Update your updates

We answer your questions.

PC World staff | Tuesday, January 26 2010

Endless upgrades
For several months now my Windows XP PC has been insisting at shutdown that it has one upgrade to install. This takes nearly four minutes. I’ve spent hours on the phone with Microsoft, but the situation continues. I think I may have a corrupt installation file or upgrade instruction.
Peter Joiner

It does indeed sound as though you have a corrupt installation file, Peter. You’ll need to remove all the old Windows Update files from your hard drive – with the exception of the corrupt file, these are already installed and no longer needed – and then download the updates again. You should note that your computer will download only the missing updates, and not those that have already been applied.

Right-click My Computer, select Manage and expand the Services and Applications option. Choose Services, right-click Automatic Updates and click Stop.

Navigate to your Windows folder (usually C:/Windows) and delete the ‘SoftwareDistribution’ folder located there. Reboot your machine, then run Windows Update to download and install any new or missing updates.

This should fix the problem. If the issue recurs, deselect the problematic file in Windows Update to prevent your computer from attempting to install it.

Gloomy Outlook
Outlook Express regularly attempts to compact my mail to save space. The process results in the loss of stored messages, so I cancel it. The last time it ran I wasn’t given this option and all my emails from the past four months have disappeared.
David Madgen

Don’t panic, David. Outlook Express backs up your folders before compacting them (in the Recycle Bin, admittedly).

Look in Tools•Options•Maintenance•Store Folder for the location of your Store Folder. Close Outlook Express, go to your Recycle Bin and locate and restore the most recent Sent Items.bak file that you find there. This will put your mail back in the Store folder, but still as a BAK file.

Browse to this folder in Windows Explorer. You may need to enable Display Hidden and System files to see the file. If so, go to Tools•Folder Options•View and deselect the option to Hide extensions of known file types. You should now see two files: Sent Items.dbx and Sent Items.bak.

Rename the Sent Items.dbx to Sentold.dbx and then rename Sent Items.bak to Sent Items.dbx. When you open Outlook Express, your Sent Items should be restored.

Repeat these steps for each Outlook Express folder you find in the Recycle Bin.

Suspicious behaviour
When browsing the internet I often receive the error message: ‘Your query looks similar to a request from a computer infected by viruses or spyware applications’. Full-system security scans reveal nothing.
Brian Hall

There are a number of possible causes, Brian. Browser toolbars sending suspicious traffic are a common cause. Try disabling any toolbars and add-ons you’re using.

Corrupt cookies or internet cache data held by your browser can also cause suspicion. Download and run CCleaner (ccleaner.com) with your browser closed to delete all your old web content.

ISP problems could also be at fault. Contact your ISP’s help desk to see if they can help or know of any recent issues.

Inadequate security software may not be protecting your PC properly. Both Kaspersky and Norton offer 30-day free trials of their security suites. Uninstall your current software before installing either suite from tinyurl.com/yje9b68 and tinyurl.com/5cat4c respectively. Advice on the most effective free antivirus programs can also be found in our round-up from last month’s issue of PC World.

Finally, try replacing Internet Explorer with Firefox (mozilla.com/firefox) or Google’s Chrome (google.com/chrome). These browsers should be free of any malicious interference.

If none of these solutions fixes your problem, you will need to back up your PC and restore it from the recovery disc.

User not found
I transferred files from the C drive to the D drive on my Vista Home Premium PC. Windows Explorer now references them at the top of its folders pane, but not in the detailed hierarchy for the D drive. Explorer is also missing my user AppData and the program data on either drive. I can access any user files I know are located on the D drive, but not all programs seem to be able to drill down into D. How can I make folders on my D drive visible and searchable?
Peter Smith

You can move only certain files from your profile to another drive, Peter. These are Pictures, Documents, Desktop, Videos, Saved Games, Searches, Favorites and Contacts. Check which folders can be relocated by right-clicking the folders in your user area and clicking Properties. If there’s a tab marked Location, you can move and remap the folder to a different site.

The AppData (hidden) folder is known as a ‘special’ folder and can’t be moved. There are unsupported ways of doing it, but we don’t recommend any because of the damage this may cause.

The screenshot you provided (left) shows that your ‘Pete’ user area has been moved to the desktop folder, which still appears to be on the C drive. The Public user folder has also been moved to the D drive.

You need to do some reorganisation. First, return the Public user area to its original location. Unless it contains large amounts of recorded TV programmes (this is where Vista stores them), this folder should take up relatively little space. If needs be, you can remap your recorded TV folder within Media Centre.

In the D:/Users folder, create a new folder called Pete. Click on your profile, either on the desktop or via the Start menu, and enter your user area. Right-click the folder to be moved and select Properties•Location.
Click Move and select the folder you wish to move it into – in this case D:/Users/Pete.

Repeat these steps for all the folders you want to place on another drive. I suggest you keep it to the ones where you store the largest amount of data, such as documents, photos, movies and so on.

What’s in a name?
I always rename digital photos stored on my PC in an attempt to keep them organised and so I can see what they depict at a glance. However, when I display them at full-screen the filename isn’t visible. Is it possible to show the filename minus the format extension on the picture as a caption? I’d like to do this as a batch process rather than having to do each photo.
D Davies

You can do this by using free image editor Irfanview (irfanview.com). Launch the application and go to File•Slideshow.

Tick the Show text box in the Options box, then delete all the current text strings and enter $N in there. Add your files and click Play Slideshow. Your photos will now display their filename.