Sunday, June 30, 2002

System-restore utility may fix cursor problem

    Today's column is from Tim Johnson, president of the Roanoke Valley Personal Computer Club, www.rvpcc.org.

    Q: My computer has 384 RAM, is a 950 MHz with performance-enhancing cache memory, has a 20 GB hard drive and runs Windows ME. Mostly we use it to play solitaire, but the cursor moves so slowly (and sometimes not at all) that it is difficult to do anything. At times, both the arrow and hourglass are together. When you write e-mail, sometimes you have to stop because the cursor point changes to the hourglass and you cannot finish or close or anything. What's happening?

   - Fred (no last name given), Huddleston

    A: There are many things that can cause a computer to slow down. A few possible causes could be bad device drivers, a corrupted registry or bad hardware. Windows ME has a built-in system-restore utility that may help get your system back in working order. The program is found by going to the Start Menu - Programs - Accessories - System Tools, and clicking on the System Restore icon. Click the next button to start the restore process.

    Did the problem start after a piece of software was installed? Do you remember a date where the computer was running well? If so, try restoring to that point. You can select the dates on the calendar to read what was written at the time the restoration point was made. Most of them will say "System Checkpoint," but there may be an entry where some update was made. Try several restoration points to see if one gets the computer running well again.

    With any luck one of the restoration points will return the computer to a working condition. Some previously installed software may need to be reinstalled if it does not work after completing the restoration process.

    Windows ME is known to have problems. Upgrading to Windows XP Home Edition may be something you should think about. It is much more stable.

    Q: My computer screen will turn kind of yellowish-green sometimes. I can still do everything I need to do while it's like that (e-mails, games), but then I can't tell what color things are. It's a real bother sometimes! Do you think it's my monitor going bad? I'd appreciate it if you could let me know what you think.

   - No name given

    A: Sounds like it could be a bad monitor. Do you have another computer or a friend with a computer? Take your monitor there and plug it in to see how it looks. If it still turns green on another computer, then you know that the monitor is bad.

    The video card could also be unseated. The case would have to be opened to gain access to the card. If you are not comfortable tinkering with the computer, perhaps you know someone who could come over and reseat the card.

    Readers help on jumping icons

    Recently, a reader wondered why her desktop icons would not stay where she put them, and we responded that icons are structured according to size, type, etc., but cannot be placed willy-nilly on the desktop. Here are other readers' suggestions for icon positioning:

    Steve Anderson of Martinsville wrote: Reading the letter from Anne Miles of Bedford, it sounds like she is infected by the Magistr virus. Even though she says that Norton's AV shows her virus - free, I would make a bet that she is only running a scan of her program files and not an "All Files" scan. I would recommend that she update her Norton files from their Web site and set her scan to run an "All Files" scan. Instructions for setting the scan are linked in the following article from Symantec: http://securityresponse.symantec.com/avcenter/venc/data/w32.magistr.24876@mm.html.

    There was a small "joke" program that was going around the Net a while back that would make the desktop icons react this way, but I was unable to locate reference to it doing a Web search. But I would bet that she does find the virus infection.

    From M.K.K. of Roanoke: In answer to the "floating desktop icons" in your column: Recently I opened an e-mail from a source that was the same as a game that I had installed for my grandson. The game had an icon on my desktop. It said something about an "error." I should have ignored it. I ended up with a virus on my desktop. My icons literally floated all over the place, no matter what I did or how I set them up, every time I moved my mouse. Although A.M. of Bedford may have checked for a virus and come up with no viruses, she still may have one. My son had to download (empty) my computer and reinstall everything.

    After doing all that, my icons stay where they are. I am not saying that this is the answer, but it is worth looking into.

    From Dick Hamlen, Roanoke Valley: I'm not sure I understood the icon question in your column . But in Windows 98 and Windows 95, you can put the icons anywhere on the desktop and they will stay there. In fact, one of my pet peeves in setting up school lab computers is that some people will scatter icons randomly over the desktop and leave them there. In my computers, I have arranged them around the photo on my desktop, with the ones I use most often on the right and lower borders.

    The right mouse button gives the choice of "arrange icons" or "line up icons." If you choose "arrange icons," you get two choices: "by name/size/type/date" and "AutoArrange." "AutoArrange" is an on-off setting; if you leave it checked, you will not be able to move the icons. If you remove the check, you can put the icons anywhere you want. Then you can select "line up icons," which will line them up neatly in a grid position nearest to where they are.

    Hope this makes sense.

    From John Hankins, Roanoke Valley: The case of the rearranging icons that was noted by Anne Miles of Bedford can be resolved by a freeware program called "WinTidy." Go to PC Magazine's Web site, www.pcmag.com, and open their "Downloads" site where it can be easily downloaded. I've used it for some time and it does a nice job and will work on all versions of Windows.

    Send questions or comments to column coordinator SANDRA BROWN KELLY at sbk@rev.net.

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