Windows All

Why should you clear your computer and browsing history? Well, computer safety is a very good reason, wouldn’t you say? The thing about Internet browsers is that the software used in most browsers can usually keep a record of all web pages that you visit. Our old friend Devon Fraser, of the online newsletter fame, […]

Associating file extensions with the right program allows you to access them more quickly through Windows Explorer. One of the best features of the Windows Explorer program and the Windows operating system is that it allows you to define associations for various file types. Any file type that you have on your computer can be […]

Yes, your PC is manifesting a devil’s tooth. It has suddenly started to act strange and you need a copy of the windows vista registry cleaner. You search for it on the internet and lo and behold! You see a million different companies, advertising their windows vista registry cleaner. So, which one do you download? […]

Windows errors have been a thorn in the flesh for PC users since time immemorial! No, ok, let me cool down a bit here. The truth is that Windows errors are so commonplace that it seems as though they have always been around. While that is obviously not the case, Windows errors are irritating and […]

If you are mystified by the headline, chances are you haven’t been following my articles at all. Shame. I’ve gone blue in the face asking folks to clean Windows Registry whenever they encounter Windows errors, and you still tell me the heading makes no sense? Heartbreaking. However, I shall plough bravely on, and repeat myself […]

Nearly everyone can benefit from an optimized computer. Whether you have noticed a slow down in system performance, or you just want to make sure that your system performs at its best, these tips are easy to follow and implement.
1. Pare down which programs launch at start-up.
When you turn your computer on, […]

When it comes to Windows errors, the sheer variety and number of errors may leave you more than slightly confused. Depending on what is wrong with your Microsoft operating system (OS), you may run into Windows runtime errors, DLL errors, Win32 errors, ActiveX errors, Windows uninstall errors, and JavaScript errors. And these are only the […]

Windows errors: why does this phrase fill the average PC user with dread? Probably because most of us know very little about the why and how of Windows errors, and so press panic buttons at the slightest hint of them. Truth is, the solution may be simpler than you think, and you need not be […]

For most PC users around the world, JavaScript is a formidable term. As Brian Kemp, a 28-year-old accountant from New York, says, “I’ve been using a PC for the past 18 years and the Internet for 10 years, and in all this time, I never felt the need to acquaint myself with JavaScript.” That was […]

Windows errors have been a thorn in the flesh for PC users since time immemorial! No, ok, let me cool down a bit here. The truth is that Windows errors are so commonplace that it seems as though they have always been around. While that is obviously not the case, Windows errors are irritating and […]

“Generic Host Process for Windows32 Services has encountered problems…” begins one of the commonest error messages that any PC user will encounter. The crucial word here is Windows32, of course, known as Win32 at home. Win32 errors are a fairly common part of the daily life of any Windows user, and though they sound complicated, […]

What happens when you install a program on your computer? This is not a rhetorical question. The answer is important because 11-year-old Caitlin Devenish has written in from Shreveport to ask us, and added that while she has no problems installing programs on her system, uninstalling them is a different question altogether. “Whenever I try […]

For those who know what OLE means in computer parlance, understanding and controlling ActiveX errors should be easy. For those who don’t, ActiveX is a technology (well, not exactly, but we’ll use that term for the present) that Microsoft created to facilitating Object Linking & Embedding (OLE to you) to empower web browsers, particularly Internet […]

Every time Paul Horowitz, a teacher from Salt Lake City, started Windows, Internet Explorer, or a Windows-based program, he would get the following message: “Runtime Error 216 at Address”. Blissfully unaware of the implication of this particular runtime error message, Paul, who doesn’t use his PC at home too frequently, left the problem unattended until […]

As a brief introduction to Win32, you need to know that Win32 is the 32-bit API for all modern Windows versions. The Windows API, in turn, is the name that Microsoft has given to the core set of Application Programming Interfaces (APIs) available in the Microsoft Windows operating systems. In short, Windows API is the […]

We live in an age when the personal computer occupies a very large part of our lives, so much so that many of us cannot imagine life without a PC. It would almost be like living without an arm! And the Internet! How on earth can anyone expect us to go through life without the […]

Danielle Hubbard, a 34-year-old banker from Gary, Indiana, doesn’t know the first thing about ActiveX controls, so when she gets an ActiveX error while browsing the Internet, she simply doesn’t know what to do. “The most typical message that pops up is: ‘An Active control on this page might be unsafe to interact with other […]

In plain speak, a Windows runtime error occurs when a program is being executed, and indicates either the presence of bugs in the program or problems that the designers knew about but couldn’t remedy. The simplest instance of a runtime error occurring is when your system is out of memory. Most typically, you will get […]

Win32 is the 32-bit API for all modern Windows versions. Bamboozled? Okay, let us explain what API is. The Windows API, popularly known as WinAPI, is the name that Microsoft has given to the core set of Application Programming Interfaces (APIs) available in the Microsoft Windows operating systems. In technical jargon, all Windows programs except […]

Browsing the Internet, you may have been mystified by a message that reads: JavaScript Error “javascript.JSException: Unknown name”. Georges Ormond, an amateur Internet enthusiast who lives and works in New Orleans, says non-technical people like him are often put off by the thought of having to negotiate a “complicated thing like a JavaScript error”, but […]

We admit at the outset that this article is intended primarily for those users who blithely download any and every program that catches their fancy from less-than-trusted sources, and then for the life of them can’t figure out why they can’t uninstall them when the honeymoon is over. Instead, they must run the gamut of […]

One main problem that you face with deciphering common Windows error codes is that they aren’t always printed in a uniform way. Some will be just a simple number, like 10 or 32 or 4002. But then some will be printed in the form 0×0000ABCD. Which look like gibberish, but is really a number.
The problem […]

Some people seem to have an insatiable appetite for all sorts of esoteric knowledge. They’ll tell you the capitals of all African countries without pausing for breath. They’ll give you the maiden names of all US First Ladies, in proper chronological order. They’ll even recite the first fifty digits of the value of Pi without […]

I bet you know what we’re talking about here. You probably encounter one or two Windows error codes every day and dismiss them carelessly, as an unavoidable though annoying problem. You think if you had the gumption to follow them through and decipher their strange language, you might avoid future problems of a similar type.
Whenever […]

One of the commonest (and perhaps strangest) reactions people have to their computers throwing up random runtime errors is to feel guilty about it. Perhaps they feel it is somehow their fault that they should have been more careful about what they did.
This stems from most people’s fundamental lack of understanding and deep mistrust of […]

One of the most dreaded sites a Windows user will see is the infamous “Blue Screen of Death.” At one time or another seeing a blue screen error is just part of using Windows, however, repeated errors are a sign of some underlying trouble.
Blue Screens, What are they?

Screenshot of blue screen error on Windows XP. […]

Most of us happily use the Internet to check email, surf to out favorite web sites, chat with friends, etc. All the while, we’re blissfully unaware of the underlying technologies that make all of this possible. We’re unaware, that is, until something breaks down and now we’re forced to see disconcerting error messages. One such […]

It has become an item of common knowledge that you shouldn’t take your Windows system online without first putting it under heavy protection. Research results show that an unprotected Windows XP SP2 system will get infected with worms and other malware within a few seconds of connecting to the Internet. Yes, it’s that bad.
A further […]

The application set that you use most often on your Windows machine is probably the office suite. With most people, this is Microsoft Office, though some prefer other not-so-well-known suites like the Corel WordPerfect Suite, or the Lotus Smartsuite.
So it hurts the most when MS Office crashes or freezes up. It breaks the rhythm of […]