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Computer Problems Opening Zip Files

February 17th, 2009 at 8:47 pm » Comments (0)

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 [...]



Blocking Call-Home Attempts by Microsoft Software

January 17th, 2009 at 10:23 am » Comments (0)

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 [...]



CPU Running at 100 Percent

October 16th, 2008 at 8:50 pm » Comments (0)

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″
[...]



Why Back Up Your Computer?

October 5th, 2008 at 9:13 pm » Comments (1)

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 [...]



Internet Speed Tests

September 17th, 2008 at 9:04 pm » Comments (0)

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 [...]



Passwords, Password Lists and Keeping Passwords Secure

July 29th, 2008 at 9:45 pm » Comments (0)

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 [...]



Converting Vinyl LP Records to Digital

July 13th, 2008 at 9:11 pm » Comments (0)

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 [...]



Re-connecting after using Safely Remove Hardware

June 27th, 2008 at 7:57 pm » Comments (0)

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 [...]



HOWTO: Stopping Blue Screen of Death Reboots

May 30th, 2008 at 9:50 pm » Comments (0)

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. [...]



HOWTO: Change File-type Program Associations

May 12th, 2008 at 8:59 pm » Comments (0)

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 [...]