Five-Minute Fixes
Rapid relief for balky PCs, stuck Windows, stalled networks, recalcitrant printers, and your other everyday computing hassles.
Kirk Steers
Recasting the Web
Room for a Web View
Problem: Your Internet Explorer 6 browser window is crowded with toolbars.
Quick fix #1: Make all your toolbars and the Windows taskbar disappear temporarily by pressing F11; this view is handy for displaying large images and Web pages that don't fit in a single cramped browser window. Press F11 again to restore the toolbars and taskbar. To disable a toolbar, right-click it and uncheck its entry. (You may have to uncheck 'Lock the Toolbars' first.)
Quick fix #2: Fit more toolbars on a single line: Right-click anywhere in the toolbar and confirm that 'Lock the Toolbars' is unchecked. Place your mouse pointer on the vertical dotted line at the left end of the toolbar and drag it to the top of the screen. Slide each toolbar sideways to expose as many of its options as desired. Click the two greater-than symbols to expose any hidden icons. To make your browser toolbar even smaller, right-click it, choose Customize, select No text labels under 'Text options', and choose Small icons under 'Icon options' (see FIGURE 8).
Show Me the Way Home
Problem: Your browser opens to a Web site you've never heard of rather than the one you set as your home page.
Quick fix: Download and run two free spyware detectors: Ad-Aware and Spybot Search & Destroy. Or click here for the trial version of the $40 PestPatrol. Click here to read Security Tips columnist Andrew Brandt's advice from last October for combating spyware and other uninvited Internet pests.
