Windows Tips

Infopackets Reader Joe M. writes: " Dear Dennis, I am running Windows 10. When I go to Hotmail (Live.com) to login and view my emails, I am automatically logged into my account. I would much rather be able to log into my Live email account manually, ... but I don't see an option for this. How can I disable the Hotmail automatic login? Other people use the computer and I do not want them gaining easy access to my email account. I'd rather I had to sign in every time. Thanks for any help you can provide. " My response: With the release of Windows 10 last year, Microsoft has integrated many of its ... (view more)

Infopackets Reader Phil S. writes: " Dear Dennis, I often view web pages online the Internet that I want to archive into PDF (portable document format), so that I can view them later. I am using Windows 10, and normally I use Firefox as my browser. ... However, when I save the the web pages for archiving, they always open up in Edge. If I transfer the pages to thumb drive for viewing on a different computer (not using Edge), then the web pages won't load properly. Is there a way to get the computer to save offline web pages without using Edge? My preference of course would be to view the ... (view more)

Infopackets Reader 'Brad' writes: " Dear Dennis, I just upgraded to Windows 10 and the File Explorer (previously Windows Explorer) looks much different than it did previously. I would like to know how to change the default settings in File Explorer ... so that my icon view is set for Large Icons. Before I upgraded to Windows 10, my folder settings all looked the same (using Large Icons). I want this setting so that when I view a folder full of images, I can see their thumbnails. Can you help? " My response: Generally speaking you can set 1 folder to view with the 'Large Icons' setting, and then ... (view more)

Infopackets Tina V. writes: " Dear Dennis, I just upgraded to Windows 10 and am using Edge as my default web browser -- it's very different than Internet Explorer. Can you tell me: how can I change the start page in Edge? Right now it opens up with ... a bunch of tiles, asking me "where to" - and I don't like it. I'd much change my home page in Edge to start with Google.com. Any help you can offer would be appreciated! " My response: Changing the start or home page in Edge is much different than Internet Explorer, mostly because Microsoft Edge is made for touch-enabled devices. That said, getting ... (view more)

Infopackets Reader Tim G. writes: " Dear Dennis, Since I upgraded to Windows 10, I cannot find how to view or create Libraries. Previously I was using Windows 7 and used Libraries extensively to sort my files. Can you help? " My response: The ... Libraries feature in Windows 10 is somewhat hidden, but you can make it viewable if you do the following: Click Start and then click This PC. A Windows File Explorer window will open; at the top left of the screen you will see the following tabs: File, Computer, and View. Click the View tab. The first option is Navigation Pane; click that, and then click ... (view more)

Infopackets Reader Kelly S. writes: " Dear Dennis, I just upgraded to Windows 10 and many of my programs are missing from the Start Menu. For example, Office 2013 is missing, so is Adobe Acrobat, and also Norton Antivirus is gone. Do you have any ... idea how this happened? Can you help me find my missing programs in the Start Menu? " My response: There are a number of reasons why programs go missing from the Start Menu after upgrading to Windows 10 - I'll try and shed some light. Windows 10 Program Incompatibility If a program is not compatible with Windows 10 , it will not be imported when you ... (view more)

Infopackets Reader Steve S. writes: " Dear Dennis, I am trying to install Windows 10 Threshold 2 version 1511, release 10586 / 1511, otherwise known as 'Th2_release Professional 10586' through Windows Update, but I keep getting an error when it ... tries to install. The error message states 'We found some issues. Select this message to fix and finish updating.' I clicked the link and received another message, stating 'Could not update system reserved partition.' So, now the update won't install and I can't upgrade my Windows 10 to the latest version. Can you ... (view more)

Infopackets Reader Leslie B. writes: " Dear Dennis, I just recently upgraded to Windows 10 and now when I run iTunes, I receive error 54 - whatever that means. I am unable to access anything in iTunes. Can you help? " My response: From what I ... understand, iTunes error 54 refers to a general input/output (I/O) error. This means that iTunes is having trouble reading or writing to a file or folder on your hard drive. This can be caused by various things, including a corrupt file, locked or inaccessible files or folders, or if an .m4a file could not be converted to a lower bit rate. The latter ... (view more)

Infopackets Reader Steven B. writes: " Dear Dennis, I have a small issue, and hope you have some insight. I am using Outlook 2016; when I respond to an email, I can no longer attach a file to my email reply. This seems to have happened all the ... sudden, whereas previously it worked without any problems. I have tried to drag and drop a file into the email, and have also clicked on the Attach File icon (paper clip) button without any luck. The strange thing is that this issue only affects my email replies - but not when I compose a new email. I have searched online the Internet but can't find ... (view more)

Infopackets Reader Robert C. writes: " Dear Dennis, The other day I received a warning that 'Your Avast! Firewall has been breached and a Trojan Horse is infecting your computer. Call 1-888-698-3247.' I'm a computer novice and I panicked. The ... warning seemed to appear as part of the operating system, and not the browser. I say this because the warning appeared on the screen, with a voice screaming at me, and I had no idea how to stop it. I held down the power button to force the computer to shut down. I waited three minutes, then powered back up ... but it went right back to the warning and ... (view more)