Troubleshooting & Maintaining Your PC
Contents
1. sse 251 Putting ReadyBoost to work essen 252 Setting the number of CPUS eren 253 Using the Windows 7 Performance Troubleshooter 254 Disabling unnecessary services sccscceseeseeseeeeseceeeeeeseeseeseeaeens 255 Chapter 5 User Accounts 00 c cece eee eee eee eee 261 The User ACCOUDL 5 rer een essen 261 Understanding the user profile sees 263 Configuring your acCOunt u a ee 264 Changing to an administrator level account sss 265 xiu Troubleshooting amp Maintaining Your PC All in One For Dummies 2nd Edition Deleting a user accouUnt rrrsnnrrsnrnrsnnnrrnvnrnnnrrnnversnnnrsnnersnnnrsnvnsrnnsssnnn 266 Disabling the Guest accoUunt smssnnonnnsnrennrennvrnnvennvsnnnrnnnsnnvsnnnsnnesnnsee 266 Finding the secret Administrator account sssssss 267 Changing the Windows XP logon esee 267 Avoiding the Windows XP Logon eese 268 Windows 7 Parental Controls 2 eterne ette seti toon 268 Activating parental controls in Windows 7 ees 269 Seine time lits portate neo oe uer 210 Controlling game ACCESS essere 270 Blocking ProgramSiu umnmabgemsmertsrnmstradvvnniesmivrivmitceires 271 Od to the P ssWwordugnasnnsuvsunnadeasenikdotkednsbumnit 271 Creating a strong PassWord iersinii 272 Changing your account paSSWOrd srr2. ccscssseeseeseeseeseeseeeeeeeeeseesesseeaeeaes 217 Ch pter 3 The Safe Mode Ch pteri uhusujsesimrusnsmninrsnitmjvrveenininiete 237 Chapter 4 Putting the Pep Back into Your PC essen 245 Chapter 5 User Accounts n senke E N Rie ett Preis 261 Chapter 6 Unexpected Application Situations essere 281 Chapter T Reporting for Duty initiiert EE EET HERE EPA I UNT ERE REPRE ES 305 Chapter 8 Recovery Options csccsscssscsssesssesssessceseeessessseessesssesssessseseesseesessaeeses 323 Chapter 9 Registry FIRES 4unsenom dateien ter ir ier eie oder Rer Ree eiA 349 Book Ill Laptops ceca 201 Chapter 1 Laptop Asleep Laptop Awake Laptop Dead sss 363 Chapter 2 A More Usable Laptop 381 Chapter 3 Out on the Ro d cert sans 389 Chapter 4 Laptop Maintenance sessnrannoannonnnenarennvrnnnrnnvsnnvsnnnsnnnsnnrsnnenarsnnnsnnnennnsnnssnnee 397 Book IV Internet eene 403 Chapter 1 Internet Malaise roroonornrronrrsnrrrnvenarennvrnnvrnnvennvrnnnsnnnsnnrsnnesarenansnnnennnsnnssnnee 405 Chapter 2 Woes on the WeD c ccssccsscsssesssessscsssesecesseesseessessneesscsssesseesseesseessessasenes 429 Ch pter 3 Email Postage Die oe rro be REFER EPI ieee 451 Chapter 4 Wicked SoftWare st e ERR PUER ee Ele te e PUR TES 475 Ch pt r 5 The File Transfer Chapter ehe 499 Book V Networking ccccccccccssccccccccccccceccc
3. eese 350 Using the Registry Editor sese 352 Backing up the Registry eese sites esten eese titor thee ge kun 353 Modifying the Registry ose ann 354 Finding stuff in the Registry etse ana 357 Registry Cleaning iet nte diee P Tn UE PER CREE PERPE eI TESTE 358 XVI Troubleshooting amp Maintaining Your PC All in One For Dummies 2nd Edition Book Ill Laptops cech 301 Chapter 1 Laptop Asleep Laptop Awake Laptop Dead 363 Laptop Start Up Issues srronrrnnrrnnrrnnvrnnnennvennrsnnrrnnnsnnnsnnesnnnsnnnsnnnsnnssansnasenes 363 Laptop just won t startssrisesinenn dneleautsekearmis 364 Laptop is slow to St rt eie re e eir eye tote pres 365 Laptop won t wake p 5 center rette ti eto ea 366 Check the display iot ero rare HE 367 Laptop starts and then turns off 367 Laptop turns off and then immediately starts 368 Laptop won t stay asleep ostrea or eei entras 368 Before sending the laptop into the shop eees 368 What Happens When You Close the Lid esee 369 Power Management ISSUES sess eene 371 Speeding up hibernation rrrsrrsvrrovrrovrrnvrrnvernvrrnvrnnrrenrrenrrsnnssnrrnvernr 371 Testing the power management hardware sssssss 372 Updating power drivers sese 373 A Battery of Issues schen neh nannten 374 Monitoring
4. ui eene ree terreat itte er IRE E ER DE EN ede gen 171 Choosing a new hard drive rmrsvrrnvernvernvrrnvrrnvrnnrrnnrrrnrrnnnrsnrssvvrnnrnn 172 Choosing a new optical drive essere 173 Installing the optical drive rmt 174 Book Il Software eee 177 Chapter 1 Windows Gone AWOL 179 Windows 7 Troubleshooting ansehen 179 Accessing the Action Center u 179 Using the Troubleshooting window eese 181 Problems and Solutions for Windows Vista sese 182 Checking on new solutions eese 183 Perusing recent issues reae tere ae e ee 183 Windows Needs aFixin u heise sii eaa 184 Restarting Windows ssernrrnnvennvsnnvsnnnsnnnsnnssnresnrennnennnsnnssnnssnnssnnssnneser 184 Deciphering error codes eese entente 185 Peeking at that debug information essen 185 Windows Updates Doesn t It 186 Understanding Windows Update eee 186 Config ring updates an aneignen 187 xli Troubleshooting amp Maintaining Your PC All in One For Dummies 2nd Edition Permitting an update sse ener 189 Reviewing the updates uuu uaed nnen unse 189 Undoing an update etre casts cad et ep rte erret 190 Fixing update problems in Windows 7 esses 191 Files Missing and Found sissioni sene ae 191 searching for files
5. Software Malware sernrrnnrnvrnnrrnernvrnnrnrennrrnernnrrernnrnsessernenne 475 Understanding malwate c ccssccsscssscsssesssesseessssssssseeseessseessessees 475 Finding Malwares eoi e rea esrar reae rE Erei 476 Protecting your Plusser en a N E 478 When Mr Virus Comes Calling eese 481 Inocul ting your c omp ter neuen antenne eren 481 Disabling antivirus software uuessesseessensseessnensennnnnnennnnennennnnnnnnn 482 Hook Line and Stinker nuusnknhetlsemunslemdnatmudeeiken 483 Understanding the phishing scam eene 483 Fighting phishing in Internet Explorer sese 484 Testing a web page for something phishy sss 485 Avoiding misleading email essere 485 I Spy with My Little Eye peii err terere aha 486 Understanding spyware sese eene 486 Getting Windows Defender sese 488 Table of Contents xix Using Windows Defender 488 Scanning for spyware in Windows Defender 490 Scheduling Windows Defender sse 491 Lite Behind the Firewall eher teet 491 Understanding firewalls 492 Setting up a router with a firewall rnrrrnrornvrrnrrrnrrrnrrsnrronrrnnrrnvernr 493 Using the Windows Firewall ernnrrrrnnnrnnrrrrnnrrrnnrrrrnvvrnnvnrrnvnnrnvnrrnnn 494 Disabling the Windows Firewall essent 495 Disabling Windows
6. t Oe ERE dns 191 Really searching for files cene rri rro premit 192 Searching the Recycle Bin eee ttt eterni rebos edens 193 Really really searching for files essere 195 Adding items to the search index eese 196 Rebuilding the search index diti erre rn 199 A FILE S missing Em 199 A Smattering of Annoying Things in Windows esses 201 The blue Screen OF de th nn ks repite 202 Silence the sounds tiet nennen 203 Anchor the t skb r 2 ee rediere nr eee ee iae 204 Move the taskbar 5 n nien pite ener e eese rne ines 204 Resize the taskbar erini teet egest 204 Hide the taskbar event eR Ve HRS 205 See all icons on the Quick Launch bar eee 206 Set notification area icons in Windows 7 see 207 Set notification area icons in Windows Vista 207 Retrieve a window that slid off the screen sssssse 208 Windows appear at odd sizes and positions 208 Change the image viewer ccscssccsssessssssscseeseeessecsscessesssessecesnees 209 Folders and icons change positiOn rrsrvrrsnrrranvrrrnvvrrnrvrrnnrrrrnnerenn 209 Line up icons on the desktop rmrrnrrrrnvvrrnvrrrnnvrrnnvrrrnvrrsnvnrsnvnrrnnnrrnnn 209 Clear the deskt p 5 niei stake tS R eR 210 Get rid of the Desktop Cleanup Wizard sse 210 Turn off the Documents Recent It
