Basic Care of Computers/ Troubleshooting Tips

1. Basic Care of Computers/Troubleshooting Tips Teresa M. Wiles Clarkton School of Discovery

2. BASIC CARE OF THE COMPUTER: • Keep food and liquids away from the computer and keyboard. • Avoid locating your computer in a dusty area or in direct sunlight. • Do not move the computer while it is in use. • Always exit programs properly- do not just turn the power button off.

3. BASIC CARE OF FLASH DRIVES • Keep flash drives in a clean, dry storage area. • Only push the slider back and forth when inserting flash drive in computer. • Check flash drives for viruses using a virus check program on a regular basis. • Make back-up copies of your programs and important data.

4. BASIC CARE of CDs: • Handle by the edges to avoid fingerprinting. • Store CDs in cases to avoid scratches. • Protect CDs from extended exposure to sunlight, heat, and moisture. • Clean CDs with a soft, dry cloth. Wipe in a straight line from the center hole of the CD to the outer edge. If it is necessary to clean CD with a liquid, use isopropyl alcohol. • Never use solvents or abrasive cleaners on CDs. • Never stick adhesive labels on CDs.

5. Rules of Safe Computing to Avoid Virus Infection: • Never open an email messages or attachments from unknown users. • Do not download programs or questionable files from the Internet. • Use a virus protection program.

6. Security Rules: • Regularly back up data on an alternate storage medium (floppy disk, CD, flash drive). • Change passwords on a regular basis to avoid hacking by other users. • Choose passwords that combine words, numbers, and symbols to prevent other users from guessing the password. • Never leave unattended computers logged onto your email account.

7. “NETIQUETTE”Online Ethical Behavior • Email is not private- the system administrator has access and monitors all messages. • Delete your email message once you have read it. • Always acknowledge that you have received an email attachment that someone has sent. • Email messages are informal, so tolerate editing and typing errors, but avoid using slang and many abbreviations for words. • Do not be vulgar or offensive. Irony, sarcasm, or harmless humor may be misunderstood. • Do not use all caps in messages- this is considered to be “SHOUTING” at your reader. • Do not publicly criticize or “flame” others.

8. TROUBLESHOOTING TIPS: Basic Troubleshooting: • Always check to see if the plug is completely in the outlet or power strip. • Turn the computer off; wait at least one full minute; then restart the computer to restore the factory and default (automatic) settings.

9. PROBLEM: Computer will not restart. SOLUTION (S): • Turn the computer off and try to restart again. • Use a “boot disk” to restart the computer and check your hard drive. (If the computer restarts but you cannot open the C: drive, the hard drive may be damaged).

10. PROBLEM: Computer still will not restart- the screen is blank; there is no sound. • Make sure the power cable is securely plugged into the outlet or surge protector. • Make sure the power cable is secure in the back of the computer. • Plug another electrical device in to the outlet to see if it is getting electrical current. • Use the power cable on another computer to make sure it is working.

11. PROBLEM: Monitor is not working while the computer is running. • 1. Make sure the monitor is fully plugged into an outlet or surge protector. • 2. Make sure the power cable is connected to the monitor. • 3. Make sure the monitor plug is connected to the computer securely and tightly. • 4. Check the screen controls to make sure it has not been “darkened.” • 5. Move the monitor to another computer to see if the monitor will work.

12. PROBLEM: Printer will not print documents. • Make sure the printer is turned on. • Make sure there is paper in the printer. • Check the cable that connects the computer to the printer. Check both ends to make sure they are secure. • Check the print manager to see if the print command has been accepted. If you do not see a print command, print again. If there are several print commands, delete all of them and print again. • Run a test print on the printer to see if printer is capable of printing. • Shut the computer down and restart to reset the factory settings.

13. PROBLEM: Print is unreadable or unclear. SOLUTION (S): • Check the ink or toner cartridge. • If toner is low, shake cartridge and place into printer.

14. PROBLEM: Printout has unreadable squiggly marks (garbage). SOLUTION: The printer may not understand the computer- you may have uninstall and reinstall the printer.

15. PROBLEM: A Message Appears on the Monitor That Says: Disk drive not valid. SOLUTION (S): • There is no disk or flash drive in the drive. • The disk in the disk drive has not been formatted. • The disk in the disk drive is bad or damaged.

16. PROBLEM: A Message Appears on the Monitor That Says: Invalid drive specification. SOLUTION (S): • You have made a typing error when asking for the drive (C: or A: or D: or E:). • The drive that you are asking for is not working. (Temporarily exit the program, check to see if the you can access the drive again; if not, restart the computer.)

17. PROBLEM: A Message Appears on the Monitor That Says:File not found. • You typed the file name incorrectly. • You entered spaces or too many letters in the file name; • The file is stored in another location-go to the MY COMPUTER icon and open the C: drive- then open folders to find the file name. • Click on the SEARCH option-type a word that can be found in the file.

18. PROBLEM: A Message Appears on the Monitor That Says: Non-system disk or disk error. Take out floppy disk or flash drive and strike any key. SOLUTION: Remove a disk from the disk drive and press ENTER to make the computer restart.

19. PROBLEM: A Message Appears on the Monitor That Says:Insufficient disk space. SOLUTION (S): • Use another disk or delete some files to make more space available.

20. PROBLEM: A Message Appears on the Monitor That Says:Insufficient memory or out of memory. SOLUTION (S): • You do not have enough memory available on the hard drive to complete the command. • If you have more than one program open, close the programs you are not using. • If this does not solve the problem, exit all programs and restart the computer.

21. PROBLEM: A Message Appears on the Monitor That Says: Invalid media type. SOLUTION: The disk that you are using is no good or damaged- throw it away and get a new disk.

22. PROBLEM: A Message Appears on the Monitor That Says: File creation error or cannot write or save file. SOLUTION (S): • Your disk may be write-protected: push the button in the top left corner of the disk to the down position (so that the hole is not showing). • You are trying to create a file with the same name as an existing file-give the file another name. If neither of these work, save the file on another disk.

23. PROBLEM: A Message Appears on the Monitor That Says: Not ready reading Drive A Abort, retry, fail? SOLUTION (S): • The disk drive is not reading the disk- make sure there is a disk in the drive and that it is inserted correctly- take the disk out and put it back into the disk drive until you hear a “click.” • The disk in the disk drive is unreadable.

24. PROBLEM: A Message Appears on the Monitor That Says: Too many files open. SOLUTION (S): • Many programs allow you to open several files. This message means that you must close some files before opening more.

25. PROBLEM: A Message Appears on the Monitor That Says: Path is not valid. SOLUTION (S): • There is no disk in the drive that you selected. • The disk in the drive is not formatted. Take the disk out, restart the computer, and try opening the disk again. • WARNING: Formatting a disk that contains files will delete all the files.