I hate it when your comp settings change and you can't change it back

Alexander's Horse · April 28, 2002, 08:24

I played a DVD on my comp before and now my task bar is running vertically instead of at the bottom of the page. Aaargh I hate that

I can't work out how to switch it back

Don't you hate it when that happens

I know its a simple thing but I can't find it - damn windows

It won't darg back to position

Zopperoni · April 28, 2002, 08:59

If you're running XP, you may have to right-click on the taskbar first and uncheck "Lock Taskbar" before dragging it to the bottom of your screen where you had it.

Alexander's Horse · April 28, 2002, 09:08

this is 98, that doesn't work

Provost Harrison · April 28, 2002, 09:11

Erm, just click on the bar and drag it to the bottom of the screen...

MrWhereItsAt · April 28, 2002, 09:15

He tried that.

Provost Harrison · April 28, 2002, 09:17

Oh yeah. Format your harddrive then

Alexander's Horse · April 28, 2002, 09:18

Its happened before - there is a simple solution - I just can't remember what it is

That's windows for you - all sorts of crap on the right click but no solution to a simple problem

Skanky Burns · April 28, 2002, 09:31

You did try the left click on the task-bar-then-drag-to-bottom-of-screen thing? It does seem verily to work on MY version of win98.

I don't think it even has a setting for locking it in place (which would be strange considering you accidently moved it in the first place).

Chowlett · April 28, 2002, 09:37

I have found in the past that the hotpoint for determining which edge it should be on is a little oddly placed at times. Try wiggling it about a bit while dragging

Ecthy · April 28, 2002, 10:33

win98: click on the taskbar, hold it, then drag it...

Ecthy · April 28, 2002, 10:38

Is this a windows troll, Horse?

Urban Ranger · April 28, 2002, 11:08

Talk at your mouse, maybe it'd work

General Ludd · April 28, 2002, 11:36

This is the kind of computer problem my grandparents are always calling me up for.

As already said, left-clicking (on the inside of the bar, not on a border) and draging it to the bottom should work.

You might also want to check under START > SETTINGS > Taskbar & Star Menu... But unless you have some different options then me, I don't think that will help.

TCO · April 28, 2002, 12:47

Nice forum jack, Horsie. I will fall for it and start posting clueless computer questions...

Jon Miller · April 28, 2002, 12:57

take a 2by 4

swing it at the monitor

Jon Miller

Alexander's Horse · April 28, 2002, 18:18

okay, it finally worked.

Asher · April 28, 2002, 18:19

Amazing what happens when you do it right.

Jon Miller · April 28, 2002, 18:42

was it my suggestion that worked??

Jon Miller

Alexander's Horse · April 28, 2002, 20:33

It was a left click drag.

My point is though that windows will tell you all sort of useless info but when you are looking for a solution to a simple problem - good luck finding it

axi · April 28, 2002, 20:34

Talk to me about settings!

My winXP stopped being able to standby and hibernate and as far as I've figured out, this is because I have a too old ISA device (probably my sound card) which won't support this. The OS has that functionality at the beginning (after it's installation) because the sound card is not PnP and I had to install it manually. Perhaps I 'll have to create another hardware profile, without my sound card, if I want to use this feature.

At least XP run smoothly, without creating the mess that win98 did.

Btw, that was the reason that I have been missing lately. First my browsers started failing when I got online, then after I formatted my master HD and reinstalled, the modem had disappeared.

Chowlett · April 28, 2002, 21:15

Did you find it?

Anyway - Windows Update has stopped working for me - it doesn't run, and when I do run it, it tells me I need to update it - so I click ok, and then it tells me that it failed to update, and gives a couple of suggestions neither of which sorts it. Any ideas?

Also, how do I make IE windows have a status bar by default? My first window always does, but if I ctrl-N a new one, it doesn't.

Zopperoni · April 28, 2002, 21:20

Quote:

Originally posted by Chowlett
Also, how do I make IE windows have a status bar by default? My first window always does, but if I ctrl-N a new one, it doesn't.

Go to View, and there you check "Status Bar", every IE window opened should now have a status bar.

Urban Ranger · April 28, 2002, 21:27

Quote:

Originally posted by Asher
Amazing what happens when you do it right.

