How to copy a floppy disk to a CD

Answer

Floppy diskettes are notoriously bad and by today's standards not a good way to store any important information. If you still have any important data on a floppy diskette backing it up on a different medium such as CD, is highly recommended.

To copy the contents of a Floppy Disk to a CD, you will need a floppy disk drive to read the disk and a CD Rewriteable drive to add the floppy disk contents to a CD. Both of these drives can be externally connected drives if necessary.

Insert the floppy diskette you wish to copy

First, insert the floppy disk into the floppy drive. Double-click the My Computer icon on your computer desktop or select it from the Start Menu. View the floppy drive contents by clicking or double-clicking on the drive letter assigned to it (usually the A: drive).

Copy floppy contents to a folder on computer

It is recommended that you copy the contents from the floppy disk to your computer's hard drive first, before putting on a CD. Create a new folder on your computer's Desktop and copy the contents of the floppy disk to the new folder on the Desktop. If you have multiple floppy diskettes you want to backup, copy each of them to the computer.

To copy the contents from a floppy to the folder highlight all files on the floppy drive, press Ctrl+C to copy the files, and then open the new folder and press Ctrl+V to paste all the files.

Insert blank CD and copy contents on the computer to CD

Next, put a blank writeable or rewriteable CD into the CD-rewriteable drive. If you have Windows XP, Vista, or 7, a window should appear asking what you want to do with the blank CD. Select the option that lets you copy contents (burn files) to the blank CD, using Windows Explorer. This should open a new window, allowing you to copy contents from another location into the new folder.

Note: When you insert the blank CD into the CD Rewriteable drive, if the window does not open asking what you want to do with the blank CD, you can still access it by opening My Computer and double-clicking on the CD-Rewriteable drive. This should open a blank folder, allowing you to add contents to be copied (burned) to the CD.

Open the folder on your Desktop that contains the contents of the floppy disk. Select all of the files, press Ctrl+C on your keyboard to copy the files, then, in the new blank CD folder, press Ctrl+V on your keyboard to paste the files.

Once you have moved all the files to the blank CD folder, click on the option in that window to write the files to the CD (either on the left side or the top of the window). Follow the prompts to begin the CD writing process.

Additional information

• See our uPnP definition for further information and related links.

How to enable UPnP in Windows

Answer

Windows 7 users
Windows Vista users
Windows XP users

Windows 7 users

To enable UPnP in Windows 7, start by going to the Windows Control Panel. Locate and click on the icon for Network and Sharing Center.

In the left pane, click the link for Change advanced sharing settings.

In the Network Discovery section, select the option for Turn on network discovery and click the Save changes button.

UPnP will now automatically start when you turn on your computer.

Tip: If you're having issues getting UPnP to work properly on your network after following the below steps, make sure there is not a firmware update for your router that addresses any UPnP issues.

Windows Vista users

To enable UPnP in Windows Vista, start by going to the Windows Control Panel. Locate and click the icon for Network and Sharing Center.

In the Sharing and Discovery section, click on the arrow button to the right of the Network discovery option. Select the option for Turn on network discovery and click the Apply button.

UPnP will now automatically start when you turn on your computer.

Tip: If you're having issues getting UPnP to work properly on your network after following the below steps, make sure there is not a firmware update for your router that addresses any UPnP issues.

Windows XP users

For UPnP to work in Windows XP, you need to first make sure the Internet Gateway device appears in Network Connections and that your router appears in My Network Places.

For the first device, open up the Network Connections window. You can do this by going to Start, Run, and type ncpa.cpl in the text field, then press the Enter key. Check to see if the Internet Gateway device is displayed, as shown below.

For the second device, click the link for My Network Places in the Network Connections window (left pane, Other Places section). Check to see if your router is displayed.

If these devices are not displayed, you will need to make sure the correct components are installed in Windows XP. To check this, go to Start, Run, type appwiz.cpl in the text field, and press the Enter key.

In the Add or Remove Programs window, click on the Add/Remove Windows Components link in the left pane. In the Windows Components Wizard window, scroll down until you find Networking Services. Select this in the list and click the Details button. Make sure the Internet Gateway Device Discovery and Control Client and UPnP User Interface options are checked and click the OK button. Back on the Windows Components Wizard window, click the Next button and follow the directions to install the new components.

