Regards, Shelia

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Dear Shelia,

First, congratulations on using a backup program like Carbonite. It is wise to have your files backed up because the truth is that all hard drives do eventually stop working.

When you back up the files on your computer, you are backing up the data files, not the program files. There are a couple of reasons for this. First is that your data, like photos, documents, email messages, address books, and favorites are not replaceable unless you have a backup. Your supporting programs like Word and email programs are fairly easy to install again in the event of a computer crash.

Another reason that backing up your programs does not really do any good, is that you cannot just copy the program to another computer and run the program. That used to work back in the days of DOS and Windows 3.1 but now, you have to install your program on the new computer in order for it to work.

When you do purchase a new laptop, get yourself a USB data stick that is 4 or 8 GB in size and simply drag your files to that stick, then on the new laptop drag them from the stick to your new computer. You will find directions here on my website for transferring specific items like the windows address book, or documents folders.

Elizabeth

Thanks in advance for all your wonderful help, Peg

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Dear Peg,

A file is usually read only because it is on an optical disk like a CD or DVD. Sometimes when we copy a file from the disk to our hard drive, it stays in the read only format. You also can’t delete a file that is stored on an optical disk.

In order to change the file properties, you will need to copy it to your computer so that it is not on the disk and you need to access it using Windows Explorer. Many people try to make changes to a file while they have it open in Word. This is not the way to delete or make changes to files.

To change the read only property, locate your document using Windows Explorer.

For example, if the file is in your documents folder, click on “Start” and then click on “Documents” or “My Documents” depending on what version of windows you are using.

Right click on the file, and click on “Properties”. This will open a small dialog box.

At the bottom of the dialog box, click to remove the check mark in front of “Read Only”.

Click the “OK” button to save your changes and close the dialog box.

I suspect that you are having the same type of problem with deleting the files. You can’t delete a file if you have it open in Word. Just close Word, and follow the directions above. When you right click on a file, one of the options will be “Delete”.

Elizabeth

Angie

Dear Angie,

In the past, I have been able to successfully change file settings by selecting multiple files at once. You might want to give this a try…

1. Start by selecting about 10 of your music files (not the folders, just files) Click on the first file, then hold down your Ctrl key on the keyboard and click on 9 more files.

2. Once you have selected several files, release the Ctrl key, and right click on any one of the selected files. In the context menu that appears, click on “Properties”.

3. Change the properties that you need to change, in your case it is the security settings, and then click the “OK” button to save your changes and close the window.

Now, check to see if all 10 of your files have been changed. If they have, you can do even more than 10 at a time.

You can select all the files in a folder using the keyboard combination, Ctrl & A . Just remember A for all.

Elizabeth

Barb

Hi Barb,

The quick answer to your question is, yes, it is ok to delete the installer. Once the program is installed, the installation files are not used to run the program.

I do want to expand upon that answer however, and give you some good guidelines for when you should just delete an installer, and when you should store these files for future use.

If the program you are downloading and installing is a free program that can easily be downloaded again in the future, then by all means, install your program, then delete the installation file. Some common examples are free programs like, Adobe Acrobat Reader, Google Chrome, or free games.

If the program you are downloading and installing is a paid program, you want to take some things into consideration. Some companies keep your purchase information on their website, and all you have to do is log in to the website with your user name and password and download any item that you have purchased. A good example of this is the Big Fish Games website. Once I have signed into my account, I can download and install any game that I purchased in the past.

Most of the time, however, when you purchase a program online, the file is only available for you to download for a limited amount of time. In this case, I like to save the installation file, along with any license information on either a folder on my hard drive, or saved to a CD or DVD. This way, if I need to install the program again, I can put in the disk, install the program, and put in my registration information all from one location.

Elizabeth

I have been ready your newsletter for more than four years now, and in spite of being fairly computer literate, I have learned a lot from you.

Now I have a direct question for you. Two or three years ago I noticed that a lot of temporary files that used to be stored temporarily in one of the folders under Windows “Temporary Internet Files” Folder stopped showing up in Windows Explorer. I didn’t worry too much about it then, but I was just listening to some audio files from the Internet, and I went to look for them in the in the Temporary folders. As per usual they didn’t show up. But then I did a “Search” for the filename on my C: drive, and l was shocked to find that the files were actually in one of the “Temporary Internet Files” folders, even though they didn’t show up as being in the “Temporary Internet Files” folder. Can you tell me why all the files in the folder are not showing up? And what do I need to do to get those files to show up in Internet Explorer again?

Thanks for your help! Gale

Dear Gale,

There are a few settings on your computer that would cause your files to be hidden. Here is how you can get all the files on your computer to show.

1. Click on “Start” and then click on “My Computer”.

2. In the “My Computer” window, click on “Tools” in the menu bar, then click on “Folder Options”.

3. In the “Folder Options” window, click on the “View” tab.

4. On the “View” page, look in the list under “Advanced Settings”.

5. Click to put a check mark in front of “Display the contents of system folders”.

6. Click to select “Show hidden files and folders”.

7. Make sure that there is no check mark in front of “Hide protected operating system files”

8. Click the “OK” button at the bottom of the window to save your changes and close the window.

Once you have made these changes, you need to be careful what files you chose to delete on your computer. These files are usually hidden to protect them from being deleted.

