Troubleshoot Your ‘Frozen’ Computer

Q.  Every now and then my computer freezes up and I can’t do anything with it. What can I do to un-freeze it?

A. When a computer stops responding, locks up or freezes, this is usually caused by a program trying to access a portion of memory that’s in use by another program.

The best thing to do when that occurs is to try to close the “offending” program (the program you’re using at the time of the freeze) by using the keystroke combination CTRL + ALT + DEL, better known as the “three-fingered salute.”  Here’s how to deploy that time-honored tradition:

While pressing the CTRL and ALT keys, press the DELete key. That will display a Close Program dialog box or Task Manager that displays a list of running programs. From the list of programs presented, click to select the program that you were using at the time of the freeze or that you believe might be causing the lock-up. Click End Task to close the frozen program. It may require several attempts since many programs won’t respond to the CTRL + ALT + DEL routine on the first, second or even the third try.

If repeated attempts at closing the frozen program fail, a reboot (restart) of your computer would be warranted. If your system is so locked up that even the keyboard won’t respond and the mouse cursor won’t budge, the only thing you can do is to press the Reset button or power switch on your computer.  This is truly a last-resort measure, but when all else fails, you gotta do what you gotta do.

Q.  The horizontal bar that contains the Start button at the bottom of the screen suddenly repositioned itself vertically, on the right-hand edge of the screen. How can I get that bar back to a horizontal position at the bottom of the screen?

A.  The Taskbar, at the bottom of your screen, was designed to be mobile, so you can drag it to any of the four sides of your screen or let it be a free-floating digital globule that will always be in the way, no matter where it is. 

To reposition the Taskbar, place your mouse cursor on a blank area in the middle of the Taskbar. While holding down the left mouse button, slowly drag the bar to the center of the bottom of your screen. The key to repositioning the Taskbar is to pause for a second or two once you’re back at the bottom of the screen, before releasing the left mouse button.  During that one- or two-second pause, you will see a dotted outline appear where the Taskbar will be located. When you see that outline, release the left mouse button and the Taskbar will snap back where it belongs. 

Mr. Modem’s Sites of the Week:
Hullnumber.com
If you were in the U.S. Navy, you can locate long-lost shipmates, courtesy of ex-Navy man Dave Schultz. Inspired by the death of his best Navy buddy at age 40, Dave created this Web site which now provides access to more than 8,700 ship and command rosters, with email addresses. 
www.hullnumber.com

Overweightdate.com
The American Medical Association estimates that 64 percent of American adults are overweight. With that thought in mind, and out of concern for his overweight sister who was struggling to meet someone special, Ian Klein created a matchmaking Web site where like-sized people could meet. Mr. Klein says his sister did find a romantic interest through the Web site and claims that millions of individuals are using his site on a daily basis. Basic membership is free; Premium membership is $49.95 for three months. 
www.overweightdate.com

The Joy of Soup
“Sit down and have a nice bowl of soup,” invites the Soup Lady and genial hostess. Find recipes for soups from Acorn Squash to Vichyssoise in categories such as Real People/Real Soup, which features recipes submitted by visitors to the site. Links to many other cooking-related sites and humorous commentary by the Soup Lady herself.
http://tinyurl.com/5nlh7k

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