What is Windows Picture and Fax Viewer?

Windows Picture and Fax Viewer is a built-in utility that comes with Microsoft Windows including Windows XP. It is used to work with photo files without having to open an image editing program such as Adobe Photoshop. It is primarily a viewer that allows you to quickly view, save, print, or delete photos. You can, however, perform some minor changes to files including changing a file's size or rotation. You can also use Windows Picture and Fax Viewer to view slideshows of your photos as well as view incoming faxes which typically arrive as TIFF files. When viewing fax files, the Windows Picture and Fax Viewer's annotation toolbar allows you to add textual notations, draw lines, and highlight portions of the fax.

Is Windows Picture and Fax Viewer the Default Photo Viewer?

Windows Picture and Fax Viewer is normally the default photo viewer for Windows XP. However, it's not unusual for newly installed software to change Windows XP's settings so that the new software becomes the new default. This is great if you like the new software better than the built-in utility but no-so-great if you'd prefer to use Windows Picture and Fax Viewer.

Making Windows Picture and Fax Viewer the Default

To change it back to the default, you'll need to go into the Control Panel (Start > Control Panel) and click the Folder Options icon (you may need to switch to Classic View). Once opened, click on the File Types tab and scroll down until you see JPEG. Highlight JPEG and look under "Details." What does it say the file opens with? If anything other than Windows Picture and Fax Viewer is listed, click the Change button and choose Windows Picture and Fax Viewer from the list. Look for additional settings (such as "always use this") that prompt you to make this the new default and confirm your choice. Repeat this process for other image files such as JPG, GIF, BMP, and TIFF.

How do I record an audio program on my computer to a memory stick so I can play it later on my laptop?

Using Windows Explorer to Transfer Files

If the audio program is in an electronic format on your computer, you should be able to copy and paste the file to your memory stick using Windows Explorer. If it is an actual piece of software, that you want to copy to the memory stick, you'll need to copy the entire installation folder on to the memory stick and then install the software on your laptop from the memory stick.

How to Use Windows Explorer

Windows Explorer is a useful utility that you can use to copy and paste files from one location to another. To launch it, go to the Start button and right-click it. Choose Windows Explorer, Explore, or Open Windows Explorer (the labels vary depending on which version of Windows you have) from the menu. Within Windows Explorer you will see various drives such as your hard drive (usually C:), your CD-ROM drive, and a lettered drive for your memory stick.

To transfer a file from your C: drive to your memory stick, simply locate the file you want to copy and right-click it. Choose Copy. Next, click on the memory stick in Windows Explorer and then right-click inside the main pane. Choose Paste. This will place a copy of the original file on your memory stick.

Transferring Multiple Files to a Memory Stick

If the audio program consists of multiple files, you can transfer them all at once by either copying the entire folder (instead of individual files) to the memory stick. If they're not currently inside a folder, you can select a series of individual files by holding down the Control button as you click. Once you have a series of individual files or folders selected, right-click and choose Copy. Next, go to your memory stick and right-click inside the main pane. Choose Paste. Copies of all of the selected files and folders will be placed on your memory stick.

Note that if the program is a piece of software, you will need to copy and paste the original installation files and install them on the laptop.  

Can you tell me how to record spoken words from my Windows XP computer onto a memory stick?

Using Sound Recorder to Record Audio

Windows XP (and other versions of Windows) comes with a built-in utility for recording audio called "Sound Recorder." In order to use Sound Recorder, your computer must have a microphone, sound card, and speakers. If it doesn't have a built-in microphone, you can purchase computer microphones that plug into its USB port or a microphone jack for less than $10. Since you want to record the audio onto a memory stick, your computer should also have a compatible slot for the memory stick.

Assuming the computer is properly equipped, recording audio to the memory stick is a simple task. Go to Start > Programs > Accessories > Entertainment > Sound Recorder. (Windows Vista and Windows 7 users can go to Start and type "Sound Recorder" into the Search bar and then click the icon to launch the utility.)

Recording with Sound Recorder

Once launched, click the red Start Recording button and begin speaking. You'll see a set of numbers which represent how many minutes and seconds you've been speaking, and the button you clicked earlier will now show a blue box and the words Stop Recording. When you're done, click the Stop Recording button.

