09/25/2009

Insert hidden text in Word
With Word’s Hidden Text feature, you can add comments to a document that will not print with the document, unless you instruct Word to print them.

09/24/2009

Successful software removal
The Task Manager helps you locate any programs or processes that might be causing your computer to function at something less than peak performance.

09/11/2009

Remove clickable links in Word
A faster way to remove a single hyperlink (or married, for that matter) is to right-click and select Remove Hyperlink from the menu that appears.

09/04/2009

Phantom Outlook attachments
When I get mail from my daughter, who uses Outlook, there is always a file called winmail.dat that’s attached to it. She says she is not sending any attachments. I’ve tried everything I can think of, but I can't open it. Any idea what’s going on or where that file is coming from?

08/28/2009

Vini, Vidi, Tweeti
I would like to share a few thoughts with you this week about an activity that clearly marks the end of civilization as we know it: Twittering.

08/21/2009

Schedule timely reminders
To help remind me that I need to get up and walk around periodically, I use a program called Say-the-Time that announces the time.

08/14/2009

Add captions to photos in word
I need to insert pictures in a Word document, then add text near the images for a project at work.

07/31/2009

Low-res photos for emailing
Lower resolution, 72 to 100 ppi or dpi (pixels-per-inch or dots-per-inch), is appropriate for email and for pictures that will be displayed on the Web.

07/24/2009

XP's CD-Creator software
If you're using Windows XP, you’re not alone if you didn’t know that it included an integrated CD-burning application that will probably meet your basic CD-burning needs.

07/17/2009

Reassign drive letters
I had three partitions on my hard drive labeled C, D, and E. The CD drive was designated Drive F. I deleted partition E and merged it with partition D using a program called Partition Magic. Now there are two partitions, C and D, but the CD drive letter is still F. How can I change it to E?

07/10/2009

It's always something: V-spam
V-spam is a dangerous strain of "virus spam" that is designed to deceive recipients, causing them to invite viruses into their computers.

07/03/2009

Adobe Reader: Is it the best choice?
The free Adobe Reader is a good program to have on hand in order to view .PDF documents. Even better is the Foxit Reader. It’s also free, but it’s 1/10th the size of the rather bloated Adobe Reader.

06/26/2009

To save or not to save setup.exe files
When you download a program and install it by double-clicking its setup.exe or other launch file, the file you download is safe to delete after installation.

06/19/2009

Unblock blocked email addresses
I use Outlook Express and accidentally blocked a friend so I can't receive his email. How can I unblock him?

06/12/2009

Computing 101: How to copy and paste
I know this is a very basic question, but can you explain how to copy and paste something from a Web page? I hear that phrase all the time, but I'm not sure how to do it.

06/05/2009

'Save' or 'Run' downloaded files
I always select the “Save” option and save any downloaded file to my Windows Desktop. That kills two birds with one stone.

05/29/2009

How rude: When hosts don't respond
"Host not responding" is geekspeak for "the computer you're attempting to contact isn't answering."

05/22/2009

When bad things happen to good attachments
I can't open attachments that I receive in Outlook Express. In fact, when I search for them on my computer, I can't even find them. Where are they going?

05/15/2009

Caps lock audible alert
I accidentally hit the Caps Lock key constantly, but I know there is a way to make it beep to let me know that I hit it. Can you explain how that’s done, Mr. M?

05/08/2009

Turn back time with restore points
System Restore is an excellent tool for recovering from the type of "disaster" that can occur when the installation of new software doesn't go well.

05/01/2009

USB versus Firewire: What's the difference?
Firewire provides another method of connecting one or more devices, such as a printer, scanner, personal digital assistant (PDA), external drive or digital camera to your computer. Instead of having many different ports (parallel, serial, mouse, and keyboard), USB and/or Firewire simplify things by making it easy to plug-and-play these devices.

