Windows XP Headaches-How to Fix Common Problems in a Hurry phần 1 pptx

Operating Systems Affected Windows XP Professional and Home Editions are affected... Operating Systems Affected Windows XP Professional and Home Editions are affected.. Operating Systems

Windows XP Headaches-How to Fix

Common (and Not So Common) Problems

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Copyright © 2002 by The McGraw-Hill Companies All rights reserved Printed in the United States of America Except as permitted under the Copyright Act of 1976, no part of this publication may be reproduced or distributed in any form or by any means, or stored in a database or retrieval system, without the prior written permission of publisher, with the exception that the program listings may be entered, stored, and executed in a computer

system, but they may not be reproduced for publication

1234567890 FGR FGR 0198765432

ISBN 0-07-222461-4

Publisher Brandon A Nordin

Vice President and Associate Publisher Scott Rogers

Acquisitions Editor Marjorie McAneny

Senior Project Editor Betsy Manini

Acquisitions Coordinator Tana Diminyatz

Technical Editor Diane Poremsky

Copy Editors Emily Rader, Dennis Weaver

Proofreader Stefany Otis

Indexer Rebecca Plunkett

Computer Designers Lauren McCarthy, Melinda Moore Lytle, John Patrus

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For my wife, Dawn, and my daughters, Hannah and Mattie

About the Author

Curt Simmons is a technology author and trainer who has suffered plenty of Windows XP

headaches himself! A Microsoft product specialist and networking expert, Curt has been working with Windows XP since its early testing days He is author of over twenty high-level

and consumer-level computing books, including How to Do Everything with Windows XP, (2001) and How to Do Everything with Your BlackBerry, (2001), both also published by

McGraw-Hill/Osborne Curt lives in a small Texas town outside of Dallas with his wife, Dawn, and his daughters, Hannah and Mattie Visit Curt on the Internet at

http://curtsimmons.hypermart.net

Acknowledgments

Special thanks to all the great folks at Osborne for giving me the chance to write this title, especially Margie McAneny, for taking this one on, and Tana Diminyatz and Betsy Manini for keeping everything moving and attending to the details Thanks to Diane Poremsky for a fine technical review Thanks also to Emily Rader for the great copy edit and her extensive testing of the steps and cures found in this book-you've made this book better! Finally and as always, thanks to my agent, Margot, and my family for their support

Introduction

You know the feeling, sure you do You sit with your elbows propped against your desk, staring intently at your computer screen You've been doing this for some time now, and soon enough, you feel it That tense, grinding feeling beginning to built in your temples You rub them with your fingers and you let out a long, tired sigh… Windows XP has got you again

As a technology author and trainer, I've been suffering from Windows XP headaches for quite some time now, in fact, even way back before Windows XP was released to the public when I

was testing the beta version of XP I've learned a lot since then and have spent a lot of time

undoing or repairing problems that I have encountered Simply put, I know all too well that grinding feeling in my temples, and it is no fun

Windows XP Headaches: How to Fix Common (and Not So Common) Problems in a Hurry

is a new kind of book-in fact, it is the first of its kind In this book, you will find hundreds of commonly occurring problems as well as the uncommon ones that you just might experience with Windows XP along with ways to cure them quickly and easily I'll bet that if you are buying this book, you've had enough XP headaches of your own that you want some help, and you are hoping this book will come to your rescue

That is what this book is all about-getting you the information you need for your Windows

XP problems This book is divided in logical sections that give you a bunch of different headaches Each headache tells you which operating system is affected (Windows XP

Professional or Home Editions), why the headache occurs, and how to resolve it, often in a simple step-by-step format In fact, my goal is for you to be able to pull this book off your shelf, find the problem you are experiencing, and then find a quick remedy for that problem You don't have to read this book in any particular order You can read it from cover to cover

if you like, you can jump around and find the answers to headaches when you need them-the choice is yours This book isn't a novel either-I don't dwell on lofty ideas such as world peace

or bipartisan agreements-my job is help you solve your XP headache pain quickly and easily,

so if I talk about something, you can bet that it is important Just use the table of contents or the book's index to find help on the most all-important Windows XP topics with ease

