Slow Computer Solutions

Reasons for computer slowdown and ways to fix them

1. Harmful applications (spyware and viruses)
Extensive use of the Internet is an easy way to catch spyware and viruses from unfamiliar websites. Therefore for the sake of safety we strongly recommend installing one of the antivirus software programs.

2. Applications that consume computer's resources
There are actually two types of such applications:

a. Those you don't use anymore.
How many programs are there on your PC? And how many of them do you actually use? Most PC users have applications they don't need anymore but forget to remove them. This results in lack of disk space and RAM. Uninstall a couple of programs and see the difference. For better efficiency we recommend using specialized uninstalling software.

b. Those that launch on system startup.
When some applications run together with the system, it needs more time to start up. You can disable automatic startup of such programs in the registry, but we recommend using tools that make startup management simpler.

3. Junk collecting on your PC
Active usage of your PC leads to creation of many files you don't actually need. These are useless temporary files, cache files, cookies and other unnecessary components that take up disk space. You may never know about them until one day your PC starts running slow. To free up lost space you should use a cleanup tool that will remove all useless files and leave the important data intact.

4. High level of hard drive fragmentation
If there's a lot of large files on your PC, the system will place their parts in gaps between other files when attempting to allocate space for them. Accessing such fragmented files has a bad impact on your PC's performance. To avoid this, you should regularly defragment your PC. While Windows provides a built-in solution for defragmentation, some tools make it faster and more effectively.

5. Hard drive errors
Logical hard drive errors and physical damage often lead not only to data loss and crashes, but also to serious system slowdown. Regular disk checking can fix these errors.

A good idea to bring a slow computer back to life would be to download a system optimization tool that will fix all above-mentioned issues and leave important data intact. But of course not all such tools are the same. Some of them have more features and are safer to use.

ShortCut Keys

Quick Links:Link
Windows Operating System Shortcuts
Microsoft Windows Shortcut Keys
Word Shortcut Keys
Excel Shortcut Keys
Mouse Shortcuts
Internet Explorer Shortcut Keys
FrontPage Shortcut Keys
Visual Basic Shortcut Keys
Outlook Shortcut Keys

Windows Operating Systems Shortcut keys

Shortcut Keys Description
Ctrl + (the '+' key on the keypad) Automatically adjust the width's of all the columns in Windows explorer
Ctrl + Backspace Delete word to the left of cursor
Alt + E Edit options in current program
Alt + Enter Opens properties window of Selected icon or program
Alt + Esc Switch Between open applications on taskbar
Alt + F File menu options in current program
Alt + F4 Closes Current open program
Alt + Print Screen Copies active window to the clipboard
Alt + Shift + Tab Switch backwards between open applications
Alt + Tab Switch between open applications
Ctrl + A Select all text
Ctrl + C Copy highlighted text, data, or image
Ctrl + Del Delete word to the right of cursor
Ctrl + End Goes to end of document
Ctrl + Esc Bring Up start button
Ctrl + F4 Closes Window in Program
Ctrl + Home Goes to beginning of document
Ctrl + Insert Copy selected item
Ctrl + Left arrow Moves one word to the left at a time
Ctrl + Right arrow Moves one word to the right at a time
Ctrl + V Paste
Ctrl + X Cut selected item
Ctrl + Z Undoes a previous action
End Goes to end of current line
F1 Accesses online help from most programs
F2 Renames selected Icon
F3 Starts find from desktop
F4 Opens the drive selection when browsing
F5 Refresh Contents
Holding Shift Boot safe mode or by pass system files
Holding Shift When putting in an audio CD will prevent CD Player from playing
Home Goes to beginning of current line
Shift + Del Cut selected item
Shift + Del Delete programs/files without throwing into the recycle bin
Shift + End Highlights from current position to end of line
Shift + F10 Simulates right click on selected item
Shift + Home Highlights from current position to beginning of line
Shift + Insert Paste

Microsoft Windows Shortcut Keys

Below is a listing of Windows keys that can be used on computers running a Microsoft Windows operating system and using a keyboard with a Windows key.

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Shortcut Keys Description
Windows Key + D Minimizes all windows and returns the user to the desktop
Windows Key + E Open Microsoft Explorer
Windows Key + F Display the Windows Search / Find feature
Windows Key + CTRL + F Display the search for computers window
Windows Key + F1 Display the Microsoft Windows help
Windows Key + L Lock the computer (Windows XP and above only)
Windows Key + M Minimizes all windows
Windows Key + Pause / Break key Open the system properties window
Windows Key + R Open the run window
Windows Key + SHIFT + M Undo the minimize
Windows Key + Tab Cycle through open programs through the taskbar
Windows Key+ U Open Utility Manager

Word Shortcut Keys

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Shortcut Keys Description
Ctrl + A Select all contents of the page
Ctrl + B Bold highlighted selection
Ctrl + C Copy selected text
Ctrl + X Cut selected text
Ctrl + P Paste
Ctrl + F Open find box
Ctrl + I Italic highlighted selection
Ctrl + K Insert link
Ctrl + U Underline highlighted selection
Ctrl + Y Repeat the last action performed
Ctrl + Z Undo last action
Ctrl + L

