Here is a tip that can help fix many glitches in Windows. It’s called “chkdsk” (check disk), and it scans your hard drive for bad sectors, and for bad Windows OS files.

To perform this action, simply do the following while in Windows:

1. Click START
2. Select RUN
3. Type in “cmd” (no quotes)
4. At the command prompt, type “chkdsk /r” (again, no quotes) and hit your key
5. It will say that the disk is locked, and it will ask you if you want to run the scan the next time your computer boots up. Type “y” (no quotes) for yes and hit your key
6. Then, restart your computer, and it will do the scan. This may take 20 – 35 minutes.
7. Once it is complete, it will state what it found. It should eventually boot up if it did not find anything.

This can help fix many issues including hanging/freezing and abnormal performance.

If you want to make PDF files, and you don’t feel like shelling out the dough for Adobe Acrobat, then you can download and install PDF995 (www.pdf995.com).

Go here, http://www.pdf995.com/download.html, and download and install the printer driver first, and then the Free converter. After both are installed, to create a PDF file, open up the file in Microsoft Word that you wish to convert into a PDF file, go to FILE>PRINT> and select PDF995 as the printer (at the top of the printer dialogue box). Then click OK to print it. It will come up with a screen where you just need to select “Continue with sponsored version”. It will then create a PDF file and save it in the same folder in which the original file that you opened up in Word is located.

You can also go to PrimoPDF. They have both a downloadable app and a free online service. You use the downloadable app the same way you use PDF995 (print the file, and then change the printer to the app). Check it out.

I just found out about www.boingo.com. They offer a free wireless configuration utility that works with most cards, and that supports WPA encryption. The link is at the bottom of the page. It’s great for older laptops.

Do you get Quicktime errors when you try to play an embedded multimedia file when viewing a website with Firefox? Have you already tried downloading and installing the latest version of Quicktime?

Well then, most likely the answer to your problem is that you have to enable the Quicktime audio and video plugins.

To test to see which types of files are not playing in Firefox for you, go here:

Quicktime Embedded Files Test

Once you know which files are not playing, then go here to see how to enable them:

Quicktime Browser Settings