Where Are the Windows Installation Files I Need?

While maintaining my computer, I'm often prompted to insert the Windows CD-ROM. If I happen to be stuck with a vendor's System Restore disc, how do I extract the files I need?

Ernest Wiatrek, Abilene, Texas

If you're using the version of Windows that came with your computer, you shouldn't need a Windows CD-ROM for basic maintenance. Microsoft requires that vendors put the installation files in a folder on the hard drive. (Vendors include restore discs, or restore partitions, primarily for disaster recovery.)

When you install a Windows component from Control Panel's Add/Remove Programs applet, for example, Windows looks to this "installation path" for the needed files. You're asked to insert your Windows CD-ROM only if the path points to your CD-ROM drive and the right disc isn't there. If the installation path points to a folder on your hard drive, you won't be asked to insert a disc.

The easiest way to find the installation path is with Microsoft's free Tweak UI add-on. Download a version for Windows 9x, Me, 2000, and NT, or get Microsoft's PowerToys for Windows XP (which includes Tweak UI).

Once Tweak UI is installed, launch it by selecting Start, Settings, Control Panel and double-clicking the Tweak UI icon. Click the My Computer tab, and in the Folder drop-down list, select Installation Path; it will appear in the Location field below.

For Tweak UI for Windows XP, the instructions are slightly different: Once it's installed, select Start, All Programs, PowerToys for Windows XP, Tweak UI for Windows XP. Navigate in the left pane to My Computer, Special Folders. In the Folder drop-down list, select Installation Path.

To find the installation path without Tweak UI, select Start, Run, type regedit, and press Enter. Select MyComputer\HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\Software\Microsoft\Windows\CurrentVersion\Setup in the left pane, and in the right pane, find the value named 'SourcePath'. The installation path is listed in the Data field.

Now when you're prompted to insert the Windows CD, click Browse and enter in the 'Browse to' field the installation path you just found. In XP, click OK and then enter the installation path in the 'Copy files from' text box.

Why Won't That Page Open?

There are some Web sites I just can't access. I've checked with friends, and they can access these sites. Any idea why I can't?

Dan Tran, Philadelphia

First, be patient. Many browser problems are temporary. Wait a few minutes and try accessing the site again. If you're the patient type, wait an hour and try again. If you're really patient, wait a day.

And you were right to ask your friends. If they couldn't open the site either, you know that the problem is with the site (unless you and your friends have the same ISP). Try accessing the site through your ISP on another computer. This is often easier to do with a dial-up account than with a cable, DSL, or other broadband connection. With dial-up, you just manually enter your ISP's local access number in the log-on box. With an always-on connection, you may have to reconfigure the PC's network settings. Of course, if your broadband ISP also offers a dial-up number, you can use that.

If you can't access the site through your ISP on the second PC, the fault lies with your service provider. If you can access the site, the problem is with your computer--or more likely, your browser.

Your security settings may be too high. In Internet Explorer, select Tools, Internet Options. Click the Security tab and make sure 'Internet' is selected under the Web content zones. Click the Default Level button, set the slider under 'Security level for this zone' down one level, and try accessing the site again. If your browser is set to the High security level (see FIGURE 1), try setting it to Medium, Medium-low, or even Low, despite your browser's warnings of impending doom. Click Custom Level to bring up the Security Settings dialog box. Scroll down to the Scripting section and make sure Java is enabled.

Some sites require 128-bit encryption, and not all browsers have it. Luckily, it's a free upgrade. To check the encryption level of your copy of Internet Explorer, select Help, About Internet Explorer and look under 'Cipher Strength'. If it's not 128-bit, click Update Information to go to Microsoft's update page.

Some sites conflict with firewalls. Disable your firewall and then see if you can access the site. Don't forget to enable it again after you leave the site. (If the firewall is the problem, adjust its settings and then try to reach the site again.)

