My computer is a Pentium IV 3.4 GHz with 1 GB RAM and Windows XP. When using Adobe Premiere 6.0 for video editing I attempt to export a movie timeline. After about 15 minutes of processing the computer shuts down randomly. After this, the computer will not even boot-up again. However, if I leave the computer for 15 minutes I can successfully reboot. Is this a hardware problem with the computer? I am keen to get this solved, as I can’t use the computer in this current state. (more…)

A number of people have reported that they cannot open attachments on my email messages, particularly letters and photos. We have the latest version of Windows and use Microsoft Word for email attachments. Should we be converting our attachments into a previous version of Windows? (more…)

After upgrading my computer from Windows XP to Windows Vista Home Premium a number of programs no longer work or do not work as well as they did on Windows Vista. Is it possible to run both Windows XP and Vista on the one computer? I plan to add a second internal hard drive for this purpose. However, I have no idea how to setup such a dual-boot system. (more…)

Just got home from Cisco Networkers 2009 #cnw09. What a fantastic conference with great people. Back to work now.

If you are running a wireless network at home, it is imperative that security is enabled on the network to prevent unauthorised persons from connecting to your wireless network (and potentially stealing your internet). Older routers used the WEP standard for security. This is now dated and is also insecure, as it can be easily broken. I strongly encourage all people to at least secure their networks using WPA-PSK which is a much stronger version of the old insecure WEP standard. Most wireless routers should support this out of the box, or through a firmware (software) upgrade usually available for free from the website of the wireless router manufacturer. Once you have enabled WPA-PSK you will need to enter a password on your computer to connect to the wireless network, and only people with that password will be able to connect. Additionally, data transmitted between your computer and the wireless router will be encrypted, preventing someone from eavesdropping on your wireless network traffic.