Q: Is there away to keep Windows Vista’s Windows Mail program from downloading new mail to my computer?

When I’m connected to the Internet, I don’t want to download any mail. I prefer looking at my mail on my Internet Service Provider’s Web site, and then deciding which e-mail I’d like to download.

A: As soon as you connect to the Internet and open Windows Mail, the program normally grabs all your waiting mail automatically. Since you want more control over the process, change Windows Mail’s settings so the program only grabs your e-mail when you click the Send/Receive button. That way you can weed out all the spam before telling Windows Mail to grab what’s left.

To switch Windows Mail’s e-mail collection from automatic to manual, follow these steps: Click to read more »

Q: Where do I find information about Windows 7 for Windows XP owners? For example, how much memory and hard drive space will I need in order to upgrade to Windows 7?

A: Upgrading to Windows 7 from Windows XP isn’t easy. It’s much easier to buy a new PC with Windows 7 pre-installed. Computer prices have not only dropped, but today’s new PCs are much more powerful than those sold with Windows XP.

Once you buy a new Windows 7 PC, hang onto your old Windows XP PC for running any programs Windows 7 refuses to run. Plus, you’ll find it easier to copy your Windows XP PC’s files to a new Windows 7 PC than to upgrade your old Windows XP PC to Windows 7. Plus, if something goes wrong, you’ll have your old PC as a backup.

That said, I wrote a column for Datamation offering tips for people considering an upgrade from Windows XP to Windows 7.

Windows 7’s operating system requirements are listed below. (Many older Windows XP PCs won’t make the cut.):

• 1GHz or faster 32-bit (x86) or 64-bit (x64) processor
• 1GB RAM (32-bit) / 2GB RAM (64-bit)
• 16GB available disk space (for 32-bit) / 20GB (for 64-bit)
• DirectX 9 graphics processor with WDDM 1.0 or higher driver

The easiest way to see if your PC can handle Windows 7 is to run Microsoft’s free Windows 7 Upgrade Advisor. The program analyzes your PC, its parts, and your software. Then the program points out potential problems you’ll have to deal with if you decide to upgrade. It’s an easy way to prepare for the battle of upgrading Windows XP to Windows 7.

Q: When I turn on my PC, I see the message “You have files waiting to be burned to disc.” How do I get rid of that message?

A: Whenever you tell your PC to copy files to a disc, Windows copies those files and hides the copies in a temporary folder. And those files sit there forever, waiting for you to insert your disc and complete the burning process. And until you insert that disc, you’ll keep seeing that annoying message.

But if you don’t want to burn the files to the disc — perhaps you chose the Burn command accidentally, for example — that nagging message remains in both Windows 7 and Windows Vista. You can usually get rid of the message by following these steps: Click to read more »

Q: My wife keeps a spreadsheet for our finances. Now, when she types in an amount (£4492, for example), the computer translates the entry into a random date (30/9/1911, for example). Where has she gone wrong?

A: The solution depends on the brand of spreadsheet she’s using. But it sounds like she’s accidentally formatted that column’s cell to display its conents as a date rather than currency. To fix this problem in Microsoft Excel, for example, your wife needs to right-click anywhere inside the problematic cell and choose “Format Cells” from the pop-up menu.

The Format Cells window appears, letting her choose how Excel should display that cell’s contents: General, Number, Currency, Accounting, Date, etc. In your wife’s case, choosing “Currency” rather than “Date” should fix the problem. In fact, all her current nonsensical dates should then revert to the currency amount she originally entered.

Q: I copied some of my music files from my old PC to my new PC. But my new PC won’t play my WMA files.

Instead, I see a message that I need to download a license to play them. But when I click on the Download License link, a message says the license has been downloaded ten times and can’t be downloaded again.

I converted these files to WMAs from my own CDs using Windows Media Player, and the CDs weren’t copy protected. What’s wrong?

A: Microsoft turned on copy-protection by default on the version of Windows Media Player that shipped with the original version of Windows XP. Unless you manually turned off the copy-protection, every WMA files you created during that time will have same copy protection problems you’re now experiencing.

With copy-protection turned on, Microsoft keeps track of how many times the file is copied. When it reaches the limit of ten, Microsoft sends this message: Click to read more »