Let Windows XP Help You

When you have problems with Windows XP, who do you call? You could call Microsoft, your computer technician or a friend, but what about helping yourself. The fastest way may be to let Windows XP help you do it yourself. Windows XP comes with built-in troubleshooters that help diagnose and suggest solutions for your computer problems. If you have not tried any of Windows XP’s Troubleshooters here is a way to start. When you get an error message or notice your computer acting strangely, note any information in the error message or the symptoms your computer is experiencing. Open the Help And Support Center by clicking Start and then Help And Support.
On the left side of the Help and support Center screen click “Fixing A Problem” in the “Pick A Help topic” list.
In the new window in the Fixing A Problem section, click “Troubleshooting problems”.
Now the right side of the screen displays various Windows support features.
Click “List of troubleshooters” under the Overviews, Articles and Tutorials section.
This opens a listing of the complete array of troubleshooters and descriptions of what each does.
To open a Troubleshooter click the name like you would a Web link, and it will begin a questionnaire approach to identifying the problem.
All of the troubleshooters work this way, trying to identify common problems and pointing you to information that can help you fix it. You answer each question and select the appropriate button and description before clicking each step’s Next button.

The System setup troubleshooter is for problems with Installing and setting up Windows. If you’re installing to a new hard drive, problems with setup may be due to hardware malfunctions or incompatible BIOS settings. If you are upgrading from an earlier version of Windows the troubleshooter will help track down potential problems including installed hardware and
software that worked under the old operating system but might be incompatible with Windows XP.

Use the Startup/Shutdown troubleshooter if you are having problems starting and shutting down your computer. With this you can enable or disable various startup applications and services that you think might be causing the problem. On the other hand, as the troubleshooter suggests, disable all of them and enable them one at a time to find the offender.

The other utility is the System Restore application. The troubleshooter suggests using it after making changes to your system settings if you find that Windows no longer starts successfully but you’re still able to boot into Safe Mode. Remember that System Restore affects only system settings, so it is different from a data backup program and cannot recover lost application data.

The Display troubleshooter can help you resolve problems with video cards and video adapters, including your computer screen, outdated or incompatible video drivers, and incorrect settings for your video hardware.

The Home networking troubleshooter guides you through network setup, Internet connections, sharing files and printers.

With the Hardware troubleshooter you can identify and fix problems with disk drives (including CD-ROM and DVD drives), game controllers, input devices (such as keyboards, mice, cameras, scanners, and infrared devices), network adapters, USB devices, modems, and sound cards.

Additional hardware troubleshooters are available for Multimedia and games, Digital Video Discs (DVDs), Input Devices (Keyboards, mouse and trackball devices, cameras, scanners, and infrared devices), Drives and Network Adapters (Hard discs, floppy discs, CD-ROM and DVD drives, network cards, tape drives, backup programs), USB (USB connectors and
peripherals), Sound (Sound and sound cards), Modem (Modem connections, setup, configuration, and detection).

The Internet connection sharing troubleshooter helps you connect and log on to your Internet service provider.

For problems browsing the Web, downloading files, saving your favorites, using IE toolbars, or printing Web pages use the Internet Explorer troubleshooter.

Similarly the Outlook Express (Messaging) troubleshooter helps with problems using email and messaging.

The File and Print Sharing troubleshooter aids in sharing files and printers between computers, connecting to other computers in a network, installing network adapters, and logging on.

And the Printing troubleshooter guides you through printer installation and connection, printer drivers, print quality, printer speed, and fonts.

From the Sarasota PC User Group