Anthony from Provo, Utah, asks:
When I had Windows XP, there was a Run line under the Start Menu. Now I have Vista, and there isn’t one! Why did they get rid of it? Where do I go to type commands in?
Hi, Anthony! Thanks for writing; this is an awesome question!
Here’s an awesome answer: Vista didn’t get rid of… Continue reading
Babs from Michigan asks:
How do I remove MusicMatch jukebox 9 from my computer? It does not show up on my Add/Remove Programs area of my control panel.
Thanks for the question Babs. It’s frustrating when you want to uninstall a program and it won’t uninstall.
If MusicMatch Jukebox
Shirley from Fairfield, CA asks:
I understand that the many programs listed on the control panel may be what slow my computer. The security updates listed are 4 in 2007, 31 in 2008, 49 in 2009 and 37 already in 2010. A few are listed as Hot fix. Must they stay there year after year or can they be removed without causing trouble?
Well… Continue reading
Wim, from California asks:
How do I save an e-mail from MSN to an external hard disk or CD?
E-mail. Can you imagine a world without it? Even for those of us who grew up in the dark ages of handwritten letters sent via regular mail, trying to remember a time without a cluttered inbox, ever increasing spam folder, and gobs of messages marked for… Continue reading
I’m always looking for new products that will clean junk from my computer. As a result, after repeatedly installing new junk removing software, more junk accumulates. While I have kept, and still use, several other utilities, none seem to clean as thoroughly as WinUtilities. Most maintenance software misses or ignores certain items, including WinUtilities, but this one seems to find and correct more problems than any of the others. It… Continue reading
Jeremy from Washington asks:
When I close certain programs, mainly Internet Explorer and Incredimail, the program is still running in the background and eating memory. What’s causing this?
First of all, you’ll want to make sure your computer isn’t affected with some sort of virus. A computer virus is capable of causing programs to run incessantly or to completely ignore any commands you try… Continue reading
Anthony from NYC asks:
When installing a program, some appear on all user accounts, others on just the user account you are on at the moment. Is there any way to be sure that what you are installing is installed on all user accounts?
Well, Anthony, there are multiple answers to your question, and
George from Salisbury, MD asks:
My PC needs to go to the shop for repair. I hope there is something I can set on the PC so that my documents are protected. How can I accomplish that? Will you please give me step by step instructions? I also need the instructions to set it back to normal when it comes out of the shop please.
Note: This tip only applies to Professional editions of Windows. That includes Windows XP Pro, Windows Vista Pro, and Windows 7 Pro. This will not work on Home editions.
The Registry is the heart of a Windows operating system. Almost all Windows configuration settings and options are stored there.
The Windows Registry is accessed through a system application called: the Registry Editor. It allows… Continue reading
Dropbox is an online file backup service which offers users up to 2 GB storage space for free. Once you have set up your Dropbox account, you can sync the files (on Dropbox) across multiple computers. The Dropbox client can be downloaded for Windows, Mac, Linux and Mobile. Once installed, the client will automatically sync your computer with the cloud based service. This ensures you have all the files… Continue reading
Harvey asks:
Somewhere I remember reading about certain CDs that were recommended for archival information. My recollection is that they had some coating or thicker layers that would last longer. Do you know of such items? Also, are there special storage sleeves for CD discs that inhibit age related deterioration?
Well, Harvey, to begin with, the disc that most people recommend for archiving is… Continue reading
Ted from Diamond Bar, CA asks:
My existing computer is running Win XP Home Edition SP3, and I would like to transfer the data from this computer to a new computer running Win7. Is there any successful method for doing this?
Ted, the best way to do this that involves the least amount of effort is to use the Windows Easy Transfer tool. This… Continue reading
Dot In Covington, VA asks:
Is there a way to alphabetize my favorites lists?
