computer

It's been a rough couple of weeks: it seems like every time I try to take a step forward, I end up taking 3 steps backward. After I got home from visiting Frank in Toronto, my main computer (the one that I use to write the newsletters) kept crashing ... with repeated Blue Screens of Death (BSOD). The BSOD's gave me some clue as to why my system was crashing, as the .DLL file responsible for the crash appeared to be related to my video card driver. Strange, I thought. I didn't upgrade my video card driver recently, but opted to do so as I hadn't upgraded my driver in over a year. Video card ... (view more)

Since writing this newsletter, I have received a number of questions with respect to burning CD recordable discs. One question came from Infopackets Reader Bob T., who recently asked how it was possible to transport movie files from his computer ... onto his DVD player. Bob writes: " Dennis, I have a number of .MPEG movie files that I've downloaded through Kazaa. Friends tell me it is possible to play these files using my DVD player, but I need special CD burning software to do it. Is this true? If so, what program do you recommend? " And Infopackets Reader Sheila S. asked how to ... (view more)

Infopackets Reader Gary G. writes: " Dear Dennis, I just bought a new computer. I'd like to know of the best product to use in order to copy files from the old computer's hard drive to the new one, then possibly delete the files off the old ... computer. I have looked around but am not sure of what product to buy. Can you help? " My response: If you want to copy some files over to your new system, your best bet is to extract the hard drive out of the old system and attach it to the new system. Although this involves opening up your PC, this is a relatively simple task. Once the drives ... (view more)

Infopackets Reader Frances D. writes: " Dear Dennis, I have a problem getting my home page as well as other web pages to pull up. My email pulls up, and sends fine. Sometimes, when I access Internet explorer, it tries to connect, but then reports an ... error message. Other times it will slowly pull up and stop at the half way mark. It tells me it is connecting to site 127.0.0.1. What the heck is site 127.0.0.1? I have contacted my Internet Service Provider and they have told me a number of things to try, but nothing has worked. Is this my computer or is it an Internet problem? " My ... (view more)

Infopackets Reader Sandie 'littleone' writes: " Dear Dennis, Lately I've been having problems with my CD writer drive whenever I try to burn a disc. I get strange error messages which tell me that my computer wasn't able to fill the data quickly ... enough during the burn. I have tried to reinstall the software for the CD burner, but it hasn't helped. Do you have any suggestions for me, other than buy a new CD ROM? Thanks for your input. " My response: The problem you are experiencing sounds like a CD buffer underrun error . All CD burn sessions must be uninterrupted or the resulting ... (view more)

Recall -- Last week, I wrote a review on WinGuides Registry Mechanic . Since then, a number of users have contacted me with Kudos and Questions in regard to the article. Infopackets Reader 'Marv MnM' writes: " Hi Dennis, I have been a subscriber to ... your newsletter for quite some time and have learned a lot from it. This time, I feel compelled to comment on your latest recommendation, Registry Mechanic . First, let me say that I'm not a techie nor a very advanced user, just a 73 year old who enjoys his computer and tries to keep it squeaky clean from viruses, spam, Spyware, and the like. ... (view more)

Does your computer seem slower than the first day you brought it home and plugged it in? Does it report strange error messages when launching program -- or worse yet, does it periodically display the infamous Blue Screen of Death? Typically, these ... symptoms are a result of a poorly configured or un-optimized System Registry . How the Windows Registry impacts system performance and stability Over time, programs are installed and uninstalled to Windows, and the Registry becomes bloated with incorrect and outdated information.(1) Many of the attributes contained in the Registry database point to ... (view more)

Last Friday's article touched upon the importance of backing up an entire computer system (including Windows itself). As you may recall, disk imaging is mentioned frequently in this newsletter, as it is an important part of 'disaster recovery' ... planning. Over the weekend, I received a number of comments and questions from Readers: many of which referenced the fundamentals of disk imaging. Since the questions were similar in nature -- and because disk imaging is such an essential topic -- I have decided to repost an article which illustrates the basics of disk imaging versus 'regular file ... (view more)

Infopackets Reader 'Becks1969' writes: " Dear Dennis, When I try to download my pictures off my camera or my memory card, it doesn't seem to do anything -- and some times, my camera beeps. I used to be able to do this, but now my camera software ... doesn't even ask me if I want to download my pictures. Would you have any idea what I need to do to try to get this working again? I have been reading your newsletters and a lot of your information has helped me a great deal. I'm hoping you might be able to help me with this matter." My response: A number of things may prohibiting your ... (view more)

Infopackets Reader Brenda M. writes: " Dear Dennis, I emailed you this morning about a PC crash and a list of errors I get when trying to boot the computer. Eventually, the PC does start, but now it that some of my device drivers are missing. I can ... not connect to my ISP and I can not sign on to the internet. My OS is Windows 98SE. I am using another persons PC that I have access to on a daily basis. Is there a way that I can get the drivers to work again? " My response: You didn't mention how your computer connects to the Internet. At any rate, you will need to: Identify the device ... (view more)