Unfortunately I do not know all the other programs that are used and couldn't supply all the information if I did. Windows is a huge topic by itself, and I hope this guide helps some people (especially in feeling stupid when someone comes back with a 3 word answer to a 5 week problem, this has happened to me!
). I have several links down the bottom
WINDOWS and OFFICE 1. What was the last thing you installed or changed?
uninstall it / change it back - if that works you have found the problem
You can use roll back driver in Windows XP if a driver problem
2. Have you checked for viruses / spyware?
no single anti spyware / virus program is perfect run several antispyware programs
More than 1 antivirus program running at the same time can cause conflicts, there is a differencr between antispyware and antivirus.
run them in safe mode, tap 'F8' continuously while booting up to get to the menu where you can choose safe mode, they run better.
3. If Windows doesn't boot up properly press 'F8' and choose 'Last Known Good Configuration'
This may or may not work but worth a try
4. Try system restore to a point before the problem happened - works best with Windows XP 5. Try a Windows or Office update
This does help
Other things to reduce problems.
1. When installing
ANYTHING disable any anti spyware / virus software as these can cause problems with an install
2. Remove any old drivers - back them up first -
BEFORE installing new ones
3. Run anti spyware / virus full system scans in 'safe mode' this should be done about 1 once per week, depending on what you are doing online
4. Take a note of ANY system / power / any changes you make, you may have to undo them later.
5.
BEFORE doing Windows updates, update all of your system drivers, include your routers in this
6. After
ANY updates to anything (some updates allow you to download several together eg Windows updates)
BEFORE updating anything else, restart your computer
If you have problems with a Virus, the best people to contact are your antivirus support, if its free.
If you have problems with installing / downloading / or problems after installing windows updates call Microsoft, their techs deal with it all the time and can usually fix the problem within a couple of hours max.
This is the site to find contact details for Microsoft anywhere in the world - they should have a free phone number
http://www.microsoft.com/worldwide/ OTHER OPTIONS
Repair - This will remove any updates you have done after installing
eg if you have on CD windows xp pro with SP1 and you have downloaded SP2 then when you have repaired your windows will have SP1 not SP2
To repair Windows (XP only) you do the following:
1. Put the Windows CD into your CD drive - ignore anything that comes up
2. Reboot your computer - In BIOS booting from CD will have to be enabled
3. When asked to 'Press any key to boot from CD' press a key it doesn't matter which one
4. In the Windows setup screen you want to do the following:
1. Press 'ENTER' to install
2. Press 'F8' to agree
3. Press 'R' for repair
- pressing 'R' in the first screen will enable a recovery console, this allows you to repair using DOS commands, it is good if you know how to use it and only need to copy a few files from the Windows CD to your HDD
To repair Office (XP (2002) and 2003, might work for 2000 I haven't used it for 3 years)
1. open any Office program
2. click on 'help' to show the menu not go into office help
3. click on 'Detect and Repair...'
4. make sure 'Restore My Shortcuts While Repairing' checkbox is ticked
5. put Office CD into drive and then click 'Start'
If you have only had Office installed for a few days and it is not opening any of your files or you can't use it try activating it:
1. open any Office program
2. if activation wizard does not start
a. click on 'help' to show the menu not go into office help
b. click on 'Activate product'
3. choose to activate product over the internet.
4. If unable to activate over the internet
a. choose 'I wish to phone a customer representative' click 'next'
b. Agree to license agreement then click 'next'
c. choose your country / region
d. ring the phone number provided
e. give the cust rep the installation ID (54 numbers)
f. write down and double check the confirmation ID (42 numbers)
g. write numbers in boxes provided then click 'finish'
WEBSITES
MS Internet Support
http://support.microsoft.com
Other search site I have found helpful
http://www.google.co.nz
Activations
http://support.microsoft.com/default...b;en-us;302806
Security / Spyware
http://www.microsoft.com/athome/security/default.mspx
Windows XP
http://www.microsoft.com/windowsxp
Office - All products from 2000
http://office.microsoft.com
Feel free to add anything, I know I have missed stuff. I hope this helps people, and stops the easily self solved questions. If you want me to change anything feel free to PM me