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LAST UPDATED 6/6/02 Scroll down for the latest update information!

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THIS IS WHERE YOU WILL FIND ANY IMPORTANT NEWS REGARDING THE SERVICES THE FREE KING AND HOPEFULLY YOU USE. THE FREE KING IS ALWAYS GLAD TO HELP HIS PEOPLE!!!

Free Kings helpful hints and notices: USE THIS HANDY SCROLLABLE TEXT BOX TO ANSWER MANY OF YOUR COMPUTER QUESTIONS!!! How to delete your Internet Explorer history: Click on the history icon (the sundial at the top of your screen). Click on view and make sure date is selected. Right click on today and click on delete from the menu that appears. Click on Tools at the top of your screen. Click on Internet options from the menu that drops down. Click on Delete Files and make sure Delete offline content is checked. Click OK. Click Clear History Click Yes. Make sure the number next to the Clear History button is set to 0. Click OK at the bottom of the options box. That’s it your done!!! How to clear your cookies folder: Double click on the "My Computer" icon on your desk top. Double click on your primary hard drive (usually C). Double click on the WINDOWS folder. Double click on the COOKIES folder. Click on "Edit" at the top of the window and click on "Select All". All the files should turn color. Find the file called "index" this file can not be deleted! Press and hold the "Ctrl" key and click once on this file (index). All the other files should remain a different color. Press your "Delete" key Select "Yes" or "Ok" in the box that pops up. Files should now be gone. Close all and get back to your desk top. Empty your recycle bin because that's where you just sent all those files. That's it your done!!! How to clear your Temporary Internet Folder: Do what you did to clear your COOKIE folder except you will be looking for the folder called "Temporary Internet Folder" Also you don't have to do the index steps because there isn't an index file to worry about! That's it your done!!! To keep your computer operating at top speed and efficiency do the following: Once every 2 weeks run SCAN DISK. How: Go to the start button, point to Programs, point to Accessories, Point to System Tools, Point to Scan Disk. The Standard circle should be filled in, click on start. If you want a more thorough scan you may click the thorough circle before you click start. If you run Scan Disk for a long time it will take awhile, that’s why you should do it once every 2 weeks! Once a month run DISK DEFRAGMENTER. How: Go to the start button, point to Programs, point to Accessories, Point to System Tools, Point to Disk Defragmenter. The program will ask you which drive you would like to defrag, after you have selected the correct drive click OK. The program will tell you what percent of your drive is fragmented, if it is 10% or less don’t bother defraging it as you don’t need to. Before you shut down your computer run DISK CLEAN. (Available to WINDOWS 98 users only!) How: Go to the start button, point to Programs, point to Accessories, Point to System Tools, Point to Disk Clean. The program will show you a list of drives you can clean, after you select the correct drive (usually c:) click OK. The program will show you a list with check boxes next each item, make sure each item you want emptied is checked (Usually temporary internet files, recycle bin should be checked). Click on START. Treat your computer like a car. If you are like most people you think that once you get your computer up and running it should run trouble free. Unfortunately this is not the case. You must do regular maintenance on your computer to keep it in top operating shape. In addition to doing all the above procedures you must also remember the “2U’s” UPDATE and UPGRADE. Windows users can get free upgrades and updates for their operating system as well as the latest versions and upgrades for their internet explorer by visiting the Microsoft site at www.microsoft.com. You should make and effort to visit this site once a month and take advantage of the free upgrades and updates. Surge Protectors If you're running a computer that's plugged into the wall of your home or office, you're begging for trouble. A surge or a dip in the electrical supply can damage your hardware or crash your software (or both). Get a surge protector and plug all your components into that surge protector. I admit they don't provide perfect protection. But the meager amount you invest in surge protection could save hundreds of dollars in lost data or productivity. Power Supplies Do you have a machine, such as your network server, that absolutely cannot go down, ever, unless you're taking it down for a specific purpose? You need a UPS. Not the package carrier, but an uninterruptible power supply. The theory goes like this. You connect your computer to the UPS. If the normal power supply fails, the battery-powered UPS takes over. The UPS is supposed to keep your machine running long enough for you to restore normal power. The cost for a UPS can vary, depending on how much power you need to keep available and the length of time you want the backup power source to last. Cleaning Get a can of