windows

Tue
24
Jun
Dennis Faas's picture

A Quick Way to Cycle Through Active Windows?

Arlene M. asks: " Dear Dennis, I have Windows XP Pro. Sometimes, [the window I'm working with stays on top of the desktop], and sometimes [it disappears below other windows]. Do you know how I can have my active window show up on top so I don't have ... to [constantly click through other windows to get to it]? " My Response: If a window is active (IE: in use), it will remain on top of all other windows. Once another window is clicked or moved, it becomes the active window. Some programs -- such as WinAMP (used to play .MP3 files) -- have a feature which can make its program window ... (view more)

Tue
10
Jun
Dennis Faas's picture

Modify Program Files Path?

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)

Tue
10
Jun
Dennis Faas's picture

Explorer Windows won't open maximized when launched?, Part 2

Last week, I asked Infopackets Readers if there was a way to make Explorer Windows always maximize when launched. Recall: " While flipping through emails and web pages in a fiendish learning frenzy, I offset an Explorer window to one side in order ... to get to another. When I finished what I was working on, I closed all Windows and shut the computer down. Since then, all Explorer windows I launch are opening in an offset position. Why does this happen and how can it be fixed? " Explorer Windows won't open maximized when launched? Since then, I received over 50 suggestions from ... (view more)

Thu
05
Jun
Dennis Faas's picture

Wrong File Type Association?, Part 2

After sorting through and reviewing nearly 300 emails in preparation for yesterday's article on "[How to] receive phone calls while using a dial-up Internet connection*", I decided today that it was time to clean out my Inbox and get a bit more ... organized. Side note: if you missed out on yesterday's article, you can read it online: Receive Phone calls when using Dialup Internet? As it turns out, I came across a bunch of old emails dating back to January of this year. The emails were from Infopackets Readers, who answered an old newsletter question pertaining to Windows File ... (view more)

Thu
05
Jun
Dennis Faas's picture

Explorer Windows Wont Open Maximized When Launched?

Recently, my Explorer windows stopped positioning themselves properly on the screen. While flipping through emails and web pages in a fiendish learning frenzy, I offset an Explorer window to one side in order to get to another. When I finished what ... I was working on, I closed all Windows and shut the computer down. Since then, all Explorer windows I launch are opening in an offset position. Desperate times seek desperate measures. In an attempt to fix the problem, I've tried closing all Explorer Windows, launching a new one, repositioning it in both minimized / maximized settings, and then ... (view more)

Tue
03
Jun
Dennis Faas's picture

Sound card distortion while Scrolling Mouse?, Part 2

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)

Tue
03
Jun
Dennis Faas's picture

WinGuides TweakManager Review

Last week's article about tweaking spurred a few comments from our Readers. Wait a sec -- what is tweaking? In techy-terms, the word "tweak" means to optimize. With respect to PCs, tweaking may refer to one of three things: a hardware tweak (the PC ... itself), a software tweak (an application, or the operating system), or both. On the weekend, Bob T. from Wisconsin sent me an email: " Hi Dennis! Great article [last week] on tweaking. I really enjoyed reading it. I'm sure you've probably about this already, but your readers may also want to know about a program called WinGuides ... (view more)

Thu
29
May
Dennis Faas's picture

Sound card distortion while Scrolling Mouse?

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)

Tue
27
May
Dennis Faas's picture

How to customize the Send To Menu

Infopackets Reader Cleo writes: " I have tried putting Microsoft Word in my Send To Menu a dozen times: it shows up in the send to folder in the C drive, but won't show up in the Send To Menu. Any ideas? " My response: It is possible that the Send ... To shortcuts were placed in the wrong SendTo folder. For Windows 9x and NT, the SendTo folder location is C:\Windows\SendTo. For Windows 2000 and XP, the whereabouts of the [current] SendTo folder depends on which user logged in to the machine. The Send To feature allows users to launch a file using a program which has not been previously ... (view more)

Thu
22
May
Dennis Faas's picture

Repair Internet Explorer

Today, David M. sent me an email asking me how to go about Repairing Internet Explorer: " Hello Dennis! The May 20, 2003 issue of the Gazette mentioned the very useful Internet Explorer Repair Tool, accessed from Add/Remove Programs in Control ... Panel. In the past, this method has worked for me when using Win98 and IE5. However, I now run Win2K and IE6 and the IE Repair Tool isn't listed in the Add/Remove Programs, so I can't repair it. Do you or any of your learned readers have any ideas, please? " My Response: I get asked this question a lot from readers, so I've decided to provide ... (view more)

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