QUESTION: My restore option is giving the same result as minimization for one document... therefore I am not able to re-size (restore) the window. Its either maximum or minimum!! What should I do?
ANSWER: The reason I ask for an email address is so that I can answer you directly if I have questions. But I will post the questions here since you didn't supply an address and hope that you get them.
When you say it's the same result as minimization for one document, what do you mean? That it only shows on the Taskbar and nowhere else?
First, make sure it isn't hiding on your desktop. Click the Restore button on the Window, then right-click on the Taskbar and arrange the windows by cascading, tiling, or whatever to see all windows on the Desktop. If it shows up on the Desktop, then resize it to a larger size and that will be the new Restore size and location.
If it doesn't show up on the Desktop when you do the above, something more serious is wrong. Without knowing what type of file it is, I can't speculate. If you remember a time when it appeared correctly, you can restore your system to that date. If it is a system bug causing this, it will be gone.
Sunday, November 23, 2008
System Restore - Turn It ON!
In case you haven't figured it out, Windows has bugs. Always has, always will and many of the bugs show up after Windows updates. Lots of people write me with a problem that is clearly being caused by a bug and I tell them to restore their system back to a time when they remember that they did not have that problem. Guess what? Most of these people have turned off System Restore because they don't want any of their disk space being used to make Restore points.
Well, good luck with that. Most bugs can be fixed ONLY with System Restore so get used to working around your bug.
You can check to see if your System Restore is turned off by going to the Control Panel, System Properties, System Restore. Set a maximum amount of hard disk space you want used for System Restore. I have XP Professional Service Pack 3 on my main PC and I have my amount of disk space usage set to 12% of my hard drive which is 13727 MB. So pick a number, then check in a couple of weeks to see how many restore points have been made. If you're getting them nightly, you can decrease the disk space usage because you don't need it done nightly. If you've only got one during that time, I'd increase it. A lot of changes can happen to a system in 2 weeks, so you should have more choices than one restore point.
Don't say I didn't warn you.
Well, good luck with that. Most bugs can be fixed ONLY with System Restore so get used to working around your bug.
You can check to see if your System Restore is turned off by going to the Control Panel, System Properties, System Restore. Set a maximum amount of hard disk space you want used for System Restore. I have XP Professional Service Pack 3 on my main PC and I have my amount of disk space usage set to 12% of my hard drive which is 13727 MB. So pick a number, then check in a couple of weeks to see how many restore points have been made. If you're getting them nightly, you can decrease the disk space usage because you don't need it done nightly. If you've only got one during that time, I'd increase it. A lot of changes can happen to a system in 2 weeks, so you should have more choices than one restore point.
Don't say I didn't warn you.
Thursday, May 22, 2008
Taskbar icons won't stay hidden
QUESTION: Even though the Hide Inactive Icons button is checked on the XP Taskbar and Start Menu Properties screen, some of the "Always Hide" icons on the toolbar will not stay hidden. Likewise, some of the "Always Show" icons will not show. How can I get the Toolbar to show the icons I want to see? Thank you for your help.
ANSWER: I received this question 6 days ago but I waited to answer because I wanted to set up my Taskbar properties on 2 of my XP PCs (desktop and laptop) to see if they changed as they evidently do in your situation. I right-clicked on the Taskbar and choose Properties. I clicked in the checkbox that says "Hide inactive icons" as you did and then clicked on the Customize button. I set up some icons to "Always Hide" and some to "Always Show" -- same ones on both PCs. I've restarted both PCs more than once. As an aside, one PC is set for automatic Windows updates and the other is set to manual updates and the former had an update during the period.
The end result for me has been that during this week they have remained as I set them on both PCs. Even if I opened the program for an icon that I set to Always Hide, such as my AVG virus program, the icon did not reappear.
I also searched as many XP chat groups and forums as I could and no on reports this exact problem, so I am unable to help you. I'm wondering if your system has a bug in it. Some groups did speak of editing their registry, but I don't do that sort of thing myself so I can't advise you on it.
Sorry I couldn't be of help. Good luck!
