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Ask Bob Rankin search results: copy files
Speed Up Your Laptop
"My laptop is only a year old, but it seems to be running slower than when it was new. And it's definitely a lot slower than my desktop for most things. What can I do to speed up my laptop?"...
Are Online Backup Services Safe?
The recent hack of Google by Chinese espionage agencies has raised concerns about the security and safety of online backup services. Is the protection provided by Mozy, Carbonite and other popular backup services enough to keep your files safe from...
Backup Software
"Do I really need backup software? Hard drives are so much more reliable now than years ago, so a good drive should last longer than the useful lifespan of a computer. Right?"...
Windows XP Repair
Sometimes, something goes wrong with your Windows XP installation. It could be due to a hardware glitch, a software error, malware, a lightning strike, or who knows what else. In the worst case, Windows XP won't boot at all; you...
YouTube to MP3 Converter
YouTube is one of the most popular sites on the Web, and a very useful one. You can find a video or audio file of almost any song or subject on YouTube, and upload your own creations to share with...
eSATA External Hard Drives
"I'm getting ready to buy an external hard drive for backups, but I'm confused by all the terminology when it comes to connecting the drive. Should I go for USB, Firewire, or eSATA? What are the pros and cons of...
Free DVD Burning Software
"I want to create a backup of my photos and home videos, but I have several gigabytes of data, so I want to put it all on DVD discs. Can you recommend any free DVD burning software?"...
External Hard Drive For Backups
"I'm planning to buy an external hard drive to use for backups. What hardware and software do you recommend for reliable and simple backups?"...
Windows Password Reset
"I changed my Windows login password yesterday, and now I can't remember it! Is there any way to reset the windows password, so I can regain access to my computer?"...
Backup Your Mobile Phone
"Recently I lost my phone, and along with it, all my contacts, music, text messages and apps. It's been expensive and time consuming to reconstruct everything, so I'm looking for a way to back up all the data on my...
Transfer Programs from XP or Vista to Windows 7
"I'm moving to Windows 7, but I'm worried about transferring all my existing programs to the new system. I would be a major hassle to re-install all my programs… what do you recommend?"...
Print to File
"Often I compose a letter in Word, then paste the text into an email. But all the formatting (and sometimes images) are lost when my friends view it. Can I somehow capture in a file, exactly what WOULD appear on...
Alternatives To Lifelock
"I'm considering LifeLock identity theft insurance, but are there other companies I should consider? And I've heard about do-it-yourself identity theft protection... is that a realistic alternative?"...
Which Online Backup Service Is Best?
If you listen to talk radio, you've probably heard online backup services like Carbonite, Mozy and iDrive advertising incessantly. Let's take a look at each of them, to see what they offer......
How to Remove Rootkits
"What exactly is a rootkit, and how is it different than a virus? Also, how can I detect and remove rootkit infections from my computer?"...
Music For The Blackberry
"I recently got a Blackberry, and am having trouble figuring out the best way to listen to music on this device. What do you recommend for music on the Blackberry?"...
Hard Drive Backup Image
If you do everything just right, you'll end up with a perfect hard drive. Your operating system will be bug-free; your applications will play well together; your data will be neatly organized in folders; everything will be just perfect. And...
Upgrade From Windows XP to Windows 7
"I've heard good things about Windows 7, and I want to upgrade my XP system as soon as I can. What's the best way to move from Windows XP to Windows 7?"...
Alternatives to Adobe Reader
"I have to deal with a lot of PDFs, and Adobe Reader just takes too long to open. Are there any good, free alternatives for PDF viewing?"...
Portable Apps
Did you know that you can load up a flash drive with your favorite programs and run them on any computer, without installing, directly from the portable drive? Here's the scoop on portable apps......
Is Pirate Bay Sinking?
Pirate Bay is one of world's largest facilitators of illegal downloading. But now the owners are facing the prospect of huge fines and jail time. Is this the end of the line for online video, music and software pirates?...
Upgrading to Windows 7
"Will I be able to upgrade my XP system to Windows 7? I'm hoping I don't have to upgrade to Vista in order to install Windows 7. What's the scoop?"...
How to Buy a Computer
"I teach senior citizens in a community based free computer lab. They often ask what to look for when buying a computer, what software they need for email, basic Internet usage, word processing, etc. Many are on a limited budget....
Make Vista Look Like XP
"I just got Windows Vista, after using XP for many years. Frankly, I'm not crazy about the Vista look and feel... are there some tweaks I can use to make Vista look more like XP?"...
Download YouTube Videos
So you found the coolest video on YouTube, and you want to download it to your computer. But how do you download YouTube videos? There's no obvious way on the YouTube site, but there are some easy ways to download...
