windows

Today, David M. sent me an email asking me how to go about Repairing Internet Explorer: " Hello Dennis! The May 20, 2003 issue of the Gazette mentioned the very useful Internet Explorer Repair Tool, accessed from Add/Remove Programs in Control ... Panel. In the past, this method has worked for me when using Win98 and IE5. However, I now run Win2K and IE6 and the IE Repair Tool isn't listed in the Add/Remove Programs, so I can't repair it. Do you or any of your learned readers have any ideas, please? " My Response: I get asked this question a lot from readers, so I've decided to provide ... (view more)

The previous 2 Feature Articles were about an alternative approach to Internet Explorer's time-saving AutoComplete function. Recall -- When enabled, the AutoComplete feature remembers (and completes) frequently used form data on web pages, such as ... user logins and passwords. Unfortunately, AutoComplete does not offer a method for exporting / backing up its form data which has been collected over time. This is very problematic for anyone who may need to format / reinstall Windows, or for users who use Disk Imaging software (like myself) to restore a previously working copy of Windows. I asked ... (view more)

Yesterday, I wrote about a new spam problem associated with Windows Messenger. Recall: Messenger pop-ups are a new form of spam that exploit a feature of the Microsoft Windows operating system intended for use by network administrators. These ... pop-ups can appear even if you aren't surfing the web (ie: a web browser), and are not related to MSN Messenger. The remedy: Yesterday I detailed instructions I used when searched Google for a solution. Unfortunately, the instructions for Windows XP were not complete and I received a few emails from folks who were not able to complete the "fix ... (view more)

Not long ago, I received an email from 'Rezzy46', who has been plagued by a new form of spam: Windows Messenger popup advertisements (note: these are not MSN Messenger chat pop-up messages). He writes: " Is there a simple way to stop those messenger ... service advertisements? Is it possible to disable the popups without disabling any core Windows components? Speak of the devil -- two just popped up while I was typing this message! " After searching Google, I found that Messenger popups are a new form of spam that exploit a feature of the Microsoft Windows operating system intended for ... (view more)

Infopackets Reader Walt H. asks: " Is it possible to create an image [backup] of your hard drive to an external USB hard drive? If so, what limits are there in creating the image and restoring it? I can't add another hard drive to my laptop, plus I ... thought a portable USB drive could allow me to image more than one computer. " Side note: USB is short from for Universal Serial Bus. It's a small port usually located at the back of your computer and is pretty much the standard connection used for external computer peripherals today (such scanner, mouse, keyboard, printer, etc). My ... (view more)

Not long ago, Barry M. from Africa sent me this email: " First off, thanks for all the great info! You've helped me come a long way with my PC confidence and knowledge. Much appreciated! I am running Windows XP Professional. The multiple user ... profile feature of XP is really handy, but I don't want to have separate email accounts in my Outlook Express. If it is possible, I would like all users to access the same information from their XP login accounts. At the moment, if I receive e-mails into my inbox while logged on under my profile, then those e-mails won't be visible to the next user ... (view more)

Ed B. from Long Island, New York writes: " I enjoy your newsletters very much! They're very informative and easy to read. I've seen a lot of other similar newsletters, and yours definitely rank among the very best of them. My question: I use Windows ... XP Pro and save a lot of graphics on my hard drive (the usual .GIF, .JPG. and some .BMPs). When I view the folders in Windows Explorer (thumbnail or filmstrip mode), some of the files don't show the thumbnail preview image, and Windows tells me No Preview Available. I don't change the file extensions when I save the graphics, so why does ... (view more)

Recall -- Last week, Rich V. asked, " Is there any way to stop Windows Explorer from spinning up my CD ROM drive intermittently? " In my response, I suggested a few ideas: use a CD buffering program, don't put anything in the CD drive so it doesn't ... spin up, and disable Auto Insert Notification for Windows 9x machines ( details in previous newsletter ). Infopackets Reader Doug L. recommend DisCD v0.99 : it disables CD-ROM drives so that they won't spin up when Explorer or similar programs are loaded (for Windows NT/2000 only); and, Dave G. says that you can hold the shift key on your ... (view more)

Last week, Rich V. asked: " Is there any way to stop Windows Explorer from spinning up my CD ROM drive intermittently? " My Response: I suggested a buffering program, and also suggested not putting any thing in the drive: but hey -- there's got to ... be a better way! So, I asked Infopackets Readers if they had any better ideas. I only received 2 suggestions. Doug L. was nice enough to recommend DisCD v0.99: " DisCD disables CD-ROM drives, so that they won't spin up on opening of Explorer or similar programs. For Windows NT/2000 only. " http://www.amok.gulli.com/v3.htm Dave G ... (view more)