Programme Lists On A Pc

[kenny1234]

When I want to see my programme list I find that there are 2 ways of doing so.One is to click the start icon bottom left in order to select "all programmes": the other way is to go into control panel and select programmes.---Why are the lists different? EG.-on the start icon list I see"XPS viewer" which isn't in the other list. Vice versa in the control panel I see K-lite codec pack IL 7.5 full (whatever that is!!!!) with others that appear on one list and not the other.Please explain.

[Buenchico]

Audio and video files are created using 'codecs', which determine things like how much 'compression' is used. Different means of creating such files (e.g. different cameras or computer programs) use different codecs and (somewhat annoyingly in many cases) a computer can't play back a media file unless it's got the relevant codec (as was used when creating the file) installed on it. So, for example, you could have two MP4 video files on your computer, with one playing smoothly but with the other one not playing at all (because they were created on different devices, using different codecs).

The solution to 'missing codec' problems is (rather obviously) to install the codecs which you need. K-Lite Codec Pack is software which does that. Installing it adds lots of different codecs to your computer, so that they'll be available when your media player looks for them.

So someone has downloaded K-Lite Codec Pack and run it to ensure that you've got all of the codecs that you're ever likely to need. However they couldn't then uninstall it because it's configured in such a way that uninstalling it also removes all the codecs that you might need. So it simply sits there in the list of programs on your computer although (other than actually uninstalling it and removing the codecs) you can't actually do anything with it. Therefore there's no point in it appearing in the list of programs available from your Start menu. (A program has to be designed to install a shortcut on your Start menu for it to appear there. There's no point having K-Lite Codec Pack available in your start menu, so it didn't create a shortcut for it).

There are lots of programs on your computer which appear in your Start menu (either directly or by going via 'Accessories') which don't appear in the list you see when you go through the control panel. They include Notepad, Wordpad, Calculator, Paint, etc. That's because they're all built into Windows itself. XPS viewer is an add-on for Windows, provided by Microsoft, which integrates itself into your Windows installation (in the same way that Notepad does). So, just like Notepad, Wordpad, etc it appears in your Start menu but not in your list of installed programs.

[kenny1234]

Many thanks Buenchico----The reason I was asking was because I will soon be buying a re-placement CPU for my desk-top and the shop assistant was saying that although they will transfer data over, they won't transfer programmes. From what you tell me, does that mean that certain programmes will be installed automatically when they do the " set-up"?

[Buenchico]

I'm lost!

The CPU does all the work on your computer but it doesn't store any programs or data. They're all on your hard drive. If you're replacing a CPU it will have no effect on your programs at all. So are you actually replacing the CPU or the hard drive? (I'd be interested to know the reason why, too!)

[kenny1234]

I was assuming the "Tower" with all the workings in it ,was also called the CPU. They will be replacing the tower. Does that make sense Buenchico?

[Buenchico]

So they're actually replacing the entire computer then!
(The keyboard and monitor don't count. They're only 'peripherals').

What you'll get back is a new computer, with Windows already installed on it. (That will almost certainly be Windows 10 unless, very unusually, you've gone to a store where they still offer older versions of Windows). All of your folders containing things like Word documents, photos and videos will be on it but the only software on it will be what comes with Windows (unless the store installs anything else themself).

The following points come to mind:
1. Your web browser:
If you've got loads of bookmarks on your browser, make sure that the store exports them to an HTML file and then reimports them into the browser on your new computer. Computer stores have a nasty habit of forgetting to do that, meaning that you could lose hundreds (or thousands) of bookmarks if you're not careful. Alternatively, assuming that your old computer is still in your possession, you could export your bookmarks to an HTML file yourself now and either save it onto a USB stick or email it to yourself (so that you can download it back again when you've got your new computer). If you need instructions please tell us which browser you're using (Internet Explorer, Chrome, Firefox, etc).

2. Your web browser again:
Windows 10 comes with both Internet Explorer and the newer (and better) browser from Microsoft, Edge. However if you've been using an alternative browser, such as Chrome or Firefox, it won't be on your new computer; you'll need to download and install your chosen browser again.

3. Your office suite:
Most versions of Windows 10 either don't come with Microsoft Office or come with only a time-limited trial of it. So you'll either need to pay a lot of money to get it onto your new computer or, far better, download and install OpenOffice instead:
https://www.openoffice.org/
(NB: While OpenOffice can handle files in Microsoft formats, it doesn't routinely save them in those formats by default. You can get around that by selecting 'Save As', instead of 'Save', and selecting a Microsoft format but it makes more sense to change the default behaviour by following these instructions: https://helpdeskgeek.com/office-tips/set-openof%EF%AC%81ce-org-to-save-in-microsoft-of%EF%AC%81ce-format-by-default/ )

3. Your PDF viewer;
Windows doesn't come with a PDF viewer, so you'll need to download and install either Adobe Acrobat Reader
https://get.adobe.com/uk/reader/
or, better in my opinion, something like Sumatra PDF
https://www.sumatrapdfreader.org/free-pdf-reader.html
(If you decide to go for the Adobe software, make sure that you deselect the 'optional offers')

4. Your antivirus software:
Windows 10 comes with Microsoft's own anti-virus program built into it, so you shouldn't need to do anything. However if you've got a subscription with Norton, Kaspersky or another provider, you'll lose their software. If you want to carry on using it you'll need to reinstall it and to contact the provider, explaining your problem, to get it activated.

5. Your DVD viewing program:
Unlike earlier versions of Windows, Windows 10 doesn't come with a program for watching DVDs built into it. If that's what you want to do, you'll need to download and install something like VLC:
https://www.videolan.org/vlc/download-windows.en-GB.html

6. Your picture viewing program:
Windows 10 has a basic image viewer built intoit but Irfanview is far better:
http://www.irfanview.com/

7. Your banking software:
If you use online banking it's possible that your bank requires you to use some of their own security software. If you had such software on your old computer you'll need to download and install it again onto your new one.

8. Drivers for your printer/scanner:
Your computer won't work with your existing printer/scanner until you've installed the relevant software. You'll find that on the disc which came with the device or you can download it.

[Buenchico]

9. Adobe Flash:
Although it's not as important as it used to be, quite a few websites still require Adobe Flash to be installed in order for you to be able to view video content. You'll need to download and install it from here:
https://get.adobe.com/flashplayer/
(NB: Remember to deselect the 'optional offers')

10. Anything else:
You'll lose anything else that you had on your old computer, such as desktop publishing software, video-editing software, audio-editing software, games, etc. You'll need to reinstall anything you need, either from discs or downloads.

I usually allow the equivalent of a full working day to get a new computer up and running properly (and then I still find later that there were things that I'd forgotten), so you need to be ready for a bit of work!