Ikara from Australia writes: " Thanks, Dennis! I have been reading your [recent] descriptions and explanations [about disk imaging, partitioning, and installing to another drive letter] with interest. I can understand [the reason for wanting to ... install an application to another drive letter, especially in the case of disk imaging] ... but some installation procedures ... [won't let] me to decide [where to install my files]. The last [program I tried installing] ... was MusicMatch Media Player, [and] it gave me absolutely no choice at all [as to where the files were to be installed], ... (view more)

Recall: Almost all applications (downloaded off the Internet / run from CD) need to be installed onto Windows using a program installer (commonly known as Setup.exe). In most cases, the program setup will attempt to install a program to the base ... folder C:\program files\. Yesterday, I asked Readers if it was possible to change the Windows default program installation folder to something other than C:\program files\. Rodger D. and many other users recommended using TweakUI to perform such a task: " Microsoft's TweakUI program [http link below] is able to change the default program ... (view more)

Over the weekend, Robert L. asked me a question about Disk Imaging. Recall: If Windows stops working properly (due to error messages, programs suddenly stop working properly, or general lockups / system freezes / crashes), disk imaging can restore ... Windows to a previously healthy state: often within minutes. Previous to disk imaging, the only "fail safe" way to fix Windows was to reinstall it from the beginning. Disk imaging can also transfer an existing copy of Windows to another hard drive (commonly used to upgrade from a smaller hard drive to a larger drive). Robert asks: " During the last ... (view more)

Last week, Infopackets Gazette Reader Bill T. asked me how to correct a sound problem he was having with respect to his computer speakers and mouse . Recall: " I like to listen to music on the computer while reading my email, but while scrolling ... through email or web pages, I get this noise that sounds like dragging a needle across an old 79 rpm record. Please advise if you have any ideas? " My response: I suggested a number of remedies for Bill, including: disable Digital Playback in Windows Media Player ensure the sound card has no conflicts in Device Manager move the sound card to the last ... (view more)

Infopackets Gazette Reader Bill T. from Merkel, Texas writes: " Dear Dennis, I look forward to your newsletter and have enjoyed and learned a great deal from your tips! Unfortunately, I am having problems with noise after installing Windows XP Home ... Edition. I like to listen to music on the computer while reading my email, but while scrolling through email or web pages, I get this noise that sounds like dragging a needle across an old 79 rpm record. Please advise if you have any ideas? " My response: Yes, I have a few things that come to mind! First things first: this dilemma sounds ... (view more)

Infopackets Reader Warren P. writes: " Dear Dennis, I'm a new member of your newsletter and have a question! I have Word Perfect 2000 installed on my computer. It appears that I am no longer able to open Microsoft Word (.DOC) files. Earlier versions ... of .DOC files opened up in Word Pad. Any ideas? " My Response: There are a few possibilities that I can think of. Either: a) The Windows file association for .DOC files may have changed and no longer points to Word Pad, or b) The .DOC file could have been corrupt and is producing an error message. In this case, try to obtain another copy and avoid ... (view more)

In the last newsletter, a user named Rezzy47 had problems shutting down and restarting his system in order to run ScanDisk on his hard drive. Recall: " I run Windows XP Home Edition. Every time I attempt to run ScanDisk [CHKDSK] on one of my hard ... drives, Windows gives me the message, ' Please wait while windows restarts ... ', but never does. Is there a fix to this problem? " My response: I didn't have a sure-fire fix for Rezzy47, but suggested the following: Install the latest Windows XP Service Pack (1) and bug fixes. Searching the Microsoft Knowledge Base / Dell web site for a fix. As a ... (view more)

In a previous newsletter, Infopackets Reader Robert G. asked: " I have Windows XP and use the Classic Start Menu. Is there a way to show all programs, without having to click that double arrow at the bottom of the Start Menu?" My Response: In short, ... I wasn't sure how to do this. I mentioned in the previous newsletter that I tried a few options but nothing seemed to work. Shortly after the last newsletter was mailed out, a few Gazette Readers informed me of a combination of clicks which would rid the Start Menu of the double-arrows. As it turns out, disabling the "Use Personalized Menus" ... (view more)

Yesterday, I wrote about a problem that Ed B. from Long Island, New York had with some pictures not showing up as "thumbnails" in Windows XP. I suggested that Ed may have inadvertently saved some of his graphic files with the wrong extension. I ... received a few suggestions from readers with their thoughts. In fact, Pippie wrote to tell me about a security issue with viewing thumbnails in Windows XP: " MS turned off a few features in the Thumbnail View for stability ... (view more)

Infopackets Reader Liz H. writes: " Dear Dennis, I appreciated the information on how to uninstall MSN/Windows Messenger -- although, I personally like it -- but, I'd rather see how to uninstall Windows Media Player (v9.0 beta specifically for Win ... XP) WITHOUT reformatting the hard drive or using System Restore. I'm of the opinion it can't be done without resorting to these fairly drastic measures. PS: Thank you for these wonderful newsletters! " My Response: I visited the Microsoft download web site in search of Media Player 9, and I found these comments: " Note: [Windows Media Player beta 9 ... (view more)