Recycle bin not another bottomle

Recycle bin not another bottomless pit (02/05/07)

I believe most know the definition of "assume." Something I must admit I do all too often.

I was made aware of my most recent oversight by a seminar attendee who had taken my advice and purchased an external hard drive for mass storage.

My assumption was that everyone would be aware that a mass deletion of individual data files from an external hard drive has the potential of overwhelming XP's recycle bin.

I'm sure most Good Booters know that because their recycle bin is the court of last resort for restoring inadvertently deleted data, they shouldn't be overly enthusiastic about emptying their recycle bin.

Perhaps they also know when they open their recycle bin if there's a slide bar it's there because Windows is warning them there are data flies hidden from view. And best they be viewed before arbitrarily clicking on "Empty the Recycle Bin."

But perhaps some novices are unaware the recycle bin has limitations.

I. It doesn't collect deletions from a jump drive.

2. If an individual item is larger than the storage capacity of the recycle bin it'll bypass the recycle bin and be permanently deleted.

3. It can be overwhelmed by a mass deletion that exceeds the default setting for the maximum size of the space reserved for deleted items.

It's limitation 3 that caused the emblem experienced by the Good Border who had taken my advice and purchase an external hard drive.

When an external hard drive is connected it's assigned a drive letter and added to the recycle bin "Properties:' But by default it doesn't increase the recycle bin's maximum size of the space reserve for deleted items to compensate for potential deletions from the external hard drive.

Our Good Booter in question is an avid photographer who after sorting and saving the photos she definitely wants to keep, copies the rest to her external hard drive for a periodic final review before deleting them.

Unfortunately when she completed her final review and was ready to delete literally many hundreds of unwanted photos, she clicked Select All >Delete.

The deletion of so much data overwhelmed he, recycle bin causing her system to become unstable and lock up. When she couldn't terminate the deletion process using her task manager, she rebooted via her computer's reset button only to discover that because her external hard drive had been in the process of transferring data when she abruptly reset, "all" the data on it had become inaccessible.

For an in‑depth tutorial on everything you should know about your recycle bin go to Newspress.com > Opinion > Belogs > Business > Good Boot.

Here's wishing you a Good Boot.

Custom-built computer may be best choice (02/12/07)

I recommend if you're planning on purchasing a new Vista Ready computer you should consider the possibility of having it custom built by a local independent computer dealer.

I'm in no way inferring you shouldn't shop the Big Box and Internet retailers. What I'm suggesting is a local independent dealer is better prepared to offer a computer that'll provide exactly what you'll need, to do what you want it to do. And if you're not sure what you want it to do, offer suggestions on what you should consider to ensure your new computer will have the resources to accommodate any future computer activities in which you might decide to become involved.

Unfortunately most of us are computer hardware challenged and need personal advice when deciding what hardware we should consider. Personal advice you're more apt to receive from most local independent dealers who not only have the expertise but also have the time and inclination to offer it.

Example: I have an HP-4 laser printer. A printer constructed back in the days when printers were built rock solid and guaranteed to last almost forever. Because I was never satisfied with its performance when I tried to adapt it to a USB connection, when I went shopping for what is now my current computer I specifically asked Big Box and Internet retailers if the computer I was interested in would have a printer port that would accommodate my HP printer. In every instance the answer was "yes."

However, when I brought the specifications for those computers to a local independent dealer and asked him if they would accommodate my HP-4 printer, the answer was their motherboards were not appropriate.

Although I'm sure I could have exchange the motherboard, doing so after I purchased the computer would've certainly been a hassle.

Apropos of hardware. By having my computer custom built locally I no longer have to be concerned about individual hardware warranties. They're available in a database at my dealer's location.

Should I experience a hardware problem and it's under warranty, my dealer will exchange it and facilitate the paperwork for me. In fact, I can have my technician handle the transaction, dash to my residence component in hand and replace it.

I suggest an informed decision on what computer components are best suited to accommodate the version of Vista you're planning on purchasing and whether your legacy peripherals and software programs are Vista Ready should be based on a combination of due diligence on your part, the advice of your technician and the expertise of a local reputable independent dealer.

Here's wishing you a Good Boot.

Reset Button should only be used when nothing else works (02/19/07)

In response to my Good Boot article warning novices of the dangers associated with using their Reset button to reboot their computer many Good Booters questioned: "Why is there a Reset button on my computer if it's potentially dangerous to use?"

The answer is although the Reset button is an expeditious way to recover from a system lockup or a program "not responding", using it can result in the loss and or corruption of data.

When you perform a normal Restart or turn off, Windows will not allow our system to shut down if your hard drive is in the process of receiving data.

And this is why. All your programs are stored on your hard drive. But before you can access a program, Windows must find it and relocate it from your hard drive into RAM (Random Access Memory).

Example: When you open Word, Windows looks to your hard drive, finds it and places it into RAM. It stays there along with the new documents you create until you close Word. If you've "saved as" the document(s) you created, when you close Word Windows will return Word along with your document(s) safely to your hard drive.

A considerable accomplishment when you consider Windows must find and then return from RAM all the components of Word to include your new document(s) to a hard disk spinning at 7,200 to 10,000 RPMs.

When you use your Reset button to reboot your computer, your hard drive abruptly stops receiving data. Windows has no way of delaying the reset until all your Word data has been returned safely to your hard drive. The Word data that cannot be returned to the hard drive is lost and the partial Word data that may have been returned to your hard drive before the reset can become corrupted.

If a program fails to respond or your system locks up, follow in order these procedures:

1. Be patient and give Windows a chance to resolve the problem.

2. Click Ctrl > Alt > Delete once. When the Task Manager opens, in the "Applications Window" look for the "Process" that's "Not Responding".

Highlight it and click "End Task." Try this several times.

3. Open the Task Manager's "Processes" window and click User Name. Start at the top of the list and with the exception of "System" and "network services", highlight and click "end process" on each running process.

4. On the Task Manager menu, click "Shut Down" and "Restart".

5. If "Restart" fails, click "Shut Down" > "Turn Off."

Only after all these attempts fail to stabilize or shut down your system should you attempt a Reset.

Here's wishing you a Good Boot.

XP's Accessories folder houses useful features (2/26/07)

I'm always surprised when seminar attendees admit they've never investigated even the most basic, novice friendly features of Windows XP. One of which is Accessories.

If you've not investigated your Accessories folder (Start > All Programs > Accessories), I suggest you do an Accessories walk-about. You may be delighted to discover it offers some very useful features.

Admittedly some of them are basic and a bit unsophisticated, but if your needs are basic and unsophisticated, they may be useful.

• WordPad: With the extraordinary cost of word processing programs, you may find WordPad to be all you need to accomplish basic word processing tasks.

And in the future should you require a more sophisticated word processing program, you can be assured it'll be able to recognize all your WordPad document files.

• Character map: Have you ever been frustrated because you cannot type a "¢" or a "1/4"? If you open Accessories' character map you'll find these characters and most of the other characters you may need. All you have to do is click on a character to select it. Then click "copy". Now return to your document (Word, WordPerfect or e-mail) and click "Paste". It also allows you to select from the fonts installed on your computer the font style of your character.

