Best Way - Cleaning Files on a Computer | eHow.com

Best Way - Cleaning Files on a Computer eHow.com

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Networking Your Mac

Question:
I have an old iMac G3 and would like to hook it up wirelessly to my DSL, can I use a USB or ethernet bridge? if so which one?

Answer:
You would need a wi-fi adapter for each mac that you want to connect to your wireless. Here is an example of the type of adapter you will need.
http://www.tekserve.com/store/420/Cards_Adapters/-152

You will also need a wi-fi router to connect to your DSL modem. I usually use Linksys but since you are using a mac you might want to use this one.
http://www.tekserve.com/store/417/Wireless_Routers/11640

Any Mac store should have these items so you don't have to order them thru Tekserve. Just make sure if you go to BestBuy or some other vendor that doesn't do exclusively Mac hardware that what they are trying to sell you says that it is Mac Compatible.

Logitech Mouse

Your question:
I have a Logitech optic mouse I lost the install CD where would you find the install program its a M-BJ58 model Logitech web site does not even list that one its about a 2000 model ?

My answer:
You should be able to plug that puppy in and have it work without any additional drivers (most of the time the drivers just slow down your system anyway). I only see that they don't support the model anymore on the site. There is one document that refers to your model but it only says it supports both USB and PS/2 connection types (big help). If there are any custom buttons try looking at the mouse settings once you plug it in. Sometimes they adjust based on the mouse you plug into the system.

DVD Copying

Question


How do I copy a DVD? I need to copy one before I return it to the library today.


Thanks,


Carol


Answer


It's probably too late for today but you can use any DVD burning software they also
usually have a copy function (unless the DVD is copy protected). In that case I use
another set of programs to rip the movie and burn it as a DVD movie of my own
creation. I use this product for DVD copying...DVD Copy

I use this product to rip DVDs that are copy protected (if you look up DVD ripper on
Google you can find other free rippers also)...http://www.topviewsoft.com/Ultimate-DVD-Ripper.html


I use Microsoft MovieMaker (it came free on most XP PCs) to edit videos if I want to
trim them or edit the length and save as different video qualities. Also Roxio,
Sonic and Nero have ways to edit and burn DVDs.

Tech Talk For Dummies "Live"

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How to do System Cleanup On Your Computer | eHow.com

How to do System Cleanup On Your Computer eHow.com

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unable to send

Question submitted by
Lester on Thursday, July 26, 2010 at 00:30:49
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Question: Hi, I am having a time trying to send email from an article I would love to share, when ever I try outlook express comes up and when I place my info to send or forward it reports an error, my main emails or corespondent is by yahoo (outlook keeps saying yahoo will not allow it to go)and that is why I am unable.Thanks

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Answer: Sounds like you are trying to send it to too many people at once or with too many graphics. Most mail servers limit sending to less than 25 recipients and the file size can't be bigger than 3MB. If you have pictures in the article or too many recipients that would block you for sure. Also your outlook express might not be configured for sending thru yahoo correctly. I believe that you have to use there webmail to send messages unless you have a paid email account with them. These are the 3 things that could be your problems cause.

Ed Smit
Questions@JustAskEd.net

Screen saver never kicks in?

Question was submitted by Ross on Tuesday, July 15, 2010 at 13:26:23

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Question: I have a Dell laptop running window XP and for some reason the screen saver and all the power savers stop working some tome ago.
I gave in and re-installed the OS and they still don't work..
What else could it be???

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Answer: Dell has a wonderful set of downloads that apply to your system on their support site. Just enter your service tag from the bottom of the laptop. The things that I would look for are updates to your bios and motherboard to make the power saving work. Also check the system bios setup when you bootup to make sure that power saving is turned on in the system bios. The keystrokes to get into the system bios varies from model to model but it usually appears on the screen when you first boot up. On most Dell systems I think it's the F2 key or Delete.

Find more answers to your questions at justasked.blogspot.com
Ed Smit
Questions@JustAskEd.net

Skype webcam

On Fri, Jun 19, 2010 at 3:12 PM, Diahne wrote:

Hi Ed,

Am still in Brussels and now have another problem. I purchased a Hercules Dualpix HD webcam to use with Skype and I can't make it work. I says to install the drivers and software before connecting webcam. Initally I did the reverse - and then tried to start over. Could that be the problem? Not sure what the driver is. I have a cd which came with it and have put that in but ...... no success.