If you delete the wrong files, your computer will no longer work.

Elizabeth

All my files when I search for the one I need are not in alphabetical order – a real jumble – what caused this mess? 

I thoroughly read and learn so much from your column that appears in the Weekly Sentinel and also Making it at Home. Keep up the good work you do.

Thank you,
Raymond
Wells, Maine

Dear Raymond,

I commonly hear from people who accidentally change how their files are sorted. This can be a powerful tool when looking for a certain type of file, but is confusing if you don’t realize what has happened.

I would suggest that you open the folder containing your files and look at the headings across the top of the list of files. Most folders contain headings for the file “Name” and the “Date modified” the “Type” of file and the “Size” of the file.

If you click directly on one of those headings, the files in the window will be sorted by that heading.

If you click once on “Name” your files will be sorted alphabetically (Folders will be listed first, then files). Click a second time on “Name” and the order will be reversed.

If you are looking for a recently created or modified file, click on “Date Modified” and your files and folders will be listed with the most recent first. Click on “Date Modified” again, and the oldest files will be at the top.

If you are looking for the largest file in the folder, click on “Size” and your files will be listed with the largest first. Click on “Size” again, and the smallest files will be on the top.

Since you are looking for your files to be in alphabetical order, you will just need to click on “Name” to get the results you are looking for.

Elizabeth

I enjoy reading your columns in Making It At Home, they are so very helpful. I have a problem:

I have Adobe PageMill 3.0 in my old computer. I can not find the disks for it to load it into the new computer. Is there a way to download the program into the new computer? 

The old computer a Dell dimension 4100 does not have the capability to burn CDs, it does have a couple of UBS slots in the back. The new computer is also a Dell with 4 UBS in the front. The memory stick I have is 128MB, I don’t know how much memory is left in it.

Raymond

Dear Raymond,

When you are moving from one computer to another, it is possible to bring your data files from one to the next, but you cannot move programs from one computer to the other. Let’s take a look at the difference.

Data files that can be transferred from your old computer to the new one are files that you create on your computer. Common data files are your email address list, favorites, photos that you have scanned or uploaded from your camera, email messages that you have saved, audio files that you have copied from CDs or downloaded from the internet. Office documents like those created in Word, Excel, Power Point, or files that you have created in Adobe PageMill can also be transferred.

Programs that you have installed on your computer, cannot be transferred, they can, however, be installed on the new computer using the same install media that you used to install it on the original computer. In other words, if you used a CD or set of CDs to install PageMill on your old computer, you can use the same set of CDs to install it on the new computer.  In this case, the CDs are your install media.

If you download a program from the internet, you will want to save the original file that you downloaded, and you will be able to install the program from that file on the new computer.

 Let me give you an example. I recently purchased a two year license of AVG Antivirus plus firewall for my computer.  When I completed the purchase,  I created a new folder named, AVG in my “Downloads” folder and downloaded the file from their website, saving it in the new, AVG, folder. I then opened the email that came from the company with my registration number and saved a copy of that email into the AVG folder as well. Now, I have everything that I need to install that program saved together in that one folder. Once I have installed AVG, I save the folder in case I need it in the future. Usually, I save it onto a CD or DVD along with several other programs that I have purchased on line. You could also save it onto a USB flash drive or copy to another computer hard drive. My downloaded folders are also automatically saved by my online backup program, Carbonite.

NOTE: For older programs, you want to check and make sure they will run on the new computer. You might have to purchase a newer version of the software if you want it to run on a newer operating system.

The reason that you can’t simply copy a program from one computer to the next is that most programs make changes in your system registry that enables them to run. Many programs also install support files in your windows folder, and you really have no way of knowing which files go with what program.

I know this answer doesn’t really help you with your missing PageMill Cds, but hopefully it will help you to be better prepared for future upgrades.

Elizabeth

Dear Computer Lady,

Thank you for being there for us novices.  I have learned a lot from your newsletters and I sure hope you can help me with my problem.

I have a new Windows XP computer.  It does not have a floppy disk drive. How do I use a USB flash drive to transfer data from my old computer, which has a floppy disk drive, to my new computer.  

Thank you for all Your help.  Celia

Dear Celia,

There are a couple of ways you can go about this transfer of information.

If your old computer has a USB port and is running Windows 98 Second edition, you will be able to go to the website of the USB flash drive and download Windows 98 drivers for the flash drive. I do this all the time with my Sandisk Mini Cruizer drive, just install the file on the old computer, plug in the USB drive and it should automatically be detected and installed.

Once the drive is listed in “My Computer” you can drag files to it just like you would a floppy, but it will hold a lot more!

If your old computer does not have a USB port, or it will not work with the thumb drive, your other choice would be to purchase a USB floppy drive to work with the new computer. This is simply an external floppy drive that attaches to the computer by a USB cable. You should be able to find one in any computer or office supply store. Windows XP will know what to do with the drive as soon as you plug it in.  

Elizabeth