After using Vista for a few weeks my opinion has changed. Reading all of the recent articles and news about Vista gave me the impression that Microsoft may have slipped up with this one. Although, there are a few things to note before upgrading to Vista:

• Apple recommends waiting until the next release of iTunes before upgrading to Vista
• Skype is not yet supported under Vista
• To check if you current PC is Vista capable you can download and run the Upgrade Advisor
• Before upgrading to Vista ensure that there are new versions of any essential software and system drivers that you may require.

Call #1 - Larry from Atlanta, GA
Larry’s Dell Dimension 8400 Windows partition mysteriously became damaged. Larry says his hardware tested fine and it is unlikley to be a Virus or Spyware, using the repair feature from the Windows XP CD was unsucccessful.

It may be possible to recover the data by installing a new hard drive with a fresh Windows install and connecting the hard drive with the damaged partition as slave or secondary drive. The data should then be readable and can be copied across onto the new drive.

Software such as Spinrite could also be used to try and recover any damaged sectors of the hard drive.

More advanced users might also be able to take advantage of a Live Linux CD. Live Linux distributions enable a complete operating system to be ran out of memory without altering the host system and would provide access to any connected hard drives and data. knoppix is a popular Live Linux distribution.

Call #2 - Linda
Linda accidently updated Internet Explorer 6 to the new version 7 which subsequently caused some issues with AOL. After having IE7 removed Linda’s Microsoft Office Suite is now asking for a serial number.

If this happens you should be able to contact the PC manufacturer (Dell, HP etc) to obtain the serial numbers for the software.

Call #3 - Terry
Terry has a solution for playing WMA files on Apple’s Mac OSX. Windows Media file can be played in Quicktime on OSX by using the Flip4Mac plugin (Windows Media files protected by DRM are not supported).

Terry also requires feedback from people who are using Bootcamp to run Windows on their Macs (if you have some feedback please leave a comment below). Parallels is also a great solution for running multiple operating systems at the same time using Virtualization technology. Parallels is a great solution that is available for Windows, Mac and Linux.

Call #4 - Terry
After backing up and then restoring his Outlook email database Terry is looking for a way to automate the the re-insertion of his email account passwords. Terry uses a new email address for each website account so has over 40 email addresses. If you know of a solution or third party software to easily backup and restore email account passwords please leave a comment below.

Call #5 - Roy
Roy says to read the EULA for Internet Explorer 7 carefully before deciding to install it as he believes Microsoft are extracting a lot of information from user’s computers after the install. More information on this subject is available here and here.

A guide on uninstalling IE7 is available here. If you are not going to use IE7 I recommend try Mozilla Firefox instead.

Call #6 - Rick
Rick is setting up an office 100 to 150ft away from his wireless router and needs to boot the signal from the router. This can be achieved in several ways.

The easiest and one of the cheapest ways might be to run an ethernet cable from the router to the computer. If this is not possible then the signal can be boosted using WDS (Wireless Distribution System). As the WDS specification is not strict to ensure this will work you should buy a WDS range extender that is the same brand as your router. An example of a range extender can be seen here. If your computer and router are within line-of-sight you could make a ‘Cantenna’ out of a can of pringles. Lastly, if you don’t mind upgrading your router, the new 802.11n routers are much faster and have a greater range than the b or g routers. Belkin make a good quality 802.11n router - although, if you buy an 802.11n router you will also have to buy new 802.11n wireles adapters for your computers.

Call #7 - Ray from Memphis
Ray says he was unable to get his serial codes from Dell. As an update to a problem from an earlier show, Ray recently upgraded his hard drive which solved the issues he was experiencing. He is also now a happy DSL customer.

Call #8 - Janice
Janice is having trouble with remote assitance. Her brother is unable to connect to her computer but is able to connect to other family member’s computers.

When trying to connect to another computer via remote assistance if you encounter problems the first thing to try is temporarily disabling any security software that may be running. A step-by-step guide to configuring and using Remote Assistance is available from Microsoft.

Call #9 - Kenneth
Kenneth has also recently installed Internet Explorer 7, which now installs itself as part of Windows Update, and would like to remove it. As mentioned above, our guide on uninstalling IE7 is available here. If you are not going to use IE7 then I recommend that you use a more secure browser such as Opera or Mozilla Firefox, both of which are available from the downloads section.

Kenneth is also interested in the free anti-syware programs. The three that all Windows users should run on a regular basis are Spybot, Adaware and Windows Defender - all three can be downloaded from the security downloads section. In addition to Spyware removal programs an Anti-Virus program should also be used such as AVG or Avast (also available from the security downloads section.

Call #10 - Erica
Erica purchased a computer from a friend, after going into the sleep mode the computer now requires a password to wake up. She also says the computer could be infected with Spyware and Virus.

When buying a second hand computer it is always advisable to erase the hard drive and start with a fresh version of Windows. This ensures that the computer has not been compromised and does not contain any malicious software such as a Virus or root kit.

Call #11 - Steve
Steve recently changed over to Comcast and contrary to reports or problems did not have any issues with the change over. Steve is still running Windows 98 and in order to take advantage of some new Comcast software is required to run Windows 2000 or newer. Should he upgrade?

Upgrading to a newer operating system isn’t mandatory and so long as the current version is meeting your needs there is little need to. Although Microsoft no longer supports operating systems such as Windows 95/98/ME so any new security holes will not be patched possibly leaving your vulnerable to attack. if you are upgrading the best advice would be to sit tight for the next few months and then upgrade to a Windows Vista system.

Call #12 - James
James requires a device to boost a wireless signal - see call #5 above for information on this.

 

 Ask Computer Jim - 18th Feb 2007 [42:22m]: Play Now | Play in Popup | Download (10)

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