If you have any ideas let me know. Merci beaucoup, Diahne

You might have to remove the webcam from your hardware profile. Uninstall the software and then reboot. After reboot install the CD first and wait for the instructions to plug in the camera.

To remove the webcam from your hardware profile:

Click on Start
Click on Control Panel
Click on System
Click on the Hardware tab at the top of the System window
Click on the Button that says Device Manager
In the Device Manager look for an icon with a Question Mark or an Exclamation point that says the webcam name
Right click on the Device and Uninstall or Remove it
After removing the device in the Device Manager Unplug the Camera

To Uninstall the software:

Click on Start
Click on Control Panel
Click on Add/Remove Programs
Find the Software for The Hercules Camera
Choose Remove
Restart your computer with the Camera Unplugged

Insert the CD and install the software and follow the directions on the screen

loud motor noise CPU

On 6/16/10, Margaret wrote:
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Question: My Dell desktop Dimension 2400 just today developed a loud buzzing noise like a loud fan running constantly. Moving it doesn't help. It is 5 years old. What can it be: cooling fans, hard drive?????
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Answer: It sounds like the CPU cooling fan or the power supply. Both
are replaceable by anyone with a screwdriver and a desire to crack the
case open. Just make sure that you unplug the power cable before
doing any work on the inside. And it is a good idea to touch
something metal to release any static electricity before touching
things on the inside of your computer. Power supplies can be ordered
from Dell or pretty much any computer store carries them. If it's
the CPU fan you just need to take the old fan to the store and see
what matches up (it's also good to know what kind of processor you
have to help find the right fan). To find the processor type click on
Start, click on Control Panel, click on System, on the General tab the
processor is listed near the bottom of the screen just before the
speed and RAM.

Ed Smit
Questions@JustAskEd.net
646-373-8640

Data Recovery

This week I saw several cases of people deleting important files and wanting them back desperately (these things seem to come in waves). I discovered that all data recovery programs are not alike. I believed that they all could get basically the same stuff back but I found out that they must be able to recognize the type of file they want to recover before they can pull them back from oblivion.

The two recovery programs I've had the best luck with are iolo's Search and Recover http://www.iolo.com for the PC side and Subrosasoft's FileSalvage http://www.subrosasoft.com for the Mac (it recovered a composer's very important Finale files). Both of these programs scan your hard drive and list all of the files that can be potentially recovered. Then they reassemble the deleted file in a miraculous Frankensteinesk sort of magic way.

The best recovery happens when the file was recently deleted and no files have been saved since the file was deleted. In fact, if you delete a really important file the best thing you can do is shut the system off and call for help because the more you download onto your computer after you delete that all important file the lower your chances become for recovery. All this to say be careful with your deleting.

Ed Smit
Questions@JustAskEd.net

Office 2007 Patch

Here is the link to the patch I told you about. It lets all previous versions of Microsoft Office open the 2007 format files. Just click on the Download button on the page and open the file when it is done downloading. Follow the on-screen instructions. The download will take care of the rest...

http://www.microsoft.com/downloads/details.aspx?displaylang=en&FamilyID=941b3470-3ae9-4aee-8f43-c6bb74cd1466

Call me if you have any trouble installing it.

Ed Smit
Questions@JustAskEd.net

When is it time to buy a new computer?

Question from Karen on Monday, May 19, 2008 at 06:55:38
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Question: When is it time to buy a new computer? What are the signs?

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Answer: Great Question! The computer industry would like everyone to buy a new computer every two years or so. This would keep them rich and happy.

For the consumer my advice is to look at your current system and see if you have enough RAM and Hard Drive space to do what you need to do. Also, is it painful for you to wait for your computer (is it slow as molasses).

Most computers have a maximum amount of RAM that they can handle. You can usually find out your systems max at a site like pny.com which has a memory search feature based on manufacturer and model. They list what comes standard with the system and how much you can add.

To find out how much RAM you have you have in Windows XP/2000/Vista/7 click on the start Button choose Control Panel and then click on System. On the General Tab the Version of Windows is listed and at the bottom of the window it shows your processor and memory. In the Apple world you click on the Apple in the top left and choose the about this Mac choice from the menu.

For hard drive space I usually find out how much space the hard drive has and how much is free and ask myself what can I store on an external drive or DVD. If I don't have at least 20 Gigabytes available after this soul searching then it's time for an upgrade. Now if your system has a hard drive that can't have 20 GB available, it's probably time to buy.

To find your hard drive space on a Windows Computer: Open the My Computer Window Right click on your C: drive and choose properties from the list that pops up. For Mac click once on your hard drive on the desktop and choose File from the top menu and click on Get Info.

