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Click Start .
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Click All Programs .
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In the Programs list, click HP Total Care Advisor .
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NOTE:To check the version of HP Total Care Advisor you are using, click the Preferences
icon in the upper right corner and then click
About HP Advisor .
Using HP Advisor
HP Advisor has two main sections: the upper pane, and the tabs below. The upper pane displays the contents of the tab selected at the bottom, including tools to help manage your computer and links to important documents and Web sites.
In addition, the product and serial number are visible on the lower area of main tabs. The purpose of each tab, and the contents of the pane it displays, are described in the following sections.
PC Health & Security
By default, HP Advisor opens to the PC Health & Security pane. You can return to this pane at any time by clicking the
PC Health & Security tab at the bottom of the HP Advisor window.
PC Health & Security instantly reports the status of security settings, battery, back up, computer performance, storage space, and the remaining warranty.
Figure 1: HP Advisor - PC Health & Security
1 - PC Health & Security tab
2 - Product and serial number area
The PC Health & Security pane contains several tools and links, which are described in the following table.
Icon
Tool name
What it does
Internet Connection
The Internet connection tool can help find a broadband or dialup package from an Internet Service Provider (ISP), and can assist in setting up and monitoring an Internet connection.
Warranty
The warranty tool connects to HP warranty information on the web, and can take you directly to HP Total Care for warranty services.
HP Total Care provides many different ways to get computer help, including on-line help documentation, chatting with a personal SmartFriend assistant online, and speaking with a customer service representative by phone.
Printers
The printers tool allows you to manage and monitor up to 15 printers from the computer, all in the same place. This tool also provides information about printer supplies, such as ink cartridges and HP photo paper.
Security
Security offers access to critical information from Norton Internet Security, if installed, or from Windows software, firewall, and security. HP recommends setting the firewall and internet security options to
On .
PC Update
PC Update provides critical and suggested updates for drivers, BIOS, and some software.
Backup
The backup tool can set up a backup schedule, and checks when the system and your important files were last backed up.
PC Health
PC Health actively scans the computer to alert you of important updates from HP and to detect Hardware or Software conditions that may impact the performance of the computer.
PC Action Center
Click the
PC Action Center tab at the bottom of HP Advisor to open the PC Action Center pane. This pane displays critical and recommended alerts, and recommends actions that can resolve potential hazards before they become problems.
Figure 2: Total Care Advisor - PC Action Center
PC Help
Click the
PC Help tab at the bottom of HP Advisor to open the PC Help pane. This pane provides access to
HP Help & Support as well as to
System Information and
Troubleshooting Tools .
Figure 3: Total Care Advisor - PC Help
The left panel under
Get Help contains links to categories of Windows Help & Support articles on a variety of topics. Clicking any link opens the Help & Support directory page for that topic, where you can find help articles on that topic.
The right panel contains icons that link directly to useful tools:
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System information provides information about the computer, such as the model number and serial number, which can be provided to a customer service representative for warranty service. System information also provides information about the software and hardware configurations on the computer.
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Learning Center offers tutorial information about basic computer use, including topics like security, networking, and general maintenance.
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Troubleshooting Tools are a highly useful set of programs provided by HP. In many cases, using these tools can solve computer problems without having to call customer support. Use Health Check to scan the computer for security and performance issues, use Internet tools to resolve connection problems, and so on.
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Software, drivers, and BIOS updates provides information on updating and troubleshooting software, drivers and the BIOS.
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Recover Factory Settings provides information on recovering a computer to its original factory condition.
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User Guides opens a folder containing the User Guides.
Experience Center
Click the
Experience Center tab to do new and different tasks such as viewing and editing photos and albums, listening to and managing music, and watching and creating movies and videos.
NOTE:Experience Center is not available in HP Total Care Advisor version 1. To check the version you are using, click the Preferences
icon in the upper right corner and then click
About HP Advisor .
Figure 4: Experience Center
Use one of the following options to navigate in the Experience Center:
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Click a category icon or the arrows to rotate the icons on the carousel until the category displays in front.
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On the HP TouchSmart computer, flick the carousel with your finger to rotate it, or tap a category icon or the arrows to bring the category to the front.
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Select a category at the upper right to bring that category to the front.
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To see hidden categories, click the drop-down menu at the upper left and select a category; that category icon is added to the carousel and brought to the front.
Figure 5: Experience Center navigation options
Figure 6: Experience Center - Protect my PC category
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Using Search
HP Advisor enables you to search the Web using Yahoo! You can also search the articles in Windows Help & Support. Use these steps to search:
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Click the arrow next to the search box and then select the type of search you want:
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Yahoo! Search - search the Web using Yahoo!
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Search Help & Support - search the articles in Windows Help & Support.
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Type the search words into the search box.
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Click the search button .
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Minimizing HP Advisor
When HP Advisor opens at startup, you can minimize it by clicking the
Dock View button
in the Advisor window. This displays HP Total Care Advisor in a reduced mode at the top of the Windows desktop.
Figure 7: Total Care Advisor in dock view
To minimize HP Advisor to the notification area, select the
X button in the upper right corner of the Advisor window.
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Unable to Complete PC Update Action in Total Care Advisor (or Health Check)
There may be times when the PC Update section recommends an action that you cannot complete. To remove the task and the yellow triangle from Total Care Advisor, remove the reminder using the following steps:
Figure 8: Recommended Updates waiting to be completed in Total Care Advisor
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Open Total Care Advisor.
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Click the PC Action Center tab at the bottom
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Open the section that has the alert that you want to remove: Critical or Recommended Alerts
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Right-click the Update , select Delete , and click Yes on the confirmation message.
Figure 9: PC Action Center tab
Total Care Advisor uses HP Health Check to gather information. If you use HP Health Check or you cannot delete an alert from Total Care Advisor, you may use the following steps to remove a recommended action from HP Health Check:
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Open Health Check.
Next to the name of the task is a small clock icon.
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Click the icon of a small clock, and select Never (remind me later).
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Click OK and close HP Health Check.
Figure 10: Preventing the reminder from HP Health Check
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