Tag: Your Questions

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Your questions: “How should I back up my new Windows Vista computer?”

Lynn asks…

“We just got a new PC at home, and we moved all of our old files to it.  How should I back up my new Windows Vista computer?”

First, check out the information on the Windows Backup and Restore Center page: in Windows Vista, this is one way to manage computer backup and restore.

S.E. Slack also has an article on our main web site, Back up your data, as she looks at why you should back up your content. She is a lifestyle and technology writer with more than 10 books to her credit.

“In this article, I’ll explain the basics of backups and show you how to use the Windows Vista Backup and Restore Center. You’ll also learn how to back up Microsoft Office Outlook 2007 e-mail so that even if your hard drive crashes suddenly, you’ve still got access to the e-mail you need. Creating and implementing a backup plan now will save a lot of frustration in the future.”

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Your questions: What’s the difference between a Windows PC and the new Windows Home Server?

I received this question (thanks, Mark) about the new HP MediaSmart Home Server…

“What’s the difference between my current PC (with Windows Vista) and the new Windows Home Server from HP?”

Good question.  As noted on our site, Windows Home Server is software that enables families with multiple PCs to easily connect their digital experiences, providing a reliable and familiar way to protect, organize and share treasured digital images, music, video, and documents.  Lots of hardware OEMs and System Builders are offering the new product (see below for a few links).

And one that’s been answered on the Windows products web site…

“Windows Home Server works with the Windows XP or Vista PCs in your home. Windows XP Media Center Edition and Windows Vista Home Premium are designed to run on personal computers and provide acquisition and management of media, such as TV programs, music, and photos. Windows Home Server is designed to make managing a home network, with Windows XP PCs and Windows Vista PCs, easier and more automatic. It does this by acting as a centralized place for storage, enabling remote access and providing automated backup for all PCs in house.”

On a related note, I saw that a number of retailers and etailers will be getting the new Home Server in stock this week, from Amazon, BestBuy, Buy.com, Circuit City, NewEgg and others.  Devices are available from Iomega, Fujitsu/Siemens, HP, Maxdata and Medion among others.

Additional information:

HP’s MediaSmart HDTV for Video, Music, Photos, Online Media – HP Home

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Your questions: “How do I archive mail in Microsoft Outlook?”

Lisa and Jeannie asked…

“How do we archive our mail in Outlook?”

Look no further than Microsoft Office Online website for more info on how to file or archive your e-mail on your own computer.

“Learn the different Microsoft Outlook methods for storing e-mail on your own computer. Understand their benefits so that you can make an educated decision about which method will work best for you.”

Quite simply, you can use the AutoArchive feature to save or delete old e-mail messages from your In box by creating a new .pst file.  See this page on how to turn AutoArchive on and off.

To turn AutoArchive on…

  1. On the Tools menu, click Options, and then click the Other tab.
  2. Click AutoArchive.
  3. Select the Run AutoArchive every n days check box.
  4. Type or choose a number in the box for how often you want AutoArchive to run.
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Your questions: How should I manage my home network to keep it safe?

Adrienne asks…

“How should I manage my home network to keep it safe?”

Of interest, from the MS.com website, 10 tips for maintaining a healthy home network by Joli Ballew, author and media and technology expert (as adapted from Windows Vista: Home Networking, Microsoft Press, 2007)

“Once your network is up and running, it’s up to you to keep it healthy. This means incorporating all of the security features that come with your operating system, whether it’s Windows Vista or Windows XP, and taking care of your network hardware properly. If your network computers aren’t healthy (or have security problems), your network won’t be healthy, either. Remember, a chain is only as strong as its weakest link.”

In short the ten tips include…

  1. Keep anti-virus software installed and up-to-date.
  2. Configure and use Windows Update.
  3. Get the most from the Network and Sharing Center.
  4. Configure secure Internet Explorer 7 options.
  5. Configure and use Windows Defender.
  6. Configure and use Windows Firewall.
  7. Prevent your kids from downloading malware with Parental Controls.
  8. Keep a backup of all your data.
  9. Protect your computer from unwanted downloads.
  10. Take care of your hardware.
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Your questions: How do you remove email addresses that automatically come up when you type in a name in Outlook? Or Entourage?

This from Holly (hope you’re well 😉

“How/where do you remove an email address that automatically comes up when you type in a name?  For example, somebody had a another email address that you’ve deleted and updated but, somewhere in memory it gets pulled up when you are searching their name.  Am I making sense?”

Yes, you are making sense. 😉

Assuming that this in Microsoft Outlook, the app is trying to be smart and help you by auto completing your email address…

  1. On the Tools menu, click Options.
  2. Click E-Mail Options.
  3. Click Advanced E-Mail Options.
  4. Do one or more of the following:
  5. To turn off automatic name checking: Under When sending a message, clear the Automatic name checking check box.

Then I find out it’s actually Entourage. 😉

For Mac Entourage, see http://www.entourage.mvps.org/glossary/mru.html for more details…

Entourage X and 2004: To clear ALL there is a preference in Mail & News: Compose: Clear List button. There is also an option in the preferences to disable this feature all together.

Entourage 2001: There is no Clear List button. See: How to Remove Addresses from the Entourage Address Cache (http://support.microsoft.com/default.aspx?scid=kb;en-us;280299)

Both versions: To clear a single address, add it exactly like the one that is remembered to your address book and mark it as Junk (or assign category Junk). You can just delete the address, but if you receive it again it will just be added back. Marking as junk will permanently remove it from the AutoComplete list.