Recently, I received two interesting questions from U.K. subscribers. I wrote about and answered the other one, which was about external hard drives, in this week’s email newsletter.
In this question, subscriber Robin wrote about problems she is having with her broadband connection…
Hi Terry
I have a stand alone [...]

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 [...]

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 [...]

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. [...]

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 [...]

I received an email recently from someone who was having problems with a Windows dialog box. In this particular case, she was trying to put a registration code into software, but the field for the code extended outside the box — and she couldn’t input the whole code.
It really sounds to me like a font-size [...]

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 [...]

Sometimes, there are weeks of weird problems. Something in the air? The phase of the moon? Who knows?
Whether users have opened dialog boxes and accidentally clicked on the wrong things or “IE7 did it to me,” I’ve read of some subscriber problems have been very frustrating. Take this one from Louise, for example:
Terry,
[...]

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 [...]