Welcome to the May issue of highlights from the flights.
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The Flying Doctor specialises in fast response to computer problems for homes, people running business from home and in small offices.
Call The Flying Doctor because we will sort out your computer, web and network issues in a businesslike, sensible way. But, if there’s no affordable cure and it’s cheaper for you to buy a new computer, we will say so.
With 30 years’ experience of fixing computers, there isn’t much that we haven’t seen before. But we’re honest too - if we can’t fix it, we’ll tell you!
Remember we offer free email and telephone support and you can read our collection of free guides
We’re so sure that we’ll sort out your problems that we say: if The Flying Doctor doesn’t sort your problem then you don’t pay!
And some more news! The Flying Doctor is getting so successful that he is expanding his fleet and flying to new destinations to help people suffering from computer panic.
I am creating new operational bases by franchising the business: Do you know anyone who would like to be their own boss as a pilot with the Flying Doctor?
With a franchise with The Flying Doctor they can run a successful, enjoyable and profitable business from home.
Get to know about this exciting opportunity: email franchise@theflyingdoctor.biz or go to http://www.theflyingdoctor.biz/franchise with the flying doctor.html
If your computer seems to freeze or just runs really slowly, then task manager can be your friend.
Start it by either right-clicking on a blank bit of the task bar or pressing ctrl-alt-delete
You will see a new window with six tabs, labelled applications, processes, services, performance and networking. We'll look at three.
Click on applications and you can see all the programs that are running and their status. If one says 'not responding' and the CPU usage at the bottom is 100%, then highlight the unresponsive task and 'end task'. This will lose any data not saved but should get your computer 'unlocked'.
If that's OK, then look at processes. Click the CPU heading and go to the end of the list to see which are using the most. If you aren't sure what a process is, then google it. Try highlighting and ending a process. Although this may make the computer unstable, if it has frozen there is little to lose!
A computer that is always slow can be examined via the performance tab. The top graph shows you how hard the computer is working, whilst the bottom one shows you memory usage. If the disk light is on all the time and there is little or no physical memory free, then you need to get some RAM. This is the quickest and cheapest way to boost a computer
What to do if you delete the wrong file
How many times have we said that? Perhaps why they invented the recycle bin! And that's the first port of call.
Even if it's not there, the file hasn't actually done. It's just become hidden. First thing to do is nothing. If you continue working there is a chance that the file you want to recover will be overwritten and then it is gone.
So stop and think. First, do you have a copy anywhere or a backup? If not, how long will it take you to recreate the file? If it's 30 minutes, why spend a hour trying to recover it?
If we decide to recover it, we will need a recordable CD or a USB memory stick and another computer. Download and install a file recovery program like Recuva (http://www.piriform.com/recuva) onto the CD or stick. Then approach the machine with the deleted file and use Recuva to see if it can recover it.
With Vista and Windows 7 you have the ability to go back to previous versions of the file. This is great if you don't ant the changes any more or you've overwritten the file with another. Right-click on the file name and you will see the option to restore previous versions. Handy.
And what all this also means is that if you delete all the files on a disc, reformat or even repartition it, the files are still there. If you are disposing of a drive, then use a disc wiping tool, a BIG magnet or the trusty Birmingham screwdriver.
Taskbar magic
Personally, I keep the task bar hidden so that I can see more on the screen. Right click on a blank part in the centre section and select properties. Then you can autohide the task bar. When you move the mouse pointer to the edge of the screen, the taskbar pops up.
Great, but when I'm using the scroll bar at the bottom, the taskbar often pops up - Pain!. So Right click the task bar again and unlock it. Now you can drag it anywhere: personally I put it at the top.
And if you use two monitors, try MM Taskbar Free 2.1. This puts a taskbar on the second monitor for the programs running on it. Makes life much easier.