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March 17, 2006
Dear CNET members,
Computers can be a lot like children: sometimes they know more than you do, they need to be protected from viruses, and you can't always make them go to sleep. That's the problem Scott is having with his computer. And his question might have a quick and easy solution. Our winning answer by Chris offers a few possibilities for changing a system's shutdown procedures that take only a few minutes to try out. If that doesn't do the trick, check out the solutions offered in our honorable mentions and other suggestions sections. As with last week's answers, please don't change your BIOS or registry settings unless you know how to do it safely! And speaking of BIOS, some of you weren't too keen on last week's poll, so I asked for suggestions to put in this week's newsletter. Our moderator John Wilkinson suggested a poll about digital rights management, which you'll see below. Let us know your thoughts on digital media, consumer rights, and piracy. Thanks to John and everyone else for your contributions. Enjoy your weekend!
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Member Question of the Week
Hello. When I try to shut down or restart my desktop via the standard buttons on the start menu, my computer goes through what appears like the normal shutdown or restart routine, but it never actually powers off or restarts. The screen goes dark and then the monitor even goes into power-save mode since it's getting no signal from the computer, but the computer fans, lights, everything else remain on. I have to hold down the power button to turn it off or hit the reset button to restart. What is causing this and how can I fix it? I'm using Windows MCE. Thanks.
Submitted by:
Scott G.
This is quite a simple solution. The behavior of your power button is controlled by a setting in the Control Panel power configuration. Simply navigate to the Control Panel through Start/Settings/Control Panel, then click the Power Configuration button. Click the tab labeled Advanced and go to the drop-down menu, where it says...
Submitted by:
Chris S.
For
Chris's
efforts, we're sending a choice of any
Help.com Learning CD.
Community Buzz
 Each week we take a look at topics discussed in the forums.
Best regards and enjoy!
CNET member dawillie got plenty of helpful suggestions on how to skip the password login for his Windows XP account. But does removing password protection create larger security problems, even for basic personal accounts?
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While she's shopping for a new PC, gina_r is trying to decide between an AMD 64 or Pentium 4 processor. Several members have made some great suggestions, based on price, performance, power consumption, and what tasks the computer will most likely be used for.
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CNET member tallin became befuddled when his IE icon would occasionally not display on his desktop. After a thorough virus and spyware scam, he came to CNET Forums for help and learned that the culprit was possibly a BHO--otherwise known as a Browser Help Object.
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Help WantedHere's your chance to help your fellow CNET members solve their PC and gadget woes.
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Check out next week's question:
I have a Dell Dimension running XP Home edition with all updates and SP2. All of a sudden, the icons in the system tray started disappearing randomly. First, Safely Remove Hardware" went away, then the volume control, then icons for background applications such as Counterspy and my desktop search, and the McAfee antivirus app. A few are still there, and--oddly enough--sometimes when I reboot, some that had been gone show up again, only to vanish on the next reboot. I checked the task manager, and the background programs (such as McAfee) are running, but there's no systray icon. I've checked the Properties/customize notifications, and clicked Restore Defaults, but that didn't help. Not having the icons in the system tray is more than an annoyance, as it is often hard to access some background programs another way. Can you help?
--Submitted by:
Robert M.of Lockhart, TX
If you have the answer,
e-mail us at messageboards@cnet.com.
If we choose your response, you'll get a
free Help.com CD.
Have a question?
• Multimedia
• Internet Security
• Digital Cameras
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• PC Upgrading
• PC Troubleshooting
• Digital Music
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What's your take on digital rights management(DRM) technology?
(Please click on button to vote) |
 An appropriate response to piracy
(tell us more)
A necessary evil to curb piracy
(tell us more)
Too restrictive/violation of fair use
(tell us more)
Who cares?
What's DRM?
Simple question, simple answer
Help your fellow members
| Member Profile of the Week |
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User name: danalmasy
Location: Atlanta, Georgia
Member since:
October 08, 2004
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About me: My wife and I are proud owners of a photography boutique here in Atlanta, Georgia. We specialize in...
(read more)
Each week we feature a CNET member who contributes to our community. Fill out your profile to get a chance to be featured in our newsletter and win a CNET t-shirt!
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