?_(bÿÿÿÿWf%11ÿÿÿÿ 6ÿÿÿÿB1žÿÿÿÿÿÿÿÿÿÿÿÿBªIndexA ƒ% €8€žž€‚ÿIntroduction and Contents‘`B1 0€Á€ž€€€€€‚ÿWe've all been there. Our machine crashes and we have no idea how to fix it. Here's some "secrets" about how to resolve it. If you're a computer professional, you may already know some of these things - but not all. We really wrote this for the beginners who find that books and courses tell you everything about bits and bytes but little else. R%ƒf- *€J€ž€ãÿꉀ‚ÿIt was working and now it isn't?¥, (€&€€ã뉀‚ÿThings to tryIfî, (€:€€ã뉀‚ÿMore desperate remediesC¥1, (€.€€ã뉀‚ÿGetting more helpJî{, (€<€€ã뉀‚ÿContacting the supplier ¬|1'0 0€ø€ž€ã뉀€‚ÿNet Services wrote this help file. Further copies may be downloaded from http://www.cix.co.uk/~net-services/library/ ƒV{ª- *€¬€ž€ã뉀‚ÿWant to add this file to your program? Sure, it's free but check the Conditions D'î1ÞÿÿÿÿÿÿÿÿÿÿÿÿîˆSomething is brokenG"ª5% €D€žž€‚ÿIt was working and now it isn't˜qîÍ' €â€ž€€‚ÿAsk yourself "What's changed?". Did you install some new software or remove something you thought was trash? •k5b* $€Ö€žQ€€‚ÿRelated tip: Back up your data frequently. Don't put it off - any backup strategy is better than none. &͈# €€€‚ÿ?bÇ1÷ÿÿÿÿÿÿÿÿÿÿÿÿÇMain Tips Page5ˆü% € €žž€‚ÿThings to tryÏÇC T€Ÿ€ž€€€€€€€€€€€‚ÿ* Close down as many other programs as possible and try again. If that fixes the problem, try starting up the other programs one by one. You may discover that two programs just don't get along. §hüµ? N€Ð€ž€€€€€€€€€€‚ÿ* Close down the program and start it up again. This often works and the problem goes away. E6 < H€Š€ž€€€€€€€€€‚ÿ* Shut down the machine in an orderly way and restart it. ÙµR C T€³€ž€€€€€€€€€€€‚ÿ* Reinstall the program that's causing trouble. In theory, you could examine your system, find the damage, what caused the damage and repair it. Running the installer again is quicker and more effective. ^"6 ° < H€D€ž€€€€€€€€€‚ÿ* Run a virus checker. ER 1 < H€Š€ž€€€€€€€€€‚ÿ* Run Scandisk (part of Windows) to check for disk damage %â° V C T€Å€ž€€€€€€€€€€€‚ÿ* Check how much free disk space you have. If you have at least 100 megs, that's fine. If you have less, especially under 10 megs that can cause all sorts of problems and the cause will not be obvious or logical. ¥f1 û ? N€Ì€ž€€€€€€€€€€‚ÿ* When things go wrong, suspect operator error first, software second and hardware third. ©jV ¤ ? N€Ô€ž€€€€€€€€€€‚ÿ* Just telling someone about the problem can help - even if they have no technical knowledge. Tû 4< H€¨€ž€€€€€€€€€‚ÿ* Stop using the computer, go for a walk/sleep/beer etc. Then try again. K¤ - *€<€ž€ã뉀‚ÿMore desperate remedies : 4¹1™ÿÿÿÿÿÿÿÿÿÿÿÿ¹Q@More tips?ø% €4€žž€‚ÿMore desperate remediesÛ°¹ @+ $€a€ž€€€‚ÿConsider backing up your entire machine, formatting the disk and reinstalling Windows. Drastic but can be the answer, especially if you are experiencing multiple problems ø @EøQ@- *€0€ž€ã뉀‚ÿGetting more help 4 @…@1ÿÿÿÿÿÿÿÿÿÿÿÿ…@iDPG59Q@¾@% €(€žž€‚ÿGetting more helpd4…@"A0 0€h€ž€€€€€‚ÿThere is always more than one source of help ‹O¾@­A< H€ž€ž€€€€€€€€€‚ÿ* Hit the F1 key. On many programs, relavant help will be displayed Ɔ"AsB@ N€ €ž€€€€€€€€€€‚ÿ* Helpful documents and Manuals are often provided. Look at the icons near the one you normally use to start the program. œ]­AC? N€º€ž€€€€€€€€€€‚ÿ* If you have Internet access, look for a relevant Newsgroup/Forum. /Conference †JsB•C< H€”€ž€€€€€€€€€‚ÿ* Visit the suppliers web pages. Many have bug fixes and tips. ~BCD< H€„€ž€€€€€€€€€‚ÿ* There may be a support mailing list for the product. V)•CiD- *€R€ž€ã뉀‚ÿMore about Contacting the supplier @D©D1ð ÿÿÿÿÿÿÿÿÿÿÿÿ©DYOProduct support?iDèD% €4€žž€‚ÿContacting the supplierϤ©D·E+ $€I€ž€€€‚ÿIf you decide to contact the supplier direct, look carefully at how they are set up to handle support. If their phone line is always busy, try a fax or e-mail Y)èDF0 0€R€ž€€€€€‚ÿWhat to say when you ask for help F·EVF0 0€,€ž€€€€€‚ÿBefore you ask ™ZFïF? N€´€ž€€€€€€€€€€‚ÿ* Make a note of exactly what you did. Example: I right-clicked the Tray Icon º{VF©G? N€ö€ž€€€€€€€€€€‚ÿ* Make a note of what you expected to happen. This is vital. Example: I expected to see the Properties screen. º{ïFcH? N€ö€ž€€€€€€€€€€‚ÿ* Make a note of what actually happened Example: I got a message on the screen "Access violation at 12345678". ΩGtIC T€€ž€€€€€€€€€€€‚ÿ* Tip: Don't interpret what you see, report it. Example: "I got a hex dump" is not as good as "The top left corner of the screen says '0000 3A 47 AF ...' . See also Product Support - Anecdote &ãcHšKC T€Ç€ž€€€€€€€€€€€‚ÿWe often get product support requests we can do little with. With any program, it pays to be precise and make notes. Just saying that a facility "doesn't work" or that "I couldn't enter function X" is not enough. Maybe the facility works differently to the way you were expecting. If you say you couldn't do something, it helps support people to know why. Perhaps you didn't know how to proceed, perhaps the button you wanted to use was unresponsive. They need to know. R.tIìK$ €\€ž€‚ÿTo reinforce these points, a little story: =šK)M. *€€ž€€€€‚ÿWe once had a customer tell us that they had a fault and that there was now a Word Perfect document displayed on the screen. We were surprised and concerned since Word Perfect was not installed on the machine and we didn't know what Word Perfect files looked like! ‰bìK²M' €Ä€ž€€‚ÿWe asked the customer for more detail and he said he thought it was Word Perfect V5.0 format. 'ù)MÙN. *€ó€ž€€€€‚ÿAfter a lot of misunderstanding, we got him to tell us that the actual characters were "~BRI~BRO~FLA ...". Instantly, we knew what the problem was! He was looking at one of our system files that just happened to look similar to Word Perfect. Z6²M3O$ €l€ž€‚ÿThe moral is report what you see, don't interpret. &ÙNYO# €€€‚ÿ@3O™O1Oÿÿÿÿÿÿÿÿÿÿÿÿ™OçWho wrote this?4YO €% €€žž€‚ÿNet Services™O €YO6™OB€0 0€ €ž€†"€€‚ÿ xT €º€$ €¨€ž€‚ÿNet Services is a software and consultancy company based in Cheltenham, England. ‘aB€K0 0€Â€ž€€€€€‚ÿWe specialise in products and consultancy that's about making technology work for people. †Lº€Ñ‚: B€™€ž€€€€€€€€‚ÿMr. Cool is for getting files by e-mail rather than waiting on-line for data to come over a slow link. When browsing the net, a few clicks