ardi

Yep, a 2.8GHz machine is fine, especially with all that RAM. I've installed it with less memory and slower processor and never looked back at XP.

What a great list! Thanks. In the PDF catagory, I love CutePDFwriter and there is a free version that does everything I need to create a pdf file. Very fast, too. http://www.cutepdf.com/products/cutepdf/writer.asp I've had trouble opening pdfs from a brokerage I use (Scottrade). They want you to use Acrobat, of course, and I just hate that bloatware. But Foxit will open the files when others won't. Somehow Adobe got a hook in there and are still trying to keep pdfs proprietary. Grrr. Best, ardi

Almost all mail has images and I would like to have them shown by default. Clicking on "show images" gets tiresome. Anyone know how to change this default? TIA

I've had horrible results trying to get ownership and control over files. I'm the only user/admin yet sometimes I cannot change ownership of files brought from a flash drive. One error I get is "cannot determine current owner." So I can't use or delete files I've just imported. Really, what I'm looking for is a very good resource to study. I know it's out there, and someone knows what to do when the thing does not respond as described. What is the nuclear option to get control of files?

OK, another clue: A music file that was working just fine no longer plays. When you click on the music link, it doesn't play the music, it opens a new browser page, like http://whatever.mp3 Something is really screwed up on this site. Do I need to upload with an ftp program instead of FrontPage? Are the latest FrontPage extensions different now that "Frontpage Expressions" is out there? ardi

I use FrontPage 2003 to build a website. It allows me to "import" a PowerPoint show (.pps file) and upload it to the server with the rest of the site. Trouble is, when I click on the site's link to the show, it offers to open or save the .ppt file! That means that when it is downloaded, it opens the Powerpoint app instead of just playing the show. Of course, people who don't have PowerPoint can't view the show. I've checked, and there is no .ppt file on the site. It somehow changes the .pps file extension to .ppt when downloading. And yes, the .pps file plays just fine before it is uploaded. I really am flat out of ideas here, and sure could use some help. tia, Roger

Maybe I wasn't clear, I WANT a recent documents list. Also I'm running XP, not Vista, and the registry tree does not lead to "FILE MRU" in the path you gave me. Hey, they have really upgraded the graphics on this site. Very nice.

I'm trying to turn on the Recent Documents panel when I open Word 2007. I follow the path: Office Button=>Word Options=>Advanced=>Display and find the control. It's greyed out and a box comes up and tells me the Administrator has set the group policy so this doesn't work. Arrrrg! I'm the Administrator and can't find anything that tells me what setting to change. A real nuisance that worked fine in Word 2003. Anybody know what to do? Tx, ardi

There is only one user who is an administrator. Thanks for the input. One other thing I've noticed is that installer problems seem to correlate with nLite. I used nLite to install the OS with all the settings in place, then changed the user name to my mother. Jeeze, I hope I don't have to reinstall everything with the right user from the get-go.

My mother's computer got so fouled with malware that I had to format the drive and rebuild her system (mostly Windows XP, mail and Office 2003). Everything went fine but when opening Word a window pops up saying Windows Installer is running. Word eventually opens but it takes almost a minute. The XP updates have been installed so the Windows Installer version is 3.1. I "repaired" Office from the disk, no change. Then I uninstalled Office and reinstalled it. No change. On this forum I found out about msicuu.exe, downloaded it and ran it on Office. Reinstalled. Same old thing. I'm out of ideas here, and hoping somebody smart knows what is wrong. Thanks.

WOOOHAH!!! Unlocker did the trick. The file wasn't locked, but the program allowed me to delete it anyway. I'd never heard of this little program but it is slick as can be. And free! What a deal. BTW I'd already run Avast and Spybot, plus I built my granddaughter's computer with a lot of protection built-in, so I was pretty certain she hadn't sent me a bad file. There was some problem between Outlook Express and Thunderbird file attachments. I have no idea what happened but Unlocker was just the solution. Big thanks, Jeremy!!

Yes, and yes. No difference when using safe mode. Also tried looking for malware and viruses. Tried CHKDSK.

