My program won't start

My wife called me with a computer problem the other day. She wanted to bring up Microsoft Outlook to check her mail. Every time she tried to start Outlook, it would not come up. She double clicked again and again, but nothing seemed to work.

Other than the Outlook problem, the computer seemed to be working fine.

I suspected that Outlook was actually running, but just not responding as it should. It seems that computer programs will sometimes go out to lunch … or take a break from being usable. As a computer programmer, I know technically what can happen, but don’t want to bore you with the details. Just realize that it may happen, even with the best of software.

How to fix the problem in Windows

If my wife would have called technical support, they would have told her to reboot the computer. That would have fixed the problem but reboots end up being a pain because you have to make sure that everything is saved and shut down. The restart process can take more than a few minutes before you are up and running again. Being told to reboot a computer for a simple problem is aggravating.

Enter TASK MANAGER (or SYSTEM EXPLORER – see my favorite tools). Task Manager is a utility that is included in all Microsoft operating systems (XP, Vista, etc.). Task Manager gives you a simple view of what your computer is currently doing.

You can start Task Manager in several ways. One way is to press the Control , Alt and Delete keys all at the same time. You don't have to hit them all at the same time, just have all three keys pressed at the same time. Feel free to try this right now – you can hit escape and it will bring you right back here.

Another way to start Task Manager is to Right Mouse Click on the task bar. Right mouse click means to press the button on the right side of your mouse. The task bar is the information bar typically at the bottom of your computer screen where you see applications or windows currently running on your computer. It also shows the time, and most likely a bunch of useless widgets unless you have cleaned these up.

The best place to right click is over the time display. Right click and select “Task manager ”.

Task manager has a tabbed interface. The first tab is titled “Applications”. This will show you a list of running applications that have associated windows open. Believe me; you have many more programs running on your computer. In the case of our Outlook issue, it does not appear on the list because it has no open window.


The next tab is “Processes”. Each program has one or more processes that run. If your computer was a factory, each of the processes would be the factory workers. Each has a job to do and each take up space and resources in the factory (our analogy for the computer). Anyway, you will find processes for each of your major programs like Outlook.

What we found was that Outlook was a running process. It had no open window, but it was running, in the background but was unavailable, for some reason. If you Right Mouse Click on the process name; such as OUTLOOK.EXE, you will see several options. One of these options is to End Process. Left Click on that option. Another small window will pop up confirming that you really want to end this process (which means that you you are forcing the program to shut down).

Be careful with this action. Stopping some processes that are integral to Windows will leave you with an unstable computer. If this happens, you may have to go ahead and reboot the computer.

After performing this action, we were able to launch Outlook and check email.

Fixing the root cause of the problem

In computing, we often seek to find the “root cause” of a program failure. This Outlook problem is certainly a program failure but it may not be Outlook's fault. Several things could have caused the issue. If this issue happens once, then it is not a big deal. If it happens every day, then it is certainly a problem that should be fixed once and for all. For programs like Outlook, I always make sure that I’m up to date with the latest fixes (or updates) from the software vendor, in this case Microsoft. Microsoft has regular fixes or patches that you can either get over the internet, or have Microsoft Update (a program that runs behind the scenes) get for you.

Another typical issue with programs like Outlook is unstable add-ins or plug-ins. These are programs that are added to Outlook that are designed to provide additional value. A good example of this is virus checking software. Most virus checking software will install a plug-in to Outlook that will scan incoming and outgoing messages. The problem with plug-ins is that they can also get out of step with the version of the software you are running, or may simply be buggy (a term in computing that means that the software has problems).

So, uninstall unnecessary plug-ins (look for a blog entry on this) and get the latest software updates.

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Recommended Tools for Windows -> AVG Anti-Virus

This is a free anti-virus. It is not as comprehensive as some (McAfee or Norton), but is good enough for most users. You can't beat the price. I've also found that this program is easier on the system. I will share in a separate post some difficulties I had with McAfee when using network shared files and folders. The ultimate solution was to use AVG instead of McAfee.

AVG Free download site

When installing the program, accept the default settings until you get to the screen for the AVG Security toolbar. Uncheck this setting.