7. Disabling JavaScript error messages sse 447 Dealing with missing pictures eerte entree tne iter neno nns 448 Chapter 3 Email Postage Due LLsuuusuueueeeee 451 Message for You Sirl s mmmmmsrsrrseroreroververnvrrnrrnnvennvsnnnsnnsnresnnnsnnesnvennsenes 452 Understanding eMail mrina EE E E 452 Leaving mail on the server uccsnnssessisuiessnnsertsissnsseisernsnee 454 General Email Mel ncholy vusssnurrs surunnsannadrkgnend men 456 Dealing with drafts essent eiis 456 Trashing a message ssssssssesseeeeeeeene nennen nnne enne nnne 457 Multiple message mayhem sse 459 Repairing hyperlinks in Outlook Express esses 460 Fixing that email disconnection urge uueessesssersenssennnennennnennn nn 462 Why doesn t the address book work esses 463 Lean tread your message een 463 Unable to send email itte rmm rtr en 464 Em il You D m t Want nassen sense 464 Blocking Senders neut eae ee rr c Ere Ee PR terre PS 464 Unblocking Senders eerie tate Duns eoa 465 Junking email 00 9 0 0 dete uir re eo share 466 Creating a junk mail Alter si 467 Editing junk mail rule 1 2 nnne etre 469 Disabling amail rule 4 rettet reri rire festen 471 Skipping email over a certain size esee 471 Chapter 4 Wicked Software LLsuueueeeee 475 Malicious
8. eese 397 Washing the screen esee nete ire tro e PO Prep ERE 399 Kleaning th keyboard nire tet etie een 400 Hardware Upgrades 5 ode eene ere Pr Free re e ent 400 Book IV Internet ecce 603 Chapter 1 Internet Malaise LLsuuusuueeeeeeeeeee 405 Problems Getting and Staying Online esses 405 Using the Windows 7 Internet Connection troubleshooter 406 Testing broadband Internet srrrnnrnrrnvnrnnnrrrnnrrrnnnrrrnvnrsnvnssnvnrrsnnsrnnn 406 Checking dialup connections essere 409 Remembering your dialup Internet password 411 Dialing in manually ssoronrornnrrronrrrrnrrrrnrrrrsnrersnrersnvrrsnrvrssrrsssnnsrsnrernnr 412 Dialing r ndoinly 2 3 n erect tete etre esi eed o ibo to Edo 413 Dealing with dialup timeouts eese 413 Disabling call waiting uses aneignen 416 Internet Troubleshooting Tools eee 417 Checking to see whether the Internet is really out there 417 Confirming that an Internet location exists 420 Choose Your Internet Programs esee nennen enne 421 Binary BreadcrumbS 5 erroe emere tpe iere resur y RE ere RR EET EIE 422 hiuriirdutiace E 423 Removing COOKI6S iesistie inini ete e RS 425 Purging temporary files rrrrrrnrrrrnrvrrnnnrrnnvrrnnreranvrrennvrrnrnsrnnnrrsnnernnn 426 Dea
9. Published by Wiley Publishing Inc Indianapolis Indiana Published simultaneously in Canada No part of this publication may be reproduced stored in a retrieval system or transmitted in any form or by any means electronic mechanical photocopying recording scanning or otherwise except as permit ted under Sections 107 or 108 of the 1976 United States Copyright Act without either the prior written permission of the Publisher or authorization through payment of the appropriate per copy fee to the Copyright Clearance Center 222 Rosewood Drive Danvers MA 01923 978 750 8400 fax 978 646 8600 Requests to the Publisher for permission should be addressed to the Permissions Department John Wiley amp Sons Inc 111 River Street Hoboken NJ 07030 201 748 6011 fax 201 748 6008 or online at http www wiley com go permissions Trademarks Wiley the Wiley Publishing logo For Dummies the Dummies Man logo A Reference for the Rest of Us The Dummies Way Dummies Daily The Fun and Easy Way Dummies com Making Everything Easier and related trade dress are trademarks or registered trademarks of John Wiley amp Sons Inc and or its affiliates in the United States and other countries and may not be used without written permission All other trademarks are the property of their respective owners Wiley Publishing Inc is not associated with any product or vendor mentioned in this book LIMIT OF LIABILITY DISCLAIMER OF WARRANT
10. Task Scheduler sese 701 Opening the Task Scheduler eese 701 Making your own task folder essere 705 Creating a new tasks eee iet ener E tbe rer VENIR 706 Creating a task to run a program 708 Creating a task to send email eese 712 Creating a task to display a pop up message 713 Test running a task sserorronvrnnvonnrsorornnrsnrrsnressrennrrnnvsnnnsnnnrnnnsnnssnneser 714 Halting a task i ERE ERIS RSEN EIUS 715 Confirming that a task has run 716 Editing task 4 uc e tenen tee et ee did 717 Disabling t sk ua ee a es 717 Deleting a task cT anne 718 Windows XP Scheduled Tasks sese 718 Opening the Scheduled Tasks window sees 718 Creating atasko ii eE EE EE sa 719 Running t ski seen seine seen 722 Confirming that a task has run uuseseessessersensensennennennennennennn 722 Editing task east en neh 724 Disabling t sk ete DR EE E He Ee TIS 725 Deleting t sk iere eter a Rees 725 Table of Contents XXIII Chapter 4 A Time to Clean 0 c cece eee eee eee 727 Your Cleanliness Arsenal essen eene 727 Outside the BOX oti ESO ERREUR EE 130 Cleaning surfaces and stuff sss 730 Cleaning the console vents eee titer d resorts bae nano 731 Cleaning the k ybo rd 5 nre terere terio 732 Dealing with liqu
11. The Computer Backs Up for You essere eene 632 Getting an external hard drive essen 632 Finding the backup program essere 633 Configuring and making your first backup sssss 636 Confirming that the backup worked 639 Making an immediate backup eese 639 Modifying the backup routines rennen 640 Stopping a backup in PrOQYVeSS cccsccsssesseeseceseceeeeseesseesseesseeees 642 Disabling the backup program eerte tte inniti 642 Files from Days Of Y OLE ij scoaskscectncscepsissesondesnesncea e rere eer PERS 643 Restoring something from the last backup 644 Restoring from an older backup sene 647 Restoring all your personal files rrrrrrnnrrrnnrrrnnvrrrnrvrrnrrrrnnrrrrnnernnr 647 The Windows Vista Complete PC Backup esee 649 Understanding Complete PC Backup rrrrnrernvrrnvrrnrrrnrrnnrrrnrrnnrrnvernr 650 Setting up an external hard drive for Complete PC Backup 650 Backing up your entire computer uneeseesseesessersensensennennennnennennennn 652 Restoring your entire computer rrrnranvnrnrnenrrenvernvnenevenreenesenesnreeer 654 Chapter 2 Pampering the Hard Drive Lusueeue 657 Free Up Some Storage Space aee cere eer Poet 657 Looking at the storage situation eene 658 Removing large f1l6S c
