http://ask-leo.com/windows_oddities.html en-us 2008-10-24T16:13:14-08:00 hourly 1 2000-01-01T12:00+00:00 http://ask-leo.com/what_is_the_prefetch_folder_and_why_are_there_copies_of_system_files_there.html Windows uses several techniques to try to run as fast as it can for you. The prefetch folder is an aspect of one such technique. 12753@http://ask-leo.com/ Windows Oddities 2008-10-24T16:13:14-08:00 http://ask-leo.com/how_do_i_install_an_msi_file_that_requires_administrative_privileges_in_windows_vista.html Installation packages that use msi files may require administrative rights in Windows Vista, but it might not be obvious how to grant those rights. 12736@http://ask-leo.com/ Windows Oddities 2008-10-10T12:33:19-08:00 http://ask-leo.com/wheres_the_recycle_bin_on_my_usb_drive.html Relying on a Recycle Bin could be a costly mistake. Particularly when USB and other removable drives may, or may not, even have a recycle bin. 12702@http://ask-leo.com/ Windows Oddities 2008-09-21T10:33:47-08:00 http://ask-leo.com/how_can_i_tell_from_where_an_exe_file_is_being_run.html Malware authors often attempt to hide their work by giving them the same name as system process. The difference comes down to location. 12621@http://ask-leo.com/ Windows Oddities 2008-08-20T10:42:49-08:00 http://ask-leo.com/what_are_the_ntunstallkb_folders_in_my_windows_folder_and_can_i_delete_them.html Windows Updates saves uninstall information into hidden folders that, with a little planning, can be deleted to free up disk space. 12582@http://ask-leo.com/ Windows Oddities 2008-07-26T07:00:00-08:00 http://ask-leo.com/why_cant_i_create_a_folder_named_con_and_other_crazy_facts.html Unexplained behavior can often seem mysterious and even magical, until the real, more mundane reasons are understood. And so it is with Windows. 12527@http://ask-leo.com/ Windows Oddities 2008-07-03T15:04:26-08:00 http://ask-leo.com/what_is_the_system_idle_process_and_why_is_it_using_most_of_the_cpu.html Can a computer really do nothing? Yes and no. When it's doing nothing it has to do something, and that something is the System Idle Process. 12298@http://ask-leo.com/ Windows Oddities 2008-03-17T09:38:31-08:00 http://ask-leo.com/my_desktop_pc_shuts_off_after_a_period_of_inactivity_why.html Computers can be configured to shut down after periods of inactivity. But if it happens without having configured it, reasons aren't as clear. 12212@http://ask-leo.com/ Windows Oddities 2008-02-03T13:17:20-08:00 http://ask-leo.com/why_does_my_computer_shout_at_me.html Windows has many sounds all of which are tied to specific events. Random sounds, including the computer shouting your name at you, is a mystery. 11907@http://ask-leo.com/ Windows Oddities 2007-10-14T10:01:20-08:00 http://ask-leo.com/why_does_the_space_used_by_files_on_my_hard_drive_show_different_numbers_depending_on_how_i_look.html Depending on how you look at your disk, the amount of space used can appear quite different. We'll look at some of the possible reasons. 11769@http://ask-leo.com/ Windows Oddities 2007-08-19T18:58:15-08:00 http://ask-leo.com/why_cant_i_access_the_documents_and_settings_or_local_settings_folders_in_windows_vista.html Two previously standard folders, "Documents and Settings" and "Local Settings", appear to be locked in Windows Vista. The reason: they've been moved. 11680@http://ask-leo.com/ Windows Oddities 2007-07-21T17:48:14-08:00 http://ask-leo.com/what_are_alternate_data_streams_and_are_they_a_security_risk.html Alternate data streams are a little known and little understood feature of NTFS that allows information to be effectively hidden within other files. 11598@http://ask-leo.com/ Windows Oddities 2007-06-14T16:47:55-08:00 http://ask-leo.com/what_is_error_8000ffff_when_i_try_to_install_a_windows_vista_update.html Error 8000FFFF results on Windows Vista machines with 4gig of RAM. As of this writing there's no resolution to error 8000FFFF on a Windows Update. 11396@http://ask-leo.com/ Windows Oddities 2007-04-23T11:39:54-08:00 http://ask-leo.com/can_a_website_cause_my_computer_to_get_a_blue_screen_of_death.html The blue screen of death can happen for many reasons, usually hardware failure of software bugs. Issues with web sites, however, is not one of them. 11155@http://ask-leo.com/ Windows Oddities 2007-02-08T14:02:06-08:00 http://ask-leo.com/can_i_delete_these_randomly_named_folders.html Folders with random and unreadable names will occasionally appear on your machine. They're typically the side effect of an update that didn't clean up. 11117@http://ask-leo.com/ Windows Oddities 2007-01-30T12:50:38-08:00