• Calculator: The Accessaries calculator has two views Standard and Scientific. When you completed your calculation you can copy and paste it into any document or e-mail.

• Paint: Paint is a very basic a drawing tool you can use to create simple even elaborate drawings. These drawings can be either black and white or color and can be saved as bitmap files. You can print your drawing, use it for your desktop background and paste it into another document. Even use it to view and edit scanned photos. Paint will work with jpg, .gif or .bmp picture files which can be pasted into documents you've created or used as a desktop background.

Note: If you find Paint useful, I suggest you consider Paint.net (getpaint.net) a freeware program that in my opinion rivals Corel Painter that retails for $429 or $229 upgrade.

• Microsoft narrator: Although it'll never challenge TextAloud, it's a basic text-to-speech program those with low vision might find useful.

• On screen keyboard: An on screen keyboard that can be adjusted to just about any keyboard configuration. You might consider it practical if you're as typing challenged as I am. Or access in an emergency if your keyboard fails.

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

Reward your computer with reformatting (03/05/07)

Every year on Valentines Day I reward my computer (appropriately named Good Boot) and XP for their loyalty and steadfast devotion to maintaining stability by reformatting Good Boot's hard drive and reinstalling XP.

Although Good Boot suffered abuse from my cavalier attitude toward plugging in and unplugging multiple USB peripherals and grid locking its hard drive, it paled in comparison to the cruel and inhumane treatment my XP Registry suffered because of my compulsion to install and uninstall often not-so-state-of-the-art software.

Although reformatting Good Boot and reinstalling XP is an arduous and time consuming task, they graciously reciprocated with whiplash boots -to-Desktop and rejuvenated responses to my computing activities.

This year out of curiosity I ran a Registry scan before reinstalling XP and discovered my Registry was suffering from more than 300 potentially serious Registry problems.

Although I'm sure most Good Booters are more considerate of their Registry than I am, I suggest a visit to one of the free Registry scan Web sites might be of interest.

However, should you decide to take advantage of a site's free Registry scan, be aware their motive is to encourage you to purchase their Registry repair software by locating every Registry inconsistency regardless of how serious it might be.

For this reason I recommend a Registry scan should only be a source of enlightenment. If you do discover you may have serious Registry problems, chat with your technician before attempting any suggested repairs.

And it goes without saying, any Registry repairs must be preceded by a backup of all your irreplaceable "Stuff."

Apropos of backing up.

For as long as I've been a Good Boot columnist, there has never been a lack of Good Booters confused about backing up.

Almost every time I visit a Big Box computer toy store, someone will ask my advise on what they should backup, how to back it up, what media is most appropriate to backup to, the differences between CD-R's, CD-RW's and why XP will not allow them write to a CD-RW.

It's the reason once a year I provide a seminar that not only answers these question but demonstrates those answers. The next seminar is Saturday. My seminar schedule and content is posted at: www.news-press.com > Opinion > Blogs > Business > Good Boot.

Here's wishing you a Good Boot.

Online banking protects you from identity theft (03/12/07)

Among the questions I received in response to my article on online banking was: "How can I be sure my online banking activities via the Internet are secure enough to prevent identity theft?"

The purpose of my online banking article was to encourage Good Booters to investigate the possibilities of online banking. For in my opinion many banks offer services far superior and more secure than those offered by third party bill paying services.

Although there are many ways the bad guys can use stolen identity, being able to cash a check, use a debit\credit card and an ATM are the most popular because they're the most expeditious way to execute a transaction before an identity theft has been discovered.

My bank provides various instant e-mail and\or text message alerts and daily accounting e-mail messages to ensure my bank accounts and debit\credit cards have not been compromised.

I receive some of the e-mail alerts every morning when I access my e-mail.

Others are sent whenever an activity I've selected takes place.

For example: I can opt to receive either daily or as the transaction is made e-mail:

• With my account balance(s)

• If an account(s) has insufficient funds

• If a Check Card charge has been made online, by phone or mail

• If a Check Card/ATM deduction was made for more than $200 or an amount of my choosing

• If an online bill payment for more than $200 or an amount of my choosing has been deducted.

I can also request an e-mail alert when:

• A particular check has been posted

• A direct deposit has been posted

• An electronic draft of more than $200 or an amount of my choosing has been deducted

• A money transfer has been deducted from an account

• An alert when an account has reached a low balance threshold.

• My account balance falls below $200 or an amount of my choosing.

These opportunities are always available to be activated, deactivated and\or the amounts adjusted.

Along with the having instant access to my current account balances, a convenient billing paying opportunity, I appreciate the opportunity my bank has provided to assist me in protecting myself from identity theft.

And I no longer have to worry about backing up my Quicken.
Here's wishing you a Good Boot.

My blog needs your software suggestions (3/19/07)

Of the many e-mails I receive each week, the most enthusiastic are more often from Good Booters who have discovered one of the freeware or software programs I've recommended is exactly what they've been looking for.

Generating enthusiasm for all computer activities has always been my goal. But because of limited space in my weekly column, providing an in-depth review of the merits of freeware and reasonably priced software is not always an option.

However, now that I have a News-Press blog (www.news-press.com > opinion > blogs > business > good boot), I can blog-on to my heart's content. And just as important, I can leave it posted for as long as it's meaningful.

With this opportunity I am able to provide more frequent recommendations for what I believe to be outstanding user-friendly and pocketbook-friendly software programs. I can provide a synopses of a recommended program in a Good Boot, and for those who are interested an in-depth review in a blog.

I also thought it might be interesting to solicit Good Booters for their favorite software programs. Programs that are either freeware or, unless it's an extraordinary software program, retails for no more than $30. If after I review the software and deem it appropriate, I'd include it in a Good Boot along with an in-depth review in my blog.

My recommended programs and those submitted by Good Booters will be included in an ongoing blog list.

Whether it's a program I recommend or one recommended by a Good Booter, here are some tips:

• If you've purchased it online, expeditiously burn the file to a CD-R

• Create a System Restore point before installing the program

• In addition to a System Restore point you might also consider using ERUNT to back up your registry (visit my blog for information on this excellent freeware program.)

My software recommendation this week is Web Eyes, a program that allows you to adjust the size of Web page fonts, eliminates the necessity of scrolling and adjusts a Web page to look like a book with or without graphics. It's truly an amazing, inexpensive program.

I hope you'll consider e-mailing me your favorite freeware and software programs. I'll bet you have a program I'd enjoy reviewing.

Here's wishing you a Good Boot.

Blog offers access to free, cheap software programs (03/26/07)

The response to my Good Boot concerning my intent to dedicate a The News-Press blog to recommended freeware and pocketbook friendly software programs has been extraordinary.

The purpose of the blog is to provide an archive of free, safe to download and inexpensive software programs a Good Booter can refer to should they find they have a particular software need.

