Windows Tips

Tue

Jun

A Quick Way to Cycle Through Active Windows?

by Dennis Faas on June, 24 2003 at 08:06AM EDT

Arlene M. asks: " Dear Dennis, I have Windows XP Pro. Sometimes, [the window I'm working with stays on top of the desktop], and sometimes [it disappears below other windows]. Do you know how I can have my active window show up on top so I don't have ... to [constantly click through other windows to get to it]? " My Response: If a window is active (IE: in use), it will remain on top of all other windows. Once another window is clicked or moved, it becomes the active window. Some programs -- such as WinAMP (used to play .MP3 files) -- have a feature which can make its program window ... (view more)

Tue

Jun

How does the Windows clipboard work?

by Dennis Faas on June, 24 2003 at 08:06AM EDT

Infopackets Reader Reverend Matthew Swisher emailed me over the weekend and asked a question about the Windows Clipboard: " Hi, Dennis! I enjoy getting your news letters very much. They have added so much to my computer knowledge. There is always ... something in everyone of them that I find useful, and because this is so, I have sent the subscription URL to everyone in my address book ... [And now, for my question] ... I suppose this may sound silly to you, but I do not know how to access the 'clipboard' [from within Windows]? I can't find information about it anywhere in the computer books ... (view more)

Wed

Jun

Modify Program Files Path?, Part 3

by Dennis Faas on June, 11 2003 at 02:06PM EDT

Ikara from Australia writes: " Thanks, Dennis! I have been reading your [recent] descriptions and explanations [about disk imaging, partitioning, and installing to another drive letter] with interest. I can understand [the reason for wanting to ... install an application to another drive letter, especially in the case of disk imaging] ... but some installation procedures ... [won't let] me to decide [where to install my files]. The last [program I tried installing] ... was MusicMatch Media Player, [and] it gave me absolutely no choice at all [as to where the files were to be installed], ... (view more)

Wed

Jun

Modify Program Files Path?, Part 2

by Dennis Faas on June, 11 2003 at 02:06PM EDT

Recall: Almost all applications (downloaded off the Internet / run from CD) need to be installed onto Windows using a program installer (commonly known as Setup.exe). In most cases, the program setup will attempt to install a program to the base ... folder C:\program files\. Yesterday, I asked Readers if it was possible to change the Windows default program installation folder to something other than C:\program files\. Rodger D. and many other users recommended using TweakUI to perform such a task: " Microsoft's TweakUI program [http link below] is able to change the default program ... (view more)

Tue

Jun

Modify Program Files Path?

by Dennis Faas on June, 10 2003 at 02:06PM EDT

Over the weekend, Robert L. asked me a question about Disk Imaging. Recall: If Windows stops working properly (due to error messages, programs suddenly stop working properly, or general lockups / system freezes / crashes), disk imaging can restore ... Windows to a previously healthy state: often within minutes. Previous to disk imaging, the only "fail safe" way to fix Windows was to reinstall it from the beginning. Disk imaging can also transfer an existing copy of Windows to another hard drive (commonly used to upgrade from a smaller hard drive to a larger drive). Robert asks: " During the last ... (view more)

Thu

Jun

Wrong File Type Association?, Part 2

by Dennis Faas on June, 5 2003 at 08:06AM EDT

After sorting through and reviewing nearly 300 emails in preparation for yesterday's article on "[How to] receive phone calls while using a dial-up Internet connection*", I decided today that it was time to clean out my Inbox and get a bit more ... organized. Side note: if you missed out on yesterday's article, you can read it online: Receive Phone calls when using Dialup Internet? As it turns out, I came across a bunch of old emails dating back to January of this year. The emails were from Infopackets Readers, who answered an old newsletter question pertaining to Windows File ... (view more)

Thu

Jun

Explorer Windows Wont Open Maximized When Launched?

by Dennis Faas on June, 5 2003 at 08:06AM EDT

Recently, my Explorer windows stopped positioning themselves properly on the screen. While flipping through emails and web pages in a fiendish learning frenzy, I offset an Explorer window to one side in order to get to another. When I finished what ... I was working on, I closed all Windows and shut the computer down. Since then, all Explorer windows I launch are opening in an offset position. Desperate times seek desperate measures. In an attempt to fix the problem, I've tried closing all Explorer Windows, launching a new one, repositioning it in both minimized / maximized settings, and then ... (view more)

Tue

Jun

Sound card distortion while Scrolling Mouse?, Part 2

by Dennis Faas on June, 3 2003 at 03:06PM EDT

Last week, Infopackets Gazette Reader Bill T. asked me how to correct a sound problem he was having with respect to his computer speakers and mouse . Recall: " I like to listen to music on the computer while reading my email, but while scrolling ... through email or web pages, I get this noise that sounds like dragging a needle across an old 79 rpm record. Please advise if you have any ideas? " My response: I suggested a number of remedies for Bill, including: disable Digital Playback in Windows Media Player ensure the sound card has no conflicts in Device Manager move the sound card to the last ... (view more)

Thu

May

Sound card distortion while Scrolling Mouse?

by Dennis Faas on May, 29 2003 at 03:05PM EDT

Infopackets Gazette Reader Bill T. from Merkel, Texas writes: " Dear Dennis, I look forward to your newsletter and have enjoyed and learned a great deal from your tips! Unfortunately, I am having problems with noise after installing Windows XP Home ... Edition. I like to listen to music on the computer while reading my email, but while scrolling through email or web pages, I get this noise that sounds like dragging a needle across an old 79 rpm record. Please advise if you have any ideas? " My response: Yes, I have a few things that come to mind! First things first: this dilemma sounds ... (view more)

Tue

May

How to customize the Send To Menu

by Dennis Faas on May, 27 2003 at 08:05AM EDT

Infopackets Reader Cleo writes: " I have tried putting Microsoft Word in my Send To Menu a dozen times: it shows up in the send to folder in the C drive, but won't show up in the Send To Menu. Any ideas? " My response: It is possible that the Send ... To shortcuts were placed in the wrong SendTo folder. For Windows 9x and NT, the SendTo folder location is C:\Windows\SendTo. For Windows 2000 and XP, the whereabouts of the [current] SendTo folder depends on which user logged in to the machine. The Send To feature allows users to launch a file using a program which has not been previously ... (view more)

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