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| More Tips Computer Room Monthly Tips have been issued to help residents increase their knowledge of computer needs and usage. They are also available in the Meadow Lakes Computer Room. This page shows tips from previous months. A Tip for the current month may be seen by clicking Computer Tips in the orange navigation bar at left or by clicking on the following link: Computer Tips
September 2009 - Comcast Internet Diagnostic Many of us have Comcast as our ISP (Internet Service Provider.) If you do, there is a good change you bought "High Speed Internet Performance, No Contract." The advertised speed of this service is 6 Mbps (Megabytes per second.) There may be times when it seems your internet service is running a bit slow. Then it's worth a try to perform a diagnostic check. In your Internet address box, Type http://testmy.net and Click Go. Just under the testmy.net and Broadband Community titles, take the Pointer to Download Test and Click Test your Download Speed in the drop-down box. In the right-hand column under Available Download Tests, Click SmarTest. Wait for the results. Your reading should be greater than 5000 Kbps or 5 Mbps. Lower down the page in Test Details, the Result Diagnosis 'Info': is shown in blue bold type. If it is rated Unsatisfactory (or the reading is below 5 Mbps), phone Comcast Tech locally at 9-655-1300 for an office fix; if the speed is not corrected there, a tech will be scheduled to come to your home and address the problem. For what you pay, you deserve the best Internet service! __________________ Run ScanDisk for Disk First Aid Computer files are stored in your hard drive (C:) in data groups called "clusters." Sometimes a cluster, or one of its files, is cross-linked with other clusters, or simply lost from fellow clusters. When this occurs, the errors are likely to spell trouble for your computer. An annoying crash may ensue. To make your computer a lot more stable and a little happier (if computers are ale to be), run a test periodically. On Windows XP, the ScanDisk utility is called CheckDisk, and you may access it by Clicking Start and Run. In the box, Type chkdsk and Click OK. File verifications tests run automatically and recover any orphan files. When completed, the test box disappears. Very easy, eh! Al Abbotts
The June 2009 tip refers to making your E-mail smooth and accurate.
“Clean” E-mail Do you have clean email? By “clean” I mean safe, responsive and smooth running. If your email isn’t, here’s how you may try to make it so. ■ Be sure your computer has full-coverage antivirus and Internet security protection. Good programs are available; and some are free. ■ All email programs have storage limits. Saving lots of long messages, articles and attachments, or photos, graphics and advertising copy, might slow down—even stop—your email service as it nears the limit. ■ First, get rid of all email “stuff” as it arrives. Without opening it, delete every email from any strange or unwanted source. Do not Click the message title. Check the box on the left, and then Click “Delete,” “Trash,” the Delete icon, or whatever else works. Can’t figure out how to delete without opening? Contact Customer Service. It’s important! ■ Next, delete all the stale, unwanted messages in your “Inbox,” “Sent,” “Draft,” “Spam,” “Trash” or other Folders. Check each box (saving the ones you need) and then Delete all those you checked. But you needn’t delete them one at a time. Check your “Delete All” box and Delete. Be careful. You may recover deleted email messages, but it is a bit tedious. ■ There’s no “Delete All” box on my email, you say? Some don’t have them. Still, you may get rid of messages in batches. Click the first (top) message you want to delete. Scroll down. Press and Hold the Shift key. Click the last message to be deleted. All will be highlighted. After making sure there are none you want to save, Press the keyboard Delete. Voila! Continue deleting batches until all “stuff” is gone. ■ Be suspicious. Email is the biggest avenue for criminal and harmful computer activity. If you have opened a message, do not Click anything in it—a link, attachment, or even a PDF file—unless you are Absolutely Sure it does contain something you truly need. ■ Safe and smooth email use is in your grasp. At first, it may seem tough to keep it “clean.” Stay the course and you will be rewarded. Al Abbotts
