I want to make a movie from my home videos and digital pictures. What is a good program to let me do this in Microsoft Windows, and how complicated is it? I'm running Windows XP, by the way, not Windows Vista.

My parents are always checking up on what Web sites I visit and it's getting really old. Is there some way to have Firefox hide where I go so they can't keep tab on me?

This is a simple question and I used to know the answer. In an office setting, I have many people coming in to ask questions. What is the keystroke command to darken my computer screen and/or bring up my screensaver. This would prevent some from trying to see what project I'm working on--dealing with human resources, etc. I'm using Windows XP.

I've gotten into blogging with Movable Type (thanks to you, Dave!) and it's going well, except for one annoying thing: I can't rebuild my site. Every time I click on the button instead of getting a little window letting me do that, I just hear a weird beep sound in Microsoft Internet Explorer. What the heck?

Hi Dave, was wondering if you had any advice for me? I've been given an old iPod which has been formatted by a Macintosh. Is there any way of reformatting it for Windows XP. I've just downloaded Itunes 4.7 and when I plugged the thing in via firewire it came up with a restore option. However it comes up with "Only windows formatted Ipods can be restored". Is there a way of changing it over?

My kids are constantly harassing me about being able to chat with them via instant message, via "AIM". What's AIM and how do I get started?

Now that I have switched from Windows XP to Windows Vista, I am missing the "Find Files" feature from the new start menu. I'm sure it's there, but I can't see it. Help!

I know this is an old issue and I hope I'm not violating any blogging "netiquette" rules, but on the security issue you brought up on your business blog, isn't it feasible to just go into your network connection properties and unselect "File and Printer Sharing on Microsoft Networks" when you are connected to a hotel or cafe network? This should stop anyone from seeing your files, correct? Since I have a password protected Administrator and other usernames on my laptop, they shouldn't be able to browse the file system with the standard double-backslash addressing ( \\GabesLaptop\C$ ).

My son was playing around with my PC and now it goes to sleep after just a few minutes if I am not using it actively. It's driving me crazy! How do I reset it to a normal setting?

I constantly lose track of where my cursor is on my new Windows laptop and it's driving me crazy. I know that there are apps I can download but I'm wondering if there's anything within Microsoft Windows XP that can help me with my vanishing cursor problem?

Kind of a strange query, but I run Parallels extensively and often find that I need to email data files I've created therein -- within Windows XP -- to my colleagues. I don't want to have any mail program running in WinXP, however, I want to just use Apple Mail. Is there an EASY way to do this?

My computer will not play dvd and I dont know if said computer has a dvd player or not.

Windows XP: I'd like to put a file folder in the start menu and then a number of utility program short cuts in it. I know how to add programs in the start menu but this I can't seem to figure out.

HELP ME DAVE! Ok my computer broke you know. i went to the shop and had it repaired. when i hooked it back up the text and mouse and icons and everything etc. you know is HUGE! H-U-G-E! how do i fix this problem. where it is normal size and not huge! please help!

Hey bro! I'm staying at a campground and when I connect to the wireless network, I get a warning that there are all these other computers connected from my PC-cillin program, and it asks me if I should trust them or not. What does it mean?

I've made the move to Microsoft Windows Vista and am digging the new interface, but I am a bit frustrated that anyone else who uses my computer can see the latest applications and files I've worked with right on the Start menu. Is there some easy solution?

Just got started with Microsoft Windows Vista and am totally baffled by everything that's changed, honestly. Even the most basic is proving a challenge: how do I change my desktop picture in Vista?

I just read about Parallels 3.0 being released which is very cool, but rather than run Windows XP in Parallels, as you've written about, I want to run Microsoft Vista on my Mac instead. I have a MacBook Pro with 2GB RAM: is that enough? And if so, how do I install Vista in Parallels?

For testing purposes, I want to be able to run both Microsoft's Internet Explorer 6 and Internet Explorer 7 on my Windows XP system. Is that possible, and if so, how do I get it working?

It drives me crazy: ever since I installed AOL Instant Messenger (AIM) it automatically starts up and logs me in every time I start up my Microsoft Windows XP computer. How do I make it behave like a regular program, where it starts when I start it, and doesn't do its own thing??

I know how to change my Hotmail password in the old version of Hotmail, but now that there's a new, fancier version, I'm kinda lost. Can you tell me how to change my hotmail password, uh, Windows live password, please?

Microsoft PowerPoint is driving me a bit crazy right now on my Mac because every time I type in a web site URL it turns it into a hyperlink, complete with different formatting and color. Surely there's some way to turn this feature off??

I'm on a customization kick and would like to pull a program out of my START menu in Microsoft Windows XP and add another one. Can you show me how to customize my Start menu, please?

Simple question, Dave: how do I change my settings on my Microsoft Windows XP computer so that I can see every file on the hard disk, not just those that are ordinarily "visible"?

I am a proud user of Windows XP. Not quite as cool as Linux, but hey, it's a family computer, and Windows is more widely used. Thus far I've only had one problem with it, my son put a password on the screensaver! Which doesn't bother me, because I know how to turn it off.

