computer

Over the weekend I received a handful of interesting comments from Readers concerning the ' controversy ' over Ashampoo and Magic Defrag . Infopackets Reader Thomas W. begins with some findings cited by a well known computer magazine in Germany: " ... Here's some interesting news regarding the Magic Defrag 'controversy': the German computer magazine C't -- well known for its objective side-by-side tests -- tested Diskeeper 9 and Norton's Speed Disk versus the Defrag built into Windows XP. The consensus of the article was that Diskeeper does not provide much of an advantage over Windows ... (view more)

Disk Cloning or Disk Imaging is a category of software which copies the contents of one computer hard disk to another, or onto a secondary medium such as a DVD or CD Recordable. A disk cloning program is most commonly used by large companies to ... provision new computers to install the initial package of the operating system and applications for sale, or by home computer users who wish to backup their operating systems in a healthy state. An individual user may also use disk cloning to upgrade to a new hard disk or backup an existing operating system. To provision the hard disk of a computer ... (view more)

You know, we all make fun of those "Computer Help Desk" emails that get passed around? Well -- try working at a real Computer Help Desk for a living! But, seriously. It is a real problem trying to help someone over the phone (especially having them ... type in a DOS command)! Remember the old "cup holder" email joke that got passed around where the guy on the other line thought that the CD ROM tray was a cup holder? Well -- have you ever tried to give good advice? Good advice always starts with the typical "beginning steps." Why? Because the person asking may or may not understand what is meant ... (view more)

Synopsis: Wouldn't it be cool if you could type in a word and have your computer perform a series of functions? With SureType, it's a reality! No matter what you are doing on your computer -- and regardless of which application you're using -- you ... could just type in word\ (for example), and immediately have Microsoft Word load. Similarly, you could type excel\ and Microsoft Excel will open -- or, you could type in address\ and have your full email address typed onto the screen! With SureType, the possibilities are endless. And don't forget: only when you type the special expansion key after a ... (view more)

Synopsis: It is estimated that digital cameras account for half the cameras in the world and now represent well over 50% of all photographic devices (Source: analysphere.com ). If you're a digital camera owner, then you most likely store your photos ... on your computer. However, what most folks don't take into consideration is that fact that by storing your photos on the computer, your precious memories are also at the mercy of a hacker, a new strain of virus, or even a disasterous computer crash! So what would you do if you lost all your photos? Introducing: Acoustica Photos Forever If you have ... (view more)

Infopackets Reader Jimmy B. writes: " Dear Dennis, I'm running windows XP and use Webroot Spy Sweeper and Norton Anti Virus. Sometimes I'll be using my computer when -- all of the sudden -- I get this very strange error message that reads 'Windows ... Form Parking Window' error and it shuts my computer down. What is Windows Form Parking Window and how can I stop it from appearing? I've done a Spyware and AntiVirus scan of my computer and haven't come up with anything. Can you help? " My response: From what I read via Google, the "Windows Form Parking Window" or " ... (view more)

Infopackets Reader Jim M. writes: " Dear Dennis, I always have problems running Microsoft Windows defrag because it continually restarts and takes forever to finish. A lot of the time I have to restart my computer in Safe Mode and run defrag just to ... get it to finish properly -- and most of the time it takes 2 to 4 hours to complete and I cannot use my computer! I am writing you today because I just finished reading your latest article on PowerUp XP Platinum 2 , and noticed that you briefly mentioned a program called Magic Defrag. Can you please tell me how this works? I've never heard of ... (view more)

In computing, a reboot refers to restarting a device. A reboot can be a soft reboot or a hard reboot. Soft Reboot A soft reboot (also known as a warm reboot, in contrast to a cold reboot) is restarting a computer under software control, without ... removing power or (directly) triggering a reset line. It usually, though not always, refers to an orderly shut-down, rather than a "reboot". The Control-Alt-Delete key combination on the original IBM PC was designed to allow a soft reboot for a quicker and more convenient (and, some argue, less stressful on system components) restart than ... (view more)

Infopackets Reader Diane M. writes: " Dear Dennis, I just love getting your newsletters! They have helped me so much in the past. My question is in regard to a process named ccApp.exe: when I shut down my computer, I often have to wait for a long ... time before it actually shuts down to reboot. Most of the time I will get an error stating that 'ccApp.exe is not responding' and when I click to end the process, my computer remains frozen. Often times I have to reset the computer manually. Can you please help me out with this problem? I'm running Windows XP. Thanks for any help you can offer ... (view more)

A screensaver is a computer program originally designed to conserve the image quality of computer displays by blanking the screen or filling them with moving images or patterns when the computers are not in use. Today, screensavers are primarily for ... entertainment or security purposes. Until recently, most computer screens depended on cathode ray tubes (CRTs). CRT images are generated using electron beams which are "launched" from the back of the monitor and "draw" images continuously on the screen. Most computer programs paint images in the screen. Some of these images (letters, pictures, ... (view more)