This book is for the beginning to intermediate computer audience-you don't have to have a Ph.D in Computer Science to use it-in fact, you don't need to know anything at all except how to turn Windows XP on and how use your keyboard and mouse

To help you along the way, I've also included a few other elements:

Tip Tips are friendly suggestions I have thrown in from time to time that can make your work

and play with XP easier

Note Notes are little bursts of information that give you some additional headache cure

information You don't have to read these, but they can help you

Prevention Preventions are little bits of advice that can help you avoid future headaches

Sidebars I have placed a few sidebars here and there Sidebars contain extra information

about some subject that will help you understand Windows XP components These can help you understand what is going on and why the headache occurred in the first place Again, you don't have to read these, but they can give you quick information in a nontechnical way

Appendixes See the appendixes at the back of this book for some additional help and

goodies!

Finally, what should you do if you are experiencing a Windows XP headache that this book does not mention? It is impossible for me to list every possible headache that can occur

(unless you want this book to be the size of subcompact car), so if you don't find it here, do this:

• Check the book's index and look for topics similar to what you are experiencing Although your specific headache may not be listed, another headache could help you solve the problem!

• Check www.microsoft.com and search for your problem on the Microsoft's site If you have technical support available with your computer, don't be afraid to use it!

• There are lots of newsgroups for Windows XP users on all different kinds of subjects You may find the answer to your headache, or you can ask others to help you solve the headache Search on any search engine, such as Yahoo.com or MSN.com for

Windows XP Newsgroups, and you'll find plenty

• Finally, if you are stuck in headache-land, feel free to send me an e-mail and I'll try to help you out You will always be able to reach me at curt_simmons@hotmail.com Okay, are you ready? Then let's get started! Your headache cure is only pages away…

Thanks! Enjoy the book!

Chapter 1: Windows XP Interface

Headaches

In this chapter, you'll cure…

• Difficulties with display settings and themes

• Start menu and taskbar aggravations

• Power management and accessibility pains

Ah, the Windows XP interface-the new desktop area that makes Windows easier to use and problem free Okay, right Windows XP gives you a new, clearer interface that does a lot of really cool and helpful things, and it affects everything that you see on your screen However, that same interface can also give you a lot of grief Don't worry, though, because most of the Headaches you'll learn about in this chapter are easy to kill and you'll have Windows XP following you and doing what you want in no time So then, let's get busy and take care of those interface problems!

Display Setting Headaches

Display settings refer to a collection of Windows XP settings that govern how your display looks and how icons and fonts appear on your screen When you get everything looking the way you want, it's great When it's not, it is a real drag The good news is that most display settings are easy to fix, once you know where to go The following sections explore the most common Headaches you are likely to encounter

Colors on my screen do not look good

Operating Systems Affected Windows XP Professional and Home Editions are affected

Cause If your display color simply does not look good, you probably have a problem with

your display driver, or the driver is not compatible with Windows XP A driver is a piece of software that allows a hardware device, such as your video card, to work with Windows XP

If the driver is messed up or isn't compatible, Windows XP tries to use one of its own drivers

to make everything work for you Sometimes that works out and sometimes not Fixing the problem, however, requires a little investigative work on your part It is important to keep in mind that every display adapter-every piece of hardware for that matter-has a driver that enables Windows XP to control and manage it If the driver doesn't work, the device will not work If the driver isn't the right driver, the device might work OK, but not the way it should The basic rule is simply this: You have to have the right driver or you will have problems for which there are no workarounds

Tip Always make sure any new hardware that is installed on your computer is compatible with Windows XP before you install it Simply getting the right hardware can stop

multiple headaches before they occur

The Pain Killer To fix the color problem, follow these steps:

