Windows Tips

Recall -- On Monday, Temple D. told me of a familiar problem with Windows XP and Dialup Networking: " I have just bought a new Dell computer that has Windows XP and I use dial-up Internet. Every time I disconnect from the Internet, my computer ... defaults back to 'Never Dial a Connection'. I've reset it to 'always dial my default connection', hit 'Apply', and 'OK' -- but, when I try to connect again, I get an error message which reads 'No Connection Available.' Subsequently, when I go into Tools -> Internet Options -> Connections, the option 'Never Dial a Connection' has been re- ... (view more)

Die-hard Infopackets Reader Brandon L. writes: " Dear Dennis, Do you have any idea why my taskbar icons have suddenly become so large and 'clunky' looking? The graphics which represent each running program have become very poor quality and I can't ... seem to figure out why this has happened. Do you know of any solution? Take care, and thanks for the great newsletters!" My response: Oddly enough, I found myself in the same predicament only a few weeks ago when I was visiting my mother using her computer. I noticed that her taskbar icons were oddly shaped and also noticed that some of ... (view more)

Recall -- In Yesterday's Gazette Newsletter, Dorothy L. told me that her eye sight is not what it used to be, and has a difficult time reading the newsletter without a magnifying glass. I responded to her dilemma by providing two different ways she ... could increase font size in both Outlook Express and Internet Explorer: Change Font size in Outlook Express and Internet Explorer? Today, Leo F. suggested that Dorothy try a freeware program called "Super Magnify", which "magnifies portions of the screen up to 15 times". Leo writes: " The large Font tip you offered Dorothy ... (view more)

Infopackets Reader Dorothy L. writes: " Dear Dennis, I am most interested in all the information you provide, however, I suffer from an eye disorder and have a very difficult time reading text. Can you please tell me how I can increase the size of ... the font so that I don't need to use a magnifying glass? Thank you for your attention to this matter. " My response: If you use Outlook Express to view your email, you can increase font size by clicking View -> Text Size -> Largest. If you have a Scroll Mouse (a mouse with a wheel on the top), you can also decrease / increase size of ... (view more)

Infopackets Reader Mary J. writes: " The problem I'm having is with my Windows 2000 OS. For some reason, I lost the options in my search category (Start -> Search). Do you have any idea how I can get them back? I don't remember now what I had ... installed that caused this problem, but it also happened to me on a computer that was running Windows ME. " My Response: Unfortunately, I have never experienced this problem before -- so I can only guess on a solution. I tried searching Google and Microsoft's Knowledge Base for an answer, but had a heck of a time trying to figure out what to ... (view more)

Infopackets Reader Doug D. writes: " Dear Dennis, I get a lot out of your newsletter and hope you can help me. There are many files listed in my Windows Startup, and some of the names appear more than once. I even have programs listed on my computer ... which no longer exist! How do I remove any unneeded listings? I removed the programs from the register using a RegCleaner, but they are still listed in the Startup. " My Response: I get asked this question quite often, and have commented on it before in the newsletter. The truth is that many of the programs listed in the Startup can be ... (view more)

Infopackets Reader Colette C. writes: " Dear Dennis, I'm running Windows XP Professional and would like to know where I can find some easy-to-understand information about how to install and uninstall Windows XP themes. I'm having trouble try to ... disable the sounds which play when Maximizing and Minimizing a window. What can you suggest? " Side note: A theme for Windows consists of sounds and pictures which encapsulate a subject (for example: sports, art, computers, etc). Events on the PC coincide with particular sound files, such as opening or closing a window, or perhaps shutting ... (view more)

It appears that Infopackets Readers leave quite an impressionable footprint when visiting a web site that has been mentioned in the Infopackets newsletter. At least, that's what Andrew Finkle of Siber Systems informed me today. Since mid-April of ... this year, well over 2,000 Infopackets Readers have downloaded an installed RoboForm on their machine. Reminder: What is RoboForm? RoboForm remembers and completes web-form data on web sites. If you frequent sites which require login information (IE: user name and password) -- or, if you just plain hate filling out repetitive web-form data, RoboForm ... (view more)

Infopackets Reader Stephen K. writes: " Dear Dennis, I’m running Outlook 2002 on a Windows XP-Home OS. Recently I cancelled one of my recurring appointments (a Weekly Meeting), and deleted it from my Outlook Calendar. Unfortunately, the same  ...reminder continues to show up on my Outlook Daily Reminder List. When I try to postpone or delete if from this list, I get the following messages: Error Message 1: 'Cannot turn off the reminder. You may be reminded again. The message you specified cannot be found.' Clicking OK, the only option, leads to the next error message. Error Message 2: 'There ...<a href="/news/9204/ms-outlook-reminder-stuck-loop" class="more-link">view more

Die-hard Infopackets Reader Brandon S. writes: " Dear Dennis, How can I enable or disable the Auto Complete feature in Microsoft Outlook? It worked previously in Outlook Express but doesn't seem activated in MS Outlook. Thanks for everything, and ... take care! " My response: I personally don't use Microsoft Outlook, so I decided to use Google to try and find the answer to Brandon's question. The suggestions below are based on some of Google's top picks. To Recap: When enabled, the Auto Complete feature suggests frequently used email addresses when data is entered in the To:, Bcc: or Cc ... (view more)