I finally switched from carrying a boat anchor (aka a PC laptop) and am now enjoying the slim, lightweight world of a Netbook. All is good. Until I realized that I can't actually update from Windows Vista (slow, clunky) to Microsoft Windows 7. I heard that there's a way I can download it? I don't want to get anything illegal, but I'm definitely intrigued! Can you tell me more about how to download Windows 7?...

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It's a puzzle: is a Microsoft Windows Vista laptop with a crystal-clear 12.1-inch screen, 320GB hard drive, 4GB of RAM and a carrying weight - without the external Blu-Ray drive - of about four pounds a netbook? An ultralight notebook? A laptop? HP calls it an "Entertainment Notebook" and refers to it in press materials as "one of the thinnest, lightest notebooks in the market". Whatever we call it, I was delighted to get my...

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I'm an old-school computer user and when I got my new laptop I decided that rather than overwrite the OS with Linux, I'd actually stick it out and learn Windows Vista. So far, not so bad, but one thing's bugging me: when I create a file like "test.xls" the system shows it as "test" with an Excel icon. I want to see the filename suffix, though, the ".xls" part. How do I enable that feature...

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My husband really wants to use my new Dell Windows Vista laptop, but I am afraid he'll mess up all my work files with his gaming and Web surfing. His response is "don't worry about it", but I'd be in serious trouble at work if a problem arises. Instead, I'd like to just give him his own account on my system. Can you outline for me how I can set up a new account for...

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Help! Something abdominable has happened to my wife's Toshiba A200 Satellite laptop (model PSAFCL-00R00G, preinstalled OEM Vista Home Premium, not under the worranty anymore). Before going to the full story I'd like to mention that after my unsuccessful repair attempts the laptop is now partially functional in Save Mode, and (if you'll take me on board) the copies of its current System Infos, Administrative Events Reports, Windows Logs etc. can be sent to you. During...

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I'm excited that I just bought a new Dell XPS M1330 laptop and got what I feel is a really good deal on the unit. Problem is, when I plug the laptop into the wall, it's super-bright and the screen looks great, crisp and colorful. Pull the plug and even though I crank the brightness all the way up and sidestep all the battery saving display settings, it's still so faint that I can barely...

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I try to keep my PC's device drivers up-to-date, and regularly download updates from intel, nVidia, AMD, and others. Some of these updates come in .exe form, and must be run as programs to perform driver updates. Thing is, sometimes these roll-ups don't update everything they're supposed to. For example, on the latest intel infinst_autol.exe, it failed to update my PCI Bridge (244E) device and I couldn't figure out how to find the necessary .inf...

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I have been hearing good things about Windows 7 from industry sources and am wondering if you think it woudl be a good idea for me to migrate from Vista? For that matter, what about Mojave? Is that a good interim choice, and if so, where do I download that?...

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After many years of using a PC, I've finally switched to a Mac and am now running Microsoft Windows Vista within the VMware Fusion environment. I have heard from a bunch of people that it's better than Parallels. Anyway, be that as it may, can you tell me how to install the VMware Tools, which apparently I need?...

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I spend a lot of my time on the phone with people in New York and London, but am based in San Francisco. What I'd love to have on my Vista machine is a set of clocks on the screen that can show me the time in these other regions, but I can't add unapproved software to the machine here at work. Solution?...

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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?...

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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?...

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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?...

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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?...

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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?...

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