compressed air and use it to periodically blow the dust out of your keyboard, off the top and sides of your monitor, and off the back of your CPU. If you need to remove the cover for some reason, blow the dust off the motherboard. Don't set your computer up next to a window. Windows get opened, and dust and rain can come in and ruin your computer! Clean Your Mouse Dust and oil can accumulate on your mouse pad and on the mouse's rolling mechanism. If you notice a sluggish mouse or have difficulty selecting a range or a block of text, you may need to perform some routine maintenance on the mouse. SOFTWARE ScanDisk And Defragmentation You can help protect against hard drive errors on your PC by running the ScanDisk and Defragmentation system utilities. You should run these utilities once a week or so, or any time you notice that your system seems to be running a little slow. To get to these system tools, double-click the My Computer icon. Next click once on the Drive C: icon to select it, right-click, and then choose Properties from the menu. When you do, you'll see the Properties dialog box for your hard drive. Click the Tools tab, and click the Check Now button to run ScanDisk. Then, click the Defragment Now button, and Windows will let you know how much file fragmentation exists on your hard drive. If the software recommends it, let it defragment your disk. (This process may take a while, so don't start it if you're in the middle of a rush job.) BACKUP Backup recommendations depend on hardware, software, and human behaviors. You've either got to configure your system to perform automatic backups, or you've got to remember to do it yourself. Read this now and believe it immediately: You should backup your entire system periodically. You must backup your important files routinely. In addition, you should periodically try to restore at least one file from the backup media, just to confirm that the backups are reliable. How To Backup To the hard drive Make a directory or folder called C:\BACKUPS. As you work, save your document, spreadsheet, or database files to your normal working directory. Then, before you exit your software, open the File menu and choose the Save As option. Point the Save As dialog box to C:\BACKUPS on your hard drive. Then you've got two copies of your important file, one in the working directory, and one in the Backups directory. If the whole hard drive crashes, you're out of luck. But if you accidentally delete or change the original file in your working directory, you can revert to using the copy you put in Backups. How To Backup To floppy drive and off-site Is your important file less than 1.4 MB in size? Save your work in the software's working directory, then use Save As to save the file on a 3.5 inch diskette. Take that diskette home with you! That way, if your computer gets stolen or destroyed, you have at least one "off-site" copy of your data. How To Backup To CD-ROM You can buy CD-ROM "burners" that let you create write-once and write-many CD-ROMs. You can use this technology to create backups of your entire hard drive. The write-once CDs cost a couple of dollars each, and the write-many CDs cost $15 to $20 each. This approach is clearly high-tech and high-cost. However, once you burn at least two copies of your year-to-date accounting data, you've got a backup that will last a long, long time! Anti-Virus Software Why wouldn't you use anti-virus software? It takes a little while to check your memory and your hard drive for evidence of a computer virus? You resent the fact that some nut case is writing a virus in the first place? You think it costs too much? The plain truth is we need anti-virus software for the same reason we need collision insurance for our cars: Just in case. I recommend and use NORTON ANTI-VIRUS software, all the others don't even come close!!! Trust the FREE KING!!! Boot Disk One way to keep your PC healthy is to be ready when disaster strikes. You know, someone tells you, "You're going to have to reinstall everything..." If you've ever needed to reinstall Windows 95, you may have discovered that the boot disk you made doesn't include drivers for your CD-ROM drive. Current Drivers The term "drivers" is a little scary to some novice users, but you really need to know what drivers are if you're going to maintain a healthy system. Drivers are basically files that help your software and hardware recognize and work with new hardware or software. For example, if you buy a brand-new printer, there's a good chance your software won't know how to talk to it. So, you need the driver for that new printer. Some drivers are actually bug fixes. You'll typically find such files at Microsoft's site, the printer manufacturer's site, or at any of the myriad sites that compete to be the "one-stop drivers shop" on the Web. HUMAN BEHAVIORS Don't Be In Such A Rush Power down correctly. Never turn off your computer while Windows is running. With Windows 95 and Windows 98, close all open applications, and always use the Start button's Shut Down menu to power down. Don't Ignore Error Messages Errors happen, and they're not always due to operator error. Sometimes, a bug in a program or a faulty connection