Troubleshooting

Many times I have seen some PC related troubleshooting questions posted on some of the forums I visit, and often they are the same queries that have been posted earlier also. So I thought why not include the common queries in my blog too? At least then people won’t have to ask every time how it can be done, you can just view them right here.

And if your PC is troubling you, and you can’t find an answer to your problem, then you’re welcome to drop me an email anytime!

I’ll be bringing common troubleshooting issues to light every once in a while. All though, every troubleshooting issue wont be in this very thread, I’ll post new topics in my blog under the tag of Troubleshooting and you can access all the topics easily.

Ok, now let’s start with some of the issues.

Many of you would’ve made a few PowerPoint Presentations by now. Even though most of the people nowadays know how to operate and make a presentation, but they don’t know how to share that presentation with others. Ok, so here’s the exact question:

"I have done a presentation in PowerPoint and want it to run independently. I just want the person viewing the presentation to see it without running powerpoint."

There are two solutions to your problem, so I will tell you both of them.

First, if you just want them to see just the presentation slides, then save your presentation as a PowerPoint show.

After you prepared your presentation in Microsoft PowerPoint, go to the file menu and choose ‘Save As’. Choose a filename as normal, but instead of saving it as a PPT file, as you normally would, choose the option PowerPoint show from the drop-down menu. A PowerPoint show file has a PPS extension.

When you open that PPS file, it will immediately show your slides full screen.

Sometimes people think that by using this method, they can prevent others from editing their slides. That isn’t true and the slides can still be edited.

Second, if you have a PowerPoint file, but the person viewing it doesn’t have PowerPoint installed on their computer, then they need to download the free PowerPoint viewer from Microsoft.

Download Microsoft PowerPoint Viewer

Ok, so that’s it for the PowerPoint thing. Now let’s move on to a security question related to Windows (security queries are generally related to Windows aren’t they?).

"I haven't got round to downloading Service Pack 2 for Windows XP, I run the ZoneAlarm firewall which was free and probably not the best firewall out there, but it's better than nothing. I also have Spybot Search & Destroy. With the service pack, will I be able to do away with these and rely on Windows?"

Service Pack 2 was an important update for Windows XP released over two years ago, which fixed some bugs and added a significant amount of additional security features to prevent online attacks on Windows machines. I highly recommend that you start downloading SP2 right now; it will take a bit of time to download since it’s quite large. Windows XP as it is with SP2 is insecure; without it you’re just waiting for your PC to get virus infected.

(Now if you’re thinking that Windows XP is highly insecure still, think how much insecure it would have been before SP2?).

Anyways, one of these added security features is a built-in firewall software which controls how your computer connects to the internet, and stops anything from coming in without your permission.

But, believe me, it very-very basic and hardly stops any attacks. If you’re used to ZoneAlarm, carry on using it, it is one of the best firewalls out there. Though I have noticed that the free version is considerably difficult to find on their website than it used to be, so here’s the link to the download page (you know that I am generous right?):

Download ZoneAlarm

The new version of Microsoft Windows, that is Vista, however does include a much more fully featured firewall. (Though personally I still don’t trust its security and I have bought Norton Internet Security to be fully sure.)

You can get SP2 and all other updates from Windows Updates.

Microsoft Windows Update

Note that Service Pack 2 is an enormous download, so only try it to download if you have broadband. Alternatively, if you have dial-up, you can go to a cyber café nearby, point your browser to The Software Patch and download all the updates manually starting from the earliest date and then install then transfer the files to a Flash Disk and install them in your PC.

Service Pack 2 may also slow down your computer a little.

I think the firewall protection is the most important part of the upgrade. If you are running a premium (not free) and up-to-date firewall software then you might be able to do without Service Pack 2, still it’s highly recommended that you download it.

Ok, so that’s it for the security query.

Now, the following question is about pop-ups and spyware (and yes they can be related). Just before we start answering/stating the question though, I would like to touch on ‘What is Spyware?’

Well, spyware is software which is loaded onto your computer without your knowledge, or possibly without the full functionality being made clear to you. It can, among other things, slow your internet connection down and make frustrating changes to your browser.

So here’s the question:

"A pop-up window on my computer told me that Errorguard found 163 critical faults on my computer. Is this organisation safe to pay $30 to fix the problems?"

I would be very cautious of any piece of software which first suggested that you had alarming faults on your computer, and then tried to get you to part with $30. Often, the software which scares you into installing it can turn out to be exactly the kind of spyware they claim to protect you against!

I suggest that you just close the pop-up and forget about. If still you’re thinking that your computer is infested with spyware, I suggest you download a legitimate anti-spyware program.

Spybot Search and Destroy is one of the best anti-spyware programs around. And what’s more is that it’s free!

Download Spybot Search and Destroy

Microsoft also has its own Anti-Spyware software which goes by the name of Windows Defender. It is also free.

Even though it’s simple to use, and you can schedule regular scans for spyware, the problem with Defender is that it doesn’t identify and remove all of the spyware and some spyware might still be in your PC. Nevertheless, the updates are automatic and come free. You might like to try it, but I would never rely on Windows Defender alone. Also, you must verify that your copy of Windows is genuine before Microsoft will let you download it.

Download Windows Defender