Tech Questions? Get Answers!

Why am I not getting some emails in my MSN Live Hotmail account?

I have a problem receiving email in my Hotmail accounts. I have my friends and family that are able to email without a problem. Suddenly this past few weeks there I can't get mails from my father. I have checked the filters and all and there is no indication as to why. I have contacted Hotmail and their response is to check my filters, unblock them and that will work. As I said, I'd already done that. Their next idea was to see if the sender got a bounce back but they didn't. There is nothing indicating this issue on my side or the senders other than I am not receiving emails and I don't know if this could be from anyone else as I just heard this from my father. Do you know of anything that I can do?

This turns out to be a fairly common problem, and not just for Hotmail. Yahoo and other email services seem to suffer the same problem from time to time.

And no, I know of nothing you can do.

Strike that, I do know of one thing you can do, but you won't like it.

Continue reading: "Why am I not getting some emails in my MSN Live Hotmail account?"

Posted May 14, 2008 | Category: Spam

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How can I archive old hard disks?

We have several old computers (10 years old & newer) in our office which the boss doesn't want to throw out just incase he might need one file from one down the track sometime. I have nowhere to put my feet as the computer graveyard is under my desk. What would be the best way to save information from the computers which we can then later retrieve if needed so we can them wipe them and donate them to charity?

I have a similar graveyard, of sorts, and I know of many organizations facing similar issues. Consider yourself lucky that it's just under your desk, these organizations are littering the hallways of their buildings with old and outdated equipment.

There are actually several options, depending on how much effort and perhaps money you want to put into this project.

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Posted May 14, 2008 | Category: Maintenance and Backup

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I've lost the password to my Windows Administrator account, how do I get it back?

When I set up my machine I did set a password for the Administrator account, and then I promptly forgot it, since I never use that account. Now I need it. What can I do?

Do you have physical access to the machine?

Good.

You can reset any Windows password on that machine that you like.

And if that doesn't scare you, I really need to drive home a point.

Continue reading: "I've lost the password to my Windows Administrator account, how do I get it back?"

Posted May 12, 2008 | Category: Windows User Interface

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The Plight of the Average User

Over the course of the last four years of doing Ask Leo! I've also learned a lot about computer and technology myself. The old adage about learning something by teaching it is very, very true.

But I've also learned a thing or two about you, the people trying to use computers, too.

And these are things I wish a lot more people would realize and understand. People from the executives at my former employer, to some of the people that comment on my answers.

The "average computer user" is not who you think.

Continue reading: "The Plight of the Average User"

Posted May 11, 2008 | Category: Editorials

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How do I post a long link in email?

I tried to email a web page link to a group of my friends, but none of them could click on it and have it work ... it always said "page not found" or something like that. And yet the link works for me.

The link is a little lengthy, so I certainly can't expect them to type it all in. Why can't they just click to open that link, and what can I do to make it work for them?

The link broke.

No, seriously, the link was literally broken - either by your email program, or the recipients.

Here's what I mean:

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Posted May 11, 2008 | Category: Using Email

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Can my company read the email I send via Hotmail on my work computer?

If I send an email on my work computer through Hotmail, will it be picked up on the server that has been set up in the office to hold all emails sent through on our "actual office computer emails' via a paying service provider?

In other words can the email I've sent be read afterwards on the office server or at the office's service provider if it has been sent through Hotmail?

The specific answer to the specific question you're asking is: No.

But that doesn't mean your email couldn't be read by your company in other ways.

In which case the answer the question you're really asking is: yes, they might be able to read the mail you sent.

Continue reading: "Can my company read the email I send via Hotmail on my work computer?"

Posted May 10, 2008 | Category: Email Privacy

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How do I get Windows XP SP3 on CD?

I'm on dialup and downloading Windows XP SP3 will take hours, if it even manages to complete without dropping the connection. I was able to get a CD for SP2, but I can't see that option for SP3. What can I do?

Wait.

As I write this, while there are reports that XP SP3 is starting to appear in Windows Automatic Updates, the Microsoft web site has almost no information on it.

Here's what I expect will happen, and what I think you should wait for, with updated links now available:

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Posted May 07, 2008 | Category: Windows Installation

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Who should I believe?