A Save As window will appear, prompting you to save your recording as a Windows Media Audio (.wma) file. At this point, you can either save the recording to the memory stick or click on Cancel. When you click on Cancel, you'll see that the button has changed to say "Resume Recording." This is useful if you need to stop and gather your thoughts in the middle of the recording.

Saving Sound Recorder Files

Once you're done speaking once and for all, click the Stop Recording button and save the file to your memory stick which will show up as a lettered drive. For example, your hard disk is likely labeled as the C: drive and your CD-ROM drive is likely D:. Depending on the number of drives, your memory stick may be labeled E:, F:, G:, H:, or above.

To listen to your completed recording, open Windows Explorer by right-clicking Start and choosing Windows Explorer. Navigate to your memory stick and double-click the file you just created. This will open the audio file and play it back.

Deleting Partial Downloads
I'm not sure how accurate those graphical display bars are as far as the actual files downloaded. I believe they're intended to give us an indication of progress so that we know something's going on and progress is being made.

Since the download was aborted early on, it's doubtful that there are a bunch of files you need to worry about uninstalling. However, for the sake of keeping a clean, relatively clutter-free hard disk, there are ways you can remove partial downloads. Here are a couple of options.

Look in the Downloads File
If you have Windows 7, programs that you download go into the Downloads folder. You can quickly find this file by going to Start and typing "Downloads" into the Search bar. Once you see the Downloads folder appear, double click it to open it. Most likely, you'll see full downloads such as ZIP files containing installation files. While you probably won't see any partial downloads here, it doesn't hurt to check.

Remove Temporary Internet Files
When you download a program from the Internet, your browser creates temporary Internet files. These files can be manually deleted by launching Internet Explorer and then going into Tools > Internet Options. Click the General tab and find Browsing History. Click Delete which opens additional options. Select the Temporary Internet Files and Download History and click Delete.

Use the Disk Cleanup Wizard
Windows also comes with a Disk Cleanup wizard which will delete a variety of temporary file types. In Windows 7, go to Start and type "Cleanup" into the Search bar. Double click the Disk Cleanup wizard icon when it appears. In earlier versions of Windows, go to Start > Programs > Accessories > System Tools > Disk Cleanup. The utility will do a quick scan where it gathers information about your disk. From there it will present you with a list of file types to delete. Choose Downloaded Program Files, Temporary Internet Files, and Temporary Files and click OK.

Installing Programs Designed for Earlier Operating Systems
The problem with installing programs designed for earlier operating systems is that these programs were not designed for the newer operating systems due to the fact that the newer operating systems didn't exist yet. However, that's not to say that these older programs won't necessarily work with your newer operating system. That's because developers often create newer operating systems to be backwards compatible, at least for a generation or two. If you where attempting to install a Windows 95 program on Windows 7, it's doubtful that Windows 7 will support it.

Problems You May Encounter When Installing Pre-Windows XP Programs
Because pre-Windows XP programs are not designed for that operating system, it's possible that the programs won't run, won't display properly, or will generate error messages. The program may expect a different data format or it may be set to look for specific Windows files or folders that are no longer present in Windows XP.

Windows XP Compatibility Features
Windows XP, along with newer operating systems such as Windows Vista and Windows 7, has some built-in compatibility fixes and modes that address some compatibility issues between applications and the newer operating system. According to Microsoft TechNet, when Windows XP was originally released, it came with a database containing about 200 compatibility fixes as well as several compatibility modes. For end-users, there's the Compatibility tab and the Compatibility Wizard.

For example, after installing a program, you can right-click the program's executable file (the file that's used to launch the program, typically ending in .exe) and choose Properties. From there, you'll find the Compatibility tab where there's an option to choose which operating system the program should emulate when using the program. Find the Compatibility Mode section and place a checkmark in the box next to "Run this program in compatibility mode for." Then use the dropdown box to select the appropriate operating system. Similarly, you can go to the Windows Help and Support Center and find the Compatibility Wizard which will walk you through assigning compatibility modes for your programs.

