The most commonly asked questions, and the answers to them.
Why is my computer so slow?
A slow computer can be caused by a variety of different things ranging from viruses & malware, software related issues and hardware failure (i.e. hard drive, etc). To properly diagnose a slow computer would include running a diagnostic on your hard drive, scanning for viruses and malware, removing outdated and unnecessary software, adjusting startup programs to ensure system resources are being used properly and much more.
A slow computer can be caused by a variety of different things ranging from viruses & malware, software related issues and hardware failure (i.e. hard drive, etc). To properly diagnose a slow computer would include running a diagnostic on your hard drive, scanning for viruses and malware, removing outdated and unnecessary software, adjusting startup programs to ensure system resources are being used properly and much more.
I can't print!
This is a common complaint but can sometimes have an easy solution.
Printers are very problematic and the more complex they become, the higher the chances of something going wrong. The best steps to take when having trouble printing before taking more drastic measures (i.e. removing the printer, etc) is the following:
1. Power down your printer or unplug the power.
2. Restart your computer (if you are using a Windows machine it's very important to choose the restart option and not shut down).
3. Once the restart completes, turn your printer back on and wait approximately 1 minute.
4. At this point you may notice what you were trying to print is now coming out. If not, try printing again.
This is a common complaint but can sometimes have an easy solution.
Printers are very problematic and the more complex they become, the higher the chances of something going wrong. The best steps to take when having trouble printing before taking more drastic measures (i.e. removing the printer, etc) is the following:
1. Power down your printer or unplug the power.
2. Restart your computer (if you are using a Windows machine it's very important to choose the restart option and not shut down).
3. Once the restart completes, turn your printer back on and wait approximately 1 minute.
4. At this point you may notice what you were trying to print is now coming out. If not, try printing again.
The difference between shutting down and restarting.
A longstanding joke in the technology world is asking the user who's having a problem if they turned the device off and back on again.
More importantly, when you are having an issue with your Windows machine it's very important to restart your system rather than shutting it down and turning it back on again. The reason for this is that, by default, Windows enables a feature called Fast Start. This feature allows your computer to boot up faster than it normally would as the Shut Down feature operates more like a hibernate/sleep mode. In most cases, this is beneficial but not when troubleshooting any issues.
If you are having any issues at all including printing, WiFi connectivity, internet connectivity, programs not responding, etc you should always begin with closing all programs and restarting your system (choose restart!).
A longstanding joke in the technology world is asking the user who's having a problem if they turned the device off and back on again.
More importantly, when you are having an issue with your Windows machine it's very important to restart your system rather than shutting it down and turning it back on again. The reason for this is that, by default, Windows enables a feature called Fast Start. This feature allows your computer to boot up faster than it normally would as the Shut Down feature operates more like a hibernate/sleep mode. In most cases, this is beneficial but not when troubleshooting any issues.
If you are having any issues at all including printing, WiFi connectivity, internet connectivity, programs not responding, etc you should always begin with closing all programs and restarting your system (choose restart!).