Don’t waste time and money calling technical support lines. Wayne Williams reveals how the three Rs can help you solve most everyday PC problems
Your PC can fall victim to all manner of problems, from lost data and corrupt files, to malware infections and malfunctioning hardware. But if you’re well-versed in the three computing Rs - removal, repair and recovery - you should be able to solve the majority of tech troubles with a minimum of fuss.
In this feature, we look at some of the most common PC problems and reveal the best tricks and free tools for solving them, as suggested by those essential three Rs.
Over the following six pages, we explain how to remove duplicate files, locked files, browser add-ons, unwanted security software and much more besides. We’ll show you how to repair problems with system files, hijacked browser homepages and unresponsive hardware, and get non-booting Windows partitions working again. We also explain how to recover any files you’ve accidentally deleted, fix corrupt digital photos and find missing program licence keys. And that’s just for starters!
Remove
Too many duplicate files
If you copy rather than move photos, MP3s, documents and other files from one folder to another, it’s easy to end up with lots of duplicates taking up valuable space on your hard drive. Fortunately, there are plenty of tools you can use to delete these doubles, although some sneakily offer to find duplicates for free, but then charge you to remove them.
One of the best options is to use CCleaner’s built-in Duplicate Finder (www.piriform.com/ccleaner), which you’ll find in its Tools section. This lets you search for files of the same name, size, content and date modified, and easily remove unwanted copies.
If you need something a little more advanced, try Duplicate & Same Files Searcher (bit.ly/duplicate375). Instead of merely deleting any duplicates, this fast and accurate program offers to replace them with links to the original file, which frees up space on your hard drive but lets you access the file from any location that contained a duplicate.
Browser beset by junk add-ons
Even if you don't install many, or even any, toolbars and add-ons in your browser, you can still end up with ones you don’t want that have been installed by other programs. Although it’s usually quite easy to manually remove this junk through your browser’s settings, an even better option is to use Auslogics Browser Care (www.auslogics.com). This lets you manage add-ons in all your browsers, including Chrome, Firefox and Internet Explorer, from one central location, so you can quickly get rid of any elements you don’t want.
Can't remove security software
Security software may keep you safe from malware and other threats, but it’s often hard to remove cleanly when you want to switch to a different program. Most security firms provide special uninstallers to ensure their products are removed properly and don’t cause any problems. ESET has a comprehensive list of uninstallers for all the major anti-virus programs at bit.ly/ESET375, including AVG, Avast, Bitdefender, McAfee, Norton, Panda and Kaspersky. On the same page, you’ll find ESET’s own AV Remover tool, which should help you clean your PC of most security programs (and you’re not obliged to install ESET software afterwards!).
Locked files won't budge
Few things are more frustrating than trying to delete a file that’s been locked by Windows for no discernible reason. If rebooting your PC doesn’t unlock it, try using the free tool NoVirusThanks File Governor (bit.ly/filegov375). This lets you release locked files and folders from Windows’ grip with a single click, so you can delete, move or modify them.
Too many unwanted programs
If you like to try lots of different programs, such as those we recommend each issue in Best Free Software, you probably have a hard drive filled with applications you keep meaning to remove but haven’t got around to yet. Using the ‘Uninstall a program’ option in the Control Panel takes ages because it can only remove one item at a time. Instead, you should download the charmingly named Bulk Crap Uninstaller (klocmansoftware.weebly.com), which can remove several programs in one go and clear leftover junk at the same time.
Old graphics drivers causing problems
When you upgrade your graphics card, it should install and use its own set of drivers, but any drivers left over from a previous card can cause freezes and crashes. Display Driver Uninstaller (www.wagnardmobile.com/DDU) solves this problem by removing old drivers and preventing them from being reinstalled through automatic updates.
Clear out empty folders
Often, when you uninstall programs, various items get left behind, including empty folders. These don’t take up much space - they’re empty, after all - but there’s still no reason to leave them cluttering up your hard drive. Empty Folder Finder (translucency.us/Downloads.shtml) is a tiny portable tool that scans your hard drive looking for empty (and nearly empty) folders. Just select a path, the total number of files or the size and click Go. Be careful not to remove any ‘empty’ system folders or you could run into serious problems.
Uninstall unwanted Windows 8+ apps
Microsoft's tiled operating system comes with a lot of pre-installed apps that you probably never use. To stop them taking up your screen space and making your other apps harder to find, you can use an unofficial free tool called Windows 8 App Remover (bit.ly/appremove375) to remove them and free up space. Select your version of Windows 8+, click Online and click List Apps to choose the apps you want to remove. Happily, this problem is less common in Windows 8.1, which doesn’t add shortcuts to the Start screen unless you give your permission.
