Getting  Along With Your Computer Column Archive

Problems Solved
By Cate Eales
Appeared December 13, 2007 on castanet.net

It's been a busy couple of weeks with clients. Some problems take longer to solve than others. I still haven't figured out how to convince my dog that the polar bear decorations across the street aren't really big, menacing dogs. But I do have simple solutions to three problems. Read on.


The case of the missing icons
Last week's column showed how you can minimize Firefox and Thunderbird to the SysTray, also known as the Notification Area, also known as "over by where the clock is." This prompted several readers to mention that the icons in the Notification Area vanish for no apparent reason in Windows XP. That happens to me, too, and it turns out to be a well-known problem

There are several things you can do, any of which might correct the problem temporarily.

First, make sure you have "Always Show" set for the icons you always want to see. Last week's column has instructions for this

If the problem persists, sometimes logging off and logging back on again will make the icons reappear.

I have no idea why that works, but it often does.

If that doesn't work, I recommend Taskbar Repair Tool Plus! available here

The free version fixes many common problems, but the Missing Icons problem requires the licensed version. The cost is US$5.00 If it's worth five bucks to you to be able to click on something and fix the problem, go for it.

Sometimes none of these things work, and you just have to restart Windows until your icons come back.


Two is not always better than one
I received an email from a client who said his computer had slowed to a crawl after renewing his subscription for TrendMicro's Internet Security Suite. This is a great product (descended from PC-Cillin), but for some reason TrendMicro has made it incredibly complicated simply to renew a subscription!

However, when I got there I found the problem was that the client had also installed another security suite, complete with anti-virus, firewall, email scanning and anti-spam capabilities. He'd managed to get both products running, and they were at war with each other. I uninstalled the other security suite, and adjusted the settings in the TrendMicro product, and the computer happily went back to processing email and allowing the client to browse.

You can (and should!) run an anti-virus program and a firewall at the same time. You just can't run two anti-virus products or two firewalls at the same time. I know it's counterintuitive, but you just can't.


Password Annoyances
Another client wrote, ". . . when I have had the computer in hibernation and I lift the lid I have to click [on the account name] to sign in, and as I am the only person on the computer I find this entirely unnecessary, any suggestions please?"

There is a way to do this, however, I never, ever, advise disabling password protection, especailly on a laptop, so please consider carefully whether or not you want to proceed.

If you don't have a password and want to set one:

Now you will be prompted for your user account name and password every time you start Windows, or come out of hibernation/sleep.


Thank you to everyone who wrote and phoned with questions, comments, and column ideas. I am grateful for every bit of that. If you have something to ask or tell, please email cate@rlis.com. You can also browse the column archives here.  If you'd like to subscribe to this column by email, please visit this link.  It's easy, and free. If you'd prefer the RSS Feed, click here.

See you next week!

Links
"Over by where the clock is" http://rlis.com/columns/column124.htm
Taskbar Repair Tool Plus! http://www.kellys-korner-xp.com/taskbarplus!.htm
TrendMicro Security Suite http://us.trendmicro.com/us/products/personal/internet-security-2008/index.html
Getting Along With Your Computer Column Archives http://rlis.com/column.htm
Get Cate's column by email http://www.feedblitz.com/f/f.fbz?Sub=20618
RSS Feed http://rlis.com/rlis.xml

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Cate Eales has been helping people make online computing safe, accessible and fun for over 20 years. She lives in Kelowna with her husband, Eric, and her dog, Sandy. Cate is a partner in Real Life Internet Solutions, helping individuals and small businesses with virus, spyware and malware eradication; personal computer training and management; digital image management; music transfer; and website design, hosting and management. Email Cate at cate@rlis.com with your comments, suggestions, or questions. To browse the column archives, visit the Real Life Internet Solutions website at www.rlis.com.