12. battery life esses ener nnn 374 Setting low battery Warnings c ccsccssessssssesssssseesessseesseesnessees 376 SWAPPING Datteries 510 ceret t eer rep PF 378 Prolonging battery Ile u nannten 379 Maintaining th battery ote eie certet rer re HE 380 Chapter 2 A More Usable Laptop Lsseueueeeee 381 A Home for the LaptOp eset anna bes 381 Making the laptop feel at home eere 381 Selecting devices for the laptop esee 382 Cooling Mr Laptop neret Erbe e cases 384 Handy Laptop Utilities eese 385 Using the Windows Mobility Center eese 385 Magnifying the screen sess ener 386 Typing on the On Screen Keyboard esse 387 Chapter 3 Out on the Road LLuuuusuueueueeeeeeee 389 Th Elsewhere Laptop erii t te ter ete 389 Choosing a proper laptop bag 389 Packing the laptop Dag irte rti RH os 390 Checking stuff before you leavers 391 Resuming life after you travel rmonrnrnrnonrnrnvnrnvnrnrnennnenrernnevnnssresnnne 392 Life in thA uento ee ere ea 392 Getting through security nennen 393 torine the JaDIOD us sion ETIN 394 Using your laptop in the air 395 Table of Contents wii Chapter 4 Laptop Maintenance anuanua 397 A Sparkling Laptop coercet p eren retos rte rir re rhe Poe REPRE 397 Making the case beautiful again
13. informed and awake Dan s most recent books are Droid X For Dummies Word 2010 For Dummies PCs For Dummies Windows 7 Edition and Laptops For Dummies 4th Edition He holds a degree in communications visual arts from the University of California San Diego Dan dwells in North Idaho where he enjoys woodwork ing music theater riding his bicycle being with his boys and fighting local government corruption Dedication To Milton Francis Thanks for the love and attention You will be missed Publisher s Acknowledgments We re proud of this book please send us your comments at http dummies custhelp com For other comments please contact our Customer Care Department within the U S at 877 762 2974 out side the U S at 317 572 3993 or fax 317 572 4002 Some of the people who helped bring this book to market include the following Acquisitions Editorial and Media Composition Services Development Project Coordinator Sheree Montgomery Senior Project Editor Mark Enochs Layout and Graphics Kimberly Tabor Acquisitions Editor Katie Mohr Proofreaders John Greenough Copy Editor Rebecca Whitney Bonnie Mikkelson Technical Editor James F Kelly Indexer BIM Indexing amp Proofreading Services Editorial Manager Leah Cameron Media Development Project Manager Laura Moss Hollister Media Development Assistant Project Manager Jenny Swisher Media Development Assistant Producer Josh Frank Editorial Assistant
14. sections consisting of paragraphs words and then letters So as long as you understand the alphabet you ll understand this book Here are some other important things to note about how this book works Cross references Because this book contains six Chapter 1s and six Chapter 2s and so on these chapters in other minibooks are referenced by the book they belong to So when you read See Book II Chapter 2 you know in which minibook to find that Chapter 2 Chapters within the same minibook are referred to as just plain chapters such as See Chapter 2 Windows Windows Windows When this book refers to Windows it means all versions covered in this book 7 Vista and XP Otherwise specific men tion is made to a version of Windows Because Windows 7 and Windows Vista are very similar they re often lumped together The Control Panel Many times this book references the Windows Control Panel a central location for controlling things in your computer In Windows 7 and Windows Vista this book assumes that you re using the Control Panel in Category view also called Control Panel Home In Windows XP I assume that you re using the Control Panel in Icon view Procedural steps This book presents numbered steps to accomplish spe cific tasks Occasionally one set of steps is used for all versions of Windows More often you see two sets of steps one for Windows 7 and Windows Vista and the other for Windows XP Rarely do yo
15. Amanda Graham Sr Editorial Assistant Cherie Case Cartoons Rich Tennant www the5thwave com Publishing and Editorial for Technology Dummies Richard Swadley Vice President and Executive Group Publisher Andy Cummings Vice President and Publisher Mary Bednarek Executive Acquisitions Director Mary C Corder Editorial Director Publishing for Consumer Dummies Diane Graves Steele Vice President and Publisher Composition Services Debbie Stailey Director of Composition Services Contents at a Glance Introduction cccccccccccccccccccccccccccececccccccccecececcccccccccccecece I Book Hardware ccccccccccccccccccccccccccccccccccccccccccccccccccccccce P Chapter 1 Let There Be DG certet eer eret rer e netten 9 Chapter 2 Birth P ngs oett cod Tome Potter nr riter Re tne iege ee RARRSR 19 Chapter 3 Death TREOES nueis erre eri Ue Hike reges petet riter ero rSn 37 Chapter 4 Mass Storage Issues cc ccesscsssesseessceseeesecesecesecessceseceseceseeeeesseeeseseeeeseessees 57 Chapter 5 Pain in the Printer uie mee reete Ere pere eere an 77 Chapter 6 Seeing Trouble cccsccssccssccsscssscssscsssesseecscesseesseseaeesseessessscsseesseesseesasessees 95 Chapter 7 Peripher alitis iue anne nannten 123 Chapter 8 Deep Inside the Computer Case sss 145 Book Il Software esee 177 Ch pt r 1 Windows Gone AWOL nennen eennsinsetheraan 179 Chapter 2 Programs Processes and Services
16. BOOKS 2nd Edition Get More and Do More at Dummies com Start with FREE Cheat Sheets 6 nt x X Cheat Sheets include buet Checklists Charts Common Instructions And Other Good Stuff To access the Cheat Sheet created specifically for this book go to www dummies com cheatsheet troubleshootingmaintainingyourpcaio s 3 gt Get Smart at Dummies com Dummies com makes your life easier with 1 000s of answers on everything from removing wallpaper to using the latest version of Windows Check out our e Videos Illustrated Articles Step by Step Instructions Plus each month you can win valuable prizes by entering our Dummies com sweepstakes Want a weekly dose of Dummies Sign up for Newsletters on Digital Photography Microsoft Windows amp Office Personal Finance amp Investing Health amp Wellness Computing iPods amp Cell Phones e eBay Internet Food Home amp Garden Find out HOW at Dummies com Sweepstakes not currently available in all countries visit Dummies com for official rules Troubleshooting amp Maintaining Your PC ALL IN ONE FOR DUMMIES 2ND EDITION by Dan Gookin WILEY Wiley Publishing Inc Troubleshooting amp Maintaining Your PC All in One For Dummies 2nd Edition Published by Wiley Publishing Inc 111 River Street Hoboken NJ 07030 5774 www wiley com Copyright 2011 by Wiley Publishing Inc Indianapolis Indiana
