Dennis Faas

Infopackets Reader Bev C. writes: " Dear Dennis, I laughed out loud when the subject line of your newsletter, ' Dusting the Computer from the Inside? '. The funny thing is that I just dusted the inside my computer last night -- literally! As it ... turns out, HDD Health (freeware), alerted me late yesterday with a warning that my hard drive temperature was close to critical. So I shut down, opened case and left it to cool. Later on, I inspected the inside of the computer case. That's when I noticed that dust had built up (considerably) on my power supply vents and on my CPU. In fact, darn near ... (view more)

Infopackets Reader Raymond T. writes: " Dear Dennis, It must be nice to know how all the rubber bands and wheels work to make the computer operate. I have been a computer user since 1982. Back then, I owned a Radio Shack TRS80 Mk 11, or a 'Trash ... 80', as they were called. It had stick figures that walked across the screen, stopped in the middle, turned and said, 'Hi ray!', so I just had to buy it. ;-) But now I am 65 and my memory is not as good as it used to be; in fact, I am getting to the stage where technology she gets better and memory gets worse. So, I want a program that will have a ... (view more)

Infopackets Reader Susan C. writes: " Dear Dennis, I love your newsletters ;-) Question: I am using Windows ME and tried to restore my computer to an earlier time using System Restore; however, the problem is that the computer keeps telling me to ... pick a earlier date on the calendar than what is available. For example: I can bring up the calendar to choose which restore to use, but the only option I have available is for December 1999. I have used system restore before, but for some reason it's now gone awol and won't let me pick another date. Is there any way that I can restore my computer to ... (view more)

Infopackets Reader Carol B. writes: " Hi Dennis, I read your article today about the user who is missing WordPad . I'm not sure if you're aware of this, but kellys-korner-xp.com has a downloadable executable for WordPad (see: #308 on the right hand ... side of the page). http://www.kellys-korner-xp.com/xp_tweaks.htm One last thing: in your previous post, the user mentioned that his document files were no longer associated with WordPad. To reinstate this (using Windows XP): Right click on the file they want to open with WordPad. Select 'Open With' from the drop down menu. Select Choose Program, ... (view more)

Infopackets Reader Kevin writes: " Dear Infopackets Team, The other day I clicked Start -> Programs -> Accessories in order to get to MS WordPad, but found that it was no longer there. I have spent an innumerable amount of time typing my DVD ... collection (titles) into WordPad; now when I click on my DVD document, I get a message stating that 'This file does not have a program associated with it.' I don't understand why all the sudden I can't open my document any longer and why WordPad isn't listed beside Notepad in my Start menu. Can you please tell me how I can get WordPad back so I can ... (view more)

Infopackets Reader 'Frances' writes: " Dear Dennis, When I start my computer, the System32 folder opens. I don't know how it started, but how do I make the System 32 folder stop appearing? I went to Start -> Run, typed in 'MSCONFIG', then went ... and looked at my Startup, but I don't know what to uncheck. My Norton software is up to date and I am using Windows XP and Verizon DSL. Please help. Thank you. " My response: This is a frequently asked question. In fact, I managed to find a Microsoft Knowledge Base article ( KB#170086 ) which describes why the System32 folder may appear after you ... (view more)

Infopackets Reader Carol D. writes: " Dear Dennis, Can you recommend a good wireless keyboard for my Dell Demension 8200? I've asked Dell what they suggest and (no surprise) they recommend that I use their brand of wireless keyboard. I was just ... curious as to what you might suggest before I take the 'wireless plunge'. " My response: I suggest you start your quest by researching "wireless keyboard" through google. This should at least let you see a wide variety of wireless keyboards that are available. But before you're off on the hunt, keep in mind a few things: 1. Some wireless keyboards will ... (view more)

Infopackets Reader Pat J. writes: " Dear Dennis, Could you please tell me the difference between an application and a software program? Or are software programs also applications? If so, what do non-software program applications do, and where are ... they located? " My response: Interesting question. There isn't much difference between the definition of "software" versus "application", as the two terms are often used interchangeably in the world of computing. Depending on the wording, however, application can infer how something is used. Let me see if I can explain the ... (view more)