PCBugSquad

Often times the most common tasks can be the most difficult ones. This is especially true when it comes to deleting files.  This tutorial will walk you through finding and deleting a file on your computer.

1. The first step is to search for the file. To do this, we open the Windows Search tool by clicking on the Start Menu and then selecting the Search option.  This should bring up a window similar to the one below.

   

2. Next click on the option labeled All files and folders.  This will change the window to appear like below.

   

   In the All or part of the file name: field enter the name of the file you would like to delete.

3. Now scroll down until you see More advanced options and click on it.  You should now see a screen similar to the one below.

   

   Make sure there are checkmarks in the boxes labeled Search hidden files and folders and Search system folders.  If there is no checkmark in those boxes, please put one there. When done, click on the Search button.

4. When the search has been completed you will see a list of all the files that were found that matched the name you entered in step 2.

   

   Select the file you would like to delete by left-clicking on the file once so it is highlighted as shown above.  Make sure you do not double-click on it as it may run the program instead. Once it is highlighted, press the Delete button on your keyboard.

5. Once you press the delete button a box will appear asking for confirmation on whether or not you really want to delete the file.

   

   Click on the Yes button to delete the file.

The file should now be deleted off of your computer.  You should now repeat these steps for any other files you would like to delete.

There will come a time in every computer users lifetime that they will need to stop a program from running in Windows.  For the most part, you can simply exit the program like you normally would by either clicking on the X in the upper right hand corner of the window or by clicking on the File –> Exit menu option. Unfortunately, though, it is common for a process to not exit like it should.  This could be because it is no longer responding, or frozen, or because it is malware and not allowing itself to be killed.

This tutorial will walk you through ending a process, or program, that cannot be closed by normal methods.  The first step is to open the Windows Task Manager.  To do this simply follow these steps:

1. On your keyboard, press the Ctrl+Alt+Delete buttons at the same time and then click on the Task Manager button if a menu appears.  Otherwise, Task Manager will automatically appear.  You can also press the Ctrl+Shift+ESC keys buttons on your keyboard at the same time to launch the Windows Task Manager. Managing these multi-button combinations can be tricky, so do not be concerned if it takes a few tries.
2. When the Task Manager opens you will see a screen similar to the one below.

   
   

   You should now select the program you would like to end by left-clicking on the name with your mouse.  The process you would like to stop should now be highlighted as shown in the image above where pgs.exe is highlighted.

3. Now click on the End Process button to end the program.  If a Window opens displaying a warning, you should click on the Yes button to end the program.

   
   

The program you wanted to close, should no longer be running and you can now close the Task Manager.  When ending programs, we suggest that you do not end any programs that are running under the User Name Local Service, Network Service, or System as it may cause instability on your computer.