Dedicate some time to basic XP features (07/03/06)
I've always believed unless one's livelihood depended on acquiring computer skills, the incentive for anyone to invest the time to become computer literate is based on their desire to get involved in a significant computer adventure.

But recently, because of the naive Windows XP questions I've received from Good Booters involved in significant computer adventures, I've had to become a bit more specific.

I continued to believe the incentive to invest the time to become computer literate is based on a desire to become involved in a significant computer adventure. But I also believe it's appropriate to warn users that regardless of their desire to become proficient in a particular computing adventure, success is predicated on first mastering the basics of XP.
Example: Recently I was asked by a well-known Southwest Florida genealogist to assist her with a backup problem. When I arrived, Joan (not her real name) was entering data into her family tree program.

Although I'm not a genealogist or have any real interest in the subject, I did become fascinated by what she was creating.
And I do mean creating.

It was a beautifully decorated family tree with photos, video and music.

In fact, you could click on a photo and the person would speak while music from that person's era played in the background.
When I completed installing her external hard drive, configuring Second Copy and backing up her family tree program, you know I had to ask her why after the obvious effort she had made to learn how to create a professional genealogy presentation, she had made no real effort to learn how to back it up.

What I discovered was that Joan's computer expertise was limited to her family tree menu, e-mail and the Internet. Joan was in fact a poster gal for beleaguered novices.
However, I discovered I was successful in encouraging Joan to consider learning the basics of XP when a few weeks after my visit she called me to ask if I'd develop a seminar series this fall for her genealogy club.

She was looking for a seminar that would provide instruction on how to distribute family trees as stand-alone presentations, slide shows or as integrated presentations in family newsletters.

The point of all this is to encourage Good Booters to dedicate time this summer when it's too hot and muggy to do anything else to learning the basic features of XP.
And to help you, my July Computing Journal will include the first in a series of XP Tips and Techniques and illustrated examples of how to access and use XP features. It's a free download from www.swfpcug.org.

Here's wishing you a Good Boot. [index]

Be wary of beta downloads (07/10/06)

It seems many Good Booters who after being seduced by the word "free" have downloaded and installed one or more of Microsoft's beta versions of Internet Explorer 7, Media Player 11, Defender and Office 2007, only to discover they've placed their Windows system in harm's way.

In many cases even those who are able to rid themselves of the culprit and are able to restore and stabilize their Windows system, find they're unable to reinstall the previous working version of beta program.

I suggest if you're a novice, you think long and hard before downloading and installing these or any other beta programs.

There was a time when most software vendors wouldn't allow anyone other than a proven, experienced user to be a beta tester or have access to one of their beta programs. In fact, before I was selected as a WordPerfect beta tester I was interviewed by phone and had to pass a written test.

My responsibility was to report back any problems I discovered and any recommendations I might have had for additional features and how to make a particular beta version more user-friendly. It could take more than a year and many beta versions before the final version of WordPerfect was released.

My reward was a registered copy of the final version of WordPerfect.

Today the release of a beta version of a program to the public isn't necessarily to beta test the version. It's an attempt to insure the user will become a new or an ongoing client. In the case of Internet Explorer 7 and Media Player 11, Microsoft's goal is to keep you away from other free Internet browsers or media player programs. With Office 2007 it's to try and assure you'll purchase the final version of the product when it's released.

And I suspect that at some point in time one will have to subscribe to Defender.

There's nothing wrong with this marketing strategy as long as the user understands that although the beta version of the program Microsoft has released to the public has been tested, there's no guarantee all the problems have been identified and addressed or is appropriate for a every Windows configuration.

Think about it. Would Microsoft be releasing beta versions if a final release version was available?

It's your responsibility to decide if you're experienced enough to get out of any configuration trouble a beta version may get you into.

And if you do decide to do a beta, please be sure you know how to completely uninstall it and perhaps re-install its predecessor if you still need it.

Oh, and don't forget a System Restore point before installing any beta program.

Here's wishing you a Good Boot. [index]

Here's how to get rid of "Stuff" (7/17/06)

Spend summer tinkering with your computer (07/31/06)

This month my complimentary Computing Journal download (swfpcug.org) includes the first installment of my annual series of tutorials for the dog days of summer.

"A Computer Peripheral Walk About — Part 1" is the first of two formal "how they work" presentations of the many toys attached to or that can be attached to a computer.

But for those who would prefer to do less thinking and more tinkering, I've continued my XP Tips and Techniques series with 15 pages of illustrated helpful but not earth-shaking "Stuff" like:

1. For those Windows 98 and Me users who can't find XP's ClipBoard Viewer, know it's now called ClipBook and is alive and kicking albeit well-hidden.

Open Windows Explorer. Scroll down to your Systems32 subfolder of your Windows folder. Find and right click on "clipbrd.exe." On the pop-up menu select "Send to" and send a ClipBook Shortcut to your Desktop.

Now that you have your Clipboard viewer on your Desktop, why not put it to a use other than just viewing your last "Copy."

Let's say you often sign your e-mail with an extraordinarily long signature — perhaps "Jane Doe, beloved wife of John Doe and mother of a bunch of little Does."

Try this. Open your Word Processor, WordPad or NotePad. Type in "Jane Doe, beloved wife of John Doe and mother of a bunch of little Does," highlight it, right click on the highlight and select "Copy."

Open your ClipBook Viewer. You'll see your copied signature. Click "Save as" and put it in a sub folder of your My Documents.

Whenever you need to paste your signature multiple times, open ClipBook and select File > Open and place your signature .clp file in Clipbook.

Once your signature is in ClipBook you can paste it as often as you need or at least until you copy and replace it with something else.

You can use this procedure to store and multi "paste" anything, from a snippet to a paragraph.

2. Your Start Menu "My Recent Documents" feature, never seems to include enough of your most recent documents to be of value.

Try this. Click on My Computer > C: Drive > "Documents and Settings" > {Your Name}. Right click on "My Recent Documents" > click "Send a Shortcut" and send a My Recent Documents shortcut to your Desktop and/or your Quick Launch Toolbar.

When you click on your My Recent Document shortcut you'll now find shortcuts to just about all your recent documents and files which you can sort by name, date created and date modified by clicking on the corresponding headers over the files.

Here's wishing you a Good Boot.  [index]  

No reason to hold off computer purchase for Vista  (8/7/06)

Ever since Microsoft posted its Windows Vista Web site, (microsoft.com/windowsvista) I've received many requests for advice on whether one should wait to purchase a new computer until Vista is released.

