Frequently Solved Problems

This section acts like a FAAQ (Frequently Asked/Answered Questions) section in relation to common problems that I have solved, either with my own experience and/or by looking through internet forums for example, for those who have emailed me using the FREE Helpline Form.

Solved Problems are listed in this order: Software Name (i.e W - Windows Mail), Hardware Name (i.e H - Hard Drive) and then Problem Name (i.e L - Low Disk error). Before using this section it may be wise to look at the OTHER SOLUTIONS first, in particular I recommend you install Windows Vista SP1 (Service Pack 1) as it fixes many known problems from the last year, and also check the Discussion Forums listed at the bottom of this section as they are a good source of information.

Sometimes when you uninstall a piece of software it leaves redundant fragments behind (i.e. Log files, Library (.dll) files and so on) that cleaning programs and security programs for example try to delete for you, but cannot for whatever reasons(s). Usually because these redundant fragments have become jammed in your system, for whatever reason(s). And even if you try to delete them manually you cannot, which is why you may like to give Take Ownership a try. It allows you to delete redundant, stubborn, fragments (folders/files) by clicking on a specially installed menu-item that then gives you certain privilleges in order to delete stubborn fragments. Click Here to see how.

The Text Cursor moves in a wild/unpredictable way around the screen when typing something, in Microsoft WORD 2007 for example, whilst using your Laptop.

This is normally due to your palm pressing down on (touching) the TouchPad, too hard, when you are typing. In turn, this is normally due to a Sensitivity setting in the TouchPad's control panel being set too high/sensitive. Therefore, all you need to do is change the Sensitivity setting(s).

I have the Synaptics TouchPad built-in to my laptop which has a PALM CHECK setting and a TOUCH SENSITIVITY setting, both accessable via the Device Settings. The PALM CHECK setting allows the touchpad to recognize when my palm is resting on it. If the Text Cursor was to go wild I would set PALM CHECK to Maximum, meaning my palm would have to apply maximum pressure onto the touchpad before it would move the Mouse Pointer/Text Cursor for example. The TOUCH SENSITIVITY setting allows me to adjust Finger pressure so that if the mouse starts carrying out wild clicks for example I can set TOUCH SENSITIVITY to Heavy, meaning my finger must apply heavy pressure on the touchpad before the touchpad clicks or double clicks.

Be careful when changing Sensitivity settings because setting them too high/maximum can lead to damage of the TouchPad, especially if you are always having to apply hard/heavy pressure onto it. An alternative, if you do not take your laptop anywhere and have the desk space, is to switch the touchpad off and use a standard keyboard and mouse instead.

The Desktop (Icons, Start Menu, Quick Launch Toolbar, Task Toolbar and Notification Area) do not appear.

This is normally to do with an improper shutdown and/or a corrupt registry, which upon start up does not execute explorer.exe - The program in charge of the desktop and task manager for example.

What you need to do, if your problem is down to explorer.exe as opposed to a corrupt registry, is first try and open a folder or internet explorer so that you can type into its Address Bar edit box. This is because you need to be able to navigate to the folder where Task Manager is, as Task Manager is not available by pressing CTRL, SHIFT and ESC. Therefore, if you cannot get access to a folder or internet explorer the following will not work.

Open a folder or internet explorer and then type C: into its Address Bar edit box. A UAC (User Access Control) security requester will appearing asking you if you want to open Windows Explorer. Simply click on its ALLOW button to allow Windows Explorer to open
With Windows Explorer now open navigate to the System32 sub-folder by double clicking on the Windows sub-folder and then on the System32 folder. From there, look for the TaskMgr (or Taskmgr.exe) file and double click on it to launch TaskManager.
With TaskManager running click on the PROCESSES Tab and look for the process called Explorer.exe. Select it and then click on the END PROCESS button to kill Explorer.exe.
Now go to the FILE menu and select the NEW TASK (Run...) menu-item to bring up the Create New Task window. Type explorer.exe into its TASK edit box and then click on its OK button. This should then make your desktop appear.

Just in case you are not aware yet, Windows Vista Home Basic and Windows Vista Home Premium do not come with any FAX software built-in as standard. Only Windows Vista Business and Windows Vista Ultimate do. Therefore. If you are a Windows Vista Home user, with a new computer that has a built-in fax/modem for example, you will more than likely need to buy some FAX software for it. If you have an old computer with a newly installed Windows Vista you may be lucky enough to get its old fax/modem software working with Windows Vista, provided you have the old FAX software disk(s) of course.

