|
| |
|
2 Minute Tutes -
In 2 minutes, you should know:
-
What to do when you get an error
-
What to do if your computer stops
responding
-
How to stop your printer printing strange characters
-
What to do if you cannot access your
network
What to do when you get an
error
First of all, note the exact words
of the error message. You don’t have to write it down, you have a
computer that can do that for you - here’s how: press Alt-PrtScn (that is,
press & hold down the Alt key & tap the PrtScn key (near the top right on
your keyboard). You won’t see anything happen, but your computer has just
made a copy of the error. To see it, start any program that can handle an
image, such as Paint, WordPad, Word or a new email message. Click Edit,
Paste. Voila, you should see your error message appear. Now you can save
it or email it.
Next, take note of what you did
immediately prior to the error, and what programs were running. Shut the
computer down. This is better than just a restart because some components
(CD-ROM, modems) are not reset during a restart. Then try to reproduce
the error. Many errors are fixed by this process.
|
|
|
|
|
What to do if your computer
stops responding
If your computer stops responding
for a long period of time, press
Ctrl
-
Alt
- Del
. If nothing happens within
30 seconds, you should turn off the computer (you may have to hold the
power button in until the power goes off), otherwise:
|
In Windows 95, 98 & Me
The "End Task" window is displayed
click the problem task
(often with “Not
responding” appended)
Click
End Task
If the problem persists, repeat with all tasks
except Explorer & SysTray |
Windows NT, 2000 & XP
Task Manager is displayed
(you may need to click the Task Manager button)
Click the
Applications
tab
If a listed application is
labeled “Not responding” then click it, then click
End Task
Click the Performance tab. If
the processor usage (the first green number) is |
.
|
|
How to stop your printer printing
strange characters
If your printer starts printing pages with strange characters
unexpectedly:
- Turn off the printer
- Clear the printer queue, either by restarting the
computer or double-clicking on the printer icon that appears at the
bottom right of the screen near the time & click Printer, Cancel all
documents.
- Turn the printer on and try to print something else.
If nothing will print properly, the problem is often due to
the incorrect printer software, for example, when you click File, Print you
see a Canon printer listed but you are printing to an Epson printer.
|
|
|
|
What to do if you cannot access your
network
There are many different network configurations, but here are
the most common things to check.
- you are logged on with the correct username &
password
- If asked to enter a password, do not click Cancel
- Start a command prompt or MS-DOS prompt. Type
ipconfig and press Enter. The IP address listed (similar to
192.168.0.9) should have the same first three numbers as the other
computers on your network.
- Has your network cable come out? Trace it back
to the hub and look for a light to indicate a "link" to your computer.
- What has changed since the last time you were able to
connect to the network? For example, if a firewall was recently
installed, try disabling it temporarily.
- Are others having the same problem or is it confined
to your computer?
- To check your connection from other computers, start
the command prompt and type ping 192.168.0.9 (or whatever IP address you
saw after IP config above). If you get four replies, there is no
physical problem with your link. Otherwise you will get
"Destination host unreachable" or "Request timed out."
|
|
|
