After I updated my computer to Windows 8.1 (from Windows 8.0), I got a garbled error message on my screen that said something about “Code D100” and PPPoE. I couldn’t read the rest of it because it was in incorrectly encoded Japanese, despite the fact that my computer is Japanese....
Continue reading...Software
How to Get Windows Narrator to Stop Reading Your Screen
I just updated my computer to Windows 8.1 and while I was working on a spreadsheet in Google Drive, I suddenly pressed a combination of keys that made my computer start reading out stuff on the screen. Here is how I got it to stop. Press [Windows] and [Enter]. This...
Continue reading...How to Fix the Windows Taskbar Problem in Google Chrome
Sorry to report that this was only a temporary solution. It worked until I turned my computer off, and then it stopped working. If I repeat the procedure, the taskbar comes back again until I turn the computer off. Back to the drawing board… I like to have the maximum...
Continue reading...How to Fix: iTunes Audio Sync Problem
Whenever I try to watch videos through iTunes, the audio goes out of sync. If I open up the file in QuickTime, the problem disappears, but it is annoying to have to open everything one-by-one in QuickTime. I *think* I have found a solution. 1. Close iTunes, Quicktime, and any...
Continue reading...How to Use Canned Responses in Gmail
In order to make and save canned responses, you have to first enable them in your Gmail settings. Enable Canned Responses Click on the “gear” icon at the top right of your Gmail screen. Select “Settings”. Click on “Labs”. In the “Search for a lab” box, enter “canned”. When “Canned...
Continue reading...How to Fix: Google Search Engine Not Working in Chrome
This is an easy one. Click on the tab in the upper right hand corner that lets you go to your Chrome settings. Click on “Settings”. Scroll down to the bottom and click on “Show advanced settings…”. Under “Privacy”, click on “Clear browsing data…”. The following four items should have...
Continue reading...How to Get a Jawbone Jambox to Connect to a Windows 8 Computer
When I tried to connect my Jambox to my Windows 8 machine, at first it didn’t recognize it at all. Then it recognized it as a phone device and asked for a passcode (but wouldn’t let me enter the passcode that Jambox suggests, which is “0000”). I tried connecting the...
Continue reading...How To Get YouTube Videos to Play Smoothly in Google Chrome
For some reason, Google Chrome doesn’t seem to like YouTube videos, regardless of whether you play them on the YouTube site or embedded in another site like Facebook. I first noticed this on a low-spec netbook, so I thought maybe it was a problem with the graphics card. Then, I...
Continue reading...Japanese Keyboard Doesn’t Work on English Windows 7 Laptop
I bought a new laptop that was custom made. It had Windows 7 in English, but the keyboard was Japanese (i.e. quotation marks [“], rather than the at sign [@], above the 2). However, the keyboard mapping wasn’t correct. When I pressed shift+2, I got an at sign instead of...
Continue reading...How to Fix iTunes Home Sharing
I had trouble sharing my iTunes libraries across two Windows 7 machines. I tried reinstalling iTunes, restarting both computers, and using the Apple Application Support (Control Panel –> Add or Remove Programs –> right click on Apple Application Support) to repair my Apple programs, but nothing worked. I wondered if...
Continue reading...