Adobe Updates

Adobe, like just about all software developers, periodically updates its software. These updates typically include enhancements to the software such as new features as well as bug fixes. For example, the most recent update for Adobe’s popular Reader (Adobe Reader 9.2 update) program was issued on October 13^th. It addresses “critical vulnerabilities” described by Adobe as vulnerabilities that can cause Reader to crash and potentially allow hackers to take over the compromised system. This same update includes fixes for known problems with several Adobe products including:

• Reader causes Firefox to crash
• Inconsistent printing behaviors
• Documents with certain types of digital signatures crash Adobe
• Not enough memory error messages
• Macro security errors when Microsoft Outlook 2003 is opened

Updating Adobe

It’s easy to update Adobe, especially when you receive a notice in your computer’s “system tray” area notifying you that an update is available. If you see a notice in the system tray, simply follow the prompts to update your Adobe products. If not, you can manually check for updates by launching the program and going to the Help > Check for Updates menu option. You may have several Adobe products such as Adobe Reader and Adobe Photoshop Elements. Adobe usually makes it easy to update all of the installed products at once. For example, when you use the Help > Check for Updates option, the Adobe Updater runs and displays a list of how many updates are available. Click on the Show Details link and you will see which programs updates are available for. Select the updates that you want to apply and then click the Download and Install Updates link.

Adobe and System Slowdowns

Now, about the system slowdown portion of your question. A product such as Adobe Reader isn’t inherently slow in itself but it can contribute to overall sluggishness if it is set to run at all times. When your computer has too many programs running at once, then yes, Reader could be adding to the computer’s sluggishness. The solution isn’t to ignore crucial updates but rather to remove Reader (or any other program that loads automatically) from your computer’s startup list. Do this by going to Start > Run and then typing in: msconfig

This opens the System Configuration utility. Now, click on the Startup tab. Find Adobe Acrobat in the list and remove the checkmark in the box. Click OK and then either reboot your computer or exit without restarting. The next time you power on your computer, your computer will load as normal, but it won’t load Adobe. This doesn’t mean that you can’t use Adobe at any time; it just means that it’s not automatically running at all times.

Microsoft gave Excel a major facelift with its introduction of Excel 2007. Depending on which version you have, there are different options available for formatting numbers in Excel. I’ll go over the universal step first and then cover some of the other ways to do this.

Format Numbers in Excel

In order for Excel to show negative numbers in parentheses, you have to instruct Excel to do so. This is done in the “Format Cells” dialog. No matter which version of Excel you have, you should be able to quickly access this dialog box by selecting the cell or range of cells that you want to format and then right-click on Format Cells. This will open a dialog box with the following tabs: Number, Alignment, Font, Border, Fill, and Protection. Obviously, you will want to use the Number tab.

In the Category section, click on the type of number you are working with such as number or currency. Since you mentioned currency in your question, let’s look at currency as an example. Once you select currency, you’ll see the main part of the pane now displays several options. It shows you a sample and provides you with three editable fields: decimal places, symbol, and negative numbers.

Select the number of decimal places you want to display. If you select 2, then the numbers will display two decimal places such as £50.00 whereas if you select five decimal places, the numbers will look like this: £50.0000000.  If you want to change the currency symbol from £ to $ or even ¥, do so in the Symbol field.

Finally, the answer to your question lies in the next field, negative numbers. You have four choices for displaying negative numbers:

-£50

£50 (red text)

(£50)

(£50) (red text)

Choose the third or fourth option to place your negative numbers in parentheses. If you want your negative numbers to be displayed in red text, choose the fourth option.

Format Numbers in Excel 2003

While it’s easy to simply right-click a set of numbers, Excel offers other ways to access the Format Cells dialog. If you have Excel 2003, select the cells you want to format, go to the menu bar, and click on Format > Cells. From there, follow the above directions to format your numbers.

Format Numbers in Excel 2007

Excel 2007 does not have the handy menu bar. In its place is the infamous “ribbon.” You must have the Home tab active and then find the area of the ribbon labeled “Number.” A drop-down box allows you to quickly change the basic number type such as from General to Currency. However, if you want to change the way negative numbers display, you’ll need to click on the tiny square found in the lower right corner of the Number section. This will open the Format Cells dialog box.

Possible File or Program Corruption

Since rebooting and freeing up memory doesn’t work and the file previously printed, two ideas come to mind: file corruption or program corruption. Computer data files and the files that make up a program or the operating system can go bad. Usually a file goes bad when something unexpected happens while it is in use such as a power outage causing the computer to shut down unexpectedly.

