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Tips for tackling common PC problems
By JOHN TORRO Some PC glitches just don't seem to go away. No matter what a user tries to do to fix them, the problems persist. A few issues seem to dominate our mail from readers every year. Among other things this year, readers are curious -- or worried -- about Windows XP. Some golden oldies also are hanging around, particularly Windows shutdown problems. As we did last year, we've taken some of the frequently asked questions and given more detailed answers. We hope it helps. SpywareThe problem: Downloads from the Web include hidden applications that track your browsing habits and affect your PC's performance. Does your Internet browsing seem to be slower than it once was? Does your system seem a little more sluggish lately? It may not the fault of your Internet service provider but possibly some extra software baggage that your Internet browser is carrying around. You can blame it on something called spyware. Spyware is the term given to components that install themselves along with free software applications that many people download. Kaazaa, Audio Satellite, Comet Cursor and Gator are just a few of the popular downloads that contain spyware. Some spyware applications warn you they're being installed along with the program you want; some don't. What does spyware do? Spyware programs attach themselves to your browser or launch programs in the background when you start up your PC. One of spyware's main jobs is to record a user's browsing habits, then upload that information via the Internet to companies that are happy to pay for targeted information. In addition to your browsing habits, spyware can send personal information such as your name, address, phone number and e-mail address that you were only too happy to supply in exchange for that free software. Another hidden price you pay is for additional processing power and memory your PC uses to run these hidden programs. So how do you know if you have it and, more important, how do you get rid of it? You can download and run a free product called Ad Aware (www.spychecker.com/adaware.html). It will detect and optionally remove the spyware components from your PC. And in case you're wondering, all of this cyberspying is perfectly legal. Get that junk off your system. System shutdown problemsThe problem: The computer won't turn off after you click Shut Down. Improper shutdown is probably the most common question we receive, and the most difficult to diagnose and correct. When you shut down, Windows unloads all device drivers (programs that directly control your different hardware components), flushes the disk cache (a function that completes writing data to the hard drive) and finishes outstanding save commands such as Word documents, as well as sending terminate requests to all running programs to begin a controlled and orderly termination. When one of these hardware or software components has a problem, Windows waits indefinitely for its termination. In other words, almost anything on your PC could be the cause. In most cases, it is safe to power down the system by hitting the off button. That in turn will force Windows to do integrity checks (ScanDisk) at the next boot and give you an especially irritating warning that you really should shut down Windows properly in the future (as if you hadn't tried to do just that). It could take the entire Tech Times section to cover some of the troubleshooting procedures involved in the diagnosis and correction of Windows shutdown problems. Instead, we'll cover a common one -- Power Management -- and refer you to more material for in-detail problem solving (sounds like fun, doesn't it?). I once read that Power Management, which powers down your computer after a time to save energy, caused most of the problems on Windows PCs. I don't know if that's still true, but it is a common source of shutdown problems. To determine if Advanced Power Management is your problem, try disabling it. First, determine if APM is listed in the Device Manager by clicking Start, Settings, Control Panel. Then double-click System and the Device Manager tab. Double-click System Devices. If there's an entry for Advanced Power Management, double-click it. Click the Settings tab, then click to select the Force APM 1.0 Mode and Disable Power Status Polling check boxes. Restart the PC. If this fixes the problem, you may need to update your system BIOS (the program that controls the PC's motherboard), which means determining its maker and downloading the latest version. If it doesn't fix the problem, put the setting back to what it was and disable APM in the PC's BIOS. Check your motherboard documentation for details on how to do this. Again, if this fixes the problem, it may be an indication that the BIOS needs updating. This may not fix the problem. Shutdown can be one of the toughest problems to diagnose and solve. For a detailed troubleshooting methodology, go to Microsoft's online knowledgebase (support.microsoft.com/) and search on combinations of Shutdown and troubleshoot. You'll get a plethora of information to use to troubleshoot your system. Of course, you can always take the easy way out: Live with ScanDisk at startup. The problem: People want relief from the flood of spam. One popular topic has been how to add addresses to the Blocked Senders list in Outlook Express, which can block spam and other unwanted messages from repeat