Graphics card stuck in nonworking mode

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	LANGALIST PLUS[/size][/font] Graphics card stuck in nonworking mode[/size]
	By Fred Langa What do you do when your graphic system malfunctions in such a way that you can’t see the screen to change modes or otherwise fix the problem? Graphics systems are supposed to revert automatically to a known-good setting if the hardware can’t support a given resolution or refresh rate, but sometimes they don’t. Then what?[/size]

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The full text of this column is posted at WindowsSecrets.com/2010/07/01/05 (paid content, opens in a new window/tab).

Columnists typically cannot reply to comments here, but do incorporate the best tips into future columns.[/td]

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I don’t think most people have problems with Win7 Search, maybe other than on very low power PCs. I would try going to Start Search, type “Index” and then select “Indexing Options.” Click Advanced, accept the UAC prompt, then click Rebuild. Go to sleep and when you wake up, hopefully having rebuilt the index will eliminate your search-related problems. Also, you probably need to have Adobe Reader installed, even if you don’t use it to read PDFs. At least last I knew, the iFilter that installs with Reader is necessary for Search to be able to read and index PDFs. And lastly, while you’re in the Indexing Options, take a minute to verify that the appropriate locations and file types are enabled, and that they have the desired option chosen between “Index Properties Only” and “Index Properties and File Contents.” (Advanced Options, File Types tab).

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I am pleased with the free “Everything” for Windows 2000, XP, 2003, Vista, 2008 and Windows 7 search program on Win 7 64 bit. It is very fast and easy to use.

Look here: http://www.voidtools.com/

Eric

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… free “Everything” …. It is very fast and easy to use.

I endorse this. Blisteringly fast. And it finds things. Low overhead.

JG

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I use and love “Everything”, but it only allows you to search on file names. If you need to search file contents, you need to turn to other tools.

I read the MS article about the search syntax, and it is complex and horrific. It cries out for a UI that allows us to forget the syntax. I have found the MS search facility, used only on my work computer, to be close to useless.

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I also endorse Everything for searching file names. For complicated searches I use Nirsoft’s SearchMyFiles. It is also extremely fast in my experience, and has a ton of search parameters available. I only use Windows Search for location-specific quick queries (ie, to see how many mp3’s are in a given directory or to find that one .wma that hasn’t been converted yet).

Another issue with Windows Search is that it can’t locate corrupted files. You know those annoying moments when you try to delete a folder and Windows says “file not found” even though you’re looking right at it in Explorer? Yeah, those. The two search options above can search within those folders, but Windows can’t. Once you verify that there are files there, you can fix them with Recuva or some other app, or run chkdsk. (Those files/folders are usually the result of a program creating them then encountering an error, or if it doesn’t properly run post-install clean-up.)

Christa

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always interested in tracking my bandwidth, I installed bitmeter, and let it run for a couple of days; certainly interesting stats, but when I noticed my I5 3.2gig CPU running less than 70% idle (as tracked by taskinfo 9), I watched it for a bit, and saw that bitmeter itself takes 18-20% of the cpu *all the time*, plus an extra 10% taken by ‘system’, which presumably is the .net framework.
when I shut bitmeter down, the cpu usage immediately drops in the neighbourhood of 30%.

that’s too much for me, so I shut it down, and will only use it if there is a need.

Vern

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Hey Fred,

How about just tapping the ‘F8″ key at start-up and the logging on in VGA mode. Then you can reset you resolution to one that works.

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