Hardware

In the last 36 hours, I've received a slew of emails from Readers concerning a program used to move installed application from one hard drive letter to another. Recall -- Infopackets Reader John T. wrote: " ... I've recently partitioned [split] my ... hard drive into two drive letters (C and D drives) so that I can keep my operating system [Windows] separate from my user files ... My question: is there a program that will transfer programs and shortcuts from one hard drive partition to another, and also change the system registry to reflect the move? " In my response to John, I ... (view more)

Infopackets Reader John T. 'oldbiker' writes: " Dear Dennis, First of all I think your newsletter -- it's great. I recently partitioned [split] my hard drive into two drive letters (C and D drives), so that I could move my installed programs over to ... D drive and leave C for Windows only. This way, if Windows crashes on me, I can format C drive and not worry about losing any my improtant data (on D drive). [Side note: This is also a great strategy for keeping disk image backups small, and to reduce the time it takes to create an image file]. My question: is there a program that will ... (view more)

Infopackets Reader Alfredo "Mexican55" writes: " Dear Dennis, I just finished reading yesterday's newsletter regarding DVD-R and DVD+R media. My question is related and pertains to file backup. In your opinion, what approach should I use to backing ... up my files, programs, etc? And do you recommend saving to CD or DVD media? My hard drive is less than 10 gigabytes in size. " My response: Deciding which media type is suitable for backup depends on how much information you want to archive, and the type of backup solution you choose. Having said that, I'd like to provide a ... (view more)

Infopackets Reader Merlin A. writes: " Dear Dennis, With all the great holiday (and post-holiday) offers, I decided to upgrade my old 10.5GB hard drive to a much larger 160GB unit. From what I understand, I need to transfer ALL data to large drive ... and make it my primary ("c") drive but don't know to go about doing this. Can you please advise me on what I need to do? " My response: If you want to transfer the *entire* contents of your old hard drive and "clone" it to the newer drive, you will need a disk imaging program. After the "clone" has been ... (view more)

Infopackets Reader James M. writes: " I have a Compaq Presario 7360 and would like to replace my on-board (integrated) sound card with a third-party, PCI sound board (such as a SoundBlaster). How do I go about disabling the on-board sound so that ... the computer will recognize and use the new sound card? " My response: Typically, this is done by disabling the on-board sound card within the CMOS (also referred to as the BIOS). The CMOS is instantiated by pressing the DEL or F2 key (or some other combination) as soon as you turn your computer. Once you are inside the CMOS menu, you may ... (view more)

Recall -- A few days ago, Infopackets Reader Ted B. asked if there was a way to connect 2 wireless PCs [one using Win98, the other WinXP] together without using a router as a Wireless Access Pointer (WAP). He wrote: " ... An elderly lady recently ... came into the shop and needed help with wireless networking (802.11) between her older Hewlett Packard computer (running Windows 98SE) and her XP notebook. Unfortunately, we could not get the connections working. She had opted for a wireless network because she did not want to run a long cord from her bedroom to her living room to connect the ... (view more)

Infopackets Reader Don K. writes: " Dear Dennis, My computer has 1000 megabytes of primary system memory (RAM). I recently partitioned (split) one of my hard drives into a separate drive letter (Drive Z, for example) and set it as a dedicated unit ... handle all my virtual (secondary) memory. After it was all said and done, a friend of mine commented that having 1 gigabyte of RAM in my machine is plenty of primary memory, and I've wasted my time trying to optimize my system by setting up a separate drive letter for virtual memory. Do you agree with my friend's comments? " My response: ... (view more)

Infopackets Reader Judy R. writes: " Dear Dennis, I am looking for a laptop that would support an online business. I have a decent computer at home, but would like to have a separate computer for the business. I was thinking of a laptop; are there ... any you would recommend? I would need some ability to back-up. We have DSL High Speed Internet at home and would like to go wireless. We're a little lost on how to do that, though we have the parts. PS: I enjoy your newsletter -- some of it is way over my head, but I am getting some good basic information. Keep up the good work. Thank you. ... (view more)

Infopackets Reader Felix P. writes: " Dear Dennis, I have a brand new Dell 8400 computer. Whenever I boot the computer, I receive an error message which reads, "Digital Input: cannot display this video mode". I've made numerous calls to Dell, have ... checked my settings, video card drivers, etc, but to no avail. Dell even sent me a new flat panel monitor and a tech came to my house and replaced the video card, but the problem persists. The computer and monitor appear to operate properly. Any suggestions? " My response: The problem you are describing is normal behavior for ... (view more)