My home network setup consists of a router (D-Link DI-624S) which provides wireless network for two laptops (an LG with Windows XP and a Toshiba with Windows Vista) and also has an in-built print server allowing an HP Photosmart C6180 printer to be shared amongst all the computers. The wireless connection from the Toshiba laptop drops-out every few minutes when browsing the internet but seems OK when just checking email. Sometimes the connection restores automatically after a few seconds, but other times it must be repaired or requires a reboot. There is no communication problem when the Toshiba is connected to the router via cable and there are also no problems at all operating the LG over wireless. Following your previous advice for other questions I have used Task Manager to stop all non-essential processes to identify whether one of those processes was causing the problem. However, the problem continued when everything possible was switched off. The Toshiba computer is running Trend Micro for internet security. How can I fix this problem with wireless drop-outs? (more…)

If you are a Mac enthusiast, or just enjoy customising your Mac computer and how it works, then you should keep Mac OS X Hints (www.macosxhints.com) as permanent reading material. This site has excellent tips and tricks for the Mac operating system for both beginners and advanced users.

I have been trying to download some podcast MP3 files from a website. When I click the link I see the files downloading, and can listen to the broadcasts, but would like to save them to a folder. However, I do not know a way of finding where on my hard drive the files have been stored. I can listen to the MP3s after I have disconnected from the internet so I assume that they are on the computer somewhere. How can I locate them? I am using Internet Explorer 7. (more…)

My Dell Laptop running Windows XP with Microsoft Office 2007 is encountering a few problems. First, I have connected my Nokia N76 mobile phone to the computer so I can coordinate my diary and contact information from Outlook. However, over time there are about 10 appointments which have lost association with Outlook. Every time I open Outlook reminders appear for these overdue appointments (which I have already dismissed on the N76) but when I click the “Dismiss” button a message appears saying “Cannot turn off the reminder. You may be reminded again. Cannot locate recurrence information for this appointment”. Second, every time I boot up the laptop an error message appears saying “You do not have access to make the required system configuration modifications. Please re-run this installation from an administrators account”. I have no idea why this appears, as I thought I was the computer administrator! Third, after updating to Windows XP Service Pack 3 something appears to have gone wrong and now the following messages keep appearing “AIRGCFC.exe - Entry Point not found. The procedure entry point apsGetInterfaceCount could not be located in the dynamic link library wlanapi.dll” and “WZCSL2DR.exe - Entry Point not found. The procedure entry point apsinitialize could not be located in the dynamic link library wlanapi.dll”. How can I stop these messages from appearing? Finally, could you explain to me the difference (if any) between a netbook computer and a laptop computer? I would like to buy a computer that is pretty light and easy to carry around when travelling in aircraft. (more…)