Dennis Faas

Infopackets Reader 'Tina' writes: " Dear Dennis, My monitor keeps going black. It flashes on and then off after a few seconds, then it goes to a black / blank screen. Sometimes I have to power it on and off 20 times before the monitor will work ... properly, and some days, my monitor won't turn on at all! When this happens, my monitor power light stays yellow as if the monitor is sleeping or in standby mode. Normally the power light is green when it is powered on and working properly. Any ideas why my monitor keeps turning off? " My response: There are many reasons why a monitor keeps turning off ... (view more)

Infopackets Reader Richard W. writes: " Dear Dennis, I took your advice and purchased Acronis True Image to backup my computer's hard drive (using disk image backups). My question is: how can I be sure the disk image backups are not corrupt and will ... properly restore, if and when I need to do a restore? What is the best way to do a test restore of a disk image backup? " My response: You are not the only person to ask me how to restore a disk image backup -- and it's an excellent question to ask. The simple answer is that you need to run through the entire process of a restore ... (view more)

Infopackets Reader 'Tibby' writes: " Dear Dennis, For a few days now my screensaver won't start anymore on either my Windows 7 desktop and laptop. I suspect a recent Windows update may have caused my screensaver to stop working, but I can't ... substantiate that. I have reset the screensaver settings on both machines but my screensaver won't start. Have you heard of such an incidence? Any idea how to fix my screensaver? I have learned quite a bit form your questions and answers. Good work, and thanks in advance. " My response: This is a very common problem with Windows XP, Vista, 7, and 8. ... (view more)

Infopackets Reader Cliff H. writes: " Dear Dennis I can't seem to figure out how to remove Spotify from my computer (it's best known as a music streaming app commonly used on smartphones, though I'm using it on my Windows PC). Online forums suggest ... I am just one of thousands enraged by the behavior of Spotify, which insists on launching in my web browser whenever the PC is restarted. It seems there is no way to uninstall Spotify, even though I've unchecked Spotify from the Windows Startup. I have tried third-party startup solutions such a ccleaner, etc, but nothing has ... (view more)

Infopackets Reader 'Alan' writes: " Dear Dennis, My CPU fan is stuck at 100% full load (same as my chassis fan) - and it's very loud. The fans started running at high RPM shortly after I updated my Asus motherboard BIOS. I tried changing my BIOS fan ... controls, but that doesn't seem to work. I also downgraded the BIOS firmware by updating to my previous BIOS version, but that didn't help and the CPU fan is stuck, regardless. So, I called ASUS and they said to replace the BIOS chip. I did this and still no luck. Before all this, I could control fan speeds with Silent, Standard, Turbo, or Manual ... (view more)

Infopackets Reader Elaine Y. writes: " Dear Dennis, How can I change my IP address? I ask because every now and again I try and email my friend (with a yahoo email address), but Thunderbird keeps telling me that my IP address is being blocked and ... can't send my email. Any ideas why I'm being blocked? Better yet, any idea on how I can change my IP address so I'm not blocked? " My response: This is a good question and the situation (at least for me) comes up often enough, so it's worth explaining. Also, I couldn't seem to find a single article on the Internet that explains how this happens (at ... (view more)

Infopackets Reader Bob C. writes: " Dear Dennis, I just read your CryptoPrevent Review in regard to the CryptoLocker virus. Good job! You are so right with your comment 'If you do become infected [with CryptoLocker], the only 100% fail safe way to ... undo the damage is to restore your files from a backup -- but only if you backed up your files in the first place.' I have a question regarding my USB hard drive which I use for backups. Can you recommend a program that will allow me to disable and enable USB ports that my USB hard drive is plugged into, but still allow my USB keyboard, mouse and ... (view more)

Infopackets Reader John C. writes: " Dear Dennis, Hope you are well. I have a calendar program called VueMinder Pro that I use on my Windows 8 PC. I also use Google Calendar on my smartphone, and VueMinder Pro syncs its information with Google ... Calendar so I can share information between devices. The syncing has worked great for a while, but lately VueMinder Pro keeps popping up with a window asking me for my Google account password. In other words, VueMinder Pro won't sync with Google Calendar. I have changed my Google password multiple times and disabled 2-step verification in my Google ... (view more)

Infopackets Reader Tina M. writes: " Dear Dennis, Regarding CryptoLocker , can you tell me if the software program CryptoPrevent can actually remove CryptoLocker and other ransomware infections? In other words, does CryptoPrevent actually work? Or ... is there a better way to prevent and remove CryptoLocker if I get infected? " My response: Similar to antivirus, CryptoPrevent is software that helps to prevent CryptoLocker and similar ransomware infections. It does not remove the infection if you become infected. If you do become infected, the only 100% fail safe way to undo the damage ... (view more)

Infopackets Reader Craig D. writes: " Dear Dennis, In the past I've used the msconfig utility many times to clear items from the Windows Startup. However, recently I tried to run msconfig and Windows reports that msconfig has stopped responding and ... my PC freezes. This is very frustrating! Any ideas why my msconfig stopped working? " My response: This is a very common problem, though you didn't say which Windows operating system you're using. As such, I'll provide solutions for Window XP and onward because most likely other users are having the same problem. Here are ... (view more)