PC Repairs

Problem Sending Email Using Outlook Express

By terry Leave a Comment

Subscriber Terry Millburg wrote recently with a queestion about sending email with Outlook Express.

I have an issue with Outlook Express in XP Home on a dell. Do you have any recommendations on a unit that can receive but not send in Outlook Express? I have tried the usual, uninstall & reinstall the OE from within Windows, removed & recreated the account, but still no luck. Any help will be appreciated. Thanks, Terry

I wrote back to Terry to say that I suspect that there’s something wrong in his SMTP (outbound) mailserver setting, perhaps a transposed number or a different subdomain should be used. I told him to check with his ISP to make sure what he’s supposed to be using.

If he’s trying to use your Outlook Express to send outbound via a third-party’s SMTP server instead of the ISP through which he’s connecting, then he’s probably being blocked by the ISP. They do this routinely to block the sending of spam from within their network.

If he’s really trying to connect to an outside SMTP mailserver to send outbound emails, then that server might have an alternate TCP port that they also use. The normal SMTP port is TCP port 25.

Alternate ports are usually either…

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Filed Under: Email, PC Repairs, Stability, Terry's Computer Tips, Troubleshooting, Windows Repair, Windows XP

Is My Hard Drive Failing?

By terry Leave a Comment

Reader Jerry wrote about a problem he was having when he tried to make a backup image using Acronis True Image…

Terry I want to make a hard drive image for a backup so that when I have to reinstall my windows and programs all I have to do is copy the image to the drive I want to use, what is a good program to use I tried acronis and I couldn’t make it work. It kept saying that certain sectors could not be read so I told it to ignore them (else it would not continue) and when it finished I tried using the drive and it would not boot. I’m using XP.
Jerry

I wrotte to Jerry to tell him thatt if certain sectors of a hard drive can not be read, it sounds like the hard drive is failing.

IDE and SATA hard drives have…

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Filed Under: Hard drive, Hardware, PC Repairs, Terry's Computer Tips

CPU Running at 100 Percent

By terry Leave a Comment

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″

How do I get to this application??

The symptoms are that the updater runs and uses 100% of the processing capability of my CPU thereby making use of PC virtually impossible. I found an Adobe tech note that suggests changing the preferences by unchecking the “automatically Check for updates”

Scott has very good question. The problem is that Adobe removed that feature in Adobe Reader 8…

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Filed Under: HowTo, Optimize, PC Repairs, Software, Speed-up, Stability, System Control, Terry's Computer Tips, Troubleshooting, Updates

Catastrophic Hard Drive Failure

By terry Leave a Comment

Reader Jeanne Wright wrote me about her recent hard drive failure:

My computer just crashed and I had to have a new hard drive installed. Is there any way to get the information on my files and folders from the old hard drive? If so, where can I find someone to do this? Needless to say, I had NOT backed up my computer before all this happened. Thanks!

I wrote back to Jeanne to say that, depending on the nature of the hard drive failure, her data may or may not be recoverable at a reasonable price.

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Filed Under: Backup, Hard drive, Hardware, PC Repairs, Terry's Computer Tips, Troubleshooting, Upgrades

Optimize 2.0 Review – Five Months Later Review

By terry Leave a Comment

Optimize 2.0 Review Number 2

Back in February, 2008, I bought a license for Optimize 2.0 and was very impressed with its cleanup and speedup changes it made on my computer.

Now, five months later, is it still a worthwhile tool?

As I ran the program on Friday night, it had been several weeks since I had used it to check the optimization and for cleanup.

Continue reading Optimize 2.0 Review – Five Months Later Review or get more information

Filed Under: Free Trials, Optimize, Other, PC Repairs, Registry Repair, Software, Speed-up, Stability, System Control, Terry's Computer Tips, Troubleshooting, Vista, Windows XP

Unable to Delete Email in Outlook Express

By terry Leave a Comment

Sherrill Kerbaugh wrote about a major problemm she and her husband were having on both of their computers:

Hi, Terry… We have a major problem…. My husband has been unable to delete daily e-mails for a few weeks now….we can’t figure out what in the world is wrong!?!?!?! Now, all of a sudden I can’t delete e-mails on my computer (same local area network and e-mail…Outlook Express)! HELP!!!!!!!!! Also, John can’t download or use Adobe Reader on his computer, but I can!?!?!?
We are going crazy here!

What are your thoughts? We just found your website this morning….hope you are our “computer angel”! : )
Thank you!

Continue reading Unable to Delete Email in Outlook Express

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Filed Under: Email, Outlook Express, PC Repairs, Software, Stability, Storage, System Control, Terry's Computer Tips, Usability, Windows Repair

A Look Inside PCPitstop Optimize 2.0

By terry Leave a Comment

Like many of the other downloadable programs that are designed to scan and fix computer problems, Optimize 2.0 from PC Pitstop is a program that can be run on schedule to routinely check for and fix problems, or can be run on request to fix and find problems.

Of course, the most significant value will be in the optimizations and repairs it makes on its very first running — optimizing your Internet access settings, checking startup programs, cleaning and repairing the Windows registry, and cleanup of junk files.

