Category Archives: Windows Secrets

Windows Secrets

Fix Windows 10 “No Internet” Error

Leave a comment

Twice now, we’ve run into the same error on separate Windows 10 laptops. While the WiFi is clearly working, Windows 10 tells us that there is no Internet even though we know there is. Here’s how to fix this problem quickly and easily.

  1. Click on the file folder icon down at the bottom of your Windows 10 screen. This will open File Explorer.

    File Explorer icon
    Click on this icon to bring up File Explorer
  2. Hold down the Shift key and right click any folder on the left pane. This will open the menu shown below.

    Command menu
    This is the menu that you see when you hold down the shift key and right click a folder in Windows 10.
  3. From the menu, choose ‘Open command menu here’.

    Command Menu
    Choose Open command window here.
  4. Once the black and white command menu opens, type ipconfig , just those letters, nothing else. Make sure you don’t make a typo, all you want is ipconfig

    CP2
    Type ‘ipconfig’ in the window. Just those letters, no punctuation.
  5. Windows 10 will check your current IP settings and display them in the same window. More than likely, those settings will be incorrect but that is irrelevant to you now. Once Windows is finished and displays the IP settings, type the following into the window: ipconfig /renew   (That is the letters ipconfig then a space then a slash then the word renew , nothing else.)

    IP Config
    Type this: ipconfig /renew
  6. Windows 10 will then renew your current IP address and display the new configuration. At this point, your laptop or PC should be able to connect to the Internet.

    CP Menu
    You should see something like this. Don’t forget to close this menu by clicking the X on the top right.

Here are some things to check if you still can’t connect. Make sure your WiFi is turned on. If Airplane Mode is on, turn it off. Lastly, make sure your router/network actually is connected to the Internet.

Hopefully this quick trick will fix your connection. Good luck!

Comments and questions are welcome but  Likes on our Facebook page get immediate attention.  Here’s the link: Computers Made Simple on Facebook .Thanks for reading!

Windows Secrets

Control/Z – Window’s life preserver

Leave a comment

We’ve all been there. We’ve all had that oops moment when we delete something by mistake. Maybe it was an email or a few paragraphs of a document or a whole file.

Sometimes it’s not even a deletion that starts the adrenaline flow. An errant cut/copy or a highlight followed by an accidental touch of the backspace button, both will result in a loud, “Oh no!”. Fear not, Control/z is your salvation.

Photo of Control Z
Find the two keys on your keyboard. Don’t hit other keys by accident.

Virtually anything you do in Windows can be undone by hitting your control key and the letter z at the same time, just as long as that’s the next thing you do. Don’t get flustered, take a deep breath and go for it.

While some photo editing and drawing programs have almost endless undo settings, with most Windows programs you only get one shot at undoing an error. Depending on what you’ve done, the first step in fixing your error is to use the control/z keyboard shortcut.

There’s no time limit to all of this, just don’t do anything else with the computer or that action will be the one that Window’s undoes. Make sense? We hope so. Hopefully you’ll remember this the next time bad things happen. Feel free to share our posts if you find them handy.

That’s it for today, thanks for reading! Comments and questions are welcome but  Likes on our Facebook page get immediate attention.  Here’s the link: Computers Made Simple on Facebook 

Using Windows Explorer, Windows 8, Windows Secrets

Windows Explorer Made Simple

Leave a comment

Some topics don’t lend themselves to a written post. Trying to describe how to navigate Windows Explorer is one of those topics. Here’s a video that will explain it all for you. What is Windows Explorer? Well, it’s like Google Earth for your computer.

 

 

Thanks for reading and for watching.  Comments and questions are always welcome. Use the form below or, better yet, ask us on Facebook. Here is the link:Computers Made Simple on Facebook.

Add a PIN, Tips and Tricks, Windows, Windows 8, Windows Secrets

Windows 8 – 4 Digit Log-in

Leave a comment

We’ve been avoiding this for a while but  it’s probably time to do something about Windows 8. If you haven’t guessed yet, we’re not thrilled with it. Here’s why:

1. We don’t see why our email has to be tied to our Windows user account. (We thought this was a pain, and it is, but you don’t have to use a password every time. You can use a four number PIN. More on that later.)

2. Where did the Start menu go? This is something that is just a bit too new for us. We’ve been faithful Windows users since the early ’90s and the Start menu is ingrained in our brains! If we were just starting out on computers it might be different but we’re not. Yes, there are third party apps to get the Start menu back but we don’t think this is a wise idea. We’ll muddle through and sort things out but, right now, this is a problem.

3. Because everything is in a different place, the average user feels lost and very frustrated. Yes, there are instructions as you start to use Windows 8 but taking the time to go through them, let alone remembering them all, is aggravating. For those of us who have the option, it seems better to stick with Windows 7. Sales of Windows 8 seem to reflect our opinion.