Not sure which programs to uninstall
It’s usually easier to remove a program through the Windows Control Panel or using a supplied uninstaller, rather than deleting it manually, but sometimes it isn’t clear exactly what an entry relates to and if it’s safe to remove. The excellent free tool Should I Remove It (www.shouldiremoveit.com) lists all the programs installed on your computer and helps you decide which ones to purge. Each item is rated out of five and colour-coded with a removal percentage relating to its desirability - any items in red should definitely be uninstalled.
Select ‘What is it?’ to view more information about the software, including details of every file it installs on your system, its “exhibited behaviours”, how many people have it installed and how long for. If the summary sounds suspicious, just click Uninstall to remove the program.
Thumbnails that clutter up your hard drive
Windows creates thumbnails for all recognised image files on your drives, including those stored on USB memory sticks. These thumbnails are useful for displaying the contents of folders as icons, but they take up a lot of space and can even be a privacy risk, because they show images you may have deleted. Thumbs Remover (bit.ly/thumbs375) removes the hidden thumbs.db cache from any drive or folder, to reclaim space and protect your privacy.
Identify the biggest space hogs
The trick to freeing up as much hard-drive space as possible is to identify the largest programs and files on your PC. WinDirStat (windirstat.info) lets you quickly find and remove the biggest space hogs on your PC. CCleaner (www.piriform.com) also offers a Disk Analyzer that’s less sophisticated but simpler to use.
Repair
Hijacked browser homepage and search engine
Unwanted changes to your browser can be caused by a malware infection or by a devious add-on that either modified your set-up without you realising, or you didn’t know you were installing because it came bundled with other software. Scan your PC for malware using a tool such as Malwarebytes Anti-Malware (www.malwarebytes.org), and uninstall any suspicious programs and add-ons.
Chrome users can remove any junk from that browser using Google’s own Software Removal Tool (www.google.com/chrome/srt).
Fix Windows problems
Microsoft's brilliant Windows Repair (bit.ly/winrepair375) can fix many common woes that can befall the operating system, including Registry errors, file-permission issues, damaged system files and problems with various windows components. The software has a simple wizard-based interface that helps prepare your system for repairs, including options to back up the Registry, perform a proper power reset and create a restore point.
Printer not responding
If a document fails to print, you should first make sure all the printer cables are connected properly (assuming it’s not a wireless printer!) and, if they are, try a different USB port on your PC. You could also try rebooting.
If none of this works, go to the Printers section of the Control Panel and make sure your printer is set as the default; some programs - PDF printers, for example - can hijack the default for themselves. Right-click the printer and select the printer properties to make sure everything is as it should be and that the correct port is selected. Finally, double-click the printer icon in the System Tray to open the print queue. Cancel any existing jobs, and try printing again.
Videos play without sound
If you’ve checked that your speakers are correctly plugged in and working, and you can get sound when playing other files - music tracks, for example - it’s likely the problem is related to the codecs on your system. Codecs are used to encode and decode the digital data stream and without the right one installed, Windows won’t be able to play the file. Install the free K-Lite Codec Pack from www.codecguide.com to repair your codec problem in a jiffy. There are four versions available - Basic, Standard, Full and Mega.
Browser keeps crashing
Browser crashes are sometimes the fault of the browser itself, but are more likely to be caused by add-ons and plug-ins. Qualys BrowserCheck (browsercheck.qualys.com) makes sure you’re running the latest version of the browser -whether it’s Chrome, Firefox, Internet Explorer, Opera or Safari - and that all your plug-ins are up to date. Click the Fix It button next to scan results marked as ‘insecure version’ or ‘update available' to install the required updates.
You can update extensions in Chrome by typing chrome://settings into the address bar. Press Enter and click Extensions. Click ‘Developer mode’ at the top, and then click ‘Update extensions now’.
Windows goes to sleep at inappropriate times
Although you can tweak the Power and Sleep settings to stop Windows powering down, hibernating, going to sleep and restarting, it can be difficult to get things set up exactly how you want, and you’ll have to do it all over again if you want to make a simple change. Don't Sleep (bit.ly/dontsleep375) is a tiny 60KB tool that makes it easy to temporarily manage all of those settings. You can even set a timer to prevent Windows going to sleep or powering down at inappropriate times.
Windows won't boot up
Windows comes with its own built-in recovery tools that can often get your PC booting again, but if the problem was caused by a malware infection, you can use Norton Bootable Recovery Tool (bit.ly/nortonbrt375) to boot your system into a safe environment and clean up the threat.
