March 23, 2010

Microsoft has started this campaign to verify that people's software is genuine. Now my Microsoft Office programs say that my software is not genuine.

I legitimately bought my software years ago, but since then have had two computer crashes that required the Office software to be reinstalled. Perhaps that's where the problem arose. What should I do?

Carol Hoffman-Guzman,
Miami

Other people have complained about being wrongly singled out as software pirates by Microsoft's Office Genuine Advantage software. The software automatically downloads to your PC, decides if your Office programs are legitimate and sends warnings if the answer is no.

When I'm reading The Star Tribune online, my Internet Explorer browser makes a clicking noise when I go to a different page. I can't find any place where I can turn this off. Any suggestions?

Tom Skluzacek, Mendota Heights, Minn.
The annoying click is a feature of Internet Explorer, not StarTribune.com . To get rid of it, change the settings in Windows Explorer, the PC file menu program that shares sound files with Internet Explorer.

If you're using Windows XP, go to Start, then Control Panel, and click on the icon ``Sounds and Audio Devices.'' Click the ``Sounds'' tab, and under ``Program Events'' scroll down to Windows Explorer. Beneath that you'll find a list of Windows Explorer functions. Scroll down to ``Start Navigation'' and highlight it. In a box below program events you'll see the default sound ``Windows XP Start.wav.'' A dropdown menu shows alternate sound settings. Choose ``None.''

If you're using Windows 7 or Windows Vista, go to Start, Control Panel, choose the ``Sound'' icon, select the ``Sounds'' tab and follow the directions above. When you next start Internet Explorer, the click will be gone.

Source:-http://www.miamiherald.com