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Articles

As a subscriber to the Windows Advisor, you have full access to every article ever published. To make them as easy to access as possible all articles can be found by the following ways:

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Articles found: 67

– Data Privacy: Be Careful What You Share!Wherever you go online, and whatever you do, you’re leaving little drips of information about yourself. All these drips are soaked up by large companies that want to build a ‘profile’ of you. Many of them are advertising companies, aiming to make money, but the Facebook/Cambridge Analytica scandal a few years ago showed there can …

Categories: Internet & Security
Operating Systems: 7, 8, 10, 11
Reference: D

– Dealing with Duplicate PhotosKeeping track of all your prints, negatives and slides was never easy, but have things become better in the digital era? Not at all! It’s so easy to copy computer files that you can easily end up with countless copies of the same digital photo! Finding the same photo more than once in your collection …

Categories: Multimedia, Optimisation
Operating Systems: 7, 8, 10, 11
Reference: D

– Discovering Office TemplatesTo a large extent, the scope of what you can create using the main Microsoft Office programs – Word, Excel and PowerPoint – is limited only by your experience with those programs and your design skills. But perhaps your design skills aren’t too impressive, or you’re not familiar with the complexities of Office – or …

Categories: Office & Software Programs
Operating Systems: 7, 8, 10, 11
Reference: D

– Discover VirtualBox for an Extra PCDo you ever wish you had a spare PC handy, perhaps to surf the Internet safely, experiment with Windows, or try out new software away from your main PC? All you need is the free VirtualBox program and a copy of Windows to install, and your ‘extra PC’ is just a double-click away whenever you …

Categories: Optimisation
Operating Systems: 7, 8, 10, 11
Reference: D

– Don’t Let Windows 10 Updates Interrupt Your WorkIn Windows 10, unlike previous versions, updates are regarded as so essential that they can’t be switched off. Like it or not, updates are going to arrive, perhaps several times a month, and when they do, Windows Update is often going to want to restart your PC. That interruption is always annoying, but you do …

Categories: Optimisation & System, Updates
Operating Systems: 7, 8, 10, 11
Reference: D

Data Transfer Between Smartphone and PCTransfer Your Files Between a Smartphone and Your Windows PC Without the Hassle If you have an Android smartphone and a laptop or PC, you are often confronted by the question: how can I synchronise the data on my phone so that I have it on both devices? Perhaps you’d like to edit a photo …

Categories: Multimedia, Networks
Operating Systems: XP, Vista, 7, 8
Reference: D010

Dealing with Error Messages on Your PCThe various messages that pop up on your PC’s screen are a lot like the lights on the dashboard of your car: they don’t necessarily mean there’s a problem, but they are all trying to tell you something. The trouble is, on your PC they often don’t tell you very clearly! In this article, I’ll …

Categories: Troubleshooting
Operating Systems:
Reference: D050

Device Manager SecretsThe Device Manager, as its name suggests, allows you to take control of every aspect of your computers hardware. Each component in your computer needs software to control it. These drivers can be manipulated and even replaced via the Device Manager. The Device Manager also allows you to troubleshoot any problems you may encounter with …

Categories: Hardware
Operating Systems: 98, 2000, XP, Vista
Reference: D1

Driver Problems SolvedEach of the components in your computer as well as the peripherals that you add to it, such as your printer, cannot operate without drivers. Drivers are small pieces of software that tell your computer what it needs to know in order how to use them. For example, if you upgrade your graphics card, you …

Categories: Hardware
Operating Systems: XP, Vista, 7
Reference: D10

Data Protection with ClonezillaAn image of your hard drive has many advantages over a standard backup. If your system becomes damaged and you have to replace your hard drive, you don’t need to re-install Windows from scratch and then tediously re-install all of your applications and copy back your data. All you need to do is copy the …

Categories: Internet & Security
Operating Systems: XP, Vista, 7, 8
Reference: D100

Data Protection on Your PCIf your hard drive crashes, you’ve probably lost everything. Even if you can use some data recovery software to get back some of your documents, it is unlikely to be able to recover your entire Windows system. The solution is to restore your entire PC from a backup. This will save you hours of work …

Categories: Basics, Installation & Setup, Optimisation, Troubleshooting
Operating Systems: 7, 8, 10
Reference: D101

Data Backup with an Exact CopyAn exact 1:1 copy of your hard drive is known as a system ‘image’ and has many advantages over a standard backup. If your system becomes damaged and you have to replace your hard drive, you don’t need to re-install Windows from scratch and then tediously re-install all of your applications and copy back your …

Categories: Office & Software Programs
Operating Systems: 7, 8, 10
Reference: D102

Rescue with Emergency CDsIf you have accidentally lost important data from your system you need to employ professional data recovery tools. If you install these tools on to your system after data has been lost, there is a danger that the missing data will be overwritten, so the solution is to create a restoration CD that will boot …

Categories:
Operating Systems: XP, Vista, 7, 8
Reference: D105

DLL Hell: Fixing Windows Library ProblemsDLL files have been with Windows since the earliest versions, and are Microsofts way of sharing code between more than one application. By sharing code, applications can be made smaller in terms of the disk space they use up, and also multiple applications can make use of the same Windows features. For example, applications that …

Categories: Hardware, Troubleshooting
Operating Systems: 98, me, 2000, XP
Reference: D11

Data Rescue with the New ESET DVDIf Windows suddenly refuses to boot due to a virus infection, you need an emergency CD/DVD, or an emergency USB flash drive at hand to start the system. You can then use the anti-virus tools built into your emergency rescue disc/drive to get rid of viruses and save your important data from your damaged system. …

Categories: Optimisation
Operating Systems: XP, Vista, 7, 8
Reference: D110

Drivers Troubleshooting Errors and ConflictsA malfunctioning device driver can strike at any time and have a devastating effect on your computer. The most obvious problem it can cause is that the hardware device associated with the driver will actually stop working completely. Many other strange and inexplicable errors, however, can also be caused by faulty device drivers. The vast …

Categories: Troubleshooting
Operating Systems: 98, me, 2000, XP
Reference: D12

Data Rescue Tools in Case of EmergenciesWhen you lose an important document or file there is only one thing that helps: step-by-step instructions to use professional repair tools to rescue the missing data. When your data is in danger it can be very stressful, particularly when you rely on your PC for your job. So, if important data suddenly disappears, either …

Categories: Troubleshooting
Operating Systems: XP, Vista, 7
Reference: D120

Drivers: Fast Repairs for Hardware ProblemsDrivers are the essential glue that connect Windows to your PCs hardware devices. Unfortunately, all too often this glue comes unstuck, and youll find that a hardware device refuses to work, or doesnt operate properly. When this happens, you need to track down and replace the driver that is at fault. However, doing this can …

Categories: Hardware
Operating Systems: XP, Vista
Reference: D14

DirectX: Fun with StabilityDirectX is Microsofts multimedia interface, which pushes your PC to peak performance when using DirectX compatible games, and other software programs with multimedia effects. However, unavoidable problems can occur with DirectX. Frequent DirectX version updates and DirectXs close connection with your operating system and graphics card drivers can prompt instabilities, errors and even crashes. DirectX …

Categories: Optimisation
Operating Systems: 98, me, 2000, XP
Reference: D15

Data Security Using Shadow CopiesMicrosoft first introduced the Volume Shadow Copy Service in Windows XP, to keep an eye on system files and make sure they are not modified or damaged. In Windows 10, 8.1 and 7 this has been expanded, to protect your personal files too. VSS provides you with a quick and easy way to restore files …

Categories: Internet & Security
Operating Systems: 7, 8, 10
Reference: D150