Can't Open a File?
Moving Address Books
Temporary Internet Files
Non-stop Music on your PC
Delete Normal.dot
CAPS to lower case
Remove Duplicate Files
Red X Instead of a Picture
Finding Lost Files
Labels & Envelopes
Make Your Own Icons
Spreadsheet In PowerPoint
Word Graphics to JPG
Watermark a Document
Add Music to Your Email
Gmail, AIM, Outlook Express
Rotate a Picture
CYMK vs RGB Colors
Adding Text to a Photo
Crop and Resize Photos
Blind Carbon Copies
Move DBX Files to a New PC
Copy Email Address Book
Pics Blocked Outlook Express
- MSWord Help
- Creating Labels & Envelopes with Word, Excel, & MSWorks
- Replacing NORMAL.DOC when MSWord Becomes Unstable
- Password Protecting Word & Excel Documents
- Picture in a Text Box
- Placing Both Text & a Pic in a Text Box
- MSWord, Wordpad, Notepad, Google's Writely/Docs
- Converting Data between MSWord & PDF Files
- Show a Spreadsheet in PowerPoint (using Paint)
- Less Complicated Word Processing Programs
- Dividing a Page into Columns
- Lining Up Numbers in a Column
- Using AutoCorrect for Bullets & Numbering
- Add Page Numbering to a Word Processing Document
- Writing a Personal Memoir
- Creating a Newsletter
- MSWord Paragraph Formatting
- Convert CAPS to lower case (& vice versa)
- Sending a Family/Holiday Newsletter
- Automatic Backup of MSWord Documents
- Free Trials of MSWord 2007 & of WordPerfect Office X3
Pictures & Text Boxes
Other Document Types
Working with Columns
Bullets & Page Numbering
Telling a Story with Your PC
- Various Computer Audio Formats, such as WMA, WAV, MIDI, etc.
- Finding Free Downloadable Music Online
- Recover Songs from your Temporary Internet Files
- Converting Music Formats (WAV to MID, etc.)
- Converting Vinyl LPs & Audio Tapes to Digital Music Formats
- More on Converting Musical Collections to Digital Music Formats
- Playing Songs Continuously in Windows Media Player 11
- Compatibility Issues with MSOffice 2007
- Make Your Own Icons
- Free MSOffice-Compatible Programs + Accessibility Options
- Using a Watermark in a Document or on an Image
- Working with Music Files & Windows Media Player
- Tips on Downloading Music from This Site
- Putting Music in Your Email + Dealing with Email Spam
- Some USB (Universal Serial Bus) Fundamentals
- Function Keys & Keyboard Shortcuts + Dealing with the Infamous "Insert" Key
- Backing Up Your Computer's Hard Drive & Moving Files to a New Computer
- Start a Screensaver with a Mouse-Click + Spell-Checking in Outlook Express
- Deleting Duplicate Files
- Temp Files with Cryptic Names + Various Save Options in MSWord
- Observations on Windows Vista, Windows XP, as well as Macintosh Computers
- Norton Internet Security vs Various Free Programs
- Tips on Sorting (Alphabetizing), Paragraph Spacing, & Using MSWord Tables
- Can't Be Too Careful Recently Had an Email Address & Credit Card Hacked
- Creating an Email Address Book for Bulk Mailings
- Finding Lost Files on Your Computer
- Filling Out Forms on a PC + a Few Words about OCR
- Less Complicated Word Processing Programs (Sometimes Smaller Is Better)
How to Speed Up Your ComputerThere are a number of factors that can cause a computer to run slowly. Here are some of the main ones::
2. Hard Disk Fragmented and in Need of Being Defragmented 3. Hard Disk Errors May Be Corrected with "Check Disk" 4. Hard Disk Needing "Clean Up" 5. Adware & Spyware 6. Windows Registry Issues 7. Viruses 8. Anti-Virus Security Programs 9. Last, but not least, Your Computer May Need More RAM (random access memory) Today's computers are capable of doing many different things at once; however, having multiple programs running at the same time (especially ones you're not using) can cause everything to slow down. What might such a needlessly running program be? Well, a good example is RealPlayer. This media player is needed to hear songs whose file names have .RA or .RAM extensions. However, RealPlayer is programmed to start running the moment you turn on your PC — whether you plan to use it or not. Windows Media Player, conversely, is not so-rigged. Acrobat Reader and AOL are other programs that are often rigged to start running when you turn on your PC. Here's how to use MSCONFIG (Microsoft Configuration) to control these startups: Go to Start>Run, type msconfig, and click OK. Click the Startup tab to see a list of programs with a check box next to each. It's not uncommon to find all of them (many with cryptic names) selected with checkmarks. 
