USB Becomes Read Only
In the corporate world, a lot of time is spent on locking down computers to minimize the risk of confidential information leaving the company. With the popularity of USB storage devices growing in recent years, the problem for large corporations has exploded.
Almost all users want to use USB storage devices to move data around, but with the size of USB storage devices increasing so much… Continue reading
How often do you use CDs and DVDs? Maybe you use them to burn music CDs or perhaps you use DVDs to copy your favorite movies. I’m sure some of you use them to back up all the data on your computer too, right? No matter what you use them for, have you ever thought about how long they’ll actually last? I mean, they can’t last… Continue reading
Computer Storage Devices
Awhile back, we covered the different types of hardware used with computers. You know, basic hardware and the extra hardware you can buy separately, etc. (You can read here for that article).
So, I thought it would be nice to cover the different kinds of computer storage devices that are available as well. And that’s exactly what I’m going to do today!
Knowing what kinds… Continue reading
Flash Drive Manager
USB flash drives are incredible devices, don’t you agree?
On that one little stick, you can hold as much information as a full-fledged hard drive could hold less than five years ago! Now, everything is portable and it’s so convenient. (For more information, you can read this article).
But, are you using it to its full capacity? Or as easily as it could be?
By… Continue reading
Other Eject Options
I’m sure many of you have read our tips on how to eject a stuck CD from your computer, but even after going through all those steps, are you still having trouble getting that stubborn CD to come out? Sometimes those things can be so frustrating and after you mess with it for awhile, you probably just feel like throwing your whole computer out the window. Am… Continue reading
Sometimes when I try to delete a file from my computer, it comes up with a “Cannot Delete File” error. Why does this happen and is there any way I can get around it? Please help!
Worry no more! I can help, I can help! And believe me, I feel your pain. I often get that same error message and let me tell you, it ranks… Continue reading
Have you ever had the need to rename a load of files all at the same time?
For instance, here’s a folder of files:
As you can see, they are a mixture of upper and lower case starting letters, after which, you might prefer some better uniformity. Maybe something like this?
Or, maybe… Continue reading
Q:
When I go to download something new on my computer, every once in awhile, it just stops in the middle of the process. Can you give me any reasons why this type of hang up happens? Any help would be wonderful!
A:
Lucky for you, you’ve come to the right place! After receiving this question and reading back over it a few times, I actually came up… Continue reading
Are you constantly downloading programs and putting new items on your computer? If so, have you ever noticed that most of those download files go straight to your desktop? And after you realize that, have you ever wondered why they do that? I mean, why is the desktop such a popular place?
Actually, the desktop is a pretty common place on a computer. So, the best explanation… Continue reading
Travel With Your Backups
We all try to do regular backups of our files, don’t we? (I mean, just wait until your computer crashes unexpectedly and you’ll see the results if you don’t!)
But, even though we do that, the problem is that in most cases, the backup you have is the current version of the file you have been working on. Now, that is fine, but say you would… Continue reading
More On Carets
Here’s a quick one for you! If you often save different versions of the same file in different folders on your computer, you should try using this simple tip. I promise, you won’t be disappointed!
When you go to save the file, after the regular name, type ^1 behind it. This makes it a version one. To get the caret (^), hold down the Shift key and… Continue reading
A Special Order?
Have you come across a situation recently where you had to reinstall some of the drivers for your computer’s components? Maybe you had to completely reinstall Windows or even another operating system. Or maybe you just upgraded to a new operating system. Whatever it may be, you probably still had to reload some of your drivers again.
