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How to use a USB flash drive

As often as once per day I recommend to someone that they invest in a USB flash drive for backup of regular files. The most common response I get back is, “I have one, I just don’t know how to use it.”

Here’s how to do it. Keep in mind that USB flash drives do not work well with Windows 98 so these instructions are for Windows XP and up.

1. Open My Computer and make a note (mental or otherwise) what letters appear next to the drives. You should see C:, D: etc. Chances are that the flash drive will occupy the next available letter, but keep My Computer open just to be sure.

Managing your digital photos

Organizing your digital photos is so important. Too often I see people who have major computer problems and think that everything is backed up only to find that their digital photos were so spread out on their computer that the only had a portion of them backed up.

Many people simply copy their digital photos onto their computer wherever a given piece of software puts them and they have no idea where that is. These notes will help you setup a system for managing your digital photos so they will be easy to find and backup even without programs like Picasa.

Here are a few links that will help you:

Rick Castellini’s file management PowerPoint presentation

Remember to take out the trash!

If you really like saving all of your email, you might seriously consider getting a Gmail account. With today’s emails sometimes weighing in at 5 megabytes and more, email programs (Outlook, Outlook Express, Thunderbird, etc) can get extremely sluggish. Sluggish performance eventually leads to corrupt data which means you lose all your email.

You can take steps to avoid this, however, by following a few simple

How to backup using SecondCopy – Video Tip

One of my favorite programs of all time is SecondCopy. SecondCopy offers a flexible and easy to use automatic backup program for any Windows computer user. You need to have a spacious backup drive that will hold what you want to backup like an external hard drive, flash drive, etc.

I recommend using this product for automated daily or weekly backups, but I still think it is imperative that you copy the backups this program makes to optical media (CD-R or DVD’s_ that can’t have electrical or mechanical failures on a regular basis as well.

Watch this short 3 minute video to learn how to use this great data saving program, Second Copy:

Backup…yes, again

I’m late in writing my daily Shotgun report because I have four computers sitting in my office in various forms of failure. Fortunately, at some expense to the owners, I was able to extract some valuable data from two of the machines. The other two machines didn’t fair as well and nothing was salvageable.

Today’s lesson? BACKUP!!!!!!!

I just searched HelpMeRick.com and found no less than 15 articles and tips directly related to

What I like about Windows Vista

Please read the headline of this article correctly – it does not say, "Reasons why you should upgrade to Windows Vista." Windows Vista is still a nasty operating system that hogs resources and hides or eliminates important features, but there are some cool features hidden within and I feel that I must list them here so that I can be fair to Microsoft.

If Microsoft had added any or all of these features to XP, it would have been an upgrade worth the price. Instead they had to add all of the other junk to confuse users too.

Department store fix it people

I encountered another department store computer fix-it horror story today. The client called me because they had the proverbial slow computer. I show up and the owner proceeds to tell me that they just got it returned from a big box electronic store with the initials CC whose computer experts work under the initials of FD. Incidentally, I could tell similar stories of woe with another store whose initials are BB and their resident experts work under the initials of GS.

New computer recommendations

At least once a year, I write a short article about my current computer recommendations. The holiday season is upon us, and I haven’t written an article like this in awhile, so here goes.

In the past six months, I ask more questions than I give when approached with this question.

Scenario 1

If I find that the person has a 2-4 year old computer with Windows XP, and just thinks the computer is slow, I go with this advice:

5 Easy Wireless Security Hints

Thankfully, broadband (high speed) Internet is spreading further and further. I don’t walk into many homes anymore than don’t have high speed access, and I can’t remember the last time I helped a business customer who had dial-up access. With high speed Internet access, many computer users install a wireless router to the modem to allow multiple computer access to the Internet. Wireless routers are easier to setup than ever before and can be purchased for well under $50. However, with extra technology, comes extra problems.

With wireless, the extra problems can mean potentially slow, spotty, and unsecured Internet access. Follow these five steps to make your wireless Internet stronger, more secure and less problematic: