Dennis Faas

Last week, Frank N. asked: " I save certain email that has been forwarded and contains angle brackets (>), line brakes and extra spaces. Cleaning this mess line by line and each symbol (>) is time consuming but sometimes necessary. Is there an ... easier way to do this? " I suggested that Frank can remove the forwarding brackets by setting a few options in Outlook Express. Unfortunately, this does not remove the existing brackets already present in the email. Of course, Infopackets Readers were on their toes and sent in some really great suggestions: (Popular pick): J.C. Tremblay ... (view more)

My friend Abba from California called me on the phone this morning after he received yesterday's issue of the Gazette which talked about Disk Imaging and Partitioning. Abba asked me why Windows XP didn't come with Scandisk and wondered why something ... so important such as Scandisk isn't easily accessible on the Desktop. I told Abba Windows XP doesn't use Scandisk anymore and now uses a program called CHKDSK. By the way, CHKDSK actually means "check disk." To use CHKDSK on Windows XP and scan your hard drive for errors usually caused by an improper shutdown: Double-click My Computer ... (view more)

I was planning to continue my ongoing discussion on Disk Imaging in this issue of the Gazette, but my mail box has been inundated with emails from folks who have fallen prey to a chain-letter virus hoax. C'est la vie. I've decided to take this ... opportunity to let you know about this hoax before you go deleting the wrong file from your system. Virus Hoax: jdbgmgr.exe. On the weekend I received multiple email chain-letters from users who have my email address on their Contact List / Address Book, and decided to pass on the message. The start of the message varies, but it all boils down to the ... (view more)

Last week, Susan S. asked the question: " I can't access the web from my favorites in the Start/Favorites list or in the Internet Explorer taskbar. When I click on a link and nothing happens! How can I fix this problem? " My Response: I asked ... Infopackets Readers to send me their thoughts. Below are some suggestions. OffsaMedic wrote: " I've had this problem several times. Using the 'repair associations' feature in Tweak UI worked for me. You can get Tweak UI (power toys) Windows XP , or Tweak UI v1.33 for Windows NT, 2000, 95, 98 . " Chris B. says: " This sounds like ... (view more)

Susan S. writes: " I'm an old experienced computer user, but this has me stumped. Just today suddenly I can't access the web from my favorites in the Start/Favorites list or in the Internet Explorer taskbar. I click on a link and nothing happens. ... What on earth is going on? And how do I fix it? " My Response: Most likely this is a software bug in Internet Explorer -- I can honestly say that I do not recall ever experiencing this problem. I gave a quick look in the Microsoft Knowledge Base from Microsoft's site and also tried Google, but couldn't see anything that match the queries ... (view more)

Douglas L. asks: " I recently re-loaded Windows ME. When I received an e-mail with an attachment I mistakenly used Media Player to open it. Now Windows assumes that every attachment of that type requires Media Player! How do I change it to the ... correct program for these files? " My Response:First, you need to identify the correct file type. This is done by viewing the file extension in the email attachment. Example: a .GIF email attachment would signify that it is a graphic file. You can use Internet Explorer to open a graphic file, or any third-party picture viewing utility for that ... (view more)

My computer sound system is about 10 years old. I remember when I first got my sound system. It was the first of its kind: the Labtec SB-8 came equipped with two satellite speakers and a separate subwoofer. A beautiful sound system, indeed. The ... Labtec woofer sits on the floor and has an adjustment knob for bass intensity. It sure does produce some loud thumps! The two satellite speakers sit near by monitor and allow me to further adjust bass and treble at a push of a button. I can even plug in a headset for quiet listening. All of these options are pretty standard these days on sound systems ... (view more)

Last week's question asked: " I use Outlook Express to read emails. When I click on a web address in an email, nothing happens. I am plagued with the old cut, copy and paste. Is there a way to get Outlook Express to open up the web address in my ... Internet Explorer browser? " My answer: I asked Infopackets Readers to send me their thoughts on this question. The gist is that the problem may be caused if you have installed another browser other than Internet Explorer on your system. This can include ISP providers that install their own version of browsers, including AOL, and Earthlink. ... (view more)

Brian S. writes: " First of all, thanks for your newsletters. They are informative and very helpful. My question is this: When I click on a web address in my e-mails nothing happens. I am plagued with the old cut, copy and paste. Is there a way to ... get Outlook Express to open up the web address in my Internet Explorer browser? " My answer: I've been asked this question a few times in the past but can honestly say that I've never experienced the problem myself. Every link I've ever clicked on in Outlook Express works for me. The only thing I can think of which might block a browser ... (view more)

CMOS or BIOS? What's the difference? The CMOS (pronounced "sea moss") is a computer chip responsible for storing settings of a computer system. The word "CMOS" is actually an acronym which stands for Complementary Metal-Oxide Semiconductor. Try and ... say that 10 times without slipping! Most users have undoubtedly witnessed a message stating "Press DEL to enter Setup", or something similar when a computer has been powered on. If the DEL key was pressed at this instance, something called a CMOS utility screen would appear on the screen. Various hardware settings can ... (view more)