So, when you’re faced with that, do you wonder if… Continue reading
Have you ever run into a problem with your computer that happened to bring up an error message? I’m sure you have. You’re really lucky if you’ve never had to deal with that. Well, when that happens, wouldn’t it be nice if you could just capture that error message and send it to someone else so they could help you figure out what’s wrong? It sure would have saved me… Continue reading
Driver Signing
When you’re installing a new piece of software on your computer, do you ever get an error message that says something about Windows Logo testing? I’m sure it’s happened to you once, if not several times, but if you’re not sure what the whole logo testing thing is, read here before you continue on. Once that’s understood, allow me to explain what driver signing is and what… Continue reading
The Flash Drive Cycle
Are you among the many who have converted to using a flash drive rather than a floppy disk or even CDs? If so, you are on the fast track of today’s technology. Flash drives have been getting rave reviews ever since they were offered to consumers. What they can do is amazing and anyone who uses one knows that. But, on the other hand, you may… Continue reading
Q:
I just recently updated the driver for my scanner and ever since, it seems like my computer is running out of sync. Everything seems very unstable and just not like it used to be. Is there any way I can reverse this or do something else about it? Please help!
A:
The answer to your problem is actually much more simple than you probably think. It sounds… Continue reading
Do you have the Adobe Flash program installed on your computer? If you do, you’ve probably seen some .swf files on your computer at some point. Have you seen them, but you’re not sure what they are exactly? That’s a fair scenario. Well, I’m here to tell you all about them today, so here we go!
SWF files always come in a graphics file format and… Continue reading
Q:
You keep mentioning the Device Manager, but I’m still a little confused about what all it does. And besides that, I have no idea how to manage anything in there. Can you help?
A:
Well, you’ve come to the right place, because as a matter of fact, I can help! The Device Manager feature in Windows XP isn’t something we’ve gone into too much detail about in… Continue reading
For today’s quick tip, I’m going to start out with a scenario for you. Let’s say you have your computer included as part of a workgroup on a network. Now, all along, you have kept your files private and for your own use, but you’ve come across a situation where you need to start sharing those folders. How do you do that? Well, it’s quite simple, really.… Continue reading
Q:
Please explain what the Last Known Good Configuration is. I’m not quite understanding it.
A:
The Last Known Good Configuration is basically a copy of a computer’s hardware configuration and its driver settings. It is taken from the system’s registry readings when a computer has a good, clean boot up. This copy is made for whenever a computer fails to boot up successfully. When that… Continue reading
Contents of the Clipboard
With a mention of the Windows clipboard in another tip recently, questions about it have been rolling in. Most of the inquiries have basically been about what all goes on the clipboard. I’ve gotten several e-mails about this or that being saved on the clipboard or not. Well, I’m here today to help clear some of that up for you. Here we go!
First of all… Continue reading
File Management Basics
Thought file management was only for paper files? Then you better think again! It’s just as important to keep the files on your computer organized and up to date. Just as with paper files, the goal of computer file management is to ensure that you can find what you’re looking for quickly, even if you’re looking for it years after its creation. The file management tips below… Continue reading
Organize Your Programs
If you are like me, you have installed many new and different programs on your computer over the years. Windows lists all of them as “All Programs” under the Start menu, but they unfortunately are not in alphabetical order. This sometimes makes finding a particular program a little time consuming, doesn’t it? I not only want to have each file’s title in its proper location in the… Continue reading
Do you do a lot of work with documents that constantly have to be saved? Well, if you do, you should know that the first time you save a file, you should choose a “file name” for it to be stored under. Note that some programs will automatically put a file name in for you, but it is much better if you name your own files. That way, you have… Continue reading
Floppy Disk Space
I know we’ve said before here at WorldStart that floppy disks are going out of style. Nowadays, everyone is using either a flash drive or a CD to save their data. Well, that all may be true, but that doesn’t mean there are still some of us out there that love our floppies! So, today’s quick tip is devoted to all the floppy users who remain!
Have… Continue reading
Q:
Is there a way I can back up my folders with something other than a CD? What do you recommend? Any help would be greatly appreciated!
A:
We can surely help! That’s actually an excellent question, because in a world where technology is changing every day, it’s no surprise that you would ask this. It seems like just yesterday that floppy drives were the “cool” thing to… Continue reading
ABM Files
Have you ever found any files labeled with the .abm extension? If you were to find some, they would most likely be in your My Documents folder along with all your music or photo files. ABM stands for album and this file format is created within both audio and visual files. They are mostly associated with the HitPlayer application, but can also be found with Windows Media Player… Continue reading
