Windows Tips

Infopackets Reader Lisa C. writes: " Dear Dennis, I have upgraded my Windows ME to XP and I can not longer use my Adaptec Easy CD Creator ... How can I get this program to work on this Windows edition? " My response: The short answer is that ... Microsoft did not include something called an ASPI layer for Windows 2000 and XP, which is a required sub-program for many CD burning applications, such as Easy CD Creator. The solution is to download and install an ASPI layer so that your CD drive is recognized and usable under Easy CD Creator. Luckily, I managed to find a program called ... (view more)

Betty R. writes: " I have certainly enjoyed the newsletter as it contains very important information that I cannot find anywhere else. Thanks for that, and I have downloaded your eBook to lean how to install a hard drive. ... http://www.infopackets.com/how+to+install+a+hard+drive.htm My problem is that I am trying to set up my computer to act as as game server. To do this, I need to give other users my IP (Internet Protocol) address. Normally this would be an easy task, but my computer is sharing an Internet connection via a router. I have several computer friends in other states with whom I ... (view more)

Die-hard Infopackets Reader Colette C. writes: " Dear Dennis, I love your newsletter! It's very informative and gives us 'technologically challenged' folk a chance to understand what the heck is going on in the world of computers. Speaking of 'What ... the heck is going on?'... Occasionally, an error message appears in Internet Explorer when I try to print out something. It reads: 'Internet Explorer Script Error: An error has occurred in the script on this page. Error: Access is denied. Line: 93 Char: 1, Error: Access denied: 0, URL: res://C:\WINDOWS \ SYSTEM \ SHDOCLC.DLL / preview.dlg. Do ... (view more)

Malcolm C. from Sydney, Australia writes: " Hi Dennis! First of all, thanks for the great Newsletter. It is very helpful and informative. And, now for my problem: I was reading an article in Microsoft Knowledge Base about 'How To Share the same ... email Store Folder among multiple Windows XP users [for a family PC, for example]' ( KB 317031 ) and thought that might be a good idea. Unfortunately, it seems somewhere I have made an error. I have 4 email accounts under my Windows login; now, all but 1 has lost all the emails and folders. The folders have been replaced with the standard Inbox, ... (view more)

Infopackets Reader Pam S. writes: " Dear Dennis, I love your newsletter and it has helped me very much! One problem I've been having with my computer is the inability to run Java Scripts over the web. When my computer tries to initiate Java, a ... Window appears and tells me that it is missing shortcuts and cannot continue to run. I was told by a friend that I will have to reformat and possibly change operating systems ... I found that Windows 2000 was too difficult to use, so at this point, I reformatted and installed Windows XP Pro. Will I have to reformat again? " My response: As I ... (view more)

Infopackets Reader Steve S. from Kentville, Nova Scotia writes: " Dear Dennis, Why is it desirable to backup windows driver files when I can use Windows System Restore to go back to a previous state of my computer's configuration in which everything ... was working fine? Is it because System Restore does not always restore all the necessary drivers? " My Response: As far as I understand, the Windows System Restore feature focuses primarily on restoring a working copy of the Windows Registry. As programs, operating system updates, and drivers are installed to a system, the Windows ... (view more)

Infopackets Reader Fran X. writes: " There are a lot of $NtUninstall folders in my Windows directory. What purpose do they serve and can I delete them from my hard drive? " My response: I looked on my own hard drive for these directories, but didn't ... see any. Curious as to what would cause this to happen, I decided to search Google.com for "$ntuninstall in windows folder". After a few listings, I found a newsletter article from Lockergnome.com which held the answer to Fran's dilemma. From the Lockergnome web site: " Question: In the Windows folder, there are many ... (view more)

Infopackets Reader 'Pac' writes: " Dear Dennis, For some unknown reason, my Search function has stopped working with Windows XP (Home Edition) ... I read your recent article, 'Windows Search options are Blank?': Windows Search Options are Blank, ... Part 2 But, my circumstances are different. If I put the name of whatever I am searching for, hit search, the hourglass icon appears and then the Windows Search appears to do nothing. When I hit CTRL + ALT + DEL, the search program starts working. This one has me stumped! I would love to have the search program working normally. Any assistance is ... (view more)

Yesterday's feature article on Eazy Backup stirred up some emotions from a few Infopackets Readers. In fact, Tina P. from Franklin, Indiana told me about her recent horror story: " Dear Dennis, I am grinning now, although I wasn't on Monday! I just ... finished reading yesterday's feature article on Eazy Backup , and must admit: doing regular backups is very important. I don't know if it was a combination of the full moon last Friday and Monday's date being the 13th -- but it seems that all of my electronic equipment have formed a revolt. On Thursday, my desktop's motherboard finally gave ... (view more)