Resources

I have a copy of WinFLP stored on my PC as a torrent, how do I create a bootable USB of the torrent so I can put the OS onto my netbook?

WinFLP or Windows Fundamentals for Legacy PC’s is available to those individuals running a genuine Microsoft Windows OS. Using a bootable USB to transfer the OS will make the installation take less time when transferring it to your netbook. If possible, use a new USB flash drive for the best results. You can use special software to create your bootable USB flash drive or you can complete the task on your own. I’ve given you the information that you need to do both. The choice is yours.

Software to Create a Bootable USB Flash Drive: BootIt- Lexar USB Flip the Removable Media Bit Tool

BootIt- Lexar USB Flip the Removable Media Bit Tool is a freeware application that you can use at your own risk. It comes without guarantees and I only offer it as an option that I have read about. This particular utility can be used to create a bootable USB flash drive. BootIt is designed to allow users to create a USB drive that acts like a fixed disk. Although this particular software was originally designed to turn Lexar-based flash drives into bootable ones, many individuals have expressed the ability to use it with other brands.

How to Create a Bootable USB

1. Insert the USB stick in the appropriate slot. Make sure that your computer recognizes it. Make note of the letter used to designate the location of the USB flash drive.
2. Open up a “Command Prompt.” (Start>Run>Command)
3. Type “SYS U” where U is the letter of the USB drive location.
4. This command should transfer the files needed to boot from your USB flash drive. These files include IO.SYS, MSDOS.SYS, and command.com.

How to Configure the USB Port as Bootable

Depending on your BIOS, you may or may not be able to configure the USB port as bootable. In general, if you have a newer machine, you will be able to do so. Typically, you can press the “F10″ key when booting up the computer in order to enter the BIOS section that portrays the options for boot up. Simply select the “USB Storage Stick” Option.

There is a thin blue line that appears vertically on the right of my screen on my laptop when I turn it on. What is it and how do I get it to go away?

Check the Laptop Screen and Case for Wear

A thin, colored line on your laptop screen could really be caused by a number of things. For starters, the process of opening and closing the lid of your laptop can create wear and tear for your monitor screen. If you are pulling up on the case, it might be stressing the screen underneath. Start by checking out the screen and case connections manually. Does it get any better or worse if you gently bend the screen and case? If so, you might be able to repair it by tightening the screen casing and being a little more gentle when you open it. You will likely need to take it in to a technician unless you can mend the seams and the connection yourself. Or, if the problem is a cracked ribbon or solder joint, you will definitely need to have it repaired professionally.

Remove and Reinstall your Video Card Drivers

It is also possible that your video or graphics card needs either driver updates or replacement. You can test this theory by uninstalling and then reinstalling your drivers. If this doesn’t help, then you might need a new card, but a tech will be able to tell you for sure.

1. Click Start, then Control Panel
2. Choose System, then Hardware, then Device Manager
3. Scroll through and look for your video or graphics card
4. If there are any yellow or red !s or ?s, then there are likely driver issues
5. If you are using the cards that came stock with your computer, you can click remove drivers, then reboot the computer and Windows should automatically re-install the drivers
6. You can then repeat the steps back to Device Manager to check the status and click Update to get the latest drivers for your card

If you are still having the same issues, you will likely need to take it in to a shop. If you want to try, you can use your laptop user manual to find and remove and reseat the video card cables to see if this helps, but opening your computer’s case will likely nullify the warranty, so be careful. Depending on the age and use of your computer, it is likely a screen or LCD issue that a repair could solve. Good luck!

I can’t do my training online because I can’t see the whole window. When I maximize it I still can’t see the whole screen. I use to be able to see it. My grandson did something and now I don’t know how to switch it back?

Set the Program Windows to Maximize

The problem might be that you are maximizing a window that has been inadvertently resized, so that you are actually able to maximize it, but that the window has been altered to a smaller total size. To make sure that the window is actually maximized, try these steps for Internet Explorer to see if the window will get any bigger.

1. Open Internet Explorer
2. Right click the Internet Explorer icon on the taskbar
3. Choose Properties
4. Choose the Shortcut tab
5. Choose Run
6. Choose Maximized
7. Click Apply

Manually Resize your Windows

In case the windows are already set at maximum but aren’t appearing that way, you can try this trick to resize them manually.

