THE
ERIC SPELLMAN COLUMN
Demystifying the internet and your PC - every fortnight! This week: your PC's
System Tray
"Tray" Sheik
This week, we dive into that mysterious rectangle populated with mini-icons
and a clock, located in the bottom right-hand portion of your screen: the System
Tray. You can't miss it.
The System Tray is located on the Taskbar. And, as you'll remember from previous
columns, the Taskbar shows you all of your "running" programs.
Unlike the many windows you may open while using your computer, the System
Tray shows you the programs that are automatically run when you turn on your
PC. That's right, System Tray programs run all the time.
As you install more and more software, your System Tray will fill with icons.
Over time, those numerous "always running" programs can eat up your
memory, slowing your PC to a crawl. I recommend you take inventory of your
System Tray and do away with unnecessary programs. Here's how:
Move your mouse pointer (the arrow) over any of those little icons. You should
see a little yellow "pop-up" telling you the name of the program.
Here's my basic rule. If you have more than five icons in the System Tray,
your system performance may be affected. Consider whittling it down a bit.
First, once you know what each icon is for, right-click on the one(s) you want
to remove. Chances are, you'll see an option to "exit" or "close" the
program. Be careful. Removing the icon from the System Tray is often temporary
and you'll see it pop back up when you reboot your machine.
To remove it permanently, go into the "options" or "preferences" of
the program represented by the icon. Look for the words, "Startup" or "System
Tray Icon." Some programs, however, don't allow you to remove their System
Tray presence. If you don't use that program any more, feel free to uninstall
the whole mess (Control Panel, Add/Remove Programs).
Sometimes, discovering the true purpose of System Tray icons is a bit tough.
If right-clicking on an icon does not generate a helpful menu, try double-clicking.
For instance, the "speaker" icon is one of a few icons that are common
on everyone's System Tray. Right-clicking allows you to adjust your computer's
sound system. Double-clicking, though, is a great shortcut to increasing or
decreasing the volume. Try it!
Believe it or not, single-clicking sometimes gives you different results. By
single-clicking on the speaker icon, you can easily adjust the Master volume.
Another neat shortcut involves the clock. Most of you know that simply moving
the mouse pointer over the clock will show you today's date. Well, double clicking
on the clock will allow you to adjust it!
Granted, you could have gone to Control Panel, Time/Date, but this technique
is much faster.
Another common icon looks like two computer screens, one behind the other.
These usually only show up when you are connected to the Internet. While surfing
the Net, you may notice that the screens flicker and flash. This icon, in my
opinion, is the most useful of the lot.
Watch it for a while. When the "front" computer flashes, you are
SENDING information over the Internet. When the "back" computer flashes,
you are RECEIVING information. This icon can be used to determine if your Internet
connection is even working.
If all you are seeing is the "front" icon flashing, chances are,
your Internet connection is "down". Double-clicking on this icon
will show you your current transfer speed and give you the option to disconnect.
You can also right-click to disconnect.
In summary, make sure your System Tray is ONLY running programs you deem critical.
Anything else is just wasting your memory.
As one more suggestion, I dump all System Tray icons that are simply "shortcuts" to
other programs. Real Player is a great example of this type.
I'll see you in Cyberspace!
- Eric Spellmann is the owner of Spellmann & Associates, a corporate technology training facility in Amarillo, Texas. Besides his weekly column, he produces technology segments for his local CBS television affiliate and speaks at numerous conferences. If you would like to receive the full transcripts of his columns as well as the television segments he produces for CBS, sign up for his FREE e-mail newsletter by sending a blank message to nl@ericspellmann.com with SUBSCRIBE in the subject. Or, you can sign up at www.ericspellmann.com
©
Christian Family Network
is run by CPO, supported by
Care for the Family, Marriage Resource, Positive Parenting,
Care, Women Alive, Christian Herald and many others.