Cloudeight Information Avenue

Dear Friends,

Welcome to Issue #407 of InfoAve Free Edition! Thanks for subscribing! .

Wow! Another BIG Thank You!

The response to and comments about our newest InfoAve Premium Volume 6 e-book have been nothing short of amazing! We don't know what to tell you except "THANK YOU SO VERY MUCH!" We worked hard to make this our very best e-book ever. It's easier to find things in this e-book than any previous e-book and this e-book has more information packed into than any other e-book we've ever issued. But, we wrote the e-book for you - to help you - and to help you solve computer problems and learn new things about your computer. What means the most to us is how you like it - and from the dozens and dozens of emails you've sent to us, it appears you love it. We're glad! Thank you so very much for your great response!

InfoAve Premium E-Book Volume 6 is Available Now!
Our new Cloudeight InfoAve Premium Volume 6 E-Book contains all the content of all 52 issues of InfoAve Premium from our sixth year of publication - from October 2008 to October 2009! InfoAve Premium Volume 6 E-Book is available as a download, on CD-ROM, or on USB Flash Drive! Have it your way...get more information here - or get your copy of our biggest and best E-book ever -- here!

We're pleased to introduce our brand new InfoAve Premium E-Book Volume 6. This e-book contains all the questions and answers, tips, trick, freeware picks, reader's tips, sites of the week, and more from all 52 issues of InfoAve Premium from October 2008 to October 2009. Our biggest e-book ever (over 12 MB) is our best ever! With its built-in search you can find information in the blink of an eye. The e-book is divided into sections so you can browse though hundreds of tips and tricks, questions and answers, freeware picks, quickly and easily. More info, more features, bigger and better than any E-book before. Get more information here.

Get it on USB too! For the first time ever, we're offering our InfoAve Premium E-book on a 2.0GB USB Flash Drive. You'll get our new E-book and have almost 2GB of free space to store files or to add more memory to your Vista or Windows 7 computer. The E-Books take up less than 2 % of the available space. The USB Flash Drive is Ready Boost capable and comes with a vinyl carrying pouch with snap - to keep it safe!

Get the downloadable InfoAve Premium Volume 6 E-Book here!

Get our InfoAve Premium Volume 6 E-book on a 2.0 GB USB Flash Drive
Includes our new Volume 6 E-book, E-books from previous years, downloadable Volume 6 e-book and more! Also available with a InfoAve Premium lifetime subscription upgrade. Get more information here.

Get the InfoAve E-Books Bonus CD-ROM
Includes InfoAve Premium Volume 6 E-book ,all previous year's e-books, and the downloadable E-book too! Also available with a InfoAve Premium lifetime subscription upgrade. Get more information here.

Get your Infoave Premium E-Book Volume 6 E-Book right now - downloadable or on USB Flash Drive or CD-ROM!

Get more information about our brand new InfoAve Premium E-Book Volume 6 here!

David wants to know if he can upgrade from Windows XP to Windows 7
I have two questions. Can I use the upgrade disk to clean install Windows 7. And, does Windows XP qualify me for the upgrade? Thanks. I love your newsletters. Premium is my Saturday morning read. John P.

Our Answer
Thank you, David. You can do a clean install from the Windows 7 upgrade DVD. It contains the same files as the "full" version. The qualifying Microsoft products for using the upgrade version of Windows 7 are: Windows 2000, Windows XP, and Windows Vista.

The only version of Windows that you can upgrade directly from (i.e. keep all your programs, settings, etc.) is Windows Vista. If you clean install Windows 7 - no matter what version you had previously, you won't keep anything - as its name implies - clean install means "clean" install. Everything else is wiped "clean".

So, yes, you can use the upgrade version of Windows 7 to "upgrade" a Windows XP computer, but the term "upgrade" is misleading. You'll be starting all over. You'll have to reinstall all your programs in order to get them to work. Simply saving copies of them and then putting them on Windows 7 will most likely leave you with a bunch of programs that won't work. You can, however, save documents. pictures, audio, video, and other files and load them onto your upgraded computer.

Since most Windows XP computers are aging now, you should run the Windows 7 upgrade advisor before you run out and plunk down $119 for Windows Home Premium. We would not advise you to go with any lesser versions of Windows 7 - they are stripped down versions of the operating system.

Don't forget, run the Windows 7 upgrade advisor before you purchase the Windows 7 upgrade DVD. It will scan your hardware, devices, and installed programs for known compatibility issues, and will give you advice on how to resolve any issues it finds. It will give you other tips and recommendations on what to do before you upgrade.

We just got more!

A new shipment of 4GB ReadyBoost USB flash drives just arrived this week. We now have a good supply on hand and we're once again offering them to anyone who makes a donation of $30.00 or more. If you haven't yet gotten one or you'd like a second one (did you know that you can use up to 8 of them to "Boost" Windows 7?) we have them in stock right now.

