Ask DACS
July 2010

Moderated and reported by Richard Corzo

Ask DACS is a Question and Answer session before the main presentation at the monthly General Meeting. We solicit questions from the floor and then answers from other audience members. My role as moderator is to try to guide the discussion to a likely solution to the problem.

Q. I have a new Windows 7 installation, and Windows Explorer windows fail to open if I'm logged into my domain (defined by a server machine running Windows Server).

A. A member guessed that it sounded like a permissions problem, and the questioner should ensure that the account experiencing the problem is added to the Local Administrators group. The questioner indicated he had already done that. A further suggestion was to look for services in the Services application that were of startup type Automatic, but didn't start. It was also suggested to look for related error message in Event Viewer. Services and Event Viewer are both found in the Administrative Tools folder in Control Panel. Then look up any error message in the Microsoft Knowledgebase or other Net resources.

Q. What is meant by the term ports?

A. Aside from the physical ports on a computer (serial, parallel, USB, Ethernet, etc.), ports is also a networking term. In Internet terms, computers and devices have an IP (Internet protocol) address, but for particular networking services to work, they must also use a specific port number at that IP address. For instance to browse a Web site, the Web browser connects to port 80 on the Web server hosting that Web site. To receive e-mail, port 110 is used to connect to a POP3 e-mail server. Port 25 is used to connect to an outgoing mail server for sending e-mail. Webopedia (http://www.webopedia.com/quick_ref/portnumbers.asp) has a list of some "well-known ports", and also gives a definition of the term port. A firewall controls which ports are open to network traffic. To protect your machine, only those ports that you need should be open.

Q. At the library I found a book on Windows Vista Ultimate that talked about a program called IIS. What is its purpose?

A. It stands for Internet Information Services and is Microsoft's software for running a Web site. Normally you would run it on a server, or you would use a hosting service on the Internet that might be running IIS. Apache (http://httpd.apache.org/) is the other popular Web server software, but is not included with Windows. You can install Internet Information Services by turning on that Windows feature in Programs and Features in Control Panel. You'll then find IIS Manager in the Administrative Tools folder. You can try it out on your home machine, but it is not recommended that you open up the Web server to the Internet. By the way, IIS is not a program designed for creating a Web site, just serving it up. If you are interested in building a Web site, try out the Web Design SIG (http://www.dacs.org/sigroups/websitedesign.htm).

Q. My laptop has been overheating, so I tried an energy saving mode. After a bit the screen brightens and I have to use a function key to dim to the display. This keeps happening.

A. If you leave the machine idle, the screen should dim after a bit of time. If you start using the mouse or keyboard, the screen will then brighten again. If this is not what's happening, there may be something wrong with your computer that would be worth taking it in for a warranty repair. Check to make sure the fan is working by checking for airflow coming from the output vents. Check for dust in the vents and if necessary use a vacuum cleaner device rather than a blower. If you need to send it in for repair, be sure to back up your computer data first.

Q. My neighbor got a new machine with Windows 7 and Internet Explorer 8. Initially his Wi-Fi connection will work, but then shortly after die. The cable company verified that the cable signal was fine.

A. An audience member mentioned once having a similar problem and found that her cordless phone was interfering with the Wi-Fi. The neighbor should try connecting used a wired (Ethernet) connection to see if the problem goes away. If not that would indicate a more fundamental problem with the router, cable modem, or cable connection. He could try pinging the router (enter the command 'ping 192.168.0.1', or whatever the address of the router is). If that works then try pinging an Internet address outside his local network. If need be, contact the cable company again and make sure they send someone who can diagnose Internet connection problems.

Q. I have a laptop that I leave plugged in most of the time. To prolong battery life, someone said I should remove the battery when I'm not using it. Will that help?

A. One audience member maintained that that was a good practice, and had read that recommendation from several sources. Another questioned whether anyone had really done a side-by-side study to prove that it actually prolonged the battery life. He said the useful life of a laptop battery was 3 to 5 years, which is the same as the useful life of a laptop. A third member suggested that it was a good practice to let the machine run down on battery power once a month, let it cool down, and then recharge it.

Questions for the upcoming meeting can be emailed to askdacs@dacs.org.

Disclaimer: Ask DACS questions come from members by email or from the audience attending the general meeting. Answers are suggestions offered by meeting attendees and represent a consensus of those responding. DACS offers no warrantee as to the correctness of the answers and anyone following these suggestions or answers does so at their own risk. In other words, we could be totally wrong!