What
do I do if..........
I lost my start button?
My mouse drags and doesn't move
smoothly?
I want to clean my keyboard?
The hourglass keeps
running and I can't move the
cursor?
I want to shut
down my computer properly?
I want to
rearrange or move items on my desktop?
I want to
put a screensaver on my desktop?
I want to "defrag" my
computer?
I want to find something
that I saved?
I want to
print something from the internet?
Lost Start Button
If your Task Bar with the 'START' button suddenly disappears, it's
probably because
someone dragged it below
the screen. Put your cursor at the very bottom of your
screen, click the mouse
and hold. While holding down the mouse button try to drag
the cursor up and the
task bar may come up with it. Try it a few times. It may also
be that the task bar has
been dragged off to the side or top. Try the same dragging
method.
Cleaning Your
Mouse
If your mouse isn't moving the cursor smoothly, try cleaning
it. If you have a mouse
that has a ball in it, turn it over and twist the cover off. Drop the mouse ball
out and
blow into the mouse, cleaning away any dust. Take an anti-static
wipe and wipe the
rollers inside.
Scrape any dirt you see inside and wipe the mouse ball. Put the
ball back
inside the mouse and put
the cover back on.
Cleaning Your
Keyboard
At school, the best thing to do is turn
off your computer, disconnect the keyboard
and wipe it with a damp cloth or disinfectant wipe.
There is a small vacuum available.
If you wish to use it see
Mr. Green.
Frozen Screen
If your screen freezes up and you can't click to get out of
the screen you are on,
press the Control (Ctrl) key and the
(Alt)
key at the same time. While holding them
down, press the
Delete key. A screen will come up with the option to 'End Task'.
Click that button. It will close the screen on which you were
frozen. If that doesn't
work, then you will have to shut down
the computer manually. (This is a last resort)
Shutting Down Properly
The only way to properly shut down your computer is to click
the 'Start' button on
the task bar. (Usually located at the bottom
left of your screen) A menu bar pops up.
Click 'Shut down'. A
window will appear asking if you are sure you want to. Click
'Shut down the computer.'
Organizing Your
Desktop
If your icons need
organizing, put your cursor on a blank area of your desktop
and click the right
button on your mouse. A menu will appear. Click the top choice
(Arrange Icons). More
choices will appear to the right. Choose any of them and
your icons will line up.
If you click 'Auto Arrange', your icons will always snap into
place if you drag them.
To freely drag your icons to another place on your desktop,
just deselect the 'Auto
Arrange'. To drag your icons around manually, move your
cursor onto an icon,
click and HOLD the left mouse button while moving your mouse
to direct the position of
the icon. When it is where you want it to be, let go of the
mouse button.
Changing you Screen Saver
To change your screen
saver, put your cursor on a blank area of your desktop and
click the right button on
your mouse. A menu will appear. Click the bottom choice
(Properties). Click what
looks like a file tab at the top of the new window that says
'Screen Saver.' Near the
middle left it says Screen Saver again and there is a pull-down
arrow. Click that arrow
and you will see the choices of screen savers in your
computer. Click on any of
those and then look at the settings. You can customize
some of them.
Defragmenting
Defragging is a way to organize the hard drive inside your
computer. This should
be done about once a month. Here are the
steps:
1. Click on Start.
2. Go to Programs.
3. Go to Accessories.
4. Go to System Tools.
5. Click on Disk Defragmenter.
6. It asks if you want to defrag your C drive (hard drive). Click
OK.
7. It starts to defrag and stops and may tell you "2% of
your hard drive is
fragmented. Do you want to continue?"
Click yes. (Don't worry about the
percentage as long as you aren't
defragging too often)
8. When done, it says "defrag is complete, quit?" Click
yes.
Finding Files
If you have saved a file and didn't notice to where it was saving , you can
become very frustrated looking for it. Here is one way to look for them:
- Click 'Start'.
- Go up to 'Find' and more choices will appear on the right.
- Click 'Files or folders.'
- Type in the name (as best you can remember) where it says 'Named.'
- Then click 'Find now.'
The computer will look through the hard drive and show any files that fit that
description. If you see the one you want, first notice the extensions after the
name. They tell you where it is located. Then double click on the name and it
will open the file for you.
Printing from the internet
To avoid printing unnecessary information or graphics from
the Internet, do not just
go up to the menu bar and print from
the File menu as you might for other printing.
First, look on the web
page to see if there is a printer version. If so,
click on this
and you will get all of
the text without the unnecessary ads.
If no printer
version is available:
- Click your mouse at the beginning of the text you want to print
- Hold down the mouse button and highlight the text you want.
- Release the mouse button and then click the right mouse button.
- Go down to 'print' and Click your left mouse button.
- When the print box appears click on selection.
- Click on print.
