How Internet Browsers Work

Ever find yourself asking how our favorite browser works? How it can display to you the website you wanted? Here's an interesting comic showing the simplest explanation :)

Networking with Windows 7's XP Mode

Windows 7's XP Mode, part of the Windows Virtual PC, allows you to run a separate version of XP inside the newer OS. The Virtual PC comes as a free but very large download that works in the Professional and Ultimate editions of Windows 7.

Ditch Internet Explorer 6 (IE6)

Internet Explorer 6 (IE6) is an outdated, unsupported, potentially dangerous browser that deserves to be put down like a lame plow horse.

Indeed, there's only one legitimate reason for sticking with it: work. If you're using, say, a company laptop, you may have no choice but to use the IT department-approved browser, which in many cases is still IE6.

Otherwise, it's time to make a change. I highly recommend upgrading to Internet Explorer 8, which will very likely solve your problem and open the door to all kinds of worthwhile features: tabs, Accelerators, Web Slices, and a wealth of malware and phishing protections.

How To Restore Outlook Express Backup Folder

A friend of mine backed up his Outlook Express folder to a flash drive. He then consulted me how to recover the messages inside it.

What appears as a folder in Outlook Express isn't really a folder. As far as Windows is concerned, it's a single file with a .dbx extension. The email program has to know it's there to look for it and open it.

Blue Screen of Death During Startup

If you're trying to boot from an existing Windows installation on a hard drive transferred from an older system, then a BSOD on startup can occur. This often means that the system can't find the right storage controller; the actual error code is 0x0000007. Maybe your old system had its SATA ports set to IDE mode and your new one is set up for AHCI. Or perhaps your new board has a different chipset.

How to Backup Firefox Preferences

Firefox saves your preferences and settings in a single place. Some of those settings you can alter in the Options dialog box, but not all of them. The others require going into an obtuse, difficult-to-understand work environment called about:config.

And if you play around in about:config, changing settings that you think you understand, you can really mess things up. That's why, when you enter this environment--which you do by clicking the address bar (pressing CTRL-L will not work in this situation), typing about:config, and pressing ENTER--you have to click a button that reads "I'll be careful, I promise!"

Use Hibernate for Laptops

A friend recently told me about a problem with her new laptop: Whenever she'd step away from it for more than a few minutes, she'd close the lid. Upon returning, she'd open the lid, only to be faced with a blank screen and no response from the mouse or keyboard.

Want to know why? The default lid-closing action for most laptops is to put the system in Sleep mode, and Windows is notoriously bad at waking up properly. I advise most laptop users to use Hibernate mode instead, as it's much more reliable when it comes to waking up.

How to Fix a Rogue Process

When Windows slows down to an unbearable crawl, there's a good possibility that one particular process is at fault--sometimes taking close to 100-percent of the CPU's capabilities. In such a case, it's best to kill the process.

A process is a program or an independent piece of a program. As I write this, I have six applications, but 57 processes, running on my computer.

And if the problem keeps occurring, it's best to find out what that process is about and stop it from loading altogether.

Fix Internet Explorer 8's Crashes

Browser crashes can be tough to troubleshoot--especially when you don't provide information about your PC, operating system, and so on. (ahem). That's something everyone should remember when asking for help with system problems: the more details you can provide, the better.

The smart short-term workaround for any browser problem: try another browser.

Anyway, you've got two likely culprits here: a corrupted add-on or a bad Flash plug-in. I suspect the latter, so let's start with that.

Is It Okay To Work During a Windows Update?

Windows Update explicitly says that you can go on working while updating. I do it, and have yet to run into problems I could connect to this habit. The simple truth is that the serious part of the update, where your system files are changed, happens later with the reboot.

Which isn't to say that there aren't some jobs you should probably avoid at that time. Defragging isn't a good idea while an update is going on. I'd also avoid installing or uninstalling an application.

The worst part of the update experience (assuming the update itself doesn't do more harm than good), is the message popping up asking for a reboot. Luckily, you can put off the actual reboot until it's convenient for you.

How To Sync Your Google Calendar with Outlook

Most of my calendar data lives in Outlook. Not by choice, mind you, but because that's just where it has accumulated over the years.

I'd rather use Google Calendar, which is more versatile and less, well, Outlooky. Just one problem: how do I move my data from the latter to the former? And, just as important, how can I keep the two entities in sync?

