I am having difficulty deleting a 2 KB text file copied from a Windows 98 to Windows XP machine. Whenever attempting to delete the file the following error appears: ‘Error deleting file or folder: Cannot find the specified file. Make sure you specified the correct path and file name’. Deleting the file at the command prompt, renaming, and restoring using ’save all’ makes no difference. The only thing I can do is move the folder where the file is located (and I did try to move it to the Recycling Bin with no luck.). Running ScanDisk did not pick up any errors. The computer is running Windows XP with an NTFS file system. (more…)

Although this was mentioned as part of an answer to a question in this column a few weeks ago, I believe this tip deserves to be highlighted. Many users are not aware of the Windows PowerToys which Microsoft releases. These are a collection of really useful tools which perform handy functions and access some otherwise hidden features in Windows. Probably the most useful is TweakUI. To download the PowerToys have a look at www.microsoft.com/windowsxp/home/downloads/powertoys.asp (for Windows XP Home Edition) and www.microsoft.com/windowsxp/pro/downloads/powertoys.asp (for Windows XP Professional). Be aware, these are not part of Windows and therefore are not supported by Microsoft. (more…)

In Windows XP Home Edition I have pinned the ‘Favourites’ folder to the Start Menu along with ‘My Documents’, ‘My Pictures’, and ‘My Music’. The ‘Favourites’ folder has an arrow to the right and when the mouse hovers over the folder, the subfolders are displayed. Despite examining the properties of the other folders I cannot make them act in the same manner. Can it be done? (more…)

When I select ‘Shutdown’ the Windows XP Professional goes through the process of shutting down and powers down automatically. A friend of mine has a PC which is a Pentium III with 96 MB of RAM which also is running Windows XP Professional, however when he selects ‘Shutdown’ the PC goes through the process of shutting down but then displays the message ‘It is now safe to shutdown your computer’. He then has to manually press the power switch in order to completely power down the system. Is there a setting in XP that will allow us to make this Pentium III PC automatically power down like my computer? (more…)

Where can I find the ‘accents’ (sometimes called marks or symbols ) which are placed above vowels and other letters in many European languages? For example, ‘~’ above the letter ‘n’ in Spanish. The computer is running Windows XP with Office 2000. (more…)