Dennis Faas

Infopackets Reader Pete N. writes: " Dear Dennis, My email box has been bombarded lately -- as I'm sure most of your readers have -- with solicitations for OEM Software (sans the box and manual) available at ridiculously cheap prices. The deal is ... very tempting, but can you tell me the pros and cons of buying and using this stuff? I find it hard to believe that the only difference [when purchasing OEM software] is that you don't get the manuals and boxes. Can you explain? " Side note: OEM is an acronym which stands for Original Equipment Manufacturer. My response: Anything that ... (view more)

Quite a few users contacted me over the weekend after reading last Saturday's article regarding 321 Studios and DVD X Copy. I have decided to follow up this discussion with some Q & A. Side note: To recap -- on February 20th, "a federal court ... ruled that 321 Studios must stop making software that allows users to copy DVDs ... [The] St. Louis-based [company] said it would appeal the ruling ... which has barred 321 from selling its DVD copying software [by February 27th, 2004]. " (Source: Reuters.com ). Infopackets Reader Rafael C. asks: " Regarding your February 21st news ... (view more)

Infopackets Readers Joel and Barbara G. write: " Hi Dennis! We read every issue of the newsletter and have got some very good tips and help. I have a question about DVD discs. I see that there many different types DVD-R, DVD+R, DVD RAM, and DVD RW. ... I am new to DVD burning and don't know which of the R types to use, the + or the -? I'm planning to copy all my old camcorder tapes to DVD so that I can play them on my home DVD player. What can you suggest? PS: Thanks for the great newsletters. " My response: Recall: As I mentioned in Saturday's newsletter , DVD media (+R or -R) can be ... (view more)

Infopackets Reader Josh T. writes: " I was wondering if your could help me. I just burned some MP3s using Windows Media Player [WMP] onto a CD-RW disc. The CD seems to play in my computer's CD drive using WMP, but when I try playing the CD in my ... stereo's CD player or on my portable CD: neither will detect the disc. Is there any advices or tips you can give me to solve this problem? " My response: The reason why your .MP3 CD won't play in your stereo or portable CD player is simply because neither of these devices can read your CD-RW [re-writable] disc. The disc you burned can only ... (view more)

Infopackets Reader Josh T. writes: " I was wondering if your could help me. I just burned some MP3s using Windows Media Player [WMP] onto a CD-RW disc. The CD seems to play in my computer's CD drive using WMP, but when I try playing the CD in my ... stereo's CD player or on my portable CD: neither will detect the disc. Is there any advices or tips you can give me to solve this problem? " My response: The reason why your .MP3 CD won't play in your stereo or portable CD player is simply because neither of these devices can read your CD-RW [re-writable] disc. The disc you burned can only ... (view more)

Are DVD backups illega l? On February 20th, "a federal court has ruled that 321 Studios must stop making software that allows users to copy DVDs ... [The] St. Louis-based [company] said it would appeal the ruling by Judge Susan Illston of U.S. ... District Court in San Francisco ... [The court] has barred 321 from selling its DVD copying software within one week [ending February 27th, 2004]. " (Source: Reuters.com ). Despite the ruling, "321 stands firm ... to fight the Hollywood Studios in their effort to take away our customers' digital rights,' said Robert Moore, Founder and ... (view more)

Infopackets Reader Frank B. writes: " I need help! When I try to forward a picture to my friends, all that they receive is a box with a small red X. This started happening to me about 8 months ago. I have tried everything I could think of and even ... had a computer repairman try to fix it. It doesn't happen all the time, but more often than not. How can I correct this? " My response: Believe it or not, I get asked this question quite a bit ... and it's worth addressing (briefly) once more. This problem deals with Outlook Express 6 -- specifically: Anyone who has recently upgraded to, ... (view more)

Infopackets Reader "Artsiii" writes: " Dennis, thanks very much for your informative newsletter. Someone told me that every email and Instant Message [IM] I've ever sent has been saved by my Internet Service Provider [ISP] or email program. Surely ... this can't be true? There must be millions of messages sent every day. Isn't this information private? I know I would not like what I have said at one time or another available to anyone. Explain please. Thanks for your help. " My response: Interesting questions. Let me try and break it down. RE: Is information that travels ... (view more)

Infopackets Reader Ronald O. writes: " My computer has crashed a few times and I have lost everything from the hard drive. What can I do to retrieve all my files on the hard drive? Please help! " My response: If the drive still works and detects ... under Windows but your files are missing, you can attempt to repair your master boot record (if it's damaged) by booting into DOS (from a DOS disk) and use the command "FDISK.EXE /MBR". Side note: The Master Boot Record [MBR] is located at the beginning of the hard drive. This part of the hard drive is referred to as the boot ... (view more)

Infopackets Reader Berlin B. writes: " Dear Dennis, As part of my stringent preventive maintenance plan, I recently ran AdAware 6.0 and Norton AntiVirus software on my PC. Norton reported a number of 'at risk' files on my system. After I ran AdAware ... 6.0, the document files listed in the My Documents folder now show a .DOC extension with no associative icon. When I try to click these files, a window appears and asks me to select the appropriate file extension. It also warns me that if I select the wrong type, the file may become unusable. I was unsure what to do, so I ran System Restore ... (view more)