DADDY BOB'S COMPUTER Q & A

January 22, 2006

Q. My ISP says my DSL modem is on the way and when I get it I must install a Network Interface Card if I don't already have one. How do I tell if I have one?

A. I would be very surprised if your computer did not come with a Network Interface Card (NIC). Almost all computers shipped in the last 2-4 years do have them as standard equipment. Most are built into the motherboard and are not actually cards, although they can be purchased as plug in expansion cards. Either way, they are referred to as NICs.

On the back of your computer look for a socket very similar to the one your telephone line plugs into. It will probably be very near the USB ports. The only difference will be that this NIC port, where the Ethernet cable plugs in, will be wider, and have 8 little connections in stead of the telephone's 2 or 4. It may be called a RJ-45 LAN connector. There may also be a symbol near it that looks like a little computer sitting on a line on top of two more little computers.

To see if it is installed and working properly, RIGHT click on My Computer then Properties, then the Hardware tab, then the Device Manager button. Click the + in front of Network Adapters, and your NIC should be listed there, and shown to be working or not.

Q. When I press CTRL+ALT+DEL, my Task Manager opens. Clicking on the Processes tab then displays all the "stuff" that is running. The names are all foreign to me. How can I tell what they are, and if I really need them running?

A. Fortunately, there is a web site that has almost all, if not all of the things that may be listed there fully explained. It also makes suggestions as to whether or not you need them running. Just go to this site, and click on the Task List button. www.answersthatwork.com.

While on the subject of weird names, those that are listed in the System Configuration Startup List are just as confusing. This is the list that is accessed when you enter msconfig in the Start/Run box. This shows all the programs that are started every time Windows starts up. Many of these are not necessary, and can be turned off. To see what these items do, and then determine whether or not you need them running in the background all the time, visit this site. http://www.sysinfo.org/startuplist.php.

You will see that many of the items in the Startup list correspond with those in the Task Manager list.

Q. Sometimes my hard drive takes off and my computer slows down and something is happening, but I cannot tell what it is. How can I tell what is doing this?

A. The best way is to use your Task Manager. Press CTRL+ALT+DEL once only. This will open the Task Manager. Now, click on the processes tab. Here you will see everything that is loaded and which ones are running, and using all your CPU's clock cycles, slowing down your computer. Across the top are the column headings, Image Name, User Name, Session ID, CPU, Mem Usage. If you click on "Image Name" they will list alphabetically, making them easier to view.

The Image Name is just the name of the program running. See the previous question to find out what they mean. The User name is what started the process. Most will have been started automatically. The Session ID will almost always by 0, and I won't go into what it is now. It is the CPU column that holds the most interest for this question. The Mem Usage shows how much of your RAM memory each process is using.

The numbers in the CPU column represent the percentage of the CPU, the Central Procession Unit, time being occupied by the program. Under normal operations, with nothing running, the System Idle Process should be using 92 to 98% indicating that the CPU is doing practically nothing.

Any other process that is running will be indicated by the percentage figure in its CPU column. If some other process has a high percentage figure, then it is that process that is using the CPU's time, and slowing down your computer. Try to find out what it is, and then determine if you really wanted it to be running.