Windows Tips

Thu
26
Sep
Dennis Faas's picture

How do I retrieve files that have been deleted from the Recycle Bin?

Infopackets Reader Rick J. asks, " How do I get back something that I deleted from the recycle bin? " My Response: One way to empty a Recycle Bin is to right-click over top of the Recycle Bin and select "Empty Recycle Bin." If you deleted a file (or ... files) permanently by emptying the Recycle Bin, there is no way for you to get it back -- it's gone for good. This is true, unless you use some sort of special software to retrieve a deleted file from your hard drive -- but even that is not not always 100%; furthermore, the effort involved in file recovery is usually 'over the ... (view more)

Wed
25
Sep
Dennis Faas's picture

My sound volume control is missing from the Windows tray bar?

Infopackets Reader Arlene M. asks, " For some reason, the little speaker icon is gone from my system tray. Do you know how I may get it back? " My Response: If you're talking about Windows XP, the volume control is available from the Control Panel ... under Sounds and Audio Devices; place a check-mark by the Place Volume in Task bar. If you don't have Win XP, you can try to reinstall your sound icon by going to Control Panel -> Add / Remove Programs, Windows Setup tab and then double click the Multimedia icon and place a checkmark on Volume Control. If it's already there, take the ... (view more)

Wed
18
Sep
Dennis Faas's picture

How can I change the Windows boot screen?

Infopackets Reader Jim J. writes: " Dear Dennis, If you know, could you please tell me the name of the file that contains the image "Microsoft Windows 98" that appears just before Windows loads? " My Response: The windows load screen is simply a ... Bitmap (BMP) graphic file, but has been renamed with an SYS extension. The file you're looking for is listed here: c:\windows\logo.sys = start c:\windows\logos.sys = shutdown To replace either file, its resolution must 320 x 400 resolution and in the Bitmap (BMP), PLUS it must be renamed to either logo.sys or logos.sys. For example ... (view more)

Wed
18
Sep
Dennis Faas's picture

Setting an Environment Variable

It appears that the last issue of the newsletter sparked some real interest amongst many Infopackets Readers (RE: tracert.exe and ping.exe ). At this time, I would like to address the problem that Infopackets Reader Stephen C. wrote to me about not ... being able to access any MS DOS commands from the command prompt under Windows. He writes: " When I [attempt to] run [MS DOS commands, such as ping.exe or tracert.exe] under the command window, I get an error message which reads: 'ping' is not recognized as an internal or external command, operable program or batch file. Any ideas? I have ... (view more)

Tue
17
Sep
Dennis Faas's picture

How can I set up my modem to my network (ethernet) card under Windows?

Infopackets Reader - J Lerch. writes: " Dear Dennis, I have an ethernet card (network card) and external Cisco modem installed on my old computer. I recently purchased a new computer, and would like to transfer my network card and modem to the new ... computer. Could you give instructions on how to do this? I would like to do this myself (this time) because the last time cost me almost $200 dollars! " My Response: Anything to do with networking a computer can be highly involved. I will outline the steps taken, but will not go into too much detail: Open your old computer. Take out your ... (view more)

Thu
12
Sep
Dennis Faas's picture

How do I convert Outlook Express 5.5 emails to 6.0 using Windows 98?

Infopackets Reader 'George' writes: " Dear Dennis, I have Windows 98 installed on my machine. I have installed Internet Explorer 6.0 which also upgraded my Outlook Express to version 6.0. I still have some Outlook Express 5.5 emails that I would ... like to import to Outlook Express 6.0, but there is only a single option to import Outlook Express version 4.0 emails. How can I get my version 5.5 emails? By the way, I have learned many things from your newsletters -- thanks for that! " My Response: At first, I was under the impression that Outlook 5.5 emails were compatible with Outlook 6 ... (view more)

Tue
10
Sep
Dennis Faas's picture

Windows XP Crashes with My Nvidia Geforce Mx 400 Video Card?, Part 2

As some of you may know, I recently installed Windows XP on my system. So far, not so good. My computer system has one of those cutting-edge video cards (NVidia GeForce 400 MX w/ 64 meg) that allows me to output the video to my monitor and my big ... screen TV. I use my DVD drive (inside the computer) to play videos on my TV. Yeah, it's a pretty sweet setup. I have the latest NVidia drivers (30.82) for my video card (for Windows 2000 / XP). When the driver is installed, I get a message that "this video driver has not been certified by Microsoft ... blah blah" warning. Basically, this ... (view more)

Thu
05
Sep
Dennis Faas's picture

Outlook Express is sending multiple JPG images?

Gazette Reader Ken P. writes: " Dear Dennis, When I attach a jpeg file to an email message it will send 8 copies. If I attach 2jpeg files 16 copies are sent etc.. It does not do it with bitmap or any text files just jpeg. They suggested reinstalling ... Norton Anti Virus, but there was no difference. I sent a test message with attached jpeg file to my computer at work and one message shows up in my in box, as a jpeg file, and the seven others show up in the deleted box as .DAT files. I did a virus scan and all is OK. What do you think? " My Response: The only time I've experienced anything ... (view more)

Tue
03
Sep
Dennis Faas's picture

Windows and Scandisk stuck in a Loop?, Part 2

In this issue, I wanted to talk about the Scandisk dilemma that was addressed in a few issues ago in our Visitor Feedback. Recall: " I ran defrag on my hard drive using Windows XP Pro. Having completed that, I clicked on Scandisk to check the drive ... for errors. It was at this point that a window popped up and told me to shut down and reboot to run Scandisk. Now I can't get back into my system! Every time my system boots, it goes through the Scandisk. 3 hours later, it finishes Scandisk, then reboots the system... and restarts the process over again. When I try and cancel Scandisk, the computer ... (view more)

Tue
03
Sep
Dennis Faas's picture

Microsoft Outlook or Outlook Express?

Infopackets Reader Wayne M. writes: " Dear Dennis, My question is regarding the two types of the Outlook program that come with Windows (Outlook and Outlook Express). Outlook Express comes with Internet Explorer and Microsoft Outlook comes with MS ... Office. What I would like to know is how can I make it so that I only have one on my system? It becomes very confusing with two of them. I have found that when installing MS Office, it asks to configure MS Outlook but does not transfer emails or address over from Outlook Express. I have to setup a computer for some friends who are very new to ... (view more)

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