Howdy! Alright, admittedly, the last six months managed to sneak by with no wellDON!net newsletter. Sorry about that, but thanks to you, business has been very good. October's newsletter discussed backing up your computer, and I'm glad to say that a few more of you are now protected in the event that your computer's hard drive should crash. If you're still living on borrowed time and want to set up an automated backup process, please call me to set up an appointment. One client with an 8 month old computer had a hard drive crash, and another client spilled water on a laptop that was a few years old. A few others simply had their computers die of old age. Don't get caught without a backup!

And now, a little more discussion of Windows Updates, as promised a while back . . .

Microsoft Newsletters

At Home and At Work Newsletter
This is a great newsletter with a variety of information on basic home and office tasks. For instance, this week's topics included articles on using more than one monitor, taking an online course on Time and Task Management Using Microsoft® Office Outlook® 2003, and Timesaving tips for working with pictures. Other recent articles included the announcement about the end of support for Microsoft Windows 98 and Me (see more about that below), tax prep, budgeting, financial planning, making an insurance movie to document your assets, and 4 ways to streamline your tasks. It's a great resource!

Inside Office Newsletters
This newsletter is great for those of you who like using Microsoft Office and wouldn't mind spending a little more time becoming more proficient. Two weeks ago, the newsletter carried info on Microsoft Office 2007, organizing your Outlook Inbox, using PowerPoint, what to do if you accidentally pushed Send on an email message, and information about the latest critical software downloads for Office.

There are other newsletters you might be interested in, but these two are a great starting point!

End of Support for Windows 98 and Windows Me

Microsoft is ending corporate support for these older versions of Windows. Now, before you get upset, keep in mind that these operating systems are 8 and 7 years old respectively. If you're running a computer that originally came with one of these two operating systems, it's probably time to seriously consider replacing the computer. If it were me, now is a great time to shop since prices continue to be low on Windows XP systems in anticipation of the release of Windows Vista in January 2007. Don't forget to look at the link to Dell on my links page. Some of my clients have found better deals going that route than going directly to Dell's site. And the Sunday paper Parade magazine always has a great low-cost Dell in it!

Windows Updates

I won't spend too much time duplicating what Microsoft has already done for you. If you'd like to know more about Microsoft / Windows Updates, Automatic Updates, etc., check out the Frequently Asked Questions.

What I really want to talk to you about very briefly is the need for you to make sure that your Windows is updated regularly. Ideally, you should have Automatic Updates on so that your computer downloads the latest updates every night for you. And if you've upgraded from Windows Updates to Microsoft Updates (see the August Newsletter), you're not only getting critical Windows updates, you're also getting the latest updates for Microsoft Office.

But if all that is supposed to be happening automatically, what kind of help does my computer need from me? I'm glad you asked. Like anything critical, you never want to take for granted that what's supposed to be happening is happening for sure. In addition, it's a great idea to run the updates manually so you can capture any non-critical updates that are available, such as the latest version of Windows Media Player, driver downloads, etc. Those types of updates don't happen automatically, so you have to download them manually.

To get those optional updates, go to http://www.windowsupdate.com/ and follow the prompts. When you get to the point where you can choose Express or Custom, click on Custom. It will scan for high priority, optional software updates, and optional hardware updates. High Priority updates are automatically added to the list of things to download and install. You can look through the optional Software updates on your own and decide if you want any of those. Lastly, I'd go to the optional Hardware updates and select all of those. When you're done, you can click the link near the top that says Review and install updates and follow the prompts the rest of the way.

Note: Ideally, when you run a Custom update, you should have only one or two High Priority updates because all those are the ones that happen automatically if you have Automatic Updates turned on.

New Stuff on My Site

Alright, that's a lot of information already, so I should probably wrap this up. But I figured that as long as I was going to take the time to send out this newsletter, I'd work on my website a little as well. In addition to a few new links and references, I've added a new section to my site - troubleshooting.

Many of you know that for the last 2+ years, I was teaching at Richland College. Because business has been so good, I had to resign my position as an adjunct faculty member in their Emeritus Program. Though I thoroughly enjoyed teaching, I believed that I needed that time back in my schedule each week. Anyway, I've taken some of the materials from that class and added it to my site. A few things that I've added to the site for you:

1. How to Change Printer Quality - a brief explanation of why I think you should go with a laser printer to start, and what to do to conserve ink if you've already got an inkjet printer.
2. How to Reset Your Broadband Internet Connection - some basic steps you can take to try to solve problems with your high speed Internet connection.
3. How to install and setup Windows Defender
4. How to Take a Screen Shot

Closing Thoughts

I'm fast approaching the fourth anniversary of helping my clients with their website development and computer coaching needs. I've built this business based upon the referrals of friends. Most of you credit one of your friends with telling you about my services. Feel free to forward this newsletter on to those in your influence so that they can subscribe themselves too. Please continue to tell your friends, "When you want it well done, call wellDON!net." As I continue to grow my business, I am grateful that you continue to entrust your friends and family to me!

If you need assistance with Windows Updates, backing up your computer, or anything else, please don't hesitate to call me to set up an appointment.

Have a great week!

Don

PS - Don't forget that you can support my business by making all of your Amazon.com purchases through me. If you start your Amazon.com shopping trip by clicking here, I'll receive a percentage of any purchase you make after you've clicked on that link. Just remember to click on that link or go to my Links each time you're going to shop at Amazon.com!

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