It is a source of appropriate pocketbook-friendly software programs for those who believe they might like to become involved in a computing activity but until they're sure it's an activity they'll enjoy, do not want to invest in an expensive name brand software program.

For example: Let's say you become interested in word processing, spread sheets, presentations, databases, drawing and math software programs. Individual software programs are more often than not bundled in an office suite.

But to your dismay when you visit Corel's and Microsoft's Web site you discover you'll have to invest $250 to $350 for Corel WordPerfect Office Suite or $400 to $500 for Microsoft Office Suite.

On my blog you'll discover a free office suite that includes a word processing, spread sheet, presentation, database and drawing program. One that's compatible with all major office suites (can read their files and should it become necessary, convert its files to Microsoft Office files).

And because these programs and those posted in the future will always be available on my blog, should you become interested in a new activity in the future, you may find an alternative freeware or less expensive software program that meets your needs.
Here's wishing you a Good Boot.

Too many programs cause restore woes (04/02/07)

Recently I received an e-mail from a distraught Good Booter asking me why when she experienced a software installation problem Windows would not allow her to execute a system restore.

As it turned out it wasn't Windows' fault she couldn't execute the system restore, it was my fault.

When I chatted with her on the phone I discovered she had successfully reformatted her hard drive and reinstalled Windows. But after reinstalling all her software programs (11 of them) she attempted to open the first program she had installed, and discovered it hadn't reinstalled properly. Not only would it not execute properly, it was adversely effecting other programs and her Windows system.

Her first attempt to solve the problem was to uninstall the errant program, only to be informed the program couldn't be uninstalled because its uninstall file could not be found.

As she had taken my advice and created a system restore point before installing each software program her next step was to use the restore point she had created prior to installing the errant program to purge it from her system and hopefully restore her Windows system settings to what they were before she installed the program. Unfortunately, system restore would not return her system to the requested restore point.

Go to Start > All Programs > Accessories > System Tools > System Restore and click on System Restore Settings then Settings. It's here you'll discover one of system restore's limitations. One I failed to mention in my Good Boot.

System restore will not accumulate system restore points beyond the allocated disk space indicated in Settings. When you exceed the Settings volume system restore will reduce the number of restore points in the order they were created.

In the case of our Good Booter, though her disk space usage was set to "max" because her 11 consecutive restore points exceeded the maximum allocated disk space, Windows had eliminated her first restore point. The one she attempted to restore.

If you're planning on multiple software installations I recommend after each installation you open the program and be sure it's installed properly. If it's linked to another program check it too. By doing so you'll know should you need to perform a system restore, the restore point will be available.

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

Having both XP, Vista may make life easier (04/09/07)

For those of you who have upgraded from XP to Vista on your current computer or have purchased a new Vista computer but still have your XP CD, think about this — Why not install XP on your Vista computer?

When Vista was released our User Group knew that although most of our members would be XPers for some time to come, many members would be upgrading to Vista and would want to have their Vista questions and concerns addressed at meetings. So a decision was made that best we have a computer capable of presenting both XP and Vista.

Because our current computer did not have enough memory or an appropriate graphics card to be able to access the most important features of Vista's Home Edition, there was no alternative but to purchase a new computer.

However, because we also needed XP we decided to partition our new computer's hard drive, install XP and configured a Dual Boot.

Now not only can we address our Vista users questions and concerns, should we need to demonstrate a peripheral or software program that's not Vista ready all that is necessary is to boot to XP and access the program or plug in the peripheral.

And be assured having a qualified technician petition your hard drive, reinstall XP and configure an XP and Vista Dual Boot is no big deal.

SOFTWARE

My software recommendation this week is AVG's free anti-virus software. If your e-mail carrier does not provide anti-virus protection or your subscription to your current anti-virus software program is expiring and you're considering an alternative program, I suggest you consider AVG, which you can find online at grisoft.com.

I've installed it on our User Group computer and found it to be an excellent alternative to McAfee and Norton anti-virus software. That is an excellent alternative, if you religiously practice David Keller's (Compu-Doctor) Rules of Safe Computing.

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

Linking desktop PC to laptop worthwhile (04/16/07)

Until recently my morning routine was pretty much the same. Up between 5:30 and 6 a.m., read The News-Press and then on to the lanai to listen to Mike and Mike in the Morning while enjoying the sunrise.

When The Herd with Colin Cowherd came on at 10 a.m., I knew I could procrastinate no longer and must to go upstairs, fire up Good Boot, read my e-mail and get started on whatever computing adventure I had planned for the day.

It wasn't until the morning I lingered a bit longer on the lanai to hear Colin's opinion of Daisuke Matsuzaka's first spring training pitching appearance, I discovered a way I could prolong my mornings on the lanai by accessing my desktop computer via my laptop computer.

Colin was promoting a free trial of GoToMyPC. Although I was aware of the program, I had always considered it to be of value only to those who had to remotely access their office computers or from wireless hot spots, not for those who like myself just wanted to linger longer on the lanai.

I'm sure it'll not surprise you to learn that because there was a free trial I couldn't contain my computing curiosity and subscribed.

It only took one session of using my laptop to directly access my desktop computer to read and respond to my e-mail and do a Good Boot column to convince me to extend my subscription.

Some might say if all I wanted to do was linger longer on my lanai, why not use my laptop to access my e-mail via the Web and use a Jump Drive to transfer files from it to my desktop computer.

Certainly a practical solution. But not one that would satisfy those like myself who enjoy investigating new computing adventures.

If you're as computing curious as I am, why not take advantage of GoToMyPC's free trial offer. If nothing else I guarantee you'll find it fascinating, user-friendly and maybe even practical.

Software

My software recommendation this week is FlipAlbum 6 (flipalbum.com): The Standard edition [39.95] automatically creates 3-D photo albums complete with thumbnails, table of contents, index and MP3 music which can be shared online. FlipAlbum 6 Suite [69.95] provides a few more features to include an option to produce CDs which will playback on most DVD players.

Both have trial download versions.

Here's wishing you a Good Boot

Secure personal documents ahead hurricane season (04/23/07)

With the hurricane season seven weeks away, I'm sure if you haven't done so already you'll soon be reviewing your hurricane preparedness check list.

But I wonder how many have thought about using their computer to ensure their important documents and personal information are expeditiously available should it be needed after a hurricane or for that matter any catastrophe or accident.

Securing your important papers in a safe deposit box and having your medical records in an obvious location in your home and\or available at your hospital should certainly be considered.

But what if you cannot access your safe deposit box or are taken to a hospital that doesn't have your medical history?

I suggest you use your computer to establish an ongoing, updated accumulation of all your important documents, medical history and any other important personal information in a folder in My Documents that can be burned to a CD and sent to a trusted friend or relative.

Although scanning all your important documents and creating a detailed list of your medical history to include prescriptions and physician contacts may seem to be a rather demanding task, keep in mind that once complete it's a simple matter to update your files and burn them to a new CD.

