Dennis Faas

Infopackets Reader John W. writes: " I have a Dell PC and it came with Jasc Paint Shop Pro [picture editor software] installed. After a few months of operation, a screen came up and told me that the trial period for Paint Shop Pro (PSP) had expired. ... I had never used it, so I uninstalled it as PSP cost over $100 to buy the program. After doing this I could no longer open attachments in my Outlook Express. I guess that part of Paint Shop Pro was used to view my email image attachments for Outlook Express. I went searching for a viewer to install and came across a page on the Internet that ... (view more)

Infopackets Reader Lynn H. writes: " Dear Dennis, I read your article on CD Mastering Software. I do not know that much about computers, so I am a bit confused as to what I need. Here is my problem: I have 2 Hewlett-Packard (HP) computers. The CD-RW ... drive died on one of them, and was replaced with a DVD Burner, which came bundled with Nero Burning ROM CD Recording Software. The other still uses DirectCD to record CDs. The problem is that discs I create using DirectCD cannot be read in the DVD Burner drive on the other computer. Is there a program out there that will allow both DirectCD ... (view more)

I have been *extremely* busy as of late and am having a hard time keeping up with my regular schedule (and subsequently, the regular newsletter schedule). Just before the holiday break, I mentioned that the newsletter layout would be changing. Well ... -- no surprise -- it looks like I jumped the gun again. As I was adding the finishing touches to the new article format, I decided that it would be extremely beneficial to include links to related articles [previously posted in our newsletter], immediately following the feature article. So, for an example: if I wrote a new article on XP Service ... (view more)

In the last 36 hours, I've received a slew of emails from Readers concerning a program used to move installed application from one hard drive letter to another. Recall -- Infopackets Reader John T. wrote: " ... I've recently partitioned [split] my ... hard drive into two drive letters (C and D drives) so that I can keep my operating system [Windows] separate from my user files ... My question: is there a program that will transfer programs and shortcuts from one hard drive partition to another, and also change the system registry to reflect the move? " In my response to John, I ... (view more)

Infopackets Reader Robert F. writes: " Dear Dennis, I really find your newsletters to be interesting and of great help -- keep up the good work! I want to set up an office and be able to email my secretary and have her reply to the email without ... having an Internet connection as I don't need the internet in the business. Do you know of a program that would let me do this? I own a Dell PC and talked to a technician, but they didn't have a suggestion for me. Any help you can give would be greatly appreciated! " My response: The simple answer is that email is designed to run on the ... (view more)

Infopackets Reader John T. 'oldbiker' writes: " Dear Dennis, First of all I think your newsletter -- it's great. I recently partitioned [split] my hard drive into two drive letters (C and D drives), so that I could move my installed programs over to ... D drive and leave C for Windows only. This way, if Windows crashes on me, I can format C drive and not worry about losing any my improtant data (on D drive). [Side note: This is also a great strategy for keeping disk image backups small, and to reduce the time it takes to create an image file]. My question: is there a program that will ... (view more)

Infopackets Reader Richard D. writes: " Dear Dennis, I've read on some web sites that people are using more than one Spyware scanner on their systems for an added layer of protection. In a similar respect, is it safe to run two virus protection ... programs at once? Can there be any conflicts? " My response: Both Spyware and Virus scanners operate using the same type of mechanism: a database of 'signatures', which are used to recognize infected or suspicious files on your system. The reason why some people choose to scan their systems twice is simply because not all Spyware databases ... (view more)

Infopackets Reader Harv S. writes: " Dear Dennis, I need to know how to list several addresses in such a way that no one knows who else received the message. If I list them separated with the semi-colon all addresses are sent to everyone. Would ... appreciate any help and thanks for your information site as it is really helpful. " My response: What you are referring to is called Blind Carbon Copy, or BCC. If you use Outlook Express: Create your message (or reply to message) Click view -> all headers in the message window BCC will be shown Insert the remaining email addresses in the ... (view more)

Infopackets Reader Alfredo "Mexican55" writes: " Dear Dennis, I just finished reading yesterday's newsletter regarding DVD-R and DVD+R media. My question is related and pertains to file backup. In your opinion, what approach should I use to backing ... up my files, programs, etc? And do you recommend saving to CD or DVD media? My hard drive is less than 10 gigabytes in size. " My response: Deciding which media type is suitable for backup depends on how much information you want to archive, and the type of backup solution you choose. Having said that, I'd like to provide a ... (view more)

Recall -- Last week , Jim W. asked if there was a way he could install the latest updates to Windows at the same time as installing Windows to a freshly formatted PC: " I find myself frequently formatting / reinstalling Windows for many of my ... clients (because their copy of Windows is too messed up to attempt any type of quick-fix). When I do a reinstall, there is often a ton of Windows updates I need to download, regardless of which Windows Operating System I'm working with. Is there any way I can consolidate steps and somehow integrate Windows Updates into a fresh install of Windows? ... (view more)