URLs from 1/30/07

Today is the official release day for the Windows Vista operating system.
--See Bryan Powell's recommendations on how to see if you're ready to upgrade
--Listener Ken in Dayton writes:
"Microsoft has a an excellent free download program to test your computer for Vista upgrade capability. It checks for hardware as well as bios and software drivers issues. I ran it on my computer and it found my computer had problems with several drivers and bios as well as my graphics card. As a result, I do not plan to upgrade. It is called Vista Readiness Assessment Tool."

Will Vista be a good platform for PC gaming?
--Here's a report (based on Nvidia cards only)

De-fragmenting hard drives produces an MMC error
--One possible fix

Windows Vista comes out Tuesday- will your applications be ready?

While gorging on Vista related information this past week, I found this following Wiki which shows software that is incompatible with Windows Vista. Click here to see the list.

A lot of standard applications people use on a daily basis already work, such as Office 2003 and also Adobe Acrobat Reader. However, a lot of other apps do not work, for example AdAware Personal, Spybot, and PC Anywhere. Still others are not technically certified for Vista but will still work, such as iTunes and Firefox.

Check out the list and see where you stand if you are buying a new PC soon or if you are buying Vista on Tuesday (January 30, 2007).

URLs from 1/23/07

Which Speed DVD/CD Media to use?
--It doesn't hurt to buy discs rated faster than your drive will support (such as 16x in a in 8x drive), but you won't get the speed, and you'll pay more.
--For critical applications, burning at a slower speed may cause fewer problems for listeners.

Weather channel software comes up when computer starts up
--Could be related to using drive letters besides C:

Using a Mac Monitor on a PC; original monitor died, got a Mac monitor but it does not work either
-- It could be monitor settings. Start in safe mode. This would not use the monitor settings.
See Pchell.com.
--If it works in safe mode then you need to adjust the monitor settings and try re-booting.
--If the plugs do not match, then you might be able to buy an adapter, but they can be quite pricey.

Windows 98 only starts in safe mode and mouse does not work
--Try going into the BIOS
--Make sure you are using a PS2 style mouse

PC Win2K IE 6 email links opens Outlook Express. How can I change it to Eudora?
--Lockergnome.com
--Microsoft.com

I want a flat panel monitor for a Dell Desktop running Windows 98
--This should work but you may have to use the standard VGA driver

Can I use Parallels from an external Hard drive on my Intel Mac?

USA Today: Computers evolve with Vista in mind

URLs from 1/16/07

Flash Player problems: "could not find macromedia flash" error
--Uninstall and re-install Flash player
--If you are using a screensaver, read this article

CD-ROM not working sometimes

How to get the WMUB Podcasts

Macintosh Real Player Free version

Opinions on Windows OneCare
--Microsoft.com
--Windowsonecare.com

URLs from 1/9/07

Note to users: we had two live versions of the Help Desk on 1/9, at 9 am ET and 7 pm ET. For the evening show, Guy Moore and Wayne Stone were on live from MacWorld in San Francisco. Due to technical difficulties we're not able to cover as many topics this week as usual. But keep listening!

Multiple monitors on Windows XP

URLs from 1/2/07

Happy New Year from the Help Desk!

Lexmark printer won't print after system install
--Locate and install a new driver from Lexmark

URLs from 12/19/06

iPod won't turn on

How to edit, backup, and restore the Registry

Restore an iPod to factory settings - will wipe out all contents of iPod

System Restore not working
--Microsoft article
--Techguy.org forum

Nintendo Wii Controller Damage
--Wiidamage.com
--Digitaldisplacement.com
--Kotaku.com

McAfee spam filter causes problems with email (2 callers with identical problem)
--During the show the guys found references to message boards that recommended turning off the McAfee spam filter and filter through your email program.
--Listener Steven of Dublin, IN writes: "I have used anti-spam tools (other than McAfee) and may have seen the behavior your callers reported. Some of these tools pickup the mail from the server, remove spam and then behave as a POP server where my mail client can pickup the filtered mail. In the cases I have seen, the instructions on using the tool said to enter the mail server in the tool and configure my mail program to retrieve mail from 127.0.0.1." We have not independently verified this advice.
*UPDATE* from Steven 1/3/07: Check the following:
--Spampal.us
--Keir.net
--Techsoup.org

URLs from 12/12/06

Kyocera Wireless router for cell phones

Microsoft's Zune Mp3 player
--The "Pink" Zune -- special edition, randomly distributed to 100 purchasers

What are the different version of Vista that will be available?

