Dennis Faas

After announcing that most of the bugs have been worked out of the new infopackets mail server, the main web server started having issues of its own. Subsequently, I was only able to send out 2 newsletters last wee k. In not so many words, the main ... server appears to be choking on bounceback email messages. Since there are literally hundreds of bounceback messages received every day [due to viruses and spam], the infopackets server eventually became overloaded with processes which looped endlessly, caused high CPU usage, and ate away at valuable memory resources. The processes were overloading ... (view more)

Infopackets Reader Ed M. asks, " I seem to have lost Java script support for my computer. Could you please advise me how to re-install it?" My Response: The first thing you should do is check to see if Java has been accidentally disabled on your ... machine (Solution #1). If you have recently upgraded to Windows XP and have not visited the Windows Update website to update your system, skip to Solution #2. Solution #1: Check to see if Java has been Disabled If you use Internet Explorer 6, you can check to see if Java has been disabled by scrolling through your Internet Options. Load ... (view more)

Recall -- In mid December 2003, I mentioned that the infopackets web server was too stressed to continue delivering newsletter emails to Readers, and that an additional dedicated web server was needed. Early last month, I ordered the new server and ... began programming it to do nothing more than process and send the email version of the infopackets newsletter. Unfortunately, this required quite a bit of work and technical expertise using an operating system that I'm not very familiar with (Unix). Side note: The Unix operating system was developed by Bell Labs in the late 1960's. The main focus ... (view more)

Last newsletter, Infopackets Reader Brad B. asked if there was a way to import and print a list of filenames contained in a folder using an MS DOS command. Since then, I have received a number of comments from Readers with alternative solutions. ... Infopackets Reader Sam T. writes: " In your newsletter dated Feb 4, 2004, a reader (Brad B.) was looking for a program that would print the contents of a directory. There is a fabulous freebie program that does the job and it runs in Windows instead of a command line interface. The program name is called LS - File List Generator and I have found ... (view more)

Infopackets Reader Brad B. writes: " Dear Dennis, I would like to create a text document which contains a list of my files in a directory. I asked a techie friend of mine how to do it, and he told me to open up an MS DOS Window and use the command: ... 'dir *.* > list.txt' I did that but my file names aren't showing up in full. Can you help?" Side note: MS DOS is the predecessor to Windows. The MS DOS prompt provides an optional way to access or modify files through a command line interface. An MS DOS command prompt can be opened by clicking Start -> Programs -> MSDOS, or if ... (view more)

Infopackets Reader 'Captain HRY' asks, " I would like to send files over the Internet to my son. Any ideas how I can go about doing this? " My response: There are a number of ways to send files to someone over the 'net. The easiest way to send a ... small file is by email attachment or through an Instant Messenger [chat] program. I use both MSN Messenger and ICQ and happen to know that MSN will only allow 1 file transfer at a time. On the other hand, ICQ can send multiple files, providing that the files reside in the same folder on your hard drive. If you're looking to share large files ... (view more)

Infopackets Reader Gail from Houston writes: " Dennis, I *love* your newsletter! Thanks so much for doing it! I am having trouble with my printer. The more programs that are open, the slower my printer runs. I've pressed CTRL + ALT + DEL and brought ... up the Task Manager and closed as many applications as I could [in order to free up system resources in hopes of speeding things up]. My questions are: How come there's so much stuff open in Task Manager? How do I [prevent tasks that I don't want] from opening? How can I tell which programs are going to shut down my computer (because I always ... (view more)

Have you ever wondered how to convert VHS or camcorder video to DVD using your home PC? Die Hard Infopackets Reader Ric J. writes: " I was wondering if you could tell me a good CD / DVD burner program to use? Right now I'm using Roxio Easy CD ... Creator 6 and am having a lot of problems with it ... The problem I'm having is that every time I try to burn a DVD from the Video Camcorder, [Roxio] keeps telling me that my project is too big and won't fit on the disc. I have contacted Roxio in the past and they have acknowledged that there is a bug in the software. That was 8 months ago and I'm ... (view more)

Infopackets Reader Charlotte R. writes: " How can I get individual browser windows to open on top of each other without wiping out the previous web site I was visiting? " My response: If you are browsing the web using Internet Explorer and would ... like to open a new browser window, you can: a) Click File -> New -> Window. Alternatively, you can press CTRL + N on the keyboard to open a new Window; and b) You can also open a new window by launching Internet Explorer from the Desktop. Side note: If you have a PopUp Stopper installed on your system, you may need to temporarily ... (view more)

Over the weekend, a fellow named Bernie Madigan from Australia sent me a quick email to let me know of a nifty freeware utility he's recently developed. Bernie's new program is called FileMap and it helps users to identify whether or not Spyware has ... been installed on their machine. He writes: " I have just published FileMap version 3.0.1, which discloses files added to your system without your knowledge. The program is ideal for serious computer buffs, or for people who want [early warning incase their systems are ever hijacked with Spyware]. I would also like to thank Bob Helmer of ... (view more)