If the problem is caused by a missing or deleted system partition, you can try to restore it with a bootable partition-recovery tool, such as the MiniTool Partition Wizard Bootable CD (bit.ly/minitool375).
Restore damaged file extensions
Malware infection can prevent certain application types - such as EXE, MSI, BAT and VBS - from opening. File Extension Fixer (www.carifred.com/ exefixer) can repair these extensions and run any application, even if the EXE extension has been deleted from your system. Make sure the malware has been fully removed before you do this.
Recover
Accidentally deleted photos
A free service such as Google Photos lets you back up all your photos online, but if you fail to do this, and accidentally delete images from your hard drive or memory card, don’t panic. There are lots of free recovery tools available, of which the best are Recuva (www.piriform.com/recuva) and PhotoRec (bit.ly/photorec375). Just be careful not to save the recovered files to the same drive they were originally stored on because you might accidentally overwrite other deleted files.
Precious photos are corrupted
If you only have one copy of an image, and it won’t display correctly, you can try repairing it using JPEG Repair Shop (bit.ly/jpegrepair375). It can’t fix every type of problem, but can help to overcome image displacement and incorrect colouration.
If the memory card your photos are stored on becomes corrupted, it’s worth running the Windows’ Chkdsk function. Press Windows+R, type cmd and press Enter to open the Command Prompt. Type CHKDSK /F followed by the letter of the memory card’s drive, for example E:, and press Enter. Windows will then verify the files and folders stored on the card, and correct any problems it finds.
Word files won't open
It can be a nightmare if a document you’ve been working on suddenly becomes corrupted, and all you can view is a blank screen or a load of gobbledygook. Fortunately, Office provides built-in document recovery options. Go to File, Open and select the damaged file. Click the arrow next to the Open button and select ‘Open and Repair' from the options. If that doesn’t work, try extracting the text. Go to File, Open and click the down arrow next to the All Files button. Scroll down and select ‘Recover Text from Any File'. Discard any corrupted text in the recovered document.
If neither option works, try Corrupt DOCX Salvager (bit.ly/docx375).
Damaged ZIP files
If an archive file becomes corrupted, try the WinRAR (www.rarlab.com) built-in repair function, which can fix RAR files, Zipped archives and 7z files. Select the problem file and go to Tools, ‘Repair archive'. Select a destination to save the repaired version to, and choose to ‘Treat the corrupt archive as ZIP'. WinRAR isn't free, but you can use the free trial to recover your files. Alternatively, try Disklnternals ZIP Repair (bit.ly/ziprepair375).
Documents folder has disappeared from Desktop
If your Documents folder is no longer visible on the Desktop, it’s very easy to get it back. Open Explorer and navigate to the Documents folder in C:\Users\[user name].
Right-click the folder, and select Send To, Desktop (Create Shortcut). You can create shortcuts to any other folders or libraries in exactly the same way.
Missing DVD drive
If your DVD drive appears to have vanished from Explorer, try turning off your PC, unplugging the cables from the drive, then plugging them back in again. Make sure all cables (including ones on the motherboard) are firmly connected, then reboot. If that doesn’t work, Rizone DVD Drive Repair (www.rizonesoft.com) can often restore a missing drive. Just click the Repair DVD Drive button and reboot.
Missing program serial numbers and licence keys
Commercial programs, including Windows, usually require you to enter a licence key. If you’ve lost this, you can use LicenseCrawler (www.klinzmann.name) to scan your system looking for serial codes for Windows, other installed Microsoft products and third-party software. The list of serial numbers and licence keys can be saved to a file in an encrypted or unencrypted text format.
FOUR OTHER USEFUL Rs TO KNOW
Restart
There’s a recurring IT Crowd gag in which the solution to any tech problem is to “turn it off and on again”, but it isn’t as silly as it sounds. If your PC is running slowly, or freezing, then restarting it may be all that’s required to get things working properly again.
Reinstall
If a program won’t uninstall cleanly, or it’s misbehaving in other ways, reinstalling it will often fix the problem. You can also reinstall Windows XP and Windows 7 over the top of themselves to fix all manner of accumulated problems.
Refresh
Windows 8+ lets you refresh your PC without affecting your files. This is similar to reinstalling older versions of Windows. Go to ‘Update and Recovery’, select Recovery and click ‘Get started’ in the Refresh section. You will need to reinstall your software afterwards.
Reset
Resetting your PC to its factory defaults is the ultimate way to fix performance problems. Windows 8+ has a useful feature that lets you permanently remove everything (all your software and personal files) and reinstall Windows. You’ll obviously need to have backed up everything of importance in advance. This option can be found in the same location as Refresh.