Always try this first

Okay, you’ve found something is just not right about your system. You routinely keep it running 24-hrs. a day 7-days a week and suddenly, either your printer doesn’t work, an application doesn’t load properly, etc. The first thing you should do is to clear out the memory and eliminate any conflicts that have developed over time. You do this most easily by Shutting the system down (turning it off). Click Start, Shut Down, Turn Off and give the system a rest for at least 1 minute before turning it back on. This frequently corrects many mundane issues with the operating system and things begin working again. If an attached device such as a printer has stopped working, be sure to turn it off as well. Then, before starting your computer, turn that printer back on first, followed by the computer.

Note: If you can’t turn your system off using the normal method, hold the power button down (or in) until the system goes off. This may take several seconds to “suffocate” it, but you’ll eventually get the system to go off. This works particularly well with Notebook computers that are stubborn when shutting down.

My Computer won’t boot up

So, you’ve turned on your computer and you see the screen starting to come alive but it just won’t boot into Windows.

Try these steps:

Turn the machine off – that is, press and hold in the power switch until it shuts the fan and system down.
Pull out the cables to all of your external hard drives, USB flash drives, network connections, cameras, iPods, printers, etc. Even remove the keyboard and mouse. Leaving just the monitor connected.
Now, with just the monitor and the power cable connected and everything else removed, turn the system back on.
If it comes back alive, you can shut it back down and just insert the keyboard and mouse.
Start it back up and methodically install the other devices

Often, a peripheral will be found to disturb the boot-up process, especially if Windows considers it to be a bootable device such as a flash memory drive, or one installed in a printer, etc. By removing these during the bootup process, you’ll find that the system can boot normally. Just insert them after the machine is up and running or as needed.

High-Speed Internet Connections (ie. Cable Modem or DSL)

You’ve lost connection to the Internet and you have a Cable or DSL connection.

If you are on a network sharing information with others:

Are you still able to access the network?
If you can see the network, can they see it as well?

Okay. If the answer to (1) or (2) is no, sounds like the router is acting up. Make sure everyone on the network shuts down their machines before you proceed.

If you are not on a network or the above is true, the next thing to do is to check the status of your modem.

Are the modem lights on? If not, you may have lost the power – (did someone pull the power plug by mistake or are any of the data cables unplugged back there?)

Next, the lights are on,but you’re still not connected. Pull out the power plug to the modem (Comcast, Verizon, Westell, etc.).
If you have a router connected to the modem (ie. Linksys, Netgear, D-Link), pull the power on it too. Wait about 1 minute.
Plug in the Modem first and watch the status of the lights.
Wait for the lights to blink up and then most to remain steady.
Now plug in the router.
Turn one of your computers on and see if you now can access the Internet.
If that machine works, turn the others on one by one and test to make sure things are back to normal.

Outlook Express won’t allow me to delete files

If you’ve been using Outlook Express for years, you’ve probably accumulated and deleted tons of files (with large attachments). If you don’t delete your deleted items, the trash just accumulates. This causes you to reach the maximum storage threshold of 2GB. You need to reduce the file size or things just won’t work properly.

Locate the “Store folder” where Outlook Express keeps all it’s files. (This is the same location that you want to backup if you want to preserve or move your e-mail.)

Here’s how to find the store folder:

Open Outlook Express
Click on Tools, Options
Click on the “Maintenance”tab
Click on the Store Folder button.
Highlight the entire file path name that appears in that field with your mouse and Right click on the highlighted text. Select Copy.
Close out of these windows and shut down your Outlook Express.
Hold the Windows Flag key on your keyboard and quickly tap the letter “e” key. (this is a shortcut to launching your Windows Explorer – the Windows file management utility)
In the address bar at the top, right click and paste the file and path name that you recently copied from step 5 above
Search through the list for the Deleted Items.dbx. You should notice that the size is very large (2GB). Right Click on the file and Rename it to something like Old Deleted files.old. Thiswill preserve the file in the event you need to access some old trash or if it doesn’t correct the challenge.
Click the “X” in the right hand corner to close Explorer and open your Outlook Express and test it out.

Outlook Express Recovery Tool

Recover Outlook Express e-mail from corrupted or missing DBX files

Share Outlook data without a server
Network Add-On for Microsoft Outlook allows any user to share Outlook folders in a network without an Exchange Server. Simply share you contacts, calendar, appointments, emails etc. in a Windows Peer or Server based network.

Microsoft Outlook Solutions

OLfolders Server incl. Client

OLfolders – Additional license(s)

Google Apps – eMail Hosting

Need More Help? – aSKaVIE

Some things are just too challenging to do by yourself or maybe you just don’t have the patience or the time to do it. Would you like me to take a look at your system for you-either with an on-site visit or maybe even via remote control? Call me – 1-888-374-3712 option 1 or Complete my On-Line Request Form via the Contact Menu above and I’ll be happy to review your situation and help you solve your challenge quickly.

Other Helpful On-Line Resources