Now, you can start the UPnP service to enable it. To do this, go to Start, Run, type services.msc in the text field, and press the Enter key.

Find the SSDP Discovery Service option and double-click it with your mouse. In the window that opens, on the General tab, select Automatic in the Startup type drop-down list and click the OK button.

UPnP will now automatically start when you turn on your computer.

Tip: If you're having issues getting UPnP to work properly on your network after following the below steps, make sure there is not a firmware update for your router that addresses any UPnP issues.

Additional information

• See our uPnP definition for further information and related links.

How to create a bootable Windows USB drive.

Answer

A common use of a bootable USB flash drive is to use it for booting into Windows. This can allow you to perform diagnostics on a computer that has hardware issues or can't boot into Windows. You can also use the flash drive to install Windows, instead of using the Windows installation CD.

This guide will outline making a bootable USB flash drive with Windows XP, Vista, and 7. Before we begin, it's important to note that the computer you want to use your bootable USB drive in will need to have the capability of booting to a USB drive. Most recent computers built since Windows Vista was released are capable of booting to a USB device. Prior to the Windows Vista timeframe, it's hit or miss with motherboards.

To determine if a computer is capable of booting to a USB device, access the computer's BIOS and check the bootable device list. If a USB device is listed, set the USB drive to be the first boot device. If you do not see a USB device in the list of bootable devices, your BIOS is not capable of booting to a USB device. (NOTE: You may need to have your USB flash drive plugged in when you access the BIOS).

Windows Vista and Windows 7 users
Windows XP users

Windows Vista and Windows 7 users

To make the bootable USB drive for Windows Vista or Windows 7, you need to have Windows Vista or 7 installed on your computer. It is recommended that you have a flash drive of at least 4 GB in size, in order to store all the necessary files.

Note: Before you start, plug in the USB drive and backup any files you have stored on the USB drive. The drive will be formatted during this process and all files on it will be deleted.

Tip: You will need a Windows Vista or Windows 7 disc for these instructions to be successful.

1. Open an elevated Windows command line window by clicking Start, typing in cmd in the search text field, then pressing CTRL + Shift + Enter on your keyboard (at the same time). You can also access this by navigating to Start, All Programs, Accessories, right-click with your mouse on the Command Prompt menu item and select Run as Administrator.

2. At the command prompt, type cd c:\windows\system32 to change the directory to the Windows system32 directory. Ensure your USB drive is plugged in and type DISKPART and press Enter. Then type LIST DISK and press Enter.

• See our diskpart command page for additional information on this command.

3. You will see a listing of the disk drives connected to your computer. Find the disk number of your USB drive and type SELECT DISK [USB disk #], where "[USB disk #]" is the disk # for your USB drive. It should now state that your USB drive is the selected disk. If you're not sure what disk is the USB disk, eject the USB drive, perform step number 2 again, connect the USB drive again, and compare the results. Usually the USB drive will be the last drive.

4. Type in the following commands, one by one, pressing Enter after each command.

CLEAN

CREATE PARTITION PRIMARY

SELECT PARTITION 1

ACTIVE

FORMAT FS=NTFS
(may take a couple minutes, depending on the USB drive size)

ASSIGN

EXIT

Keep the command prompt window open, but you can minimize it for a little bit.

5. You will now need your Windows Vista or 7 Installation DVD. Put the DVD in your computer's DVD drive. Open up My Computer and note which drive letter is assigned to your DVD Drive and your USB flash drive.

6. Go back to the command prompt window and type in D: CD BOOT (substitute your DVD drive letter for "D:" if necessary) and press Enter. Type CD BOOT again and press Enter. Lastly, type BOOTSECT.EXE /NT60 H: (substitute your USB flash drive letter for "H:" if necessary) and press Enter.

7. The last step is to copy the entire contents of the Windows DVD to your USB flash drive.

Your USB flash drive is now set up to be a bootable USB drive for Windows Vista or 7.