So, if you have a legitimate program that worked well for you on earlier operating systems, there's a chance that Windows XP will be able to run it and it's not inherently dangerous to try. Good luck!

Check for available Microsoft Updates

First of all, Microsoft's first piece of advise when troubleshooting System Restore is to check for available updates. Apparently, if you are missing a service pack or other important update, some of your computer's functions might fail or go missing. Just to ensure that your computer isn't missing a critical update, let's start there -- in a browser search, enter Windows Update and then follow the prompts to search for any releases for your software.

Once you have done that, restart your computer. Now, click Start, then All programs, then Accessories, then System Tools, and finally, System Restore to check if you are now able to access the tool.

Run Windows Built-in System Tools

If this doesn't work to recover your System Restore tool, or even if it does, I recommend you run some Windows built-in system tools to scan your computer for any errors or corruptions that might be responsible for your issues. In Windows Vista and 7, you can use the System File Checker utility to look for missing or corrupt files and then repair or replace them.

• 1. Click Start, All Programs, Accessories and then right click Command Prompt
• 2. Choose Run as Administrator
• 3. If asked for a password, enter it or click Allow
• 4. Type in sfc /scannow and Enter to run the utility and follow the prompts offered
• 5. For more advanced troubleshooting with this tool, you can visit the related Microsoft Support page

Update your Anti-Virus Software

Since your problems started with a security pop-up, you should also ensure that your protection software is up to date. In addition to Microsoft Updates, you should also frequently update your antivirus software, especially if you are using freeware, since it usually doesn't include update alerts.

Scan your System with an Anti-Malware Program

There are some malware programs that can appear as system tools -- such as Control Center -- which can fool users into allowing them access and then wreak havoc on your system. Some of the symptoms you describe sound like this kind of infection, so I recommend you download and run a free malware security program like Malwarebytes. You will most likely have to run the program several times to remove the threats. At the same time, you can keep trying to successfully update or re-install and run your AVG program until your system comes up clean. I hope this information helps!

While Content Advisor is quite useful in blocking certain types of content (nudity, sex, language, and violence), it is not without its own set of glitches. It is going to take a bit of troubleshooting to see if you can resolve the issue that you are currently experiencing with Content Advisor blocking websites from all accounts rather than just the ones specified. Your best bet is to try each of the following suggestions, and hopefully, one of them will fix the problem.

 Content Advisor Affecting Admin Account: Modify Parental Controls Follow these steps to ensure that the setting for the administrative account has not changed.

• Log into your administrative account.
• Navigate to “start” and open the control panel.
• Choose the administrative account.
• Select the option for “Parental Controls.”
• Go through each level and change the settings as needed.
• Select “OK” to finalize the changes.

 If this strategy doesn’t work the first time that you try it, log in under “Safe Mode,” and repeat the same steps. Content Advisor Affecting Admin Account: Re-create Admin Account Create a new administrative account with the same settings as the original account. Delete the original account or change its settings to a standard account. Use a different password for this one rather than the same one.  Content Advisor Affecting Admin Account: System Restore It is possible that you can reset the computer back to the way that it was simply by using “System Restore.” This process does not delete any of your files, but you will have to re-install any software that you installed after the date that you revert back to. You can find the option to restore your system underneath “System Tools,” which should be located under “Accessories.” In the future, whenever you want to enable certain websites in your son’s account, temporarily change the settings for the level of content that his account is permissible to access. Once you have finished accessing that particular website with his account, change the settings in parental controls back to the levels that you want included. This should prevent the same problem from happening to you again. 

It sounds as though the Windows XP installation may have overwritten or disabled the Windows 7 Boot Manager. Here are a couple of things you can try.

Windows XP MSCONFIG

First, let's look at the boot.ini settings in MSCONFIG. It's possible that Windows XP has been set as the default operating system and, if so, that would eliminate the need for displaying a boot choice at startup.

Go to Start > Run and type "msconfig" (without the quotes) into the box. Press Enter and the System Configuration Utility should open. From there, click the tab labeled BOOT.INI. Look through the list of items and see if Windows 7 appears. If so, and if you prefer, you could set it as the default operating system by highlighting it and clicking the Set As Default button.