These flash drives work on Windows XP, Windows Vista and Windows 7. If you have a Mac they'll work on Mac too! The ReadyBoost feature works only on Windows Vista and Windows 7 but you can use these 4.0 GB flash drives on to store thousands of files or back up your important images, documents, family photographs, MP3s, emails and more. For more information on our 4GB ReadyBoost USB flash drives please visit this page. Your support is very much appreciated!

A Comment From InfoAve Premium Reader, Ted
Until I read about ReadyBoost in your newsletter, I had no idea that feature was available. I was using Vista and just bought a new computer with Windows 7. The ReadyBoost flash drives I got from you make a big difference in both of my computers' performance - especially when working with folders full of pictures. With the ReadyBoost flash drive in, those pictures load instantly - it really does give your computer an extra boost. Thanks to both of you for all the information you share with us, all the research you do and for keeping us all up to speed re: computers and the Internet. Kudos to you EB and TC!

Thanks Ted. We appreciate your nice comments and your support. We have been using flash drives for years and ReadyBoost on our Vista computers for over a year. Now we're using them on Windows 7. We have been using flash drives so long it was one of those things we always forgot to mention in our newsletters. We were surprised that so many of our readers hadn't discovered the convenience and portability of flash drives. Sometimes, we forget to mention things what we use every day, we get so caught up in new things. Thanks again for your kind words and your support. TC and EB

Marge has a bevy of problems
I am having a slow startup and shutdown along with everything else being "slow". When shutting down I get this message "CiceroUIWindFrame". I have searched and cannot find what this is related to at all. Nothing is showing up anywhere. I only have 3 programs running at startup. They are:

ashDisp.exe   C:\Program\Awil       (which I know is Avast)
dlccmon   C:\Program Files\Dell
CTFMON     C:\Windows\System

I have a Dell computer. Windows XP Professional Version 2002 SP3, Intel®, Pentium® 4CPU 1.60GHz,1.59GHz, 256MB of Ram. Also downloaded IE8.
I have Avast, SUPERAntiSpyware (free edition), SpywareBlaster installed. I do updates at least every other day, but mostly daily to be safe.
I have done disk cleanup and defrag and still nothing goes any faster.

I do not have a lot of programs running or a lot of pictures, documents, etc. I understand this is not a new computer, but I had a 98SE that ran faster than this one. This is a used computer, but I did expect it to be somewhat faster than the 98SE I had before, but it is slower. I did call my server (I had Embarq (which is now CenturyLink, which was once Sprint) DSL High Speed ..and they said it's running the way it should be...I find that hard to believe when my 98SE was a 128MB. It's as slow as having Dial Up at times having to sit and wait for anything to download.

If you have an answer to my problem, I sure would appreciate it.

We answer Marge here.

InfoAve Premium E-Book Volume 6 is Available Now! Over 200 questions and answers!
Our brand new Cloudeight InfoAve Premium Volume 6 E-Book contains all the content of all 52 issues of InfoAve Premium from our sixth year of publication - from October 2008 to October 2009! InfoAve Premium Volume 6 E-Book is available as a download, on CD-ROM, or on USB Flash Drive! Have it your way...get more information here - or get your copy of our biggest and best E-book ever -- here!.

Making screenshots just got cooler than ever
Windows XP, Windows Vista and Windows 7

Judging by the email we get, some of your favorite freeware programs we feature, are screenshot tools. There are a lot of them out there. Some are fairly basic and some of them loaded with features. The best free screenshot tool is FastStone Capture - but the newer versions are no longer free. The older version is no longer supposed to be free, but we know where you can get it.

Today, we found, if not the most feature-full screenshot tool, certainly the coolest. It's just fun to use. All you have to do to use it, is press the PrintScreen key. You can't get much simpler than that - unless someone invents a program where all you have to do is think about taking a screenshot and it does what your mind commands. So far, no such thing. Probably in a few years though.

Read the rest of this tip here

Registry Mechanic 9 now available!
Save 20% Instantly on Registry Mechanic
Registry Mechanic is Cloudeight approved and endorsed - we use it on our personal and business computers. When you buy Registry Mechanic you'll be helping Cloudeight and yourself too!

Read our review of one of the best programs you can install on your computer - Registry Mechanic. You'll learn why your Windows registry is like the engine of your car and why you need to take care of it. Registry Mechanic automates the task of optimizing, cleaning, and removing errors from your Windows registry. This makes your computer run faster, last longer, and gets rid of a lot of the aggravations you experience - program crashes, error messages and slow startups and shutdowns. If you're tired of your computer running like a tortoise through quicksand - take a moment to learn why - and how Registry Mechanic can make your computer run better, run faster, and last longer - all automatically. All you have to do is click a button - really. Save 20% on Registry Mechanic, help yourself, and help us too! Get your 20%-off coupon code and order or try Registry Mechanic right now!