1 Click Start | Control Panel

2 Open the Display icon by double-clicking it

Tip If you don't see Display, you need to click the Switch to Classic View option in the left Control Panel pane Then, you'll see the Display icon

3 Click the Settings tab, as you can see in the following illustration The Color Quality drop-down menu should be able to display several different settings, such as 16 bit, 32 bit, and so forth If you are stuck with only one color quality setting-and it is low-then the problem is the driver

4 In order to resolve the driver problem, you will need to visit the video card

manufacturer's Web site and see about downloading a new driver Microsoft does not provide drivers for hardware vendors, so you'll have to get the driver from the

manufacturer's Web site

Everything on my desktop is too small or too big

Operating Systems Affected Windows XP Professional and Home Editions are affected

Cause The size of the icons on your desktop is determined by the resolution settings of your

video card If everything seems too big or too small, all you probably need to do is choose a different resolution so that items appear the size you want This is an easy fix, fortunately!

The Pain Killer To fix the size problem, follow these steps:

1 Click Start | Control Panel

2 Open the Display icon by double-clicking it Click the Settings tab

3 On the Screen Resolution setting, use the slider bar to choose a different

resolution-800 × 600 pixels is right for most people If you have a larger monitor (19" +),

consider using a higher resolution

4 If that does not work, you can pull out the big guns and change the Dots Per Inch (DPI) settings for your display On the Display tab, click the Advanced button

5 This opens an Advanced Properties window Click the General tab If you want to make items on your desktop larger, change the DPI Setting using the drop-down menu, as you can see in the following illustration You'll need to restart your computer for the changes to take effect If you don't like the results, return here and change the setting back

Tip DPI settings can cause some problems, however, such as dialog boxes getting cut off and even some distortion You can play around with these settings to see if they help you any However, if you plan to change settings, you would be wise to jot down the original settings first, so that you are able to change them back in the event that your new settings

do not work well

My display seems distorted at times

Operating Systems Affected Windows XP Professional and Home Editions are affected

Cause More than likely, you really need a new video card However, if you can't change the

card just yet, you might resolve the problem by adjusting the hardware features of the card This is an easy try, so if the headache doesn't go away there is no harm done

The Pain Killer To fix the distortion problem, follow these steps:

1 Click Start | Control Panel

2 Open the Display icon by double-clicking it Click the Settings tab

3 Click the Advanced button, and then click the Troubleshoot tab, as you can see in the following illustration

4 You can try to resolve the problem by lowering the Hardware Acceleration slider bar When you move the bar a notch, you'll see what display features are being removed You can try different settings and see if the problem is resolved

5 Also, try clearing the Enable Write Combining check box This may also resolve distortion problems You'll need to experiment here to see if the settings will help you, but they may do just the trick

6 Finally, check the controls on the monitor itself Something in the controls might be off as well

My desktop fonts are too small

Operating Systems Affected Windows XP Professional and Home Editions are affected

Cause If the fonts under your icons and on window menus are too small, you can easily

change the size of the font without screwing up everything else Windows XP automatically assigns a standard font size, but that size may not be right for you No problem though-this headache is easy to kill

The Pain Killer To fix the font size problem, follow these steps:

1 Click Start | Control Panel

2 Open the Display icon by double-clicking it

3 Click the Appearance tab As you can see in the following illustration, you have a drop-down menu for Font Size Click the menu and choose a larger size Then click

OK

I don't like my screen saver; or, my screen saver does not work the way I want

it to

Operating Systems Affected Windows XP Professional and Home Editions are affected

Cause Screen savers are great ways to give your computer something interactive to do when

you step away from the screen In the past, screen savers protected a computer screen from 'burn,' which happened when not enough activity was going on Today's monitors are not really susceptible to this problem, but screen savers remain for entertainment purposes The good news is that you can easily change or reconfigure the screen saver-you can even make a screen saver of your favorite pictures! You can do all of this on the Screen Saver tab of Display Properties