We learned about Updates from Microsoft and about Starting Up in Windows through Al's Computer Tip for May Windows Updates Are you somewhat annoyed each time you get those notifications that Windows XP updates are available for your computer? If so, you may set Windows for Automatic Updates to avoid making yet another computer maintenance decision. As new updates become available, Windows downloads them to your computer queue, where they remain ready to be installed. You have choices (four of them) for handling these updates as they are issued. Click Start, Control Panel, Automatic Updates. You will see the four options. Don’t want to be bothered remembering to periodically check Windows to see the update patches and fixes, and then figure out what you should do? Click the button for Automatic (recommended). Using the scroll arrows, set a convenient time and date for the download from the Internet. My personal setting is “Every Sunday at 11:00 PM” since I’m usually in bed. Click Apply, OK. This tip will help you avoid being bothered with some of the problems in Windows XP discovered by Bill Gates and his many associates. Speed Up Windows Startup The startup time for Windows XP sometimes can feel like it takes an eternity. But you may save a few seconds by disabling the Windows XP logo and progress bar that automatically appear during the process. Click Start, Run. Type MSCONFIG in the Open: box. Click OK. In the General dialog box, Click the BOOT.INI tab. Put a checkmark in the /NOGUIBOOT box. Click Apply, OK. When System Configuration appears, select Restart after saving any files you are working on. Or select Exit Without Restart, turning off the computer after you have finished your session. See if your next restart is quicker. Al Abbotts
This was the Computer Tip for April 2009: Are you using a Meadow Lakes-supplied Comcast cable for your Internet connection? If so, you may be able to make it work better and faster with one or more easy operations. Modem Cache Memory Clear—No Router The modem is an essential piece of computer equipment for Internet use. Its cache memory builds up with files and should be cleared by you periodically. The Comcast-RCA modem is a 4" x 5" box, connected by a white cable, with four lights, two of them flashing. Use the following procedure only with a modem not connected to a router. Unplug the modem power cord and wait for one minute. Then plug it in and wait for all the modem lights to reconfigure. The cache memory now is cleared. Do this once a month and if your Internet service is disconnected. Modem Cache Memory Clear & Router Connection Refresh Use this procedure with a modem plus a router with either wired or wireless connections to computers sharing the Internet. With the modem and router both turned on, 1) Unplug the router power cord. 2) Unplug the modem power cord. 3) Plug in the modem power cord, wait for three lights to cycle on. 4) Plug in the router power cord, wait for one minute. The modem cache memory now is cleared and router connection is refreshed. Do this once a month and if your Internet service is disconnected. Clear Internet Cookies, Files and History After you use the Internet for a while, the electronic record of what you did, and where you went, begins to build up. It may slow down your Internet operations. There are complex methods of controlling this build up, but it’s easy to clear some principal offenders—Internet cookies, files, and history. On the Internet, Click Tools–Internet Options. On the Internet Options General tab (the default), Click Delete Cookies–OK; Click Delete Files–OK; Click Clear History–Yes–OK. Make a habit of doing this after each of your Internet excursions. Clean Up Email Send to Trash (or whatever it is called on your computer) all mail and messages you no longer want to keep. This will speed up your email service. Contact Comcast If these suggestions are not helpful in solving an Internet problem you may be having, telephone Comcast at Toll-Free 800.266.2278 for Internet tech assistance. Online help is at <http://www.comcast.net>. You are entitled to have a finely- tuned Comcast Internet connection at all times. Al Abbotts
TUNE UP YOUR COMCAST INTERNET CONNECTION
Are you using a Meadow Lakes-supplied Comcast cable for your Internet connection? If so, you may be able to make it work better and faster with one or more easy operations. Modem Cache Memory Clear—No Router The modem is an essential piece of computer equipment for Internet use. Its cache memory builds up with files and should be cleared by you periodically. The Comcast-RCA modem is a 4" x 5" box, connected by a white cable, with four lights, two of them flashing. Use the following procedure only with a modem not connected to a router. Unplug the modem power cord and wait for one minute. Then plug it in and wait for all the modem lights to reconfigure. The cache memory now is cleared. Do this once a month and if your Internet service is disconnected.
Modem Cache Memory Clear & Router Connection Refresh Use this procedure with a modem plus a router with either wired or wireless connections to computers sharing the Internet. With the modem and router both turned on, 1) Unplug the router power cord. 2) Unplug the modem power cord. 3) Plug in the modem power cord, wait for three lights to cycle on. 4) Plug in the router power cord, wait for one minute. The modem cache memory now is cleared and router connection is refreshed. Do this once a month and if your Internet service is disconnected.
