believe that they are often viewed as being more complicated than they actually are.

A layer is simply a picture or transparent layer placed on top of another picture. Think of it as placing clear plastic wrap on top of a photo. By creating a layer, you prevent any damage or change to the base photo.

Here is a quick list of terms that will help you figure it all out:

Layer Pallette: You can see all of your stacked layers in the Layers Pallette.

Fix a slow loading Thunderbird (email) program

This happens when an e-mail file that gets built each time you open e-mail gets corrupted. It is: {inbox.msf}. Here's how to fix it:

  1. Close Thunderbird.
  2. Click Start –> Search (or Find –> Files and Folders in Windows 98/Me).
  3. Type: inbox.msf in the search box.
  4. Make sure you have the box checked to search hidden and system files.
  5. When it finds it, click one time on in and then delete it.
  6. Start Thunderbird again and a new, uncorrupted inbox.msf file will be created.

This may take a little while the first time. To test all is well, close Thunderbird and re-open it and it should open quickly

The embarrassing dangers of Picasa

I have learned to be careful when loading Picasa onto a client's computer.

Picasa is one of my favorite digital photography programs. Once you install it, it scans the entire computer for all digital photos. It catalogs them and displays them as thumbnails in order of date created.

The fact that it looks for and catalogs all of the photos on a computer has led to a little bit of embarrassment to a few of my clients.

Yesterday while working with a wonderful client, I installed Picasa to help her manage her digital photos easier. After installing it Picasa displayed a large porn collection. I knew that the photos were not there because of anything she had done so I had her look away while I deleted the photos.

Repair Desktop Icons

If your desktop icons aren't displaying properly, try deleting the ShellIconCache file found in the Windows folder. Use the Find or Search function find the file, then delete it and restart your computer.

Count your processes

"My computer is running slow." This complaint tops the list as the number one computer owner complaint over the past few years. Once an infliction for older computers only, slow computer syndrome (SCS) can affect even the newest and most powerful of computers. With Windows XP, there is one quick barometer that you can use to test the health of your computer; the Processes list. Too many processes running automatically at startup can indicate either a poorly configured machine or sign of a serious computer problem related to viruses, spyware or both.

In the Windows world, a process is a program (or part of a program) that is currently running. Microsoft Windows itself starts at least fifteen to twenty processes when we turn our computers on for the day. Over the years, I have developed a mental chart that allows me to quickly assess a computer health just by looking at the processes running upon a fresh boot (start) of a computer:

  • 25-34 Processes – Excellent
  • 34-39 Processes – Good
  • 40-44 Processes – OK
  • 45-49 Processes – Fair
  • More than 49 Processes – Poor

The numbers are purely anecdotal based on my experience with thousands of computers. However, they also offer a good way to quickly get a handle on where to start with a computer.

To view which processes are running on your computer (Windows XP or 2000 only), push Ctrl+Alt+Delete on your keyboard OR RIGHT Click on a blank part of your taskbar then click Task Manager. After the Task Manager appears, Click the Processes tab. In the lower left corner of the Processes tab window, the total number of processes will be shown.

Windows Processes

Use my chart to gauge the health of your machine right at startup before you open any programs. If your system has more than 45 processes running at startup, you should search our site for two different terms: Spyware and MSCONFIG . You can use the tips listed under these topics to reduce the number of processes that start automatically with your system. In some cases, you may need to employ the help of an experienced computer professional to help safely reduce the number of processes (thus increasing the health and speed) of your computer.

For those that like to tinker with their computer and want to know what some of the cryptic names you will find in the Process list are, use the following sites to sleuth out the Processes listed in your Task Manager:

File Management: Why is it so hard to figure out?

As I have mentioned before on the show and in these articles, I teach the local basic computer classes for the Parks and Rec. department. I teach the classes as a four-part series in which I dedicate an entire two hour session to file management.

Teaching the concept of how your computer organizes information is a huge struggle for me. I don't think it is because if my teaching technique or the inability of my students to comprehend the topic.

The reason that file management is so difficult to teach and comprehend is that it isn't sexy, it isn't tangible and it is isn't universal in it's use. By the latter, I mean that each person can apply the concept differently.

Solving email problems

When you are having trouble receiving or sending email, here are a few tips to help keep the mail flowing.

  • Never assume the problem is on your end. If you were sending email perfectly a few hours earlier or even yesterday, DO NOT CHANGE ANY SETTINGS on your computer. Instead, shut the computer off and try again. If nothing still, shut off the computer and wait until the next day. When you have tried these two steps and still have a problem, then call your email provider to ask what may be happening.
  • If you are receiving email, but are unable to send, check to make sure that your email didn't get stuck in the Outbox. Sometimes we mistype an address and that will stall the email.
  • If you use dial-up and get disconnected from the Internet every time you check email with Outlook Express, click Tools –> Options from the menus. Click the Connection tab and uncheck the box that says "hang up after sending and receiving.
  • Attached pictures are too big when viewing/printing. Use this tip .
  • You receive a Red X where a picture should be. Read our Red X tip here .
  • Again for dial-up users especially, if you get the same email over and over, and no new ones come through, it usually means a 'stuck' email. This occurs when an email is too large to come through quickly and you disconnect before it finishes downloading the email. In this situation, learn to use your email service's web mail function so you can view your email on the web based interface. Then delete any email that is more than 1000 kilobytes (1 megabyte). Or you can read the message via the web based interface.

It’s a computer emergency

Lately, I have seen too many real emergencies. Sometimes I get calls that are "emergencies" like the kind where the grandkids have come over and deleted the solitaire icon from the desktop.

But, then I get real emergencies. Lately I had one client whose hard drive motor suddently quit. Today I saw a dentist's office where the server with all of the software kept shutting down suddenly. Then, the worst yet, I am working a little bit with a local financial institution whose server crashed – not a small business either.

In all but one case, the client has complete and current backup, but even having backup doesn't help keep the ship afloat when a major crash happens. Sometimes the entire ship has to be put in drydock for a week or so to get things figured out.

Take out the garbage in one step!

I thought that this piece of information was pretty common knowledge, but apparently it isn't so I'm discussing it today. When you delete an email, it gets moved to the Deleted Items folder and accumulates there. When you delete any type of file or document on your computer, it goes to the Recycle Bil and accumulates there unti you empty it.

For email in almost any email program (except AOL), you can RIGHT click on the Deleted Items (Trash) folder and click "Empty Deleted Iterms (Trash)" option. You will then be asked if you are 'sure' that you want to delete all of the trash…click Yes. In Outlook Express, you find this function in the Edit menu as well. Outlook users will find it in the Tools menu, and Mozilla or Thunderbird users will find a similar funciton in the File menu.