by Technophobes;the Kicking;Screaming Is This Thing On?: A Computer Handbook for Late Bloomers
BOOTSTRAPS
Are you familiar with the saying “to pull someone up by their bootstraps”? That’s what inspired the term “to boot” the computer. When you “boot” the computer, you’re either straightening out a problem, restarting the computer, or shutting it down.
Soft Boot = to restart the computer without turning the power off.
Hard Boot = to shut down the computer by either turning it off or cutting off the electrical supply.
Boot up = to turn on the computer.
Option 1. Rather than continue to click the mouse or hit the Enter key (on a PC) or the Return key (on a Mac), just get up from your desk and walk away. Some people get very frustrated when the computer freezes up. Be warned—computers cannot withstand the Samsonite stress test. Do not pound on your keyboard or your mouse. It will only make matters worse. If you need to take five, do so. By the time you come back to the computer, it may have adjusted itself.
Option 2. You can try gently depressing the Esc (Escape) key a couple of times (the Esc key is usually at the top left of the keyboard). The Esc key is used to get out of a program or to stop an action before it is completed.
Option 3. If the Esc key doesn’t help, you will need to “soft boot” (or “force quit” in Mac speak) the computer. To soft boot means to close a program that isn’t responding or, if that doesn’t work, to force the computer to restart or shut down without pulling the plug. To “hard boot” the computer is a last resort and involves cutting off the electricity (by shutting off the computer or unplugging it) rather than following the proper shutdown process. My interpretation is that you’re giving the computer a swift kick with a soft boot as opposed to a hard boot. We won’t hard boot the computer unless absolutely necessary. Of course, you should never really kick the computer, with or without footwear!
• When a PC freezes, first try the Windows Task Manager window to close a program that is not responding.
To soft boot a PC:
• Find the Ctrl (Control), Alt (Alternate) and Del (Delete) keys on your keyboard.
• Hold all three down simultaneously, and then release.
• Click on Task Manager with Windows 7.
• A Windows Task Manager window will appear. It will list all the programs that are open or running.
• Hit the Enter key on your keyboard. That instructs the computer to End Task. That means the computer will close the program that is highlighted in blue. (This program may have the words “not responding” next to it.) You’ll then be asked to confirm this choice. Hit the Enter key again to confirm.
• If that doesn’t work, hold down the Ctrl, Alt, and Del keys again and release.
• The Task Manager window will reappear. If you can move the mouse arrow to the words Shut Down, do so and click once. If your mouse is also frozen, then hold down the Ctrl, Alt, and Del keys one more time and release again.
• This will instruct the computer to restart. It’s a more gentle solution than hard booting the computer, which involves turning the computer off by cutting off the electrical current.
NO NEED TO RUSH
When an error message appears on your screen or your machine does something you don’t understand, there’s usually no need to rush to fix it. Write down the error message, if one has appeared, then just leave the computer on (error message and all) until you get help. You won’t do it any harm.
• When a Mac freezes, the Force Quit Applications window will help you to “soft boot” the machine.
To soft boot a Mac:
• Find the (Command), Option Alt, and Esc (Escape) keys on your keyboard.
• Hold all three down simultaneously, and then release.
• A Force Quit Applications window will appear. It will list all the programs that are open or running.
• Hit the Return key on your keyboard. That instructs the computer to Force Quit. That means the computer will close the program that is probably causing the problem.
• If that doesn’t work, hold down the (Command), Option Alt, and Esc keys at the same time and then release.
• This will instruct the computer to restart. It’s a more gentle solution than hard booting the computer, which involves cutting the electrical current by turning the computer off.
The computer may have frozen because the program you were in had a hiccup of sorts, not because the computer has any real problems. That’s why we first look at the programs that are open and see if closing one of them will unfreeze the computer.
Option 4. If a soft boot fails, you have no choice but to hard boot (shut down) the computer. You do this by turning the power switch off on the computer. If that doesn’t work, you’ll have to unplug the computer or turn off the surge protector. Count to 60 and then turn the computer back on. Everything should be fine now.
Note: When you close a program through a soft or hard boot, you can’t save any of the changes that you’ve made. For example, you are writing a letter to your son and the computer freezes. You soft or hard boot the computer to unfreeze it. The parts of the letter that you had not saved probably won’t be there when you retrieve it. Yet another reason to save often.
My PC screen has a strange disk error message.
Don’t worry! This window will only appear if your computer has a floppy disk drive on it (which most new ones will not). If you have a floppy disk drive and you see this message, you simply forgot to take your floppy disk out of the A: drive. Remove the disk and press any key (whatever key that your little heart desires) on the keyboard. Your computer should continue the startup process without a glitch.
MY COMPUTER IS POSSESSED!
I had a student unplug her computer as a last resort and it still wouldn’t turn off. She called me completely spooked that the computer was still on even after she had unplugged it. It turned out the computer was a laptop. When she unplugged it, the computer remained on because it was running on the battery!