But it wasn't until the e-mail I received after my article concerning the beta versions of Explorer 7 and Media Player 11 (programs that'll be included in Vista) that I discovered just how many Good Booters were procrastinating purchasing a new computer until after the release of Vista.

I'm sure I'll be revisiting this subject again, but for now let me assure you if you're a novice (even a bit beyond novice) and are considering upgrading to a new computer, waiting for Vista shouldn't be a reason to procrastinate.

I suggest that even if Vista is released on schedule January 2007, there's no guarantee it'll have drivers for your legacy printers, scanners and other peripherals nor is there any guarantee those drivers will be available any time soon after Vista's release.

And there will be bugs and glitches. They're an expected happening when a new Windows operating system is released. Unfortunately, should a novice experience a Vista bug or glitch, it probably will require the attention of an experienced technician.

Please don't misunderstand me. We'll all be using Vista sometime in the future. But if you're a novice, I suggest before you become involved with Vista, you allow Microsoft to fix all the bugs and glitches your impatient next-door neighbor will experience.

XP is going to be supported, updated and kept secure by Microsoft for some time to come.

And for those who are planning on sticking with XP for a while and those who asked me for a heads-up, know my re-edited for Service Pack 2 XP E-Workbook is available.

I'm rather enthusiastic about it, as I truly believe the re-edited version is unique in that I've designed it and added tutorials to it based on suggestions from Good Booters.

For example:

• I increased the size of the fonts so those who prefer not to print individual tutorials can more easily read them on their monitor screen.

• I've updated and enlarged the tutorial color screen shots.

• To simplify the task of trying to find a tutorial on a specific subject, I've added a separate detailed, non-techy-term index that can be printed.

• And perhaps the most unique addition to my workbook is that unlike the cursory Notepad, WordPad, Paint, Outlook Express and Internet Explorer tutorials found in most workbooks, I've included in-depth tutorials on all these programs as well as tutorials on home networking and XP powertoys.

For more information, e-mail me (fmbigal@embarqmail.com).

Here's wishing you a Good Boot.  [index]  

Transfer tutorial CDs to your hard drive (08/14/06)
I've received many letters from Good Booters who have purchased training CDs. They want to know how to make the CDs more convenient to use and what can be done to make them open and access information more expeditiously.

It seems that having to first seek out a particular training CD and then when they do find it, having to place it in their CD tray and wait for it to ever so slowly fire up every time they want to initiate a learning session often relegates their training CD to their collection of potential coffee-table coasters.

Because of the response time of today's computers and the extraordinary capacity of their hard drives, a user should consider transferring a training CD's tutorial program to their hard drive or external hard drive. Not only will accessing the tutorial be more convenient, the tutorial program will run much faster.

I'll use my workbook CD as an example of how to transfer most tutorial programs from a CD to a hard drive or external hard drive.

Because a tutorial program doesn't need to be backed up as you always have the original CD, I suggest rather than relocating it to your My Documents you relocate it to a subfolder of your C: Drive or a folder of your external hard drive.

1. Create an "XP Workbook" folder on your C: Drive or external hard drive.

2. Place the CD in your player. If the Workbook auto-starts, close it and open Windows Explorer.

3. Scroll down to your CD Drive.

4. Left click on and highlight the "XP Workbook" folder.

5. Click Edit > Select All.

6. Click Edit > Copy. Note: Make sure you copy all the files and folders on the CD.

7. Go to and right click on the "XP Workbook" folder on your C: drive or external hard drive.

8. Click Edit > Paste.

9. Close Explorer.

10. Right click anywhere on your Desktop and click > New > Shortcut.

11. Use the Wizard to go to your C: Drive or external hard drive "XP Workbook" folder and find the .exe file that will create a shortcut to your Desktop. The .exe file for my XP Workbook is CD_Start.exe.

This procedure is appropriate for relocating most CD tutorials.

Note: The most common tutorial execution files are .exe, .pdf (an Adobe Acrobat file) and .chm (often used by older Microsoft tutorials)

Here's wishing you a Good Boot. [index]  

Get more out of computer with good technician (8/21/06)

Recently, my editor at The News-Press forwarded to me an e-mail from Symantec public relations.

In the e-mail, Symantec posed an interesting question. Would the millions of students who purchased or received back-to-school computers be willing to invest the time it took Symantec technicians to set up and secure an out-of-the-box computer?

Their criteria went beyond issues associated only with their products to include:

• How many "clicks" does it take to configure a new PC?

• How many times is the user prompted to make a decision that can impact security settings and/or given the option to abort the setup?

• Did all the Windows security patches get loaded at setup?

• What didn't get installed?

• How long does this process take?

• Is the PC secure after the setup process?

The result of their experiment: It took their technicians 49 mouse clicks and 81 minutes. Now I ask you, did you or the technician who set up your computer invest 81 minutes just securing your computer?

And consider this. Although securing ones computer is paramount to a happy and healthy computing adventure, it's only one of the many configuring and tweaking procedures necessary to maximize a new computer's processing power and just as important, the individual needs of the user.

Do you understand now why I nag you to death about using a qualified technician to set up your computer?

A qualified technician will tell you that because of the default settings of most out-of-the-box computers, they perform at only about 45-50 percent of their potential. That's rather shocking when you consider you paid for 100 percent.

And by the way, unless out-of-the-box monitors are tweaked, more often than not they'll not provide maximum resolution or cater to the particular needs of individual users.

Unfortunately, because Windows XP is so forgiving and most users so technically unsophisticated, the incompetence of their wannabe technician is not discovered until long after the check for their services has been cashed.

I'm in no way implying that I'm aware of all the local qualified technicians. But I can honestly say that after 15 years of involvement in the SWFPCUG, years of providing seminars and almost six years as a Good Boot columnist, I can count on one hand the number of technicians I would recommend. But it would take myriad hands to count the unqualified technicians I've discovered via the e-mail I've received from disillusioned Good Booters.

Although I'll not provide a thumbs up or thumbs down on a particular technician, I will provide my personal advice on how you can determine whether a technician is qualified.

Here's wishing you a Good Boot.  [index]

Questions common for novices (8/28/06)
Even beginners can do basic computer shortcuts

Last week I received a phone call from a Good Booter (let's call him John).