I recommend with the exception of copying your data to a Jump Drive to personally carry with you when traveling, if you're planning on posting your data to a friend or relative you burn the data to a CD-R. A CD-R is a more durable media than a Jump Drive and can be read on any computer. Note: There are computers that do not have USB capability.

Although it's not as important as ensuring your personal data is available should you need it in an emergency, I suggest if you've not done so already you consider insuring your computer and peripherals and copying your software programs to a CD-R.

Most companies will insure your computer hardware. But be aware many require a detailed list of all your hardware.

And because few, if any, insurance companies will insure your software, I also suggest you copy all your software CDs and the individual software files you've purchased and downloaded from the Internet to CD-Rs.

Here's wishing you a Good Boot [index]

XP's Wizard sizes photos, attaches to e-mail (04/30/07)

One of XP's most helpful features is a Wizard that'll optimize the size of photos sent as an e-mail attachment. Click Start > My Pictures. Highlight one or more photos and on the Picture Tasks menu click "E-mail this file".

A panel will provide an option to have:

1. Windows optimize the photo if you're sending it primarily to be viewed on the recipient's computer. Note: the photo will also be optimized to ensure dial-up folks can expeditiously download it.

2. Windows send it either as is or in a size of your choice if your concern is to select a size optimized to ensure the recipient can print a quality reproduction.

To access this option click "Show more options" and click one of the following sizes:

• Small - 640x480

• Medium - 800x600

• Large - 1024x768

When you click "OK" Windows will open an Outlook or Outlook Express e-mail with the optimized photo(s) sized to your selection and attached to an e-mail. All that's required is for you to add an address, subject and if you want, a message in the body of the e-mail.

But what if you don't use Outlook or Outlook Express but would appreciate being able to optimize your photo e-mail attachments?

During the development of Windows 95 programmers wrote side programs to test features they were developing. After Windows 95 shipped, some of those programs were found to be so useful they were offered as Windows 95 Power Toys.

Because of the popularity of Windows 95 Power Toys, with each new version of Windows there was a corresponding version of Power Toys.

Today you can go to Microsoft's Web site and find many free XP Power Toys downloads. There are many Power Toys you may deem useful, but the one I suggest everyone who doesn't access e-mail via Outlook or Outlook Express should download and install is "Image Resizer". In fact Image Resizer is a valuable utility to resize photo(s) for whatever reason.

Once they are installed, when you highlight one or more photos and right click on them there will be a new menu item "Resize Pictures". In addition to the resizing options mentioned above, it offers several additional valuable resizing opportunities.

When the resizing is completed you'll have an optimized "copy" of the original(s) you can e-mail as an attachment via any e-mail provider or use yourself to print quality reproductions in various sizes.

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

Magnify desktop icons, but keep old settings too (05/07/07)

This Good Boot is dedicated to those who would like to significantly increase the size of their XP Desktop shortcuts and icons.

Normally I'd not provide the following instructions to anyone other than those "a bit beyond beleaguered''. However, because I've received so many emails from users asking how they can increase the size of their XP and Vista Desktop icons particularly on their Notebook computers without permanently changing their screen resolution, I'm going to suggest a way to do it.

But my instructions come with a warning: Adjusting Desktop and Notebook computer desktop icons to a desired size may require more than one adjustment. For this reason in the event you discover your default settings were the most appropriate, I recommend you jot them down before making any adjustments.

Note: In the following example I've increased icon size, icon horizontal space and icon vertical space by 15. This does not mean your initial or subsequent adjustments cannot be larger or smaller. However, I recommend you increase icon font size in increments of only 1 and never bold a font. I also recommend you do not change your default font type (usually Tahoma).

• Right click on Desktop

• Left click on Properties

• Left click on Appearance

• Left click on Advanced

• Left click on the "v'' to the right of desktop and click on "icon'' on the menu.

• Increase the icon size by 15 and font size by 1 but do not change your default font.

• Left click on the "v'' to the right of icon and click on "icon space [horizontal]''.

• Increase the icon space [horizontal] size by 15.

• Left click on the "v'' to the right of icon space [horizontal] and click on "icon space [vertical]''.

• Increase the icon space [vertical] size by 15.

• Click OK and apply.

After Windows applies your selections you can determine if the size of your icons is appropriate. If not, repeat the instructions and adjust accordingly.

Vista provides only three desktop shortcut and icon sizes.

• Right click on your desktop and click on View.

• Select large, medium or classic icons.

Another problem many good booters seem to be having of late concerns their printer spoolers and printer drivers.

If you go to my blog on news-press.com you'll find in-depth instructions by Dwayne Alton —one of our user group consulting technicians — on how to recognize and resolve printer spooler and driver problems.

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

Photo Story does nice slide shows, is user-friendly (5/14/07)

May is the month I prioritize the tedious computer chores I've relegated to the days when heat and humidity will make my air-conditioned computer nook my preferred place of residency.

One of those chores will be organizing all the photos I haphazardly downloaded during the months when Southwest Florida is a paradise. A time not to be wasted on culling and organizing photos.

Unfortunately it's a chore I've never been able to complete because I become so involved in viewing the photos I never get to organizing them.

This summer, however, I'm going to try a different approach. One I've found to be less tedious and far more enjoyable.

Rather than viewing each photo and selecting and renaming the ones I want to keep, I'm going to use Microsoft's "free'' Photo Story 3 software to do it and at the same time create a slide show of the selected photos I can view at my leisure and/or e-mail to friends and relatives.

Photo Story is an excellent user-friendly software program with all the features necessary to create an almost professional slide show.

The following is an example of how easy it was for me to use Photo Story to cull, organize and create a slide show of the photos I took during a tour of the Edison-Ford Winter Estates.

• I opened Photo Story and selected "Begin a New Story''.

• When the new story panel opened, I clicked on Import Pictures, browsed to my Edison Home folder and by holding down the shift key and clicking on the first and last photo in the folder, imported and displayed all the selected photos in Photo Story.

• Next I right-clicked on and removed photos I didn't want to be included in the slide show.

• Then I reordered individual photos by right-clicking on and dragging them to the appropriate location in the display.

That's it. Without any additional effort, when I saved the Photo Story file my selected photos were available to view at my pleasure as a well-organized little slide show.

However, should I decide sometime in the future to create a more elaborate and creative slide show (music, borders, titles and narrations) of my Edison estate tour, all that will be necessary is for me to open my Tour of Edison Estate file in Photo Story and follow the wizard.

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

Seminar will be a big help to business people (05/21/07)

Almost ever week I receive a request for a Web master recommendation.

The requests come from:

• Individuals who would like to have nothing more than just a presence on the Web.

• Individuals who would like to create a Web-based business.

• Small businesses and nonprofits aware of the value of a presence on the Internet but have limited resources to invest in creating and maintaining a Web site.

• Organizations abandoned by their Web masters and needing someone to restore and maintain their Web site for a reasonable fee.

Unfortunately, because until recently I knew of no individual or company I was confident I could recommend without reservation, I was not able to provide a recommendation.