Windows XP users

To make the bootable USB drive for Windows XP, it is recommended that you have a flash drive of at least 4 GB in size, in order to store all the necessary files. You will also need to download Windows Server 2003 SP1 and a program called PE Builder (also known as Bart PE).

• Windows Server 2003 SP1
• Bart PE

Before you start, plug in the USB drive and backup any files you have stored on the USB drive, to ensure you do not lose any of them.

1. Install PE Builder on your computer. For the sake of ease, install the program to a C:\PEBuilder folder. After you've installed PE Builder, create a folder titled SRSP1 in the PEBuilder folder.

2. Now you need to extract two files from Windows Server 2003 SP1. The filename is quite long, so it is recommended that you rename the file to something shorter, like WS-SP1.exe. Open a command prompt (Start > Run, type cmd and press Enter) and use the cd command to change to the folder where you downloaded the Windows Server 2003 SP1 file to (i.e. cd c:\downloads to change to the c:\downloads folder). Then, type WS-SP1.exe -x to extract the files. A window will open, asking where to extract the files. You can enter the same folder where the file was downloaded.

3. A new folder titled i386 will be created by the extraction process. Type cd i386 to change to that folder. You now need to copy the setupldr.bin file to the SRSP1 folder you created in the PE Builder folder. Type copy setupldr.bin c:\PEBuilder\SRSP1 to copy the file.

4. You also need to expand the ramdisk.sys file to the SRSP1 folder.
Type expand -r ramdisk.sy_ c:\PEBuilder\SRSP1

5. Open My Computer and navigate to the c:\PEBuilder\SRSP1 folder and verify the two files are there.

6. Next, you need to create a compressed version of Windows XP using PE Builder. Make sure you Windows XP Professional CD is in your computer's CD drive, then launch the PE Builder program. In the Source field, type in the drive letter assigned to your CD Drive (you can check in My Computer if you are not sure) (e.g. "d:"). In the Output field, type BartPE. Make sure the None option is selected in the Media output section. Then click the Build button.

A progress report will be displayed, showing the progress of the bootable image build. When the build process is complete, click the Close button.

7. Now, you can create the bootable USB flash drive. Open a command prompt again and type cd c:\PEBuilder to change to the PEBuilder folder. Make sure your USB drive is plugged in to your computer and type pe2usb -f e: (change "e:" to the drive letter assigned to your USB flash drive, if necessary) to create the bootable drive. You will be prompted to type YES to begin the process. When the process is complete, press any key to exit the program.

Your USB flash drive is now set up to be a bootable USB drive for Windows XP using the Bart PE interface.

Additional information

• See our USB thumb drive definition for further information and related links.

How do I install an expansion card?

Answer

There are many types of expansion cards that can be installed in a computer, including sound, video, modem, network, interface card, and a number of others. In many cases, these expansion cards will fit in a slot in the computer called a PCI slot. However, in the case of video cards and a few others, they may fit into other types of slots, like an AGP slot or a PCI Express slot. Before purchasing and installing an expansion card, make sure you know which slots your computer has available on the motherboard. In the below picture, is an example of a motherboard with six expansion slots; two PCI Express slots, three PCI slots, and one AGP slot.

ESD Warning: While working in your computer and with an expansion card make sure you're aware of ESD and its potential dangers. We recommend using a grounding strap while working on the inside of the computer.

To install an expansion card, turn off your computer, unplug the power cord from the back of the computer, and remove the side panel from the computer case. You should be able to see the motherboard in the computer case. The expansion card slots are typically located on the bottom half of the motherboard (see example above).

• Additional information and help with opening your computer.

Find the expansion slot that is of the same type as the expansion card. Remove the metal bracket slot cover on the computer case that corresponds to the expansion or if you're upgrading an older expansion card unscrew and remove the expansion card.

Handle with care: When handling an expansion don't touch the gold plated connectors. Any grease or dirt on these connectors can cause corrosion. It is best to handle expansion cards by the metal back plate.

Gently insert the expansion card into the slot at a 90-degree vertical angle, making sure the connectors on the back of the card are sticking out through the computer case and that its connections are accessible. Apply a gentel pressure to push the card into the slot completely.

Secure the card in place by using the locking mechanism on the computer case (screw, plastic or metal locking brackets, etc.).