John had received my XP workbook and was attempting to follow my directions for transferring the files from the CD to his hard drive to make it more convenient and to speed up its access time. By the way, the directions are appropriate for transferring any CD training program to a user's hard drive.

But John had a problem. As he put it — what do I do if I have no C drive?

At first I thought he was joking, but he wasn't. He had truly never discovered his C drive. When I told him to click My Computer and take a look-about and he did discover he had a C drive, his enthusiasm was such you would have thought he had won the lottery.

We went through creating a folder and transferring the files with no difficulty. John is one of those rare guys who follow directions rather than trying to do it their way. However, when we began the process of creating a Desktop Shortcut, we did have to give it several attempts. But once he "got it" he was as enthusiastic as he was in discovering his C drive.

The purpose of this vignette is to assure all Good Booters there's no disgrace if you're a Beleaguered Novice. And I'd like to encourage all novices to take advantage of my Computing Journal. The 56-page, no obligation, no commercial advertising publication is free to download from www.swfpcug.org.

Each issue contains a section on XP Tips illustrated with color screen shots that you can read from your monitor or print. There's nothing that will put your system in harm's way, just tips to do stuff like creating a Shortcut that'll make your computing adventure more efficient and enjoyable.

Because many Good Booters have indicated that downloading from the Internet is a bit confusing, if you send me your e-mail address, I'll send you the PDF file as an e-mail attachment with instruction on how to access it.

But if you have one of those "If you want to send me an e-mail, please fill in the following form," add my e-mail address as a "friendly" before sending the request.

By the way, if you're a novice, know it's always best to create a Shortcut by right clicking on your Desktop, selecting New > Shortcut and then using the Wizard to create the Shortcut. The reason is, if you create a Shortcut by right clicking on a program's .exe file, you may have a problem renaming it if its Shortcut name is inappropriate. Some programs will not let you rename their Shortcut.

Here's wishing you a Good Boot. [index]

Protect favorite Web sites with shortcuts, backups (09/11/06)

Note: Some information was inadvertently cut out of the column last week so the column is being reprinted.

Today I thought it appropriate to add a spoon full of sugar to help my tutorial go down.

I'm sure most Good Booters have collected many IE Favorites they'd like to protect and perhaps transfer to another computer.

But wouldn't it be convenient to also have them available on the Desktop, hyperlinked to the actual Web site?

First let's secure your Favorites.

1. Open your My Documents and "Make a new folder" — "My Favorites"

2. Close My Documents and open IE

3. Click "File" > "Import and Export".

4. When the Wizard opens click "Next" > "Export Favorites" > "Next" > highlight "Favorites" and click "Next".

5. When the "Export Favorite Destination" panel opens, click "Export to a File or Address".

6. Using the "Browse" button, browse to your "My Favorites" folder open it and click "Save". "Bookmark.htm" will be saved to your "My Favorites" folder.

7. Click "Finish". A panel will announce you've "Successfully export favorites".

Your current Favorites are now secure in your My Documents. Ready along with all your other irreplaceable "Stuff", to be backed up or copied to a CD\Jump Drive to be transferred to another computer.

To restore your Favorites or import them to IE on another computer.

1. Click on IE's "File" > "Import and Export"

2. When the Wizard opens click "Import Favorites" > "Next"

3. When the "Import Favorites Source" panel opens, click "Import from a File or Address"

4. Click on the "Browse" button and browse to your "My Favorites" folder.

Open it, click on "Bookmark.htm" and "Save". Or click on the Bookmark.htm on your CD\Jump Drive

5. On the "Import Favorite Source" pane highlight "Favorites", click "Next" and "Finish"

Voila! Your Favorites are restored or transferred.

Now for my Spoon Full of Sugar:

1. Go to and right click on your "Bookmark.htm" file in your "My Favorites" folder

2. From the drop - down menu select "Send to" > "Desktop (shortcut)"

3. Return to your Desktop

4. Now let's make your Favorites shortcut glamorous. Right clicking on it and on the drop-down menu select "Properties" > "Shortcut" tab > "Change Icon". Click on an Icon of your choice and "Apply"

5. Then right click on your new Shortcut and rename it "My Favorites"

When you click on your "My Favorites" shortcut they will all appear alphabetically sorted by Folders and alphabetically by the hyperlinks in them (if you've organized them into Folders) followed by individual alphabetically sorted hyperlinks.

Click on any hyperlink and IE will open and take you directly to the respective Web site.

Each time you update and export your Favorites list, your Desktop shortcut will reflect any changes you've made.

Here's wishing you a Good Boot.  [index] 

Getting to the root of possible Web woes through Comcast (09/18/06)

Recently, our Bulletin Board subscribers who access the Internet and their e-mail via Comcast were expressing concern on the number of "this page cannot be displayed" messages they were receiving when trying to access a Web site and/or an Outlook/Outlook Express error message to the effect that their computer cannot connect to their e-mail server.

I'm sure most Good Booters know I hold Comcast in high esteem so this rash of complaints tweaked my curiosity. As it turned out the problem was twofold.

First was the fact that those experiencing the problem were residents of Southwest Florida. Mother nature has little concern about the consequences her thunder boomers have on our modems. Almost as little concern as do many of the construction folks who haphazardly dig about our landscape cutting cable lines.

Unfortunately, the second was the attitude some of Comcast's technical people had when responding to a subscriber's concern (particularly novices). Fortunately, Comcast is addressing this issue.

But I decided that I'd take this caper one step further. I contacted David Keller (Compu-Doctor) and asked him to list all the steps one can take (even a novice) to reconnect their modem before having to contact technical support.

But because his "if this happens try this" response is rather lengthy, it is posted on news-press.com. Or you can contact me and I'll e-mail it.

In addition to David's suggestions, I have one of my own. And it involves all users.

When you arrive at your desktop, be patient, relax and have a sip of coffee.

Allow Windows to do its thing.

Try this. Do a control — alternate — delete (once) and click the "processes" tab and then the "user name" tab to bring to the top of the list all the programs "you" overtly or inadvertently designated as "run in the background" processes. The number of processes will most certainly significantly exceed those represented by icons in the lower right information section of your taskbar.

Now take a look at the local service, network service and system start up processes listed in your process window. Add these to your start up processes and you'll understand why it can take Windows a bit of time to get everything up and running.