General Failure When Clicking A Link In Outlook

So out of the blue today, I click a link embedded in an e-mail, and Outlook gives me this error:

General failure. The URL was: "http://www.someURL.com" The system cannot find the file specified.

Oh, Outlook. If I had a nickel for every weird, random error you've produced over the years, I'd be sitting on a wheelbarrow full of nickels.  The "someURL" part is an example.

This is a known bug, and has been for years. It occurs when Firefox is your default browser and some glitch (or program) changes that default. Thankfully, there's a fairly easy fix, though it does involve monkeying around in the Registry.

Why You Should Give Windows 7 A Try

Microsoft has sold 150 million copies of Windows 7 in nine months--that is, seven copies per second. It's the fastest-selling operating system in history. Vista, by contrast, was such a flop that users couldn't wait to get rid of it.

Many consumers just got stuck with Vista because new PCs, for a while, were preloaded with it, and there were no other options. Some vendors still offered new, coveted systems with XP, for a lot more money. Yet, in the beginning, retailers even told consumers there was no way to uninstall Vista and reinstall XP.

What does the new operating system mean for the business community, especially all the little guys and mid-sized companies that can’t afford to make another hefty investment in a rotten lemon?

How To Make A File Open With The Correct Program

Windows can associate multiple programs with various file extensions (.docx, .jpg, and so on), with only one program being the default application--the one that opens when you double-click the file. Somehow, on your PC, Windows has the wrong program associated with that particular file type.

And believe me, you don't want your files associating with the wrong type of application.

How to Email a Web Page

So you just stumbled across a killer blog post, maybe something to do with, oh, I don't know, solving PC hassles. It's so good, you immediately want to share it with friends and family members.

There are plenty of ways to send a Web page. You can copy the URL and paste it into an e-mail. You can look for an embedded "e-mail this" icon and use the site's own mail form. Heck, I've seen some people take a screenshot of page and send that.

Why overcomplicate things? Both Internet Explorer and Firefox have built-in tools for e-mailing whatever page you're viewing.

Windows Freezes During Shut Down

My desktop occasionally fails to shut down properly. It seems to complete Windows' shutdown process, but then just freezes--without actually turning off.

Pressing the power button accomplishes nothing. So what option do I have left? Pull the power cord right out of the wall? That would certainly turn the system off--unless it was a laptop, in which case I'd have to remove the battery as well. What a hassle.

What To Do When A Website Isn't Loading

Any number of problems could cause this. There might be a problem with your router. Or with your PC. Or your browser. Or it could be something with the site itself that's completely out of your control.

The first thing you should do is try another browser. If you generally use Firefox or Chrome, try Internet Explorer--it's already on your PC. If you only use Internet Explorer, maybe this is a good time to install and try something else.

Rebooting everything is another good idea. Shut down the PC, unplug the router from the AC power, then unplug the DSL or cable modem's power, as well. Wait a minute, then plug the modem back in. When the lights indicate it's working properly, plug in the router. Wait for the lights on that, too. Then boot your PC and try again.

How to Clean Up Your New PC

Unfortunately, no new, major-brand PCs that I know of come with a way to install a fresh, unencumbered version of Windows 7. If you want to get rid of all that useless and annoying bloatware that companies load onto their machines, you're going to have to either spend money or spend time--or both.

The most expensive solution is to buy a retail version of Windows 7 and install it from scratch. This gives you the cleaner new installation. But aside from the expense, the idea just doesn't sit well with me. You bought Windows when you bought the computer; you shouldn't have to buy it again.

How To Use IMAP for Gmail

A key question that remains is whether to use the POP or IMAP setting to fetch your messages from your Gmail account.

I won't bore you with lengthy descriptions of each. In a nutshell, POP downloads a copy of each e-mail to your PC, leaving the original on Gmail's servers. It's a one-way transaction. IMAP, on the other hand, provides a live, two-way connection between your mail program and Gmail.

How To Download YouTube Videos

Ever wish you could watch that piano-playing cat at 35,000 feet? Alas, YouTube requires a live Internet connection, and Wi-Fi is still pretty hard to find in the friendly skies. Fortunately, you can download YouTube videos to your PC for anytime, anywhere viewing, no Internet required.

There are countless ways to "rip" YouTube vids, but I'm partial to Keep Tube. It's available as both a Firefox extension and a browser bookmarklet, the latter compatible with Chrome, Internet Explorer, and so on.