I have replaced an aging Windows XP machine with a new computer running Windows Vista Home Premium. I wanted to transfer all the files and data from the old computer to the new computer, so I connected the machines with a crossover cable and set-up a network. This initially seemed alright, as each computer could see the other. While I can pull most files to the new computer from the old computer, trying to initiate a file transfer from the old computer to the new computer produces an access denied message. I also receive this message when attempting to pull certain files to the new computer from the old computer. This mainly happens with ZIP and MP3 files but not always, so the issue appears to be random. Changing numerous settings in the computer security does not appear to have resolved the problem. Can you help? (more…)

When opening the Ninemsn home page in MSN Explorer a runtime error appears saying ?Line 1532. Error: Object expected? and asking whether I would like to debug the problem. As I have no idea how to debug, I click “No” and continue working in MSN Explorer. However, when visiting other web pages different runtime errors also appear. Occasionally an informative message appears saying that the problem is related to MSN Explorer and that MSN Explorer needs to be upgraded. However, I cannot find how to download the latest version of this software from the MSN website. How can I stop these runtime errors from appearing? (more…)

There is a multitude of different video and audio file formats around today, and finding a media player which can play all these different formats is quite difficult. Fortunately, there is an excellent free media player called VLC media player. VLC can play most types of media files, including both video and audio, and is a very useful addition to most computer systems. VLC media player can be downloaded for free from: www.videolan.org/vlc . (more…)

I recently purchased a new computer running Windows Vista. Being a long time user of Netscape I installed the latest version (8.1.3). However, Internet Explorer came preinstalled on the PC and it overrides my attempts to specify Netscape as the default browser. Clicking a link within a document or email opens Internet Explorer, even though Netscape is open and is set as the default browser. How can I stop Internet Explorer, short of uninstalling it? (more…)

Occasionally a message appears in the system tray saying that a Java update is available. I did not configure this myself, as I have only configured Windows Automatic Updates to automatically check for updates and install updates overnight. A friend said this may be a malicious program attempting to gain access to my computer, so I am reluctant to go ahead with the Java update installation. How can I check whether the update is genuine? The computer is running Windows XP SP2 with Norton Internet Security 2007. By the way, what is an ISP? (more…)