Aligns the line or selected text to the left of the screen

Ctrl + E Aligns the line or selected text to the center of the screen
Ctrl + R Aligns the line or selected text to the right of the screen
Ctrl + M Indent the paragraph
Ctrl + Shift + F Change the font
Ctrl + Shift + > Increase selected font +1
Ctrl + ] Increase selected font +1
Ctrl + Shift + < Decrease selected font -1
Ctrl + [ Decrease selected font -1
Ctrl + Shift + * View or hide non printing characters
Ctrl + Moves one word to the left
Ctrl + Moves one word to the right
Ctrl + Moves to the beginning of the line or paragraph
Ctrl + Moves to the end of the paragraph
Ctrl + Del Deletes word to right of cursor
Ctrl + Backspace Deletes word to left of cursor
Ctrl + End Moves the cursor to the end of the document
Ctrl + Home Moves the cursor to the beginning of the document
Ctrl + Spacebar Enable / Disable auto correction
Ctrl + 1 Single-space lines
Ctrl + 2 Double-space lines
Ctrl + 5 1.5-line spacing
Ctrl + Alt + 1 Changes text to heading 1
Ctrl + Alt + 2 Changes text to heading 2
Ctrl + Alt + 3 Changes text to heading 3
F1 Open Help
Shift + F3 Change the case of the selected text
F4 Repeat the last action performed (2000+)
F5 Open goto window
F7 Spell check selected text and or document
Shift + F7 Activate the thesaurus
F12 Save as
Shfit + F12 Save

Excel Shortcut Keys

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Shortcut Keys Description
F7 Spell check selected text and or document
F11 Create chart
Ctrl + Shift + ; Enter the current time
Ctrl + ; Enter the current date
Alt + Shift + F1 Insert New Worksheet
Shift + F3 Open the Excel formula window
Shift + F5 Bring up search box
Ctrl + A Select all contents of the worksheet
Ctrl + B Bold highlighted selection
Ctrl + I Italic highlighted selection
Ctrl + K Insert link
Ctrl + U Underline highlighted selection
Ctrl + 5 Strikethrough highlighted selection
Ctrl + P Bring up the print dialog box to begin printing
Ctrl + Z Undo last action
Ctrl + F9 Minimize current window
Ctrl + F10 Maximize currently selected window
Ctrl + F6 Switch between open workbooks / windows
Ctrl + Tab Move to next worksheet
Ctrl + Shift + ! Format number in comma format
Ctrl + Shift + $ Format number in currency format
Ctrl + Shift + # Format number in date format
Ctrl + Shift + % Format number in percentage format
Ctrl + Shift + ^ Format number in scientific format
Ctrl + Shift + @ Format number in time format
Ctrl + Arrow key Move to next section of text
Ctrl + Space Select entire column
Shift + Space Select entire row

Mouse Shortcuts

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Mouse Shortcuts Description
Double click Selects word
Triple click Selects paragraph
Ctrl + Mouse wheel Zooms in and out of document

Internet Explorer Shortcut Keys

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Shortcut Keys Description
Alt + Left Arrow Back a page
Alt + Right Arrow Forward a page
F5 Refresh current page / frame
F11 Display the current website in full screen mode. Pressing F11 again will exit this mode
Esc Stop page or download from loading
Ctrl + Enter Quickly complete an address. As an example, type in: 5starsupport in the address bar and press CTRL + ENTER. http://www.5starsupport.com will automatically be entered
Ctrl + N Open New browser window
Ctrl + P Print current page / frame

FrontPage Shortcut Keys

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Shortcut Keys Description
Ctrl + C Copy selected text
Ctrl + X Cut selected text
Ctrl + P Paste selected text
Ctrl + K Create a hyperlink
Ctrl + B Bold highlighted selection
Ctrl + I Italic highlighted selection
Ctrl + U Underline highlighted selection
Ctrl + L Left align the text
Ctrl + R Right align the text
Ctrl + E Center the text
Ctrl + / Display HTML tags
Ctrl + S Save document
Ctrl + Tab Switch between open web pages
Ctrl + Insert Enter Line break
Ctrl + Enter Move cursor above or below a table
Ctrl + Shift + B Preview in web browser window
Ctrl + Shift + < Decrease font size
Ctrl + Shift + > Increase font size

Visual Basic Shortcut Keys

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Shortcut Keys Description
F2 Brings up the 'Object Browser' window
F3/F4/F6/F11 Brings up the 'Properties Window' for the current form/control
F5 Executes the current project
Ctrl + F5 First checks for syntax errors and then executes the project
F7 Opens the code window for the current control
F8 Executes the project in 'Step mode'. Keep pressing F8 to execute the next statement; Press F5 to come out of step mode
F9 Inserts break point at the current line in the code window. Press F9 again to toggle the break point
Ctrl + G Brings up the 'Immediate window', which is useful for debugging purposes
Ctrl + Spacebar While writing code, this combination helps you see the available options/methods/properties based on what you are typing
Ctrl + J Same as above...
Shift + F2 Place the cursor over any function call and press Shift + F2 to see the declaration of that function
Ctrl + F Brings up the find dialog box
Ctrl + H Brings up the replace dialog box
Shift + F3 Finds the previous occurrence of a string
Ctrl + Shift + F9 Clears all break points
Ctrl + Delete Deletes to the end of the word
Crtl + Y Deletes the current line of code
Ctrl + Z Undoes the last change in the code window
Ctrl + Up/Down arrows Helps you ove between procedures/functions in the code window

Outlook Shortcut Keys

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Shortcut Keys Description
Alt + S Sends the current mail
Ctrl + Enter Sends the current mail
Ctrl + K Resolves the email addresses from the address book
Alt + K Resolves the email addresses from the address book
F7 Starts spell check
Ctrl + D Deletes the current mail
Shift + Delete Permanently deletes the current mail
Ctrl + Z Undoes the last change
Ctrl + Y Redoes the last change
F4 Brings up the Find dialog box
Shift + F4 Finds the next occurrence of the search string
Ctrl + R Brings up the reply window for the current mail
Ctrl + Shift + R Brings up the 'reply all' window for the current mail
Ctrl + P Prints the current mail
F5 Sends and receives mails

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