My question to you is, how do I CHANGE that password? Because when I open control panel and click the screensaver tab, it doesn't give me the option to change the password, only remove it! PLEASE HELP! I know in pst versions of Windows it was possible, but I don't even know if it can be changed in SP. So any help you could be to me would be greatly appreciated!

Hey Dave, I need to do to know how much RAM memory i have in my Microsoft Windows XP computer?

Now that I have Windows XP running within Boot Camp, I'm just curious: where in the folder hierarchy do I find my Windows Desktop? I know where it is in Mac OS X...

What is blinkw32.dl? I am having problems with my PC complaining that it can't find blinkw32.dll (binkw32.dll?) when I try to start up a program.

I saw your earlier article about how to use a Boot Camp partition as the virtual machine in Parallels on my Mac (see Booting off Boot Camp in Parallels) but I don't want to risk having the same Windows install running in two different environments (Boot Camp and Parallels). Instead, is there a way that I can access my Boot Camp partition while I'm in my Parallels virtual machine?

Now that I have Windows XP installed on my Mac via Boot Camp, I'm wondering if there's any way I can use that same partition for a virtual machine in Parallels? I have read your article about how to install WinXP in Parallels (see: How to install Windows XP on your Mac with Parallels Desktop), but I don't really want to have two 8GB Windows installations, so hopefully there's a better way?

Somehow in windows XP my files are no longer in alphabetical order when I go to browse them in Explorer. I have found a way to reorganize them within Explorer but when I go to a program for example Adobe Photoshop and select my folder and then browse to find the file I want to open they are all jumbled and none of them are listed alphabetically. I have alot of files in my projects folder and it makes it a pain to have to scan all of them to find the one I want instead of just jumping to the C's, or the R's, etc. Is there a way to fix this??

I've read and followed your instructions about how to remove the dreaded Norton Anti-Virus from my Microsoft Windows XP computer, but somehow the $#$@ thing isn't fully removed yet. Dave, this is driving me batty! Is there some additional or updated instruction you can share with us? I hate Symantec!!

Hey Dave is there anyway we can have the "Computer" icon show up on the desktop, and the Hardsisks mounted within this folder. Much like Windows? Coz I have too many partitions (3 Harddisks with almost 5-6 partitions on each disks)

I've been using iTunes for a while on my computer and now have a pretty darn large music collection. Rather than have it all work with shuffle mode, I'm interested in learning about playlists, and particularly about smart playlists in iTunes. What can you tell me and what smart playlists do you have?

I tried to get IE to ask me if it wanted to be the default browser, but it will not. I keep checking the box and shutting the computer down. I am an unfortunate who had mozilla firefox foisted upon them, please help me restore IE as my default browser.

I just got a new computer from my folks and have been unsuccessfully trying to watch a movie. My Dad insists it has a DVD drive, but I can't tell. How do I ascertain what kind of hardware I have on my PC without tearing the thing apart?

I saw your article a few days ago about how to selectively enable filename extensions in WinXP, [see: Selectively enable filename extensions in WinXP] which is helpful, but the more I look at my Windows system, the more I think I'd rather just be able to see ALL my file extensions. How can I make that change in Windows XP, Dave?

This may sound a bit weird, but I want to know how I can show specific file type suffixes when I'm viewing folders, but leave others hidden. For example, when I'm working as a software developer, I want to see the ".c++" and ".obj" suffixes, etc. Is that even possible in WinXP?

I've been running Microsoft's new Internet Explorer 7.0 web browser and really like it overall, except for one problem: by default searches in the search box go to MSN Search, and I want to use Google. How do I change it?

What is the most effective way to perform file, folder or data searches in Windows Vista? Is it the same as it was finding files in Windows XP?

I am running Windows Vista on the family computer, which means that there are several different users. Is there a way for me to prevent other family members from accessing my school and work files or limiting access to the computer? I’ve heard Windows Vista provides some sort of feature to do this?

I’ve heard that Windows Vista Ultimate has two different firewalls included; I want to be able to scan both incoming and outgoing data. How do I do that? Does it matter which firewall I use?

I'm just curious, is there any list of the most popular shareware for the Mac and Windows platform, and if so, are Windows people more likely to download games or Mac people?

I'm sick of how darn slowly my Windows XP computer boots up, Dave. It seems to just take forever, to the point where I turn the PC on then find something else to do for 5-10 minutes. After all that time, I know it's ready to use. Worse, shut down seems to take lots of time too. Am I doomed?

I have been trying to change my darn security question at America Online for weeks now, and every time I get to that area in AOL, it just says "temporarily unavailable. Please try later." What's up with that? isn't there some way I can use the AOL Web interface to change my security question before I get hacked again? Thanx.

I really don't want to have AOL software on my new Sony Vaio laptop, but I do occasionally need to get to my AOL account to check mail, etc. I can do that via their web site, no worries, but here's what I'm wondering: can I actually change my password and do all that other administrative stuff through their Web site, or does that require the actual AOL software package?

