Personal Computer Tutor
Personal Computer Tutor February 2010
Technology TipGoogle 411 
Calling 411 from your cell phone can cost $1.50 or more per call.  Use Google's 411 instead which is free.  Watch the video at  www.google.com/goog411/.
Top Ten for 2010
The Top Ten Things Every Computer User Should Know!
 
  1. Power ButtonHold The Power Button:  As a last resort you can press and hold the power button for 10 seconds to turn off any desktop or laptop computer.  Sometimes computers freeze up and the only way to turn them off and rest them is to hold the power button in for 10 seconds.  If you own a laptop computer you should also know how to remove the battery (turn it upside down and release the battery and slide it out).  Sometimes with laptops you need to remove the battery and hold the power button for 10 seconds to completely flush the power.  Use this tip if your computer ever freezes.

  2. Turn It Off:  Whenever any device is acting up or not working correctly, turn it off.  This simple procedure can solve 95% of all problems.  A lot of devices do not have an on/off switch in which case you need to pull the power cord from the back of the device (in most cases it is a black round connector).  Unplug the device for 15 seconds and then plug it back in.

    • If you are having trouble with the Internet, turn off your computer, unplug the DSL or cable modem and the router if you have one.  Plug the DSL/cable modem back in and wait a minute.  Plug the router back in and wait a minute.  Then turn on your computer.  You have to do this more often with DSL modems than with cable modems.  This procedure resets the communication with your modem and the Internet service provider's equipment.

      Unplug router
    • If you are having trouble printing, turn off the printer and the computer then turn on the printer and then turn on the computer.

  3. Server Settings:  From time to time you may get a message in your email program similar to: "Unable to connect to POP3 or IMAP server" or "Unable to send message.  Check your SMTP server settings and try again."  This can be one of two problems: 1.) Your Internet service is down in which case you need to try #2 above or 2.) Your Internet service provider is having trouble with the equipment at their end in which case you can do nothing but wait it out.  So always try #2 above and if that does not work then either wait out the problem or call your Internet service provider to check on the problem.  You might get messages about checking your email settings.  Do not, I repeat, do not make any changes to the email settings in your email program because 99% of the time the trouble is not with the settings it is with your Internet connection or the Internet service provider.


    Outlook error
     
  4. Find Answers With Google:  Know how to find the answer on the Internet.  Google is my best friend.  I could not do this job without Google.  I am often faced with a brand new problem and have no idea what the solution is.  What I do know is that someone else on the planet has probably had the same problem and has figured out the solution and has been kind enough to post the solution online.  So the next time you have a problem or want to learn how to do something go to www.google.com and type in your problem or question.  Sometimes the trickiest part of finding the solution is knowing how to ask the question, so play around with asking in different ways.  For example if you were having trouble with line spacing in mail merge you could simple type "mail merge" or your could be more specific and type "word 2007 single space mail merge" or "mail merge word 2007 extra spacing".

  5. Keyboard Shortcuts:  Some people like to use a mouse whenever possible and some people like to keep their hands on the keyboard as much as possible.  Different strokes for different folks.  Initiating some commands on a keyboard is just plain faster.  Sometimes the mouse stops working and your only choice is to use the keyboard command.  So keep a list of keyboard commands handy just in case (print it out now and put it in your computer file).

    Keyboard shortcuts for Windows:
    http://support.microsoft.com/kb/126449

    Keyboard     shortcuts for Mac:
    http://support.apple.com/kb/HT1343

  6. Copy and Paste:  Often times you have to copy some text from one place to another.  You might want to copy an article from a web page to an email message.  You might get a link from a friend in an email but are unable to click on the link (copy it from the email and paste it into the address bar of your browser and press enter).  You might want to copy an email address from an email and paste it into your address book.  These are examples of tasks where it is better to copy and paste with the computer (less chance for typo errors) than it is to copy the text to paper and retype it in another place.