There's no reason why you should not experience the convenience of having programs up and running in the background ready to support and safeguard your computing, e-mail and Internet adventure.

But be aware if you interrupt Windows' loading process particularly if it's an impatient attempt to access your e-mail, you can experience a lock up or failure of it and\or other programs to respond.

Here's wishing you a Good Boot.  [index] 

Excess start-up programs slow computers (09/25/06)

Your e-mail response to last week's article on "be patient during Windows start-up" included many questions concerning "Start-up" programs.

Start-up programs are programs you installed, your computer manufacturer installed and Windows system support services that are launched by Widows when Windows starts and continually run in the background.

They fall into four categories.

1. Absolutely necessary start ups to include Windows system support services.

2. Security programs such as your anti-virus and anti-spyware programs that must be running in the background to be able to intercept the bad guys.

3. Start-up programs you have intentionally designated to run in the background to support your computer activities. Maybe a daily reminder program or your Palm "Hotsync".

4. "Egotistical" programs. Programs that would like to announce themselves every time you boot your computer (often with splash screens) and experience the prestige of residing in your Taskbar Notification Area. They offer nothing that justifies the Random Access Memory necessary to support their run in the background status.

Categories 1 and 2 need no explanation. And other than to assure you there's no reason for you not to have start up programs conveniently available to support your individual computer activities, there's no need to discuss category 3.

Category 4, "egotistical" start ups, however, are rascals you should consider purging.

Try this. Reboot your computer. When Windows starts keep an eye on the little blinking light on your computer (usually orange) indicating hard drive activity. Note its extraordinary activity.

As soon as you arrive at your desktop move your mouse pointer casually about your desktop in general and specifically about your Taskbar Notification Area (lower right). Extraordinary hard drive activity and the continuing presence of a mouse Pointer hour glass will give you an idea of how long it's taking Windows to load all your start ups.

When Windows has completed loading all your start ups do a Control > Alternate > Delete (once). Click Processes > User Name and note all the programs and their memory usage. If you and\or your technician are sure any of them are unnecessary start up programs, remove them from start up status (in next week's Good Boot I'll discuss how to do it). You do not have to delete the program itself and you can always return it to start up status.

To prevent "egoistical" start up programs, when you are asked during the installation of a program if you want it "to start when Windows starts", click "no".

Reminder: My free to download October Computing Journal is posted on to www.swfpcug.org. It includes tutorials on Customizing your Start Menu and Taskbar and Create a Personal Desktop along with more Windows XP Tips and Techniques.

Here's wishing you a Good Boot. [index] 

Losing startups speeds up computer performance (10/02/06)

As promised last week, I'm going to discuss eliminating unwanted "Ego" (run in the background) startup programs.

But before you consider eliminating a startup, you must promise to adhere to the "Good Boot rule for making changes to your Windows system": In this case, if you're unsure of whether to eliminate a startup — flip a coin. If it's heads, don't. If it's tails, don't. If it stands on its rim, definitely don't.

And even when you're absolutely sure, create a System Restore Point — just in case.

I also want to emphasize you shouldn't deprive yourself of startups that provide expeditious support for your computing activities.

Let's begin with your "All Programs" startup folder.

Click "Start" > right click on "All Programs" and left click "Open All Users" on the pop-up menu. Open the "Programs" folder. Scroll down and open your "Startup" folder.

Before deleting unwanted shortcuts in your "Startup" folder make note of the programs they point to should you want to restore them.

Keep in mind you're deleting a "Shortcut" and not the program. You can always access the program via your "All Programs" menu.

Should you want to restore a deleted shortcut; return to, open and right click in your "Startup" folder. Select New > Shortcut from the drop down menu and allow the Wizard to help you restore it.

Now on to the "Major Leagues". Your Systems Configuration Utility.

Click Start > Run > type in "msconfig" > OK. When you arrive at your SCU, I've no objection to you viewing the content of each of its tabs. But, with the exception of the content of the Startup section, do not make any changes.

SCU's Startup section provides the option of permanently or temporarily deactivating or activating the startup (run in the background) configuration of its listed programs and Windows support services by unchecking or checking their respective boxes.

If there's a startup program you can positively identify and it's not necessary, simply uncheck its checkbox. The program will remain on the list should you want to reactivate it.

Rules for novices:

• Click Apply > Close > Restart (a.k.a. reboot) each time you uncheck a program's startup check box. By doing so, after each Restart should an deactivated startup cause a problem, you'll know the culprit. You can expeditiously return to your SCU and reactivate it by rechecking its checkbox and restarting.

• With each restart and until you've completed all your startup changes, when you arrive at your Desktop and are notified via a SCU window there's been a change to your SCU, click "OK". After your final Restart check the box "Don't show this message again."

Here's wishing you a Good Boot. [index] 

How to move data between computers (10/09/06)

Based on the number of e-mails I've received of late concerning how best to migrate their "stuff" from one computer to another, there are many Good Booters who aren't going to wait for the release of Vista to purchase a new computer.

I'll limit this Good Boot to recommendations primarily for novices although they're certainly appropriate for some of those who "believe" they're a bit beyond a novice.

I'm sure it'll not surprise you that my first recommendation is to have a qualified technician transfer your "stuff" from your old computer to your new computer. And do so only after he or she sets up your new computer.

However, I'm sure there are Good Booters who relish the idea of doing it their way.

If you're one of them, there's one absolute. Don't attempt to transfer your Windows settings and configurations from your old computer to your new computer. If you do you may transfer unwanted old baggage.

Try this. Open your current computer's registry. Start > Run > type in Regedit > OK. Take a "don't touch" walkabout and note the extraordinary number of entries. Entries that have accumulated since the day you booted your computer for the first time. Even before, if you consider the entries made by your computer's manufacturer.

Each entry is a Windows setting and\or configuration unique to your current computer and along with other settings and configurations may not be appropriate if arbitrarily transferred to your new computer.

Your new computer's registry will be as "pure as Cesar's wife" and should only experience the addition of the new settings and configurations your reinstalled programs and reconnected peripherals will add to it.

Without a technician to assist you, I recommend you only accumulate in your My Documents your irreplaceable "stuff". Then back it up to a CD, external hard drive or Jump drive ready to be copied into you new computer's My Documents.

"Stuff" like:

• All the "saved" data and documents from your third party software programs.

• A backup of Outlook Express or Outlook. If you're concerned about a successful backup and restore of these two temperamental programs, I recommend AJSystems' Outback Plus for Outlook and Express Assistant for Outlook Express.

