Q: Back in the Pleistocene Era, I used to write and save my documents in Microsoft Works; mainly to squeeze as many files as possible on each floppy disc — they were expensive, after all! Today, I can’t open the files, either in text or (preferably) Word. There used to be a pretty good aftermarket file conversion program, but I lost my disc and the company seems to be out of the file conversion business. Microsoft, whom I’d expect to stand by their outmoded technology, at least to a point, doesn’t seem to be of much help. I even bought the most recent release of Works, and it can’t deal with the older files. Do you have any suggestions? — Todd Everett
A: Not surprisingly, all the advice that I find on this is fairly old itself. But in poking around it looks to me as if it would still work. Start by reading this website: www.groovypost.com/howto/howto/convert-microsoft-works-wps-files-to-word-docx/
It looks as if the converter that page mentions still exists here: www.microsoft.com/en-us/download/details.aspx?id=12
Like I said, all these websites go back a long way, several years. And I can’t test any of this since I don’t have any old Works files. But it sounds like this would be worth a try. Let me know if this fails and we’ll try something else.
I get nervous when readers email me asking how to perform some computer repair or software fix. I want to help but also am afraid of sending them down a path that will turn their computer into a high-priced paperweight.
That’s because I have no way of knowing how adept any given reader is when it comes to messing with computers. After all, I have friends — smarter than me and capable of writing a fine email — who are dangerous idiots when it comes to computers. Simply opening the case of one seems to drop their IQ by 20 points.
On the other hand, I get emails from readers who have both the skill and the patience to perform computer tasks that would be beyond my own skills. It’s just that I can’t — based on an email — tell which group you belong in.
So today I’ll list some relatively simple computer fixes and tasks that I believe are within the range of most of my readers. But keep this in mind — just because you are capable of performing a task doesn’t mean that you must do it yourself. It’s still fine to take the machine to a shop to get it fixed rather than ending up in a fix.
Dusting off your skills
Several times a year, I’ll write a column mentioning the need to clean the dust from the innards of your desktop computer. It’s a pretty easy task. You simply open up the case and use a can of compressed air — available at big-box retailers as well as computer and camera stores — to blow the dust out of the PC. The only major gotcha here is avoiding frying a component inside the machine with static electricity from your body. That can be avoided in two ways — you can buy and wear what techies call a static discharge band, or do without and just frequently touch the metal of the chassis while you work. These bands are cheap and are the best choice of the two. Staples offers one for $7.99 (Belkin F8E093 Anti-Static Wristband) online or at stores. That’s just an example; you can find others by using a Google search.
My rating for this task is: Easy enough for most home users.
The hard drive home
Replacing a hard disk or adding a second one is a lot easier these days. Most times the drive will come with excellent instructions and have a built-in program to automate the set-up part of the installation. And as far as the hardware itself, the task is simple. There are just a couple of snap-on connections to make inside your computer. This same advice also applies to replacing a DVD drive. Both jobs are within the range of those who are adept at following directions precisely.
However, I do rate this job as being more complicated than cleaning the inside of a desktop computer. I suggest that you do this before deciding whether to perform the job yourself. Identify the specific hard disk you will use and then go to the manufacturer’s website. You’ll almost always find a digital version of the installation instructions. Read over the instructions a few times and gauge whether you feel easy about performing the task. If in doubt, any doubt at all, feel no shame and take the machine into a shop and have a pro do it for you. Also keep in mind that you have the option of buying an external hard disk that simply connects to your computer with a USB cable.
In both cases — cleaning out the inside of a computer or adding a disk — I’m talking about desktop computers. Doing these jobs on a laptop is much more challenging.
Backup for a moment
Truth is that every reader of this column should already be creating backups of the data on their hard disks. Doing that is easy either using an external hard disk (many come with backup software already installed, or you can use the free software that comes with Windows) or, even easier, with an online backup service from a company such as Carbonite (www.carbonite.com) or Mozy (mozy.com).
You not only can do this task, you must do it or face the permanent loss of all the data on your computer — every photo, document, recipe, tax record … the whole kit and kaboodle.
What not to do
It’s really important to be able to identify tasks that are above your skill level. And that can be difficult to know. After all some of us — I’m no exception — have more confidence than skill. And there are enormous pitfalls to trying and failing. I swear to you that at least half the anguished emails I get involve fixes that went wrong.
So before starting any computer job, even one of those that I labeled as easy, take a hard look at yourself and your own skills. Read what you can from many of the excellent how-to guides on the Web, check out YouTube for videos that show others performing the same task.
If you end up with even the tiniest of doubts then just don’t do it. I’ve said it before and it is true. Sometimes the best tool for fixing a computer is made of plastic — a credit card.
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