Most of us don't need more than two or three of these items checked. In any case, unchecking an item does NOT delete the program — you are simply telling it not to start running when you turn on your computer. Furthermore, any deselected item can be re-enabled whenever you want. The illustration above shows part of the MSCONFIG list on my computer. AIM (AOL Instant Messenger) and Stickies are programs I use constantly, so I do want them running all the time. If you are uncertain about what to turn off, deselect everything. Reboot to see how your PC is behaving. If anything seems amiss, return to MSCONFIG and checkmark whichever program you suspect might be the culprit. If uncertain, mark the first item in the list, rebtart, and review the computer's performance again. Repeat the process as needed. Do not assume that this is a one-time ritual. Software authors have sneaky ways of adding new items to the Startup list, and re-enabling items you have deselected. For instance, I recently downloaded the latest version of Acrobat Reader, and found that Adobe had placed "Adobe Reader" on the list, despite the fact that I rarely use Acrobat Reader. 2 - Defragment Your Hard Disk New files are normally added to your hard drive in sequence. However, moving or deleting files can leave gaps that make your hard drive resemble Swiss cheese. Defragmenting will rearrange the files in logical sequences that make them easier to access. The process usually takes less than an hour, and you can continue working during defragmenting. 3. Check Disk ChkDsk (Check Disk) is a utility that will scan your hard drive and fix a variety of problems, some of which you don't even know you have. Click on Start>My Computer. Then, right-click on C-Drive (or any drive that needs maintenance) and choose Properties>Tools>Check Now. Next, checkmark "Automatically Fix File System Errors" and "Scan for and Attempt Recovery of Bad Sectors.> Finally, click Start. ChkDsk may require two to four hours and the computer will be unusable while running. I usually do it at night or when out of the house for a while. 4 - Disk Cleanup Also under Start>My Computer, right-clicking C and choosing Properties>General will display Disk Cleanup, which shows options for deleting unneeded files and recovering disk space. 5 - Windows Registry Issues Another problem is getting stuck with unwanted files in your Windows Registry. For example, if you download and install RealPlayer, and later decide you don't want it, using the normal Start>Control Panel>Add/Remove Programs>Remove may appear to uninstall the program; however, many files will be left in your Registry that can give you all kinds of grief. Such files can often be deleted as follows: Click Start>Run, and type REGEDIT (Registry Edit) into the Run box. Click OK and use Edit>Find (Ctrl+F) to look for entries bearing the word REAL. (This will display phrases such as RealPlayer and RealAudio.) Right-click the icon to the left of each entry and choose DELETE. Repeat this process until no more are found. Finally exit the Registry Editor.
Beware of ads on the Internet that offer a "Free Download" for "Repairing your Registry." You will be told that your Registry has problems and needs fixing, which the advertiser will do for about $30-$40. Well, Microsoft offers a truly free Registry Scan and Repair service here: http://onecare.live.com/site/en-us/default.htm?redir=true. System Restore: If you encounter a problem that appears to be system-related, things can often be fixed by restoring your system to a previous date. Click on Start>All Programs>Accessories>System Tools>System Restore. Click Next when you see "Restore My Computer to an Earlier Time," whereupon a calendar will be displayed with certain dates shown in bold type. Choose any bold-face date that precedes the date on which your problem began. Finally, click Next and follow the prompts to restore your settings to what they were on that date. The list of things that can go awry in your system settings is too long to itemize here, but I have used System Restore to fix all kinds of problems. 6 - Adware & Spyware Spyware can come in many different forms. If you spend any time at all on the Internet it's a pretty safe bet you've picked up some "adware" or "spyware." "Adware" is usually benign merchandising information used by online vendors. It is normally placed on your computer in the form of "cookies." Some "spyware" can come in the form of cookies or can be picked up by clicking on a misleading link while online. The traditional way to remove spyware has been to scan your hard drive with an anti-spyware program, such as Microsoft Defender. Nowadays, however, most anti-virus programs are including an anti-spyware feature, as well as other functions, such as anti-spam filters. But this can be a problem. See Section 8 below (Anti-Virus Programs)... 7 - Viruses Viruses come in many different forms and can do all kinds of harmful things to your computer. Most people have a real-time anti-virus program running continually in the background to interecept malware that may come to you as an email attachment or which you might pickup online by clicking on a deceptive link. Norton and McAfee are probably the best known anti-virus programs, but I recommend avoiding both of them. Read the next paragraph to find out why... 8 - Anti-Virus Programs Could anti-virus programs be slowing down your computer? Well, creators of the previously anti-virus-only applications decided that they should go ahead and pack anti-spy, anti-spam, anti-identity-theft capabilities, and a firewall into what they now call "Internet Security" programs. Read more about anti-virus programs here: Anti-Virus Program Slowdowns 9 - RAM One of the fundamentals of any computer is: The more RAM (random access memory) it has, the faster it will run. There are some limitations to this rule, but it pays to check with a technician to see if your computer could use more RAM, which can be user-installed, but I prefer to have a technician install mine. © — Donald Ray Edrington — All Rights Reserved
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