make Mr. Cool send a request to a "ByMail" server. You download the file later with your e-mail. Download a "try before you buy" copy from http://www.cix.co.uk/~net-services/mrcool/ ÉK”„: B€€ž€€€€€€€€‚ÿMollusc is for e-mail security and privacy. It uses the famous PGP (Pretty Good Privacy) technology to encrypt or "scramble" your e-mail so only the intended recipients can read it. It interfaces directly to many popular e-mail programs so that all it takes is an extra click above normal e-mailing. Download a "try before you buy" copy from http://www.cix.co.uk/~net-services/pgp/ ͇тa†F Z€€ž€€€€€€€€€€€€‚ÿJohn Doe is for e-mail anonymity and privacy. It makes using a Nymserver (a special type of anonymous remailer) a lot easier. Using a nymserver prevents anyone knowing who you are mailing, let alone what you're saying or your real e-mail address. Download a "try before you buy" copy from http://www.cix.co.uk/~net-services/jd.htm. Note: This is not a practical spamming tool ÄŠ”„%ˆ: B€€ž€€€€€€€€‚ÿSpam Hater is for tracking and hitting back at spammers. It interfaces directly to many popular e-mail programs to analyse spam and prepare and send complaints. It also has tools to prevent your e-mail address being harvested from Usenet posts. Spam Hater is freeware with an option to upgrade the Spam Hater Gold. Download from http://www.cix.co.uk/~net-services/spam/spam_hater.htm Úa†?‰@ N€µ€ž€€€€€€€€€€‚ÿSpamicide is an advanced spam filter. It clears spam from POP3 mailboxes and then triggers many popular e-mail programs to collect clean mail. Download a trial from http://www.cix.co.uk/~net-services/spam/ d!%ˆ£ŠC T€C€ž€€€€€€€€€€€‚ÿFile Destroyer is for really deleting files. When you delete files conventionally, they can often be recovered with various utilities. File Destroyer defeats this - great for confidential stuff. File Destroyer is freeware Download from http://www.cix.co.uk/~net-services/fd/ r/?‰ŒC T€_€ž€€€€€€€€€€€‚ÿDisk Washer is also for really deleting files. When you delete files conventionally, they can often be recovered with various utilities. Disk Washer cleans up all the "deleted" files on a disk - great for confidential stuff. Freeware Download from http://www.cix.co.uk/~net-services/wash/ O£Šd7 <€1€ž€€€€€€€‚ÿEmotional Support on The Internet is a reflection of our links with organisations helping people with their deepest personal problems. This is a listing of several hundred "emotional support" groups using the Internet as a medium http://www.cix.co.uk/~net-services/care/ ]9ŒÁ$ €r€ž€‚ÿContact Net Services at admin@net-services.cix.co.uk. &dç# €€€‚ÿ: Á!Ž1Jÿÿÿÿÿÿÿÿÿÿÿÿ!ŽÿÿÿÿCopyright2 çSŽ% €€žž€‚ÿConditionsQ-!Ž¤Ž$ €Z€ž€‚ÿThis file is Copyright Net Services 1998 }YSŽ À$ €²€ž€‚ÿAnyone is free to distribute and copy the complete and unaltered file without charge. ¤Ž ÀçꤎöÀ( €…€ž€€‚ÿ(It is acceptable to make a nominal charge for disks, postage, etc. Online service providers offering it for download are permitted to levy their normal charges for accessing their system.) & Àÿÿÿÿ# €€€‚ÿe\l V$.Secrets of Solving Computer Software ProblemsNet Services 1998{r0Courier New¿V³Ÿ?"'