Question:

Hi Tony

I have Windows Vista Ultimate. For some reason right-clicking Computer has no effect, so how do I enter the product key?

Regards

Peter

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Question:

I just purchased a dv6500 notebook direct from HP. Before I bought it, the sales guy on the phone assured me that this laptop included a TPM chip, and thus could run Bitlocker. I bought the system with Home Basic, and then installed a copy of Ultimate (which I bought from my university for half the price HP was charging to install it), and partitioned my drive accordingly. However, the bitlocker application says that I do not have a TPM chip.

After several calls to HP, most involving supervisors and managers, I was told by technical suppport that they had never heard of TPM or Bitlocker. Finally, I found someone who would tell me that “the hardware requirements for Bitlocker are met on your notebook”. He, another sales associate whom I called, both said that the TPM chip is installed on all dv6500 notebooks.

However, since I installed the copy of Ulimate myself after purchase, HP will not help resolve any issues that are within Vista Ultimate, nor will they provide any support for me. 

Thank you for any assistance you can provide,

Chris

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Question:

Hello Tony:

Well, here’s one for you…

I purchased Windows Vista and a brand spankin’ new computer a month ago.  Needless to say, it’s bee harried at best!

Well, anywho, here’s the problem now:

Periodically (often, but not always), when I try to get online via email or internet (I have DSL), a window pops up and says “unknown error” and won’t let me get connect.

THEN a window comes up and asks me if I want to let the computer try to diagnose the problem.  I say yes. Then it says that I have more than one network connected or something like that and that I need to unplug one of them for 10 seconds….

Well, I don’t have more than one connection. So, I go into the place where you “repair network settings…” It doesn’t work, but I see my network listed, then another one called “unidentified network” listed! This isn’t all the time.

Well, after much on/off trying to get onto the internet, eventually, a window comes up and asks me if I want the computer to try to “reset” or repair or something like that, my network settings. I say yes, and it repairs. Then I can go online. Any answers?

D

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Question:

In the Windows Explorer window there is a folder named Searches which contains a folder named Recently Changed. This folder shows every file that I have ever recently changed. These are not shortcuts so if I try to remove this evidence of my work by deleting a file in this folder the actual file is deleted from the folder it actually sits in. I need to be able to empty the contents of this Recently Changed folder (obviously without losing any files) and then disable it permanently. This is a terrible feature that denies the main user of a computer security and privacy.  All other users have access to the Recently Changed folder.

Your help is greatly appreciated.

Les

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Question:

Hi there, i’m having some trouble with my Vista search function. it has suddenly stopped working. When i use the search in the start menu, i get this message “search failed to initialize”. When i try opening the the “search window”, nothing happens when i press enter. Please help!

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Question:

I cannot open any WMV sent to me. I see a one shot preview but that is all. Then I get is a pop up that states I have no rights or proxy setting s are wrong or file location not correct. Everything looks ok to me.

Regards, Steve

Answer:

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I wrote an article about this topic for Microsoft a while back, and got an e-mail from someone with some tips that are actually pretty useful (rare for one of these sales-type articles). Here ya go:

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