Common PC Mysteries

Common PC Mysteries

Where did my downloaded files go? Why can't I find them? Your browser chooses where downloads go, but you can control the process.

Why doesn't my mobile phone / device charge when I connect it to my computer? Your PC's USB port doesn't supply enough juice--but you can still charge your iPad, gradually.

Why does a video play on my desktop but not my laptop? If a computer doesn't have the specific decoder for a video format, you can't watch the video. Get the right one.

My printer won't print, and Windows won't allow me to cancel or delete print jobs. What's going on? Usually this is the result of a communication problem between the PC and printer. Get them talking.

In a folder full of digital images, I often notice a file called Thumbs.db. What is it, and can I safely delete it? Thumbs.db is a Windows XP system file that contains the thumbnail cache for a particular folder. You can tweak Windows to get it out of your way.

Why does every digital camera--even the one on my smartphone--insist on storing photographs in a folder called DCIM? DCIM (for Digital Camera IMages) is the default directory structure for digital cameras--and having such a standard is very useful.

My Recycle Bin has disappeared. How do I go about restoring it? Whether it was a victim of a glitch or never available in the first place, you can follow a few simple directions to restore the Recycle Bin.

Why does Windows sometimes reboot without my permission, and how do I prevent that from happening? This problem relates to how Windows installs automatic updates. Fortunately, you can make some tweaks.

Where do all these mysterious Web browser toolbars come from, and how do I get rid of them? Sometimes spyware installs browser toolbars, and sometimes you do it accidentally during software installation.

How did I end up with QuickTime on my PC, and do I need to keep it? This media-playback software comes bundled with iTunes and installs along with it. I have Microsoft Word installed on my PC.

Why can't I open the .docx files my friend sent me? If you use Word 2003 or an earlier version of the program, all you need is the Microsoft Office Compatibility Pack for Word, Excel, and PowerPoint 2007 File Formats.

Why won't Windows allow me to delete a certain file? If Windows refuses to delete a file or folder, some application or process is accessing it.

Why do some programs leave files and folders behind even after I've uninstalled them? Many programs' uninstallers are ineffective. Use a utility that removes not only the application but also all of the pieces it leaves behind.

Why do Adobe Reader and Java update so frequently? Do I have to allow it? Most Adobe and Java patches are made to plug security holes, so you should update them--or use alternative software.

Is it absolutely necessary to update Windows? You should apply Windows updates for security reasons, but you can take a few steps to cut down Windows' nagging.

Does it matter whether I ‘Safely Remove' devices? Absolutely: If you ignore Windows' requests to "Safely Remove" your storage media, you could end up with corrupted files, un­­readable media, or both.

Windows asks me if I want to enable Sticky Keys. What are they, and how should I use them? The Sticky Keys feature makes certain keyboard functions easier to access.

Why can't I send out a particular file attachment through e-mail? The file is probably too large. Check out free services that let you work around file-size restrictions.

How can I determine whether an unknown Website is safe to visit? Read our suggestions on figuring out whether a link is safe from malware or other threats before you click it.

What are the .dat files I sometimes receive in e-mail messages, and how do I open them? Microsoft Outlook uses a modified version of Rich Text Format to preserve fonts and the like, but it often causes problems for the recipient. We have three suggestions for coping.

Outlook - Organise Folders for Productivity

Email is our lifeline to the online world and for a small business, it is crucial to know right away what is going on when one of our customers, vendors, or employees sends us an email. However, since most small businesses also maintain a plethora of online accounts, subscribe to important newsletters, and put their name out there, it’s inevitable that their inbox can become a cluttered mess. Important emails may be lost in the shuffle and junk mail and spam may soon overwhelm your organized way of life.

Thankfully, with a few simple adjustments, you can get this problem under control. Most email programs give us some excellent tools to help us control the confusion of the modern inbox.

Creating Folders

You wouldn’t keep all your companies documents in a big cardboard box, would you? Obviously, this is not the best way to find what you need quickly. A file cabinet is a much better solution. But since most inboxes sort by date, you are essentially looking at a big pile of papers. Creating folders is the first step towards getting organized. If you have common emails you only need to see now and then – for example, newsletters – create a folder for them. This will take the cut down on the clutter. If you receive emails you always want to keep, move these to a special folder as well so they won’t get accidently deleted as you erase older emails. But what if your box is already filled with a thousand emails? That brings us to our next step, creating email rules.

Email Rules

Now that you have folders, it’d be great not to have to manually move everything to them as it arrives. Email rules can be setup in a matter of minutes to automatically route incoming mail into the correct folders when it arrives. Rules usually allow you to enter a specific sender, subject line, or other attribute as criteria for moving incoming mail to the correct folder. Most email clients will automatically sort through your existing messages and put them into folders when you apply a new rule. You can also make rules to send spam and junk mail straight to your trash folder by listing out common words that you know only come along in spam email messages.

Search Folders

Since small business owners often use their email as their main resource for tracking progress on a project, additional organization might be needed to group data in a different way. Maybe your new folders and rules work great for some cases, but you find that you also need to sort some data in another way. For example, you have folders for art resources, accounting emails, and customer requests, but you also have a project that uses all three of these. You can create a “virtual” folder that lets you view all the data on your project in a single place, regardless of where the actual messages are stored. Creating a search folder is much like creating an email rule, except the emails appear in their “real” folders as well as the “virtual” ones.

In a small business, we often have to wear many hats. By using these techniques, you can make sure you don’t let an important email go unnoticed. Get back to your customers and vendors as quickly as possible by turning your chaotic inbox into a well-organized emailing machine.

Share files that are too big to e-mail

Ge.tt is a clever, instant file-sharing webapp that makes sharing large files simple and fast. You can share a link to your file(s) immediately, without waiting for the upload to complete, and it doesn't use Flash, Java applets, or any other plug-ins.

Ge.tt couldn't be easier to use. You don't even need an account to use it. Visit www.ge.tt, click the Select files button, choose one or more files you want to share (or you can simply drag and drop in supported browsers), and that's it. Ge.tt will begin uploading your files and instantly generate a unique URL for you to share.

You can share the link before the upload is finished—files will update on the download page in real-time, as they're uploaded, and the user on the other end can start downloading a file while you're still uploading it. In fact, you can also add files to the share after you've shared the link. Any new files you upload will automatically show up on their end without reloading the page.

www.ge.tt

How to Fix a Corrupted Recycle Bin in Windows 7 and Windows Vista

1. Open an elevated Command Prompt window. To open an elevated Command Prompt, click Start, click All Programs, click Accessories, right-click Command Prompt, and then click Run as administrator.

2. Type the following command and press ENTER:
rd /s /q C:\$Recycle.bin

(This clears out the $Recycle.bin folder for the C:\ drive. You may have to do this for each hard disk partition in your system.)

3. Type exit to close the Command Prompt window.

How to View Email Headers in Outlook 2010

Tracking down where an email came from can be useful at times. This can be done by viewing the email headers.

To see them in Outlook 2010, open the email you wish to view the headers for. Then click the File menu.

Click the Properties button in the menu

A new window will open and it will show you the headers