So the Ask toolbar, it can be good tool . . . if it's what you're looking for.  This toolbar - or virtually any other extra toolbar you may have picked up in your daily computing - can help you search, shop, and keep tabs on lots of in-browser features.  But it can also be terribly annoying, especially if you didn’t want it and got it anyway.  So how do you get rid of it? Ideally, you'd simply remove it, but toolbars aren't like other programs.  They're integrated into not only the computer, but into the various browsers you have installed.  What's more, the Ask toolbar is known for being notoriously hard to get rid off.

Fortunately, removing unwanted toolbars doesn't have to be a nightmare; you've just got to know the right steps to take.

Step 1: Remove the Ask Toolbar from Your Browser

If you open Internet Explorer (or Firefox or Chrome) and find the Ask toolbar there, you might be able to remove it without going anywhere else on your machine. If the toolbar is loaded in as an add-on, plug-in or extension, you can simply delete it from the browser itself.

The obvious question here for some people will be, “What’s an add-on?” Simply put, an add-on (or plug-in or extension, depending on the browser you’re using) is a miniature program designed to make your browser, like Internet Explorer, more customized and user-friendly.

How many times have you gone looking for something that should be so obvious – so easy – in Windows and came up lacking. Where could those files be hiding? Are you crazy for not seeing something that everyone else says should be immediately visible? Not at all – there are many different things that seem to be hiding throughout Windows.

Hidden Files

Before we even get into the specific items that are commonly “missing” in Windows, it’s important to talk about hidden files. Hidden files are just that – files that are invisible in your folders. Most of these files are things like system files, program data or application settings. In short, files that we don’t need to be messing with 98 percent of the time. To prevent damage to your settings, Microsoft hides most of these files from our view to simply keep us from accidentally moving/deleting something that needs to stay put.

But, that doesn’t mean that hidden files are dangerous. Sure, you don’t want to start absently-mindedly deleting things, but you can still view the files. What's more, viewing them can be especially helpful when you follow instructions to resolve an error.

Windows 7

To view hidden files, open Windows Explorer.  You can do this by just navigating to any folder on your computer.  Click on Organize. Then, click on Folder and Search Options.

Windows 8

Of course, WIndows 8 has changed it up a bit.  Now to access the Folder Options, go to any folder on your computer and click View.  Then click Options.

For Both

In the Folder Options menu, click on the View tab. Then scroll through the Advanced settings to find the option to Show hidden files and folders. Be sure that you’ve selected this option and then click on Apply or OK to reveal the hidden files in the folder you’re viewing.

For users of Windows, slow start-up is a common problem, especially after using the operating system for an extended period of time. Give it months or years and Windows seems to inevitably slow down.  And while it's gotten better, even the latest version of the Windows OS isn't immune.

So what causes it?  And - more importantly - how do I fix it?  This article will show you how the problem was designed to be addressed in Windows Vista, so it can be a launching point for troubleshooting the problem in those platforms that came after.

The causes

Slow Vista start-up can be caused by a number of different issues such as the amount of additional software that has been added to the start menu, too many services loading at start-up, or the registry becoming jumbled.  There may be a virus on your system.

Fix 1- Remove Startup Entries

Any programs that you do not need to have load at start-up should be removed from the Start-up Menu. You can do this with the following procedure:

Before: Windows Vista & 7

Access the MSCONFIG toolbox.  This is short for Microsoft Configuration and provides an easy way to trim your startup profile.

1. Go to START » RUN or hit the shortcut "WindowsKey + R"
2. When the RUN prompt comes up, type "MSCONFIG"
3. This will open the MSCONFIG toolbox.  The first thing you'll notice are tabs at the top. Find the one labeled Startup

There are so many programs that run on your computer, often you don’t even notice them until something goes wrong. This is exactly the case with Java. Normally, you’d have no need to ever mess with or uninstall the software, until something messes up.

In fact, Java is essential to run certain programs and the Java Runtime Environment is necessary to make many of your favorite websites even work correctly. So why would we bother writing about how to remove a critical program like Java? Simple. Sometimes you have to break an egg to make an omelet, and sometimes you have to uninstall Java to get it installed properly again.

The Java Update

Most of the problems with Java seem to happen during updates. Your software goes to update to the latest  version and you’re told that the new version of Java can’t be loaded because the old version is already in place. So then you’re stuck with a half-installed new version of the software. The obvious solution is to simply remove the old version and finish installing the new version.

Except sometimes you can’t. Normally to uninstall software, you’d go to Start and then Control Panel and then Programs and Features. This is where you can find the Add/Remove Programs dialog. But when you get there, you may not see any Java software at all or you may see quite a few different programs and it’s tricky to try and figure out which one you’re supposed to be working with.