What is Scribd?
Scribd is a type of a social networking website that allows you to publish all kinds of documents and images to the web. It's great for people who have something to share with the world but don't have a website,...
Partitioning Your Hard Drive
"I just got a new computer and I'm wondering about hard drive partitioning strategies. A friend told me to create a very small C: partition for a swap file, put Windows on the D: drive, and create several other parititions...
Automatic Backups
"My hard drive failed last week, and my latest backup was a year old. So I lost pretty much ALL of my important files. Can you recommend an AUTOMATIC backup that just works?"...
DRM Removal
Are you trying to convert iTunes music to MP3 format? Or maybe you have some "protected" WMA files that you want to convert? There are plenty of good reasons why honest people might want to use a DRM remover to...
iTunes Alternatives
"I'm getting frustrated with iTunes for many reasons. Are there some good iTunes alternatives for Windows and Linux users?"...
What is a Mashup?
"I hear the term mashup being used to describe certain websites, but I'm not sure what it means. Can you explain what a mashup is, and where the word comes from?"...
Vista to XP Downgrade
Windows Vista was launched with much fanfare and was touted as the operating system for a new generation with a slick graphical interface and many new features. But the reaction to Vista has been mostly lukewarm, and many customers are...
Free Clip Art
"I'm a volunteer who creates lots of newsletters and presentations. Where can I find free clip art, stock photos and drawing tools to spice up my work?"...
What is a Terabyte?
"I just saw an ad for a Terabyte hard drive. What exactly is a terabyte?"...
Sued for Searching?
I hear from readers often who are worried about the possible repercussions of downloading music and movies from file-sharing sites or P2P services such as LimeWire and Bittorrent. Now there's something new to worry about for users of P2P search...
Sued For Downloading?
More and more, people are asking me if they can get sued by the entertainment industry for downloading, music, movies, games or television shows. The answer is YES, maybe. Read on and learn how to download safely, and avoid the...
What Is a Rootkit?
Rootkit... the name sounds innocent enough. Kinda like something your Grandma would use in her garden. Actually, rootkits are a particularly nasty form of malware, created to wreak havoc on computers....
Myspace and Copyrights
"Suddenly, I can no longer upload music to Myspace. The message says 'Your upload privileges have been suspended' but all copyrights are mine. Any suggestions?"...
Running Windows on Linux
You run Linux... Maybe it's because no big company is going to dictate to you which OS you choose. Maybe you like Linux for its reliability, or for the fact it’s less apt to be a target for malware. Or...
Hiding Profile Items
"On a Myspace profile, how do I hide the location and last login? I've seen other pages like this and it seems like a good idea for extra privacy on Myspace."...
Online Backup
Periodically creating a backup of your computer files is critically important to the preservation of your work, your entertainment and your memories. In the event that your system is corrupted by a virus, natural disaster or hardware malfunction you must...
Run Windows On Mac
Why choose between Windows and Mac? Now you can run BOTH operating systems side-by-side on your Mac desktop. Here's the scoop on how to run Windows on your Mac......
Rip & Burn Basics
"I have a big music collection on CDROM discs. I'd like to get all this music on my computer and burn my own mix CDs. Can you help me get started?"...
Recover Deleted Files
It's happened to all of us at some point. One stray mouse click, and poof! You've deleted a file that you did not mean to. But must it really be the final goodbye to that file? Happily, there are tons...
Download Movies
"I've been using Netflix to rent movies by mail, which is okay, but with high-speed connections so common now, why can't I just download movies I want to watch from the Internet?"...
Convert WMA to MP3
"I have lots of music in WMA (Windows Media Audio) format but I want to convert it to MP3 for my iPod. How can I convert WMA to MP3?"...
Converting Vinyl Records to CD
For seasoned audio purists, nothing compares to good old-fashioned analog recordings on vinyl records. But those old records are fragile... here's an illustrated step-by-step guide to help you convert vinyl to CD so you can enjoy them for years to...
Upgrade to Vista?
"I'm confused about upgrading to Windows Vista. There are so many options, prices, and new features. Which ones are really important, and is Vista ready for prime time?"...
Download With Bittorrent?
"I've been told that I can download movies and even popular software for free using Bittorrent. Sounds too good to be true… What exactly is Bittorrent, is it legal, and safe to use?"...
Changing Disk Partitions
"I downloaded Cute Partition Manager and was just about to delete the restore partition from the D drive of my old computer. I just want to make sure that doing so won't mess up the info on the C drive....
Is Genuine Advantage Spyware?
"I read in another newsletter that Microsoft's Genuine Advantage for Windows is spyware. Microsoft seems to be forcing it on me every time I try to update my system. Is Microsoft trying to poke into our private files with spyware?"...