Somehow I ended up with a generic document icon on my desktop. It has the name, "If You Need To Smile.", but no file extension after the period. It can't be opened--says there is no file. Properties open but the name can't be changed etc. I've tried everything I know to get rid of it and can't find anything in the MSFN archives that helps. The origin of this pest is from a child's (granddaughter's) email to me. It was supposedly pictures and jokes, but I couldn't open the file in the mail program (Thunderbird) so I dragged it to the desktop to mess with it. Big mistake. Help would be greatly apppreciated. I'll try to attached it to this message, but it is 0 bytes so I dunno... ardi

Thanks ripken204. Hey, I used to live in Rochester! First in Webster (worked at Xerox) then on Sodus Bay. I loved the Bay, but when they asked me to transfer to San Diego, it was winter and I accepted B)

Yeah, another dumb question: My processor supports fsb 333 mHz. The Mobo supports memory of 400/333/266/200. Do I need to match the memory speed with the fsb? also DDR memory is specified in two ways, like PC3200 is 400, PC2700 is 333, etc. Are these just two ways of saying the same thing or is there a difference? (The board is an Abit VA-20. I'm planning to use an AMD Athlon processor and about 512 MB of memory. I just gotta get them to match up.)

I looked at Dameware this morning. Didn't get past the price ($100's). I'm just the family's system admin, not doing this for commercial reasons.

UltraVNC looked good, and it works with XP Home edition, but it seems to me that it has some of the defects of XP's Remote Desktop: you have to know the IP, plus you have to set up and maintain the router ports. One of the problems I was having was that ISP's (especially AT&T's DSL service) change IPs a lot--sometimes daily. Big pain, when you don't have a permanent IP. Basically, every time someone has a problem you fail to connect then have to troubleshoot. I'm getting too old for that. Another one (free) that I'm looking at is LogMeIn. The UI sucks, documentation is poor, and I've screwed up my accounts already, BUT, when you get used to it. it does all the necessary stuff. All the remote computer has to have is a browser. No router settings to deal with, no IP's to know. I don't yet know about speed and other surprises down the road, so I'd like to hear from others about it. I'm going to look at Dameware next. Thanks for the inputs ardi Yipes! Dameware is expensive, (100's) not meant for the family's administrator. Scratch that one

UltraVNC looked good, and it works with XP Home edition, but it seems to me that it has some of the defects of XP's Remote Desktop: you have to know the IP, plus you have to set up and maintain the router ports. One of the problems I was having was that ISP's (especially AT&T's DSL service) change IPs a lot--sometimes daily. Big pain, when you don't have a permanent IP. Basically, every time someone has a problem you fail to connect then have to troubleshoot. I'm getting too old for that. Another one (free) that I'm looking at is LogMeIn. The UI sucks, documentation is poor, and I've screwed up my accounts already, BUT, when you get used to it. it does all the necessary stuff. All the remote computer has to have is a browser. No router settings to deal with, no IP's to know. I don't yet know about speed and other surprises down the road, so I'd like to hear from others about it. Big thanks to all who have responded so far ardi

Some of the computers I want to connect to are not running XP Pro, so the built-in Remote Desktop won't work. I would really appreciate your experience with the programs out there before I have to find all the problems the hard way.

Remote Desktop won't let me connect and control computer running XP Home. Couple of questions: Does VPN solve this problem? How about non-MS software? Is there a good applicaiton out there that will work with XP Home and computers on a remote router? Appriciate your insights and experience

THANK YOU, THANK YOU, THANK YOU!!! I've been fighting that problem for months. The D-Link routers don't have the port redirection capability (at least I can't find it) but I changed the listening port on a remote machine and that that gave me access. They sure don't make it easy. Ardi

Remote Desktop usually works great, but I can only get to a single computer on a LAN using the default port, i.e. xx.xx.xx.xx:3389. If I open another port in the router, like 3390, and assign it to different computer, it won't let me in to that computer. If I switch the addresses I can always get to the 3389 computer but never to any other one. I've tried various addresses, no luck. I have another port open for a different app (DC++) and that works fine. Only Remote Desktop is giving me this trouble. The router is a wireless D-Link; the computers in question are connected by CAT5 cables. Both computers running XP Pro. Help would be appreciated. I've been fighting this problem for months.