The Pain Killer To make screen saver changes, follow these steps:

1 Click Start | Control Panel

2 Double-click Display, and then click the Screen Saver tab

3 On the Screen Saver tab, you can make changes to the current screen saver by clicking the Settings button and making any changes that appear You can adjust the timeout value for the screen saver using the Wait selection box (the default is about 10

minutes) Finally, if you do not want to use the screen saver, use the drop-down menu and pick a new one If you do not want to use a screen saver at all, choose the (None) option in the drop-down list, as you can see in the illustration

Whenever I stop using my computer, it returns to the logon screen

Operating Systems Affected Windows XP Professional and Home Editions are affected

Cause As a safety feature, Windows XP sends you back to the logon screen if the computer is

idle for a certain period of time This can be a real pain, but the problem is easily fixed This

XP security feature works with screen saver functions and you can easily stop it from

happening

The Pain Killer To stop XP from taking you back to the logon screen after an idle period,

follow these steps:

1 Click Start | Control Panel

2 Double-click Display, and then click the Screen Saver tab

3 On the Screen Saver tab, clear the check box that says On Resume, Password Protect

The My Pictures screen saver does not work right

Operating Systems Affected Windows XP Professional and Home Editions are affected Cause Windows XP has a cool feature that allows you to easily create a screen saver from

your digital pictures This is a great way to have your family members, cat, dog, or whatever

on your screen saver My Pictures is easy to use-just access the Screen Saver tab of Display Properties and choose the My Pictures Slideshow from the drop-down menu Windows XP will look in your My Pictures folder (found in the My Documents folder) for pictures to use,

so you should put any pictures you want displayed there After that, you can use the Settings button to configure how the pictures should be displayed

The Pain Killer To make the My Pictures Slideshow work the way you want, follow these

steps:

1 Click Start | Control Panel

2 Double-click Display, and then click the Screen Saver tab

3 On the Screen Saver tab, make sure the My Pictures Slideshow is selected in the down menu and make sure you have the pictures you want to use in the My Pictures folder

drop-4 Click the Settings button on the Screen Saver tab This opens the My Pictures Screen Saver Options window, as you can see in the illustration Make any adjustments in this window as needed You can change how often pictures should be displayed and how they should appear in the screen You can also choose to use different transitions between pictures, which is sort of cool When you select a transition, the effect is used

to change pictures Common examples are blend, slide left/right, cover, and so forth Once you are done Click OK and test your screen saver again

Note Did you notice the Use Pictures in This Folder option in the illustration? While it is true that the My Pictures screen saver looks for pics in the My Pictures folder, you can change that behavior here and choose a different folder This allows you to tell the screen saver to get pictures from any folder on your hard drive, which might be a lot easier if you have pictures stored in another location or even in several different

folders

My desktop wallpaper does not look right

Operating Systems Affected Windows XP Professional and Home Editions are affected

Cause Windows XP can display just about any kind of picture file as desktop wallpaper

However, some pictures may not display correctly if you try to make them take up the entire screen There is no direct fix for this problem, but you can adjust how the picture is displayed

so that distortion is removed

The Pain Killer To make the picture look good, follow these steps:

1 Click Start | Control Panel

2 Double-click Display Click the Desktop tab

3 Your current wallpaper is selected in the list and appears in the test monitor window,

as you can see in the illustration If you want to use a different wallpaper, select a new one from the list or use the Browse button to select something different on your

operating system (such as your own pictures) To try and fix the distortion problem,

change the Position setting from Tile or Stretch to Center Then, you use the Color drop-down menu to choose a background color to fill the rest of the leftover space

4 Click OK when you are done

Prevention Desktop wallpaper settings are very forgiving If you configure something you

don't like or want to change later, you can always return to the Desktop tab and make changes at any time Some people even change their wallpaper every week!