Windows PreFetch
"I've heard that Windows XP will run faster if you disable something called PreFetch. Apparently Windows remembers everything you have done and, in a misguided attempt to be helpful, pre-loads all the files and links when XP boots. What's your...
Convert iTunes Videos to MPEG
"I purchased videos on iTunes, but I can't play them on my video player, because they are in some 'protected' M4V format that only works on iPods. How can I convert iTunes videos to MPEG or WMV format so I...
Background Checks
"I note there are several sites that one may 'check out' someone. Is there any way one may find out if he/she has been 'checked out'? Your tips help this old Senior stay up to date!"...
AOL for Free?
"I read somewhere that AOL is going to stop charging for their Internet service and make AOL access free. Is that true, and if so, are there any gotchas I should now about?"...
LimeWire - File Sharing
"My kids are using something called LimeWire to download music and videos. They call it a a P2P file sharing program. Can you explain what that means, and how safe it is to use?"...
Linux Help
"I've heard a lot of buzz about Linux as a free alternative to Windows, but have hesitated because it seems a little geeky. Can you recommend an easy way to get started with Linux?"...
RPC Server Unavailable
After helping a friend clean up a nasty spyware infestation, we had one remaining problem. Windows would say "RPC Server is Unavailable" when starting up, and also later when trying to print or install new software. Some other things just...
Take A Screenshot
"I want to take a screenshot of my screen and save it in a graphics file, so I can email it to a friend. Do I need to purchase or download special software to do this?"...
Is Google Desktop Evil?
"I got a warning from a friend who told me not to use the Google Desktop program. He says it will secretly make copies of my personal files and send them to Google's own servers, and from there they could...
Hard Drive Makes a Clicking Sound
"My hard drive is making a clicking sound. It started recently and seems to be getting more frequent. Sometimes I hear a repeated click-whir sound and then the computer locks up. Does this mean my hard drive is going bad?"...
Identity Theft
Remember that 1995 movie "The Net", starring Sandra Bullock? Okay, I didn't see it either. Somehow I couldn't imagine Sandra as a software engineer after watching her in "While You Were Sleeping". But I digress... the movie was a story...
Backup Outlook Express
"How can I backup my Outlook Express emails and address book? I tried the Export function but that doesn't work. I can't even drag and drop from the Inbox folder to a diskette or CDROM. Help!"...
Add a Second Hard Drive
Adding a second hard drive to a computer system is an easy way to get around storage problems, and also a good way to protect valuable data. With the cost of hard drives dropping well below $1 per gigabyte, it...
Convert iTunes to MP3 Format
"I've purchased a bunch of music from iTunes and have enjoyed listening to them on my computer. But my portable music player is not an Apple iPod, so I can't take my songs with me. Is there any way I...
What is Windows OneCare?
Microsoft has announced a new service called Windows OneCare. Is it something you need for your computer? Maybe... If you're worried about not doing everything you should to keep your PC optimized and safe, then Windows OneCare is something that...
Lifetime of a CDROM disk
"I need to archive some files on CDROM disks. I hear a lot about the differences in quality of CDs. How do I determine what is a high quality CD that will last at least several years?...
Backing Up Your Files
Sooner or later, something terrible will happen to your hard drive. That's not a very happy thought, but the good news is you can survive a hard drive failure with only minimal inconvenience -- if you back up your files....
Backup Eudora Spam Filters
I am creating 10-20 new spam filters in Eudora each day. But I am afraid that I will lose them in the event of a computer crash. It would take a tremendous amount of time to recreate them. How do...
How Does a Virus Spread?
"I love your site and your Tourbus Newsletter! I would like to know how a virus propagates over a network? If you get a virus on one computer - do other users on the network have to do anything to...
Laptop Monitor is Dead
My old IBM laptop monitor still "glows" but I can't see anything; I guess the video gave up the ghost. However, I can hear all of the normal things when I turn it on. It served me well but I...
Copying Old Hard Drive to New PC
"When I buy a new computer, how do I transfer everything from the hard drive on my old computer? I enjoy the Tourbus and appreciate all the information you provide." If you bought a new computer, or just a new...
How can I avoid computer viruses?
When I wrote in a previous entry "Do I need anti-virus software?" that "You CANNOT get a virus just by opening or reading your email" I fully expected it would unleash a torrent of emails in response. I knew this...
Do I need anti-virus software?
I have an unorthodox strategy for dealing with computer viruses. It doesn't involve the use of firewalls or anti-virus software. But if everyone understood the simple virus safety tips I'll outline here, the virus writers would get very bored very...
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"format drive"
spyware OR virus
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