Author Archives: quill

Q. My Win XP PC comes up with “Couldn’t find NTLDR” and won’t boot?

Your Windows XP or XP Pro machine cannot find a bootable drive to start from, or the NTLoader (NTLDR) software on your bootable drive is damaged. (for Windows Vista/7 go here) The first step is to make sure you are booting … Continue reading

Posted in Computer Questions and Answers, Windows questions | Tagged , , , , , , , , | Leave a comment

Q. My Win7/Vista PC comes up with “Couldn’t find BOOTMGR” and won’t boot?

If your machine is stopping very early in the boot up sequence and telling you that BOOTMGR is missing, that means your Windows 7 or Windows Vista machine cannot find a bootable drive to start from, or the software on … Continue reading

Posted in Computer Questions and Answers, Windows questions | Tagged , , , , , , , , | Leave a comment

Q. My computer won’t attach to my WiFi router?

Troubleshooting steps for WiFi connections: First of all, make sure that you know the router’s network name (SSID), and the password (WPA key). If you don’t know these, ask the owner of the router.  If you are the owner and … Continue reading

Posted in Computer Questions and Answers, General Computer, Internet and Networking | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , , , , , | Leave a comment

Q. I have a problem with my iTunes purchase, who do I contact?

If you have a problem with a download you purchased within the Apple iTunes store, such as the download didn’t work, or you were charged for multiple copies of the same item, you can address it directly in iTunes, First … Continue reading

Posted in Computer Questions and Answers, iPad, iPhone, iPod, Mac questions, Software, Windows questions | Tagged , , , , , , , , , | Leave a comment

Q. What Memory and Drives fit my MacBook Air?

Apple MacBook Air machines feature Intel processors and an exceedingly thin Aluminum body. None of the MacBook Airs have internal optical drives, Apple sells an external USB Superdrive (make sure to check compatibility with your MacBook Air when buying a … Continue reading

Posted in Computer Questions and Answers, Hard Drives and SSD, Mac questions, Memory | Tagged , , , , , , , , , | 1 Comment

Q. My Macintosh is slow in all programs – what’s the problem?

There can be a variety of problems that can slow a machine down. If the performance is poor in only one program, the first approach would be to delete and reinstall that program.  For slowness across all programs and OSX, … Continue reading

Posted in Computer Questions and Answers, Mac questions, Performance | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , | Leave a comment

Q. I have a file on my Windows machine and it won’t open the correct program?

What type of file is it? Most files have a file name with a three or four letter extension which tells the machine what program it belongs to. For example, a .XLSX file is a Microsoft Excel spreadsheet file. This … Continue reading

Posted in Computer Questions and Answers, Windows questions | Tagged , , , , , , , | Leave a comment

Q. Can I use images from Google Images on my website?

Copyright and you: To start with, all images (photographic, moving picture, painted, sculpted or drawn) and texts (books, song lyrics) – are covered by national and international copyright law. This is automatic as soon as the image is created. Copyright … Continue reading

Posted in Computer Questions and Answers, Free stuff, General Computer, Internet and Networking | Tagged , , , , , , | Leave a comment

Q. I am being offered some used software for sale. Is this legitimate?

In most cases, used software can be sold if it is no longer needed – but there are some strict requirements for it to be legal.  The reason for this is that you don’t purchase software outright, you purchase a … Continue reading

Posted in Computer Questions and Answers, Mac questions, Software, Windows questions | Tagged , , , , , | Leave a comment

Q. I have received an email – how can I tell if it is spam?

Mass-Email marketers work on the theory that it costs next to nothing to send a million emails, so if only one in 100,000 people is unwary enough to reply or act on their spam, then they are making money.  Unfortunately, … Continue reading

Posted in Computer Questions and Answers, General Computer, Internet and Networking, Security | Tagged , , , , , | Leave a comment

Q. My USB memory stick won’t let me save a 4.2 GB file?

You are finding that individual files larger than 3.99 GB are failing when you copy them to a USB memory stick (or a camera memory card, or an external hard drive). The simple answer is that the memory stick is … Continue reading

Posted in Computer Questions and Answers, General Computer, How-To, Mac questions, Windows questions | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , | Leave a comment

Q. Someone knows my IP address and email. Can they hack my computer?

You don’t get hacked just because someone knows your IP address – you get hacked if your machine has malware on it or if you have left services open to the public or if someone has obtained the username and … Continue reading

Posted in Computer Questions and Answers, General Computer, Internet and Networking, Mac questions, Security, Windows questions | Tagged , , , , , , , | Leave a comment

Q. I have a file on my Mac that won’t open the correct program

What type of file is it? Most files have a file name with a three or four letter extension which tells the machine what program it belongs to. For example, a .XLSX file is a Microsoft Excel spreadsheet file. This … Continue reading

Posted in Computer Questions and Answers, How-To, Mac questions | Tagged , , , , , , , , | Leave a comment

Q. Can I upgrade the processor or the graphics card in my laptop?

The short answer is No. The longer answer is that many laptops have the CPU soldered into the motherboard. Even where the CPU is socketed, the motherboard chipset and BIOS would have to specifically support the new CPU, and laptop … Continue reading

Posted in Computer Questions and Answers, General Computer, How-To, Performance | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , , , | Leave a comment

Q. Where can I get free music?

Copyright and you: To start with, all music is covered by national and international copyright law which covers the music composition, the lyrics, and the recorded performance. Copyright covers the creator’s Right to control how their work is Copied, and … Continue reading

Posted in Computer Questions and Answers, Free stuff, General Computer, How-To, Music recording, instruments, hard & software | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , | Leave a comment