ItsGeekToMe.co

Q: I read your Sunday Q&A column and have used some of your computer tips.  Do you archive and is there public access to your column from past NWF Daily publications? 

– Robert M.
Fort Walton Beach, FL

A: The NWF Daily News website has a complete archive of every issue of It’s Geek To Me that has ever published.  Unfortunately, it’s not keyword searchable, and it does not include content from other venues, such as the Q&A Session I gave yesterday at the NWFCUA Computer Expo, or last week’s visit to the Center for Lifelong Learning.  To get to the archive on the Daily News’ site, visit [REDACTED] (Note: This link is now non-functional.  -Geek) and you’ll see my smiling mug at the top of the page, along with a link to my latest article.  Click the article (and while you’re there, feel free to click the “Recommend” link at the top of the page).  At the bottom of the article click on the link that says “See archived ‘NEXT’ Stories »”.  That will take you to a list of the last 25 columns.  On the blue bar near the top of the page are navigation links that say “« Previous Articles” and “Next Articles »”.  As of this week, there have been 79 issues of It’s Geek To Me.  Thanks for your interest, Robert!

Q: I’ve been unable to install XP SP3 since it first came out.  I’ve now put a good day into researching and always getting about halfway through the install, I get the “Access is denied” message.  I’ve tried the Microsoft support trouble-shooter including turning off my antivirus and antispy program (but stopping at messing with my registry) and various Google-searched answers…none have been able to get past the error/problem. 

– Rick M.
Fort Walton Beach, FL

A: An “Access Denied” message doesn’t come from an antivirus or antispy program in my experience, Rick.  That message means that something the installer is trying to access is restricted, and the user account from which you ran the installer does not have sufficient privileges to do so.  It’s a simple security problem, unfortunately, one that’s stopping you dead in your tracks.  The first thing I would recommend is make sure you’re performing the installation when signed in as “Administrator”.  If that doesn’t work, you need to find out specifically what item is restricted.   The most likely candidates are a directory, a file, or a registry key.  A review of Windows’ security log after the problem occurs might tell you what you need to know.  Once you know what the problem is, hopefully the solution should be obvious. 

TIP OF THE WEEK – Printing Tip #1: On the end of most new reams of paper, many manufacturers print something like “Image this side first” with an arrow pointing to one side of the ream.  You should pay attention to this, especially if you experience frequent paper jams.  Paper is manufactured in huge rolls, and before it’s cut, this imparts a slight curve to each sheet.  If you don’t feed it per the manufacturer’s direction, the paper may try to follow its natural curve instead of the feed path through your printer.