Computer Act!ve - UK (2022-06-08)

65

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How do I stop

double-spacing

in WordPad?

Q

I use WordPad for creating my

documents. When I press

Enter for a new line, I notice

that it is double-spaced. On the other

hand, if I type lines that are longer

than the page width, these are single-

spaced. In my opinion, this results in a

very untidy document. Is there any

way to circumvent this extra spacing?

Alan J Beasley

A

WordPad! We might be the

UK’s best-selling computer

magazine – and one of the

longest-running – but, even we

sometimes forget about the existence of

this handy word-processor built into

Windows. It’s basic, for sure, but we

expect it offers enough tools for many

readers. So, we’re publishing your

question in part as a reminder of the

existence of WordPad. It’s there in

Windows 11 and versions before, so just

click the Start menu to find it.

Now, to answer your question – yes,

there is a way to fix this quirk. The

trick is to first click at the top to select

the Home tab, before clicking the ‘Line

spacing’ icon: that’s the one with five

horizontal lines alongside the up and

down arrows. That opens a little menu

and, there, you need to click to remove

the tick from the ‘Add 10pt space after

paragraphs’ option (see screenshot).

Clear the tick from

the ‘Add 10pt space

after paragraphs’

option

Q

My Lenovo IdeaCentre 5105-
081SH desktop PC keeps crashing
to a black screen. My monitor
then tells me there’s no connection. The
desktop is still switched on, but there is
no indication of anything happening. If I
hold the power button, the computer
switches off and I can then switch it back
on and it starts up as usual. I tried the
WhoCrashed analyser tool (www.
resplendence.com/whocrashed), but it
reveals nothing. Any idea?
Michael Briggs

A

Intermittent glitches are hard to
diagnose. However, we do have a
couple of ideas – both relating to
the graphics card.
First, it could be that the graphics-card
driver is crashing. To test this theory you
can try a little-known keyboard shortcut

• Windows key+Shift+Control(Ctrl)+B
  (see screenshot^1 ). Pressing this
  combination forces Windows to restart
  the graphics driver. If this works then
  it suggests the drivers are indeed
  somehow fouling up and causing the
  black screen.
  Your PC came with an Nvidia GeForce
  GT 730 card. You can grab the latest

drivers for this directly from

Nvidia, at http://www.snipca.

com/41899, so download and

install those.

If this doesn’t work, then it’s

possible that the card is

overheating, causing it to shut

down to protect its sensitive

GPU. This could cause the

symptoms you describe.

Resetting the computer gives

the GPU a few moments to cool

down, which would explain

why the PC then starts okay.

One possible cause of overheating is a

dust-clogged fan. Earth yourself, then

carefully open your PC. Remove the

card^2 and use a can of compressed air to

thoroughly clean the cooling fan^3 ,

ensuring that the blades can turn freely.

In addition, doing this will allow you to

ensure the card is firmly secured when

you reseat it – eliminating a loose fit as

the final possible cause.

Try this keyboard shortcut to restart the

graphics card (1). Alternatively, remove the

card (2) and clean the fan (3)

Issue 633 • 8 – 21 June 2022

Why does my PC crash to a black screen?

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