04/24/2009

Find your IP address
The address your friend was inquiring about is called an IP (Internet Protocol) or network address. Every computer on the Internet has an IP address. There are several ways to obtain this information.

04/17/2009

Saving vs. remembering passwords
When logging in to a secure Web page, my browser will sometimes ask me if I want to save my password; other sites will ask if I want it to remember my password. Are these the same thing?

04/10/2009

Little-known 'Run' commands
I use the Start > Run > msconfig command a great deal, so I was wondering if there are other similar commands that I might find useful, or is that the only such command?

04/03/2009

Format-free copying
When I copy something from a Web page, it never looks right when I paste it into another document. What am I doing wrong, Mr. M?

03/27/2009

Save vs Save As: What's the difference?
What's the difference between clicking Save and Save As?

03/20/2009

Microsoft on line 1, please hold.
For particularly thorny problems, Microsoft does offer telephone support through it’s fee-based service at 800-936-5700.

03/13/2009

Shared files: A digital dilemma
Shared files display the file extension .DLL, which stands for Dynamic Linked Library. As the word "shared" implies, the file in question is being used by more than one program.

03/06/2009

Save time with templates
If you like documents to have the same look and feel, templates can save you a great deal of time and energy by making a custom template.

02/27/2009

IE 7 mystery: Where did the mail button go?
When you start Internet Explorer 7, the Mail toolbar button is absent by default.

02/20/2009

Stop junk mail from friends
How should I go about asking my friends, co-workers, and others to stop forwarding all those jokes, chain letters and photos they send to everybody they know?

02/13/2009

Large-font printing
I’m using the Firefox browser, thanks to your recommendation, Mr. M., but can you tell me how I can print Web pages using a larger font than normal?

02/06/2009

Troubleshoot error messages
The first thing to do when an error message presents itself is to read it carefully.

01/30/2009

Print folder contents
You can print a list of the files and folders contained in any Windows folder.

01/23/2009

Spim vs spam: It's always something
Spam sent through instant messaging (IM) is known as SPIM, which is an acronym for “SPam on Instant Messaging.”

01/16/2009

Create captivating cursors
If you feel your default cursor is too staid and reserved, or perhaps too difficult to see, Windows provides an option for changing it.

01/09/2009

JPG vs GIF: What’s the dif?
What's the difference between a GIF and a JPG file format?

01/02/2009

How to thaw a frozen PC
When your computer locks up or freezes, it’s frequently caused by a program trying to access a memory location that’s in use by another program.

12/26/2008

Create shortcuts to Web sites
Just go to a Web site, then reduce the size of your browser window (by using the Restore button, which is the middle of the three buttons in the upper right-hand corner) so you can see some Desktop real estate in the background.

12/19/2008

Troubleshoot your frozen computer
When a computer stops responding, locks up or freezes, this is usually caused by a program trying to access a portion of memory that’s in use by another program.

12/12/2008

Remove unwanted programs correctly
If you’re like most users, the first place you turn to remove an unwanted application is your Control Panel and the Add/Remove Programs utility. Good thinking, but that’s actually the second place to turn.

12/05/2008

Single-click for easy access
Users who have a difficult time double-clicking often prefer to eliminate the double-click option in Windows and use single-clicks instead.

11/28/2008

Outlook Express not supported: Now what?
I recently switched to a new Internet service provider (ISP) and because it doesn’t support Outlook Express, I had to switch to Outlook. Now, when I start to type in an email address, it doesn't automatically appear in the "To:" field. Is there something I need to do to get this back?

11/21/2008

View photos as slide show
On my older laptop when I go into My Computer and call up a CD with photos on it, I get a menu on the left that includes "Picture Tasks." I can then click that and select “View as a slide show." When I do that on my desktop computer running XP, I get a menu on the left, but no "Picture Tasks" option. How can I get that on my desktop, also?

11/14/2008

Drivers for non-golfers
A device driver, better known by its shorter name “driver,” is a small software program that is used to help your computer work with its hardware.