17. Power 9 What happens aan see o ret re e HER Pe ETES 9 What could 80 wrong Ress en 10 The First Test Hardware Self Diagnostics esses 10 What h ppens R 10 What could 96 Wrong nennen ae rn 11 Your PC s Setup program cccccsccesessecessesecsceeeseeseceseesseeeseeeseesseens 12 The Search for an Operating System sese 13 What happens coin en eet po tx ner paio ete 13 What could go Wrong een chin anne 14 THE bootloader icaeoie eerte dende 14 Operating System Initialization eese nennt 15 What happens mag 0 pe rere cree tie rre reete y HERO IPO energie 15 What could GO WOND essiri ie a N ann 15 Log Onto WIBGOWS 6 2 d mre it A E HYS 16 What clo 16 What could 80 WEODBE nes ORO DOPO ERR 16 Personalized Start Up rrsnnrrnnvrnnnsnnernresnrennnennvrnnnsnnrsnnvrnnnsnnssnnesnnssnnssnnssnsens 16 What happens nri stes nie bat ba rete beo oe cie C nette 17 What could go wrong sssssssesseeeeeeeeeeeenn eene enne nnne 17 Use Yo r PG cct tener eerte Pi er tere nave e Pee ee ean 17 What happens ea einlesen 17 What could 90 wrong n 2 etre Booked hee 17 THE L st Thing You DO eode tee coeno e Ir rte rer Orc ERROR 18 Viii Troubleshooting amp Maintaining Your PC All in One For Dummies 2nd Edition Chapter 2 Birth Pangs Lsuslseeseeeeeeeeeeeeese 19 The Onset of PC Heartbreaks ttr trt ree YR ERE Te 19 Noth
18. Remote Assistance esee 496 Chapter 5 The File Transfer Chapter L Lsue 499 What Isa gie 499 The Artot Downlo ding 5 recti ir rerba iet 502 Downloading the right term sees 502 Grabbing an image from a web page sse 504 Downloading a program from a web site 504 Email Attachment Irritant sssini renina 507 Emailing a file eene P Epor ivi inside 507 Emailing a photo tone ensure 509 Choosing the right graphics file format sss 511 Receiving an attachment sesoroonnrnnvonnrennrennvrnnvennvrnnrrnnrsnnvsnnnsnnesnnsee 511 ETP Trouble kunst 513 Understanding FTP vuLgsnkssssglanniksnamsesvnadvsniinit 513 Accessing an FTP server in Windows Explorer 514 Accessing a password protected FTP site n ne 517 Remembering an FTP site for future access 518 setting HIEDErMISSIONS oi o EROR RR E ERES rede cvi a 519 Book V Networking D23 Chapter 1 Network Hardware Help 525 The Network Blg PICUUre i e une an N NER 525 Understanding networking essere 526 Discovering network hardware essen 527 Putting a printer on the network ersrrrnvrrnvrnnrrnnrrnnrronrrnnrrnvrrnnrnnnrnn 530 Adding a network hard drive sse 532 You Say Rooter I Say Router cc ccssssssssssesssessee
19. Y THE PUBLISHER AND THE AUTHOR MAKE NO REPRESENTATIONS OR WARRANTIES WITH RESPECT TO THE ACCURACY OR COMPLETENESS OF THE CONTENTS OF THIS WORK AND SPECIFICALLY DISCLAIM ALL WARRANTIES INCLUDING WITH OUT LIMITATION WARRANTIES OF FITNESS FOR A PARTICULAR PURPOSE NO WARRANTY MAY BE CREATED OR EXTENDED BY SALES OR PROMOTIONAL MATERIALS THE ADVICE AND STRATEGIES CONTAINED HEREIN MAY NOT BE SUITABLE FOR EVERY SITUATION THIS WORK IS SOLD WITH THE UNDERSTANDING THAT THE PUBLISHER IS NOT ENGAGED IN RENDERING LEGAL ACCOUNTING OR OTHER PROFESSIONAL SERVICES IF PROFESSIONAL ASSISTANCE IS REQUIRED THE SERVICES OF A COMPETENT PROFESSIONAL PERSON SHOULD BE SOUGHT NEITHER THE PUBLISHER NOR THE AUTHOR SHALL BE LIABLE FOR DAMAGES ARISING HEREFROM THE FACT THAT AN ORGANIZA TION OR WEBSITE IS REFERRED TO IN THIS WORK AS A CITATION AND OR A POTENTIAL SOURCE OF FURTHER INFORMATION DOES NOT MEAN THAT THE AUTHOR OR THE PUBLISHER ENDORSES THE INFORMATION THE ORGANIZATION OR WEBSITE MAY PROVIDE OR RECOMMENDATIONS IT MAY MAKE FURTHER READERS SHOULD BE AWARE THAT INTERNET WEBSITES LISTED IN THIS WORK MAY HAVE CHANGED OR DISAPPEARED BETWEEN WHEN THIS WORK WAS WRITTEN AND WHEN IT IS READ For general information on our other products and services please contact our Customer Care Department within the U S at 877 762 2974 outside the U S at 317 572 3993 or fax 317 572 4002 For technical support please visit www wiley com techsupport Wiley also publishes
20. anrernrrnnvrnnvrnnrranrrsnrrsnrrnnernvernr 272 Recovering your password esses 273 Protecting folders with a password rerrnnrrrnnvrrnnvrrnnvrrrnvnrrnvnrrnnnrrnnn 275 The User Account Control een tette tren eere rien 275 Disabling the UAC ertt RE ETE RETINENT UHR 277 Disabling UAC Secure Desktop mode see 278 Ch ngingtheVACbeep un nes tesa 279 Chapter 6 Unexpected Application Situations 281 Installation Issues uses er rr ne base a 281 Adding new Software 281 Dealing with installation problems eene 282 Resolving compatibility issues eene 282 Banish the Unwanted 1 rico cere tpe rr rene re e ERE Here 283 Uninstalling SOftware eite e susavescuseedeeneesessacetanaseevenevateeves 283 Pruning Windows programs cccsccessessseseceseceseeeeeeseessecsseesseensees 284 Removing bl atware u ujevnt st an 286 Dealing with phantom removed programs eese 288 Cleaning up the Crud ee ee re ere portis 289 The Good and Evil of File Association sese 289 Understanding file association sess 289 Hiding or showing file extensions eene 290 Reviewing associations a ice rie RIPE n hen 291 Opening a file with a different program sesnvrrnvrnnvronvrrnrrrnrrnvnrnvennr 292 Changing file association the easy way 294 Dealing with unknown fil
21. are Troubleshooting essere 123 Understanding how hardware trouble happens 123 Diagnosing problems in Windows 7 eene 124 Keyboard and MOUSE suadasmaeninmetrn fanart 125 Troubleshooting basic input dilemmas sees 125 Taming the wild mouse ite unne piv Preis 126 Making the mouse faster or slower esee 126 Making the mouse pointer more visible essssssss 128 Looking Southwa td i epe e e ee prd 129 Honing the keyboard ua een anna 130 Undoing the Sticky Keys warning eee 131 Speaking of Trouble ee niet Ree re ERE ERE ERE REESE EE EE 132 Testing the Speakers nere ee tei rnit 133 Connecting the Speakers iet cr ie pue EY 134 Fixing Silence sung pe e Pee REIHEN ERU 136 Testing the microphone escort ttn on e neenon teneo 138 Your Fal the Device Manager eiie re rre Pet PER 140 Starting the Device Manager cssccsscssscsssessseseecseeseessessneesnees 140 Finding errant hardw re snus numre imme emer ree 141 Troubleshooting a gizmo in Windows XP sess 142 Updating driver software 2 nene eret itecto 142 Table of Contents xi Chapter 8 Deep Inside the Computer Case 145 Into the CAS 2ca ceo toii rto er eee bd 145 Opening the Case sene e ERR is 145 Grounding yourself rmrsvrrnvrrnvrnnvrrnvernv
22. ccccccescasecee DOD Chapter 1 Network Hardware Help rrrnnrrnnvrnnrrnnrennvrnnrrnnrrnnrrnnrrnnrrnvennvennvrnnvrnnssnnssenne 525 Chapter 2 The Soft Side of Networking essere 549 Chapter 3 Peer to Peer Net working ccccsscsssssssesssessesssecsscessesssessscseesseesseesaeeees 573 Chapter 4 Networking Unplugged aec nennen 597 Book Ul Maintenance eene 023 Chapter 1 Backup Backup Backup eese eene enne nennen nennen 625 Chapter 2 Pampering the Hard Drive eisen ass 657 Ch pter 3 On Schedule 3 red cei rie le e E v PETER TREE TETUER 701 Chapter 4 Time to Clean cire anne arena 727 Feed c Table of Contents Introduction ccccccccccccccccccccccccccececcccceccccccccecececccccecececeaee I Woe Is Computer eter dete terree eerte dere i bye e eee uerus 1 About the For Dummies Approach essere 2 Wh Are YOU ess cerei eee n D e Ape c Eee perve 2 How This Book Works 13 nes 3 How the Videos on the Web Site Work rrrnrrrnvarrnvnrenvvrrnvrrrnvnrenvnnrsvrsenvnsee 4 Ieons Used in This BOOK eiecit iie ter ted eret UD Eee eL Ve Lesben 5 Wher to Go NOW 5 ase Guerrier icem eei Dre E Re PE ee Po e o Ped 5 Final T DOES tete eh ettet orte x PED eder 5 Book I Hardware ceccccccccccccccccccccccccccccceccececcccccccccccccccccce 7 Chapter 1 Let There Be PC LLuuuuuueueeeeeeeese 9 In the Beginning There Was
