Do you get a lot of emails? Do you want to keep some or all of them, except the spam, of course?

Hopefully, you get email newsletters like my free Terry’s Computer Tips email newsletter.

Outlook Express, like almost every other email program, allows its users to create folders to use in storing new and old emails. You can create a folder to receive and store them, and create a message rule to automatically put new issues in the right folder.

In an article later in this issue, I’ll show how to create a Message Rule to automatically put new emails in the folders that you wish.

The first step, though, is to create the folder to hold the emails.

On the menu bar, select File, New, Folder or File, Folder, New — either takes you to the same dialog box.

(click on the image for a larger version)

The resulting Create Folder dialog box lets you do two things. First, you can enter the name for your new folder. I’ll call it "Terry’s Computer Tips."

Continue reading Creating an Email Folder in Outlook Express

Subscriber Steve Kimball wrote recently to ask:

Terry
I saw a list of preferred Microsoft updates with corresponding “not” preferred updates somewhere and I can no longer find it. Can you help? Thanx,
Steve Kimball

As far as i’m concerned, any that Microsoft classifies as “Critical” or “High Priority” are to be installed.

I almost never install any other updates that come that way — especially not the “hardware drivers” ones. The important thing to understand on the drivers is that they are generic drivers for specific chipsets.

In my case, my motherboard manufacturer had a tweaked version of the chipset and driver — and when I installed the driver that Windows XP identified for me as an update, I could no longer boot.

I really don’t know any sites that list preferred and non-preferred Microsoft updates.

Steve wrote back to indicate that he was concerned about the Windows Genuine Advantage / Windows Genuine Advantage Notification programs and that he had just reinstalled Windows XP on his computer.

I didn’t bother to prevent them — since my copies of Windows are legitimate and I knew my readers would most likely install everything, I wanted to do the same thing.

More significantly, the update item would be presented over and over unless I specifically set the update program not to present the item.

Note also that, if you don’t validate your software, you can not download many additional items at Microsoft.com.

Your choice. I use the approach that I previously mentioned — if Microsoft calls it critical or high priority, I do the update.

This week’s email and on-line newsletters are now available:
*   free weekly Terry”s Computer Tips email newsletter
*   weekly on-line Terry”s Computer Tips newsletter

This week’s online articles include:
*   Traveling with a Computer
*   Updates Last Week
*   Connecting to the Internet While Traveling
*   Fast Internet Connections — Via My Cellphone
*   Cool Technology Videos — Microsoft Surface
*   My Computer Security Software Recommendations
*   Internet Access — Traveling Without Your Computer

If you subscribe to the email newsletter now, you will get instructions on how to request automatic free copies of the two most recent issues.

This week’s email and on-line newsletters are now available:
*   free weekly Terry”s Computer Tips email newsletter
*   weekly on-line Terry”s Computer Tips newsletter

This week’s online articles include:
*   Time sure flies when you’re having fun
*   Updates Last Week
*   Apple’s New Safari Web Browser - for Windows!
*   First Comments on Apple’s Safari 3 Browser for Windows
*   Privacy Control with XP Privacy Pro
*   My Computer Security Software Recommendations
*   Adobe Reader 8 Problems This Week - And a Change to Foxit Reader

If you subscribe to the email newsletter now, you will get instructions on how to request automatic free copies of the two most recent issues.

I received a question from subscriber Joseph Baker who was having problems with his Windows computer. For some reason, his “Switch User” button wasn’t working.
Windows XP - Log Off Windows dialog box

Joseph wrote:

Hi Terry,
Seems like the only time I contact you is when I have a problem, so I apologize in advance. I might have even asked this question in the past…not sure. It’s probably simple for you and I hope you have a quick response. My wife wanted to use the computer tonight and when she went to “switch user” from me to her it would not respond in any way. I think there is a setting somewhere to resolve this but could not find any notes I have taken regarding this. Can you help? I hope so…and thanks for your help.

The Switch User function (Start Logoff) is a powerful feature of Windows XP that allows multiple different IDs to use the computer– which would allow his wife to switch the active user from him to her without logging him off

Continue reading Switching Users in Windows XP

[tags]Windows, Windows XP, switch user, user[/tags]

This week’s email and on-line newsletters are now available:

• free weekly Terry”s Computer Tips email newsletter
• weekly on-line Terry”s Computer Tips newsletter

This week’s online articles include:
*   Really Using Your Computer: Converting an Email Addressbook for Webmail Use

*   Updates Last Week

*   Examining the Address Book Data: The First Changes

*   Preparing the Data for Restructuring

*   Creating the Addressbook CSV File and Importing it into Webmail

*   My Computer Security Software Recommendations

*   HowTo: Change Windows Default Font Size

If you subscribe to the email newsletter now, you will get instructions on how to request automatic free copies of the two most recent issues.