Software

Ed B. from Long Island, New York writes: " I enjoy your newsletters very much! They're very informative and easy to read. I've seen a lot of other similar newsletters, and yours definitely rank among the very best of them. My question: I use Windows ... XP Pro and save a lot of graphics on my hard drive (the usual .GIF, .JPG. and some .BMPs). When I view the folders in Windows Explorer (thumbnail or filmstrip mode), some of the files don't show the thumbnail preview image, and Windows tells me No Preview Available. I don't change the file extensions when I save the graphics, so why does ... (view more)

Last week, Robert B. asked: " Do you know of a program (freeware or shareware) that will let you install a program temporarily to see if it works ok on your machine and then according to the results, you can remove it or keep it? " My Response: I ... suggested the obvious, but then also critiqued how the "Add / Remove Programs" in the Control Panel can also leave your computer gummed up. So, I asked Infopackets Readers to send in some suggestions for freebie software titles floating around the 'net: Kevin S. suggested jv16 Reg Cleaner (highly recommended): " JV16 Reg ... (view more)

Robert B. emailed me today and asked: " Do you know of a program (freeware or shareware) that will let you install a program temporarily to see if it works ok on your machine and then according to the results, you can remove it or keep it? I thought ... I did once from Lockergnome but I can't find it. I seem to think it said it was never actually installed unless you chose to keep it. Maybe it was in a dream? " My Response:The only programs I've ever used to perform a similar function are: the Add / Remove Program function in the Control Panel, and Clean Sweep by Norton. Critique: Add ... (view more)

Lately I've been getting a lot of emails from folks who are in the same predicament as I am: Windows XP crashes when an Nvidia video driver is installed. MSI (MicroStar, Incorporated) is the company that manufactured my particular video card; Nvidia ... makes the graphic chip (GPU, or Graphics Processing Unit) present on the card which allows me to play 3D games. I'm using the video card in combination with a Tyan Tiger MP2460 multiprocessor motherboard (AMD 760MP chipset). In the past, I've tried to get my Ge-Force MX-400 video card to work with Windows XP using many suggested methods, including ... (view more)

Douglas L. asks: " I recently re-loaded Windows ME. When I received an e-mail with an attachment I mistakenly used Media Player to open it. Now Windows assumes that every attachment of that type requires Media Player! How do I change it to the ... correct program for these files? " My Response:First, you need to identify the correct file type. This is done by viewing the file extension in the email attachment. Example: a .GIF email attachment would signify that it is a graphic file. You can use Internet Explorer to open a graphic file, or any third-party picture viewing utility for that ... (view more)

Last week's mind-numbing question was sent in from Jon W. He asked: " I have a few programs listed in my MSCONFIG startup . One of the programs was LoadQM.Exe, and Google's search pointed me to your web site. Good info on the LoadQM.exe program! ... I've now deleted it from the start-up file. The other two programs I'm trying to find more information on are Carpserv.exe and Nwiz.exe/install, but didn't get any clear-cut information on these two when querying Google. Do you have any input on these two items? " My Response:I asked the Infopackets Readers to send me their thoughts on the ... (view more)

Last week, Phil M. asked the question: " I can't access the Outlook 2000 contacts because they no longer belong to my user account. Is there any way I can access the previous Outlook 2000 contacts list? I don't know where to look. " I didn't know ... the answer to this question, so I asked Infopackets Readers to send me their suggestions. Bill S. confidently writes: " FIRST - a BIG first - go to Control Panel, Folder Options, View and de-select Display Hidden Files. Then go to C:\Documents and Settings\<username>\Local Settings\Application Data\Microsoft\Outlook. There were ... (view more)

Yeah, the wallet is on a major diet this year. So, I thought I'd spread some Holiday cheer and start this week off with some cool computer gift ideas for under $50 bucks. At the end of my Top 10 list, I invite you to email your $budgeted$ gift ideas ... and I'll include them in tomorrow's issue of the Gazette. #1. Optical mouse with a Scroll Wheel: Less than $25 If I had to go back to a ball mouse, I think I'd go insane. Optical mice are very precise and don't suffer from jerky movements or get gummed up like ball mice do... plus you can use an optical mouse on just about any surface. An optical ... (view more)

Infopackets Reader Phil M. writes: " Dear Dennis, The in-house guru for my office recently gave me my own user account and password on a Windows NT 4.0 machine. Previous to this, the computer required no login and used a central Outlook 2000 ... database for contacts. Now that I have my own login account, I can't access the Outlook 2000 contacts because they no longer belong to my user account. Is there any way I can access the previous Outlook 2000 contacts list? I don't know where to look. " My response:I don't use Outlook 2000. If anyone knows the answer to this, email me and I'll ... (view more)

I've been toying with some different ways to help get the word out about the infopackets web site. I'm on a tight budget, especially after getting $burned$ from a sucky web hosting company . In fact, I sent the Sucky Web Hosting company an email ... yesterday asking when my account was going to be refunded because my bank statement reported no activity. Here's two emails I received regarding my refund: November 29: " Your account will be refunded all but the $99 Setup Fee. Refunds are usually processed within 24 hours of cancellation ... sometimes it can take a while to show up in your bank ... (view more)