I was changing my name (Jim H) from administrator to a user with limited privileges, with a password for both administrator and Jim H, and, when I rebooted, I got the following error message: "Checkpoint Scheduler... X... Task Scheduler is not running". I don’t know what this is. I’m thinking some program was relying on Jim H as a previous administrator, for something. I’m no longer administrator, but a user with limited privileges so I can surf the net, etc., with a little more confidence. I’m thinking some program is expecting Jim H, as adminstrator - which he no longer is - to do something. Any suggestion on how to identify this program so I can turn off the Checkpoint Scheduler? My OS is Win XP, Home, SP2... Thank you for any help

I've been visiting some Web sites that I don't want to let others know I frequent. Can you tell me how do i erase my Google search box memory on Mozilla Firefox??

I don't get it. The audio on my Windows PC seems to be just fine, I can hear system beeps, etc., but when I use Windows Media Player, I can't hear any of the music that's being played, regardless of how I adjust the volume in the player up or down. What's going on?

My Microsoft word for microsoft office has a backgroung colour problem. Everytime I open a document into it, the colour turns blue; which is not very to read from and definetely not the original background colour. I tried to change it from the format menu and select backgound but it keeps doing that all the time. Could you please tell me how can I restore the original colours.

I'm having problems with the firewall in Microsoft's Windows OneCare product blocking my downloads from certain sites, and it's driving me crazy! How the heck do I disable the firewall so I can download what I want, then re-enable it when I'm done?

I am re-asking the question entitled "How do I disable my windows startup sound?" I think that the question was not phrased well enough to understand the problem. And, I'd also like a solution to this problem if you have one.

The noise to which I'm referring is the one at the initial Sony Vaio splash screen. It plays *before* the LILO boot on my dual machine. So, it must be somehow hardwired into the system boot.

When I turn on my notebook computer, there is a sound or "music" as it powers up...just as I see the logo...and before it gets to Windows... How do I disable this "sound"/"music"...? It's very distracting in a business meeting and/or classroom.

Dave - How do I add an HTML signature to my Thunderbird mail account? I installed Thunderbird and now I find that it doesn't have an apparent sig file handler??

I have looked all over AOL, but I can't figure out how to change my security question. I just realized that a lot of people know the answer I have to give, if I ever forget my password. I would like to change the question to something more difficult. Please help me, as I can't find how to do this, when I search the AOL site. Thank you very much.

How do I protect a microsoft file with a password? The purpose is, i don't want word to open up my file without asking for a password.. every time i'll open my file i want that it will ask always a password...

I am trying to set up my microsoft outlook 2000 at home to be able to receive the same e-mails I get at work... How would I do this? I tried setting up the servers as the same but it doesnt seem to be working. What would I need to do to set this up to work correctly. Again I am trying to set up my microsoft outlook 2000 to receive the same e-mails at home as I do at work.

I had an iPod connected to my old computer and now I want to put it on my new computer, but when I hook my iPod up to my new computer all the music is going to gets deleted off of it. How do I get all my music on my new computer without using a million CDs?

I do not get any alerts (neither audio nor pop-up) when any of my friends login/logoff from Yahoo Messenger. Most of the time they appear online long after they have signed out, and i have to sign out and sign in again which is annoying.

I want to get the sqeeky door and loud bang off AOL went it first comes up on my computer when I turn it on.

Hi dave. our computer is still taken over by nvctrl.exe. Nvctrl.exe shows in processes in "Windows task manager", and when i select nvctrl.exe i can "end process" or "end process tree". i selected end process tree and it said that "ending this process could cause system instability" so i cancelled it. Is it alright to end the process tree??

I have about 4,000 sites bookmarked and arranged into folders etc. The problem is that I want them arranged alphabetically.

I can arrange them any way I like in Windows Explorer, but that arrangement does not affect them when I click on the "Favourites" in IE. I think they did it automatically in 5.5, but it is really cheesing me off having to keep dragging them manually into alphabetic order.

I feel like a complete idiot, but I was trying to copy and paste about fifteen paragraphs of text from a Microsoft Word document to an email message, and somehow ended up cutting the text out of the document and then having my email program crash. The net result is that I've lost about a day's typing and really want to know if there's any way I can recover it?

I recently purchased a new computer (It was built for me) I need to know how I can find out if my dvd burner burns dvd+ or - Do you know a way to this on Windows XP?

I'm trying to play my music CD on my PC because I need to make a tape of it to send to the copyright office. So I'm running the headphones out of my laptop into the line IN on my little boombox and I'm making the tape, right, but guess what? Every time I click on a frickin' hyperlink in Internet Explorer there's this huge "click!" coming out onto the tape! How rude is that?

I downloaded Firefox and then found that it just wasn't for me. Hence, I deleted it. However, my shortcuts on my desktop now keep asking for Firefox when I try to open them. Did I not get it all off my machine and if not how do I go about getting rid of every trace of this browser?

I have an iPod that I've been using on my Mom's macintosh, but now I want to use it on my PC. How do I get my PC to see the iPod, and then how do I connect the two so I can transfer stuff?

I like AOL Instant Messenger (AIM), but it's really annoying when it automatically starts up every time I turn on my Windows XP computer. There's some way to disable it, I'm sure, but I can't figure it out. Help!