PC Troubleshooting Course CD-ROM

How to open the disc:

1. Place the Troubleshooting CD in your computer's CD drive, label side up.
2. Wait a few seconds.  If the computer displays a menu of actions, select Open folder to view files. Otherwise, open My Computer and then open the CD icon (the icon with the round shiny CD disk).
3. Pull down the Views menu and select Details.
4. Click on the column heading that reads Type. This causes the contents of the disk to be sorted by file type (i.e. all the files of one type grouped together).

Contents of the Troubleshooting CD-ROM (sorted by type)

Open Office Installer
Freeware office productivity program suite similar to Microsoft Office, with programs similar to Word, Excel, and Powerpoint. To install, open the folder, double-click on "setup.exe" and follow directions.

Wordtabs Installer
A simple freeware word processor similar to Wordpad, but it includes a spell checker. To install, open the folder  and double-click on "setup.exe" and follow the directions. Simpler that OpenOffice.

Main handout.pdf, Care and handling of CDs and DVDs.pdf, file types.pdf, and FreeSpace.pdf
Examples of printable documents in Adobe Acrobat PDF format (Portable Document Format).  Open with the free Adobe Acrobat Reader (double-click on AdobeAcrobatReaderInstaller.exe to install it).

AdAwareInstaller.exe
A freeware adware detector.  Reduces pop-up ads on your computer.  To install, double-click this file.

AdobeAcrobatReaderInstaller.exe
A free program that displays and prints Adobe Acrobat (pdf) files.  To install, double-click this file.

Excel Viewer Installer.exe
A free program for viewing and printing Excel spreadsheets. To install, double-click this file.

Firefox Setup 1.0.exe
Installer for FireFox, a free and trouble-free Web browser.  Many people like it better than Internet Explorer.  To install, double-click it.\

GoogleToolbarInstaller.exe
A useful add-on to Internet Explorer that adds a toolbar and pop-up blocker.  To install, double-click it.

picasa2-current.exe
Installer for Picasa 2, an excellent free photo organizer, viewer, and editor. Highly recommemded. See "Picasa Photo 2 Organizer.rtf" for instructions.

PowerpointViewerInstaller.exe
A free program for viewing and printing Powerpoint presentations, for people that don't have Powerpoint. To install, double-click this file. You can use this for viewing viruses_and_cookies_and_spam.ppt.

RegistryMechanicInstaller.exe
A program for detecting and removing problems on your computer. To install, double-click this file.

spybotsd12Installer.exe, SpywareDoctorInstaller.exe and MicrosoftAntiSpywareInstall.exe
Free programs for detecting and removing "spyware" on your computer. Double-click to install.

UnZipInstaller.exe
A program for un-zipping (opening) ZIP and other compressed files.  To install, double-click this file.

fractal.bmp
A older type of graphic file, not compressed.  Compare the file size to fractal.jpg, the identical picture in compressed JPG ("J-PEG") format; the jpg file is much smaller because jpg is a compressed format.

name that tune.lbl
A CD label created on Print Shop. This is included as an example of a proprietary file format.  You won't be able to open this file unless you happen to have the Print Shop program installed on your computer.

Other MIDI examples.zip
A ZIP file, a compressed collection of files, in this case a bunch of MIDI music files. Windows XP users can right-click on the folder, select Extract all, then click Next twice and then click Finish.  Users of other version of Windows can use a separate unzip utility (c.f. UnZipInstaller, on this disk)

Internet Shortcuts (24 files)
This group of files are Internet Shortcuts to Web sites related to the course content.  To use these, connect to the Internet first, then double-click on the shortcut to go to that Web site.

JPEG Images (13 files)
Examples of JPEG images - in this case digital photographs from a digital camera.  Double-click to view in the default picture viewer or right-click and select Open with... to select another program to open the file.

Investment.xls
A spreadsheet created in Microsoft Excel.  You won't be able to open this file unless you happen to have Excel or Excel Viewer installed on your computer.  See Excel Viewer Installer.exe.

S&P500.csv
A "comma separated values" file, a text file consisting of numbers separated by commas.  The file can be opened in any text editor (Notepad, Workpad, etc.) or in a spreadsheet such as Excel.  A spreadsheet program will display the data in columns, interpreting the commas to be column separators.

viruses_and_cookies_and_spam.ppt
A Powerpoint presentation created by Patrick Crispen, on the subject of viruses, cookies, and spam. Open with Microsoft Powerpoint, Powerpoint Viewer, or Open Office (if you have any of these programs installed on your computer). See PowerpointViewerInstaller.exe.

workshop brochure.wps
A brochure created in Microsoft Works.  Opens only in Microsoft Works. You won't be able to open this file unless you happen to have Microsoft Works installed on your computer.

BluesOrgan.mid, JazzQuartet.mid (and the contents of "Other MIDI examples.zip")
Examples of MIDI files, a very compact type of music file for instrumental music. Double-click to play.

Birds.mpg
An example of a video clip (movie) in MPG format.  Open with Windows Media Player or WinDVD. (Won't play unless you have the latest version of Windows Media Player with an MPEG-2 decoder).

MP3 format sound files: El Rey.mp3, Green Bossa.mp3, Weather Record.mp3
Examples of music files in MP3 format, the standard compressed format for digital music. Double-click to play. These are royalty-free songs downloaded from FreePlayMusic.com. 

Rich Text Format (RTF) files (15 files)
Handouts from the PC Troubleshooting Course in RTF format, a generic format for formatted text (text with fonts, bold, italic, pictures, etc). Open in Wordpad, any version of Microsoft Word, Wordtabs, or Open Office. RTF format is similar to, but less proprietary than, DOC format.

Cookies.txt, Pride and Prejudice.TXT
A plain unformatted text file - just the words, not the formatting (fonts, bold, italic, pictures, etc).  Open in Notepad, Wordpad, Internet Explorer, Microsoft Word, or any word processor.

CDs and DVDs.doc
Examples of DOC files, the native format of Microsoft Word. Also opens in Open Office.

Tom O'Haver (toh@umd.edu) October 9, 2005