But several months ago a Good Booter recommended I listen to a local broadcast of "The Internet Business Hour.'' I listened and I was so impressed I became intrigued with the possibility of having WebStream, the sponsor of the radio program provide a seminar on what's required to establish and maintain a professional Web site.

Being impressed, however, was not enough. I needed assurances if I invited a representative of WebStream to provide a seminar, the seminar wouldn't simply be a hard sell of their services.

It took only a few chats with George Dubec, WebStream's internet marketing consultant and host of "The Internet Business Hour'' for me to become confident enough to invite him to host a seminar in Fort Myers.

Obviously there's something in it for Dubec. But the quid pro quo is that attendees will discover what's necessary to establish a professional presence on the Internet with a guarantee there will be no hard sell.

The seminar will show how to establish a quality site for those:

• Willing to participate as a Web master to keep the cost of maintaining the Web site to an absolute minimum.

• With a limited budget but may need some participation by a professional Web streaming service.

• Who require a professional web streaming service to fully participate in designing, hosting and maintaining their Web site.

The seminar will include online demonstrations.

The seminar will be at Lee Memorial Hospital auditorium at 9:30 a.m. Saturday, June 9th.

For additional information on how to register for the seminar, E-mail Al Winchell

Here's wishing you a Good Boot.

4-Letter, 3-letter extensions can clash (05/28/07)

I'll wager there are many Good Booters who have an extensive library of music cassettes they would like to convert to digital music they could play via their computer, or copy to music CDs they could play on their home and car CD players.

I'll also wager that, although the hardware necessary to transfer music from a cassette player to a computer is inexpensive and can be found at most Radio Shacks, many Good Booters like myself have procrastinated beginning the project because of the time and effort it would take to transfer the music from each cassette to their computer.

But now because of a presentation by David Keller (a.k.a Compu-Doctor) at our May User Group meeting, one of my high priority projects for this summer will be creating a collection of my favorite tunes.

David demonstrated how I could create music CDs with all my favorite music -- from Gavottes to Spike Jones and the City Slickers-- and do so legally using an excellent free software program.

If you're interested in discovering how I'm going to do it, go to my News-Press Blog.

A Good Boot Heads-Up for those Good Booters who may have purchased a new computer with an installed "trial'' version of Microsoft Office 2007.

Word, Excel and PowerPoint 2007 have new four letter file extensions. Fortunately these programs will reformat recent versions of Word, Excel and PowerPoint from three letter file extensions to the new four letter file extension. Unfortunately, once you have converted a three letter file extension to a four letter file extension, it cannot be accessed by previous versions of these programs unless you obtain Microsoft Office 2000, XP and 2003 "Compatibility Pack for Word, Excel, and PowerPoint 2007 File Formats''.

The problem some Good Booters have experienced is that when they deleted their trial version of Office 2007 after they imported and saved Office 2000, XP and 2003 files as Office 2007 files, they could no longer access the converted four letter file extension files in My Documents.

I suggest if you have a trial version of Office 2007, before you import your current Word, Excel and PowerPoint files into Office 2007, you make copies of them.

Note: I also recommend you do not overly rely on Microsoft's Compatibility Pack to access converted Office 2007 files. Several Good Booters discovered to their dismay it failed to perform as advertised.

Here's wishing you a Good Boot.

Put your back-up files on the Web for a modest fee (06/04/07)

I'm sure by now most Good Booters have had their fill of my nagging about ensuring they have all their irreplaceable "stuff'' backed up, off-loaded and stored in a secure location.

But I have just one more suggestion for you to consider to ensure your irreplaceable stuff will be secure regardless of what mishap may befall your computer.

Uploading your data to the Internet.

You'll probably not be surprised to learn that, when Carbonite contacted me about its new Internet data upload service, I just couldn't resist the temptation to give it a try. Particularly when I discovered how reasonable the services where.

For only $49.95 a year, Carbonite will provide "unlimited'' space to back up your entire computer or whatever amount of data you choose to upload.

I now have all my irreplaceable data stored in a location that'll return it to me by file or in its entirety any time I need it.

Although the initial data upload takes a bit of time, Carbonite monitors in the background and expeditiously uploads all subsequent additions and changes.

If this sounds interesting go to www.carbonite.com for video tutorials on how simple it is to secure your data on the Internet.

Now here's a way to keep your current computing activities up and running but secure from prying eyes should you have to leave your computer to satisfy an imperative honey-do.

If you do not have a password protected logon User Account:

• Open your Control Panel and select User Accounts;

• Create a New Account and click next;

• Click Computer Administrator and Create an Account;

• Go back to the User Account Panel;

• Highlight your new account, click Create Password and complete the instructions.

Once you have a Password Account Logon, should you want to hide your Desktop and your current running computing activities and return to them at your convenience, simply press your keyboard Start key (with the little Microsoft logo) and "L''.

When you want to return to your Desktop click on your User Account and enter your password.

If you have a password protected User Account or would just like to see how convenient it is: Press the Start (Microsoft logo) key and "L''.

Here's wishing you a Good Boot.

Vista pointers available on blog (06/18/07)

This Good Boot is dedicated to those who are struggling to deal with Windows Vista’s features and presentations.

In preparing my Vista tutorial for Beleaguered Novices CD, I put together an outline of "Quick Step How To’s" that would become the topics included in each Chapter. When I completed the task, I thought the Quick Step Outline might provide at least a starting point for novice Good Booters beginning their Vista adventure.

Unfortunately at over 8,000 words it would take at least 20 Good Boots to include all the quick steps. As this would most certainly alienate non Vista Good Booters, I decided to include the entire tutorial in a News-Press Blog.

If you’re so inclined you can go to my Good Boot Blog and read it. But I suggest because it’s so long, you copy and paste the tutorial into your word processor.

For those who may not be aware of how to copy and paste from a Blog:

1. Place your Pointer which will become an "I" in front of the "G" in "Getting started with Windows Vista".

2. To highlight the entire tutorial, hold down your left mouse button and scroll down to the last sentence and then scroll all the way right to the right of the period after "wizard's instructions to complete the transfer.".

Note: it’s a long scroll.

3. Once you’ve highlighted the entire tutorial, release your left mouse button.

4. Place you Pointer anywhere over the highlighted area and right click on it.

5. Left click on Copy

6. Right click and Paste in a word processor or WordPad document.

Note: Do not right click on my tutorial and click "Select All" as it’ll select the content all my Blogs.

If you’re a former Xper I believe you’ll discover that accessing most of the features of Vista is not so different from how you accessed those features in XP.

For those who may need additional assistance with Vista, know as of this Good Boot you can e-mail me your questions. If I cannot answer them, I have qualified technicians willing to provide pro bono advice.

For those who e-mailed they have been unable to finding my Blog:

1. Log onto www.news-press.com

2. Scroll down the Web page and look for "Opinion" in the left column

3. Click on "Blogs"

4. Scroll down to "Good Boot" under "Business"

Here's wishing you a Good Boot.

Flash drives give you more options (06/24/07)

It seems from the e-mails I've received of late many Good Booters did not read the fine print before purchasing their SanDisk USB flash drive.