If you're using Registry Mechanic 8 - Here's how to get a Registry Mechanic 9 upgrade free!

If you don't already own Registry Mechanic, download version 8 from our site. Use the 20% off coupon code to save 20% on Registry Mechanic. After you've registered the program, get the latest version from PC Tools - free! So you'll save 20% and get upgraded to the brand new Registry Mechanic - it's better than ever. Note: You must download Registry Mechanic from our site and use the coupon code to save 20% off - then register the program with the key PC Tools sends you - then you can upgrade free to version 9. You can't save 20% by going directly to PC Tools site.

If you have already purchased Registry Mechanic 8 from us, you may be eligible for a free upgrade. Check the PC Tools Web site for details.

Save 20% right now on Spyware Doctor!
Spyware Doctor is one of the most popular Spyware removal and real-time protection tools on the market It's our #1 rated anti-spyware program and we use it on all of our computers. We trust all our computers to Spyware Doctor for one good reason: It's the best commercial anti-spyware you can install on your computer. Get the latest, greatest Spyware Doctor and save 20%. You'll be helping us and you'll be helping yourself by ridding your computer of spyware, adware, malware, and other nasties. Get more information and your 20% off coupon code here.

Problems with the latest Vista updates:
Some programs don't run or start correctly
Windows Vista - all versions

A number of people are reporting big problems with the latest Windows Vista updates and patches. We've experienced some of these problems too. One of the biggest problems are programs that won't run after you've installed the latest updates. The symptoms of this problem are:

1. You click the program shortcut and nothing happens

2. You click the program shortcut and get an error message that the program has encountered a problem and needs to close.

Read the rest of this tip here.

InfoAve Premium E-Book Volume 6 is Available Now! Get hundreds of tips and tricks!
Our brand new Cloudeight InfoAve Premium Volume 6 E-Book contains all the content of all 52 issues of InfoAve Premium from our sixth year of publication - from October 2008 to October 2009! InfoAve Premium Volume 6 E-Book is available as a download, on CD-ROM, or on USB Flash Drive! Have it your way...get more information here - or get your copy of our biggest and best E-book ever -- here!.

This week's Rant

The Increasingly Fat Frank

I don't think Frank ever thought about much except burgers, fries and football. He was a typical American man. Oh yes, he mowed the lawn, took out the trashed, and cleaned the gutters in the fall, but only when his nagging wife, Maggie, compelled him with her shrieking voice and cross demeanor. Frankly, Frank was a henpecked man. He found solace in cheeseburgers, fries and football. Sometimes, he liked baking soda too, but only when taken as directed - and then only sparingly.

Frank considered himself a lucky man though. He had managed to capture the attention of Maggie Fruneplot in high school. What a wild and wacky courtship they had. From furtive meetings at dusk behind the dumpster at Guffies' to the underwater picnics - they shared magical moments, stolen meaningful moments that would soon disappear in the swill of reality.

When they married, reality set in, as it so often does when perfectly happy couples tie the knot.

Read the rest of the story here

InfoAve Premium E-Book Volume 6 is Available Now! All our essays and rants included!
Our brand new Cloudeight InfoAve Premium Volume 6 E-Book contains all the content of all 52 issues of InfoAve Premium from our sixth year of publication - from October 2008 to October 2009! InfoAve Premium Volume 6 E-Book is available as a download, on CD-ROM, or on USB Flash Drive! Have it your way...get more information here - or get your copy of our biggest and best E-book ever -- here!.

Recover data from damaged or scratched DVDs, CDs, and hard drives with this nifty freeware program.

See what our freeware pick of the week is this week!

InfoAve Premium E-Book Volume 6 is Available Now!
All of freeware picks and sites of the week included!
Our brand new Cloudeight InfoAve Premium Volume 6 E-Book contains all the content of all 52 issues of InfoAve Premium from our sixth year of publication - from October 2008 to October 2009! InfoAve Premium Volume 6 E-Book is available as a download, on CD-ROM, or on USB Flash Drive! Have it your way...get more information here - or get your copy of our biggest and best E-book ever -- here!.

You can send us your comments or submit questions for possible inclusion in future issues of Information Avenue by clicking here. Keep in mind we can't answer each of you personally, but all questions submitted are read and considered for inclusion in this newsletter.

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Thanks again for subscribing to Information Avenue Free Edition. Have a great weekend!

Best wishes,

Eightball & Thundercloud
Cloudeight Information Avenue Free Edition - Issue #407
November 14, 2009

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