1. Open a window in Internet Explorer
2. Click your mouse on the very bottom right corner of the screen where there are little corner, arrow-ish lines
3. Use your mouse to drag this part of the window - which will resize it
4. Drag it to the size you want
5. Now open another Internet Explorer window over top
6. Follow the same directions to drag it to full size
7. Click back on the first window, then click ALT + F4 to close
8. Click the second window, then ALT + F4 to close
9. Open a new Internet Explorer window and it should open at full size

Internet Explorer Short Cuts to Minimize and Maximize

Usually, the Internet Explorer window has a series of little boxes in the top right corner. Choosing the one that looks like a little box and a larger box should switch between minimum and maximum. You might also be able to switch in and out of full screen by pressing the F11 key. Most of the time a combination of dragging the window to resize it manually and using the Windows short cuts to make sure the program is opening windows in full size will take care of the problem. Another possibility is that the zoom adjustment is off. Look in the lower right corner of the screen and adjust your zoom to 100% or less.

If this doesn’t do it and you need more assistance, write us again and let us know what you’ve tried and what software program you are using so we can be more specific with the troubleshooting. Good luck!

My niece wrote incorrect information and she thought that it was funny. It is not and it is incorrect. How do I delete the account she set up?

I’m going to offer some general comments to help you solve this problem since I don’t know exactly which website you are dealing with. I’ll also offer a few ideas in case she does something similar to this again. Many kids don’t understand the implications of what they post online or the seriousness of posting inaccurate information.

Deleting Web Accounts

The easiest way to delete the account is to have your niece delete the account. This can be done through her account settings. If she refuses to do so, then you can contact the moderator/webmaster for the website and request that they delete the account since it contains inaccurate information. If she is underage, this strategy might work.

However, you might be required to prove the inaccuracy of the statements, your relationship to your niece, or provide parental or guardianship permission. Typically, verification must be made and once it is, the host site will delete the account. In general, a great many websites require their members to indicate their age status, but this alone does not prevent minors from signing up. Once their underage status is discovered and proven, it takes short work for the host site to delete the account.

On the other hand, if your niece has already reached adult status, you might need to file a harassment charge with the website in order to get them to take the posting down. This will not reflect well on your niece and will become part of her online persona. I suggest trying to reason with her and explain that she could face legal trouble if she continues to post false information.

Deleting Comments

In some cases, deleting comments is an easy enough task. For example, if your niece posted this information in a comment on one of your blogs, all you would need to do is sign into your blog and edit the comment in order to delete it. If your niece is posting invalid comments to your webpage, you should be able to delete them on your own or to block her as a user on your page.

Another example would be if she posted on another person’s Web site. The best way to determine this is with her cooperation. If she does not want to do log in and edit her comment, but will allow you to do so, obtain the username and password for your niece, log in, and look around the website for information on posting/deleting comments. In some cases, the website will contain an icon or word that is an active link for deleting the comment.

Unfortunately, some websites do not offer this easy road to deleting comments and the task becomes much more of a problem. When this is the case, the best strategy to take is to contact the owner of the website with the exact details of the situation. Request that the information be deleted since it is inaccurate.

A couple of days ago I tried to log on to my “online banking site” and NOTHING happened. I checked my security settings and cookie levels and still can’t get on. Please help! Also what is the best and free antivirus/spyware product?

When a problem such as this occurs, the solution often depends on the circumstances. Try to think about any changes that you have made to your computer recently. Also, you need to determine whether this is the only website that you are having problems with or if others exist. Plus, it helps to think about the last time that you tried to access this particular website as well as the possibility that your account login might not be accurate. Are you typing in the address in full or clicking on a link? Read over the following suggestions and try each one until you manage to regain access to your online banking website account.

Online Banking Security: Signs of Legitimacy

Today, a number of scammers have gone into the business of setting up cloned websites to trick customers into giving away their personal information for devious purposes. The website looks almost like the original, legitimate one unless you could compare them side-by-side. In fact, my personal bank had this problem and many customers did not realize it until they tried to actually log in with their personal information.

