Do You Have A Boot Disk?

The MOST important thing you need to have as a PC owner is a Boot Disk. If your computer won't "boot" (start up), you can use the Boot Disk to start it and try to correct the problem. The $.50 Diskette and the two minutes it takes to create it could save you $100's in future repair bills!

How to make a Boot Disk for Win 95/98

Step 1:

1. Insert a blank 1.44 MB diskette into the A:\ drive
2. Double-click on the My Computer Icon on your desktop
3. Right-click on A:\   a menu will popup, choose Format
Capacity should be: 1.44 MB(3.5")
Format Type: set at Full
Then click Start
NOTE: This will insure the Diskette is formatted for your PC, and is clean.
DO NOT SKIP THIS STEP!

Step 2:

1. Double-click on the My Computer Icon on your desktop
2. Double-click on the Control Panel
3. Click on ADD/REMOVE PROGRAMS
4. Click on the Startup Disk tab
5. Click on the CREATE DISK button
6. Make sure the formatted disk is in the A:\ drive and press OK
7. Follow the Windows directions and you just saved a headache.

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What is CACHE & How does it work?

Cache is what makes your browser work faster. Every time you visit a web page, your PC downloads items from that page into a temporary file in the Windows directory of your hard drive.  This is why it takes a moment to open a page the first time your there. The next time you visit the page, or if you hit the back button to return to a previous page on the site, the page opens right away because the info is already on your PC. This is very handy, but at the same time, it can create problems. Your temporary file will only hold so much information before your browser starts to slow down and give you problems like error messages.

To clean-up unnecessary cache files:

Internet Explorer 4 & 5

1. From the Tools menu, choose Internet Options.
2. In the Temporary Internet Files section, there are two buttons, Delete Files and Settings.
Click the delete files button. If you get a popup Delete Files window, it will give you a optional check box to Delete all offline content, I usually don't, but it is up to you.

Click Settings to custom IE to your needs. You may:
1. Change the size of your temporary files - Windows has preset a small space of your hard drive for temporary Internet files.  If you want to change it, remember that the larger you make the file, the less free space you have on your hard drive.  I suggest leaving the size where it is and clearing out the temporary file once a week.  It only takes a few seconds.
2. View the files - Gives you an idea of what files are stored in your temporary Internet file directory.
3. Move the folder to another location - New users should NOT move this folder!

If you have other questions or problems, visit the web site for Internet Explorer.

Netscape Communicator

1. From Communicator's Edit menu, choose Preferences.
2. Double-click Advanced from within the Preferences window.
3. Select Cache from the expanded list.
4. Clear cache if you wish and set caching values.
5. Also check/uncheck the frequency of document comparison.
6.Click OK to enable the settings.

Netscape Communicator 3.x

To have Navigator automatically accept cookies, go to the Options menu, choose Network Preferences, and go to the Protocols tab. On the Protocols tab, you should be able to set Navigator to always accept cookies.

If you have other questions or problems, visit the web site for Netscape.
                                             

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Speaker Symbol is Missing?

To Return the Speaker Symbol to your taskbar:

1. From the tool bar, Click START, SETTINGS, CONTROL PANEL. When the Control Panel window appears, Double-Click on the MULTIMEDIA icon.
2. When the Multimedia window appears, click on the AUDIO tab if it is not already showing in front.
3. Place a check mark in the box Show volume control on the taskbar by clicking in the box.
4. Click on APPLY at the bottom of the window and then click OK.

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Setting up your Microphone?

Click on START-PROGRAMS-ACCESSORIES-MEDIA or ENTERTAINMENT-SOUND RECORDER. Try to record yourself. If you don't here anything, follow the directions below.