A plain vanilla flash drive is a flash memory data storage device integrated with a USB (universal serial bus) interface. They're small, lightweight, removable and rewritable.

As of this Good Boot the amount of data that can be written to them ranges from 512 megabytes to 64 gigabyte and retail from $16 to over $4,000.

USB flash drives offer potential advantages over other portable storage devices as they're more compact, faster, hold more data and because they lack moving parts, more reliable.

They consist of a small printed circuit board encased in a plastic or metal casing with their protruding connector covered by a removable or retractable cap. Their durability allows them to be carried about in one's pocket as a key fob or one's neck on a lanyard.

To access the data stored in a flash drive the drive must be connected to a computer either by plugging it into a USB 2.0 slot built into the computer or into a USB hub. They draw their power from the supply provided by that connection.

Note: Some high-speed USB 2.0 flash drives may require more power than the limited amount provided by a USB hub. These drives will not work unless plugged directly into a host computer's USB 2.0 port or a self-powered hub.

But plain vanilla flash drives are no longer your only choice. Today you can purchase a flash drive that will run portable applications.

The U3 Smart Drive developed by SanDisk allows users to take applications, not just data, with them to any USB 2.0 equipped Windows PC. They act like auto-play application CD-ROMs.

Many novices who purchased SanDisks without first reading the fine print were surprised and annoyed when they discovered their SanDisk with U3: created two drive letters; presented a confusing splash screen menu and because of the space allocated to the preloaded U3 format, reduced the space available to back up data.

If you're curious about SanDisk U3 programs go to www.software.u3.com. But you'll probably be disappointed when you discover the most useful U3 programs cost between $30 and $60.

You can rid your SanDisk of U3 by downloading the SanDisk U3 uninstaller at www. U3. com or if you have broadband, I'll e-mail you the 3Megabyte uninstaller.

Here's wishing you a Good Boot.

Utility can help keep hard drive running (07/ 2/07)

It's inevitable at some point in time every hard drive will fail. That's the reason I hope all Good Booters participate in at least a periodic backup of all their irreplaceable data.

Although today's state- of-the-art hard drives can be expected to last a reasonable amount of time, there's no caste in bronze definition of "reasonable amount of time''. In fact, many qualified technicians will tell you although it's not a common occurrence, even new computers are not immune from defective hard drives.

In an effort to extend the life of my hard drives, I include a periodic "chkdsk'' as part of my computer housekeeping regimen.

Many experienced users and technicians will argue that although "chkdsk'' can repair problems related to bad sectors, lost clusters, cross-linked files, directory errors and recover readable information on a hard drive, it will not necessarily extend the life of a hard drive.

But as far as I'm concerned if Microsoft considers it worthy enough to include it as a Windows utility, who am I not to include it in my repertoire of "nothing ventured, nothing gained'' preventive maintenance activities.

Chkdsk is an old DOS utility. Easy to use, but for many novices hard to find and execute.

However, because Microsoft deems it a valuable utility and recognizes DOS may be a foreign language for novices, they have created a little interactive program that'll guide a novice though the steps necessary to find and execute a chkdsk.

When you download the executable file and click on it a "How to perform disk error checking in Windows XP'' panel will open. There will be two options:

1. "Do it automatically.'' Completes the steps while you watch.

2. "Show me step-by-step.'' Points to where you have to click.

I suggest you select "Show me step-by-step'' as I'll wager you'll be fascinated by the interactive step by step presentation.

You can find the utility on Microsoft's Web site. However if you have trouble finding it, e-mail me and I'll send it as a Reply attachment. The file is so small it's appropriate to e-mail to even dial-uppers.

Today's Good Boot recommended must-have software program to download is Irfanview, version 4 (www.irfanview.com).

In my opinion it's the most innovative absolutely no obligation freeware graphic viewer program available for all versions of Windows, including Vista.

And don't overlook downloading Irfanview's free plug-ins.

Here's wishing you a Good Boot.

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Altering registry can lead to fatal crash (07/ 9/07)

Most long time Good Booters know I periodically caution them about participating in activities I believe are potentially detrimental to the health and well being of their computers.

One such activity and perhaps one of the most important activities in which you should not become involved, is personally attempting to edit or allowing a 3rd party utility program to edit your registry.

I was reminded I best nag you about this system assassin activity after reading a response by our two consulting technicians Brian Barnes and David Keller to a request by one of our User Group Bulletin Board subscriber for a recommendation on the best registry cleaning and optimizing software (a.k.a. computer killers).

Their response was extraordinarily succinct. Do not ever consider editing your registry! Do not install a 3rd party registry cleaning and optimizing software program! And if you’ve installed one, either uninstall it or do not access it!

In a nutshell: Your registry is a sensitive, unforgiving database that stores settings and options for your Windows operating system. It contains information and settings for all your hardware, operating system software, most non-operating system software and PC preferences. Whenever you make a change to your control panel settings, file associations, system policies and\or installed software, the changes are reflected and stored in the registry.

And by the way, because your registry accumulates every bit of information and every setting it has received since the day Windows was installed, it may literally contain thousands of entries.

I’m sure you’ve noticed the display of little squares dancing across and under the Window logo just prior to the presentation of your desktop. In fact they’re nothing more than a way to entertain you while Windows compares your registry with what it finds on your computer.

If the comparison is favorable, your desktop will appear. If less than favorable, you may only receive an error message. If significantly unfavorable you may be presented with the blue screen of death!

The point is this. If you or a third party registry utility program corrupt your registry, you’ll be in deep trouble.

Oh and by the way, you’ll probably not become aware your registry has been corrupted until your next boot.

Unfortunately, it’s often too late for anyone other than a qualified technician to save your day.

Only a qualified technician should ever edit your registry!

Here’s wishing you a Good Boot

Check that spam mail before getting rid of it (07/16/07)

Last week I nagged you about not messing with your Registry. This week I'm going to ask you to consider becoming more curious about and more tolerant of the spam you receive.

I'm sure the enthusiasm our grandparents experienced when they received their first, first-class letter in July 1887 turned to outrage when they received their first piece of junk mail (probably a Sears and Roebucks catalog).

In fact, I'll wager if they were alive today, they'd probably still be ranting and raving about receiving mail they didn't request.

For most of us, however, I believe we consider junk mail as nothing more than something to peruse and sort from the relevant mail as we stroll from our post box to our kitchen where we unceremoniously deposit it in a waste basket.

The purpose of this Good Boot is to encourage you to treat spam as you treat junk mail. Before you arbitrarily delete it, glance at its content.

And do not allow a third party to be totally responsible for deciding whether or not an e-mail is spam. Most important, do not authorize a third party to decide whether or not you'll be able to view the content of an e-mail because they deem it spam.

I receive an average of more than 100 Good Boot e-mails a week. Roughly 10 percent are, for whatever reason, filtered into my Outlook Spam folder.

If Outlook was not configured to relocate all the e-mail it considers spam to a unique spam folder for my review before deleting, I would most assuredly miss many Good Boot e-mails.