There are currently three major FAX software vendors on the internet at the moment who have Windows Vista compatible FAX software for sale - Esssential Fax Software, SnappySoftware and FaxTalk. They vary in features and price but you should find one that is appropriate to your needs/budget - You can always search the internet for reviews on these products before buying any of them, which I strongly recommend you do. Another company doing FAX software is VentaFax which offers a Home version for $49.95 and a Business version for $99.

If you have a P.A.Y.G (or Anytime) ISP Dial-Up account, with or without a fax/modem built-into your computer, and want to save money I recommend doing what I did recently. Buy yourself a £15 USB Fax/Modem that comes supplied with FaxTalk Communicator SE 4.7, from PCWorld. That way you have a portable USB Fax/Modem that plugs straight into Windows Vista without the need for driver software. You only need to install FaxTalk Communicator SE 4.7, which is straight forward, and you are ready to fax.

Overview Links: Esssential Fax Software ($19.95) Snappy Fax ($29.99) VentaFax ($49.95) FaxTalk Messenger Pro ($89.95)

If you receive a Low Disk Space warning, for the Local Disk (C:) hard drive for example, but have plenty of space remaining on that hard drive it could be that you (or a software installation) have naturally filled up that hard drive's space already. In which case you need to delete some files from it such as Music files, Video files and so on but not any Windows Vista files of course.

There is a known issue with HP Pavilion laptops whereby the Local Disk (D:) hard drive partition becomes full after using Microsoft's Back-Up tool, in which case there is a solution here HP Article. Basically. The Microsoft Back-Up tool sees the Local Disk (D:) hard drive partition, which contains the Windows Vista Recovery Files, as a valid storage area and therefore attempts to store back-up files on it without realizing that later on it will run out of disk space. Hence the warning Low Disk Space. The above HP Article link resolves the problem. These days surely Microsoft should be using a Disk Space Checker process to make sure there is enough disk space before saving back-up files.

If you get a general, not specifically related to a piece of hardware/software, Low Disk Space warning you can fix it with the following Registry Fix.

Windows Registry Editor Version 5.00

[HKEY_CURRENT_USER\Software\Microsoft\Windows\CurrentVersion\Policies\Explorer]
"NoLowDiskSpaceChecks"=dword:00000001

If you need to know how to implement this Registry Fix read the The Registry section and in particular the part about TWEAKS AND REGISTRY CLEANERS. Basically, Copy & Paste the above code into Notepad and then save it as a file called LowDiskSpaceFix.reg for example. From there, double click on the newly created LowDiskSpaceFix.reg file to implement the fix.

Is Microsoft Office 2007 installed?

These days a new £500, upwards, computer will normally come with a 1 Year Trial version of Microsoft Office Home And Student 2007 installed. This means Microsoft Office Home And Student 2007 is fully functional for one year. When the one year has passed it reduces in functionally (i.e some features are disabled) until you purchase a standard license for it (usually at a discounted price). If a new computer does not come with a 1 Year Trial version of Microsoft Office Home And Student 2007 installed it normally comes with a software package called Microsoft Works instead.

If you want/need to buy Microsoft Office Home And Student 2007 it currently retails for around £90, has no time limits and is licensed for up to 3 Computers. This means it can be installed on up to 3 computers, using the same Installation DVD, with no time limits (no disabling of features after 1 year). This works out at around £30 per license (per computer) - Excellent Value.

More Info: Install Microsoft Office 2007

How can I erase the existing password and then log-in again?

If you have forgotten your Windows Vista password and therefore cannot log-in to Windows Vista, because nobody created a Reset Disk when the password was created and because there is no other User Account to log-in to (to rescue/save your files), your only log-in option might be to break the password with the following Reset Password Disk.

Main Page and the download page Download Page

READ THE PAGES BELONGING TO THAT SOFTWARE VERY CAREFULLY. Basically download and then burn onto a cd the Reset Password ISO Image or use the floppy disk version. Once it is created refer back to the main page and/or download page, if necessary, for further instructions on usage.

Windows Vista does not start up - It has disappeared behind a Black Screen!! This is normally due to a Virus that has attacked Windows Vista and/or because one or more Windows Vista files have become corrupt (normally due to a software download/booster/cleaner/etc).

