Curing a Laptop's Startup Ills
Here are a few questions about computers I've received recently from people like you, and my answers. I have edited and restated the questions a bit, for readability. This week my mailbox contained questions about how to cure a laptop's startup ills and wireless Internet access with a dial-up connection.
If you have a question, send it to me at
mossberg@wsj.com, and I may select it to be answered here in Mossberg's Mailbox.
Q: Recently, my laptop is taking an inordinate time to boot up. I have tried disk cleanup, defragmentation, and multiple scans by antivirus programs but nothing seems to speed up the full bootup process. Do you have any suggestions?
A: This probably indicates that you have a large number of programs, many of them invisible to you, that are configured to launch at startup. Some may even be spyware and adware programs. I suggest two steps. First, get a good antispyware program, like Webroot's Spy Sweeper, and do a thorough scan of your system, deleting all the spyware and adware you can find. Spy Sweeper, which costs $30, is available at
www.webroot.com. (A free trial is available.) Then, reboot.
If the system continues to reboot slowly, you should run a program that tells you which programs are trying to launch at startup. Get rid of those you don't need. A built-in Microsoft utility, msconfig, can do this for you. Just select Run from the start menu and type "msconfig." Look over the programs listed in the "Startup" tab of the program, and uncheck all that you're sure you don't need. This may be tough, because msconfig doesn't give the English names of the programs or explain what they do.
Even better, download and run a startup utility like Startup Cop, which explains things better. It costs $5.97 and is available at
www.pcmag.com/article2/0,4149,2173,00.asp.
Q: We would like to use the Internet wirelessly in our home, but we have a dial-up service. We were told by others that one has to have a cable or DSL modem to go wireless. Is that true?
A: No, you can do it with dial-up, though the speed is so slow that the experience over wireless may be disappointing. A company called Always On Wireless makes a wireless base station called the WiFlyer that is specifically designed for sharing dial-up connections wirelessly. It costs $150 and is available at
www.wiflyer.com. I have seen it demonstrated, and it worked, but I haven't tested it.
Q: I run Windows XP home edition and also Word. After installing a newer edition of Word, I began to have a problem when I went to look for my newly prepared files. They don't show up in the folder that I thought I put them in. How can I resolve this aggravating problem?
A: In Word, go to the Tools menu, and select Options. Go to the File Locations tab, and click on Documents. Set the location for saving documents to whatever folder you prefer, and click OK or Close until you are out of the Options window. That should take care of it.
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Because of the volume of e-mail I receive, I can't routinely answer individual questions by e-mail, or consult on individual problems or purchasing decisions. I read all questions I receive and select three each week to answer in the column.
如何提高笔记本电脑启动速度
在我们大多数人拥有的大件电器中，再没有什么比个人电脑更令人费解、更变幻莫测的了。每个人或许都有些关于电脑的问题，而《莫博士信箱》将为您提供帮助。
本周我将回答读者有关启动速度缓慢、利用拨号连接实现无线上网以及如何设定文件位置的问题。
问：近来，我的笔记本电脑重新启动的速度有点儿慢。我已经试过清理磁盘、清理碎片、通过反病毒程序进行多次过滤，但似乎对加速整个启动过程毫无帮助。你对此有什么建议吗？
答：这可能显示电脑中的程序过多了，而其中许多程序是你看不到的。它们的配置是随著电脑启动便自动开始运行。有些甚至是间谍软件(spyware)和广告软件(adware)程序。我建议采取两个步骤。首先，找一个不错的反间谍软件程序，像Webroot的Spy Sweeper，对你的系统进行彻底的检查，删除所有你能找到的所有间谍软件和广告软件。Spy Sweeper售价30美元，在
www.webroot.com上有售。（可以免费试用。）然后，重新启动。
如果系统重新启动的速度还是很慢，你应当运行一个可以告诉你电脑启动时哪些程序正在自动运行的程序。删掉那些你不需要的程序。微软内置的msconfig功能可以实现这样的要求。点击“开始”菜单，选择“运行”，然后键入“msconfig”。浏览列出的程序，取消所有你确定并不需要的程序。这可能有点难度，因为msconfig并不提供程序的英文名称，也不会解释这些程序有什么用处。
要想容易一些，你可以下载并运行像Startup Cop这样的桌面管理软件，它附带更多的解释。该软件售价5.97美元，在
www.pcmag.com/article2/0,4149,2173,00.asp上有售。
问：我们想在家进行无线上网，但我们有一个拨号服务。别人告诉我必须安装光缆或者DSL调制解调器才能实现无线上网。是这样吗？
答：不是的。你完全可以通过拨号服务无线上网，但它的速度很慢，你可能会感到失望。有一家叫做Always On Wireless的公司生产一种名为WiFlyer的无线基站产品，特别针对拨号连接共享无线上网而设计。其售价为150美元，在
www.wiflyer.com上有售。我看到过别人示范并运行，但我没有亲自测试过。
问：我使用Windows XP家庭版和Word。在安装了一个新版Word后，我在寻找新建文件方面遇到开始一个问题。它们并没有出现在被我归入的文件夹当中。我怎么才能解决这个麻烦的问题呢？
答：打开Word，找到“工具栏”，选择“选项”。找到“文件位置”键，点击“文件”。设定你想存储文件的任何文件夹的位置，然后点击“完成”，直到你退出“选项”窗口。这样，你就能解决问题了。