• A backup of your IE Favorites.

However, you'll face one more potential migration problem. Successfully reassociation of your migrated data and document files with Windows programs such as IE Favorites and Outlook Express and the third party programs you've reinstalled on your new computer.

And, yes, I'm going to nag you again. Unless you're absolutely sure you know what you're doing — have a qualified technician do it.

The Windows Blue Screen of Death isn't the "Windows is Starting Up" presentation you want to experience.

Here's wishing you a Good Boot. [index] 

Like real cookies, computer kind can be good and bad (10/16/06)

Last weeks’ column concerning preparing your “stuff” for transfer to a new computer generated several questions that might be of general interest to all Good Booters.

Q. When I used IE’s Import/Export to backup my Favorites I noticed an Import/Export for Cookies. Why would anyone want to backup cookies?

A. Cookies have too often been the recipient of only negative publicity.

Yes, some “tracking” cookies might be considered an inappropriate invasion of privacy. But “good” cookies can often eliminate the inconvenience having to sign-in and provide a password every time you access a particular Web site for information or to make a purchase. Some cookies can even assist a site in identifying your individual preferences.

I “Export” (back up) my cookies because having to restore all the cookies that identify me and my preferences should I have to reinstall Windows would be a hassle. I can also transfer my exported cookies to another computer.

And because my cookies are continually scanned for bad guys, knowing I can “Restore” (import) my good cookies far outweigh any concern I have for possibly “Restoring” a bad cookie.

Q. Why do I need a third-party software program to back up Outlook and Outlook Express?

A: Keep in mind the suggestions I made in last weeks’ Good Boot were directed at novices who might not be comfortable:

• Using Outlook’s Backup (available for Outlook 2003 on Microsoft’s Web site) program to restore a corrupt Outlook PST file.
• Backing up and migrating Outlook’s temperamental PST file from their old computer to a new computer.
• Using their Outlook Express backup to restore their Address Book and other settings should OE become corrupted.
• Backing up and migrating their OE Address Book and other settings to a new computer.

AJSystems’ Outlook Plus (for Outlook) and Express Assist (for Outlook Express) are novice- friendly backup and restore programs. They also provide a novice-friendly way to migrate the backed up data to a new computer.

Q. When moving or copying my photos from one folder to another, I’m always asked if I want to copy or move Thumbs.db? And no matter what I do to include deleting it, it always reappears.

A. Thumbs.db is a little Windows System file that creates a database of all the photo files in a folder. Its purpose is to provide an expeditious display of the photos when you open a folder in “Thumbnail” view.

Windows will always ask you to “reconsider” before deleting one of its System Files. But because it considers its Thumbs.db file so valuable an asset for helping you managing your digital photos, it’ll simply replace Thumbs.db every time you delete it.

Here’s wishing you a Good Boot. [index] 

Pick your program: It’s free on Web through Microsoft (10/23/06)

Every so often when you have a free moment I suggest you visit Microsoft's Web site and check out the many available free downloads.

The one I'm going to discuss in detail is Microsoft's current version of Windows Desktop Search 3.0, or WDS.

But know there are a many other useful Microsoft downloads. To name a few:

• Outlook 2003 PST Backup (for Outlook 2000 and later versions): It creates backup copies of your .PST files at regular intervals.

• Windows Live Local for Outlook: It provides your Outlook "Contacts" with maps, routes, traffic updates, driving directions and travel time.

• PowerPoint, Excel and Word Viewers: They allow a recipient of a file created by these programs to view, print or copy it without having to have the program installed.

However, the utility I suggest everyone should at least consider reviewing and if appropriate downloading, is Windows Desktop Search.

WDS uses an incredibly fast search and indexing technology to locate and present every reference on your computer to the search criteria you enter in its "Windows Search Deskbar" toolbar.

Example: When I typed "Good Boot" in my Windows Search Deskbar toolbar, I was presented with an "Everything" list of every reference to Good Boot on my computer to include its title, author, date, type and the folder in which it's located.

To the right of each Good Boot "Title" was a presentation panel of the actual document, e-mail, appointment, contact, graphic and video. I only had to click on the "Title" to bring it up.

However I was looking for a specific Good Boot e-mail with an attachment.

And because of the extraordinary number of Good Boot titles on my computer, scrolling through the "everything" list was obviously not an expeditious way to find a specific Good Boot e-mail with an attachment.

So I simply selected "E-mail" from the Desktop Search menu. Instantly WDS re-indexed the Good Boot "Everything" list and presented only references to my e-mail with a Good Boot title.

Had I needed to, I could have sort the Good Boot e-mail by Title, From, Date Received and the Outlook folder in which it was filed.

But as I was looking for a particular e-mail with an attachment, I clicked Other > Attachments. The Good Boot e-mail was re-sorted presenting only e-mail with attachments along with the title of the attachment.

Now I was able to expeditiously scroll down the list, observe the content of each e-mail and the title of its attachment. When I found the one I was looking for, I clicked on it to bring it up.

In my opinion Windows Desktop Search is far more useful than Google's Desktop Search.

Here's wishing you a Good Boot.  [index]  

Patience is a virtue, impatience can be catastrophic (10/30/06)

When was the last time I nagged you about being patient? As I recall, it was a recent article about waiting patiently until Windows has completed loading all your "startups."

Be that as it may, I'm going to nag you again about the importance of being patient. In this case, being patient whenever you're involved in an activity that's in the process of changing, updating or installing a Windows system file.

A Good Booter called me last week in a panic. She had decided to download Media Player 11. But knowing it would take an extraordinarily long time to download the file via her dial-up ISP, she made a decision to download and save the Media Player file to her computer and install it at her leisure.

However, she didn't realize that to install Media Player 11, the Media Player file she downloaded required her to reconnect to Media Player's Web site to complete the download/installation.

Unfortunately when she noticed during the download/install how long it would take to complete, she arbitrarily aborted it without reading the instructions on how to abort safely.

The result was catastrophic. She had to have a technician repair her Windows.

I'm not insinuating all download aborts will result in a catastrophic event. But if a download is in the process of installing changes to your Windows system, it can be.

Obviously, today's nag is to be patient and refrain from aborting a download/install. But I'm taking the liberty of adding an additional nag. To read all instructions provided before, during and following a download/install.