The first thing you should do is try and activate Safe Mode, by pressing the F8 keyboard key during the start up (reboot) process, so that you can use its START WINDOWS NORMALLY and SAFE MODE options to diagnose/fix your problem(s). Safe Mode, if you can get it working properly (i.e if it hasn't become corrupt itself) should take you to a limited Desktop were you can then carry out further recovery procedures. Limited Desktop means some Hardware drivers and so on will purposely be disabled in order to rule these out as possible problems.

If Safe Mode is unavailable, or available but its options could not fix your problem(s), the next thing to do is check for a RECOVERY option on your start up (boot) screen. The options are normally on the top or bottom of the screen and marked as F2 = BIOS SETTINGS, F10 = Set Up and F11 RECOVERY. RECOVERY is normally only available on computers that did not come with a Windows Vista Installation DVD or a Recovery DVD - This is because the Windows Vista Recovery Files are normally put onto the Local Disk (D:) hard drive partition. The downside of this is that if the Local Disk (D:) hard drive partition has been corrupted as well the RECOVERY option will not work at all. So in this case you have to press F11 and pray!

The final option is to use the Windows Vista Installation DVD or Recovery DVD that came with your computer to repair, recover or totally re-install Windows Vista. If your computer did not come with one of these DVDs you can always ask your computer manufacturer or retailer to send you a Recovery DVD but this is entirely up to them if they do or not. Saying this. Many manufacturers these days give you an option, on the ALL PROGRAMS >> ACCESSORIES menu for example, to create a Recovery DVD that can then either be used on its own or as part of the start up (boot) menu process.

More Info: Safe Mode

If you want to know if a piece of software or hardware is compatible with Windows Vista you should check that manufacturer's website first. In many cases though a manufacturer might not have a website or might have a website but not a webpage detailing a specific piece of software or hardware, for whatever reason(s), especially if that software or hardware is old.

Fortunately. Microsoft has created the Windows Vista Compatibility Center to help you check if a specific piece of software or hardware is compatible with Windows Vista. Microsoft also has an Excel file called Application Compatibility that you can download. It lists almost 4,000 Applications that are either "Compatible" or "Works With Windows Vista".

Download Link: Application Compatibility Excel file.

The Safely Remove Hardware icon is missing from the Notification Area (left-side of the Clock). This could be due to its Notification Area setting being set to HIDE WHEN INACTIVE instead of SHOW. To fix this do the following:

Right click on an empty part of the Taskbar (bottom of the screen) to bring up an Options menu
Left click on the PROPERTIES menu-item to bring up the TASKBAR AND START MENU PROPERTIES window
Left click on the NOTIFICATION AREA Tab (window)
Left click on the CUSTOMIZE button. This will open the CUSTOMIZE NOTIFICATION ICONS window
Left click on the Safely Remove Hardware icon (scroll down the lists, if need be, to find it)
Left click on the drop-down menu (to the right) and then select SHOW
Click on the OK button to apply the SHOW setting

If that does not solve the problem, because you have previously done the above to no avail, it could be that you have met with a Windows Vista bug (coding error). For example. In some cases the Safely Remove Hardware icon is displaying in the Notification Area as normal but once Windows Vista crashes or freezes, for whatever reason(s) later on, the Safely Remove Hardware icon goes missing. Upon restarting the computer the Safely Remove Hardware icon is displaying in the Notification Area again.

If you start your computer but find side effects such as Hardware not working, certain Services not running (i.e Windows Update, Security Center, Parental Controls, Printer and so on) or User Accounts not functioning properly it could be that you or some software has crippled/modified the MSConfig settings without realising the consequences.

MSConfig is one of the core Settings programs for Windows Vista, with RegEdit being another. Messing around with any of these programs can cripple Windows Vista in terms of Security and Functionality. The settings associated with MSConfig are normally changed via Booster software or by you reading an article on the internet about "How you can speed up Windows Vista using MSConfig". Either way, here is one solution that restores the MSConfig settings.

Start the computer
Immediately during the start up process press F8 to activate Safe Mode
In Safe Mode press the CTRL and LEFT-SHIFT keyboard keys (together) and then the ESC keyboard key (a second later) to bring up TASK MANAGER
On the Task Manager window click on the FILE menu and then select the NEW TASK (Run...) menu-item
In the NEW TASK Edit Box that appears type msconfig and then click on the OK button
In the MSConfig window that appears click on the NORMAL STARTUP radio (circle/dot) button and then on the OK button
Restart the computer

You SHUTDOWN (not SLEEP or HIBERNATE) Windows Vista, by using its SHUTDOWN option on the Start Menu, and all is well until the very end of the shutdown. Windows Vista has shutdown but your computer has not - Its power and/or lights are still on.

