Common PC Problems and Possible Solutions

This document contains information about common computer problems

and some tips that may help you to fix them. If, after trying some of these
suggestions, you are still encountering difficulties then CareOnLine may
be able to help you.

Contents
1) My internet connection is not working
2) My computer is really slow.
3) My printer is not working
4) My printer is producing blank or illegible copies
5) Using Windows Vista Help (Vista only)

1) My internet connection is not working.

If your internet connection has been working normally and then suddenly
appears to stop working here are some things you can check.

• Check that the cables are all connected and have not been
accidentally pulled out.
• Unplug your modem router* from the electricity supply, wait for
about 10 seconds then plug it back it. Reboot your computer and try
your connection again.
• You may want to make a phone call to your Internet Service
Provider (i.e. BT, Tiscali, Virgin, AOL etc) to check that they are not
having any technical issues that could be affecting your service.
 (* Your modem / router will probably be a white, black or grey ‘box’,
about half the size of a toaster, with several small lights on it. It will be
connected to your phone socket or, in the case of cable companies
such as NTL or Virgin Media, your cable socket.)

2) My computer is really slow!

With time and use a computer will become slower. There are a number of
things you can do to help with this.

€ Defragment your Hard Drive

1. Go to ‘Start’* → ‘Programs’ → ‘Accessories’ → ‘System Tools’ →

‘Disk Defragmenter’ (click to start it)
2. You will see a list of the ‘drives’ in your computer. Select the ‘C:’
drive and select ‘Analyse’
3. The program will take a few minutes and will then advise you about
whether to defragment your hard drive or not. Just follow the onscreen
tips.
5. The process may take a few minutes or several hours depending on
the size and condition of your hard drive. This is all perfectly normal.

(* The ‘Start’ button is located in the bottom left hand corner of your
screen. Just click on it and a menu will appear.)
€ Clean up the computers registry

A good registry cleaner can be downloaded from here:

http://www.eusing.com/free_registry_cleaner/registry_cleaner.htm

1. After it is installed, click ‘skip’ on its registration screen.

2. Choose ‘Scan registry issue’
3. Once it has finished click ‘Repair registry issue’.
4. This program automatically saves a backup of your existing registry
and will then clean it up.
5. If the PC behaves in an undesirable way following a scan and
automatic repair (which can sometimes happen) then open the
program again but this time select ‘Restore previous registry’.

Remove any temporary or redundant files from off your hard drive.

• There is a handy free utility that can do this for you automatically
called C-Cleaner. It can be downloaded from:
http://www.ccleaner.com/

Error check your Hard Drive

There is a very handed utility from Microsoft called ‘Guided Help’ that can
carefully walk you through the process of error checking your Hard
Drive(s). You can download it here:
http://support.microsoft.com/kb/315265/en-us
Once it is running it will ask you to select which drive you want to error
check. Choose your ‘C:’ drive.
Alternatively - If you have any problems with the above, then another
way to error check your hard drive is as follows.

1. Open ‘My Computer’ (the icon should be on your desktop

somewhere) and locate your C: drive

2. Right click on the ‘C:’ drive and go to ‘Properties’

3. Go to the ‘Tools’ tab and select ‘Error Checking’ – ‘Check Now’
4. Place a tick mark in the two boxes - ‘Automatically fix file system
errors’ and ‘Scan for and attempt recovery of bad sectors.’ You will
probably get a message saying that the scan can be scheduled for
the next time you start your computer. Agree to this.
5. Reboot your computer and the scan should automatically start.
When it has finished it will take you back to Windows.
6. You should repeat this process for any other hard drives you may
have in your computer but you can ignore CD or DVD players.
Clean up your Start-up items

Cleaning up your start-up programs can have a major effect on the speed
of your computer, and can dramatically increasing its performance.

1. Browse to ‘Start’ → ‘Programs’ → ‘Startup’ and look in that folder.

Things such as Adobe Speed Launcher and Microsoft Office can be
deleted from this ‘startup’ folder by right clicking on them and
choosing ‘delete’. This will not remove Microsoft Office or any
Adobe product. It just prevents them from pre-loading when your
computer first starts. This means that your computer can run a little
faster. You can still access Microsoft Office etc in the usual way.
2. Things that you regularly use such as ‘Guide’ should not be deleted
from this folder as that will prevent them from automatically loading
for you at start-up. As a general rule you can safely remove
anything from this folder that you do not use every time you start
your PC. If in doubt about a program then leave it.

3) My printer is not working.

If your printer has suddenly stopped working here are some things you
may want to check.

• Check that the printer is switched on and that the cables and
connections to your printer and between your printer and PC are all
OK.
• Look for any flashing lights or error codes on the printer. Often a
flashing light can indicate a paper jam that would prevent the printer
 from working. Once the paper is removed the printer should resume
normal operation. If you can see an error code check its meaning in
your printer manual or by doing a search online for the model of
your printer along with the error code.
• When you try to print, check that the name of the printer appears in
the printer name box and that this is correct.

4) My printer is producing blank or incomplete copies

• If your printer is appearing to work normally but the resulting print is

blank, illegible or otherwise incomplete then you should check the
status of the ink cartridges in your printer as they may need
replacing.
• If after checking the status of your ink cartridges, the printer is still
appearing to work normally but the resulting print is blank or illegible
then it may be necessary for you to clean or calibrate the printer
heads. This can normally be done by accessing the service menu of
the printer from your computer. Often there will be a printer utility
 program in your ‘Programs’ menu (Go to ‘Start’ → ‘Programs’)
which can help you service your printer automatically.

5) Using Windows Vista Help

Here is a useful tip for Windows Vista users only. Vista has a very useful
built in help section that surpasses that of earlier editions of Windows.
This support includes useful tools which, with your permission, can
carefully walk you through possible solutions to the issues you are facing.

To start the help process:

• Go to ‘Start’ → ‘Help and Support’

• Type in keywords relating to you problem in the search box.

• Look through the results to see if your problem is listed and then
select it to get some help.