Most online banking sites provide excellent security measures. Look for the signs that you have entered the right website. You should see the small icon of a gold lock in the lower right-hand corner of the screen. Plus, a small picture or icon is usually on display on the left-hand side of the URL in the web address bar.

Look at the home page of the website that you are trying to get into. The more information that you see, the more likely it is that the website is legitimate. You should see words or phrases such as “Copyright,” “All rights reserved,” and “Member FDIC.” You should also see the phone number of the bank listed for contact purposes. If these signs of legitimacy aren’t there, contact your bank in person or on the phone and check the safety of your accounts. However, scammers are pretty good at cloning websites, so the site may include these terms.

Troubleshooting Online Banking Problems

New fears of identity theft and security issues have led many banks, credit agencies, and other financial institutions to change the rules of their online website access. In some cases, the username and password are deleted if too much time has passed in between signing up and accessing the account. This strategy is designed to protect the customers.

Troubleshooting Account Access

Whenever you have difficulty gaining access to one of your accounts, you need to take the following steps in an effort to resolve the problem:

• Type your information in one character at a time rather than clicking on stored data.
• Clear the temporary cache, stored passwords, cookies, and other temporary files on your web browser. It is possible that inaccurate information has been stored and is now preventing you from accessing your account.
• If you are using IE7, check to see if the phishing filter has been enabled using the Tools option. If it has, turn it off if you are positive that you are on the legitimate Web site.
• Check your security levels (which you already did.)
• Contact the bank directly and explain the problem. Many of the larger banks have tech guys who will look up your information and verify your password.
• Request a new password, change the password, and try to log in.

Since you asked about free antivirus products, view this article discussing them here:

Free Antivirus Programs

I have bought this dumb game which now needs a patch to run. When I try to run the patch, it gives me sdl.dll error. I’ve tried everything to try and fix it. Please could you help?

A few variants of the sdl.dll error can occur depending on the circumstances surrounding the problem. How you solve the problem often revolves around the specific game that you are playing. Not knowing what steps you have taken to resolve the problem or which game it is that you are trying to play, I can only offer you these suggestions. Ignore the ones that you have already tried and work on those that you haven’t yet tried.

Typical Reasons behind Game Errors

If you experience a game error, you might be using too many applications at the same time, especially if you are only using a single processor. Another problem that sometimes leads to problems is a conflict with the operating system or a lack of the required specifications. Make sure that your computer is compatible with the game and try to run the patch upon a fresh boot while all of your other applications are closed. Corrupted or missing files can also lead to an sdl.dll error.

Possible Solutions to Game Errors

Try each of these suggestions before moving on to the next list of possible remedies:

• Scan the computer for viruses and spyware since they could interfere with your game.
• Check the recycle bin to see if you accidentally deleted the file. Choose to restore it if you see it there.
• Run “System Restore” to revert the computer to the day before you downloaded the patch. This might place the sdl.dll file back where it belongs. Then, you can try to download the patch again.

Recovering a Missing sdl.dll File

Perhaps the best way to retrieve the missing .dll file is to determine when it went missing. For example, if the file went missing while trying to play the game, you might be able to retrieve it by updating the drivers for the video card.

If it went missing when trying to run the patch, uninstall the patch and start over to install it. After all, it is possible that the installation of the patch is faulty. In fact, I would go so far as to download the patch fresh from the source after removing the initial one as well as running a virus scan first. Make sure that you download the correct patch for your operating system.

Run the chkdsk utility to repair problems that might exist with your hard drive. To do so, just follow this path: Click “Start”→ click “Run”→ Type “cmd”→ press “enter”. In the open box, type in “chkdsk volume:/r” hopefully to recover the file.

Run a reliable registry cleaner such as RegCure to help put your computer’s files back in good working order. Quite often a .dll error does occur when the file becomes corrupt. It is needed in several different types of games in order for Windows to allow the game to run. Cleaning the registry could solve the problem for you.

Now, you should run the sfc /scannow tool, also referred to as the System File Checker. If you are lucky, you will recover the missing sdl.dll file with this strategy since it replaces missing files using data stored on the original Windows Installation disk. Simply insert the disk, click on Start, and click on Run. Now, type in “cmd” and click “OK.” Type in “sfc/ scannow” and select the “Enter” key. This should do the trick and solve the problem if nothing else has.