One solution is to change your Power Plan to HIGH PERFORMANCE - Control Panel > Power Options > HIGH PERFORMANCE.

More Info: Turn Computer Off Correctly

AutoComplete does not automatically complete (fill in) a Contact's email address when you start typing it into the TO Edit Box of Windows Mail.

This is due to the way Windows Mail functions. AutoComplete only remembers the last 29 Contacts you replied to, whose email addresses it stores/gets from The Registry instead of Windows Contacts. Therefore. If you create a new email to someone you have replied to before, but who are no longer in the Last 29 AutoComplete registry list, you will have to manually insert their email address from Windows Contacts by clicking on the TO edit box of Windows Mail.

HKEY_CURRENT_USER\Software\Microsoft\Windows Mail\Recently Used Addresses is the KEY (sub-folder) that stores the last 29 email addresses. It rotates the settings files {|}a to z.

More Info: The Registry

Spelling does not spell.

This appears to be a bug (error) in the Windows Mail language setting, which for many people has been rectified by doing the following:

Start Windows Mail
Click on the TOOLS menu and then select (left click on) the OPTIONS menu-item
Click on the Spelling TAB (window title)
Click on the LANGUAGE drop-down menu and then select a language different to yours (i.e English to Spanish)
Click on OK and then exit/close Windows Mail

Do as above but this time change the LANGUAGE setting back to your original language (i.e English)
Click on OK and then exit/close Windows Mail

If you want to compact and/or repair your Windows Mail database, which should be compacted and defragmented on a regular basis in order to function with maximum efficiency, you can download the Free-To-Use utility called WMUtil from OEHelp.

Although Windows Mail does automatically compact the database every 100 times (see the COMPACT THE DATABASE ON SHUTDOWN EVERY ??? RUNS setting under TOOLS >> OPTIONS >> ADVANCED >> MAINTENANCE) WMUtil allows you to compact and/or repair the database manually. This is ideal if you are having problems with Windows Mail generally (i.e. when its database has become corrupt and is therefore crashing Windows Mail).

Download Link: Windows Mail Utility

Can I install Windows Vista on another computer?

If you have a computer with Windows Vista installed on its hard drive and that hard drive later becomes damaged/unusable you can replace that hard drive and then re-install Windows Vista on it, using the original Windows Vista Installation DVD that came with your computer - So your computer now has a new hard drive with Windows Vista reinstalled on it.

In normal circumstances you cannot install the original Windows Vista Installation DVD, that came with your first computer, on a second computer (even if your first computer has a damaged/unusable hard drive). This is because the Windows Vista license normally only permits Windows Vista to be installed on one computer, unless you have a Windows Vista Installation DVD that comes with more than one license.

Windows Vista SP1 (Service Pack 1), which was released on 18th March 2008, is the latest major update for Windows Vista (Released on 30th January 2007). In addition to previously released updates (via Windows Update) SP1 also contains changes that are focused on Reliability, Performance and Compatibility issues; Supporting new types of hardware and adding support for several emerging standards.

Windows Vista SP1 can automatically be downloaded/installed from Windows Update or it can be manually downloaded as a Five Language Standalone version (onto a Flash Drive for example) and later installed. The Windows Update version/download is a lot smaller than the Five Language Standalone version because it automatically checks to see if you have previously downloaded/installed any updates (throughout the year). And if you have it will not download/install those updates again, as they are already installed of course. The Five Language Standalone (manual download) version on the other hand assumes you have never downloaded/installed any updates, hence why it contains updates from the previous year. The Five Language Standalone version can be installed on systems with any of the following language versions: English (US), French, German, Japanese, or Spanish (Traditional).

Download Link: Windows Vista SP1

Below is a list of common Microsoft Discussion (Newsletter/Community) Groups where you can Ask/Answer A Question as well as Search For A Previously Solved Problem. This is where you can utilise MVPs (Microsoft's Most Valuable Professionals).

Microsoft's Most Valuable Professionals - A team of exceptional technical community leaders from around the world who are awarded for voluntarily sharing their high quality, real world expertise in offline and online technical communities. Microsoft MVPs are a highly select group of experts that represents the technical community's best and brightest, and they share a deep commitment to community and a willingness to help others.

Microsoft product screen shot(s) reprinted with permission from Microsoft Corporation. As stated here by the Microsoft Corporation.

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