What a user friendly system it is. It is so friendly that a user is incapable of performing the simplest of tasks.

You have Exhibit A right here.

Asher · April 28, 2002, 21:37

The problem isn't the user interface, it's the user.
PEBKAC: Problem Exists Between Keyboard And Chair

I don't believe anyone could honestly imply a better system would be:
taskbar -ahpd 800 0 600 32
would be a better way

Mercator · April 28, 2002, 21:40

Quote:

Originally posted by Chowlett
Anyway - Windows Update has stopped working for me - it doesn't run, and when I do run it, it tells me I need to update it - so I click ok, and then it tells me that it failed to update, and gives a couple of suggestions neither of which sorts it. Any ideas?

Have you tried accessing WindowsUpdate through the Tools menu in IE?

Urban Ranger · April 28, 2002, 21:44

Quote:

Originally posted by Asher
The problem isn't the user interface, it's the user.
PEBKAC: Problem Exists Between Keyboard And Chair

Typical response. When this MS "easy to use" myth falls apart, the user is blamed.

If it is so easy to use, how can a user have problems with it?

Quote:

Originally posted by Asher
I don't believe anyone could honestly imply a better system would be:
taskbar -ahpd 800 0 600 32
would be a better way

OTOH, at least a user can look for the necessary information, as opposed to groping in the dark.

Alexander's Horse · April 28, 2002, 21:57

Quote:

Originally posted by Asher
The problem isn't the user interface, it's the user.
PEBKAC: Problem Exists Between Keyboard And Chair

Whatever you do, don't go into user support. For most people PC's are a means to an end. My office PC was down all morning today - I can't afford to lose that time. I had corrupt files in my profile and couldn't launch Notes. Somebody fixed it for me eventually but there was a morning lost.

Oh well - at least I didn't get what we call here "the blue screen of death."

Sikander · April 28, 2002, 22:01

The problem isn't with the user, it's with the entire idea that a computer can perform even a tiny percentage of it's possible functionality while protecting the user from having to deal with complexity. This bill of goods was first sold to the public by Apple, and Microsoft was waiting in the wings as always to steal a good idea and make more money from it. This particular paradigm is interesting because the 'easier' the UI is, the more complicated it's implementation becomes, and the intelligent user is kept farther from the process where he can't understand how the process is supposed to work once it clears the UI, because he can't seperate himself from the UI to begin with.

AOL is another company making use of this paradigm. It's easy according to the ads for AOL, yet once you actually try to do something besides visit their affiliated sites you find out that it's not easy to do the things that every other more standardized ISP does without a problem at all. Frustration abounds once the user tries to actually access more of the functionality of the computer.

The holy grail here is systems that are designed to do fewer things more simply, and complex systems for power users who appreciate a straightforward approach to attempts to protect them and obscure the answers they seek. As chip and computer prices continue to drop, look to see more systems and components which are hardcoded to do their one task efficiently and clearly, and fewer monster systems which act as controllers for so many various devices.

Asher · April 28, 2002, 22:55

Quote:

Originally posted by Urban Ranger
Typical response. When this MS "easy to use" myth falls apart, the user is blamed.

If it is so easy to use, how can a user have problems with it?

UR, are you really that dense?
You CLICK on the taskbar and DRAG it to where you want to go. It simply cannot get much easier than that.

So how is this an "easy to use" myth?

Are you so pathetic that you troll over the stupidest things now?

Asher · April 28, 2002, 22:58

Quote:

Originally posted by Alexander's Horse
Whatever you do, don't go into user support. For most people PC's are a means to an end. My office PC was down all morning today - I can't afford to lose that time. I had corrupt files in my profile and couldn't launch Notes. Somebody fixed it for me eventually but there was a morning lost.

AH, when the problem is what you had: it is most certainly not something to waste your time calling support on. It is one of the classic PEBKAC cases. Like the people who call and complain their keyboard doesn't have any "anykey" or the people who ask about postage rates on e-mail.

It's one of the most intuitive things, and for whatever reason you had, it was kinda silly.

It's certainly not a design problem like Urban Ranger is implying (

) but rather a silly brain lapse if anything.

Quote:

Oh well - at least I didn't get what we call here "the blue screen of death."

Geeks have been calling it that for many years.