Brighton Computer Club

Questions and Answers
Dated: April 28, 2009

Moderated by Frank Myers

External hard drive

Answer:

Do not pull it out of the connection when you are finished with it. Make sure you click on the "green arrow" and it will then tell you if you can "safely remove hardware". Otherwise, you could cause damage to your external hard drive. This also applies to USB sticks.

Note: Frank will be giving a "Acronis True Image" backup hard drive presentation on May 26.

Member got a message that "Internet Explorer" is about to expire, and to click on the desktop message.

Answer:

Frank suggested the member run AVG and make sure they do not have a virus as this does not sound legitimate.

Member had a notice from Bell about a name change.

Answer:

Bell Sympatico internet service was recently renamed Bell Internet. Customers can keep their existing sympatico.ca address, get a new one @ bell.net address or have both.

Member wanted to know the difference between AVG quick scan vs. AVG full scan?

Answer:

A full scan or "Scan the whole computer" can take hours and checks everything on the hard drive, it even probes Zip files. A quick scan only does files that have high-risk potential..

Member said AVG expires on the 29th, needs to update to 8.5 - what do you suggest?

Answer:

The expiry for AVG updates is with the 7.5 version. The 8.0 version will have updates for a few more months. The 8.5 version will be on the memory stick at our May meeting.

Do I uninstall 7.5 before installing 8.5?

Answer:

Yes

Is there a program to "Create a vault" to safely store files on a memory stick?

Answer:

Charlie or Janice Zerafa will be giving a demo in May or June about this. The program is called "SafeHouse Explorer". Janice found the program. Frank, Janice, Jim Ward and Charlie, your Tech Support Team, have tested it and like it.

Member receiving e-mails from Ashampoo since visiting the site and registering their email a ddress - how can this be stopped?

Answer:

Members should go to the bottom of the e-mail to "unclick" the box to not receive their e-mail messages in the future.

Member uses Internet Explorer to browse on the internet, but their computer is slowing down.

Answer:

Frank thought he needed to "clean-up" his computer. Use CCleaner, use the registry cleaner in CCleaner, and run Anti-Virus and Anti Spy-ware programs to help speed up the computer.

Some members having problems with not enough memory.

Answer:

512 MB is not enough anymore for XP. You need 1 GB at least which costs approx. $50. Your computer will run better on 2 GB. The maximum you can have for a 32 bit processor is 3GB. If you have 4GB installed, the fourth Gigabyte of memory usually defaults to support your graphic card.

How to check if you have a 32 bit or 64 bit processor?

Answer:

Control Panel/Systems or, My Computer/Properties. The majority of computers are 32 bit and if it does not say 64, then it is 32. Members can run Belarc Advisor and it tells you all about your computer's hardware and software.

Adding more RAM?

Answer:

How do you do this on a lap top? You open the case on the bottom, sometimes two screws, and remove one of the chips.

Do computers recognize these updates to RAM without doing other changes?

Answer:

Yes
There are variations in memory. Write down the info that's on your RAM. You can "Google" to get the information you need to update the RAM. Or, if you are not comfortable with opening your computer case, take your computer to a computer shop and they will put in the correct RAM.

Member had a problem trying to use CCleaner.

Answer:

If you restore to a previous date does he still need to use it. Definitely. If you problem is not knowing how to make proper settings in CCleaner then read Charlie Le Ber's presentation: CCleaner - 13th March 2007

Does anyone use WY-max unplugged from Sympatico at $17.95/month?

Answer:

No one indicated that they do.

Member noticed in CCleaner the "Advanced" defaults are not clicked on. Why not?

Answer:

You may delete files you need so they are unchecked. You must understand the exact use of the "Advanced" items, suggest you leave then unchecked. Suggest you uncheck cookies if you can't get into your websites. In CCleaner, "Options" your cookies are listed and you can save the ones you want.
You click on the ones you want and click the arrow to move them to the right. They will not be deleted when you run CCleaner.

What is the difference between using Internet Explorer to clear "Temp" files or using CCleaner?

Answer:

With CCleaner you can save the passwords and user names that are stored in cookies that you want to save. Note: Frank said there is no danger in cookies - they are just a text file. Only the site you visited can read the cookie.

Expiry date of cookies?

Answer:

The website is the cookie maker who decides what goes in the cookie and when it expires. Apparently some sites won't let you in if your option to allow cookies is not turned on.

If you have a lot of cookies does this slow down your computer?

Answer:

If you have a lot of cookies does this slow down your computer? No, it only takes a fraction of a second to access the cookie. One member does not like to delete browser history or cookies as she feels it speeds up her computer with the info stored on the hard drive.

Member has Eudora e-mail - will Outlook Express work on the same computer?

Answer:

Yes - you can run as many Email clients as you want; however, GMail is the best way to go.

Member receives attachments that have a box in the top left corner with a red X and she cannot open the picture. How do you fix this?

Answer:

Make sure whoever is sending you attachments is using extensions that are common such as .jpg or .gif. They may be sending file types that you cannot open because they are unusual. Blame the other guy!

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