Q: When selecting Print for a document or photo, my default printer has suddenly become OneNote 2010 instead of my HP Laser Professional MFP machine, which had been the default for a couple of years.
It means that each time I print a document I now have to select a printer. I have searched unsuccessfully for a solution.
Can you help me return my laser printer to being the default printer? I am running Microsoft Office and Windows 7 Home Premium.
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— Paul Heins, Redmond
A: It's actually pretty simple. Go to the Control Panel and launch Devices and Printers. Scroll down until you see the list of printers, right click on the printer you want to be your default, and select "Set as default printer."
Q: I have a 2010 vintage Dell Studio XPS (64-bit, Windows 7 Home Premium) that's had an issue with screen freezes. I read that sometimes this is a memory problem.
I opted for 8 gigabytes of memory at purchase. I typically have only Outlook, Internet Explorer 11 and maybe Word running at any one time. The freeze typically happens within 10 minutes of boot up, then all is well after the power-down following a freeze.
Here's the weird thing. I took a look at Task Manager and it indicated that I only had 4 gigabytes of physical memory. The only major maintenance done to this lightly used machine was a new hard drive last summer.
Could anything related to that process have killed (or hidden) the "missing" 4 gigabytes, and could this be contributing to the recent freeze issues?
— Ken McLean, Kenmore
A: No, I haven't heard of any issues that would cause memory to disappear or be hidden in the Task Manager. My best guess is that Dell didn't actually give you 8 gigabytes.
As for those screen freezes, yes, they can be caused by a lack of system resources, especially memory. But they can also be caused by a bad graphics adapter, a misbehaving program or a virus.
Tracking the culprit down can be a real challenge. I'd start by swapping in a different graphics adapter and see if that solves the problem. If not, you can choose between trying to track what programs (and drivers) are running when the freeze occurs or — and this would be the way I'd go — start over by reinstalling Windows and only the applications you currently want to use.
Q: I have an HP Pavilion p6607cb running Windows 7 Professional. When I turn on the computer and get Outlook running in the morning, within five to 10 minutes of startup, the computer locks up doing something.
The light showing disk activity is constantly on, and after 5 to 10 minutes the computer frees up and acts normally. As it is locked up I can't see what process is running.
Do you have any suggestions?
— Bob Hallberg
A: If you turn on the computer and don't do anything, does the computer still freeze? If it does, you'll want to check on what applications and drivers are loading automatically on boot up.
You can do this by going to the launching MSCONFIG.EXE. Go to the Start button, then select Run and type msconfig in the command field. When MSCONFIG loads, click on the Startup tab. You'll then see a list of what is loading and you can selectively disable apps. It may take a bit of trial and error.
If the computer doesn't freeze when you leave it alone, you just need to track what applications you load in those first five to 10 minutes.
Source → Computer, new printer need to get better acquainted