A “Microsoft Windows Startup Menu” appeared on my PC screen.
This window will appear on a PC if something went wrong during the startup process. For right now, we don’t care what went wrong. We just want to get the computer back on track. In this case the first thing to do is to hard boot (turn off) the computer, count to 60, and turn it back on.
• If the box appears again, choose Option 3, Safe Mode, by typing the number 3 and hitting the Enter key.
• Now let’s shut the computer down by moving the mouse arrow to the Start button (on the bottom left of your screen) and clicking once.
• Move the arrow up to the words Shut Down and click once.
• A Shutdown Window will appear in the center of your screen; move the mouse arrow to the word Restart and click once.
• Next, hit the Enter key. This will allow your computer to restart and all should be cured.
I’m sure all of this sounds a bit unappealing, but it really isn’t that bad when you’re doing it. Trust me.
Microsoft Windows Startup Menu
1. Normal
2. Logged (/BOOTLOG.TXT)
3. Safe Mode
4. Step-by-step conformation
5. Command Prompt Only
6. Safe mode command prompt only
7. Enter a choice: 1
SERGEANT, GIVE ME 60
I have you count to 60 after you’ve turned off the computer and before you turn it back on because that gives the computer a chance to catch its breath. When a computer shuts down, it needs to file what was open on the screen. Giving the computer a little rest time ensures that it has caught its breath and is ready to get back to work. A 60 count also give you a chance to drop any feelings of frustration over what has gone awry with the computer. In other words, those 60 seconds may prevent you from throwing the machine down a flight of stairs! Now, you wouldn’t want to do that, would you?
My PC screen is black except for this: C:DOS>.
On a PC this is called the DOS prompt. Try typing in the word “win” and hitting the Enter
key. This may bring the desktop screen up. If that doesn’t work, then turn off the computer (hard boot), count to 60, and turn it back on.
My screen says an error has occurred.
This Mac error message leads one to believe that identifying it as a Type 1 or 2 or 10,000 error would help solve the problem, but that isn’t the case. For us civilians we can only glean from that message that we should restart the computer.
• Gulp!
• Hold down the Command, Option/Alt and ESC keys at the same time and then release.
• This will instruct the computer to restart.
This error message shouldn’t happen often, if at all. Keep a record of when it occurs. If it happens frequently, it would be wise to have the machine serviced.
My computer won’t let me delete a file or document.
Chances are the document or folder you want to delete is still open. Make sure that you’ve closed the document or folder and quit the program that it lives in.
My printer won’t stop printing.
Your printer hasn’t gone mad. The most likely explanation is that you actually asked it to print and print and print, by repeatedly clicking on the Printer icon. The printer now has several print jobs in its queue and wants to print them all.
UP WITH UPDATES
Your computer may notify you that there are updates available. As I mentioned earlier in the book, these updates are corrections, adjustments, and improvements to the operating system of other programs you run on your computer. Accept the updates and your computer may run more smoothly.
If you have a PC, follow these steps to stop the print jobs:
• Click on Start in the bottom left corner of your screen.
• Click on Control Panel.
• Double-click on Printers (or Printers and Faxes).
• Double-click on your printer’s icon.
• Click on Print in the menu bar top left.
• Click on Cancel All Documents.
If you have a Mac, follow these steps to stop the print jobs:
• Click on the Printer icon in the Dock .
• Click Stop Jobs .
• Click to select the print jobs listed in the bottom area of the window.
• Click on Delete in the top left corner .
• Click Start Jobs .
It may take some time for the printer to obey your commands and stop printing. Be patient. If you’ve followed the steps above and it still won’t stop printing, turn everything off, unplug the printer from the computer, and count to 60. Then plug everything back in and turn everything on again. Everything should be back to normal now.
My printer says my ink cartridge is empty.
Even if your printer is telling you that your ink cartridge needs changing, wait until you notice the ink is light on your printouts before replacing it. Printers tend to notify you that new ink is needed when there’s still a bit of life left in the existing cartridges, and printer ink is expensive. But when your cartridge really is running out, follow these steps.
• Be sure the printer is on.
• To remove the ink cartridge you’ll either lift the lid off your printer or pull down the front panel (each printer model is different).
• Push down on the old cartridge with your thumb (be firm). Once the cartridge has disengaged, pull it forward and remove it from the printer.
• Take the new cartridge out of the wrapper and remove the little piece of plastic that covers where the ink comes out. Be careful not to touch that part of the cartridge. (The oils from your fingers can clog it.)
• Place the new ink cartridge into the slot from which you removed the old one. It’ll most likely start with the back tipped slightly up or down, and you’ll have to push on the front. It can feel like it takes a bit of force.
