Aunty Virus 16th August 2010
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Bob from El Raso asks:
Hi Aunty, I backup my data onto a Seagate Portable Drive. Is there any way I can use the portable drive to show images on a TV?
Aunty Says:
Hello Bob. It all depends on your TV or DVD machine. A lot of the new models come with a USB socket so you can watch movies or browse photos directly from a memory stick or external/portable hard drive. If there’s no USB on the TV I have seen basic ‘media boxes’ for as little as 25€ (such as the one from Emprex via Amazon) but you will have to double check you have the necessary component, RGB or VGA connections on your TV set.
Richard via email asks:
Hi Aunty. Recently my plug in mouse stopped working. The message kept saying "Windows does not recognise the connection". I carried on using the keyboard with no problems. It was only when I tried to plug in my printer to the USB that I realised the problem was with the USB and not the mouse. Now if I try to use any of the 3 Ports on my laptop the computer shuts down completely and I have to switch off from the on/off button. I am loathed to insert the ACER backup disc before I have had some professional advice.
Aunty Says:
You may be able to fix this by re-installing Windows from the ACER recovery discs but it could also be a power problem with your laptops main board. Try booting Windows into safe mode and see if the problem goes away, in which case you may be lucky and simply have to reinstall the USB drivers rather than a complete Windows re-install. If you’re not sure how to do this then maybe employ the services of an expert.
Anthony via email asks:
Hi Aunty. Can you please tell me how to use the OCR (Optical Character Recognition) on my Canon MP 190 for translating letters and bills etc. into English? I scan it ok but cannot go any further (obvious novice). Do I have to download software to do this?
Aunty Says:
Normally Anthony you can use the OCR software that came bundled with the printer to scan and save a document, and then simply copy and paste the results into an online translator such as Google’s Language Tools or Yahoo’s Babel Fish. I have an HP all-in-one and the OCR option appears immediately after I click the scan button. I get the choice of ‘scan as image’ or scan as text’ the latter of course converts the scan into a Word document and saves it in my ‘My Documents’ folder. The principle is pretty much the same for all scanners and if you get stuck you will also find a detailed user manual on the printer CD.
Patricia via email asks:
In my address book I have many contacts with hotmail addresses. Two of those are friends of mine, if I send an email it is returned undelivered. I have repeatedly checked the addresses and they are correct. Why is this happening?
Aunty Says:
I seem to have the same problem Patricia, and I’m also on Gmail. I think the problem is that Hotmail accounts are notoriously targeted by spammers and consequently more and more Hotmail email addresses are getting flagged as potentially dangerous. You could try replying to a previous email from you friends as that sometimes works for me for some strange reason.
Bob via email asks:
Hi Aunty. Sometime ago I downloaded a program named Filecure. I didn't find the contents particularly useful, together with the fact it was not a free program as claimed but simply a way to get it on your computer then before you can get use out of it they wanted money. I decided it was no use to me so I used uninstall and got rid of it, well so I thought. Now at startup I get a jingle and a box appears that says “There appears to be an error with your installation. Please reinstall the application”. I have looked everywhere but there is no folder labelled Filecure. Have you any idea where it is hiding and how do I delete it? I don't think these are nice people it is obviously tactics?
Aunty Says:
Can be a bit tricky this one Bob so try these simple options first. It is actually ‘paretologic’ you need to be looking for in Add/Remove programs and you may need to exit Filecure first by using a right mouse click on the icon in the system tray (the bottom right corner of your screen) Let me know how you get on.
Hi Aunty, I backup my data onto a Seagate Portable Drive. Is there any way I can use the portable drive to show images on a TV?
Aunty Says:
Hello Bob. It all depends on your TV or DVD machine. A lot of the new models come with a USB socket so you can watch movies or browse photos directly from a memory stick or external/portable hard drive. If there’s no USB on the TV I have seen basic ‘media boxes’ for as little as 25€ (such as the one from Emprex via Amazon) but you will have to double check you have the necessary component, RGB or VGA connections on your TV set.
Richard via email asks:
Hi Aunty. Recently my plug in mouse stopped working. The message kept saying "Windows does not recognise the connection". I carried on using the keyboard with no problems. It was only when I tried to plug in my printer to the USB that I realised the problem was with the USB and not the mouse. Now if I try to use any of the 3 Ports on my laptop the computer shuts down completely and I have to switch off from the on/off button. I am loathed to insert the ACER backup disc before I have had some professional advice.
Aunty Says:
You may be able to fix this by re-installing Windows from the ACER recovery discs but it could also be a power problem with your laptops main board. Try booting Windows into safe mode and see if the problem goes away, in which case you may be lucky and simply have to reinstall the USB drivers rather than a complete Windows re-install. If you’re not sure how to do this then maybe employ the services of an expert.
Anthony via email asks:
Hi Aunty. Can you please tell me how to use the OCR (Optical Character Recognition) on my Canon MP 190 for translating letters and bills etc. into English? I scan it ok but cannot go any further (obvious novice). Do I have to download software to do this?
Aunty Says:
Normally Anthony you can use the OCR software that came bundled with the printer to scan and save a document, and then simply copy and paste the results into an online translator such as Google’s Language Tools or Yahoo’s Babel Fish. I have an HP all-in-one and the OCR option appears immediately after I click the scan button. I get the choice of ‘scan as image’ or scan as text’ the latter of course converts the scan into a Word document and saves it in my ‘My Documents’ folder. The principle is pretty much the same for all scanners and if you get stuck you will also find a detailed user manual on the printer CD.
Patricia via email asks:
In my address book I have many contacts with hotmail addresses. Two of those are friends of mine, if I send an email it is returned undelivered. I have repeatedly checked the addresses and they are correct. Why is this happening?
Aunty Says:
I seem to have the same problem Patricia, and I’m also on Gmail. I think the problem is that Hotmail accounts are notoriously targeted by spammers and consequently more and more Hotmail email addresses are getting flagged as potentially dangerous. You could try replying to a previous email from you friends as that sometimes works for me for some strange reason.
Bob via email asks:
Hi Aunty. Sometime ago I downloaded a program named Filecure. I didn't find the contents particularly useful, together with the fact it was not a free program as claimed but simply a way to get it on your computer then before you can get use out of it they wanted money. I decided it was no use to me so I used uninstall and got rid of it, well so I thought. Now at startup I get a jingle and a box appears that says “There appears to be an error with your installation. Please reinstall the application”. I have looked everywhere but there is no folder labelled Filecure. Have you any idea where it is hiding and how do I delete it? I don't think these are nice people it is obviously tactics?
Aunty Says:
Can be a bit tricky this one Bob so try these simple options first. It is actually ‘paretologic’ you need to be looking for in Add/Remove programs and you may need to exit Filecure first by using a right mouse click on the icon in the system tray (the bottom right corner of your screen) Let me know how you get on.