After the install is done, it will want you to configure. I did not select to have it collect information while browsing the internet (I don't want anything like this slowing me down). I set the daily scan to run at 12:15 AM (when I should be off the computer). This will work as long as you don't turn your computer off at night. You can turn off the daily scan if you want to run it manually. Read More!

Recommended Tools for Windows -> Wise Registry Cleaner

Having a large or error full registry can slow down system startup and cause crashes or program failures. This program will clean out a lot of the registry junk and fix problems.

When installing this program, on the "Newsletter" screen, unselect the option to get email. On the "Select additional tasks" uncheck the selections. When prompted to get disk cleaner, decline this as well.

The download site has the option to get the Free version or the Pro version. Try out the free version.

Wise Registry Cleaner Download Page Read More!

Recommended Tools for Windows -> System Explorer

Many times performance problems can be resolved by understanding what programs are hogging your precious system resources. This tool helps to figure those things out. I ask my friends and family members to install this so that when it comes time to figure out and solve a problem that we can use it to assist in the troubleshooting process.

This is a very good tool to see what is running and taking resources on your computer.

When installing, accept defaults until you get to the screen for "Select additional tasks". On this screen, I suggest unselecting everything. This will enable the program to run only when you want it to run. Since you will run this only when you want to figure out what is going on with your system, it is fine to select it from the start menu.

System Explorer Download Page Read More!

Flagship - Why I started this blog

My daughter told me that my first blog post should be the "flagship" post. I'm not sure if that is an official blog thing or not, but I've learned to trust her when it comes to things like this.

From time to time - daily or at least weekly - someone asks me to help them with a computer problem, asks for computer advice, or shares something about computers or technology. The questions or information may come to me thorough work, but also will come from friends or family.

I've been working with computers for quite some time. I don't want to tell you too much, but let's just say that my first "PC" was not a "PC", but a Morrow Designs personal computer. That computers was loaded with 64k of RAM (random access memory), 2 - 5 1/4" floppy disk drives, and a 8080 processor and used the CP/M operating system (computer program for microprocessors).

For your information: I will try and include the real names for things computer - not just the acronyms for them.

If you are wondering how much hard disk space I had on this computer, well that would be none - who would have thought that you would ever need more than a floppy or two of disk space.

I graduated from college with a degree in computer science. How I got into computer science is a story within itself that I might share later, but that said, I love computers, technology, and solving problems.

I decided that others might value what I have learned and the problems I've solved for myself and for others. One thing I have realized is that no problem is unique. If you have a problem, then someone else has had that problem also. This is one reason that the internet is such a powerful tool - we can share our problems and solutions.

So ... I will share some of the problems and solutions that can help others. My goal is to make your life better from a technology standpoint. I hope to share solutions in understandable ways - understandable to those experienced, but mostly to the vast majority of computer users who just expect it all to work.

I like all kinds of computers - netbooks, laptops, desktop computers, servers, you name it!
I like Mac's and PCs - I believe we can live in a world where both exist just fine. In fact, I have both sitting on my desk sharing files, printers, and the network.

I like Microsoft Windows XP, but I like Microsoft Vista better. I actually feel that Vista has received a lot of bad press. When I've looked at "Vista Problems", I've normally found the problems to not be Vista related.

I like Apple OS X, but admittedly am less familiar with Apple operating systems than with Microsoft operating systems.

I like computer programs - spreadsheets, word processors, presentation programs, design programs, browsers, databases, and even games.

I hate that we need utilities like anti-virus and spyware detection programs.

I like hand held computer devices especially the i-Phone. I would love to write a killer i-Phone application, but people with more time keep beating me to any new application I can think of.

I like IP telephony or VOIP (voice over internet protocol) or as Oprah would say Skype; which is also considered video over IP, and I like that also.

I like other technology including home theater and DVRs (digital video recorder). I find it very difficult to watch TV without the ability to pause and skip.

Then, what will we discuss? The list is quite broad. I'm not going to be too narrow. If I think a solution is valuable, then I will share it. Hopefully the web search engines will find my solutions and lead those seeking answers to the posts.

If you have a question or problem, just leave me a response and I may provide you with an answer.





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