Technology Troubleshooting

Hardware

100

What do you do when your laptop freezes and won't respond to the mouse or keys?

What is... 1) Restart your laptop or 2) Ctrl-Alt-Del, Click Task Manager button, Click program to stop, Click the End Task button.

200

What do you do when your computer is working but you cannot access the internet and restarting the computer does not work?

What is... 1) Check internet wire at both ends 2) Log off, then pull out the internet wire, wait 1-3 min, then replug internet wire to laptop, and log in again.

300

What do you do if your computer does not recognize your USB storage device?

What is... Right click My Computer, Click Manage Under storage, Click Disk Management Right click on drive letter D or up Click Change Drive Letter and Paths Select Change- Select a letter past H Click OK Restart computer Plug in USB storage device, it should be assigned to the letter you just gave it. ** DO NOT TOUCH LETTERS A-C. C is your main hard drive!

400

What is the first thing you do if your hard drive is making all kinds of weird sounds AND it is not reading/writing properly?

What is... Back up your important files to your external USB storage, flash drive, or burn to DVD.

500

What do you do when you turn on your computer and the monitor remains black and doesn't show anything on the screen?

What is... For desktop monitor 1) Make sure monitor wire is connected to PC 2) Make sure power is turned on 3) Make sure surge protector is turned on 4) Make sure contrast/brightness is at middle setting 5) Try another monitor if it works, replace original monitor 6) If another monitor does not work, check the video card For laptop 1) try the blue Fn + F5 or F6 or F7 (varies by laptop) button to make sure screen is on laptop monitor mode not projector or TV mode.

Software

100

You are working on a paper for class and Microsoft Word freezes. What can you do to unfreeze it?

What is... Press Control+Alt+Del, in the Task Manager click the Task Manager button to see the programs that are running. Select Microsoft Word and Click on the button to end that task.

200

Your file won't print, what things should you check for to figure out why it is not printing?

What is... 1) Make sure printer is turned on 2) Make sure printer cable is plugged in securely 3) Reboot Printer by turning it off, wait 2-3 min, turn printer back on 4) Select File-Print and make sure Printer name in the drop down box matches the printer you have. 5) Save your file, restart your computer, then try printing again. 6) Look for and clear paper jam, make sure printer has paper, and make sure not out of ink.

300

Your computer is running slowly and is crashing regularly. What can you do to speed up your PC?

What is... 1) Use Disk Cleanup (Start-All Programs-Accessories-System Tools- Disk Cleanup) 2) Use Disk Defragmenter (Start-All Programs-Accessories-System Tools- Disk Defragmenter) 3) Run Error Checking Utility (Start-Right Click My Computer-Properties-Tools-Check Now- Check Scan for and attempt recovery of bad sectors) 4) Protect computer from spyware/malware. Use Windows Live OneCare, Spybot Search & Destroy, and Lavasoft Ad-Aware Free. 5) If you have Vista or Windows 7, use ReadyBoost.

400

What do you do if the words in Excel go straight across 3 boxes instead of staying inside that one box?

What is... Click on the box you want the words to stay in, right click that box, Select Format Cells..., Select the Alignment Tab, in Text control.. Select the box for Wrap Text to check it, Select OK

500

What do you do if you forgot your Administrator password for Vista and you did not make a reset flash drive? How do you get back in to reset your administrator password?

What is... 1) Turn computer off, restart computer in safe mode by pressing F10 2) Log on to Windows using an account different from the one with the administrator password 3) Click start, Click Run 4) Type 'controluserpasswords2' in the open text box, Click OK 5) Click tab for your administrator account in the popup menu, Click Reset Password 6) Enter a new password 2 times, Select OK 7) Restart computer and try logging in admin with the new password.

Wireless

100

What do you do when you have a wireless router that always works with the wireless router but it won't connect today after several tries to connect it?

What is... Log off your laptop, pull out the internet wire from your wireless router, unplug the wireles router, power up the router and then restart your laptop.

200

How do you make sure your PC laptop is safe to use in a restaurant/hotel WiFi hotspot?

