68 22 Jan - 4 Feb 2020
buttonin thenotificationareatothe
rightsideofthetaskbar.Thiscontrols
themastervolume,andyou’llalsofind
otherhiddenvolumecontrolsyoumay
notbeawareof.
Right-clickthespeakericonand
select‘OpenVolumemixer’.You’llsee
twovolumecontrols– oneforspeakers
andoneforsystemsounds.If youopen
a programandplayaudio,a newvolume
controlappearsin theVolumeMixer
panel.Openanotherprogramandplay
someotheraudio,andyou’llseeanother
volumecontrolappear.Inotherwords,
everyprogramhasitsownvolume
control,soyoushouldcheckwhether
This fortnight Roland has been focusing his work with the Pomodoro technique but the bells are driving everyone pottyAsk the Expert
Q
Are you aware of a problem where
a Gmail account suddenly stops
working and displays the message
“Device not recognized?”. Going
through the account retrieval process
becomes an endless loop of getting
codes from Google via the backup
email, typing them in and getting
another failure. This seems to have
affected a lot of people.
Terry, via emailA
You’re not alone with this problem
but, unfortunately, there doesn’t
seem to be a reliable way to fix it.
Here are a few methods that have
worked for some people.
Use a computer, web browser and
location where Gmail worked
previously and go to bit.ly/recov493.
Don’t use a VPN and don’t use
incognito or private mode. Follow the
instructions and answer the questions.
Try using a phone – or at least
giving a phone number as a recoveryoption. Some people found that once
a phone number had been given, they
got into their account.
The recovery procedure is the only
way you will get access to your
account. If the process doesn’t work,
Google’s advice is to create a new
account. That’s not particularly
helpful, given that it means you lose
everything contained in that account,
but it is, sadly, true.Recover a locked
Gmail account
The only one way to recover a Google
account is via its own recovery toolthe volume is down for the programs
you are running that play no sound. Run
the problem apps, open the browser, set
them playing audio and check the
volume levels.
If none of this helps and you come to
the conclusion that it’s a driver problem,
open the Control Panel in an ‘icons’ view
and click Device Manager. Expand
‘Audio inputs and outputs’, then
right-click each item that’s listed and
select ‘Update driver’. Sometimes the
PC manufacturer’s audio driver is better
than the Windows driver. You can
usually find these by searching the
manufacturer’s website.GENERALPC
Where are missing apps?Q
A friend recently upgraded my old
Windows 7 computer to Windows- Everything is running fine but I can’t
find the apps for Mail and Calendar.
Alan King, via email
A
It’s possible that they’re installed
but, for some reason, haven’t been
added to the Start menu or were
accidentally deleted from it. To find and
run an app, click the search box on the
taskbar and enter its name – such as
mail. If the app is already installed, it
will appear in the search results and you
can run it from there. When it’s running,
right-click the app’s icon in the taskbar
and pin it. In future, you’ll be able to run
the app by clicking its taskbar icon.
If the Mail app doesn’t appear, open
the Store app and search for mail. Mail
and Calendar is actually one app, so you
get both when it’s installed.HARDWARE
Fix a failing laptop keyboardQ
A couple of the keys on my laptop
barely work and I have to bang them
several times until they register. What
can I do to fix this?
G Ward, via emailA
Hopefully, it’s a simple matter of
some debris making the keys stick.
Cover the end of a vacuum cleaner’s
hose attachment with a thin sock and
use it to hoover out any debris, or use
a canister of compressed air to blow
it clear.
If that doesn’t work, your laptop’s
keyboard may be failing. Replacing a
laptop keyboard is a complicated job
but you may find instructions by
searching YouTube for ‘replace
keyboard for XX’ – substituting XX with
your laptop’s make and model.
A simpler solution may be to buy a
replacement USB or wireless keyboard.You can install any missing app for Windows 10 from the
Microsoft store, including Mail and CalendarLaptop keyboards can be difficult or impossible to
replace – if all else fails, get a USB or Bluetooth model