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Canada: DisAbled Women's Network Canada Questions
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On the other hand, some programs that lurk in the background just waste your computer's processing power and memory without giving you anything in return. Other programs are more than a nuisance; some computer viruses lurk in the background, waiting for a certain time or a signal to begin doing whatever they're supposed to do. IMPORTANT: Before you do any of the steps below, PLEASE make sure your important personal data is backed up somewhere. Although this is not advanced rocket science, and I have tested these tips, I don't want to be blamed if your hard drive eats your data somewhere around step three. Begin with the tiny icons that appear on the right-hand side of your Windows Taskbar (bottom of the screen, to the left of the time). Right-click on each unfamiliar icon to get a description of the program. You may also be able to choose "exit" or "disable" from the pop-up menu to turn off any unwanted program that appears here. The next place to look is in your Startup folder. (Click the Start button then select Programs, then the Startup folder.) If you find an unwanted program in this folder, right-click on its name and select DELETE from the pop-up menu to get rid of it. The next time you power up, the program won't start without permission. To completely remove unwanted programs, of course, you need to use the Add/Remove Programs option in the Control Panels. (Click the Start button then select Settings to get to Control Panels.) Finally, to find and disable less obvious background programs, click on the Start button and select RUN. Type MSCONFIG in the box that appears and click on OK or hit ENTER to proceed. On the window that appears, click on the tab marked STARTUP. You'll see a list of mysteriously-named programs that are launched in the background every time Windows starts. To turn one or more of these programs off, uncheck the box next to its name. (If the list is long, change just one at a time to see what happens when you restart. If it causes a problem, check the box again to switch it back on.) Follow these steps and you should be able to remove all but the most persistent and annoying background programs. DID YOU KNOW? You can sort the list of programs and folders in your Start menu to make things easier to find? Click on the Start button, then select Programs to display the list of programs and folders. Right-click on this list, and select "Sort by Name" from the pop-up menu. Everything will be sorted alphabetically!
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