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Issue #23: December 27, 2007

Q: I just got a new Gateway notebook and my son keeps telling me that to shut off the computer, I should log off first, then close it down.  I think he was told to close this way because there are 2 users.  I have only 1, me.  So, for the sake of the new computer, what is the best way to shut it down?

– Marilyn L.
Fort   Walton Beach, FL

A: If possible, you should avoid simply powering off a Windows-based computer via its power switch.  Doing so can damage your system files, and might leave unusable any documents that were open.  This has more to do with the way Windows handles caching files to disk than it does with having multiple user accounts on the machine.  You should always shut down gracefully, which includes logging off all users before the machine powers down.  However, when you choose “Shut Down” from the system menu, it forces all attached uses to log off anyway, so there’s really no difference in logging off and then shutting down, or simply shutting down via the menu.

Q: How can I delete saved attachments in my documents folder without deleting each one at a time?

– DeeW.
Destin,FL

A: Once attachments are saved in a directory, they’re just ordinary files, Dee.  Using Windows Explorer you can select one, two, or several files and then drag them to the Recycle Bin, or right-click and select “Delete”, or just hit your “Delete” key.  The trick is in knowing how to select multiple files.

Start Windows Explorer by double-clicking on “My Computer”, or using the magic key combination “WinKey+E”.  Navigate to the directory where your files are stored.  I find it easier to do this kind of work when I can see detailed information about the files, so click the “View” menu, and select “Details”.  Notice that above each column is a little header that you can click on to sort the files.  Click “Name” to sort alphabetically, “Size” to sort by file size, etc.  A second click on a header reverses the sort order.  Use this to organize your files so you can easily find what you want.  Begin selecting by clicking on a file with the mouse to select it.  If the files you want to delete are in sorted order, find the last one you want to select, and then press the SHIFT key while clicking it.  This selects all the files between the first and last one you clicked, and you can delete them in one operation.  You can also select multiple files that don’t happen to be in order.  Start by selecting one, or even a group of them as shown above, then to extend the selection use the CTRL key along with the mouse.  Using CTRL, you can even unselect files.  These group selection techniques can also be used to copy and paste files.


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