Category Archives: Windows questions

Questions and answers specific to Windows machines and applications

Q. How do I know if a website has a virus?

Posted on July 5, 2011 by quill

Downloading files from websites (especially pirated files) is risky no matter what. The files may not be what you think they are, and may contain malware installers.  Or the site may be ‘poisoned’ and try to automatically download malware to … Continue reading →

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Q. I’m selling a Windows 7 machine – how do I get my data off?

Posted on July 5, 2011 by quill

First back up ALL of your personal data. Don’t forget your email data files and your browser bookmarks If the machine has the option to make System restore CDs do it now. http://windows.microsoft.com/en-US/windows7/Create-a-system-repair-disc Also go to the manufacturer’s website, download … Continue reading →

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Q. How do I get my Bookmarks onto a new computer?

Posted on July 4, 2011 by quill

Bookmarks or Favorites in a Web browser can be moved from one browser to another, or from one computer to another. Go into your present browser, and look for the function to export bookmarks or favorites. This will result in … Continue reading →

Posted in Computer Questions and Answers, Internet and Networking, Mac questions, Windows questions | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , , | 1 Comment

Q. What software do I need to make professional recordings?

Posted on May 28, 2011 by quill

When you are setting up a digital recording studio, the first question is to choose the Digital Audio Workstation software that you will base your studio around. That will drive the choice of the computer. A DAW combines recording of … Continue reading →

Posted in Computer Questions and Answers, Mac questions, Music recording, instruments, hard & software, Software, Windows questions | Tagged , , , , , , , , | 3 Comments

Q. What’s in my PC?

Posted on May 28, 2011 by quill

How can you tell what components are in your PC without taking it apart? There are some system reporting tool programs that give a good snapshot of the components of the computer, and the software installed as well.  This is … Continue reading →

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Q. Where do downloads get saved?

Posted on May 28, 2011 by quill

When you download a file in a web browser, and it doesn’t ask you to specify a location for it, where does it go? The answer is, either to the location on your hard drive that you have specified for … Continue reading →

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Q. Where can I get free software?

Posted on May 28, 2011 by quill

Commercial software is not legal to download for free, but there is a large amount of freeware, open source and shareware software available. I don’t recommend downloading from random websites or bittorrents, because downloads are a playground for virus writers … Continue reading →

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Q. Windows on my new PC says it isn’t genuine

Posted on May 28, 2011 by quill

Windows and other Microsoft programs like Office will run for a while without being activated / registered, but then they will stop and insist that you activate them. You should have an activation key on a label on the back, … Continue reading →

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Q. How can I make my machine run faster?

Posted on May 27, 2011 by quill

Actually, this isn’t about making a machine faster, but about removing the things that are slowing the machine down. Before we get started, make sure you have a current backup of all of your data files. First step is to … Continue reading →

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Q. I can’t read new Word docx files in my older Word

Posted on May 27, 2011 by quill

With Office 2007 (Win) 2008 (Mac) and later, Microsoft has moved to new file formats for documents – .docx instead of .doc for Word, .xlsx for .xls in Excel, .pptx for .ppt in PowerPoint.  Older versions of Office applications cannot … Continue reading →

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Q. How do I install a font into a program?

Posted on May 26, 2011 by quill

Fonts are installed into the operating system, and once installed should be available to all programs. How to install fonts Windows http://support.microsoft.com/kb/314960 http://desktoppub.about.com/cs/fixfonts/ht/install_fonts_w.htm Mac The simplest way is to drag fonts into the Library: Fonts: folder http://support.apple.com/kb/HT2435 Fonts often come … Continue reading →

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The Best Of: Video Cards

Posted on May 18, 2011 by quill

Here is an ongoing collection of highly rated and best value video cards and reviews, last update May 2011 Video card performance is not critical for office-based software or web browsing, the built in graphics in any machine made in … Continue reading →

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Favorite: Windows utilities from Piriform

Posted on May 18, 2011 by quill

Some utilities you use once in a blue moon. Some utilities you end up using every day until they become indispensable.  One company that makes shareware that is part of my everyday toolkit is Piriform. CCleaner cleans out cache files, … Continue reading →

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Q. What is running on my PC?

Posted on May 17, 2011 by quill

How do I tell what programs are running on my machine that aren’t listed on the Task Bar? Hit Control – Alt – Delete — this brings up the Task Manager. Windows XP http://vlaurie.com/computers2/Articles/taskman.htm Windows 7 http://www.techrepublic.com/blog/window-on-windows/reap-the-benefits-of-windows-7s-task-manager/2576 You can now … Continue reading →

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Q. Can I use faster RAM with the slower RAM I have?

Posted on May 17, 2011 by quill

For example, your machine has PC2-4200 (533 MHz) DDR2 memory in it, and you have another module of PC2-5300 (667 MHz). Can you use it? Your motherboard’s memory speed will always be set to the speed of the slowest module … Continue reading →

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