1. Double-click on the speaker symbol located in the lower right corner of your screen on the Windows Tool Bar. This should bring up a Volume Control Dialog Box. (If you see only a volume dial you didn't double-click fast enough.) There are three sets of volume sliders available, for Playback, Recording and Other. You will use all three, switching among them.
2. From the Options Menu, select Properties.
3. Make sure 'Recording' is selected, and under 'Show the following volume controls,' make sure 'Microphone' is checked. Then click on OK.
4. On the recording control panel move the Microphone volume temporarily to the middle and make sure the checkbox underneath it is checked.
5. From the Options Menu, select Properties again.
6. Make sure 'Playback' is selected, and under 'Show the following volume controls,' make sure 'Microphone' is checked there also. Click 'OK.'
7. On the volume control panel, at the bottom of the Microphone volume control, make sure 'Mute' is checked. This does not prevent others from hearing you--it prevents your speakers from feeding back into your microphone.
8. Under the Options menu, (If option is not available, go to step 9) look at the Advanced Controls option and make sure it is checked. If it is not checked, select it, otherwise leave it alone.
9. Move the Microphone Volume bar to its highest setting. Click on the button underneath labeled Advanced.
10. At the bottom of this dialog box may be a checkbox labeled 'AGC for WaveIn' or 'Microphone Boost.' Check this box, and Select Close.
11. From the Options menu, select 'Properties' again.
12. This time, make sure 'Other' is selected, instead of Recording, and click OK to show the Voice Commands panel.
13. Again, move the Microphone Volume slider to its highest setting. Click on the button underneath labeled Advanced.
14. Check the 'AGC for VoiceIn' or 'Microphone Boost' box, then click on the Close button.
15. Now open your Windows Sound Recorder and see how it works.

Set your PC Clock for Y2K?

As a default, Windows sets the date on your PC to read 1/1/02 instead of 1/1/2002.  It is not a big deal, but if you want to set the date correctly for the new millennium, here's how:

1. Double click on the “My Computer” icon on your desktop.
2. Double click on the “Control Panel” icon.
3. Double click on the “Regional Settings” icon.
4. Click on the Date tab at the top of the page.

In the Short Date section, check the date in the Short Date Style box. This is the date that feeds your application software and reads the year 02, not the year 2002.

Example:  It only has two Y’s = m/d/yy (1/1/02). This should be changed to four Y’s = m/d/yyyy (1/1/2002). Just click the down arrow at the end of the box, click m/d/yyyy (1/1/2002) or mm/dd/yyyy (01/01/2002), click Apply, then OK.

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Keep Windows up to date with "Critical Updates"?

Have you updated Windows since you started using your computer?  This is something that everyone needs to do.  Microsoft puts out these updates to help keep your windows running smooth.

Click Start, then click Windows Update.  If it is not there, open your browser and click Tools, Windows Update.  If you need the web address, it is http://windowsupdate.microsoft.com/
This will take you to the Microsoft update center.  Choose Product Updates from the menu.  If you have not done this before, it will ask to download a file so it can check your version of Windows.  It is a safe, quick download that installs itself in Windows.  Then you will be given a list of available updates to choose from.
YOU DO NOT NEED TO DOWNLOAD THEM ALL!!!!

First - Download the latest Critical Update.  These are the files that Windows needs to correct problems within the program.  You can only download one at a time and your system will need to reboot after each download.  Download all of the Critical Updates.

Second - Find a download called "Critical Update Notification" and download it.  After it is installed, it will check with Microsoft each time you access the Internet to check for new Critical Updates.  If it finds one, it will give you a pop-up box letting you know there is a new update.

Then - you can browse through the list to see if there are other downloads you may want.  Each download has text about what the download is for, and has "Read me first" at the end of each explanation.  READ IT FIRST!  This will tell you if it is something you need.

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Capture your screen?

If you want to save a picture of what's on your screen as a bitmap or to put on a document, just press Alt + Print at the same time and windows will copy your screen picture to the Clipboard.  Open the program (Ex. Paintbrush) you want to copy the picture too and press Ctrl + V to paste the picture.

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Test the Speed of your Modem?

Test your modem online to find out how fast your connecting to the Internet.

Online Modem Speed Test

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Windows Hangs during shutdown?

If you are running Windows 98 and on shut down, it freezes on the shut-down screen, there is a update to correct this problem.  Click this link about Windows Shut-down and it will tell you if you need to download a update.

If you need to download the update, go to http://windowsupdate.microsoft.com/ and download the "Windows 98 Second Edition Mapped Drives Shutdown Update" from the update site.