ANSWER: I received this question 6 days ago but I waited to answer because I wanted to set up my Taskbar properties on 2 of my XP PCs (desktop and laptop) to see if they changed as they evidently do in your situation. I right-clicked on the Taskbar and choose Properties. I clicked in the checkbox that says "Hide inactive icons" as you did and then clicked on the Customize button. I set up some icons to "Always Hide" and some to "Always Show" -- same ones on both PCs. I've restarted both PCs more than once. As an aside, one PC is set for automatic Windows updates and the other is set to manual updates and the former had an update during the period.
The end result for me has been that during this week they have remained as I set them on both PCs. Even if I opened the program for an icon that I set to Always Hide, such as my AVG virus program, the icon did not reappear.
I also searched as many XP chat groups and forums as I could and no on reports this exact problem, so I am unable to help you. I'm wondering if your system has a bug in it. Some groups did speak of editing their registry, but I don't do that sort of thing myself so I can't advise you on it.
Sorry I couldn't be of help. Good luck!
Wednesday, April 16, 2008
Clock Tooltip Doesn't Pop Up
Question: When the mouse cursor passes over the clock on the taskbar a little window is supposed to pop up with the date & time. Sometimes this does not happen. If I double click on the clock and then close the date & time properties window then it works again, but some time later, it again will not pop up the date/time window. The other items on the taskbar pop up a small window with information; only the clock pop-up doesn't work. Any ideas what causes this erratic operation ?
Answer: These little pop-up messages are called Tooltips. There are a few things that can cause the problem you're asking about where the Tooltip doesn't show up, or doesn't appear to show up.
1. It can be an incompatibility with your anti-virus software, such as Norton. I'm not an expert on PC technical problems, but I suspect it sees the tooltip as an unwanted pop-up window. I don't have this problem, but if I turn my pop-off blocker on in Internet Explorer, I get the same problem the first few times I move my mouse over the Clock. After the tooltip finally shows up the first time, I don't have the problem again.
2. There's a known Microsoft bug (see http://support.microsoft.com/kb/912650)
that causes tooltips to sometimes hide behind the Taskbar. Depending on how wide your Taskbar is, you might see the top of the tooltip or perhaps not, if it's completely hidden underneath. There's no Microsoft fix for this bug, but other companies offer some software
to fix it.
Tooltipfixer
Tool Tip Manager
Answer: These little pop-up messages are called Tooltips. There are a few things that can cause the problem you're asking about where the Tooltip doesn't show up, or doesn't appear to show up.
1. It can be an incompatibility with your anti-virus software, such as Norton. I'm not an expert on PC technical problems, but I suspect it sees the tooltip as an unwanted pop-up window. I don't have this problem, but if I turn my pop-off blocker on in Internet Explorer, I get the same problem the first few times I move my mouse over the Clock. After the tooltip finally shows up the first time, I don't have the problem again.
2. There's a known Microsoft bug (see http://support.microsoft.com/kb/912650)
that causes tooltips to sometimes hide behind the Taskbar. Depending on how wide your Taskbar is, you might see the top of the tooltip or perhaps not, if it's completely hidden underneath. There's no Microsoft fix for this bug, but other companies offer some software
to fix it.
Tooltipfixer
Tool Tip Manager
The Elder Greek on Windows XP mentions a free shareware solution for this.
Please note I cannot vouch for the reliability or safety of any mentioned software, nor can I know the compatibility with your PC. Always use caution when installing third party software.
If you just want to be able to see the date and time all the time, widen your Taskbar to a double height by dragging it upward. The time, day and date should stay on display.
Thursday, March 20, 2008
Window doesn't change when I click Restore symbol
Question: When I click the Restore button, my window doesn’t change. It’s still filling the screen.
Answer: This happened because while you were in the Restored view, you resized the window to fill the screen—instead of clicking on the Maximize button, which is what you should have done to make the window fill the screen.
To fix it, click the Restore button and resize the window back to the size and location you want (not filling the screen). Now every time you click Restore, the window will be restored to this new size and location—even if you close the window, and then open it again.
Answer: This happened because while you were in the Restored view, you resized the window to fill the screen—instead of clicking on the Maximize button, which is what you should have done to make the window fill the screen.
To fix it, click the Restore button and resize the window back to the size and location you want (not filling the screen). Now every time you click Restore, the window will be restored to this new size and location—even if you close the window, and then open it again.
