Long-time subscriber Irving wrote to ask:
I have XP SP2. I downloaded a zip file to my desktop. I then clicked the icon and ran into a problem. The screen started to “blink” and I couldn’t do anything. CTR-ALT-DEL couldn’t do anything. I had to shut down with power switch. Tried again…..same problem. This has also [...]

A reader wrote to ask for more details about how I configure my firewall to block Microsoft.com’s call–home attempts:

In your Email Newsletter — Volume 3, Number 12 — September 3, 2007, article “Windows Genuine Advantage SNAFU” you say, “When they want to check in with Microsoft, they run into my copy [...]

Reader Scott Adler wrote about a problem he was having with his computer getting stuck at 100% CPU Usage…

to correct a problem I’m having with Adobe Updater I need to get to change the preferences
Start the AdobeUpdater.exe application from …”\Program Files\Common Files\Adobe\Updater 5″
[...]

As a long-time personal computer user, I learned the importance of backing up my data long, long ago.

There are just too many things that can go wrong when you’re working on your computer. Whether it is a hard drive that goes bad (or a floppy, in the old days), or a mental lapse on [...]

I received an email recently from PC Pitstop (I bought a license for PC Pitstop’s Optimize 2.0) announcing their new version Internet speed test.
That got me thinking about the variations in connection speed that I’ve seen over the years — over days and even between sites.
Typically, the closer the bandwidth-measuring site is to you, the [...]

I’m often asked about how I handle passwords for all the different sites that require passwords.
The questioner’s eyes get pretty big when I mention that I use random mixtures of letters and numbers for my passwords, and even bigger when I say that I use a different password on every site.
The immediate question is “How [...]

Subscriber Cary wrote with questions about project common to many people:
I’m starting a little project to record about 100 vinyl LPs to mp3s on my hard drive. I\’m looking for free software that will let me record a line-in source. I\’ve heard that Audacity is very good, but one critical feature [...]

Subscriber Peter Dunckelmann wrote recently to ask about disconnecting and reconnecting his external hard drive from Windows using the “Safely Remove Hardware” function. Although I wrote back to Peterseveral times, he’s got a Yahoo account, and Yahoo rejected my emails to him — it accepted some other emails I sent, so it just looks like [...]

Reader Russ Tinley wrote about a strange problem he was having:

Terry, My computer is connected to a Verizon DSL Modem, and everytime I connect the modem to my PC I get a blue screen and the system reboots. I called Verizon and they replaced my Modem but it still does it. [...]

I’ve done it. I’m sure you have, too.
We’ve all installed a program that arbitrarily grabbed certain file extensions (such as .doc, .jpg, .mp3) and changed Windows’ settings. Now, the new program is the default for opening that file type.
Sometimes, it’s our fault — many programs that can handle multiple file types will give us an [...]