senders. The most convenient method is to right-click on the sender's name (next to From:) in an open e-mail and select Block Sender. One problem with this technique is that you have to open the e-mail first, something that is not always wise to do. An alternative is to right-click the e-mail while it is in your Inbox, select Properties, then click the Details tab. From there you can select and copy the address to paste into your Blocked Senders list (which can be accessed from Tools, Message Rules, Blocked Senders list on the Outlook Express menu bar). But, as you'll find out, putting users on your Blocked Senders list is not a very effective way to eliminate junk e-mail, or spam. Expert spammers change their address often, effectively side-stepping the Blocked Senders strategy. My recommendation isn't high tech but is effective: Delete e-mail with an address you do not recognize and without opening it (make sure you also have the Outlook Express' Preview option turned off because displaying even an excerpt of a virus-ridden e-mail can cause trouble). If you have more than a few e-mails to delete, click the first one and, while holding the Shift key, click the last one. This will highlight those messages and everything in between. Then click the Delete button or the Del key. If the unwanted e-mails are not consecutive, hold the Ctrl key while clicking each e-mail to select it. Another suggestion is to open a new e-mail account, such as a free one from Hotmail or Yahoo. Use this e-mail address whenever you are required to provide an e-mail address when browsing sites on the Web. Consider this the garbage address and delete all content automatically. This will help cut down some of the spam you receive in your regular e-mail account. Another problem is suspicious attachments. First and foremost: Never open an attachment with an .EXE or .VBS file suffix. Common sense? Yes, but we get e-mail from readers regularly who have destructive viruses caused by running attachments they received in an e-mail. In fact, don't open any attachment without first passing it through your antivirus software (an up-to-date version). Another option is to save the attachment and rename it with a .TXT suffix. Then, using WordPad or Notepad, open it to see the contents. It sometimes may be gibberish, but you'll be safe because WordPad and Notepad cannot run hidden macros or commands. Windows XPThe problem: People are concerned about whether older hardware and software will work on the new operating system. Though we have talked a lot about Windows XP and its problems since October, we have lost count of the number of times people ask, "Should I update to Windows XP?" I've been using XP for a year, and my experience is much like many others'. I've had a few of the infamous blue screens of death on my PC, mainly attempting to print to a printer that's less than 2 years old but not fully supported by XP. A recent installation on my kids' computer didn't work well because the low-end Celeron machine just didn't have the necessary horsepower, even after upgrading the random access memory to 512 megabytes. I also couldn't get the scanner (also less than 2 years old) to function, even after paying Umax $15 to upgrade the software driver. These two issues prompted me to reload the PC with Windows Me. And herein lies the most important issue in upgrading to XP: If you are going to update, check with the manufacturers of your hardware devices (mouse, CD/DVD burners, printers, scanners, video adapters and others) and software programs to make sure that they are compatible and that they have new versions of drivers if necessary. A trip to a company's support Web site usually has these answers. With few exceptions, special system utilities such as antivirus programs, disk utilities and firewalls will need completely new versions, which you may have to repurchase at full price. You also should go to the Microsoft Web site (www.microsoft.com/windowsxp/) to check its list of compatible hardware and software. Sorting Internet Explorer FavoritesThe problem: Users want their favorite Web sites listed in alphabetical order. This has been one of the year's hottest topics, either because of confusing instructions, ambiguous references or just some mysterious, inexplicable happenings. Let's go over it step by step, with graphics:
First, you have to be running Internet Explorer version 5.1 or higher (check Help, then About on the Explorer menu bar to check your version).
1. Click the Favorites menu bar (the word Favorites at the top of the screen, not the button that also shows an icon of a folder). Your first menu of Favorites will drop down.
2. Position your mouse pointer anywhere over this menu and right-click. This will display the Favorites contextual menu.
Click on Sort By Name. You will need to do this for all of your Favorites folders and subcategories. And it's a process you'll have to repeat when you add new Favorites. Those get added at the end, not in alphabetical order. Just repeat the process to sort them again. Based on the number of e-mails from readers concerning this process, it seems Microsoft would be well served to make this a permanent option that you could turn on somewhere in the Tools, Options section, indicating that you want all Favorites added in sorted order automatically.
- For those who missed last summer's Solutions Extra, it can be found on our Web site at
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