5 things you should know about your Windows computer

1.Helllooo.I.T! Have you tried turning it off and on again? A hit line from 'the IT crowd'. It always cracks me up.But you know what? 75% of the times, that's what does the trick.Your Windows computer starts to play tricks on you,the taskbar's gone,or you can't access a menu,a site freezes up your computer while browsing,your printer won't respond..the list goes on and on.Most of the times,for such niggles,'Have you tried turning it off and on again? is a pretty useful question.



2. There are always programs which you tend to use very sparingly.Most of the times,when you do use them,it's probably for a pretty important reason.However such sparsely used apps can give you a headache when they report a missing file.You might get a message like "The program could not start because xyz.dll is corrupt or missing.Reinstalling the application may fix the problem".Wait! before you start rummaging for the installation CD,there may be a quick fix.Jot down the name of the missing file,say abc.dll.Now go to %systemroot%\system32\dllcache or in most cases c:\WINDOWS\system32\dllcache and look for the file.if you find it,you've hit the jackpot! Copy the file to c:\WINDOWS\system32\ or the program folder (as applicable.If unsure,do it at both places) and see if it works.It should :D

3. #2 above can happen to a system file,and that can cause chaos.No taskbar,random restarts,irritating error messages,it's a right headache.You can solve this problem in a jiffy.Pop in your windows CD.Hit win+r (or start->run if taskbar is working) and type in without the pointies.This will look for corrupted system files from the CD and replace them with healthy copies from the CD.


4.Nowadays flashy softwares are popping up claiming to 'unclutter' your computer.These softwares are themselves bulky and cause a sizeable clutter themselves.How Ironic.In my humble opinion,there is no need for this circus.1 or 2 small applications and a few simple steps ought to do the work for you
The apps you need are a) ATF Cleaner and b) auslogics disk defrag.Use these two regularly and you should be OK.Many softwares claim to 'erase' your internet tracks.Please understand that your computer isn't the only place you leave tracks,so these aren't of much use.


5.Using a 'limited user account' is a very effective way of staying safe while surfing.You can have a dedicated account for surfing the internet.Go to control panel->user accounts and create a limited account.Limited accounts pose restrictions to what commands a program can run,so the risk of malware/viruses is greatly reduced.However it is always essential to run a good Antivirus software.A small disadvantage is that some of your programs may also limit their functionality.However if you do surf the internet for extended periods of time,then this is a very handy (and free!) way of staying relatively safe.

... ...♦... ♦... ♦...