23. dition s videos can be found on the Internet To view a video enter into your computer s web browser the web page address shown in this book Type the address on the Address bar and the video plays on your computer screen You can also visit this web page to find an index of all videos www dummies com go troubleshootingandmaintainingyourpcaio2e You ll find two types of videos A walk through of complex steps listed in this book Sometimes despite all my flowery prose it s difficult to explain on paper how something works So the video shows you step by step how to troubleshoot or maintain your PC A demonstration of how to do more physical tasks such as clean a com puter or yank out a hard drive This type of video uses an actor myself because I m cheap to demonstrate the concept All videos referenced in this book have a On The Web Site icon shown in the margin The videos also have numbers which appear in the web page address or URL
24. e rE 93 K Troubleshooting amp Maintaining Your PC All in One For Dummies 2nd Edition Chapter 6 Seeing Trouble LLusuuuuuuueuesee 95 Ihe PC Graphics SyStent iecore r DEREN istiden 95 Terms to describe what YOU S66 iere rore nter 95 Graphical system overview essere enne 96 The display adapter nennen 97 Display adapter IIo conte rfe rte hr ree PEU ER Ee 98 Th monitor roses 100 That second monitor thing 103 Captain Video the Troubleshooter essere 106 Seeing nothing tt ne N Eerie 106 Seeing only the mouse pointer rmrsrrnvrrnvernvrrnvrrnrrenrrnnrrsnrrnnernvernr 107 Swapping solutions titre terii eiit cr eese ein 107 Adjusting the monitor oo eerte ette an 108 Dealing with dead or stuck pixels esses 110 Saving the SCEeen einsehen ERE EE e IAEE aar aiast 110 DAVING DOWOEZ vtov UI ET 111 Adjusting the resolution essen nennen 112 Changing the 160H1Z6 3 err T ree DH Etre e IAS 114 Setting the dpl eet rete unse 115 Setting color depth 4 der urn sates 117 Configuring color management uueessesseesseessessneneneneeenenenenen nn 118 Calibrating color in Windows 7 119 Updating drivers esee eicit terit er eta ee eun 120 Using the troubleshooting helpers mrrrrrrrvvrrnnvrrrnvrrrnvrrrnvvrrnnnrrnnn 122 Chapter 7 Peripheralitis Luuuuuueueeeeeeeeeee 123 General Hardw
25. e that approach it has two problems The first downfall of the look it up approach is that you don t master anything Because there s a method behind PC madness often the same solution exists for multiple problems After you understand why things go wrong it s not only easier to fix them it s also possible to prevent them in the first place The second difficulty of the specific solution approach is that it would make this book seriously huge With millions upon millions of potential hardware and software configurations available in all the PCs in the world it would take not one but several fat books to document every problem and its solu tion This book is big enough already My approach is simple Look up the problem find out a bit about what might have caused it and then arrive at a solution The notion is that when trouble arises again later you will have the experience to deal with it ina practical manner Because most PC troubles have a common origin this solution works 2 About the For Dummies Approach Married to troubleshooting is maintenance The two topics go hand in hand with proper maintenance and care your computer runs better and more reli ably often negating the need for much troubleshooting in the first place Before moving on please be aware that there s a difference between trouble and an event that s merely annoying For example if the text you print from an email message is tiny it s annoyin
26. e types esee 294 Creating an association for unassociated files 295 Common Problems and Solutions essere 297 Running older software neat roe e kno oon 297 Using the Windows 7 program compatibility troubleshooter 298 Repairing a program ete eere rtr dei genden 299 Opening a Word document in an oddball format 300 Eliminating personalized menus sese 300 Getting rid of recently opened file lists esses 300 Running a program with elevated permissions 302 Table of Contents KV Chapter 7 Reporting for Duty 0 a 305 The Joys of System Resources essere 305 Understanding resources tertie rte ERIS erue NS 305 Getting system information rrrnvronvernvernvrrnvrnnvrnnvrrnvrenrrnnnrnnvssvvnnnnnn 306 Monitoring system resources nern 307 What Has Gome On Here eoe sro ette nne e Ferre ne Fes ais 310 Reviewing events dde e ai el 311 Using the Event Viewer anne 313 Filtering and searching events essere 314 Finding logs e L 317 DIASIOSEHCS cert rerit HERE OEC EE Red 318 Understanding diagnostics rrrrrrnrrrrnvvrrnnrrrrnvernnvrrsnrersnrnrsnvnrrsnersnnn 319 Diagnosing DirectX aueh 319 Using the Memory Diagnostic tool eee 320 Doing a hardware diagno
27. ems menu on the Start men eorr tere e iri ete REG PEE 210 See the Windows Explorer menus in Windows 7 and Windows Vista 8 o deci retire i resa eere vines sashes 211 Upd t window era an 211 Read only files and folders essere 212 The message Your activation period has expired appears 212 ICORS SO missing tn n ttt reitera un 213 What fleis t hi os ctio tr ae 213 Chapter 2 Programs Processes and Services 217 What s an Application What s a Process What s a Service 217 Understanding the weird terms srrrrnnnrrnnvrrnnvrrnnvrrsnrrrrnvrrrnvnrrnnnrrnnn 218 Visiting the Task Manager essen 218 Understanding the application process relationship 220 Viewing the whole mess O processes uunerssesssensenssennnnennennennnnnn 220 Table of Contents xiii Enjoying the services rrrrrrnnvrronvorsnvvrrnvnrrnnrrrnnvernnvrrsnversnrnssnversnnnsennn 221 Ending stuck Program nes 223 Halting prOCeSS 2 econtra 224 Stopping or disabling a ServiCe srrrnrrrnvrrnvrrnrrnnrrrnrrenrrsnrrnvrrsnrrnnrnn 225 Understanding svchost exe essere 226 Peeking at that rundll32 exe thing sess 228 Start UD PFOSPFADIS aite rea deter dani POI 229 Disabling Start Up DrOgrams nederes tort tnb ttiv eire 229 Using MSCONFIG to set start up stuff sess 230 Finding start up prog