No matter how many favorites you have, they can become messy over time. One good option is to alphabetize them so you can find the website fast, and not have to sort through a bunch of sites before you find the one you are after. You can easily achieve this in… Continue reading
Bailey from El Mirage, California asks:
When I send a link as a shortcut to the desktop, I hate the way it says shortcut right after the name of the shortcut. Do you know what I mean? I had heard you can get rid of this. Can you? I have Windows Vista.
Bailey, I am assuming you mean this kind of shortcut name annoyance:… Continue reading
Writing download tips provides numerous opportunities to test new software. However, for many of the tips, I just download, test, and uninstall. This might be because the product doesn’t suit my needs, or it merely duplicates software I’m already using. Once in a while though, I run across something I’ll keep. File Renamer Basic is one of those. It shares a feature with another product I recently reviewed… Continue reading
Mona from San Diego, California asks:
A friend of mine called and said that she needs to reinstall Windows XP (she has the disk). She has done this before but she always used floppies; now she doesn’t have a floppy drive so she just uses her CD disk. She went to reinstall and her WinXP
Geezer from Ontario asks:
I just installed an external Hard Drive and would like to know if I can transfer programs by going to Program Files and moving the folder to the new drive. Will this work?
As you install more and more programs in Windows, the operating system drive gradually fills up with setup files that are required for an application to work… Continue reading
Microsoft has done a great job with Windows 7 and it is by far the most polished operating system I have ever seen. There are no broken graphics, no glitches and no failures hiding to annoy you during your work. The best thing about Windows 7 is that it is an operating system for everyone. If you are a tech-savvy user, you can have as much
Ryan B. from Spokane, Washington asks:
I have a question about updates. I have an antivirus and firewall program installed and they always notify me when they have updated everything; I figure that’s good since they are the most important. I also have Windows Update. I am very busy and get tired of having Windows Update nagging me
I like to have complete control over how my Start menu looks, but in the past the process for removing stuff was always a bit too involved for my liking.
That is, until Windows 7’s handy “Remove from this list” feature came along.
All you need to do is click your Start button, then right-click the Start menu program you don’t want displayed anymore… Continue reading
Jan, from Milaca MN asks:
Should I download service pack 3 and Windows 7? I now have service pack 2. I have a Vista Home Premium, 32 bit operating system.
Jan,to your first question, it is always a good idea to have your operating system as up to date as it can be, but there is currently no service pack 3 for Vista. There… Continue reading
Marilyn from Canada asks:
I have a DVD player/burner and would like to know the proper way to burn CDs and DVDs. Also, what’s the procedure for creating a DVD you can add to later?
The process of burning CDs and DVDs used to be one that only professionals were able to do. Today, nearly every household has at least one CD burner, if not both… Continue reading
I can’t tell you how many times I’ve downloaded or ripped a song, only to find that all the important info like the album, genre and such were not included! It’s frustrating, especially for me – a guy who likes to keep everything as organized as possible!
But thankfully, Windows 7 allows you to edit this info right in the explorer window!
Here’s how… Continue reading
Ru from Kings Park, NY asks:
How do you make “List” your default View option in Windows Explorer?
To set the default view option, Windows Explorer offers the following choices; Thumbnails, Tiles, Icons, List and Details. This tip shows you how to make List the default view .
To reset the default view, perform the following steps:
Open Windows
Libraries is a place in Windows 7, located on your taskbar that contains Music, Videos, Documents, Pictures and other files. It’s a quick and easy way to keep track of all your files, without having to hunt all over the place. Continue reading
I’m an old-school kind of guy who likes to know as much about the file he’s double-clicking on as possible. That means I like to know stuff like files sizes, where they’re located on my hard drive…and most of all, the file’s extension!
Is it a .txt file? Is it an .exe? Windows 7 hides this information if it’s a known file type, but I… Continue reading
Nancy from Champaign, Illinois asks:
When I click on a link in an email, an annoying dialog box pops up called “locate link browser”. What is it and how do I get rid of this?
Great question Nancy, and yes there is a way to get rid of the locate link browser popup. We bet you are using the Firefox browser. Nothing bad about… Continue reading
