Windows Tips

Infopackets Reader 'wb7wvo' writes: " Dear Dennis, How do I find a program I just downloaded? I tried the Windows Search feature, but it doesn't seem to be able to find it. I recently downloaded a ham radio program to my desktop, but it never showed ... up. I downloaded it again, but the same thing happened. I can't seem to find my downloads ever since I upgraded to the latest release of Firefox. I feel like I goofed up somehow, but for the life of me I can't find the program I just downloaded. Any suggestions? " My response: If the file downloaded successfully, it should be in your Download ... (view more)

Infopackets Reader 'controlbob' writes: " Dear Dennis, I have an HP laptop running Windows Vista and I plan to upgrade to Windows 7 using an OEM install disc. Do you know if the OEM Windows 7 will be approved for the free Windows 10 upgrade when it ... becomes available? Are the hardware requirements for the Windows 10 similar to Windows 7? Can I upgrade / migrate to Windows 10, or do I need to do a clean install? " My Response: The short answer is that yes, you can get the free upgrade to Windows 10 if you currently have Windows 7 or 8.1 installed -- providing you claim the ... (view more)

Infopackets Reader 'Gloria' writes: " Dear Dennis, My laptop is set to go to sleep after a period of inactivity, but always freezes after it wakes up. When I press the power button to resume from sleep, the screen turns on but the laptop freezes and ... I can't input anything while I wait for it to wake up. This goes on for some time. At this point I usually power it off completely, then restart it with a cold boot because I hate waiting. How can I fix my laptop's sleep so it wakes up faster and so it doesn't always hang? " My Response: I don't recommend powering off your laptop to circumvent the ... (view more)

Infopackets Reader Michael C. writes: " Dear Dennis, I have a USB drive attached to my router. This drive is shared by several computers through the router on my home private network. My question is: if one of my computers became infected by a file ... locking virus such as CryptoLocker , would the network drive or the connected computers become infected or encrypted? If so, is there a way to prevent this? " My Response: It is possible for a virus to self replicate and infect other computers on the network, but that depends on the type of virus. At the time of writing, CryptoLocker is not a self ... (view more)

Infopackets Reader 'placeyourbet777' writes: " Dear Dennis, I have Windows Vista Home Premium on my laptop and I'd like to upgrade to Windows 7 Ultimate, as my computer is getting very slow and outdated. Is it possible for me to upgrade from Windows ... Vista to Windows 7 and make it work using 64-bit? Thanks in advance. " My response: The simple answer is that, yes, you can upgrade Windows Vista Home Premium to Windows 7 Ultimate. However, there are some conditions, as well as things to consider before you make the leap, namely: 1. The upgrade path must be valid 2. The 32-bit or 64-bit ... (view more)

Infopackets Reader 'TNStumbler' writes: " Dear Dennis, I'm running Windows 7 Pro and my computer takes too long to start -- upwards of 85 seconds or so. I am running Malware Bytes Pro (paid version) and it has not found any malware. So, it must be ... that too many programs are being loaded during boot. Which programs can I remove from my startup? " My Response: There are plenty of utilities out there that can help you remove items from the startup. I personally prefer to use msconfig because it's already part of Windows XP, Vista, Windows 7 and Windows 8. It's very simple to use, though figuring ... (view more)

Infopackets Reader 'biggrampa' writes: " Dear Dennis, Regarding Windows Live Essentials: I have an error message stating that wldcore.dll missing or not found. I have tried to reinstall Windows Live Essentials but it says it is already there, and I ... have latest version. I have also tried uninstalling using revo uninstaller, but it says that the program cannot be found. When I try to run Windows Live Mail, it says wldcore.dll missing. Any ideas? " My Response: Most likely a Windows Registry setting is corrupt and pointing to an invalid location of the wldcore.dll file. To fix the error, you can ... (view more)

Infopackets Reader 'ltb223' writes: " Dear Dennis, Is it possible to download all my email messages from my computer to a CD or a thumb drive so I can read them later? If so how do I go about it? My email account is with gmail. Thank you. " My ... response: There are a number of ways to go about downloading and archiving email messages (whether it's gmail, hotmail, aol, or yahoo); in general, there are two main ways to achieve this: you can either export emails via web interface if your email service supports it, or export emails using an email client if you use pop3 or imap to connect and read ... (view more)

Infopackets Reader 'vking' writes: " Dear Dennis, I have a wireless network inside my home and I want to share it with my neighbor, who lives approximately 250 feet away. Is there a WiFi range extender that I can purchase which allows me to share my ... Internet access and computer network with my neighbor? " Related: How to Fix: Stop Neighbors Stealing My WiFi Related: Need to extend your Wifi coverage at home or in the office? Read this: Explained: What is Mesh WiFi? vs Extender, Router? My response: Yes, there is, however I need to clarify a few things, first. The purpose of a WiFi range ... (view more)

Infopackets Reader Bill C. writes: " Dear Dennis, I run Windows 7 64 bit on my computer and my wife has an old Windows XP 32-bit PC (Dell Inspiron E521). She's a real stickler about [keeping her PC exactly the way it is, so she can still access all ... her files and programs, but I know it's time for an upgrade and I'd like to upgrade it to Windows 7 64 bit for her] ... I already have on hand all the items I thought I'd need: Windows 7 upgrade CD, more RAM for her PC, two new 1 TB hard drives, a video card, etc. What I'd like to be able to do is make a disk image clone of her old XP hard drive, ... (view more)