When providing IT support to our clients, we often suggest shortcuts, tools, and tricks that we use everyday. We thought it would be helpful to share some easy how-to tips to help users resolve common technical issues and questions.

1) Clear the Print Queue – Have you ever printed something and it just got stuck in the queue? If so, clearing the print queue will usually fix the problem. Here’s how:

• Go to Start, Control Panel and Administrative Tools. Double click on Services icon.
• Scroll down to the Print Spooler service and right click on it and select Stop. In order to do this, you need to be logged in as Administrator.
• Next you need to go to the following directory: C:\WINDOWS\System32\spool\PRINTERS. You can also type %windir%\System32\spool\PRINTERS into the address bar in Explorer if the C drive is not the default Windows partition. Delete all the files in this folder. The queue is now clear.

2) Setup Dual Monitors – Dual monitor setups are becoming much more common these days, so it’s a good idea to know how to set them up and what kind of support Windows has for dual monitors. Here’s how:

• First make sure that you have the correct monitor cables or cable adapters to connect both monitors to your PC.
• Connect both monitors. If your PC is already powered on, you may need to reboot your PC for both monitors to be detected.
• Go to Control Panel > Display > Change Display Settings. You should see two monitors, with a 1 and 2 representing a monitor. You can now adjust the settings for each monitor by clicking on the numbered monitor. Click Identify to determine which monitor is which. If the numbers don’t match the actual physical layout, then switch the main displays by checking the Make this my main display box. By default, you probably want to choose Extend these displays, which will allow you to use the second monitor as another display for programs, etc. For laptops, you might want to choose Duplicate these displays.

3) View Saved WiFi Passwords in Windows – Most people try to write the password down somewhere or simply check on the router every time they need to give it to someone else. Luckily, if you already have a computer connected to your WiFi network, you can easily view the password there.

• Right-click on the WiFi icon in the system tray and choose Open Network and Sharing Center.
• Click on Change Adapter Settings in the left-hand menu.
• Find the icon for Wi-Fi, right-click on it and choose Status. This will bring up the WiFi Status dialog where you can see some basic information about your wireless network connection.
• Click on the Wireless Properties button and then click on the Security tab. Here you will see a text field called Network security key. Go ahead and check the Show characters box and you’ll now be able to see the WiFi security password.

For more information on solutions for running your businesses’ technology more efficiently, visit our website or contact Megan Meisner at mmeisner@launchpadonline.com or 813 448-7100 x210.