I don't want to use wallpaper on my desktop-I want a color background only

Operating Systems Affected Windows XP Professional and Home Editions are affected

Cause Depending on your computer, wallpaper may already be set up for you No problem,

you can change it to different wallpaper or none at all If you do not want to use wallpaper, but a simple background color, you can do that too

The Pain Killer

To use no wallpaper, follow these steps:

1 Click Start | Control Panel

2 Double-click Display Click the Desktop tab

3 On the Desktop tab, change the Background setting to (None) in the list Then, use the Color drop-down menu and select a background color that you want to use Remember that you can experiment and use different colors until you find the one that is right for you

Icons do not appear on my desktop

Operating Systems Affected Windows XP Professional and Home Editions are affected Cause Windows XP attempts to make your life easier by removing all of the icons, except

Recycle Bin, from the desktop This may annoy you, however, so you can easily get back

standard desktop icons if you want You can do this in a couple of different ways, but the easiest is to use the Customize Desktop feature

The Pain Killer To put icons back on the desktop, follow these steps:

1 Click Start | Control Panel

2 Double-click Display Click the Desktop tab

3 Click the Customize Desktop button

4 On the Desktop Items window, General tab, shown in the following illustration, click the check boxes next to the desktop icons you want to show, such as My Documents,

My Computer, and so forth When you are done, click OK

The Desktop Cleanup Wizard keeps running without my permission

Operating Systems Affected

Windows XP Professional and Home Editions are affected

Cause The good news about Windows XP is that it tries to help you The bad news about

Windows XP is that…well…it tries to help you Case in point-the Desktop Cleanup Wizard This handy wizard is designed to help you get rid of junk that might have collected on your desktop over a period of time Its default setting is to run every 60 days However, you may

be like me and find the wizard annoying In which case, you don't want it to run at all No worries, though-you can stop this headache easily

The Pain Killer To stop the Desktop Cleanup Wizard from automatically running, follow

these steps:

1 Click Start | Control Panel

2 Double-click Display Click the Desktop tab

3 Click the Customize Desktop button

4 On the Desktop Items, General tab, locate the Run Desktop Cleanup Wizard every 60 days check box Clear the check box and click OK

Windows XP will not let me display a Web page on my desktop

Operating Systems Affected Windows XP Professional and Home Editions are affected

Cause Don't worry If you loved the Web-based desktop you could first use in Windows 98, it

is still found in Windows XP In Windows 98, you had to turn on the Active Desktop to use Web content, but this feature is integrated in Windows XP In other words, the feature is here all of the time, but the configuration place is a little more hidden

The Pain Killer To display a Web page on your desktop, follow these steps:

1 Click Start | Control Panel

2 Double-click Display Click the Desktop tab

3 Click the Customize Desktop button

4 Click the Web tab To choose a Web page to download and display on your desktop, click the New button

5 In the New Desktop Item window, enter the URL for the Web page you want to

display, as you can see in the illustration, and click OK Windows XP will connect to the Web site and download the page to your desktop

Tip If you want to stop using a Web page at any time, simply return to the Web tab and clear the check box next to the Web site so that it will not be used If you never want to use it again, you can click the Delete button to permanently remove it

Windows Theme Headaches

If you have been around computers since the days of Windows 98, you remember that

Windows 98 came with a number of 'themes,' and you could get more with the Windows 98 Plus CD This started the theme craze among Windows users, and it is still strong today

First things first-what is a theme? A theme is a collection of settings that make your interface appear a certain way This usually includes wallpaper, mouse pointers, sounds, icons, and screen savers For example, a popular theme under Windows 98 was Flower Power Desktop colors, mouse pointers, and sounds all looked like stuff from the sixties-groovy baby!

In Windows XP, the XP interface is, in fact, a theme This means that the default interface you see when you install Windows XP is the XP theme-a collection of settings that make