IT Tips - September

It Tips – September

The leaves are changing color and there is a chill in the air. Fall is just around the corner. This is the perfect time to grab a pumpkin spice coffee and curl up with yet another riveting IT Tip!

What’s inside:

Tech Section

·         Tips for Laptop Users

·         Working with Network Files

·         Customize the Windows 7 Start Menu

Tips for Laptop Users

Below is a quick list of tips to keep your laptop happy.  A happy laptop will work better and help keep you from getting a headache! Hooray!

1.   Do not place objects on top of the laptop. Pressure on the top lid of the laptop can cause the LCD screen to crack. Try to avoid placing objects on the top or squeezing it excessively.

2.   Avoid jarring or dropping the laptop. Excessive bumps, drops and smacks can cause the hard drive to fail. Avoid frequent impacts to keep your data safe and the hard drive from failing.

3.   Let your laptop breathe. It’s never a good idea to put the laptop on soft pillows or comforters. The material(s) can block the heat vents on the computer and cause overheating. Too much heat can shorten the life of the computer.

Working with Network files

Our shared drives are wonderful tools. Here are a few tips to make the most of this resource.

1.   Take note of file size. Very large files can take a long time to open. The slow loading will be exacerbated by the VPN for people outside of the network. If you’re working with a large file it may be faster to copy it to your desktop first.

2.   Always remember that other people are using these files. Don’t move, delete or modify files unless you’re certain it won’t affect other people.

3.   Try to keep it tidy. It’s easy to forget about files you’ve saved to the shared drives. Try your best to delete things that are no longer needed. Keeping the shared drives neat makes it easier for everyone to navigate them.

Customize the Windows 7 Start Menu

Are you tired of clicking through a sea of sub-directories in your Documents, pictures or music folders? Would you rather just mouse over your folders from the Start Menu? Do you like sideways triangles? Well then this tip is for you!

In just a few simple steps you can make your start menu items go from this:

To this:

The beauty is that you can apply this change to all of your start menu items. Simply follow these steps:

1.   Right click the start button and click Properties  

2.   Click on the ‘Customize’ button

3.   For each Start Menu item that you wish to convert to a menu simply click the radio button next to ‘Display as a menu’.

4.   Click OK and you're done!

Note: This will make it so you cannot left click on the modified start menu item to open it. You’ll either need to mouse over the menu trees or right click and choose open. Like this:

Have a great Month, everyone!

-Keith

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