Over the next little while we’ll be giving you some tips on Windows 8, little bits of hopefully helpful information that will smooth the transition from Windows 7. Today we’ll show you how to get a PIN number to speed up your log-in routine.

1. Move your cursor (mouse) up to the top right corner of your monitor and let it rest there for a second or two. You should see these images appear on the right side of your screen:

Photo of Windows 8 PIN 1
Hover then click on the last icon, the gear which changes your settings.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

2. You want the gear setting on the bottom. Click it and you’ll see this up next:

Photo of Windows 8 PIN 2
You want to ‘Change PC settings’.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

3. Next up comes this:

Photo of Windows 8 PIN 3
Click on ‘Sign-in options’.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

4. Once you get to this section, choose to add a four-digit number (a PIN). You’ll be asked to enter your current password first. Once that is out of the way, enter your PIN twice and you’re all set. Just don’t forget it, OK?

Photo of Windows 8 PIN 4
Adding a PIN helps to speed up your sign-n to Windows.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Now that you know your way around the Windows 8 screen a bit, why not experiment? We hope you’ve already upgraded to the free 8.1 version. That update is a bit more user friendly. It seems that Microsoft listened to the objections…finally.

Tell us what you think of Windows 8. Is it yay or nay with you? We’d love to know your thoughts. Comment below or give us a shout on your Facebook page. Here is the link:

Computers Made Simple on Facebook

Thanks for reading!

 

 

 

Tips and Tricks, Windows Secrets

Five Computer Tips to Save Time and Trouble

Leave a comment

Here are five tips that just might relieve some of the frustration you feel when simple computer chores become more complicated than they should be.

1. Notepad is your friend: How many times have you filled out a form online, only to see your comment/description/idea disappear before your eyes? Whenever you write something in one of these forms, make sure you copy and paste your words into a new Notepad text file. Highlight the text you want to save, open Notepad and hit Ctrl and V at the same time. Instantly your words appear in the Notepad window. Go back to your form and finish with it. If everything does smoothly, close Notepad. If the form screws up, copy and paste your words into a new form without having to type them all over again.

Photo of Five Computer Tips 1
We use Notepad every day to save things like comments that just might get lost.

2. Ctrl Z is a lifesaver: For just about any error you make on your computer, hitting the Ctrl key and the ‘z’ key at the same time will undo that error. Let’s say you copy something to somewhere you don’t want it to be or you accidentally delete a whole paragraph in a document.  Don’t do anything else until you push and hold the Ctrl key down and then press the ‘z’ key. This is Window’s ‘UNDO’ key sequence. Whatever you’ve just done will be undone in an instant. Just about every program has an undo tool, every one is based on the CTRL/z key combination. Practice it and use it whenever you get into trouble.

Photo of Five Computer Tips 2
A real lifesaving key sequence.

3. Lost an Interesting Website? In any browser, pressing Ctrl and h at the same time will bring up your browsing history. If you’ve come across an interesting page but can’t remember the address, press Ctrl/h and then search through the page that comes up. Remember that ALL of your recent history is there and anyone can search through it. That’s the other side of the problem, at least for some people. If you don’t want anyone to know where you’ve browsed, make sure you clear your history. It might be a good idea to clear your download data, too.

Photo of Five Computer Tips 3
It’s all there, whether you want it to be or not.

4. When Right Click/Save as doesn’t work: Some photos and material on the Internet are quite well guarded. Saving this material to your computer is forbidden, more or less. Every Windows computer has a ‘screen capture’ key to get around these restrictions. Let’s say your on a Flickr page and you try to save one of the wonderful photos there. You don’t want to make money from it, you just want to see it again, maybe use it as wallpaper on your desktop, something like that. Look for your ‘Prt Scr’ (Print Screen) key, usually it’s on the top row just to the right of your F keys, and press it. Then, open up an image viewer, we use Irfanview, hit Ctrl and v at the same time and the screen cap pops up in the window. Save it as a ‘jpg’ file and you’re done. (Even though the key reads ‘Print Screen’, it really doesn’t print what’s on your screen. It captures an image into your computer’s memory (clipboard) and waits for you to paste that information into an image program such as Irfanview.)

Photo of Five Computer Tips 4
‘Print’ here means ‘save’, same as copying before pasting it.

 

5. Save Some Videos Without Having to View Them: Some videos can be saved simply by right-clicking the link that leads to them and choosing ‘Save Link As’. When you choose this, the save menu pops up and shows you the name and the type of video it is. This doesn’t work all the time but it’s a fast easy way to save the objects that a link leads to, sometimes a video, sometimes a PDF file.

We’ll have more of these as time goes by. Do you have some favorites? Take a moment to comment below and let us know what tips you can give us. We’ll share everything with our readers.

Thanks for reading. We have a Facebook page, too. Here’ the link: Computers Made Simple on Facebook.