can produce a non-fatal error message. Other times, error messages are warnings of serious system problems. When you see an error message, write it down word for word, and call for help! If you've rebooted your machine 10 times in a row, and you keep getting the same error message, get the clue: The problem isn't going to fix itself. Don't eat or drink while you're at the keyboard! I hate to sound like your mother, but only you can prevent food and beverage spills. It's almost a rule in the computer industry: Half-filled cups of coffee left on computer components will eventually spill. If you do spill your soft drink or your coffee on your keyboard, unplug it. Then rinse it in the sink (or with a hose), and use compressed air to remove any residual moisture before you reconnect the keyboard. (I've known folks who put keyboards in the dishwashing machine, but I worry about the effects of the soap and heat.) So you’ve bought a new computer!!! Now what? Be a Pack Rat: Save Everything Don't throw away any paperwork just yet. Get a shoe box or start a file to store your purchase order and delivery receipts. If you don't receive everything you're supposed to, you'll need proof of what you ordered and received. If something should go wrong with your machine, you don't want to go on a long search for the vendor's phone number and address. You'll probably receive warranty information or mail-back customer registration cards for your mouse, your joystick, your internal modem, and every other component in your new system. A lot of people don't send in those cards for fear of getting on a junk mail list. If you don't fill them out and mail them, hang on to them, just in case. Save the boxes. Make some room somewhere to store all the boxes and packing materials that accompany your new computer. If you need to return any component for any reason, re-packaging will be a snap. Save the disks! You're going to get disks for your mouse and disks for your video card and other disks that you may never need to actually use. Save them, just in case. If your machine came with Windows preloaded, you should receive a Windows system disk (CD-ROM disk). That's the licensed copy of the software on your machine. At some point in the future, your software may ask you to "Insert Windows system disk" in order to install a device or fix some problem. Putting Your PC Together Read the instructions before you dive in. If you're lucky enough to actually receive documentation about your system, don't dive in without reading through at least the "Getting Started" section. Computers aren't cheap, and neither are they indestructible. One of the best things you can do to protect your investment against electrical damage is to spend ten bucks on a surge protector. Don't plug in your computer without one! Make sure all the components, including the surge protector, are turned off before you start connecting cables and plugging things in. Never force a cable into any connection. If something doesn't fit, you've either got the cable end upside down or you're in the wrong place! Plug all the power cables into the surge protector strip, plug in the surge protector, and then power on the surge protector first. Turn on the PC, then the monitor, then the peripherals. Making Yourself at Home When you turn on your new computer, the infamous "boot up" takes place. What's happening? The computer does some self-diagnostics and, if the operating system is installed properly, displays the so-called "desktop." What's behind this magic? The operating system, which is a fancy term for "the software that makes the computer tick." The operating system is a lot like the hotel manager. It keeps track of the files on the hard drive (the hotel guests) and the programs that you run (the conference room activities). If you're running Windows, you can give yourself a sense of empowerment (and have some fun) by customizing the screen. It's something you can do quickly, and without a lot of technical know-how. Just right-click on the desktop, choose Properties from the pop-up menu, and kill 10 minutes or so clicking on the Background, Screen Saver, and Appearance tabs and experimenting with different combinations of background colors, designs, and screen saver previews. If you're a new computer user, stay away from the Settings section for now. Hooking Up Peripherals Read the instructions for your joystick, printer, scanner, or any other "peripheral devices" before you start plugging them in. If a disk or CD-ROM product accompanies your printer, mouse, joystick, plotter, or other peripheral device, keep it handy, but don't go rushing to the DOS prompt to install it just yet. Give Windows a chance to recognize the device first. When you turn on the machine, the operating system should detect your new hardware. Then, if Windows needs the disk that accompanied the device, you'll get a message about it. If your device isn't detected, make sure it's connected properly. Then refer to its documentation for how to proceed. It'll probably be something like: Put our disk in your machine, click Start, choose Run, type "ourinstallapplet" and click OK.

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