Dennis Faas

Since writing this newsletter, I have received a number of questions with respect to burning CD recordable discs. One question came from Infopackets Reader Bob T., who recently asked how it was possible to transport movie files from his computer ... onto his DVD player. Bob writes: " Dennis, I have a number of .MPEG movie files that I've downloaded through Kazaa. Friends tell me it is possible to play these files using my DVD player, but I need special CD burning software to do it. Is this true? If so, what program do you recommend? " And Infopackets Reader Sheila S. asked how to ... (view more)

Infopackets Reader Jim R. writes: " Dear Dennis, I read your article about sending music with e-mail. I had already been through all the HTML setup when I had trouble not getting pictures sent. All the solutions you mentioned I have done, but I ... still can't send music as background with email. Any other solutions? I am at a loss as to where to go next. I am running Windows XP, Internet Explorer 6, and Outlook Express 6. " My response: You are correct, in that that you need to ensure that your mail sending format is set for HTML (rather than plain text), in order to insert (*not* ... (view more)

Is there a simple way to organize Internet Explorer (IE) favorites -- without the need to 'flip' through dialogue menus, or worry of accidentally moving the wrong file? That's the question I asked Infopackets Readers last week after describing the ... method I used for sorting IE bookmarks. Below are some of the responses I received: Leo F. recommended AlphaCuts: " AlphaCuts swiftly displays, in alphabetical listings, your programs on the Start Menu, favorites in Internet Explorer and documents in the My documents folder. It lists the relevant directories and categories and the items they ... (view more)

Side note: I have been extremely busy for the last 3 weeks making adjustments to the web site. I haven't had much time to work on newsletters this week, so I'm reposting some 'best of' Infopackets Gazette. Without further adieu, please enjoy this ... previously posted article on "How to visually trace a hacker". -- Wouldn't it be great if you could visually trace back the path of a hacker? A little while back, I received an email from Infopackets Reader 'J. Noway' who provided me a link to two freeware programs that do just that. J. writes: " Dear Dennis, I recently came across a ... (view more)

Infopackets Reader Marilyn W. writes: " Dear Dennis, I am absolutely desperate to find a program that will poll my Linksys router periodically and report any changes in the email address periodically. I have done some research, and while I can find ... lots of programs that will update a DNS server or post the new IP on an FTP or website, I can't seem to find one that will just send me an email. There is one, Keep Me Posted, but I have run into issues with it, and I have had several XP machines that it won't run on. Can you or your Readers assist? " My response: I was unaware of such a ... (view more)

Infopackets Reader Gary G. writes: " Dear Dennis, I just bought a new computer. I'd like to know of the best product to use in order to copy files from the old computer's hard drive to the new one, then possibly delete the files off the old ... computer. I have looked around but am not sure of what product to buy. Can you help? " My response: If you want to copy some files over to your new system, your best bet is to extract the hard drive out of the old system and attach it to the new system. Although this involves opening up your PC, this is a relatively simple task. Once the drives ... (view more)

Infopackets Reader Ron E. 'fiftylakesfox' writes: " I recently ran Safe Mode (under Windows ME) and after restarting my computer, almost all my Desktop icons showed up with the blue big "E" (as in Internet Explorer). I used the Microsoft 'System ... Restore' feature, but it didn't help at all. I've contacted Microsoft about this problem but haven't received a response in over two days. You or your readers are probably best source to help me get my hijacked icons back. Any suggestions? PS: Thanks very much for providing such an excellent newsletter. " My response: This has ... (view more)

Infopackets Reader Dilsia M. writes: " Dear Dennis, Something happened to my Search companion in Windows XP that allows me to search for files and folders in My Computer. When I try to use the Search function, Windows tells me that a file necessary ... to run the search function cannot be found and that I have to run setup to fix it. Rover the doggie doesn't appear, either. Do you know how I can resolve this issue? " My response: I get asked this question from time to time, so it's worth answering once more. RE: When I try to use the Search function, Windows tells me that a file ... (view more)

Infopackets Reader Frances D. writes: " Dear Dennis, I have a problem getting my home page as well as other web pages to pull up. My email pulls up, and sends fine. Sometimes, when I access Internet explorer, it tries to connect, but then reports an ... error message. Other times it will slowly pull up and stop at the half way mark. It tells me it is connecting to site 127.0.0.1. What the heck is site 127.0.0.1? I have contacted my Internet Service Provider and they have told me a number of things to try, but nothing has worked. Is this my computer or is it an Internet problem? " My ... (view more)

Infopackets Reader Sandie 'littleone' writes: " Dear Dennis, Lately I've been having problems with my CD writer drive whenever I try to burn a disc. I get strange error messages which tell me that my computer wasn't able to fill the data quickly ... enough during the burn. I have tried to reinstall the software for the CD burner, but it hasn't helped. Do you have any suggestions for me, other than buy a new CD ROM? Thanks for your input. " My response: The problem you are experiencing sounds like a CD buffer underrun error . All CD burn sessions must be uninterrupted or the resulting ... (view more)