Windows XP System Startup

Another option is to go to Start > My Computer > Properties > Advanced > Startup and Recovery > Settings. Under System Startup, you can choose the default operating system. Not only that, there's an option that should be ticked, "Time to display list of operating systems," as well as a time period that you can adjust. Make sure that you have a checkmark entered and choose a time limit such as 30 seconds. If this box isn't marked or if the time limit is set to just a few seconds, that could be the problem.

Repair Windows7

You could also try repairing the Windows 7 Boot Manager. To do this, you'll need your Windows 7 installation discs. Insert the install DVD and reboot your system. If your system doesn't boot from the drive, you may need to change the BIOS setting so that it does. Once Windows finds the bootable installation disc, it will look as though it's getting ready to install Windows. Don't worry, you'll be presented with a repair choice before that point. Select your language and click the Next button when prompted. Choose "Repair Your Computer" and "Start Repair." After the system has been repaired, Windows 7 should be able to detect your installation of Windows XP and automatically include it in the Boot Manager.

Check for a Windows.old File

It depends. Did you perform the upgrade as an "in-place" upgrade or a custom install? An in-place install means that all of your existing applications, data, documents, and other settings remain in place after the upgrade. A custom install involves installing Windows from scratch, losing all your programs and data in the process. Depending on the version of Windows your computer original had, you may not have a choice because some versions of Windows XP and Vista do not support in-place upgrades.

If you did a custom install, then there should be a folder named "Windows.old" on your C drive. Even though the custom installation wipes your disk clean, it creates a folder containing old system and personal files. This folder can take up large amounts of disk space. As long as you're confident that your new Windows 7 installation is stable, you can delete this folder. Before you do, take a look at this Microsoft Knowledge Base article detailing how to restore your personal files after a custom install. This is handy if you need to recover your documents, programs, and other data.

Deleting the Windows.old File

To delete this folder, use the Disk Cleanup Wizard. Using the Disk Cleanup Wizard is relatively easy. Go to Start and type in "Disk Cleanup." You'll see an icon appear. Click that icon and go to the Disk Cleanup tab. Find and choose the "Clean up system files" option. You'll likely be prompted to specify the drive where these files are located. Next, select the "Previous installation" option as well as any other files that you'd like to delete at the same time and then click OK followed by Delete Files.

Remember, this process cannot be undone, so make sure you're completely confident that the Windows 7 upgrade is stable.

Several causes can lead to the problem that you are having. Therefore, it is going to take a bit of troubleshooting to discover exactly what strategy will fix the problem. Try each one of the following suggestions until you get one that works. I suggest reading through all of the options before you begin, so that you have a clear idea as to what your choices are.

Resolving Eee PC Black Screen Error with Safe Mode

Turn the laptop's power on and immediately begin to tap the "F8" key on the keyboard until the laptop begins to boot up. You should see several options for Safe Mode:

• Safe Mode (loads only the drivers that are absolutely necessary)
• Safe Mode with Networking (loads only the drivers that are absolutely necessary and gives you the ability to use the Internet)
• Safe Mode with Command Prompt (allows you to use the Command Prompt if you have this skill set)

I suggest you choose one of the first two options. Some users have stated that this strategy is successful, but they have to use it each time they boot up their Eee mini laptop. If that happens to you, you might want to try one of the other options.

Resolving Eee PC Black Screen Error with Factory Reset

Start with your laptop turned off. Turn the power on and immediately press the "F9" key on the keyboard. Keep pressing the "F9" key until the laptop boots up. This strategy should reset the laptop back to its factory settings.

Resolving Eee PC Black Screen Error with Full Charge

Several other Eee PC users have mentioned having success resolving the issue of black screen error with the dash on the upper left hand side simply by making sure that their mini laptop is fully charged before turning it on.

Resolving Eee PC Black Screen Error by Uninstalling Recent Add ons

It is possible that software or a peripheral that you have added onto the mini laptop is experiencing an incompatibility with your machine and creating the problem with the black screen. Check to make sure that all of the laptop's devices, the graphic card, etc are compatible with your operating system and laptop. It is possible that one of these devices is not compatible and you will need to uninstall it.