49. How to replace a Keyboard or Mouse

In fact, it could hardly be easier: assuming your new mouse and your old mouse both plug into USB sockets, you simply unplug the old one and plug in the new one. There’s no need to have the PC switched off when you do this, but equally, if it’s currently switched off, there’s no need to switch it on first either.

If either the old or new mouse plugs into a different type of socket (such as a circular ‘PS/2’ socket) , you should do the switchover with the PC switched off.

The nice thing about mice is that their basic job is so simple that Windows can automatically install the software required to make them work. As soon as you plug in the new one (and start your PC, if necessary), it should be usable – at worst, there may be a pause of a few seconds while Windows sets it up.

One little wrinkle is that your mouse may have additional features beyond those included on the most basic mice: it may have extra buttons which can be configured to do particular things when clicked, for instance. In that case, you probably received a CD of software with the mouse, and you should install that software before plugging in the new mouse.

So, to recap, the routine is this: install the software accompanying the new mouse if required; shut down your PC if either mouse is a non-USB mouse; unplug the old mouse; plug in the new mouse; switch on your PC if it’s switched off. If your old mouse had its own software to enable its extra features, you might like to uninstall that software now, just for tidiness, but don’t worry too much about it.

Incidentally, everything I’ve said about the mouse applies to the keyboard too. If you want to replace your keyboard, just mentally swap the word ‘mouse’ for ‘keyboard’ above and approach it in exactly the same way.

 

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48. Have you ever deleted an important file?

We have all deleted important file from our PC by accident and wish we could get them back.

An easy way to do this is by downloading and installing a file recovery application. The one recommended here should be installed and resident on your PC before you ever need it. When you delete a file on your PC it actually stays on your hard drive, your PC management software simply renames it and enables the space it occupies to be used by something else should the need arise. For that reason you must never install anything if you are wishing to recover a deleted file as Sod’s law will say that the space you use for the installation is the one containing the file you want to recover.

The application recommended here is Recuva which is, without a doubt, the very best free file recovery software available today. Recuva is very easy to use and is as or more effective as any other freeware or premium file recovery program out there.

To get started with Recuva, visit the program's website linked at the bottom of my review. Once there, click the Download button corresponding to the download type you prefer. You can choose between Installer, Portable, or Slim.

Important: I highly recommend you use the portable version of Recuva if you don’t already have the main application installed on your PC. You should use the portable version of Recuva because it's important to avoid installing anything after discovering that you need to recover a file.

When Recuva starts, you're presented with a wizard where you choose what kind of file you're looking for and where it was last located, neither of which you need to know but will help in the search for deleted files if you do.

After a quick scan, you're presented with a list of recoverable files. Recovering one of the deleted files is as easy as selecting it and clicking Recover....

At any time you can switch to Advanced Mode which reveals a number of options and additional sorting abilities.

If a file has gone missing, either from your mistake or even from a virus infection or system crash, I recommend you use the Recuva free file recovery program. There's no guarantee that Recuva can successfully recovery every deleted file but it's certainly your best bet!

Recuva can recover files from hard drives, USB drives, memory cards, and even MP3 players, including the iPod.

47. When will Windows XP stop working?

This is another question I have been asked recently, and it points to a bit of a misunderstanding.

Microsoft is due to stop supporting Windows XP on April 8th 2014. What this means is that Windows XP users will stop receiving updates from that date: if anyone discovers a security flaw in Windows XP, it won’t be fixed. As far as Microsoft is concerned, next April marks the point at which the company can finally forget about Windows XP and concentrate all their efforts on newer versions of Windows.

However, XP isn’t going to stop working: if you chose to do so, you could continue using it for years. Whether it would be wise to do so is another question (to which my answer is: "No it isn’t". If you are not ready for Windows 8 then install Windows 7.), but there’s certainly no need to worry that your copy of Windows XP is suddenly going to be ‘switched off’ in April 2014.