CPU Fan Error message at startup
--Whirlpool.net forum
--Techspot.com

Can I switch ISPs and keep my email address?

OS X Driver for HP Deskjet 855C Printer

URLs from 12/5/06

Switching from PC to Mac: how to
--Switch 101 (Apple site)
--ProQuest

Removing old version of Norton Utilities

AVG Virus protection

Motorola Wireless headphones

Pioneer Powerline speaker system (run speakers through electrical wiring)

psap.dll Startup error

Olympus 720sw digital camera

Parallels - Lets you run windows on Intel Mac

URLs from 11/28/06

MP3 Players:
--iPOD Shuffle
--Nike/iPod Information

iPod/MP3 Wireless headphones

Pioneer MT-01 home entertainment system

Olympus 720W digital camera

News:
--Chumby (hard to describe, it's a clock radio that uses wireless internet connections to fetch stuff from the web-- music, chat, photos, messages. Not yet available.)
--Airlines and Apple iPod Team up

Mac OS DMG Security Flaw

Comparing LCD to Plasma

How to find out information on a Macintosh Powerbook G4

Places to buy a used Macintosh
--Tips on buying a used Mac

Deleting cookies in Internet Explorer 7:

To delete a single cookie
--In Internet Explorer, click the Tools button, and then click Internet Options.
--On the General tab, in the Browsing history section, click Settings, and then click View files.
--Cookies will have the prefix Cookie: and usually contain the name of the website that saved it.
--Select the cookie you want to delete, and then, on the File menu, click Delete.

To delete all cookies
--In Internet Explorer, click the Tools button, and then click Internet Options.
--On the General tab, under Browsing history, click Delete.
--In the Delete Browsing History dialog box, click Delete cookies.
--When you are prompted to confirm that you want to delete cookies, click OK.
--Click Close, and then click OK.

Notes
--Some websites store your member name, password, or other information about you in a cookie. If you delete that cookie, you might need to re-enter your personal information the next time you visit the site.

URLs from 11/21/06

Information about Zune, Microsoft's new Mp3 player

Installing 10.4 on a Macintosh that does not have a DVD drive
--OS X 10.4 CDS available on the right side.
--Start your computer in target disk mode then install from another computer that has a DVD drive
--Using Target disk mode
--DVD drive for a Macintosh G4 Tower

How to fix hard drives with bad blocks

Macintosh firmware updates

Broadband speed comparison

URLs from 11/14/06

Resetting a BIOS password

Kaspersky Antivirus 6 review from CNET

Problem with Virtual Truck message at every restart

• In some circumstances (believed to be associated with previous failed installations that did not run to normal completion), on every restart, Windows asks for:
• Insert CDRom.
• Please insert your CDRom with the Virtual Truck program. Looking for file: E:\INSTALLS\TERAETH\VTRUCK.EXE
  
  
• The name of the file requested may differ in detail. Even after inserting the CD-ROM, the PC continues to make the same request on every restart. To repair this situation under Windows 98/ME:
• * Click Start, click Run.
• * Enter msconfig and click OK.
• * Click tab Win.ini to bring it to the front.
• * Click the [+] sign beside [windows] to expand this item.
• * If you see an entry run= involving \vtagent\reboot.exe, then uncheck it.
• * Click OK to exit the System Configuration Utility.

URLs from 11/7/06

Duplicate messages when downloading email from Outlook Express
--Mail Box Index is probably damaged; see
--Microsoft article
--Vicman.net

Macerena -- possible OS X Virus

Black Friday newspaper ads

Securely erase a hard drive
--mireth.com
--search VersionTracker

Test Trap spyware changed my desktop background
--It may be Active Desktop

URLs from 11/7/06

Duplicate messages when downloading email from Outlook Express
--Mail Box Index is probably damaged; see
--Microsoft article
--Vicman.net

Macerena -- possible OS X Virus

Black Friday newspaper ads

Securely erase a hard drive
--mireth.com
--search VersionTracker

Test Trap spyware changed my desktop background
--It may be Active Desktop

URLs from 10/31/06

Happy Halloween! Not too many issues today, but here are a couple:

126 Gig Hard drive problem

Keeping hackers out of your computer

URLs from 10/24/06

Recycling news: Dell Computers is hosting a free recycling event on November 4th from 9am to 3pm. It will be at their facility off I-75 near Cincinnati. Initial reports suggested that all brands of computing equipment would be accepted, but the Dell web site appears to indicate otherwise. We are attempting to confirm the status. No electronic gear. 9701 Windish Rd, West Chester (use the Union Centre exit from I-75; Google 'dell computer west chester oh' for a map).

