Features and Bugs Report

November 6, 1998

This portion of our Web site contains tips and warnings for a variety of products, usually focusing on how adaptive software interacts with mainstream hardware and software. We hope that this page will serve as a useful way to share information gathered from our work testing products and training clients. The report will be updated as we encounter items of interest. Links to previous reports are available at the end of this page.

This edition is entitled:

Don't Do Stupid Stuff!

This report highlights some things that users should never do to their poor, defenseless computers, along with some simple steps that can protect against crashes and loss of data. New users should learn about these procedures as quickly as possible, and advanced users should keep them in mind so that they don't become careless. We have witnessed all of the situations discussed here at one time or another. We have even done one or two of the stupid things ourselves (though we're not saying which ones). While these tips can apply to everyone, they are especially practical for users of adaptive software, since there is always an extra application running and using up system resources. References below are to Windows 95, Windows 98, Microsoft Word 8 (Office 97), DragonDictate 3.2, Dragon Naturally Speaking 3.0, and the Naturally Word plug-in.

Hardware Issues

Check The Obvious:

Check cables, power cords and other connectors to make sure they are secure (at both ends) before reporting problems with Power, Printers, or other devices. You may find the problem yourself. This is the first step toward becoming a tech support genius.

 

It's Not A Cup holder!:

Do not carry laptop machines around with CDs in the CD-ROM drive. This can damage both the drive and the CD. ... And don't try to use the CD-ROM drive as a cup holder! (OK, so we've never known anyone who did that.)

Start Me Up

Wait For The Coffee Grinder:

When starting the machine, wait until the whirring sound of the spinning hard disk has stopped completely after the Windows Startup sound. Initial startup operations (such as virus checking) take a few extra seconds to finish running. Loading memory intensive programs like Dragon Dictate before this process stops can lock up the machine.

 

One Is Enough:

People often click on the Start Menu program icon to re-open a MS Word document (after minimizing it to do something else) or to open a second document. This results in numerous instances or sessions running the same program, which eventually occupies all available memory. At this point the machine will lock up. Instead of clicking the Start Menu icon, go to the Task Bar and maximize the Word window that is already running. For a second document, open New Document from the File Menu.

 

It Takes Forever!:

If you are using Naturally Word for dictation: After activating and choosing User and turning on the microphone, wait and count to 10. Dictionary files are still loading, although nothing is shown on the screen.

Running Programs

Avoid Nasty Surprises:

Running adaptive software or other applications at the same time as MS Word can make the system unstable in some situations. To avoid crashing and losing your work, do the following: In MS Word, go to the Tools Menu, Options. In the Save Tab, make sure that the check box is checked for "Save AutoRecover Info" and set the time value to 1 (one) Minute. Additionally, to find your recovery file more easily, change the location where it is saved. Go to the Tools Menu, Options. In the File Locations Tab, File Types, choose AutoRecover Files from the list. Click on Modify, and type in or browse to C:\My Documents. Open My Documents and create a \backup folder, highlight the folder name and click OK. The AutoRecover file will now appear in c:\My Documents\backup.

 

Don't Be A Slow-Poke:

In Ms Word, don't use on-the-fly spell checking, which will slow down operation considerably. You can still spell check the document completely at any time by launching the Spellchecker. To turn off the automatic checker go to Tools Menu, Options. In the Spelling and Grammar Tab, uncheck the settings labeled Check Spelling As You Type and Check Grammar As You Type. Typing will go much faster. This is a good idea when using Naturally Word & JAWS For Windows as well.

 

Don't Be A Speed-Demon:

In Web browsers and other Internet applications, be patient while pages or files are downloaded. Even using a good Internet connection, Web pages will probably take several seconds to load. Even after the first part of a page appears, it may not be completely downloaded, and links may not yet be active. Wait for the "Document Done" message to appear on the Status Line at the bottom of the document. For file downloads or E-mail checking, refer to the pop-up status window for a report on its progress.

System Maintenance

Don't Be A Pig:

From time to time it is a good idea to remove old Temp files (primarily in C:\WINDOWS\TEMP) and delete any unneeded documents. Also erase Temp and cached files in Web browsers. To be very thorough, do a Find command and search for other Temp folders. Don't delete the folders themselves, just the files in them. Much of this can be done using the Disk Cleanup utility if you have it on your system.

 

Good Housekeeping:

Windows provides some basic programs to keep your hard disk in good working order. Using Scandisk and the Defragmenter can prevent your files from getting lost or corrupted and can help your programs run faster. Here's what to do: Turn off any applications and disable screen savers. Go to the Start Menu, Programs, Accessories, Sys Tools, Scandisk. In the Scandisk dialog, choose the radio button for a Thorough scan, and select Automatically Fix Errors. This corrects bad sectors and blocks. Walk away and get a cup of coffee (but don't use the CD-ROM drive to hold your coffee!). the scanning process can take around 30 minutes. After Scandisk has finished, go back to System Tools and run the Disk Defragmenter. If it says the disk is not fragmented, don't believe it! Continue on with the process. To see what's really going on, select Details. Again, the process may take a while, but after it is done you will have a leaner, meaner machine.

Shutdown

Closing Up Shop:

In Windows 95, 98 and NT it is very important to follow the standard Shut Down procedure. Otherwise your hard disk will become fragmented and some files may be corrupted and lost. Go to the Start Menu, Shut Down, and then choose the radio button option you want. If the system has locked up and does not permit you to shut down in this way, use the CONTROL+ALT+DELETE command to show the tasks that are running, and close them as indicated (screen readers will usually stop talking in this box, but hitting ENTER generally will close the application causing the error). If this also fails, press CONTROL+ALT+DELETE twice in succession to shut down. As a last resort only, after all these steps have failed, should you turn off the machine with the POWER OFF button on your computer. Note that the shut down process works slightly differently in Windows 98 and 95. In Windows 95 "Shut down the computer" is always the default choice in the Shut Down Menu. In Windows 98 the option you used last time you shut down remains highlighted. Thus, if you previously chose "Restart", Restart will be highlighted. Therefore it is always a good idea to check which item is highlighted BEFORE pressing ENTER for the last time. This will prevent the system from restarting or shutting down unexpectedly.

If you have further questions or comments, please contact Patrick Burke.

Previous reports

1. Keyboard Navigation in Netscape and Internet Explorer (98.09.27)