Moderated by Frank Myers



  1. Member has a memory stick that works in his desktop but not in his notebook. Why?
      2. Answer:
    • Probably needs a new USB driver for his notebook. Go to Start/Control Panel/System/Hardware/Dev ice manager, see if there is a yellow (?) which means there is a problem with that USB hub. Click your right mouse button on the USB Root Hub with the yellow (?) and click "update driver".

  2. A member has a 1 GB memory card for his camera which works well. 2 GB card doesn't work. It only recognizes 1 GB when inserted in his computer, not 2GB. Why?
      3. Answer:
    • See if there are downloads from your camera site to fix this. Also Polaroid is a good site. Check the site's FAQ (Frequently Asked Questions) for a similar problem. If none are there, send an email message to Polaroid. There should be a connector for contacting them on their site.

  3. Is there a program for someone with vision problems?
      4. Answer:
    • Click Start/Control Panel/Accessibility Options/Click the Display Tab. Click in the box "Use High Contrast", then "Settings" and try "High Contrast Large" and "OK". Also, if you hold down the "Control" key and roll the mouse wheel either towards you or away from you it makes the text larger or smaller.

  4. Member asked about removing the memory stick without first 'clicking' on the green arrow. Could there be consequences?
      5. Answer:
    • Yes it could become inoperable. Remember, when you shut down the computer it will shut down the memory stick also. If you click on the green arrow it will tell you "safely remove hardware".
      Frank reminded members "don't wiggle it, pull it straight out" or you could damage it - especially a USB stick that you use often such as Roboform2go.

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  5. Should you reformat a memory stick?
      6. Answer:
    • No, formatting memory sticks are not recommended by anyone in the industry because formatting may ruin it. Just delete the files/folders from the stick and reuse.

  6. Do you defrag memory sticks?
      7. Answer:
    • Frank said he wouldn't do it. The structure of a memory stick is totally different than a hard drive because the USB stick is solid state. The reason for defragging a hard drive is to put a complete file under the heads of the hard drive to speed up the physical movement. Because there are no moving internals in solid state, there is no need to defrag a memory stick.

  7. Member had a problem with his laptop.
      8. Answer:
    • Frank said that removing the battery resets initial startup back to the factory default and thus he was able to start normally.

  8. Member received an email he didn't want and designated it to be one he wanted blocked.
      9. Answer:
    • It sent it to spam and also took three others that he wanted, with it. He tried to find the three good ones but they were not listed. He can't get the good ones back. Charlie LeBer suggested he bring back the one he didn't want and it may bring back the others also. He said that you can specifically list Emails that you always want accepted by "white" listing them as "Sender friendly". Member could also remove all spam filtering and then put back what they need. Frank and Charlie also suggest you use "G-mail" ... it will eliminate 99% of your spam mail for you.

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  9. Member has an I-pod with the songs backed up. iPod is supposedly recharged; however, his computer can't read it
      10. Answer:
    • Suggested that possibly the battery, although charged, may be dead as they can only be recharged a certain number of times. Also, possibly the iPod may have been dropped which caused damage.

  10. Member used his son's high speed computer to get iTtunes rather than use his "dial up" connection. He now can't update from his own computer. His I-pod is registered on his son's computer for security reasons.
      11. Answer:
    • It was suggested the member copy the music files to a memory stick and then download to his own computer which should be legal because he paid for the tunes..

  11. Member started using Avast last year, has he taken any risks using that for the past year instead of AVG?
      12. Answer:
    • No, the club recommends both AVG and Avast. Keep in mind that you can only install and use one anti-virus program.

  12. Had AVG, couldn't get updates.
      13. Answer:
    • Could be a corrupt DLL file. Suggest he uninstall AVG, then reinstall and it should work.

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  13. Does AVG install from the stick?
      14. Answer:
    • Yes

  14. Is AVG 8.5 on the stick?
      15. Answer:
    • Yes

  15. Member has Microsoft OneCare program, which has a virus checker. Will the stick affect these?
      16. Answer:
    • No the stick will not affect One Care Do not install AVG or Avast as One Care has a virus checker and as stated above, you can only install and use one anti-virus program.

  16. Regarding Laptops - Do you leave it in idle, or hibernate when not in use? What do you recommend
      17. Answer:
    • Frank said he shuts his down because his laptop starts up almost as fast as it does coming out of hibernation. However, if he is only going to be away for less than half an hour, he will leave it running. Of course, this only applies when using it at home where it should be safe to do this.


  With help from Shirley Young - Secretary


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