I can assure you that neither my Outlook Spam filter, which is periodically updated, nor your spam filter is infallible.

Treat your spam as you treat your junk mail — glance at its content before deleting it.

Oh and by the way, like some junk mail I receive, I've found some spam to be of value.

For those Vista users who may be experiencing a slow boot up and delay in the time it takes to load all their startup applications, my current News-Press blog may be of interest, along with my blog about my recent personal conversion to a Vista de-frager.

And while you're there, take a minute to discover how subscribing to our "free'' SWFPCUG Bulletin Board can solve XP and Vista problems before they are raining on your parade.

Here's wishing you a Good Boot!

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Go for it; Vista 'ready for prime time' (07/23/07)

If my e-mail serves me right there are many Good Booters waiting for someone to provide them with a "cross my heart and hope to die'' promise that all is well with Vista and a guarantee there's absolutely no reason not to purchase a Vista computer or upgrade to Vista.

Although I'm not going to provide a "cross my heart and hope to die'' promise Vista is absolutely problem free, I can assure you it's ready for prime time.

If you're aware of the minimum requirements of what's needed to access the important features of Vista and are either no longer satisfied with your current operating system or just would like to be state of the art, I recommend you go for it.

However, I do suggest you have a qualified technician set up and configure your new Vista computer. And if you're upgrading to Vista on your current computer, most definitely have a qualified technician install Vista and add the new hardware you more than likely will need.

The minimum computer requirements needed to support Vista's Home Premium, Business and Ultimate versions and their most compelling new feature "Windows Aero'' are:

• 1 GHz 32-bit (x86) or 64-bit (x64) processor

• 1 GB of system memory

• 40 GB hard drive with at least 15 GB of available space

• Support for DirectX 9 graphics with: WDDM Driver, 128 MB of graphics memory (minimum), Pixel Shader 2.0 in hardware and 32 bits per pixel

If you're buying a new computer more than likely it'll have the appropriate hardware to support Vista's Windows Aero. But if you're upgrading your current computer, it's best you get advise from your technician on the hardware upgrades you'll need.

Your technician can also assist you in determining if your current peripherals and software programs are Vista-ready, and where to go to get program upgrades and Vista hardware drivers, if they're available.

The good news is that after taking Vista Home Premium through its paces I can honestly predict if you're "a bit above novice'' it shouldn't take you more than a couple of hours to discover how to do in Vista what you did in XP.

I'm not inferring you'll discover all of Vista's new features in a couple of hours. But I do believe you'll be pleased to discover Vista will allow you to access most Windows features as you accessed them in XP.

Here's wishing you a Good Boot.
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Take time to familiarize yourself with Vista (07/30/07)

Every so often I revisit the subject of “The Power of the Pointer.”

And I’m going to do so in this Good Boot because of the extraordinary number of e-mails I received challenging my statement in last week’s Good Boot that if you’re “a bit beyond novice” it shouldn’t take you more than a couple of hours to discover how to do in Vista what you did in XP.

I’m sure all XP Good Booters are aware if you right click just about anywhere or on anything you’ll be presented with a menu of options and information if you right click on the menu item “Properties."

Well know that right clicking will provide the same options and information in Vista. So if you’re are a bit confused on a Vista presentation right click it and select Properties.

Try a right click on:

• Start and a left click Properties. You'll be presented with many Start Menu and Taskbar options. While you're there, click Advanced and you'll be presented with many more options.

• Your Toolbar and left click Toolbars and Quick Launch. When Quick Launch appears on your Toolbar, open any program's. (With the program's) open, click the little icon on the far left of the Quick Launch Toolbar. Bet you'll agree it’s a convenient way to get to your Desktop when you have open programs. Left click on it a second time and you're back to your open program(s).

• Your Toolbar again to discover some of the other menu options and Toolbars.

• A blank area of your Desktop and left click Properties. Investigate all the available Display Properties options.

• Any unfamiliar Desktop shortcut and left click Properties to discover what they point to.

• The work area of any open software program for a unique menu its options.

• Any Web page for its options and configurations.

Also: After passing your Pointer over the icons in you Taskbar “Notification Area” at the right of your Taskbar and determining some of the programs currently “running in the background,” right click on each one for a menu of their options.

I also suggest that even if you’re a former “a bit beyond novice” Xper, you take advantage of Vista’s “Help” and Support.”

Vista offers many new features but I can assure you most of the old XP features are included. By using the “Power of the Pointer” and “Help and Support” I believe you’ll be able to find them.

Here's wishing you a Good Boot.

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Point, and click your way through Vista (08/06/07)

Every so often I revisit the subject of "The Power of the Pointer.'' And I'm going to do so in this Good Boot because of the extraordinary number of emails I received challenging my statement in my last Good Boot that if you're "a bit beyond novice'' it shouldn't take you more than a couple of hours to discover how to do in Vista what you did in XP.

I'm sure all XP Good Booters are aware if you right click just about anywhere or on anything you'll be presented with a menu of options and information if you right click on the menu item "Properties.''

We know that right clicking will provide the same options and information in Vista. So if you're a bit confused on a Vista presentation, right click it and select Properties.

Try a right click on:

• Start and left click Properties. You'll be presented with many Start Menu and Taskbar options. While you're there, click Advanced and you'll be presented with many more options.

• Your Toolbar and left click Toolbars and Quick Launch. When Quick Launch appears on your toolbar, open any program(s). With the program(s) open, click the little icon on the far left of the Quick Launch Toolbar. Bet you'll agree it's a convenient way to get to your desktop when you have open programs. Left click on it a second time and you're back to your open program(s).

• Your toolbar again to discover some of the other menu options and toolbars.

• A blank area of your desktop and left click Properties. Investigate all the available Display Properties options.

• Any unfamiliar desktop shortcut and left click Properties to discover what they point to.

• The work area of any open software program for a unique menu of its options.

• Any Web page for its options and configurations.

Also, after passing your pointer over the icons in you Taskbar "Notification Area'' at the right of your Taskbar and determining some of the programs currently "running in the background,'' right click on each one for a menu of the options.

I also suggest that even if you're a former "a bit beyond novice'' Xper, you take advantage of Vista's Help and Support.

Vista offers many new features but I can assure you most of the old XP features are included. By using the "Power of the Pointer'' and "Help and Support,'' I believe you'll be able to find them.

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

Lee schools' IT facility impressive (08/13/07)

Every so often I have an opportunity to participate in a Southwest Florida technology event. Recently it was a tour of the new Lee County School District's Information Technology Support Department hosted by Dwayne Alton, director of information technology.

Because of Dwayne's many vignettes about the preparation necessary to move a multi-million dollar high-tech facility, I had become an interested bystander long before the actual relocation of his department from the Dr. James A. Adams Public Education Center in downtown Fort Myers to its new location on Colonial Boulevard.

But it wasn't until Dwayne happened to mentioned in passing that his department had been able to literally shut down and turn out the lights in their old location on a Friday night and turn on the lights and boot up in their new location on Saturday without so much as a hiccup that I knew I had to see for myself the results of this prodigious undertaking.

