Dennis Faas

" How can I make my computer faster? " The simplest answer to this question is to add more RAM to your PC. RAM allows your computer to process things faster by holding frequently used information for a longer period of time. The longer data is held ... in memory, the greater chance that this data will be used again for computation. The end result is that data is loaded and unloaded at a faster rate, which saves you time. In order to answer the question of how much RAM is required for a computer, we need to inspect two main areas of interest: how much RAM is already inside your machine, ... (view more)

Infopackets Reader Larry O. writes: " Dear Dennis, I'm running Windows 2000 Pro. When I try to shut down the machine by clicking on Start -> Shutdown, I no longer have the option to Shutdown, Restart, or Hibernate! In fact, the machine ... automatically does a restart, offering *no* choices when Start -> Shutdown is clicked. The only way I can actually shut this computer down is to either pull the plug from the outlet or to hit the sleep button on the keyboard. Any ideas? " My Response: I have no idea on this one -- aside from maybe a Registry Tweak (where to start?) or, worse yet ... (view more)

Have you ever had a RAID before? RAID is a technology used to increase hard drive performance and fault-tolerance. What is fault-tolerance? The hard drive inside your computer is responsible for storing programs and user data. RAID performance ... refers to the time that it takes the hard drive to read and write information; fault-tolerance deals with the means to protect data stored on the hard drive. RAID is an acronym which stands for Redundant Arrays of Inexpensive (or Independent) Disks. Generally speaking, the word 'Array' is a techy-term which represents related information formed in a ... (view more)

Recall: Yesterday, Don W. sent in a question which asked why he kept getting a Window every time Windows booted up saying that the file "DDRAW.DLL" could not be found . My suggestion to Don was to search for the .DLL on his system and try to locate ... the program folder to determine where the .DLL came from, uninstall the program, and then reinstall it in hopes of clearing up the error message he was receiving. Unfortunately, I forgot that some Windows operating systems will not display a .DLL file by default. Furthermore -- as Darren B. points out, the DDRAW.DLL file is actually a ... (view more)

After pumping out that 3-part series on Shopping for an LCD monitor , I've decided to take a break and let you all know what's happening with the web site. I mentioned a few newsletters ago that I had to fork out some serious $$ for a new web ... server. I ordered it at the beginning of this month and have been waiting patiently to register my own nameserver. Nameserver? What did you name your server? Actually, a nameserver is a technical term for a database record which points to the location of a web site. I have two nameservers for my web site and their names are ns1.infopackets.com and ns2. ... (view more)

Infopackets Reader Don W. writes: " I have Windows 98 second edition. Just recently when windows is loading it gives an error popup; A required DLL file -- DDRAW.DLL -- was not found. Windows seems to operate as usual, but I really don't know what ... this file does and how to resolve this problem. Do you have a suggestion? " My Response: Click Start -> Find -> Files / Folders and type in the DLL file name. The result should come up with a folder that the DLL has been installed to -- this should give you an indication what the program is for. After that, you can attempt to ... (view more)

This article has been a 3 part series. Feel free to read part 1 or part 2 if you missed it already. As I mentioned part 2 of my article, I don't want to use my LCD monitor in its native resolution because images and text are too small. On the other ... hand, the display image at 1280 x 1024 resolution is incredibly clear. RE: My final thoughts on purchasing an LCD monitor Before completing this article, I received an email from Craig W. where he gives his opinion and comparison on LCD and CRT displays. He writes: " As a full time graphics developer/ 3D modeler, I would say that I have tried ... (view more)

Last week, Stan L. Jr. sent in a question which asked what should be done when a program attempts to suddenly "call home" and request a connection to the Internet. Recall: " A few days ago, I was using my computer when all the sudden, I noticed that ... some program decided that it wanted to access the Internet. I tried to cancel the request to connect to the Internet, but the bugger kept coming back asking for a connection. I then decided to try the "3 finger salute" by pressing CTRL + ALT + DEL at the same time to bring up Task Manager, but no programs were listed here ... (view more)

Last week, I left you with some thoughts on my LCD Monitor purchasing experience. If you didn't catch the first part of the article, you can read about it here . The article from last week signed off with a cliff-hanger, where I was about to tell ... about some things that I didn't like about my LCD monitor. RE: LCD Native Resolution While I was completely amazed out how crystal clear my LCD monitor was at 1280 x 1024 resolution*, the fact is that the LCD monitor looks crystal-clear *only* at this resolution. This is referred to as the monitor's Native Resolution. Generally speaking, native ... (view more)

Infopackets Reader Stan L. write s: " Dear Dennis, A few days ago, I was using my computer when all the sudden, I noticed that some program decided that it wanted to access the Internet. I tried to cancel the request to connect to the Internet, but ... the bugger kept coming back asking for a connection. I then decided to try the "3 finger salute" by pressing CTRL + ALT + DEL at the same time to bring up Task Manager, but no programs were listed here that seemed to be "out of the ordinary" that might have been attempting to access the Internet. Is there a program which ... (view more)