28. ernvernvrnnvrnnvrnnnrenrrnnnrsnrssnennnnnn 147 Closing tlie Case iato ROO in a HER 147 The PC Console Adventure Map esses 148 Common Problems and Solutions eese 152 Checking for loose Cables ccccccsccsscesscesscsssessseseeesseesseesneeseeesness 152 Dissipating li t ectetur perdis 153 Upgrade Replace Maintain eese eene ethernet 154 Buying replacement partS rmsrrrnnrrovrrnvrrnvrrnvernvrrnvrrnrrenrrsnrrenrrsnernvennr 155 Replacing the power supply 156 Replacing the clock battery sese 158 The Miracle 6f Expansion Cards enr tentes atten seen 158 Exploring expansion Slots cesecedsasiceacdaneeagdondespivesedvineslesioescavenies 158 Inserting an expansion Card iie ete sinn nennen 160 Updating a display adapter seen 163 REMOVING an expansion card oerien eterne diuo 163 Reseating expansion cards cccccsccsscssscssscsssesssesecseessessneesseesnees 164 Your PC Wants More Memory c cccscsssesseesceeseceseeeseeeseceseesseeeseeseeeaees 165 Understanding memory banks rrrrrnnrnnvrrnvernvrrnvrnnrrrnrrnnrrsnrrnnernvernr 165 Getting the right DIMM sesorvrrnrrnrnrrnvrnenrrnrrnvrnenrrnernrsrenesnesssnersensenne 166 Adding memory dp niai nece e EE ERE ERIS He e ATHE 167 More Storage for You ssrasnrnnnrnnvrnavennvrnnnennvennvsnnnsnnnsnnnsnnssnnssnresnnsnnnsnnnsnnne 170 Knowing the terins
29. g but isn t a bug Though specific annoying problems such as that one might not be covered in this book you can still find a solution here That s the beauty behind my philosophical approach to troubleshooting After all using Windows shouldn t be a frus trating experience About the For Dummies Approach As a For Dummies title this book doesn t delve into the technical It doesn t start out easy and then become immediately technical and cryptic And this book never disrespects you as a reader It s entirely possible to be a smart and clever and I might add attractive computer owner and not know a darn thing about what a computer is or how it works That s fine with me This book doesn t assume that you re a computer expert or that you want to become one The subject is trouble shooting and maintaining your computer Anyone who owns a PC can read and understand this book well enough to fix their computer woes This book may appear to be overburdened with humor I admit that writing in an entertaining manner is a weakness of mine Troubleshooting can be a serious topic and this book treats serious issues with respect But there are times when I feel that the amusement value is necessary to keep the mood light Computer repair and maintenance need not be a grim topic Who Are Vou Allow me to make some assumptions about who you are and why you re reading this introduction First I assume that you re human or at least p
30. id spilled in a keyboard srrrnnvrrnnvvrnnvrrenvvrrnvrrrnnn 732 Cleaning a Mouse iore ded edet cesta aoas 733 Cleaning the screen srrnrrnnvrnnvennrsnnnsnnnsnnnsnresnrennnennnsnnnsnnssnnssnnesaneser 734 Bu ffing an optical disC 3 oriri Ec hes FERE ETUR 734 Inside the BOX nannten EEE 735 I EE ERR NERE XXIV Troubleshooting amp Maintaining Your PC All in One For Dummies 2nd Edition Introduction f trouble were predictable it wouldn t be a problem The problem with trouble however is that it s unpredictable You hold in your hands a big ol book that s all about solving problems with your computer The topic is troubleshooting It needs to be covered in so many pages because there hasn t been a computer yet invented that didn t have trouble following it like a shadow on a sunny day The computing experience should be a pleasant one And it can be if you re informed and able to deal with the troubles you encounter This book helps you along that journey in an informative and entertaining way Welcome to Troubleshooting amp Maintaining Your PC All in One For Dummies Woe Is Computer A byte of prevention is worth a megabyte of cure My philosophy on troubleshooting is that it s easier to do when you under stand how the computer works This philosophy is the opposite of what most people expect which is to look up a specific condition and find a specific cure for it Although many people lik
31. ing 1 see nothings aueh an 20 POST Eros ne n aeara a nie OG ease visu vine emanate 21 CMOS Er Orsa ae 22 There s a BIOS password essere 23 Did my PC secretly restart a een 24 Operating System Trouble ede an 24 The horrifying blinking cursor eese 24 Changing the boot order cken stein 25 The no operating system SiSters s rrsrrrrrvrrnrvrrrrrrrrrvrrenverrnnrrrnnerr 21 Press any key to boot from the optical disc 28 Removing a boot loader sese 28 Star UP Mens 29 The boot menu het aur reet e ten ie TEE E EE EEA EE 29 The F8 MENU dsrin E ae a OEE EA E 30 The FS Men s terrre ente E hedera ERRE 32 Start up and recovery options sss 33 Windows Error Recovery menu ussssssesssesssessnensensnensnennnensennnennnnnenn 35 Chapter 3 Death Throes Lssueseeeeeeeeeeeee 37 When Will IE StOD ceteri hen nenn e aee ea peer 37 shutting down a PC sun 37 Ending your Windows day sse 38 Finding the shutdown options eee 39 Setting the Power button function 42 Setting the Windows Vista software Power button function 44 Shutdown MalalSe u e anren decere ES lotes 45 Gener l shutdown dvice unseren ge ante 45 Turning Off a stubborn PO ertet endeten 45 Slow SHU OWN u sits crore ere RERUM ERA EU PEE ID RN 45 Someone else is logged inl suisses aniria 46 End TOW
32. ing Unplugged Lsseue 597 Unwired Networking B sics use tie Etranger an 597 Setting up a wireless network sss 597 Using the proper wireless network standard 599 Configuring the wireless base station uueseesseeeseeeseeeneeeneeenenenennnen 602 Table of Contents XXI Connecting base stations nennen 603 Restricting access to your wireless network 605 Resetting a base station cceeessessssessnneesenennenennnnnennnennnnnnnnnennnnannnn 607 When the Hook Up Gets Hung Up rrnvrnnvrnnvrrnvernrennrrnnvrnnrrsnrrsnrrnvrrnvernvenns 607 Enabling the wireless NIC esses 607 Finding wireless network einer tereti eio 608 But I can t find the network neesenenensenenenenenennen 611 Managing wireless connections eene 614 The Bluetooth Thing tont te et e eerte rere TRES 615 Understanding Bluetooth 616 Connecting a Bluetooth gizmo essere 617 Managing Bluetooth connections eene 619 Dealing with Bluetooth woe unio tet cerit che be ee 620 Book Ul Maintenance eene nnne 023 Chapter 1 Backup Backup Backup 625 That Emergency Copy notet eret hetero RUP pet 625 Understanding back p iet erect titer terne 625 Making that backup Copy 628 Using a backup program sss nennen 631