• If your printer is a scanner/copier as well, when you close the lid or front panel, your printer is probably going to ask you to print out an alignment page or something similar to that.
• Follow the directions on the page printed to align the cartridge.
If this all seems like too much, call in the cavalry. But, have your knight in shining armor show you how to change the cartridge so you can do it next time.
UPDATING YOUR VIRUS DETECTION SOFTWARE
Because new viruses are being created every day, you will need to update your computer to protect it from the newest incarnation. The virus software that you buy will offer this feature. Be sure to take advantage of it by either sending in your registration card or accessing their website.
Better Safe Than Sorry
As I mentioned in Chapter 5, computers have several enemies.
• A magnet held over a floppy disk can delete everything stored on that disk. Magnets can also damage the screen and other components in your computer case. My advice: Keep your magnets on the fridge and nowhere near your computer.
• Liquids should be kept far away from your keyboard. As you may recall, just a few drops of milk from my cereal spoon caused a huge amount of damage to my machine. Don’t take that chance. Instead, take regular breaks from the computer and enjoy your refreshing drink in another room—or at least a few feet away. Any excuse to get up from the computer helps prevent bleary eyes and fatigue anyway.
• Little kids are the Wunderkinder of computers. However, they may not be gentle with your keyboard or mouse. Never let young children use your computer unsupervised.
• Static electricity is another villain. I recently read an article that a woman’s computer at work conked out every day at 4:45 P.M. Several technicians tried to find the problem but to no avail. Finally, a technician decided to observe her at that hour. What he discovered was that as her workday came to a close she would get more and more anxious about finishing her work on time. She would cross and recross her legs, conducting static electricity from the thick carpet below her desk, which in turn fouled up her computer. For this reason, it isn’t wise to have the computer in a room with a heavy pile carpet.
• Be sure to protect your CDs and DVDs from any extremes. They don’t respond well to direct sunlight or heat. The safest thing to do is to store them in a box or on a bookshelf. I used to keep mine on a shady windowsill until a friend accidentally sent them on a four-story Kamikaze drop. Splat. Now I have them safely stored under my desk. You can purchase shelves, boxes, or albums designed to store and organize CDs and DVDs.
Achoo! Is It a Cold or a Virus?
A computer can have a virus (see Chapter 16), and that virus can reproduce itself inside the computer or move from one computer to another via an e-mail attachment or a CD.
The nasty truth about viruses is that they are created by humans. They are the result of some computer geek’s wanting to see how insidious his or her virus can become. Viruses can be debilitating, but they can also be detected and destroyed with virus software. Your computer probably came with virus detection software. If not, ask your salesperson about it.
You are the first line of defense against a virus. The most likely way to infect your computer with a virus is by opening an e-mail attachment that is carrying a virus. Be sure your e-mail service offers virus scanning with attachments. If you receive an e-mail with an attachment and you don’t recognize the sender, immediately throw the e-mail away.
A virus can manifest itself in a variety of ways. You may notice that your computer functions more slowly than usual or that certain tasks aren’t being carried out properly. Unfortunately, a virus can also destroy information stored on your computer.
If your computer begins to misbehave (i.e., it suddenly turns off repeatedly, programs shut down without your instruction, the computer moves at a snail’s pace when it used to be a jackrabbit, etc.), get thee to a technician and have them run diagnostics it on it to see if it has been infected.
If you must call tech support…
If you must call tech support, have all pertinent information about your computer at the ready. You may need to provide the tech person with the s
pecs on your system. It’s a good idea to have written down the make and model of your computer and the operating system. The make and model (e.g., Sony Vaio PCG-505FX, MacBook, etc.) is usually noted on the front of your computer case. When the computer is warming up, the operating system (e.g., Windows 7, Vista, OSX, etc.) will be displayed.
Alternatively, if you have a PC, you can find all this information by right-clicking on the Computer icon. Then left-click on the word Properties. Here you may see the make and model of the computer, the operating system, and even the amount of RAM. If you have a Mac, you can click on the Apple in the top left corner, then click on About This Mac.
If you took advantage of the Test Drive Form on page 56, all the information you need is already written on that form. Handy, isn’t it?
Ask if the tech support person is familiar with your system. I’m all for learning on the job, but not when it comes to tech support. With so many different computer systems being used and a lot of compatibility problems, it is essential that you start your search for answers with someone who is familiar with your system. If the technician is not familiar with your computer system, please feel empowered to ask for someone who is. Without hesitation, I will request a tier-two technician—tech talk for someone more knowledgeable or a supervisor.
Doom and Gloom
I just threw a lot of “ifs” and bad scenarios at you. Rather than make you anxious, this is all meant to empower you, knowing that you have the resources available should something go wrong with your computer.
I would love to tell you that your computer will never have a problem, but I would be lying to you. Computers were made by humans and they have flaws. I hope that, between this book and the instructional book that came with your machine, a solution is never too far away.