My computer intermittently enters sleep mode, and there does not seem to be any reason for this behaviour. When the computer goes into sleep mode no frantic pushing of buttons is able to restore the computer from sleep, so I turn the computer off and on at the power point to restore operation. I have disabled all the sleep type options within the Power Options control panel, but the problem remains. Could it have something to do with the wireless keyboard and mouse connected to the computer? The computer is running Windows XP Service Pack 2. (more…)

Occasionally my laptop screen goes blank and returns back to life, but with lines on the window title bars and start menu. This makes the text quite difficult to read, and indicates that something is not quite right. Additionally, when playing DVDs the screen can go blank with the DVD still playing in the background (as I can still hear the audio). I am unsure whether a hardware or software issue is causing this problem. However, I suspect this may be a hardware problem as sometimes when the laptop goes through the power-on self-test (before the Windows logo splash screen appears) all these little coloured dots appear on the screen. Do you have any advice for resolving this issue? The computer is running Windows XP. (more…)

Often I am asked where to find particular commands in Office 2007, given the completely new user interface in this product. Microsoft has published a very useful command guide that maps commands in Office 2003 to the relevant commands in Office 2007. The guide for Word 2007 is available at: office.microsoft.com/en-us/word/HA100744321033.aspx. The guide for Excel 2007 is available at: office.microsoft.com/en-us/excel/HA101491511033.aspx . (more…)

A business acquaintance emails me and always has [SPAM?] as first word in the email subject line. How can this be removed from the email subject? (more…)

I downloaded “Age of Mythology: The Golden Gift” from the Microsoft website, but whenever I attempt to run the game a message appears saying “Base product Age of Mythology Golden Gift will not run”. What does this message mean? The computer is running Windows XP. (more…)