Clear Internet Cookies, Files and History After you use the Internet for a while, the electronic record of what you did, and where you went, begins to build up. It may slow down your Internet operations. There are complex methods of controlling this build up, but it’s easy to clear some principal offenders—Internet cookies, files, and history. On the Internet, Click Tools–Internet Options. On the Internet Options General tab (the default), Click Delete Cookies–OK; Click Delete Files–OK; Click Clear History–Yes–OK. Make a habit of doing this after each of your Internet excursions.
Clean Up Email Send to Trash (or whatever it is called on your computer) all mail and messages you no longer want to keep. This will speed up your email service. Contact Comcast If these suggestions are not helpful in solving an Internet problem you may be having, telephone Comcast at Toll-Free 800.266.2278 for Internet tech assistance. Online help is available at http://www.comcast.net. You are entitled to have a finely-tuned Comcast Internet connection at all times. -Al Abbotts
Clean Up To Speed Up Is the case for your desktop personal computer (PC) on the floor or a rug, in a cabinet or another place where it collects dust? A fan at the back of the case sucks out the air coming in the front, along with tiny dust particles, dead skin flakes, tobacco smoke and who knows what else. So, the microchips, heat sinks, and other gizmos inside the case may not get all the cool air they need to run at peak efficiency. The dust blocks air from getting into the spaces between the little fins that carry away the heat generated by the electronics. Too much heat could lead to freeze-ups, unpredictable shutdowns or bouts of PC unfriendliness. Don’t panic and call a tech. Cleaning up a dusty computer case is so simple; you can do it yourself. TOOLS REQUIRED: Hand vac, can of compressed air (buy at Staples or other electronics or camera stores), a soft, static-free dust cloth (like Pledge Grab It), cotton swabs (Q-tip type), and plastic or Velcro cable ties (again available at Staples and other office stores.) STEP 1. Move your computer case to a place where all sides and top are accessible. Vacuum the dust out of all vents, and the rug or cabinet where you keep it. Use the dust cloth for a full cleanup. Do this every month; put it on your calendar. STEP 2. To periodically clean inside the case, shut down the computer and pull out the plug. Ground yourself by touching a case metal part to avoid static electricity damage. Open the case. Using the compressed-air can (follow instructions), spray short bursts at the fan and all the gizmos inside, especially the closely spaced prongs and fins on heat sinks. Use the flexible tube for hard-to-reach areas. A cotton swab will remove loosened material. Spray the attached cables to remove the dust. Manage them with plastic or Velcro cable ties to reduce dust buildups. Close the case.
STEP 3. Return your computer case to a place with plenty of air space around it and, hopefully, not exposed to dust. Raising it above the floor or shelf a few inches may help. Plug the computer in, boot up and enjoy dustfree operation. It will run faster and more reliably. And you will smile. NOTE: Laptops are miracles of miniaturization, so don’t open them up! Contributed by Meadow Lakes resident Alfred Abbotts
Screen shots How do you print or save what appears on your computer screen if you are doing a poster, power point presentation or similar project? Answer: Do a "screen shot," also called a snapshot, screen dump, or screen capture. By pressing the Print Screen key (keyboard right top row) you may capture screen shots of the images appearing on your screen. They are also helpful to preserve error messages and demonstrate tasks within Windows programs. One way to access screen shots is to install Purrint (free and commended by Smart computing magazine). By pressing Print Screen, you get a screen shot preview and a choice of printing or saving to an image file. To download Purrint on the Internet, type www.bcheck.net in your browser Address box and Enter. Click Applications, Purrint, and Installer. Click Save to Program Files (you may choose another.) Also, you may save it to an external storage device (flash drive, floppy, or CD) for use on any computer, including those in the Computer Room. to run the application, Click Start, All Programs, and Purrint. When it is on, an icon of a sleeping black cat is in the Taskbar (screen lower right.) Click it for the menu and options.
Another way, (without Purrint running) is to press Print Screen to save the screen shot in memory. Open an existing file or a new one. Right click the screen for the menu and Click Paste. The screen shot image will appear on the page and may be positioned, sized, edited, saved or printed like any file containing a graphic or image.
Note: To create a screen shot for the currently active window when you have several documents or programs open at once on you screen,, press ALT+Print Screen. --Alfred Abbotts
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