Category Archives: Computer Questions and Answers

Questions and answers on a broad range of computer related topics

Q. How can I talk to my computer and have it type in the words?

Posted on May 11, 2011 by quill

You are asking for speech recognition or speech-to-text To support speech recognition requires installing some additional software Windows: Dragon Naturally Speaking http://www.nuance.com/products/ ViaVoice http://www.nuance.com/viavoice/ Microsoft has some speech recognition tools in Windows Windows 7 Accessibility http://www.microsoft.com/enable/products/windows7/default.aspx Windows Vista (Narrator)  http://www.microsoft.com/enable/training/windowsvista/narrator.aspx … Continue reading →

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Q. How do I recover a Microsoft Word file I was working on when the machine crashed?

Posted on May 11, 2011 by quill

Microsoft Word saves temporary files of your work in progress, so you may be able to get back your document. How to use AutoRecover files Word 2010 office.microsoft.com/en-us/word-help/recover-earlier-versions-of-a-file-in-office-2010-HA010356735.aspx Word 2003 and 2007: support.microsoft.com/kb/827099 Word 2002: support.microsoft.com/kb/316951 Word 2000: support.microsoft.com/kb/316950 Word … Continue reading →

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Q. How do I transfer all my songs/ movies from one iTunes to another computer?

Posted on May 10, 2011 by quill

In your User folder, under Music or My Music, you should see a folder called iTunes. inside this are your music folders and iTunes settings. Note: This is the normal place for the files.  iTunes is capable of reading the … Continue reading →

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Q. I want to make and edit a video but i don’t have a program to do it.

Posted on May 10, 2011 by quill

If you have a Macintosh, it came with iMovie which is a basic and easy to use movie editor. How to use: http://www.apple.com/support/imovie/ Recent Windows machines came with Windows Movie Maker Win 7:  http://explore.live.com/windows-live-movie-maker?os=other Vista: http://download.cnet.com/Windows-Movie-Maker-Windows-Vista/3000-13631_4-10729231.html?tag=mncol;3 Win XP: http://download.cnet.com/Windows-Movie-Maker-Windows-XP/3000-13631_4-10165075.html Open … Continue reading →

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Q. How do I change my IP address? What are the risks?

Posted on May 10, 2011 by quill

It depends what you mean by changing your address, and what your network configuration is. When you are browsing, the IP address that the outside Web sees you as coming from is the WAN IP address assigned to your broadband … Continue reading →

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Q. I am getting a screen on my Mac which tells me it is infected with viruses. I had visited a movie download site – do I have a virus?

Posted on May 10, 2011 by quill

That is a phony virus alert from a web page (or banner ad) which pops it up.  Your Mac does not have a virus. But it MAY have some trojan horse malware that you installed — did the video site … Continue reading →

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Q. I’ve been offered a job online working from home. Can I really make money working from home or filling in surveys?

Posted on May 10, 2011 by quill

Read up on employment scams so you know what to watch out for. Google “Employment Scam” http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Job_scams Google the company name to see if there are reports and forum discussion The basic rules are: Do not pay anything to someone … Continue reading →

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Q. I can’t open .WPD WordPerfect Files

Posted on May 10, 2011 by quill

.WPD is the file format used by WordPerfect word processing program.  FileInfo list of file extensions Rarely, WPD is used as an extension for other programs’ word processing documents. WordPerfect was the dominant word processor software in the 1980s and … Continue reading →

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Q. Is there any Internet security threat if I only visit reputable sites?

Posted on May 10, 2011 by Trevor

Yes there is a threat even if you only visit ‘safe’ places.  You could get a virus through emails, which redirects your links from what you thought was a reputable site to a phony site.  Banner ads on a reputable … Continue reading →

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Q. I received a PDF file but I can’t get it to print

Posted on May 10, 2011 by Trevor

A PDF (Adobe Acrobat Portable Document Format) file should be openable and printable on any machine with PDF reader software, regardless of operating system. It is possible that your PDF file was created with a NO PRINT option or a … Continue reading →

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Q. How do I format an external hard drive on a Mac?

Posted on May 10, 2011 by quill

Before you can use a hard drive, it needs to be formatted, which organizes the data structure on the drive ready to accept data. In addition, a drive can be partitioned into two or more logical volumes, or it can … Continue reading →

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Q. I have downloaded some programs on my Mac, why do they disappear each time I restart and why do I have to keep reinstalling them?

Posted on May 10, 2011 by quill

If your applications keep disappearing, it’s because you have not installed them properly. When you download an program, it usually downloads as a disk image (dmg) file. (it may be a zip or compressed file that expands into a dmg). … Continue reading →

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Q. How can I stop junk emails from arriving?

Posted on May 10, 2011 by quill

There’s not a lot you can do to stop people (or robots) from sending you junk email. In most cases it is not worth (and not even safe) to use the “unsubscribe” links in spam emails or to reply to … Continue reading →

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Q. What will adding more RAM to my computer do?

Posted on May 10, 2011 by quill

The key to computer performance is having enough RAM memory. RAM doesn’t speed a machine up, however. Rather, adding RAM removes a barrier to speed.  It’s like your car – taking your foot off the brake doesn’t speed it up, … Continue reading →

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Q. Every time I go to a website from Google, it sends me to some different website with advertising

Posted on May 5, 2011 by Trevor

You have a Google Redirect Virus.  It is a type of virus called a Rootkit, and can be missed by antivirus programs. Restart your machine in Safe Mode with networking (hit F8 at start time) Disable SpyBot TeaTimer if you … Continue reading →

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