Minimize, Maximize, Restore symbols
Question: I’m confused about the 3 symbols in the upper right-hand corner of a window. If the window is in maximized view, then why does the Restore symbol show instead of the Maximize symbol?
Answer: If you’re in maximized view and the three symbols showing were Minimize, Maximize, and Close (as you would like), then you would have no symbol to click on to restore the window to its previous size and location. And clicking on the Maximize button wouldn’t do anything because you’re already in the Maximize view.
By the same token, when you’re in the Restored view, you would want the Maximize button to show so you can switch to the full maximized view. You wouldn’t need the Restore button to show since you’d already be in the Restored mode.
Answer: If you’re in maximized view and the three symbols showing were Minimize, Maximize, and Close (as you would like), then you would have no symbol to click on to restore the window to its previous size and location. And clicking on the Maximize button wouldn’t do anything because you’re already in the Maximize view.
By the same token, when you’re in the Restored view, you would want the Maximize button to show so you can switch to the full maximized view. You wouldn’t need the Restore button to show since you’d already be in the Restored mode.
Resizing window from Full View
Question: I maximized my window and then tried to drag in the corner to make the window smaller, but my pointer won’t turn into a 2-headed arrow.
Answer: Maximize means full screen. You can’t resize a window in Maximized view. Click on the Restore button and resize the window.
Answer: Maximize means full screen. You can’t resize a window in Maximized view. Click on the Restore button and resize the window.
Can't Move Desktop Icons
Question: I can’t move the icons on my Desktop.
Answer: Right-click on your Desktop and highlight Arrange Icons By. Look at the menu items. Align to Grid or Auto Arrange is probably checked. Click to uncheck it.
Answer: Right-click on your Desktop and highlight Arrange Icons By. Look at the menu items. Align to Grid or Auto Arrange is probably checked. Click to uncheck it.
Desktop Icons Disappeared
Question: My Desktop icons have disappeared—every single one. How do I get them back?
Answer: Try these things:
1. Right-click on your Desktop and highlight Arrange Icons By (XP) or View (Vista). In the menu that pops up, Show Desktop Icons probably won’t have a check mark next to it because hopefully, it somehow got checked off. So click on Show Desktop Icons. It takes several seconds for Windows to reset the Desktop.
2. If Show Desktop Icons was already checked, first try unchecking it. Then go back in and check it again, which might reset it. If that doesn't help, something else is wrong. It’s unlikely that you accidentally deleted all your icons or dragged them off the Desktop, but try this: Right-click the Desktop, highlight Arrange Icons By and click on Name to see if they show up again.
3. If that doesn’t work, restart your computer.
4. If that doesn’t work, you may have to do a System Restore to go back to a previous day when everything was working normally. System Restore is covered in Part 6: Taking Care of Your PC.
Answer: Try these things:
1. Right-click on your Desktop and highlight Arrange Icons By (XP) or View (Vista). In the menu that pops up, Show Desktop Icons probably won’t have a check mark next to it because hopefully, it somehow got checked off. So click on Show Desktop Icons. It takes several seconds for Windows to reset the Desktop.
2. If Show Desktop Icons was already checked, first try unchecking it. Then go back in and check it again, which might reset it. If that doesn't help, something else is wrong. It’s unlikely that you accidentally deleted all your icons or dragged them off the Desktop, but try this: Right-click the Desktop, highlight Arrange Icons By and click on Name to see if they show up again.
3. If that doesn’t work, restart your computer.
4. If that doesn’t work, you may have to do a System Restore to go back to a previous day when everything was working normally. System Restore is covered in Part 6: Taking Care of Your PC.
Showing the Date on the Taskbar
Question: Can I show the date along with the time on the Taskbar?
Answer: The date will show up if your Taskbar is two lines (double) in height. Drag the top horizontal edge of the Taskbar up to do that. On PCs that also show the day of the week, you might have to resize your Taskbar to a three-line height.
With Vista you can click on the Sidebar icon to make it show up on your desktop and customize it so that the calendar and clock show on it.
Answer: The date will show up if your Taskbar is two lines (double) in height. Drag the top horizontal edge of the Taskbar up to do that. On PCs that also show the day of the week, you might have to resize your Taskbar to a three-line height.
With Vista you can click on the Sidebar icon to make it show up on your desktop and customize it so that the calendar and clock show on it.
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