Plug the power cord into the computer and turn the computer on. Once the computer has loaded into the operating system, install any necessary hardware drivers and software needed for the expansion card to function properly.

Additional information

• See our expansion card and expansion slot definitions for further information and related links.

Top 10 Internet tips and tricks

You don't need the http:// portion of a web page

When typing an Internet address you do not need to type http:// or even www. in the address. For example, if you wanted to visit Computer Hope you could just type computerhope.com and press enter. To make things even quicker, if you're visiting a .com address you can type computerhope and then press Ctrl + Enter to type out the full http://www.computerhope.com address.

Quickly move between the fields of a web page

If you're filling out an online form, e-mail, or other text field you can quickly move between each of the fields by pressing the Tab key or Shift + Tab to move back a field. For example, if you're filling out your name and the next field is your e-mail address you can press the Tab key to switch to the e-mail field.

Tip: This tip also applies to the buttons, if you press tab and the web developer has designed correctly the button should be selected and will allow you to press the space bar or enter to push the button.

Tip: If you have a drop-down box that lists every country or every state you can click that box and then press the letter of the state or country you're looking for. For example, is a drop-down box of States in the United States you could press u on the keyboard to quickly scroll to Utah.

Use Internet search engines to their full potential

Make sure to get the most out of every search result. If you're not finding what you want try surrounding the text in quotes. For example, if you were searching for 'computer help' this actually searches for pages that contain both computer and help and not necessarily pages that have computer and help next to each other. If you search for "computer help" with the quotes around the search query this will only return pages that actually have computer and help next to each other.

Tip: Many new computer users also don't realize that in every search box you can press enter instead of having to move the mouse button over to the Search button.

• Top 10 unknown Google tricks

Protect yourself and avoid bad web sites

• How can I protect myself while online?
• Avoid Internet phishing.
• Protecting children from harmful material and people on the Internet.

Know your Internet browser shortcuts

There are dozens of different shortcut keys that can be used with Internet browsers. Below are a few of our top suggested Internet browser shortcuts.

- Pressing Alt + D in any major Internet browser will move the cursor into the address bar. This is a great way to quickly enter an Internet address without having to click the mouse cursor in the address bar.
- Hold down the Ctrl key and press the + or - to increase and decrease the size of text.
- Press the backspace key or hold down the Alt key + left arrow to go back a page.
- Press F5 to refresh or reload a web page.
- Press F11 to make the Internet browser screen full screen. Press F11 again to return back to the normal view.
- Press Ctrl + B to open your Internet bookmarks.
- Press Ctrl + F to open the find box in the browser to search for text within the web page you're looking at.

• Full listing of Internet Explorer shortcut keys.
• Full listing of Mozilla Firefox shortcut keys.

Take advantage of tabbed browsing

Take full advantage of tabbed browsing in all Internet browsers today. While reading any web page if you come across a link you may be interested in open that link in a new tab so it can be viewed later. A new tab can be opened by holding down the Ctrl key and clicking the link or if you have a mouse with a wheel click the link with the middle mouse button.

Try alternative browsers

Most computer users use the default browser that comes included with the computer, with Microsoft Windows this is Internet Explorer. There are several great alternative browsers that are all free to download and use and may have features your current browser does not include. Below are a few of our favorites, try one or try them all.

• Google Chrome
• Mozilla Firefox
• Opera

Install plugins and add-ons

Each of the above alternative browsers also have a large community of volunteers who develop add-ons and plugins that can be added into the browser. Each of these browsers have hundreds of thousands of these add-ons that can do such things as giving you live weather in your browser window, changing its color, and adding additional functionality.

• Top 10 Firefox add-ons

Make sure your browser and its plugins are up-to-date

Each Internet browser can have several additional plugins that give it additional functionality. For example, Adobe Flash is a great way to bring movies and other animated content to the Internet. Keeping these plugins up-to-date is vital for your computer stability and also security. Using the below tool you can quickly verify if your plugins are up-to-date and get links to where to download the latest updates.

• Computer Hope system information tool

Use online services

There are hundreds of free online services that can help make using your computer easier, more productive, and more enjoyable. See our top 10 online services for a listing of our favorites.

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