To determine if the problem lies with the document or the Works program, see if you can print any other Works document. If Works crashes every time you try to print any document, then we can rule out a problem with the document itself and can work on repairing Works. If Works prints other documents properly, then we’ll need to see if we can recover the document.

Repairing Microsoft Works

Since the issue is specific to printing, there’s a good chance that a DLL file is missing or damaged. DLL files are files of pre-coded computer code for common functions such as printing used by computer programmers. If the underlying DLL for printing is missing, an error like yours is possible. If you recently uninstalled a program or installed a new one, the DLL could have been removed or replaced. One way to get it back is by using System Restore if you have a restore point from before the uninstall or install. Go to Start> Programs > Accessories > System Tools > System Restore and pick a point in time before the problem began. This rolls your system back in time and does not affect your data. You would then need to reinstall or uninstall any programs or updates made since then.

You could also try uninstalling and reinstalling Works if you have the original installation disc. Another thing to try is updating Works in case the error is a bug that Microsoft has since fixed with an update. Do this by going to the Help menu and clicking Check for Updates.

Recovering Bad Works Document

If the document itself has gone bad, you can try recovering it directly from within Works. Open a blank Works document and click on File > Open. Browse to your document but DON’T click the Open button just yet. Instead, where it says, “Files of Type” click on the down arrow and choose Recover Text From Any File (*.*). Works will try to recover your text. You may lose your formatting and any images that may have been included, but the bulk of your data should appear.

Winamp software is a user-friendly media player that supports an assortment of different music file formats and allows for the easy management of both audio and video files. First designed in 1997 by Justin Frankel, Winamp has developed into a sophisticated media player that is available in both freeware and shareware versions.

A major distinguishing feature of Winamp is that it presents users with the capability to view streaming media through the program. A variety of free radio stations or online television stations are available, or users can choose to operate AOL videos and XM Satellite radio stations through the program. Winamp also serves as an RSS aggregator for podcasts, news feeds, or blog updates.

Through different plug-ins, Winamp is able to support a large variety of portable media players, including iPods, Microsoft PlaysForSure technologies, and Creative NOMAD players. In addition, Winamp offers extendable support for visualization plug-ins, sound plug-ins, media library plug-ins, and general plug-ins such as alarm clocks.

Users can import music files into the Winamp program from CDs, or they can burn CDs from the tracks already in the music library. Music files supported by Winamp include MP3, WAV, WMA, MIDI, M4A, AAC, and MOD formats. A popular feature of Winamp is its ability to offer gapless playback for the MP3 and AAC formats. This feature allows consecutive audio tracks to play without interrupting sounds.

A limited version of WinAMP 0.20a was initially released in May of 1997, but was quickly upgraded and renamed to Winamp Version 1.006. However, the program didn’t really achieve widespread success until Winamp 2.0 was released in September of 1998. This version featured various cosmetic changes and options, such as the ability to use skins, greater accuracy in playback, and additional plug-ins.

After being purchased by AOL in 1999, Winamp3 was released. Users found this version to have quite a few problems such as instability and limited capability. In response to the public’s demand, Winamp 5 was released next, combining the positive aspects of both Winamp 2.0 and Winamp3. The latest version, Winamp 5.541, offers ultimate compatibility along with user-friendly controls and support.

Windows Updates

Since you’ve had to reinstall Windows XP, you have the original version of XP that came out when your computer was brand-new. Since then, Microsoft has issued numerous updates that add functionality and security. Hopefully you have already applied the necessary updates, but if you haven’t, then do so ASAP. While the updates aren’t likely to affect the installation of Office Accounting, they are important - and who knows, maybe they will solve the installer problem. Do this by going to Control Panel > Windows Updates. This will be time consuming and you will need to reboot your computer once the updates have been installed.

Office Updates

The same is true of Microsoft Office. Go ahead and update your version of Office before moving forward. If you use Office 2007, this is done by going to the Office button in an Office program and clicking the program’s Options button. Click the Resources link followed by the Check for Updates button.

Cleanup the Microsoft Office Accounting Installation

Since you’ve already tried to install Office Accounting and something went awry, it’s not a bad idea to clean up the installation. Microsoft offers a free “Windows Installer Cleanup Utility” that you can use to clean up after a failed installation. It will remove the installation files so that you can start over from scratch.

Because Office Accounting is considered a Microsoft Office 2007 product, the preferred method is to use Add and Remove Programs (if possible). Since the program didn’t install in the first place, it’s unlikely that you’ll find in Add and Remove programs. However, it may have partially installed, so check to see if it’s listed there. If so, remove it before trying to reinstall it. If not, use the Windows Installer Cleanup Utility.

Reinstall Microsoft Office Accounting 2008

Once your computer’s been updated with Windows updates and you’ve cleaned up the first installation, try reinstalling the program one more time from the CD or by downloading it from Microsoft.