33. its books in a variety of electronic formats and by print on demand Not all content that is available in standard print versions of this book may appear or be packaged in all book formats If you have purchased a version of this book that did not include media that is referenced by or accompa nies a standard print version you may request this media by visiting http booksupport wiley com For more information about Wiley products visit us at www wiley com Library of Congress Control Number 2011930122 ISBN 978 0 470 87867 5 Manufactured in the United States of America 10987654321 WILEY About the Author Dan Gookin has written more than 120 books about technology many of them accurate He is most famously known as the author of the original For Dummies book DOS For Dummies published in 1991 Additionally Dan has achieved fame as one of the first computer radio talk show hosts the editor of a computer magazine a national technology spokesman and an occasional actor on the community theater stage Dan still considers himself a writer and technology guru whose job it is to remind everyone that our electronics are not to be taken too seriously His approach is light and humorous yet very informative He knows that modern gizmos can be complex and intimidating but necessary to help people become productive and successful Dan mixes his vast knowledge of all things high tech with a unique dry sense of humor that keeps everyone
34. ling with AutoComplete eese eere 427 Chapter 2 Woes on the Web LLsuuusueueeeeeee 429 Internet Explorer Hates Your Guts esee 429 Showing the menu Dat nien titii tetra eei edd 430 Managing toolbars esses eene nennen nennen 430 Dealing with add ons enun tee rere ree Reo con 431 Resetting Internet Explor r eidem ien ires 433 Upgrading Internet Explorer 433 Understanding the work offline thing eeeene 434 Secret Ingredient ActiveX auderent ecce e ETUR n EEHVER Y 435 Understanding ActiveX iesieta ra Ena Er ener 435 Restricting ActiveX controls eret de tete eerte eee 436 Disabling ActiveX controls 3 sense 437 What s Up POD cc ui iie tei areas 438 Understanding Pop Uups u un 438 Witnessing a pop up ronrrronrrrnnnvrrnnvrrrnvernnvrrrnnnrrnnnrrnnversnversnversnnnssnnssnn 439 Avoiding POP UPS u innen 440 xviii Troubleshooting amp Maintaining Your PC All in One For Dummies 2nd Edition Web Page Hell 2 inrer tee eee rx te eee pate 441 Dealing with a missing web page rrrrrrrrrnrrrnnvrrnnvrrrnvvrrnnvrrnnrrrrnvernnn 442 Adding a web site to your trusted zone sess 442 Fixing weirdly sized WiNdOWwsS rerrannrnnnnnnrnnvennvrnnvrnnrrenrrsnrrenrrsnernvenes 444 Looking bigger smaller essere 444 Printing webpage iinn teni e ERE NEVER PERI ERREUR HT UE 445
35. oii yate eiii nn 569 Using the Windows XP Network Troubleshooter 570 Disconnecting from the network essere 571 Chapter 3 Peer to Peer Networking Le 573 Once Upon a Time There Was This Workgroup eere 573 Understanding the workgroup c ccscccsscesseesseesecesseesecsssenseenseesees 573 Creating WOrkgFOUD etr eer pere deter tee operis 576 Browsing the workgroup in Windows 7 and Window Vista 577 Browsing the workgroup in Windows XP eese 578 Everybody Sh re aussen ee EE Dee ee 579 Making sharing possible in Windows 7 and Windows Vista 579 Making sharing possible in Windows XP ees 581 Sharing your PC s printer uec oett rrt ree riii 582 Sharing folder ie kennen ke mik enis 583 Setting shared folder permissions esee 585 Accessing shared folders essen 587 Discovering which folders you re sharing 588 Unsharing a folder essere nnne 588 Workgroup WO68 5 oiii ERE ERE UR ERERE UE ERE HDi PETER 588 Checking network privacy sese 589 Reaching unreachable PCs een 591 Allowing local traffic through the Windows firewall 592 Getting at multiple networks essere 593 Finding out who else is using your computer ss 594 Chapter 4 Network
36. one ei rte eer PPP HER ERR 661 Using Disk Cle n p 5 3 erre Pera evene Ye RS R Ren EEUU EEE 665 xxii Troubleshooting amp Maintaining Your PC All in One For Dummies 2nd Edition Moving your program files rrrrrrnnvrronvrronvrrsnrrrrnnvrrnnrrrenrrrsnvrrrnversnner 668 Using file compression 1 nceaieeeeneeec n eroe oes Ia uos 669 Compressing every dang doodle file on a hard drive 671 Disk Drive Tools itte tete eI ce ree seth eres ee ESRS 672 Understanding fragmentation esses 673 Finding the tools sisi ne ae ate trente a eto Eden dod 678 Detragmenting a hard drive deerit ne 679 Checking the storage media rrrnnrnvrnnrnvvrrnrnvrnnrnnrrrnnrenernrrnsenserserne 682 Media Manipulation Mania seen 684 Opening the Disk Management console sese 685 Changing drive letters ceto ape prn Re PR PRO pne 685 Joining a drive to folder ces petto teen 687 Formatting volume 5 2 d n anie tese i bee eda T E Ie gen 689 Messing with Voluni s ed dier pest ep ee poder 693 Repartitioning drive iae thiet aan 693 Shrinking vol mie nece ea kagssanka 694 Making use of unallocated drive space sssssss 696 Unallocating a volume esessseeseeeeee eene 698 Extending volume eet na sans 699 Chapter 3 On Schedule Lusuuuuueueueeeee 701 Windows 7 Vista
37. osing in human form while visiting Earth from the 23rd dimension If so welcome And if your plans for destroying the earth are imminent I d like to suggest that you aim your death ray at Idaho first Thank you Second you have a PC That s the generic term for any computer running Microsoft Windows So if the computer runs Windows whether it s made by Dell made by Joe the Nerd or it s an iMac it s a PC as far as this book is concerned How This Book Works 3 Even though you re holding a For Dummies book I must make some assump tions about how well you know your computer The text assumes for example that you know how to start the computer use the mouse type and perform other basic computer activities If you can read and send email or play a game of Spider Solitaire you have enough computer literacy to under stand this book and handle the chores I set forth Finally you re using Windows on your PC It can be Windows 7 Windows Vista or Windows XP All these versions are covered here where applicable You should be aware however that Windows XP lacks a lot of the good PC troubleshooting tools available in Windows 7 and Windows Vista How This Book Works This book is composed of six minibooks each of which addresses a com puter troubleshooting or maintenance topic The minibooks are split into traditional chapters all geared to a specific subject within the minibook topic Then the chapters are split into
38. rams for your account sessss 233 Dealing with blocked start up programs uneeeenenennennen 235 Chapter 3 The Safe Mode Chapter Lsuuuueeue 237 Safe Mode to tlie Rescue u tede era e ea e re uario 237 Using Sate iO Luna vred Hber er E RO eie enter sas pessoas 237 Entering Safe mode unexpectedly esee 239 Getting into Safe mode at boot time sss 240 Restarting in Diagnostic mode with MSCONFIG 240 Ending Safe mode ae t anne 242 Ending Diagnostic mode sse 242 Safe Mode Troubleshooting eese eene eene nennen 242 Understanding Safe mode essere 242 Knowing the three problem sisters srrrnrrrnrnrnrrerrnrnrrnrrrvrnrvrnennne 243 Disabling start up files enne 244 Chapter 4 Putting the Pep Back into Your PC 245 Man Your PC IS SI6W certes E eee oed tes nen 245 Underst nding SIOW 2 oeste hei rr pe rette ne 245 Testing multiple tasks peer atento neenon teo evang 246 Checking virtual memory essere 247 Problems That Slow Down Your Computer eene 249 Unelogging the spywar suuminunmemmsnmeindnndansgnindiieire 249 Finding a memory leak rrrrrnvrnnrrnnvrrnvernrrrnvernvrnnrrnnrrsnrrenrrsnnrsnnssvennnrnn 250 Speed Up Your PC nn tir iier cele eii eee TE eee RS 251 Performing regular maintenance