I'm not in anyway attempting to discourage downloading Microsoft programs. In fact, I encourage you to consider downloading Media Player 11 and Windows Desktop Search.

Just be patient. And be aware many Microsoft downloads require you to allow Microsoft to validate your version of Windows.

Before you're given permission to initiate the download you'll receive the following message: "This download is available to customers running genuine Microsoft Windows. Please click the Continue button to begin Windows validation."

The process takes only a second. It's Microsoft's way of ensuring you have a registered copy of Windows. There's no attempt to gather any other information on your computer.

Sometimes Microsoft will ask for permission to collect information on how you use a specific program in order to make it a more valuable program.

Something I always allow. But it's your call. You must click "Yes" to give Microsoft permission to collect the data.

Many Good Booters have asked me to announce my 2006-07 seminar schedule.

If you're a novice and interested in becoming "more than a novice" — e-mail me for my schedule.

Here's wishing you a Good Boot.

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Some Microsoft applications are more user friendly (11/06/06)

Every so often I receive an e-mail suggesting I'm too enamored with Microsoft products. The most recent was my recommendation that Microsoft's Desktop Search was in my opinion better than Google's Desktop Search. An opinion any "Googler" would consider blasphemy.

I suppose there are times when it may seem I recommend a disproportionate number of Microsoft downloads. But the reason is in my opinion Microsoft's portfolio of free, battle tested programs far exceeds those of any other software company.

I also acknowledge there are times when I'll recommend to a novice a Microsoft program in lieu of a similar program with many more useful features from an alternative software vendor .

Example: Now that Internet Explorer 7 is no longer a beta program, I recommend downloading it even though it doesn't have all the valuable Web browsing features of Firefox Mozilla. The reason I do so is because Internet Explorer 7 is so well integrated with Windows XP, SP2 security features.

However by recommending Internet Explorer 7, I'm not in anyway attempting to discourage anyone from having two browsers.

But because I'd been so severely chastised by a Good Booter, I took an inventory of the free programs I've recently recommended one should consider downloading.

The inventory revealed my recent recommendations included: Belarc; Irfanview; Picassa 2.5: Paint.Net; Microsoft Photo Story 3; Windows Desktop Search; Windows Movie Maker; and Windows Media Player 11.

Demonstrating in my opinion I've not neglected the "other guys".

Ah, but last week's e-mail also said that I over emphasize the importance of using Outlook Express as one's e-mail carrier. As in this day and age it's much more practical and convenient to access e-mail via the Internet and not have to deal with the potential dangers associated with downloading e-mail onto one's hard drive.

Although I've always been concerned about where things may end up in cyberspace, I've no problem with Internet e-mail. However, I prefer downloading all my e-mail to my hard drive where I know it'll always be available.

Being able to access ones e-mail on the Internet is obviously an important feature offered by ISP's. But for those who receive a lot of important e-mail or at least e-mail they'd like to archive for whatever reason, I suggest they take advantage of the best of both worlds.

It provides an opportunity should they need it to be able to access their e-mail via the Internet anywhere they may be as well as the peace of mind that comes with the knowledge their e-mail is safely stored on their hard drive.

With Outlook Express you can organize your e-mail, archive and backup it up should it be needed sometime in the future. And most important, be assured should your ISP become temporarily or permanently unavailable, your archived e-mail is in your mailbox not theirs.

Having your e-mail stored on your hard drive also provides an opportunity to initiate a keyword search for a particular e-mail.

Here's wishing you a Good

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If Windows Explorer crashes, so will Start Menu (11/20/06)

A couple of recent questions from Good Booters that may be of general interest.

Q: Whenever my Windows Explorer crashes my Start Menu and Desktop crashes with it. And because I cannot get to my Start Menu and Desktop and have to perform a reset, reboot, I lose unsaved data. Can I prevent this?

A: The reason this can happen is that Windows Explorer also handles your Desktop, Start menu and all open Explorer single-folder windows. And because by default only one application of Windows Explorer runs at a time, if it crashes so too will your Start Menu and Desktop.

To prevent this open Windows Explorer. Click Tools > Folder Options > View and check the "Launch folder windows in a separate process" box. Click OK.

Now should one instance of Explorer crash you're less likely to lose your Desktop and Start Menu.

Don't confuse this feature with Tools > Folder Options and "Open each Folder in its own Window." Although if you're a bit beyond beleaguered, you might want to experiment with this Folder option.


Q: Every so often when I'm selecting items (files or photos) to "drag and drop" to another folder Windows creates a copy of the items in the same folder from which I was attempting to drag them.

A: More than likely after selecting (highlighting) the files or photos you began "dragging" the selected items by holding down your left mouse button you inadvertently dropped them before moving all of them entirely out of their current Folder.

Windows, assuming your intent was to copy them to the same folder, had to give each file or photo a new name. So it just added the prefix "Copy of" to each file and photo.

By the way, to successfully relocate files and folders:

• Open Window Explorer either by clicking My Documents > Folders or Start > All Programs > Accessories > Windows Explorer. Find the item(s) you want to relocate and highlight them.

• To access Explorer's Move, Copy, Create a Shortcut Here or Cancel options menu when you arrive over and highlight the destination location, hold down your right mouse button as you drag the items.

• To copy items instead of moving them, press and hold down Ctrl key while dragging.

• If you drag and drop items to another disk (drive) by default they'll be copied, not moved.

• To move items to another disk, hold down your shift key while dragging.

I recommend you make sure both the current location and the destination location for the items you want to relocate are visible. Although you can scroll your selected highlighted items up and down Explorer's "Tree" (even opening subfolders as you scroll), scrolling can make it rather difficult to position them exactly on the Folder into which you want to drop them. Another reason for right mouse button dragging.

I also recommend copying items and then delete the originals. Better yet, rather than dragging and dropping items use Windows Explorer's "Edit" menu to copy, move and paste.

Here's wishing you a Good Boot. [index] 

New Computing blog to debut (11/27/06)

One would believe after six years and more than 300 Good Boots, doing a weekly column would be nothing more than discovering what's of interest, troubling or confusing Good Booters and then in 500 words or less addressing those interests and concerns.

Although I admit with all the computing challenges novices experience I've never been at a loss for topics, it's the 500 words or less that can be the source of extraordinary frustration.

Almost without exception after writing a column, I must edit it to ensure it's novice-friendly.