I was researching a question on the internet, and I find it very strange that what one expert recommends another advises against. I refer to various posts on discussion forums and advice sites such as yours, all of which are most helpful not often contradictory. One finds those who swear by a product and others who don't reckon much to it. That leaves novices like me rather bewildered to who to heed and who not.

Who do I believe?

I understand the frustration. When all you're looking for is an answer, it's puzzling to come up with various differing opinions.

I'll try to explain why I think that is, and what I do when faced with it myself.

Continue reading: "Who should I believe?"

Posted May 07, 2008 | Category: General Computing

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How do I fix bad sectors on a flash drive?

I have a flash drive and I found that some files on it were corrupted. When I recopied them from a backup, these files were corrupted again, sometimes immediately, but sometimes only after a few days or weeks.

Some folks have suggested I simply "buy a new one". But I think that this might be more or less the nature of flash memory, similar to dead pixels on an LCD display. So I'm thinking that a better way might be to mark bad clusters and keep using the drive.

I tried "chkdsk /R" and the result is "Windows has checked the file system and found no problems". Then I tried the old Windows 98 scandisk, and tried Write/Read test. I know that I shortened the flash memory's life by doing this? Again no error was detected.

I filled the disk with files exactly 32768 bytes long - the size of a FAT cluster on this drive - with random data content. I then checked the CRC for these files. I also overwrite these files with inverted data a few times and checked the CRC again. I found a few files where this failed from time to time, so I changed the attributes of these files to read-only and hidden. As long as no mechanism moves these files, this then prevents those bad clusters from being used again.

Is this a reasonable approach?

Let me put it this way: "buy a new one".

Your approach might be reasonable, sort of, but I don't agree with some of the assumptions you've made that lead you down this path.

And I can pretty much guarantee that it simply won't work on many newer flash drives.

Continue reading: "How do I fix bad sectors on a flash drive?"

Posted May 06, 2008 | Category: Disks and Mass Storage

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What does it mean when you recommend something?

I frequently get asked "what ___ do you recommend", and I often don't have an answer. It's not because I don't have some ideas, I almost always do. It's just that the word "recommend" carries an implied endorsement, and I don't take that lightly.

So what does it mean when I actually take the plunge and say I recommend something?

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Posted May 05, 2008 | Category: Recommendations

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How do I protect users on my network from each other?

In reference to your article " Is the WiFi connection provided by my landlord safe, and if not, how should I protect myself?", while I am not *that* landlord, I am *a* landlord. I don't know how to look at my tenant's data, but how do I protect myself from my tenant and for that matter someone in another apartment or someone just driving by the apartment building? According to my tenant, there are 8 different networks registering on his laptop (including mine). Because my tenant shares the cost of the connection with me, I feel I have to protect the both of us from "problems."

I have wireless broadband router I am wired directly to the router and my tenant uses the wireless connection. The router itself has a password on it and you need to enter an encryption key to gain access to the network to which my router is attached.

There are a few issues here, some of which are common and have standard solutions, which it sounds like you've already implemented.

However protecting you from your tenant, your tenant from you, and for that matter all your tenants from each other gets ... well, things get interesting.

Continue reading: "How do I protect users on my network from each other?"

Posted May 05, 2008 | Category: Small Business and Home Networking

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How do spammers send email that looks like it comes from me?

OK, I know that spammers can send email spoofing the "From:" address to make it look like it came from me. But how? How do they gain access to my account to do that?

First let me be very clear: they don't have to have access to your account. In fact, 99.99% of the time they don't. 99.99% of the time it has nothing at all to do with your account, and your account is quite safe.

They only need your email address.

And this is the concept that's fairly difficult for most folks to grasp: while your email account and your email address are related, they are not necessarily the same thing.

Continue reading: "How do spammers send email that looks like it comes from me?"

Posted May 04, 2008 | Category: Spam

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Some Other Podcasts

As I discontinue my weekly podcast, a few recommendations on other podcasts that I listen to.

Continue reading: "Some Other Podcasts" Article Includes Audio

Posted May 03, 2008 | Category: 2008 Podcasts

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