IT Queries: Computer problems answered

On my computer screen a big blue padlock has appeared. The computer seems to be working normally, but I can’t get rid of the padlock.

The problem appears with some brand name LCD monitors. It’s actually a security setting that seems to have a habit of turning itself on.

To fix it, there are four solutions;

1. Press and hold the menu button for about 30 seconds
2. Press the monitor’s volume decrease and channel up buttons at the same time
3. Press the channel up and volume increase buttons on the monitor simultaneously
4. Change the screen resolution as we’ve discussed previously.

These four solutions seem to all fix it. If none of them do, then it could be the monitor’s motherboard is misbehaving and it could be time for a new screen.

My MacBook laptop i bought earlier this year is bugged…

I’ve left it on standby accidentally, and ants have moved in. Any recommendations on how to remove them

Being in standby mode probably didn’t have much to do with them moving in, but this is an ongoing problem particularly in tropical regions.

The easiest way to get ants or other bugs like cockroaches out of your system is to use a household “roach bomb” from your local supermarket or hardware store.

Before firing the bomb, read the manufacturer’s instructions carefully. One important thing to note is you should turn off all electrical equipment in the room that you are going to use.

If the ants aren’t aggressive, it’s best to pop the battery and removable drives out of the case and leave them alongside the laptop with the case and any other accessories. Once again, make sure the system is not plugged in.

Fire off the bomb and close the door to the room that you’ve chosen. Leave it for a couple of hours or however long the manufacturer recommends.

On your return, take the laptop and all the accessories outside and spray them thoroughly with a tin of compressed air, obtainable from most hardware or electronic stores, to blast any insecticide reside from the computer as this might damage the motherboard over time.

When spraying keep the compressed air nozzle at least two inches (5omm) from the system as it can freeze components which may damage them. Spray all the accessories as well to get rid of residue and dead bugs.

Put the computer back together and watch out for future infestations.

Is there any way to download my emails from Gmail onto my local disk? Having recently purchased a new computer with Win 7 but no email client, I have been trying out Gmail and its free storage up in the “cloud”. I am beginning to wonder if this is the right way to go, as from time to time I am away from an internet connection for extended periods, at which times I may want to refer to my past mail.

Cloud computing, where data is saved and software run across the Internet on other people’s servers is the way the technology industry is going as it offers compelling cost and productivity benefits.

But as you’ve discovered there are downsides to cloud computing, particularly when you don’t have an Internet connection.

In Gmail’s case, there is an option to deal with this. In the top right hand corner, click on Settings then select the Offline tab.

Once you are in the Offline settings, tick Enable Offline Mail for this computer.

The site may then ask you to enable their website for gears and when you accept that, Gmail will then save copies of your emails to your system.

I’ve just been given a laptop but when I try and write my email the at sign does not work when pressed with arrow the only sign it brings up is \’ if you can help many thanks, tash x

Hi Tash, the problem is probably due to your keyboard preferences are set to the wrong country. You’ll need to set them to the right nationality as different country settings mean different layouts

In Windows, you will find the settings under Regional Options in the Control Panel, while on Mac they hide in the Language & Text Preferences.

It could also be possible the laptop has a function where some of the keys are mapped, and someone has “mapped” the \ symbol to the @ key. Fixing this is going to depend on the model of your computer.

Finally, it could be the keyboard itself is broken and this is why the owner gave away the laptop.

I run Windows Vista Home Basic. Around June, I could no longer view my emails using Web Access for Outlook. All toolbars and folder trees were visible but the main area to view the list of emails in any folder is empty with the statement across the top saying – There are no items to view. Using my desktop, I don’t have a problem. Seems to be a change to my laptop in recent months. Our IT dept is unable to suggest a fix after many hours of review. Can you make a suggestion?

The obvious problem is a security patch or update to your system has blocked something on the laptop. You may want to ask your IT department to have a look at the security settings on your system and add your organisation’s server address to the “whitelists”, the list of sites trusted by your laptop’s security programs.

It may also be that your server address has somehow got onto a blocked list in your program settings. If you are using Internet Explorer on Windows Vista, follow these instructions from Microsoft on how to resolve the problem.

You many also want to try another web browser, although  Outlook Web Access works best on Internet Explorer.

Does windows 7 operating system supports 32 bit processor or not? I installed the OS but I cant get sound when I am playing songs? What’s the reason?

Window 7 does support 32 bit systems which is a good thing as your system probably is one. The reason you can’t get sound is that the sound card drivers haven’t correctly installed when you upgraded the system to Windows 7.

The easiest way of resolving this is to install the Windows 7 drivers for your sound card from the manufacturers website if they are available.

Microsoft have a wizard to help fix sound problems in Windows 7 and this might assist you as well.

Do files deleted from floppy disk get tansfered to recycle bin ?

Unfortunately they don’t. Files deleted from removable drives in Windows aren’t saved to the Recycle Bin. Micorsoft discuss this on their website at Files or Folders Deleted from Floppy Disk Not in the Recycle Bin

If you haven’t used the floppy disk since deleting the file, there is a good chance you can recover the lost files by using the software described in our Recovering Deleted Files post.

When I buy a laptop with Windows 7 do I need to buy more software to connect to the internet?

Usually you’ll be able to plug straight into your Internet router and go. One of the great improvements with Windows 7 is the system will automatically detect and configure your connection for you.

If it doesn’t then you should contact your ISP.

Once you are connected, the first thing you should do is let Windows detect any security upgrades through the Windows Update website, allow your antivirus program to update itself and download Firefox, Opera or Google Chrome as a browser to replace Internet Explorer 8.

You should do these before surfing the net or checking email just to make sure your computer is secure.

please list current free anti virus software downloads that are thorough and efficient for windows 7 home?

The free anti virus programs we’d suggest for Windows 7 Home users are the following;

Microsoft Security Essentials: Microsot’s free anti-virus program for Windows XP, Vista and 7.
AntiVir: Will offer to give you the Premium edition for free as well, but we don’t like the sign up process
AVG Free: The sign up will also try to steer you towards the paid for package
Avast!: Avast is one of the longest standing free products

While AVG pushes their paid for version the hardest during the download process, all of the free versions are loss leaders for their paid versions.

The paid versions are good value for money compared to the bigger brand name products and give you more features than the free version and tech support for when there are problems.

We’d recommend the paid versions of all of these programs as well.

Note that all of these programs, with the exception of Microsoft Security Essentials, are free only for personal use; if you want to use them in a business you have to shell out for the paid versions.

I notice you advertise companies that provide registry cleaners on your site. I used a uniblue registry cleaner on my small notebook and it completely destroyed the operation of windows. I was able to recover normal operation through system restore. I would like to keep my computers running quickly and efficiently. Do you recommend the use of registry cleaners. I have Windows XP on both our laptops, Dell and Fujitsu.

The short answer is that we don’t recommend any registry cleaners as most are snake oil and the benefits of running a registry cleaner are not that great for the majority of Windows computers.

We discuss this in more detail, along with why we don’t recommend registry cleaners on our registry repair tools page.

Overall, save your money and time.

In regards to the adverts on the site, they are provided by third party companies and we unfortunately don’t control every advert that appears.