Quad Boot Macintosh with 4 operating systems

New release of Firefox Web Browser

Changing the default application in Macintosh OS X

External hard drive adapters:
--byteccusa.com
--wiebetech.com
--cwol.com
--informit.com
--wikihow.com

How to remove Norton Antivirus Suite

Reverse lookup (to find out if an IP address has a DNS name)
--psacake.com
--arin.net

Norton 2007 not compatible with Spybot -- solution

URLs from 10/17/06

Bryan Powell's website recommendations
--daringfireball.net
--www.internet-nexus.com

Tutorial for C++

Playing VCDs on DVD players
--www.videohelp.com/vcd
--answers.yahoo.com/

Free Midi Software

Backup Software

Web site we use:
--Annoyances Windows
--Versiontracker
--Daring fireball
--Edmonds
--Macbytes

Game Design
--http://www.amazon.com/Macromedia-Flash-Game-Design-Demystified/dp/0201770210
--http://3d-game-design.internaldrive.com/
--http://www.digitalmediaacademy.org/courses/game-design-training.html
--http://www.cprogramming.com/tutorial.html
--http://www.bunchball.com/devnet/resources.html
--http://www-cs-students.stanford.edu/~amitp/gameprog.html
--http://www.deitel.com/computergames/gameprogramming/
--http://dmoz.org/Games/Video_Games/Game_Design/Resources/
--http://www.gdse.com/
--http://www.tutorialized.com/tutorials/C-and-Cpp/Games-and-Entertainment/1
--http://triplebuffer.devmaster.net/links.php

URLs from 10/10/06

Use Symantec Ghost to create an image of your entire hard drive -- useful for backups

Noisy hard drive

Getting files from Windows 98 machine using a flash drive

Fixing a Windows modem problem -- modem does not appear to be working

Add a firewall by using a hardware router for a broadband connection

White square suddenly appearing in upper left corner of desktop

How can I find out what are all of the processes I see in my task manager?
--Google.com
--Liutilities.com

Internet explorer 7 has just been released as a critical update

URLs from 10/3/06

Security Update for Windows XP Service Pack 2 (KB925486)
--A security issue has been identified in the way Vector Markup Language (VML) is handled that could allow an attacker to compromise a computer running Microsoft Windows and gain control over it. You can help protect your computer by installing this update from Microsoft.

More on restoring clogged Canon print cartridges -- listener Lee in Clayton disagreed with some of last week's info and gave several tips:

• Remove the ink tanks from the print head.
• Removed the print heads.
• Take a paper towel and fold it over to 4 thickness and soak it with tap water.
• Place the towel on a surface such as a dinner plate.
• Set the print head on the towel with the copper jets against the towel.
• Let it sit overnight.
• Air dry. Whatever, never never never ever rub anything over the jets on the print head.
• Reinstall and run the head cleaning several times until you get printing.
  

Lee comments that because Canon uses very tiny droplets of ink, 3rd-party cartridges can cause problems. Consider using only Canon cartridges (neither Lee nor we get any funds from Canon).

Sources for freeware or shareware
--IUseThis.com (Mac)
--VersionTracker.com (Mac, PC, Linux, Palm)
--download.com (Mac)

Macintosh tutorials for new users

Syncronizing (SYNC) Folders for the Mac
--via VersionTracker.com
--QuickSync

Resetting an iPod

Converting Cassettes to CDs- How to

URLs from 9/26/06

New Microsoft IE vulnerability could get early patch
http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/technology/5377802.stm

Windows 98 won't Shut Down properly
--From PC World
--From Microsoft.com
--More from Microsoft.com

Apple Airport Security Update

A British take on Silicon Valley: In Search of the Valley

Clean Clogged Canon inkjet
--We don't know if this method works and so cannot endorse it. An emailer today also suggested soaking the print cartridge head overnight in a solution of half-ammonia, half water. The easiest and probably safest solution is just to buy a new print cartridge.

Use Audacity software to digitize Lps (or cassettes).
--Don't forget you need a pre-amp to boost turntable signals.
--See also our blog item from 8/29/06.
--For Mac users, a caller also reports that GarageBand can do the job.

Clamav account in Mac OS X
--This is generated as part of an anti-virus software for the Mac called Clam AntiVirus (which we have not reviewed). We presume someone installed it on purpose on your machine. If you want to remove it, check their web site.