InstallShield

If you are still having trouble installing Office Accounting, try updating your installation of InstallShield. Instructions for doing this are provided here by InstallShield.

Installing AOL Computer Check-Up

Please note that AOL Computer Check up will not work on 64-bit systems so that could explain why it didn’t work for you before if that is the type of system that you are using. You can obtain the download for AOL Computer Check up that AOL offers to its subscribers by following this link: AOL Computer Check-Up. In addition to conducting regular scans to check on your computer’s performance, it can also assist by improving your system’s performance as it will check for possible methods of improving its functioning through the hardware and settings.

Installing AOL Security Suite (McAfee)

Installing AOL Security Suite from McAfee is easily accomplished since AOL provides a direct link, AOL Security Suite from McAfee, for you to use. When you visit the link, you need to select the download on the left-hand side of the screen. This application is free for AOL subscribers. It is designed to provide standalone security protection for your computer.

It is important to meet the system requirements for this application to avoid problems downloading and installing it. Minimum requirements include Internet Explorer 6.0 and higher, at least 200 MB of hard disk space, a minimum of 256 MB of RAM for Windows 2000 and XP, and a minimum of 512 MB of RAM for Windows Vista. If you have Windows 2000, you must have Service Pack 4 or higher installed. If you have Windows XP, you must have Service Pack 1 or higher installed. For Windows 2000 and XP, you need to have a 500 MHz or higher processor. For Windows Vista, you need to have an 800 MHz or higher processor.

Troubleshooting Missing E-mail Addresses

While it is possible that you accidentally deleted all of your email contacts, let’s hope that this isn’t the case because other possibilities do exist. One or more of the following reasons could account for your problem with the email contact information going missing from your address book.

• Have you signed into your AOL web mail account? The contact addresses will not show until you have signed in so make sure that you have covered that aspect first.
• In the past, there have been times when a system-wide failure at AOL led to multiple individuals not being able to see their contact information. Once the failure is rectified, the addresses should reappear.
• Failure to update your browser or your AOL account when a new update comes out could lead to this problem. The solution is to obtain the updates.

WordPad and Notepad

Hmmn, this is a mystery indeed because Windows Vista’s WordPad and NotePad do not come with built-in spell checkers or auto correct tools. I also run Vista, so naturally, the first thing I did was launch both WordPad and NotePad to be sure. These two programs are about as basic as you can get. When I saw that “TextPad” in your question, I became curious. I hadn’t heard of it before, so I headed over to Bing and searched for it. Sure enough, there is a program called TextPad.

TextPad

TextPad is a third party program designed as a replacement text editor for users who want more features than the bare bones offered in NotePad. This program does have a spell checker - with auto correct options - so I’m wondering if TextPad is the main culprit. Assuming that you have from Helios Software (TextPad.com), you can change your autocorrect options in the Preferences section. Go to the Configure > Preferences and find the spelling section. From there, remove the checkmark next to AutoCorrect. Save your changes.

If you are using TextPad, the TextPad.com Web site has a users forum where you can interact with other users and get additional advice. I am going to post a link asking the community for additional help in this thread. Hopefully a TextPad user can shed more light on this strange behavior. In addition, I found a TextPad reference card online that may have some useful tips.

Third Party Spell Checkers

As far as NotePad is concerned, I don’t think that TextPad would change its behavior or features. Because NotePad lacks a spell checker, a market for third party spell checkers that integrate with the software emerged. Is it possible that your computer has a third party spell checker installed? For example, TinySpell is a third party program that spell checks the text found in any window including NotePad, WordPad, or any other program that you may be using. While this particular program doesn’t have auto correct features, it is likely that similar programs exist that do. If you recall having installed such a tool, see if you can disable or uninstall it.

Is there any rhyme or reason to the changes as far as you can tell? For example, does the software change your US spelling to UK spelling or anything obvious like that? I don’t think that the computer’s language settings would affect NotePad, but that’s an area to explore if it looked like it was related to a specific language.

Hopefully this is a simple matter of changing your preferences in TextPad.

Going with the assumption that your computer meets all of the system requirements, we’ll need to check elsewhere for a solution to this AOL error. I am hopeful that it is something simple that will provide a quick fix for you.

Troubleshooting AOL Computer Check-Up: Zip File

Perhaps the most common reason for the failure of this program to launch when double clicked is that fact that the file is not an .exe file, but rather, it is a .zip file. If this is the case with your AOL Computer Check-Up file, then it would explain why it will not install for you. Only the .exe version of this application can be opened by double clicking on it.