39. saen ent 69 Is the drive dead iu ios aie ip ie ORDER TOR 69 A disk is st ck in the drivel i e essit Bm en twee 69 The program doesn t install essiensa 70 AutoPlay ISSUES T seinen 70 Th drive doesn t record uicit ertt dn 72 Th disc do smn t record essien eree erii epit 74 On cleaning an optical drive mronrrnrrnnrrnnvrnnvrnnvrnnvsnnrsnnnsnnnsnnesnvesnrre 74 Professional Data Recovery sisisi p inek essee sisin 75 Chapter 5 Pain in the Printer uaaa 77 Marginal Printer Stuff crine v e ede e RA 77 AMAZING printers seen einen nl 77 Printing in WindOWS nete reper tee aaa 78 Using the Page Setup dialog box sse 80 Dealing with printers n e een aan 82 Checking the printer drivetrain 84 Working with print JODS ie neat tes eet eret eae no see vna Ee eot do serene enn 86 Canceling a print JOD et a e RECTORE Pete REIR 86 Using the Printing Troubleshooter eene 87 Visiting the Print Management window eere 88 General Printer Problems ecce lett ett eoe ee epe eque 89 Print Preview lies diee t ree nee hinein 90 Wrong colors streaks madness essere 90 Weird char cters on the page nacer 91 Page after page of gobbledygook essere 91 Printer JAMS e le irre 91 Page Orientation aos corte e e n E EE sie une Ini EE ER 92 Envelopes must Cal t00 2 encres tret hee Fen a Vot
40. ssessseeseessseessessnees 533 Understanding the router 533 Connecting the router n oerte tite toii eden en 534 Configuring the router nennen enne nnne 535 Resetting the router aneian rae EP ARE e Fee HR A eH RD 537 Pinging the route a i eer ot Pe ren DIR 537 Adding more Ethernet ports to the network 539 General Network Troubleshooting essere 541 Inspecting the NIC tede eorr Pe nennen 541 Upgrading the NIC s driver eese 543 XX Troubleshooting amp Maintaining Your PC All in One For Dummies 2nd Edition Disconnecting from the network ueeesessessensennnneenenneensennennennenen 544 Resetting the broadband modem esee 545 Restarting the entire network essere 546 Chapter 2 The Soft Side of Networking 549 Where Is the Network Software sse 549 Finding network locations in Windows 7 and Windows Vista 549 Finding network locations in Windows XP 558 IP Gone Wrong achte UE ER E Deyeditee iR 562 Understanding the IP address esee 563 Checking your PC s IP address 564 Understanding DHCP eter E E EE E EERS 565 Resolving an IP COnfllGt aee tti tbe reb prop 565 Renewing the DHCP Te se eee eee bet c s 566 Manually assigning an IP address eee 566 Network Troubleshooting eese eee enne 569 Repairing the network 5 o nene iere t
41. stic eese 321 Chapter 8 Recovery Options LLsuseueeeeeeeese 323 Windows Time ravel uendere tote oe E 323 Restore the System Restore Your Sanity sss 325 Using System Rest reauuuLn d Rire RR Induit is 325 Restoring to a specific date and time esses 328 Setting a restore point sm srrnnronnrsnrrrnnrsnnnrnrrnnvrnnnrnnnsnnnrnnnrnnssnnssnneser 329 Undoing a System Restore 3 nn nette redi one ets 330 Disabling System Restore esses eene nnne 331 The System File Checker d pierre eie eerte ec 332 Running SFC in Windows 7 and Windows Vista 333 Reviewing the cbs log file essen 334 Running SFC in Windows XP essere 335 Windows Recovery seii eie eret totos sinne 337 Understanding the Recovery Console sess 337 Getting to the Recovery Console in Windows 7 and Windows VISta een retirer ri terree TE EO ERE 339 Starting the Recovery Console in Windows XP 341 Fixing the master boot record 343 Booting into a recovery partition srnrrnnvrnnnvrrnnvrrrnnvrrnnrrrnnrrrrnrerrnn 343 Using a recovery disc treten ede e ein 344 Making a recovery disc esses eria in 345 Reinstalling Windows n ree erecto toto esee ie anna 347 Chapter 9 Registry Fixes 0c cece cece en eens 349 Behold the Registry rct a 349 Understanding the Registry
42. u find steps listed for all versions of the operating systems When all three operating systems are referenced in the same set of steps letters are used within a step when the versions of 4 How the Videos on the Web Site Work Windows differ for example Step 2a for Windows 7 Step 2b for Windows Vista and Step 2c for Windows XP Then everyone continues with Step 3 Typing stuff When you re supposed to type something the text appears in bold type In the context of a step where the text is normally bold anyway the stuff you type appears in regular roman text The Enter key Do not press the Enter key until you re directed to do so And even then just to ensure that you typed everything properly I recom mend that you review what you type before you press Enter Period Do not press a period at the end of any text you type unless I explain that the period is needed Unlike sentences in English a computer command doesn t end with a period Filenames and text commands Windows lets you type filenames or text commands in either upper or lowercase letters This book uses lowercase often using monospaced text to present the command name or filename How the Videos on the Web Site Work This book features a host of companion videos In the first edition the videos were contained on a companion DVD that was supplied with the book Rather than weigh down this edition with another DVD and to avoid all that video piracy this e
43. udo EE 47 The computer was improperly shut down serranrronrrnnrrnvornvernnr 48 Windows Error Recovery menu rrrrnnvrrnnvvrnnvrrenvnrrnnvrrnnversnvrrsnverennr 48 Power Management Issues anna 49 Activating power management in Windows XP 49 Enabling power management for specific devices 50 Activating hibernation eese eene nnne nnne 51 What is hybrid sleep cuisine 52 Recovering from a PC coma essere 54 Problems with Restarting n gesperrt asian rneinn 54 Random rest rtsuussdaeingsrsekasevikdakeonrsbeunitin 54 Autom ticrest rts un esse ebene 55 Table of Contents ix Chapter 4 Mass Storage Issues LsLuueuusee 57 Mass Storage Over vie Wiascsesecsdccabescessdereesncascesdanstusaiertasagesvessdcaranes avensseeeieabeas 57 Understanding mass storage eire en 58 Finding mass storage in Windows seen 58 Using the Disk Management console seen 60 Understanding Med a rrr PER 61 Adding drives and media essere 61 Removing Media wis sie dr dete tereti e heise ine 62 Removing drives dide rere eerte nein 63 Hard Drive Stuff tere t a saa ens CERES anni 64 Hard drive technical trivia eese 65 Partitions nussrkaamenaneomaa kamera iai E R rest 66 The m ster boot r eord once eier pen 68 Optical Drive Death and Misery un nnenteinen
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