Computer illiterate needs a little help !

[Nica]

Hello,
as the eye catching sub-title mentions I could use a little help. I don't know much about computers so please bear with me. I bought a gaming computer from a person who loaded Windows 7 on the system. I like the look of the new OS but to be brutally honest I'm not even sure how to move from being " in game" and minimizing the game to be able to look up other things on the net. With the older windows program it was easy- jsut a crtl alt del to minimize and I was off to the races. Now when I attempt to do this it will minimize th agme but it doesn't allow me to open a new window. I would greatly appreciate some direction from some more knowledgeable folks. And yes I know a beta or new system like this is no place for a NOOB like me to be lost and asking basic questions. As mentioned I just enjoy the new look and could use some help as I experiement and explore 7. Thanks !

 

[Mark]

Hi Nica, I usually just use Alt + Tab to switch between windows when playing games and another way to get task manager is to press Ctl+Shift+Esc.

 

[Nica]

Thanks so much !

 

[weh]

Nica,

Something you should be aware of is that all Win.7 versions currently out are temporary versions which will expire at some point in the near future (3 months to a year, depending on which version you happen to have installed). You will have to buy the "real" thing when it is release in the late fall / early winter. Moreover, you may have to do what is called a "fresh" install, replacing everything that is currently there. Make sure you have all the discs / CDs / DVDs needed to reinstall your games and applications.

 

[jfar]

Win+Up: Maximize
Win+Down: Restore / Minimize
Win+Left: Snap to left
Win+Right: Snap to right
Win+Shift+Left: Jump to left monitor
Win+Shift+Right: Jump to right monitor
Win+Home: Minimize / Restore all other windows
Win+T : Focus the first taskbar entry
Win+Space: Peek at the desktop
Win+G: Bring gadgets to the top of the Z-order
Win+P: External display options (mirror, extend desktop, etc)
Win+X: Mobility Center (same as Vista, but still handy!)
Try these out.

 

[Nica]

I am unable to open Internet explorer and the diagnostic says nothing is wrong.
However I am able to connect to an on-line game so I know the actual connection still exists. Could it be possible that my Windows 7 Beta is expired and that is why I can't open the explorer? I hope not as I amresally enjoying the system and will happily purchase it.

 

[smarteyeball]

You can't open IE at all, or only once you've already started a game?

press WIN+Pause/break to open Control Panel\System and Security\System

and check to see if the copy is activated.



Also type winver in the search bar on the start menu to see what version of the beta is installed an when it expires.

 

[Nica]

not at all. which makes the fact that I can still open an on-line game/ ventrilio odd.

 

[Jacee]

Nica, try flushing your DNS Cache:
Most DNS clients cache the results of name resolution requests. This speeds up name resolution if multiple lookups are done to the same address, such as is common when browsing the web.
Sometimes a bad DNS entry will be cached and you will need to either flush the DNS cache to get rid of it, or wait up to 24 hours for it to be dropped from the cache automatically.

Open a command prompt....from the Start menu, select Run > In the box/"open field", enter cmd.exe
enter ipconfig /flushdns press 'enter'

Successful DNS Flush ^^^

Restart your computer and see if you can get IE8 to open now.

 

[smarteyeball]

Has it always refused to open or just recently?

Are you trying to launch from the icon pinned to the taskbar?

 

[Nica]

First off I wanted to thank the multiple forum members for posting their wisdom. A nice touch of humanity in sometimes cold world !
My wife is able to log on her account and access the internet ( right from the icon) yet as the main account holder I am not. In the 3 weeks I have had the computer ( with this OS installed) I have had no problems. That would leave me to beleive that its not the OS, the connection and I'm even more perplexed than usual ( shocker !)
as to why it would be unique to just my account ?

 

[garysgold]

Hello Nica,

Welcome to the forums.

Have you installed any new add-ons. You could try opening IE with no add-ons (start/all programs/accessories/system tools. If it opens then an add-on is the prob. You could also try a reset of IE. Info here if needed: http://www.sevenforums.com/tutorials/1222-internet-explorer-reset.html

Hope this helps.

Gary