While some types of programs like antispyware and antivirus let you have fully-functional trial versions, programs that make repairs to your computer can’t afford to give free trials. Whether you are considering Spinrite 6 from Gibson Research (a hard drive recovery utility) or a Windows registry cleaner program, if there was a free fully-functional trial — no one would ever buy a copy — they’d just download a trial if they had a problem!

The solution for many of these products is to provide a scanner program that will scan your computer, tell you that it found a bunch of things to change, but will only make the repairs if you buy a license.

Does that sound unreasonable? If so, compare it to buying software in a retail box — most retailers will not accept returns of opened software, so you have no way to see it work. I wish I’d been able to see some of the games I’ve bought before spending my money.

Optimize 2.0 goes the extra mile — in the unregistered scanner mode, Optimize 2.0 shows you the changes it would make! It does not just show you the categories of changes that it would make, if you buy a license. This way, if you know what you’re doing and want to take the time, you can make the changes manually.

In the first screen shot below, we see the display after Optimize has done its first scan of my notebook computer (my main computer). The blue “Next” button at the bottom right is the next step…

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Download the Optimize 2.0 Scanner

Filed Under: Networking, Optimize, PC Repairs, Software, System Control, Terry's Computer Tips, Troubleshooting, Vista, Windows Repair, Windows XP

Data Backup versus System Backup

By terry Leave a Comment

If you’ve been using computers for any length of time, you’ve had the problem.

Maybe you haven’t had a hard drive fail, yet, but you’ve managed to delete or overwrite one of your data files with a changed version — and immediately said “Oh, NO!”

Most people have the problem and have no way to recover a copy of their older version. But you can, if you make a habit of backing up your data.

Karen’s Replicator ( www.karenware.com ) is a great program that I use for making backup copies of my data files. With Replicator, I can schedule backups of any modified files as often as I like. I can back up to a different directory on my hard drive, to a different hard drive (internal or external) or even to a directory on a shared drive across my home network.

By scheduling a daily backup of my data files, I know that I’ll have “yesterday’s” version safely available if I manage to butcher my data file.

Replicator covers your files, but is not a solution for Windows itself — Windows has to be reinstalled, not just copied into place.

Fortunately, there’s another solution that is similar to the Restore CDs and Restore DVDs that come with many computers.

I use Acronis True Image (Acronis is the company; True Image is the program.) to make my own versions of Restore DVDs. Often, I don’t even burn them to DVD’s. I can more easily save the images to an External drive and be able to restore from the external drive.

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Filed Under: Backup, HowTo, PC Repairs, Software, Storage, Terry's Computer Tips

Serial ATA Drives and PC Problems

By terry Leave a Comment

Reader Ian Holland wrote after reading one of my Special Edition Newsletters, which sometimes go to email subscribers:

Hi Terry,

Just read your VERY absorbing newsletter, I have a ( moronic??) question about those SATA hard drives.

I recently ( 2006) built 5 pcs for the office ALL with SATA drives, and they are all the same spec as this one at home with regards to RAM ( 2gb) and processors ( all Pentium 4, 3.5GHz) . So, to all intents and purposes they should be more or less the same ( all ASUS mother boards the same make and type, all with the same version of XP Pro Corp) –except the ones at the office are all on a network to ADSL (yukk!) this one is on a small home network (4pc’s) to cable broadband ( much better!).

The pcs at the office with minimal data installed are all far, far slower at moving files, searching, transferring data ( I ran a comparison with the same 36,588 images / 2.94 Gbytes) and also with downloading, than the one here on IDE at home.

I also get many more sudden “blue screens” ( “windows has shut down to prevent damage to the system….”) at the office machines, usually when running, e.g. three video editing programs, Nero 7 DVD burning, + maybe four large downloads and some word processing all simultaneously-

-at home I NEVER managed to get these messages at all, however hard I work the processor / RAM.

My question ( as an ignoramus!) is this;-

What is the purpose and advantages ( if any!) of going to SATA drives when they are patently less reliable, and lower performance than the “old” IDE ones? It seems to be yet another marketing ploy for us to shell out more money again.

I seek real elucidation here….

Thanks for an ever-improving newsletter, Ian.

Ian,

SATA (Serial ATA) is actually capable of much faster communication than is the PATA (Parallel ATA) interface.

The fact that you’re seeing significantly faster performance on one machine than on the other 4. Despite the 4 being on an office network, they should not be markedly slower than the home machine.

Here are some fo the things that come to mind:

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Filed Under: Hard drive, PC Repairs, Terry's Computer Tips, Troubleshooting, Upgrades, Windows XP

Number 1 Step in Computer Troubleshooting

By terry Leave a Comment

You’ve seen the problem. The program you use every day, or maybe one you use occasionally, isn’t doing what it should.

Perhaps the program can’t load one of its data files, so it doesn’t actually start. Perhaps it won’t do the task you told it to do – even if it worked yesterday. Perhaps the program crashes when you run it.

There is one often-forgotten cure for Windows.

In today’s world of Windows, fast computers, fast Internet connections using cable modems, DSL modems or even Ethernet connection to the ISP, many of us leave our computers turned on all the time.

Filed Under: Cable, DSL, PC Repairs, Terry's Computer Tips, Troubleshooting