To speed up your system: Uninstall any old software that you don't use. In Windows click on Start, choose Control Panel double click on Add/Remove Programs. This gives you a list of all of your software. Go through the list and ask yourself 'Do I use all three versions of AOL Instant Messenger?' then get rid of the ones you don't use. Common memory hogs are IM Programs and anything that leaves an icon down next to the clock. WeatherBug or Google Desktop use memory and if you're not using them dump them and speed up your computer. Also, check your system for Spyware. This is usually the number one culprit for slowing down computers. I usually recommend Ad-Aware or Spybot - Search and Destroy. They usually improve performance.

Well, that was probably more than you bargained for with your quick question but I hope that gives you a sufficient answer.

Ed Smit
Questions@JustAskEd.net

Hacked Website?

I recently had a client have their website hacked. What does this mean? It means someone idiot living in their parents basement thought it was a good idea to embed some malicious code in all of the web pages of this website. This causes the website to get flagged as a malicious website and makes it very hard to view.

What do you do when this happens?

Well, if you know how to edit HTML code you can pick thru the code and remove all instances of the malicious code. This however can be very labor intensive and annoying (this is unfortunately what I had to do in this case). Then you have to ask the powers that be at Google and any other monitoring sites to review your site for malicious code. This clears your pages so they can be displayed normally. This seems to take forever since they are quick to condemn but slow to forgive.

- The main key is keeping the web folders clean and orderly (don't leave old pages on the site unless you plan on using them later).
- Change your password for FTP access to something over 12 characters with multiple caps and lower case letters and numbers and punctuation (if allowed). This makes it much harder to hack.
- Don't ever email your password to anyone. Call them up or snail mail but don't send it electronically (this leaves you open).

YVONNE'S LAPTOP

QUESTION:
On 3/24/08, Leslie wrote:
Dear Ed,
We are still having strange problems with the Toshiba laptop. We can not get an internet connection and I can not even pull up the option to connect to Your Neighbor (our lnysis). The following 2 advisories come up:
PORT MAGIC EXPERIENCED A FATAL ERROR AND MUST BE RESTARTED. CODE: AN EXCEPTION WAS GENERATED WITH THE FOLLOWING CODE: Oxe06d7363. PRESS [OK] TO RESTART PORT MAGIC, OR [CANCEL] TO EXIT.
(I press OK but same wArning comes back.)
APPLE MOBILE DEVICE SERVICE.EXE APPLICATION ERROR. THE INSTRUCTION AT "Ox0072806f" REFERENCED MEMORY AT "Ox00947230". THE MEMORY COULD NOT BE "WRITTEN". CLICK ON OK TO TERMINATE THE PROGRAM.
What do I do?
Regards,
Leslie

ANSWER:
Hi Leslie,

Yvonne must have loaded them or they were added automatically by AOL. They interfere with wireless networking and should be removed from the system. To remove them click on Add/Remove programs in the control panel and click on the program name and hit remove on the right. Try removing port magic first and see if the connection improves. If you're still having problems remove the apple mobile software. I wasn't aware that you had an iTouch or iPhone connected to that laptop. Do you? That is the only reason to have that Apple software installed.

Let me know what happens.

All the best,

Ed Smit
Questions@JustAskEd.net

spyware,hijack

On 3/19/08, Larry wrote:
Question: Reanimate is a spyware company who has entered or as I would put it hijacked my computer. I have tried to remove with Superantivirus software and Mcafee. This program will not allow me to use any of them. i downloaded hijackthis and the program is blocking it also. Help!

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Answer: Have you tried Spybot - Search and Destroy or Ad-Aware to remove it? You can download these from download.com.

My Mac is sick

Bev writes: My Mac has recently been shutting down randomly while in the middle of use. No particular programs.

Answer: There can be many reasons for a computer shutting down randomly. Most likely causes are a faulty connection to power (check all of your cords and surge suppressors) or the power supply inside the Mac is defective. Based on their advertisement you'd think they never have a problem but their iMac line has had some power supply issues and of course since the unit is all self-contained (screen, cpu, power supply) in one case you need to drag the whole thing into the shop. In the NYC area I always recommend a store called Tekserve. They are the kings in getting a misbehaving Mac working again. Since I don't know what area you're in Bev you will have to lookup Mac repair in your area.

Good luck!
For more answers to your questions check out JustAskEd.blogspot.com

Just For Fun

I don't know who wrote this originally but it cracked me up. I have always appreciated Abbott and Costello.

Subject: ABBOTT AND COSTELLO 2009

If Bud Abbott and Lou Costello were alive today, their infamous sketch, "Who's on First?" might have turned out something like this:

COSTELLO CALLS TO BUY A COMPUTER FROM ABBOTT

ABBOTT: Super Duper computer store. Can I help you?

COSTELLO: Thanks. I'm setting up an office in my den and I'm thinking about buying a computer.

ABBOTT: Mac?

COSTELLO: No, the name's Lou.

ABBOTT: Your computer?

COSTELLO: I don't own a computer. I want to buy one.

ABBOTT: Mac?

COSTELLO: I told you, my name's Lou.

ABBOTT: What about Windows?

COSTELLO: Why? Will it get stuffy in here?

ABBOTT: Do you want a computer with Windows?

COSTELLO: I don't know. What will I see when I look at the windows?

ABBOTT: Wallpaper.

COSTELLO: Never mind the windows. I need a computer and software.

ABBOTT: Software for Windows?

COSTELLO: No. On the computer! I need something I can use to write proposals, track expenses and run my business. What do you have?

ABBOTT: Office.

COSTELLO: Yeah, for my office. Can you recommend anything?

ABBOTT: I just did.

COSTELLO: You just did what?

ABBOTT: Recommend something.

COSTELLO: You recommended something?

ABBOTT: Yes.

COSTELLO: For my office?

ABBOTT: Yes.

COSTELLO: OK, what did you recommend for my office?

ABBOTT: Office.

COSTELLO: Yes, for my office!

ABBOTT: I recommend Office with Windows.

COSTELLO: I already have an office with windows! OK, let's just say I'm sitting at my computer and I want to type a proposal. What do I need?

ABBOTT: Word.

COSTELLO: What word?

ABBOTT: Word in Office.

COSTELLO: The only word in office is office.

ABBOTT: The Word in Office for Windows.

COSTELLO: Which word in office for windows?

ABBOTT: The Word you get when you click the blue "W".

COSTELLO: I'm going to click your blue "w" if you don't start with some straight answers. What about financial bookkeeping? You have anything I can track my money with?

ABBOTT: Money.

COSTELLO: That's right. What do you have?

ABBOTT: Money.

COSTELLO: I need money to track my money?

ABBOTT: It comes bundled with your computer.

COSTELLO: What's bundled with my computer?

ABBOTT: Money.

COSTELLO: Money comes with my computer?

ABBOTT: Yes. No extra charge.

COSTELLO: I get a bundle of money with my computer? How much?

ABBOTT: One copy.

COSTELLO: Isn't it illegal to copy money?

ABBOTT: Microsoft gave us a license to copy Money.

COSTELLO: They can give you a license to copy money?

ABBOTT: Why not? THEY OWN IT!

(A few days later)

ABBOTT: Super Duper computer store. Can I help you?

COSTELLO: How do I turn my computer off?

ABBOTT: Click on "START".............?

Delete Music Off An iPod

Question From: Shay

How do I delete music off an ipod?

Answer: Hi, I missed your message in my spam filter. Since you didn't use my form on my website, the message didn't get flagged properly.

To delete music off an iPod you need to remove the songs from your list of music in iTunes or change the option for music to sync checked songs only there is a checkbox down near the bottom of the screen for your iPod in iTunes on the Summary Tab. The steps are...

Open iTunes

Connect your iPod with the USB cable

When iTunes detects your iPod it will appear in the list on the left of the iTunes window

Click on it once

Look at the screen that appears on the right and check the checkbox that says "Sync only checked songs and videos"

Once you do that you can uncheck the songs you don't want on your iPod in the iTunes window and the next time you sync, your songs will update on your iPod removing the unchecked songs.

There are a lot of ways to control music on your iPod but I find that method to be the easiest. Another method is to create a playlist in iTunes and set the Music option to only sync with that playlist or playlists. This takes more steps and confuses most beginners. If you want those instructions just reply to this message and I will send them along.

Happy iPodding,

Ed Smit

JustAskEd.blogspot.com

removing firewall

Jennifer Asks,

how do you remove a firewall?

Answer:

It depends on the firewall. If you have a simple Windows XP firewall you can disable it from the Control Panel. If it is a firewall from a third party vendor there are all sorts of ways to disable them.

For Windows XP Firewall...
Click on Start
Click on Control Panel
Click on Windows Firewall
Click on Off
Click on Ok