38 -
Quick Start & Troubleshooting Guide
Device Manager
1. Open the
Device Manager
(
Start
>
Control Panel
>
System and
Security
>
Device Manager
). This allows you to view the status of your
hardware devices.
2. If you see any “
!
” or “
?
” signs in front of a device name, going back to a
previous version of that driver may help:
1. Right-click on your device and select
Properties
.
2. Click on the
Driver
tab and select
Roll Back Driver
.
Go back to previous restore point with System Restore.
System Restore
monitors the changes to your computer and automatically creates restore points to revert to a
previous time if necessary. It can undo harmful changes to your computer and restore its settings and
performance, while saving your personal data files (such as documents, browsing history, drawings, favorites, or
emails). Please see page 37 for more details.
If your computer cannot display the Windows desktop:
Restart your computer, press the
Alt+F10
key upon start-up when the Gateway logo appears to start the
Recovery Program.
The screen displays applications, but they crash or run erratically
When your programs run erratically, there are good chances that your
operating system may not be functioning correctly. Please also check the
recommendations on the previous case (page 37) if the steps below do not
help solve your problem.
Close programs using Windows Task Manager
If you cannot close your programs by clicking on the cross in the top right
corner of the screen, try using the
Task Manager
.
1. Press the
Ctrl
+
Alt
+
Del
keys simultaneously or right-click on an empty
space on the taskbar and select
Task Manager
.
2. Select the failing program in the list and click on
End Task
.
Does this happen with only one application?
If you notice that a specific program does not work correctly, try uninstalling and reinstalling it.
Click on
Start
>
Control Panel
>
Programs
>
Programs and Features
.
Are there updates available for the erratic application(s)?
If you do not notice improvement after reinstalling your program, please check the software editor's Website for
updates. If the program was originally supplied with your computer, you may check the Gateway Support Website
on www.gateway.com for downloads as well.
Is your computer up-to-date?
Malicious programs such as virus and spyware can infect your computer and cause some of your programs to
malfunction. To fix this problem and avoid it in the future, make sure you run antivirus and anti-spyware regularly
and get the latest updates. For more on keeping your computer up-to-date, please refer to the
Updates
chapter
on page 28.