Something in your cache could be causing the conflict. To clear the cache in Internet Explorer, select Tools, Internet Options. Under 'Temporary Internet files' on the General tab, click the Delete Files button, then click OK. For a thorough browser cleaning, give Wizard Systems' $15 TweakIE shareware a try.

Parental controls may be the culprit. In Internet Explorer, select Tools, Internet Options and click the Content tab. Choose the Disable button under Content Advisor (if no such button exists, the source of your problem lies elsewhere). You'll need the password you originally used to enable these controls. For more on disabling parental controls, see this month's Internet Tips.

Of course, you may have good reasons for high security settings or banning objectionable material from your browser. In that case, consider whether accessing a particular Web site is worth the risk.

Skip the New Monitor

Is it necessary to buy a new monitor when you buy a new PC?

Gary Pauline, Naperville, Illinois

I replace my computer more often than I replace my monitor, and I've never experienced a problem because of it.

The version of Windows that came with your computer probably has a driver for your old monitor. If it doesn't, Windows will pick a generic monitor driver that will likely work just fine.

If you prefer the driver written for your monitor, find it at Driverzone.com. And read the January Hardware Tips for more on monitors and drivers.

CD-RW Between a PC and Mac

My PC and my friend's Mac both have CD-Rewritable drives. Can I use these drives to move files between the two systems?

Frank Noble, Burlington, Massachusetts

Yes. the one important rule is to write to the disc--on either computer--in the ISO 9660 format standard. After exploring a bit in your CD authoring software's help system, you should be able to figure out how to do this. In Easy CD Creator, select File, CD Layout Properties (or File, CD Project Properties). Under General, select ISO 9660 as the File System and click OK.

Don't use DirectCD (which comes with Easy CD Creator) for this job. It supports ISO 9660 for CD-Recordables, but not CD-Rewritables. CD-RWs are preferable for this sort of sneakernet because you don't waste a disc when you use one.

ISO 9660 has one interesting limitation: You must use old-fashioned, DOS-style file names (eight characters with a three-character extension, or 8.3). Your CD authoring software should truncate file names automatically.

The only other important issue is association: how the operating system knows what program to launch when you double-click a file. Windows uses file-name extensions--.doc,.jpg, and so on. The Mac OS checks an internal piece of the file called the resource fork.

PC applications generally add the extension automatically when you save a file; Mac apps don't. When you name a file on a Mac that's going to a PC, add the appropriate extension to the file name.

On either system, if double-clicking a file doesn't load it in the right program, open the program manually and drag the file into the application's window.

Keep Multiple Desktops

Is there any program that will let you configure your desktop into "pages" with different icons, programs, and other elements?

Don Boudreaux, Lafayette, Louisiana

There are several programs that let you create, alter, and switch between multiple desktops. My favorite is a shareware program called Desks At Will from Idyle Software (see FIGURE 2). If you want to keep the program, it costs about $23 to register for up to four users.

Desks At Will gives you three ways to switch between desktops. You can name and password-protect desktops, decide whether each desktop keeps its own unique wallpaper and icon layout, and even set apps to load on a particular desktop or to be visible in all of them.

The program doesn't currently support Windows XP, though that may change by the time you read this. Microsoft gives away its own Virtual Desktop Manager in PowerToys for Windows XP.

Reverse Word Searches

Travis Roth of Lincoln, Nebraska, sent me a couple of useful and little-known keyboard shortcuts for continuing a search in Microsoft Word after the Find dialog box has been closed. The shortcuts even change the search's direction. Press Ctrl- Page Down to have Word search for the next occurrence of your last search string, and press Ctrl- Page Up to make Word search for the previous occurrence. If you haven't searched for anything since you loaded Word, these keystrokes move the cursor to the next or previous page.

Send your questions to answer@pcworld.com. Answer Line pays $50 for published items. You'll find a collection of Contributing Editor Lincoln Spector's humorous writing at www.thelinkinspector.com.