windows xp

From the earliest times of counting on our fingers and toes, to the use of the abacus to desktop calculators -- working with numbers has come a long way. And what's more: you can ramp up your Windows XP calculator with Microsoft Calculator Plus, and ... run applications your old pocket calculator never dreamed of. Best of all, this utility offered from Microsoft is absolutely free! The Calculator applet that comes with Windows XP is basically the same as the one that came with Windows 3.0. If you've always wanted an updated Calculator applet with some more advanced features, you owe it to ... (view more)

Infopackets Reader Jamie T. from the UK writes: " Dear Dennis, When I hover my mouse pointer over a window, it automatically brings that window to the front. I don't understand why this happening all the sudden. I can't seem to find any settings in ... the Control Panel where I can stop the mouse from stealing focus. Can you help? " My response: The mouse focus setting may be the result of a program you recently installed. At any rate, you can adjust mouse focus (enable or disable) it with a freeware Microsoft utility, called TweakUI (a part of the PowerToys collection). A download link ... (view more)

Recall -- Yesterday, Andy P. asked if there was a freeware program that could display the send and receive activity of his internal modem: " I use a dialup Internet connection from AOL. Before I upgraded to Windows XP, I ran a wonderful utility ... called 'FMLights' which allowed me to view the Send and Receive activity internal modem. Unfortunately, FMLights is not compatible with Windows XP, and I can no longer view my network traffic when I'm connected to the Internet ... If you can recommend a freeware application that displays my modem lights and is compatible with Windows XP, that ... (view more)

Infopackets Reader Andy P. writes: " Dear Dennis, I use a dialup Internet connection from AOL. Before I upgraded to Windows XP, I ran a wonderful utility called 'FMLights' which allowed me to view the Send and Receive activity internal modem. ... Unfortunately, FMLights is not compatible with Windows XP, and I can no longer view my network traffic when I'm connected to the Internet. I understand that Window XP has the ability to show a network activity in the tray bar [RE: 'show icon in notification area when connected'], but this feature is unavailable when I click the properties of my AOL ... (view more)

The Control Panel is part of the Microsoft Windows graphical user interface (GUI) menu. It is accessible from the Start Menu, which allows users to view and manipulate basic system settings and controls, such as: adding hardware, adding/removing ... software, controlling user accounts, changing accessibility options, and more. The Control Panel is accessed by going into Start -> Settings -> Control Panel on Windows 95, 98, and Me and directly from Windows XP. Control Panel Categories in Windows XP In Windows XP, the following Control Panel options are present: Accessibility Options: allows ... (view more)

On many computer operating systems, " SuperUser " is the term used for the special user account that is controlled by the system administrator. SuperUser: Unix and Unix-like In Unix-style computer operating systems, root is the conventional name of ... the user who has all rights or permissions in all modes (single- or multi-user). The user root can do many things an ordinary user cannot, such as changing the ownership of files and binding to ports numbered below 1024. Generally, it is not good practice for anyone to use root as their normal user account, because simple typographical ... (view more)

Infopackets Reader Linda R. from the United Kingdom writes: " Dear Dennis, Thanks again for all the help in the past. I have an urgent question, however. The past two days when I reboot my Windows XP machine, I am getting message 'Windows has to be ... Activated within [now] 6 days', and prompts me to click on Yes. When I do this, a larger box comes up with the message, 'Windows already activated.' What does all this mean? " My response: That's very strange! If you have the original Windows XP install disc, you (or the person who installed XP) were supposed to enter the CD Key in the ... (view more)

wiredNews.com is reporting that an anti-phishing tool (currently only available in the beta stage of Internet Explorer version 7 ) will be available to all Windows XP Service Pack 2 users before the full release of IE7. Here's the full story: " ... Microsoft Corp. will soon make available to the general public a tool for warning users about 'phishing' scams that could lead to identity theft. Currently, such a tool comes only with the Internet Explorer 7 browser, which is available in tests only to a select group of developers. But within a few weeks, Microsoft will incorporate it into a ... (view more)

" Dear Dennis, My PC with Windows XP is getting slower and slower. I need to do some spring cleaning and I think the best way is to reinstall the Operating System. My question is: how can I reinstall Windows XP with all the latest updates at the ... same time? You answered a similar question like this before, but didn't give any details or refer the reader to a location to get the information. I think this procedure is called 'Slipstreaming'. Thanks. " My response: Just to recap: slipstreaming means to integrate the latest Service Pack into the Windows installation CD. Service Packs are ... (view more)

Infopackets Reader Aimee P. writes: " Dear Dennis, I would like to transfer some photos from my work laptop to my personal laptop. What is the easiest way to do this? Is there some cord I can buy that can connect the two laptops which will enable me ... to transfer the photos quickly? The work laptop is a Toshiba Satellite Pro Pentium 4 on Windows XP. My personal laptop is an old Compaq on Windows 2000. Any advice is appreciated! " My response: There are a number of ways you can transfer your photos [or any other file type, for that matter] from one laptop to another. My answer is in no ... (view more)