Why can't I get Digital Out (5.1) from my PC to work with my Sony receiver? [more inside]
posted by GJSchaller on Dec 11, 2009 - 11 answers

How consistent is MS Office between Windows and OSX? Will using MS Office on my Mac solve this formatting problem I'm having? [more inside]
posted by spikeleemajortomdickandharryconnickjrmints on Nov 19, 2009 - 13 answers

I'm looking at purchasing a new PC for gaming, wanting to spend between $1000 and $1500 total, would prefer not to put it together myself, and am waaaay out of the loop on hardware at this point, particularly graphic cards. [more inside]
posted by cortex on Nov 10, 2009 - 23 answers

Looking for the perfect laptop for traveling. Priorities are durability, lightness, and battery life, in that order. Performance is not too important, but it must run Windows 7 like a champ. Willing to consider netbooks. [more inside]
posted by Afroblanco on Oct 29, 2009 - 19 answers

I am in need of a new desktop computer. I am wondering if I should wait until Black Friday and brave the crowds or take advantage of some of the Windows 7 deals this week. I live in the Twin Cities, MN metro area if that makes a difference.
posted by dyno04 on Oct 27, 2009 - 14 answers

I have a Touch Pro (Fuze) on WinMo 6.5. From my understanding, my text messages are being handled by pocket outlook. Can I use something besides outlook? [more inside]
posted by Zeker on Oct 18, 2009 - 1 answer

I would like to forward a local port to another local port...in effect, disguising one port for another. Is this possible? [more inside]
posted by AltReality on Sep 24, 2009 - 16 answers

Why wont my cd drive in my laptop read any CDs? [more inside]
posted by sockpim on Sep 20, 2009 - 5 answers

Is there a Mac equivalent to CDR Media Code Identifier. This could be run in Parallels, but I'm not sure it'll be able to get what it needs out of the DVD drive. And of course, it'd be nice to not have to run Parallels.
posted by ignignokt on Sep 15, 2009 - 4 answers

Which one of the multitude of Linux distros should someone who's never used Linux before give a go? [more inside]
posted by n3rt on Aug 18, 2009 - 34 answers

I've been wondering if it is possible to apply the same solution to the never-ending problem of Windows corruption (and the resulting degraded performance) that data centers use. As I understand it, Windows is booted over the network, so what happens to the local hard drive does not matter. Is there a way of doing the same thing to a home PC? Can you make a hard drive "read-only" after putting a bootable Windows image on it, and then use a seperate hard drive for data storage? I really detest the solution that MS sponsors (virus protection/firewall software) because it is just another thing that you have to buy which supports it's business partners. Any other ideas?
posted by ackptui on Jul 16, 2009 - 7 answers

I broke my PC's motherboard :( Please help me pick a replacement and guide me through the installation process... [more inside]
posted by mullacc on Jul 3, 2009 - 4 answers

I've inherited an older PC from work and would like to turn it into a media center / game-playing box, but I'm not sure if it's up to snuff. [more inside]
posted by rokusan on Jun 16, 2009 - 10 answers

How should I keep up-to-date on hardware for graphic design? I'm not a graphic designer by trade, but I would like my personal (WinXP) computer to be suitable for hobby-work graphics. More details and criteria inside. [more inside]
posted by filthy light thief on May 5, 2009 - 10 answers

Something's rebooting my PC at 4:30am every day - help me find out what and stop it?!? [more inside]
posted by Xhris on Apr 29, 2009 - 19 answers

My trusty 3-year old home office PC is starting to drag a bit, so I'm thinking about replacing it. Should I bite the bullet and buy something with Vista? Go with XP, even if it means not getting the latest Intel processor? Or, should I wait until Windows 7? [more inside]
posted by stuehler on Apr 21, 2009 - 25 answers

Switched to Mac, looking for Adobe Audacity replacement. Should I go for Logic Express? [more inside]
posted by treepour on Apr 9, 2009 - 6 answers

Cleaning up the old laptop for sale -- what must I do to get it ready to hand over to someone else? [more inside]
posted by terrier319 on Mar 13, 2009 - 8 answers

I have an external usb drive running off my Windows 7 computer. It keeps switching back to Read-Only, so when I try to send files to it, it merely appends a file and adds a number to its name, instead of re-writing the entire file. I've tried to change it back, but it does not stay changed. The minute I refresh the page, the read-only status comes back! Is there some setting I'm missing? Is there something in Windows 7 that's causing this to happen?
posted by noir on Feb 11, 2009 - 2 answers

Problem finding lower resolution LCD monitor. [more inside]
posted by 4midori on Jan 7, 2009 - 11 answers

What sort of specs should I look for for my new (sub-$600) PC laptop? [more inside]
posted by Caz721 on Dec 19, 2008 - 6 answers

What is the best, most efficient FREE way to get a bunch of people on the same page with IPA or special character fonts, across platforms? [more inside]
posted by iamkimiam on Dec 12, 2008 - 16 answers

What can I do to simplify my parents' new PC? I've never used Vista before. [more inside]
posted by hooray on Nov 24, 2008 - 8 answers

How do I force Windows to boot into safe mode without access to the screen and limited functionality of the keyboard? [more inside]
posted by lemonwheel on Oct 23, 2008 - 6 answers

Can I use B: as a drive letter, on a modern windows PC, without messing things up? [more inside]
posted by penciltopper on Sep 29, 2008 - 11 answers

In Windows, is there a way to get a text listing of all of the files in a folder? [more inside]
posted by joannemerriam on Sep 9, 2008 - 13 answers