And I was impressed.

It would take too many Good Boots to list all the responsibilities of the ITS Department. But if you just consider it maintains and populates tens of thousands of computers throughout the school system; backs up and archives literally million of internal e-mails each month to meet the requirements of the Florida Sunshine laws; and literally millions of visited Web sites each month to insure the Internet is not accessed irresponsibly, I believe you'll get a sense of the extent of the ITS Department's responsibilities.

As you might expect being up close and personal with rooms full of high-tech, state-of-the-art hardware was an extraordinary experience. But it was what I took away from the tour that impressed me the most.

That in my personal opinion is the Lee County School District is providing our children with the hands-on technology training they'll need to be able to successfully compete in the real world.

And that the Information Technology department is insuring the district has the state-of-the-art hardware, software and because of their extraordinary enthusiasm and professionalism, the technical expertise and resources necessary to support that hands-on training.

As it should be, we honor our exceptional teachers with a Golden Apple award. Perhaps we should consider honoring those who provide exceptional support for our teachers with a Golden Apple Tree award. If such an award did come to pass, I would most certainly nominate the Information Technology Support Department.

Here's wishing you a Good Boot.
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Ensure you have no driver troubles (08/20/07)

A "driver'' is software that allows your computer to communicate with hardware. Without an appropriate driver your hardware will not work properly.

For computer neanderthals like myself, faulty and obsolete drivers have been the bane of our existence since the dawn of Windows.

After installing each new version of Windows we held our breath during our first white knuckled boot to our desktop wondering if Windows would recognize our legacy printer(s), scanner(s) and other various devices.

If Windows didn't recognize them, we had to wait patiently until our peripheral manufacturers got around to writing updated driver software and posted it on their Web site.

How long did we have to wait? Well, as you might expect, there are those who subscribe to a driver conspiracy theory. That updated drivers were not released until the peripheral manufacturers were sure they couldn't convince any more of their customers to purchase new peripherals rather than wait for updated drivers for their legacy peripherals.

But be that as it may, driver problems aren't necessarily experienced only during the installation of a new version of Windows. They can be the result of a driver installation gone bad, poorly written driver software or simply a user's transgression.

To insure your drivers are healthy and happy, I recommend including drivers maintenance in your periodic housekeeping activities.

There are many third party driver update software programs, but I suggest Microsoft's Driver Update service for XP and Vista (update.microsoft.com) will serve you well. Select the "Custom'' update. When Microsoft completes its scan of your computer, there will be a "Hardware, Optional'' listing. I recommend discussing any potential issues Microsoft finds with your technician.

Microsoft also has a Windows Vista Upgrade Advisor download that'll scan your current hardware to determine if it's Vista ready. When Microsoft completes its scan of your computer, you'll be presented with any potential Vista System Requirements, Device and Program compatibility issues. Once again issues best discussed with your technician.

But on any given day should you suspect you're experiencing a printer, scanner or device Driver problem in:

• XP, click Start > Control Panel > System > Hardware > Device Manager.

• Vista, click Start > Right click on Computer > Properties > Device Manager.

If there's a problem there'll be a yellow exclamation point. Click on it to view the problem. And need I nag you again about consulting your technician before attempting to resolve an issue?

Here's wishing you a Good Boot.

Here's help for Internet Explorer 7 (08/27/07)

Of late I've received an unusual number of questions concerning Internet Explorer 7. Perhaps it's because all those who have purchase Vista computers now have it as their default browser.

Be that as it may, the most often asked questions are:

Q: How do I change my default home page?

A. Go to the Web page you want as your default Home page. Click Tools > Internet Options and on the general tab click "Use current.'' The current site will become your default home page.

If you'd like to have multiple home pages displayed and "Tabbed'' when you open IE7, go to each Web page in succession and click on the down triangle to the right of the house icon on the status bar. When the dialog box opens click "Add or Change Home Page'' and click "Add this Web page to your home page tabs.''

But keep in mind the more home pages you add the longer it'll take Internet Explorer to open and display them.

Q: How can I adjust the size of a Web pages fonts?

A: Click on View > Text size. Select a size of your choice.

Q: How can I change the default IE 7 Search Engine on my Address Bar?

A: At the far end of IE's address bar is the search bar. To the right of the magnifying glass icon is a little down arrow. Click on it and you'll be able to select from an extraordinary list of search engines.

If you cannot find the search engine you're looking for, scroll down to the end of the list and click "Find more providers.''. You'll be taken to IE's "Add Search Providers to Internet Explorer 7.''

To set a preferred search engine as your default search engine scroll to the end of the list again and click "Change Search Defaults.'' Highlight the search engine of your choice in the more exclusive list of search engines and click "Set Default.''

Q: How can I print a Web page to include its background colors?

A: Click Tools > Internet Options > Advanced. Scroll down to "Printing'' and click on the "Print background colors and images'' check box. Click apply.

Return to your Web page, right click on it and click "Print Preview.'' If the Web page's background colors appear in the print preview its background colors will be printed.

But be aware printing Web page background colors will drain your print cartridges.

Here's wishing you a Good Boot.

Microsoft did a nice security job with IE7 - and Vista (09/03/07)

I have to compliment Microsoft on its effort to populate Windows Vista and Internet Explorer 7 with significant security features. Although having to respond to a user account control dialogue box every time I want to make a change to my Vista system settings and IE 7 security settings can get a bit tedious, I must admit it's a small price to pay for the potential security it provides.

When IE 7 was released Microsoft made a concerted effort to publicize its security features. But, in my opinion, not as enthusiastic about touting Vista's new security features. Which in fact is the reason during my initial Vista walkabout that it was only by chance I discovered the value of Vista's standard user account.

However, my endorsement must include the following: that although the standard user account makes sense to me, I've no idea if it has prevented any bad guys from sneaking into my computer or how long it'll take the bad guys to figure out how to circumvent it.

With that said, know when you log on as a Vista administrator you authorized Vista to arbitrarily accept any changes you or anyone or anything make to your Windows system without having to request a password.

This carte blanche authorization reduces Vista's ability to protect itself from malware, spyware and undetectable viruses. As when they invade your computer by whatever means, they need no permission to do their thing.

However, Vista provides an alternative to the carte blanche authorization provided by an administrator account. It's the standard account. And for day-to-day computing I recommend it.

It'll not prevent you from making administrator level changes to your Vista system such as installing programs or to IE 7's security settings. It'll just require you to provide a password before a change can be made.

The advantage of the standard account is if spyware or malware does invade your computer they cannot do their thing because they cannot provide the password needed to satisfy Vista or IE 7 that the changes they'll make to your system are authorized.

And by the way, when you're logged on as a standard user, should someone physically gain access to your computer either in person or via the Internet because they'd be unable to provide a password, they would be unable to make changes to your system.

In my opinion the standard account is worth your consideration.

Here's wishing you a good boot.

Hit Counter 09/03/2007