Wednesday, January 28, 2009

Easiest Way Out Of Computer Jams

By Ocar Hanratty

That feeling is pretty universal. Whether the computer sniffles or simply falls over dead, the icy grip of panic reaches out and tickles your chest. It is not a happy time, but it is not quite the end of the world either. As a something of an experienced operator who has been there, I give you with this essay that has some tried-and-true methods for immediately dealing with your computer perils.

If the computer had ears, they would look like your PC keyboard. Just as you would ask a human "Are you okay?" you can theoretically shout at your computer by doing some typing. Unlike real shouting, the computer may actually hear your typing and signal that it is okay. But not if your keyboard has died. There are ways around that too! You can see if your keyboard is responding by pressing the Caps Lock key. If your keyboard is alive, then the Caps Lock light will blink on or off whenever you strike the Caps Lock key. This will indicate if your keyboard is alive and well.

On most PCs, the Caps Lock light is right on the Caps Lock key. In some cases, it might be near the key or along the top of the keyboard, marked with the text Caps Lock or the letter A. In regards to wireless keyboards, the Caps Lock key could be located on the wireless dongle that hangs from the rear of the PC console.

If the keyboard is dead, use the mouse to restart the compute. Restarting the computer awakens most snoozing keyboards. Alas, in some cases the keyboard can be alive and well, but the PC is simply ignoring what it is saying. I have seen this happen more often with USB keyboards than with the keyboards that plug right into a keyboard port on the computer. In such cases, the Caps Lock light does indeed blink on and off, but the computer is still dead. Now it is time to restart the computer.

If you ever botch a file operation, then you should immediately press the Undo key combination, Ctrl+Z. That undoes just about any file operation you can imagine. You must be prompt with the Ctrl+Z key press. The Undo command, found under the Edit menu, undoes only the most recent file operation. If you delete a file and then rename a file, the Undo command undoes only the renaming. You have to find another solution for any earlier problems that need fixing.

Most people forget that editing an item or a submenu on the Start menu is really a file operation. Whenever you foul something up on the Start menu, like dragging an icon off the Start menu and onto the desktop, the good old Ctrl+Z will fix it right away.

The one thing that you cannot be undone is the Shift+Delete file operation. This is why Windows will warn you about deleting a file in a manner that will render the file as permanently deleted. If Ctrl+Z, or the Undo command, does not work, give up. Either it is too late to undo the operation or the operation was not undoable in the first-place. You have to try something else.

The Esc key on your keyboard is called Escape for a reason: It often gets you out of tight situations! Most unnerving things that can happen on a computer can instantly be canceled by pressing the handy Esc key. - 16039

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