Q: How can I burn YouTube videos onto a DVD to watch on a TV?
A: First of all, you have to get an application that downloads the streaming content from YouTube. You can use a web-based application that doesn’t squander your resources if you have a strong Internet connection, like VideoDownloadX. After that, you can use Nero or Alcohol 120% to burn the files to a video DVD. Note that some DVD readers attached to television systems don’t recognize DVD-R material.
Q: How can I print things I find in Google? The icon doesn’t show up when I enter Google.
A: Google never seems to have implemented the ability to print a search engine result page (SERP). With this feature lacking, you might run into a wall if you’re not aware of common ways to circumvent this problem. Well, try pressing “Print Screen”, or “PrtScn,” on your keyboard. This will take a picture of what you see on your screen.
Hold the “Alt” key while pressing “Print Screen” and you’ll get a picture of the focused window. You can now paste this onto something like MS Paint or Microsoft Word and print it from either program. Enjoy!
Q: I get a “Not enough memory” error in Sony Vegas Movie Studio HD Platinum. How can I solve this?
A: This problem could occur because you really don’t have enough memory. Many applications put their buffers in virtual memory as well as physical memory, making it difficult to track down where the error comes from. If you are absolutely sure you have plenty of memory to spare, try defragmenting your hard drive after closing Vegas Movie Studio. One more thing you can try: Close every application that eats up your memory. This includes anti-virus solutions and firewalls. Anything that uses your computer’s memory and virtual memory excessively shouldn’t run while you’re rendering video. While you’re at it, try searching for applications that use up your computer’s memory, but you don’t need, and try to clean up your system. Every kilobyte counts!
Q: Can you make a copy of a computer onto another using JoinMe.Com?
A: Short answer: No. Long answer: JoinMe is a screen sharing service. You can only see another person’s computer, with their consent, through it. However, to copy all your computer’s contents onto another computer, you can clone a drive using Norton Ghost or some other backup utility. When cloning, your computer will copy system files, the registry, the boot record, and virtual memory allocation onto another drive. Cloning is the best method of physically backing up your entire computer into another drive.
Q: My computer will not connect to the Internet, despite the fact that all other devices in the house can. How do I solve this?
A: Your computer is probably unable to connect to the Internet because of a utility within it that filters incoming and outgoing packets, like a firewall. If you can turn these off, you will most likely be fine. If you still have problems after that, you should have a look at your network configuration. Try connecting the computer via an Ethernet connection instead of WiFi.
Ethernet connections have a tendency to be more stable and are used frequently with diagnoses. Try to access your router by typing its local address into the address bar of your browser. This is known as accessing your gateway configuration. If that doesn’t work, something is wrong with your computer’s network configuration or with the router. To figure this out, get to the network adapter’s properties dialog via the control panel (Network and Sharing Center -> Change adapter settings, in Windows 7). In the “Properties” window, you’ll see “Internet Protocol version 4” and “Internet Protocol version 6”.
Select each one, click “Properties,” and configure each one to automatically obtain their IP addresses and domain name servers. This will solve many issues encountered when purchasing a used computer from someone who left their configuration there. There are also many other cases in which something like this could happen. If you still can’t get a connection going properly, you must call your ISP to help you take care of the issue.
Q: Some store I bought a computer from swapped Vista for Windows 7 and installed the OS on it. Now, Windows Media Player doesn’t work and a lot of the software has issues. How do I solve this?
A: It’s most likely that they didn’t install a licensed copy of Windows 7 on your computer. That’s not legal and should be reported immediately. Of course, you must first find out if they did or did not install a licensed copy. Did they give you a disc in a box with the Microsoft logo and genuine hologram printed on the disc? Here’s how it should look like:
Above is the retail version of the Windows 7 box. If you got such a box, then you have a licensed copy of Windows 7. Otherwise, go to the store that installed Windows 7 on your computer and talk to them. They should be able to show you how they installed it. If they used a disc that looks copied, it’s obvious that they installed an unlicensed version of the operating system. OK. All that aside, if you’re sure your copy is licensed, then your computer could be having hardware compatibility issues with the operating system. Try running another media player on it. Does it run well? Are you encountering the same issues? You must be more specific. Come to the comments section and explain a little better if you are having any more issues after taking the computer back to the store. They should be able to fix the problem for you if they installed a licensed copy.
See You Next Week!
Here’s to hoping that many of you have questions to ask, as they have always been fun to answer. If you want your question to appear on Ask a Windows Expert, email windows-help [at]maketecheasier.com. See you next week, and have a nice day!
