Articles in Category: Administration
Items related to Leo, Ask Leo! and overall website and related operations and administrivia.
How do I upgrade to USB 2.0?
Older computers may have only the slower USB 1.1 interface. Adding USB 2.0 isn’t difficult, but it does require a hardware addition.
Sometimes, it's not what you think
I share some frustrations in my steps to recover data from a friends hard disk.
How do I defragment my new hard disk?
Defragmenting is a useful bit of maintenance to keep your hard disks speedy. It’s not always needed, though. We’ll look at when, and how, to defrag.
How can I connect to my DSL modem if I don't have a network card?
Most computers come with ethernet these days, but if you have an older machine that doesn’t, there are alternatives.
How do I keep people from seeing possibly private things on my shared computer?
Sharing a computer is common, but it’s fraught with issues. It’s all too easy to expose your private information by accident if you share a computer.
Why can't I open attachments in Hotmail?
Opening attachments in Hotmail is easy – if Hotmail lets you. If Hotmail doesn’t support the attachment type, Hotmail won’t open the attachment. Period.
Is Free Software Worth it?
If you get what you pay for, what if you pay nothing?
7-zip File Archiving Utility
There are many win ZIP archive programs. 7-Zip is free zip software, full featured, compatible and the zip software I recommend.
How do I download my Hotmail messages to my computer?
Downloading Hotmail messages to your computer is easy – or it’s not – depending on your account. I look at some ways to download Hotmail messages, including the one I actually use myself.
Why does Windows Explorer take so long to display sometimes?
Windows Explorer can often take an unexpectedly long time to display its initial screen. There are several common causes of Windows Explorer’s delay.
How do I change Windows sounds?
Changing the sounds that Windows plays on certain events is easy – once you know where to look.
Switching to Thunderbird
I take the plunge
I get "Error Number: 0x800CCC19" when sending email – how do I fix it?
Error Number 0x800CCC19 is a timeout, which can be caused by many things. Most common appears to be interference by your anti-virus program.
My '2' key stopped working. How do get Windows to recognize it again?
Every so often a keyboard stops working or acts up. It’s tempting to look everywhere but at the most likely culprit: the keyboard itself.
"Unable to update region settings" – how do I fix that on my DVD drive?
DVD Region Codes are intended to restrict where a DVD can be played. Computer DVD drives can sometimes alter region codes, but only a few times.
Can NtUninstall folders be deleted?
Folders called $NtUninstall******$ can appear in your Windows directory. We’ll look at what they are, and whether or not they can be safely deleted.
It's That Time of Year Again
The holidays are just around the corner.
Can I find my Hotmail mail on my machine somewhere?
Web based email services like Hotmail keep your mail on their servers. But your browser might be caching the email you read on your hard disk.
Making the Podcast
How I do it – with video!
Where is 'C:\DOCUME~1'? I can't find it on my hard disk.
Error messages frequently include filenames of the form ‘DOCUME~1’ which seem nowhere to be found. They’re actually there, just by another name.
How do I clear my search history in IE 7?
Sometimes you just want to clear what you’ve searched for from the browser’s history. These steps clear that information in Internet Explorer 7.
How do I clear my search history in Firefox?
Sometimes you just want to clear the things you’ve searched for from automatically appearing in the browser. These steps clear that information in Firefox.
How do I login automatically with Windows XP Pro?
Automatic login most commonly happens when there’s no password – but Remote Desktop requires that you have a password. TweakUI provides the solution.
Yes, it's getting worse.
spam, that is.
How do I delete a file in use?
Windows will prevent you from deleting a file that’s in use by a running program. If you can’t find or shut down the program a different approach is needed.
RoboForm Password Manager and more
With lots of accounts on the web, good security says their passwords should all be unique. Your computer can remember them for you with RoboForm.
Is Javascript dangerous?
Javascript is become more and more common on web pages, but some security experts prefer to leave it disabled. I look at why, and one great alternative for FireFox users.
Will BitTorrent harm my computer?
BitTorrent, the peer-to-peer file sharing technology, is often suspect in computer problems. It’s not BitTorrent at fault, but the files being shared.
IE 7, Firefox 2
My take on whether to upgrade, which to use, and why.
Why is the byte activity different on my wired and wireless connections?
The number of bytes transferred should be roughly the same regardless of your connection, right? We’ll look at a couple of reasons that might not be true.
How should I protect myself from other computers sharing my internet connection?
A shared connection to the internet is common, and provides an important level of security. But what if the machines you share with can’t be trusted?
Why does my computer shut down after an hour or two of playing music from my external drive?
A common cause for computers shutting down unexpectedly is overheating. An external drive probably doesn’t add heat – but the software drivers might.
Did ya miss me?
The Ask Leo! podcast returns.
Can I use my old hard drives with a new motherboard?
When replacing a motherboard you can almost certainly use your hard disks, the question is how much additional work and configuration you might need.
How do I remove addresses from an email message for printing or forwarding?
Removing the addresses from an email you’re forwarding or printing should be easy – and for forwarding it is. For printing, a few tricks are needed.
My computer blue screens when I download pictures from my camera- what do I do?
Digital cameras often include software to download pictures. Good or bad, the big secret is that you may not need software to download pictures at all.
How do I get the File Save or File Open dialogs to show details by default?
File Save and File Open dialogs in many applications are similar to Windows Explorer. Changing the default look of File dialogs is more difficult.
How do I send email to another machine on my local network without hitting the internet?
Sending email from one machine to another on the same network seems like it should be simple and direct. Sadly, it’s neither.
Why can't I put my email on CD?
Burning email folders to CD is a reasonable way to archive email and free up space – until you want to read it. Then additional steps are needed.
Why didn't my backup program restore everything?
Backups are an important necessity. Making sure your backups are configured properly and backing up what you expect is equally important.
Why won't my display turn on?
Your display might not turn on if the computer’s not working or the display’s not working. However there are other possible causes we’ll look at also.
Why do I need an ISP?
When you connect to your ISP you are connecting directly to the internet. You can bypass your ISP, if you like, but only to choose another ISP to do the same.
A duplicate name exists on the network – what does that mean? How do I fix it?
A duplicate name existing on the network happens when two resources – usually computers – have been given the same name. We’ll look at how to check, and where to fix it.
How do I keep my web access safe from sniffing?
Your web access can be easily sniffed when you’re in a public WiFi hotspot. Logins on web sites that don’t use https are vulnerable to sniffing. We’ll look at one technique to avoid this.
How do I turn off the Windows firewall warning?
If the Windows firewall is not enabled, Windows will warn you. You can tell Windows that you know what you’re doing and don’t need the Windows firewall.
Why did my home network stop working?
Home networks or other small LAN can stop working for various reasons, but there’s a simple reason home networks stop working that’s often overlooked.
How do I choose plain text in Hotmail?
Plain text email is smaller, often easier to read, and more consistently displayed than rich text. Here’s how to switch between the two in Hotmail.
Is anonymous web surfing possible? If so, can't the 'bad guys' use it too?
Anonymous web surfing is quite possible, with the aid of an anonymization service. There are several implications to anonymous web surfing, though. One is that anyone can use it.
Why is using Paypal to purchase at a conference or open market such a bad idea?
Paypal is a fast and convenient way to pay someone from your computer. Using Paypal elsewhere, on someone else’s computer, can be very, very dangerous.
Why does my video flicker?
Video flicker can happen for various reasons when viewing on-line videos. I’ll look at some issues viewing video on-line, including video flicker.