What is... 1) Make sure your firewall is activated 2) Monitor your access points 3) Disable printer and file sharing 4) Make your folders private 5) Encrypt your files 6) Completely remove sensitive data from your PC 7) Make sure your Antivirus program is running 8) Use VPN if you have access to one

300

What do you do to make sure your wireless router secure from your neighbors?

What is... When setting up your wireless router make sure you enter a really strong passphrase password. Do not use words found in the dictionary or your birthdate. Use a variety of uppercase/lowercase letters, numbers, and symbols. Change it every 3 months. Others cannot access your network without the password.

400

Which should you select when setting up a new wireless router at home, WEP, WPA, WPA2?

What is... When setting up a new wireless router at home, you should always select WPA2. If it does not have WPA2 then select WPA.

500

What should you do to set up SSID on your wireless router at home? Leave it at default SSID or create a unique SSID name?

What is... For security reasons, you should change the SSID to a unique name. Do not leave it at default which is the brand name of your router. SSID is short for Service Set Identifier.

Windows XP

100

While using Windows XP, your computer came to a state where it has a few problems that won't go away. How do you restore the PC to it's previous state?

What is... Use System Restore. Start-Programs-Accessories-System Tools-System Restore Select a restore point on the calendar that you would like to go back to, Click Next. Windows XP will be restored to that earlier state.

200

What do you do if you accidentally deleted a file and want to recover it right away?

What is... 1) Go to the Recycle Bin, locate that file you deleted, Right Click it and Select Restore. Go back to where you originally saved that file, it should be there. 2) Not able to find the file in Recycle Bin? Go to handyrecovery.com (freeware) Install and Run this program. Use drop down menu to select drive on your PC where you saved the file, Click Analyze, locate the deleted file, select it and press Recover.

300

How do you transfer all you information from an old PC to a new PC or to back up your data to a second PC?

What is... First using a network cable, connect the two PCs 1)Insert Windows XP installation CD in drive of old PC. 2) Select Perform additional tasks 3) Choose Transfer files and settings, Click Next 4) Under Select a transfer method, choose how you want to copy the information. Click Next 5) Select Both files and settings 6) Check box that enables you to customize your selections 7) Click on Add Folder and Add File to include personal folders you created 8) Transfer the files and settings.

400

Your laptop keeps going to sleep mode, logging off, or simply blacking out the screen every few minutes. How do you stop this annoying process so the monitor stays on all the time?

What is... Click Start, Control Panel, Power Options, Select the Power Schemes Tab, under Power Schemes Select Portable/laptop in the drop down menu, for plugged in and running on batteries select Never in all boxes OR tweak it to the time limit you wish to use.

500

How do you remove a software program completely from your computer? Either you no longer want it or it is not working properly and you want to remove it from your computer.

What is... Go to Start, Click Control Panel, Click Add or Remove Programs, Click on the program you wish to get rid of, Click on the Remove button. Follow the prompts, when done restart your computer.

Virus/Spyware

100

How often should you run live updates for your Antivirus program to make sure it has the current protection?

What is... You should check Antivirus updates once a week.

200

If you get an email attachment from someone you don't know, an email from a business asking for your account information, or a weird attachment from someone you know, what should you do?

What is... Without question or hesitation you should delete it. Do not click on the attachment out of curiosity. Clicking on the attachment will start the virus program IF there is one in the attachment. If you get a weird attachment link from a friend/family member you know, you should call that person to ask if they sent it. If they did not send that attachment, delete it.

300

You cannot afford Antivirus protection for your computer and you are afraid to get your computer infected. What do you do to protect your computer from viruses if you cannot afford AV protection?

What is... Go to http://free.avg.com/us-en/homepage and download the New AVG Anti Virus Free Edition 2011. UC offers free anti-virus software. Go to http://www.uc.edu/ucit/ware/software/mcafee.html

400

Your computer is acting weird and you think you have a computer virus. How do you find it and remove it?

What is... Open your Antivirus program, run the scan of all drives, if it finds a virus it will automatically be placed in quarantine. Then when scan is done, go to quarantine and follow instructions for removal. If the program is unable to remove it, go to your Antivirus website to find and follow instructions for removal.

500

If your computer is nearly obsolete from virus problems and cleaning/removal does not help. What is your best bet to fix your computer?

What is... Format C drive, and reinstall Windows XP, then reinstall any program you previously had from CD.