Why aren't there universal 32->64 bit driver translator/emulators? [more inside]
posted by Mokusatsu on Aug 23, 2008 - 9 answers

I'm finally retiring my dad's virus-laden PC running XP with a new iMac. Is there any way to migrate his old settings from the PC over to a VMWare instance of XP running on the iMac in case he must use a PC-only app after the upgrade to a new machine? [more inside]
posted by mathowie on Jul 23, 2008 - 9 answers

I have an HP iPAQ 2750. Around the same time it was manufactured, lots of aftermarket hardware and software came out with promises to enhance the device. One of those applications was a GPRS/GSM plug in modem (via the CF Card slot) and software from a company called Enfora. The modem was bundled with software from a company called BVRP. There was other software without a modem which also installed phone tools on the PDA from another company called WebToGo. [more inside]
posted by CollectiveMind on Jul 16, 2008 - 3 answers

Syncing between laptops: How can I easily and automatically sync files and documents between two laptops using Bluetooth? Ideally I want to load up one machine in the vicinity of the other and have all my recent data (documents/data/RSS feeds etc.) syncronised with NO hassle. Any good apps out there? [more inside]
posted by 0bvious on Jul 9, 2008 - 8 answers

I seem to have corrupted files, but don't know how to replace them. [more inside]
posted by Flying Saucer on Jun 12, 2008 - 7 answers

My co-worker asked me to help her secure her home Windows Laptop. She recently had a virus that made the computer unusable. As someone who has been using primarily OSX at home for the past year I'm behind the times in terms of Windows security. I formatted the drive and re-installed windows XP for her. I've recommended getting Firefox and AVG, but aside from that: what should she do to make her computer more resistant to viruses and spyware? [more inside]
posted by aburd on May 7, 2008 - 16 answers

How do I hook up a homebrew HTPC to an analog TV? [more inside]
posted by Ponsonby Britt on Apr 25, 2008 - 6 answers

Should I reinstall XP to speed up my laptop? [more inside]
posted by Kiwi on Apr 22, 2008 - 9 answers

PC Help again again. I have an old pc with windows 2000 server installed on a 20gig SCSI drive. I am trying to install a 40 gig IDE drive that has xp on it. I don't need windows 2000 server anymore so I want the computer to boot into xp but it isn't happening for me. What am I doing wrong? [more inside]
posted by snowjoe on Mar 22, 2008 - 11 answers

I'd like to record live video directly from my FireWire DV camera using Windows XP. Is this possible? [more inside]
posted by russ9595 on Feb 18, 2008 - 4 answers

I'm trying to connect to my university's wireless network with VPN. I keep getting a 619 or 721 error. This is with a new laptop that has Windows XP Pro SP3 on it. How can I fix this problem?
posted by jordanian2 on Feb 14, 2008 - 7 answers

How to send the "Windows Key" over VNC from from Mac to PC? [more inside]
posted by sockpup on Jan 21, 2008 - 3 answers

I'm considering getting a cheap PC that I can slap Windows 98 and/or 3.1 one solely for the purposes of playing older games. Would this satisfy my needs, or is there a better option? [more inside]
posted by phaded on Jan 7, 2008 - 15 answers

How can I a) crop off the whole bottom half of a video, b) zoom in on my subject after I've already made the video, or c) hide the face of someone in the video? While I'm asking, how about taking a video made on a Canon (designed for stills, so their video actual size is small, which means it pixilates horribly when you put it on youtube) and making it stay actual size when placed on the web? I'm on a windows notebook and hoping any of this is even possible. Thanks! [more inside]
posted by thewhynotgirl on Dec 12, 2007 - 5 answers

Using a no-frills but decent PC, what (cheapish) sound card and what software should I buy for my father so he can record his guitar playing and singing as well as do basic mixing and editing? [more inside]
posted by ztdavis on Nov 15, 2007 - 6 answers

So I just got myself a 3M ergonomic mouse yesterday. Plugged it in, worked fine, no drivers required. Now today, it's not working so good. [more inside]
posted by gnutron on Nov 9, 2007 - 2 answers

Simple network rebuilding: what's the best way out of a wireless network muddle? [more inside]
posted by jonathanbell on Sep 23, 2007 - 6 answers

Help me learn to live with Vista. Tips, modifications, downloads sought. [more inside]
posted by Mozzie on Sep 13, 2007 - 11 answers

(Geekfilter) Can I convert Earthlink TotalAccess (WinXP PC) Email (.dat or .csv) mailboxes to Apple Mail (.mbox) mailboxes on a Mac? (AKA: How can Earthlink be this stupid?) [more inside]
posted by spitbull on Jul 9, 2007 - 5 answers

Help me to fix/setup/keep running a network of 4 computers the easy way. [more inside]
posted by djstig on Jun 3, 2007 - 4 answers

I am going to be buying/building a new computer soon to replace my Powerbook G4 and I am debating whether to get a Windozer or a new Mac. I thought I might be able to build my own X86 machine and install OSX on it using something like OSX86. Has anyone done something like this? [more inside]
posted by Aanidaani on May 30, 2007 - 12 answers

Does anybody have any ideas of some practical jokes i can play on a colleague by remoting into his registry? [more inside]
posted by goldism on Apr 26, 2007 - 11 answers

Can I fix a corrupted XP boot by copying the system files over from another installation drive? [more inside]
posted by XQUZYPHYR on Apr 5, 2007 - 11 answers

I have a PC running Windows XP. For 2 different reasons I want to split my monitor into two independent screens which Windows would then see as completely independent i.e. in Control Panel display there are two separate monitors etc. [more inside]
posted by empedia on Mar 23, 2007 - 9 answers