    Windows: Drag your mouse over the text you want to copy.  Either click on the Edit menu and click Copy or hold the CTRL key and press C for Copy or right-click what you have highlighted and click Copy.  Go to where you want to paste and click your mouse.  Either click on the Edit menu and click Paste or hold the CTRL key and press V to paste (P was already taken for Print) or right-click and click Paste.

    Mac:  Drag your mouse over the text you want to copy.  Either click on the Edit menu and click Copy or hold the Command key and press C for Copy.  Go to where you want to paste and click your mouse.  Either click on the Edit menu and click Paste or hold the Command key and press V to paste (P was already taken for Print).

  7. Files and Folders:  I'll try once again to explain the difference between files and folders.  Files store data.  A single document, a single photo or a single music song is a file.  Folders are a place to store files so files stay organized.  So you might store all the different documents for a project at work in a folder called "Work".  Or you might store all your Hawaiian photos in a folder called "Hawaiian Vacation".  The individual photos are "Files" in the Hawaiian Vacation "Folder".

    Folders can contain other folders to help you further organize your files.  So the "Work" folder would be a sub-folder of your main "Documents" folder and your "Hawaiian Vacation" folder would be a sub-folder of your main "Pictures" folder.



    Folder
    Files store data like documents, photos, music, etc. 

    Folders store files and other folders.

    When you see this written out it might looks like this:

    Windows: C:\Documents and Settings\Claude\My Documents\Work\Top Ten for 2010.doc

    C:\ = your internal hard drive (USB drives that you plug into your computer will have other drive letters like E:\ or F:\, etc. D:\ is usually your CD\DVD drive)

    Documents and Settings = a folder on the C drive

    Claude = a sub-folder in Documents and Settings (Claude is the user account)

    My Documents = a sub-folder in Claude (the user Claude has a My Documents folder)

    Work = a sub-folder in My Documents

    Top Ten for 2010.doc = a Microsoft Word file in the "Work" sub-folder

    Mac: Macintosh HD:Users:Claude:Documents:Work:Tope Ten for 2010.doc

  8. External Hard Drive Backup:  Everyone who uses a computer should have an external hard drive backup of their entire internal hard drive.  The hard drive inside your computer has the operating system (Windows or OSX), applications (Word, Excel, Outlook, iPhoto, iTunes, Internet Explorer, Safari, printer software, etc) and all your settings and your documents, photos, music and videos on it.  When the internal hard drive decides to stop working you can loose all of your information not to mention all the time it will take to reinstall all the software and settings.  With a complete hard drive backup you can install a new hard drive and in an hour or two be up and running without missing a beat.  Without a hard drive backup you will be faced with 5 hours or more of work to repair the computer or you can just buy a new computer and start over. ($100)

    Mac: Use Time Machine (comes with every new Mac) to backup to an external hard drive.

    Time Machine

    Windows: Purchase Acronis True Image to backup to an external hard drive. ($50)

  9. Online Backup:  External hard drive backups are mandatory but what happens if your house or apartment burns down or your equipment is stolen in a theft?  Both your computer and the backup drive maybe gone.  If you install an online backup service like www.mozy.com to backup your information and files to the Internet you will be protected.  If disaster strikes you will buy a new computer, install Mozy on it and all your personal information is restored from the Internet.  (Free for 2 GB of information, $55 per year for unlimited storage.)

    10.
  10. Maintenance and Updates:  Just like changing the oil in your car it is a good idea to do periodic maintenance to keep your computer running in tip top shape.

    Windows: users can find many utilities to help with the maintenance chores.  My current favorites are Advanced System Care and Auslogics Disk Defrag.

    To make sure you have all your updates from Microsoft look for your Microsoft Update or Windows Update icon on your Desktop (I may have put it in your Maintenance folder) or click on the Start button bottom left and click on Programs to find it.

    Mac: users need to purchase Prosoft Drive Genius 2 to maintain their computers. ($60)

    To make sure you have all the updates for your Mac click on the Apple icon top left and click on Software Update.
    Prosoft Drive Image 2
Prosoft Drive Genius
 
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Personal Computer Tutor
Claude Kerno
719.650.9916
ckerno@pctutor.com - www.pctutor.com