To do this I often have to substitute several words to define one obscure technical term. This can result in a Good Boot article becoming too wordy for one installment.

But today I no longer have to deal with this challenge. I have a blog on news-press.com. I can now supplement Good Boot articles with in-depth Good Boot Blogs.

My blog will provide an opportunity for Good Booters to ask me a question concerning a blog and then participate with me in an ongoing discussion until their question is answered.

To entice you to participate in my first blog, I've addressed in-depth an issue that has confused novices since the day Windows XP was released. The similarities and differences between a CD-R and a CD-RW and a DVD-R and a DVD-RW and what backup task each is best suited for.

My December seminar topic will also be posted.

To access my blog, go to www.news-press.com. In the column on the left click on "Blogs." Then click on "Good Boot" under "Business."

To add a comment or ask a question click on "Comments." Enter your name, e-mail address and a comment or question. They can be as detailed as you wish.

I sincerely hope you'll participate in my new blogging adventure.

Here's wishing you a Good Boot. [index] 

Instead of reading text on screen, listen to it (12/04/06)

Often I receive requests from frustrated Good Booters experiencing serious vision problems asking how they can configure their monitor, XP, e-mail and Internet Explorer to meet their individual needs.

Unfortunately, just about every configuration that enhances one computing activity can adversely effect another.

For example:

• If you adjust your screen resolution from 1024 by 768 to 800 by 600, you may not be able to use Roxio and play many games.

• If you use XP's "Appearance" feature to make viewing adjustments to XP "Items" such as title bars, icons, menus etc. and\or adjust their fonts, you may discover you've adversely effected these settings in your software programs. And if you cannot remember XP's default "Appearance" settings you can be in real trouble.

Although you can click view and select text size to increase the size of fonts in some Web sites, you cannot do so on all Web sites.

If you're experiencing any of these frustrations, I recommend you visit www.nextup.com. It's an excellent "Text to Speech" software program. You can download an evaluation version of their ($29.95) basic program.

It works like this. When you open Nextup and minimize it, it'll reside ready to use in your System Tray. When you highlight text in a document, e-mail or on many Web sites and right click copy a Nextup window will open. Click on "New" and then go to your System Tray and click on the Nextup icon. Nextup will open. When you click on "Speak" whatever you highlighted and copied will be read allowed. You can adjust the speed, pitch and volume of the text being read to you. Even save a copy of your copied text and replay it at your convenience.

The evaluation program includes Mary or Sam reading your text. You'll have no trouble understanding them although their voices sound a bit digitized.

However I suggest while you're at Nextup's Web site you sample a reading by "AT&T Natural Voices"and "NeoSpeech." Anyone overhearing their "voices" will swear someone is in the room with you.

Nextup also has software that can be configured to read weather reports, Real Simple Syndication and stocks reports.

Even if your eyesight is 20/20, Nextup's Web site is worth a visit.

My News-Press Blog this week is a complete tutorial of all of IE 6 and IE 7 "Backup" and "Tools" settings. Go to www.news-press.com > Opinion > Blogs > Business > Good Boot.

Here's wishing you a Good Boot.

[index]  

How to cut out problems when pasting text elsewhere (12/11/06)

Copying text from an e-mail or from one program to another can involve more than just punching a few keys.

If you have a problem copying text that when you paste it in Word, WordPerfect or WordPad includes unwanted formatting e.g., colored fonts and graphics try, this:

• Hold down your left mouse button and drag the pointer over the text you want to copy to include any graphics and formatted text.

• When the text you want to copy is highlighted, release your left mouse button. Then right click on the highlighted area and left click copy.

• Open your word processor and click edit then paste special and unformatted text. Your paste will include only the text you highlighted formatted in your word processors' default font.

Here's wishing you a Good Boot.

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Protect your computer (12/18/06)

Every year about this time I make it a point to remind Good Booters they should initiate a plan of action to protect their computer from holiday guests predisposed to tinkering, tweaking and snooping.

It goes without saying a pre-arrival, pre-emptive My Documents backup must be a part of your plan of action. But because even the most trustworthy holiday guests will want to use your computer to access their e-mail via the Internet, I recommend you make a special effort to back up your Internet Explorer Favorites and your Outlook Express Address Book.

I also suggest it's not unreasonable to insist a guest create Systems Restore Point each time they log on.

Although a System Restore Point will not guarantee protection from all tinkering and tweaking, if initiated expeditiously after a misdeed a System Restore Point may be able to restore your system.

Caution: If possible, avoid allowing games to be installed on your computer.

Games have a reputation for arbitrarily changing Windows system settings — settings that may not be restored to pre-installation settings when the games are uninstalled.

Your next step should be to create individual user accounts, a password protected administrator account for yourself and individual password protected limited accounts for each guest.

By creating an administrator account only you can make changes to your Windows System. And by creating password protected limited accounts, you'll provide your guests with privacy.

To create an administrator user account: Click Start > Control Panel > User Account > Create an Account. Then type in your name and select computer administrator. Click on your existing or new account icon and select "create a password." To create individual user accounts with each limited account having its own My Documents:

• Click Start > Control Panel > User Account > Create an Account

• Create individual limited accounts with passwords for people who will be using your computer. When your guests leave you can delete their individual user accounts and their My Documents folder via the same Control Panel User Account feature.

Your final step is to prevent snoopers from accessing your My Documents files. To do so you must make My Documents a "Private Folder" by:

• Click Start > My Computer

• Double click on the drive Windows is installed on (usually C: Drive)

• Double click the "Documents and Settings" folder

• Double click your "User" folder (usually your name or administrator's name)

• Right click on "My Documents" and click "Sharing and Security"

• On the Sharing Tab, select "Make this folder private."

When your guests leave, you can return your My Documents to a "Shared" folder by unchecking "Make this folder private."

Here's wishing you a Good Boot.

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Manage finances on bank site (01/01/07)

It seems many Good Booters have become disenchanted with their third party financial management software in general and bill paying software in particular.

The complaint I hear most often is the inconvenience of having to remember to expeditiously post the amount of their debit card purchases to keep their account balance current.

I, too, experienced this inconvenience. And, in fact, it was the reason I decided to investigate my bank’s online banking and bill paying services.
 

Not only did I discover my bank offered far more opportunities and conveniences than my current third party software program — I discovered they were free!
 

For me the most important feature of my bank’s online banking service is that because my debit card purchases are expeditiously posted, my account is always current. The only exception is the few paper checks in the mail.