The .zip file needs special software in order for it to open and install on your computer. Zip files are compressed since they contain more than one file and so you need to have something known as an archiver program installed on your computer to open it. Some of the more common archiver programs include: WinZip, WinRAR, Rarlab, BitZipper, RarMonkey, and PowerZip. These types of programs open zipped files quite easily. Hopefully, this is the fix that you need. If not, continue to the next suggestion.

Troubleshooting AOL Computer Check-Up: Startup Programs

Since you are using dialup, you might be experiencing the problem because your computer does not have enough resources to install the AOL Computer Check-Up program. Dialup is a lot slower than high speed Internet and so, it will take a bit longer for the installation to take place. Temporarily disable any nonessential startup applications using your System Configuration Utility and try again to install the program.

Troubleshooting AOL Computer Check-Up: Uninstall All Old Versions

Look through the Add/Remove utility to make sure that you have successfully uninstalled all versions of the AOL Computer Check-Up program. Additionally, remember that you must restart your computer after having successfully completed the uninstallation before trying to install the program.

Troubleshooting AOL Computer Check-Up: Run Scandisk

If you are still having trouble, run scandisk and defrag your computer using instructions that are designed for your operating system. It is possible that errors exist with your hard drive and running these utilities could resolve the problem for you.

Troubleshooting AOL Computer Check-Up: Firewall

If you have gotten to this point without a solution, then it is possible that your firewall is blocking the download. Check the settings and temporarily reduce them to allow the download and installation process to occur.

Since you have Windows Vista, I’ll assume that you are also working with Excel 2007 so I’ll give you instructions for working with your header using Excel 2007 as an example.

Setting Headers in Excel 2007

In order to create a header in Excel 2007, open your spreadsheet and click on the Insert tab. Find the Header & Footer icon located in the Text section of the Ribbon and click on that. A blank header will be inserted at the top of your spreadsheet. It will have three different sections (one justified to the left, one center justified in the middle, and one justified to the right) where you can then add your desired header information such as title, file name, number of pages, date, and so forth.

You’ll notice that when you are editing the header, a new tab opens on your Ribbon called the Header and Footer Tools tab. In addition, new rulers appear on your screen. You’ll use a combination of these tools and the ruler to fine tune the width of your spreadsheet’s header or footer.

Making Excel’s Headers Match the Margins

First, enter your header text so that we have something visual to see. Next, take a look at the ribbon and find the Options section. See the area labeled Align with Page Margins? Place a check mark in the box there if there isn’t one already in it. This will make the header the same size as the page’s margins!

While it would seem that’s the end of the story, you may need to fine tune the column widths of your spreadsheet to get it to look right. The left side of the header is flush with the left margin and the right side has a slight overhang. Use your mouse and the ruler tool to drag the columns if needed. It looks as though there’s about 1/8″ of overlap on the right that you can’t do much about, even with the Align with Page Margins option selected. Hopefully this is something you can live with.

I think that something happened to the printer drivers, although I’m surprised that it happened when you replaced the ink cartridges. Because Word is so printer-intensive, a minor problem with the printer driver will affect Word more quickly than it will other programs. You can try to use the generic, default printer driver to see if that works.

Install Printer Driver

The first thing to do is try to install a new printer driver from the manufacturer’s website. Most printer manufacturers will make it easy to find and download the new drivers for your model on their websites. Often, once you have downloaded the driver, there will be an option to delete the old driver - choose yes. If you want, you can also go to Printers and Faxes, find the driver and manually delete it before you download a new one.

Install the Generic Driver

You can also test the driver by reinstalling the generic printer driver. Go to Start and then Printers and Faxes. Click on Add a Printer under Printer Tasks. You will see the Add a Printer wizard. Click Next. Click on “Local printer attached to this computer” and make sure “Automatically detect and install my plug and play printer” is not checked. Click Next. Chose File for the port and click Next. Under Manufacturers, click Generic and next. You will be asked whether the printer is the default. Choose Yes and then Next. Do not opt to print a test page. Click on Finish. After the drivers have installed, go to a Word document and try to print it.

Detect and Repair

If reinstalling the printer drivers doesn’t work, you can use Microsoft’s Detect and Repair feature to reinstall missing or damaged program files. Get into Word and go to Help. Click on Detect and Repair and choose Start. You may be prompted to install the Word CD ROM. Do so and click OK. If you have Word 2007, Detect and Repair has been replaced with Microsoft Office Diagnostics. Go to the Office button, click Word Options > Resources > Microsoft Office Diagnostics and follow the prompts.

If you find that you are still having problems, there are other, more involved methods to find the problem such as clean boot troubleshooting. I really think new drivers will solve your problem, but if you need more help, please let us know.