A close second is although I elected to go paperless and receive an email each month alerting me my statement is available to download, I really don’t need a statement. I can logon anytime from anywhere to access my current and historical transactions.
I should also mention I now no longer have to be concerned about remembering to backup my third party software for fear I’ll lose data if my system crashes.

I’m sure most banks offer similar online banking opportunities, but to demonstrate how efficient and convenient they can be, I’ll use my bank’s online services.

¸ To open and view my accounts all I had to do was establish a double safe security logon.

¸ To create Bill Paying Payees I simply entered the necessary information from their invoices. Each new account I created generated an email confirming the account had been established and all the information about it.

Now when I log on my accounts are available with a summary of all current transactions to include my deposits and wired deposits, bill-paying transactions, debit card entries and front and back views of cashed paper checks.

When I’m ready to pay a bill, I enter the amount and date for the payment to arrive.
Next to each account is the date and amount of my last payment. When I complete my payments I can print out a reconciliation that includes a confirmation number for each payment.

As an added convenience, on the same page as my payee list is a list of all pending payments, the date they’re scheduled to arrive at the payee’s location and the current total amount of the pending payments. Any one of which can be cancelled.

A perk for me is I can make a payment to any payee from any one of my accounts.

Bill paying is almost fun.

There are many more conveniences, but perhaps I’ve tweaked your curiosity enough to encourage those who have not done so to investigate their bank’s online program.

Note: My January 2007 Good Boot seminar schedule is posted on my Blog at
www.news-press.com > Opinion > Blogs > Business > Good Boot.

Here’s wishing you a Good Boot.
[index] 

Here’s advice for all that new software (01/08/07)

Because of the volume of e-mail from Good Booters who have experienced problems installing software they received from Santa, I thought it appropriate to provide novice-friendly software installation guidelines.

Before installing a program if you're using XP:

• Be sure the software is XP compatible

• Back everything up

• Be sure XP has the latest critical updates installed

• Temporarily turn off your screen saver.

• Do a Belarc and print it out should it be needed by your technician

• Create a System Restore Point. It's not infallible but it can be your court of last resort.

Then during installation:

• Pay attention to the information presented during the installation.

• Do not attempt to do anything on your computer other than answer questions asked during the installation.

• Try not to abort an installation.

After installation:

• You'll probably be asked whether you want to reboot your computer to activate the installation changes made to your Windows System. Don't delay a reboot unless you absolutely need to perform a trivial pursuit such as saving a document you forgot to save and close before the installation.

• Create a new System Restore Point just in case.

Novice friendly guidelines should there be a problem after an installation reboot:

1. If you receive a warning message when you arrive at your Desktop. Do nothing until you call and read the content of the message to your technician. Or if your technician is unavailable, write down the entire content of the message so it's available when you can contact your technician.

2. For additional information your technician may deem valuable, click Start > Control Panel > Administrative Tools > Component Services > Event Viewer > Applications. Look for yellow triangles with Warning (!) and red circles with an Error (x). Often there's valuable information about the source and category of the problem. In fact, I suggest anytime you experience an unusual happening you access this utility for information on what may have caused the problem.

2. If you believe you're a "a bit beyond beleaguer" novice:

• Try uninstalling the program followed by a reboot.

• If this doesn't solve the problem try a System Restore.

3. If after an installation reboot you cannot get to your Desktop.

• Reboot to Safe Mode and try a System Restore. If you do not know how to access Safe Mode, you're not a "bit beyond beleaguered" novice.

In fact, I recommend you do as I do. If anything unusual happens and even if it seems the problem has been resolved, speed dial your technician for a consultation.

Here’s wishing you a Good Boot.
[index] 

Check before upgrading  (1/22/07)
At our January User Group meeting Brian Barnes, one of our consulting technicians, provided an outstanding presentation of why novices and even those a bit beyond novice should seek advice from a qualified technician before purchasing a Windows "Vista Ready" computer or before considering an upgrade to Windows Vista on their current computer.

Let there be no doubt that sooner or later all of us will be Vista users. But I sincerely recommend that for novices it should be later than sooner. In fact I suggest it's appropriate to add a Vista postscript to my philosophy of prudent upgrading i.e., that novices should wait at least six months before upgrading a program to allow programmers time to patch its bugs and flaws.

And that postscript would be novices should rely on a qualified technician to not only advise them on when they should upgrade, but if in fact their computer hardware will support the versions of Vista that provide its most significant new and improved features.

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Don't jump into Vista with your eyes closed  (1/29/07)

Last week I overlooked mentioning how Good Booters can obtain a PDF file of the Vista presentation by Brian Barnes, a User Group consulting technician. If you would like to download a copy, go to my News-Press blog at news-press.com > Opinions > Blogs > Business > Good Boot.

And to those Good Booters who e-mailed me they have no concerns about purchasing a so-called Vista-ready computer or upgrading their current computer to Vista, I'd appreciate knowing if after they read Brian's presentation and downloading and using Microsoft's Vista Upgrade Advisor whether or not they have had a change of heart.

You also may be interested to know that subsequent to last week's Good Boot, I received an e-mail from Jason K. Raza, president and chief executive officer of TouchStone Software Corp. in North Andover, Mass., suggesting I take a look at their Windows Vista readiness test and adviser.

I was so flattered by the fact they read Good Boot in Massachusetts, I went to their Web site vista-agent.com/ and gave their free Vista scan a try. As I suspected, I had quite a few drivers that required updating and could have had Touchstone download them if I were willing to subscribe to their driver download service. Note however, there's absolutely no obligation to subscribe to TouchStone's service if you decide to have your computer scanned.

Sadly, the bottom line is, according to Microsoft and TouchStone, my computer is no longer state-of-the-art and definitely not Vista-ready. What's more, even if I decide to update my current hardware drivers (which I will), to my knowledge there are no Vista drivers available for my peripherals (scanners, printers and external hard drives). Nor will they be available in the near future.

As this will be my last "be aware" Vista article before Vista's Jan. 31 release, I suggest that before you make any Vista decisions, you read Brian's article, do a Microsoft Vista readiness test as well as Touchstone's Vista Ready scan. Why not — it'll cost you nothing and may save you money and prevent post-Vista blues.

Best of all, you'll not have to endure my "I told you so."

My February seminar schedule is also posted on my blog.

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   09/11/2007