Time to answers some mail.  Keep those questions and suggestions coming.

I have Windows XP why can’t I find Word?
Another confusing term for people is the difference between their operating system (O/S) and Microsoft Office. The O/S is what runs your computer and allows you to load programs and run those programs. There are various O/S, not all are related to Microsoft, but Microsoft is the company most people recognize. Windows ‘95 and Windows ‘98 are no longer supported and shouldn’t be used on a computer connected to the internet. Windows 2000 was meant for commercial interests, Windows ME, CE and NT were short-lived but are still in use by people who swear by them. (Rearrange ME, CE, and NT and what do you get?*)

The most popular O/S today is Windows XP Home & Windows XP Pro. Most people are using Home. Pro was designed for advanced users or commercial use where networking is required.

Windows VISTA is finally here and boy does it have problems.  This O/S was supposed to change the face of computers – or so Microsoft claimed.  Maybe they meant to change the face of computers by driving everyone to Mac?  VISTA is more power hungry than XP and a good many systems in use today will not support VISTA.  If you installed VISTA and your printer just isn’t working the same or your scanner only has some of its functions the problem is VISTA and no, drivers will not be created to solve the problems.  You can either revert back to XP or buy all new equipment.

Vista does have some fun features (the gadjet), tighter security and works amazingly well on newer systems.

Once you have a computer running an O/S you still need programs to do anything with it. So, just because you have Windows X (the X refers to any operating system version) you don’t necessarily have Word, Excel, etc. The O/S generally comes with WordPad, Notepad, and Outlook Express. Those are free versions of the real thing and don’t do nearly 1/4 of the things the full-blown programs can do.

Real or Recovery?
So you’ve decided you have no choice but to format your computer.  Only, when you go looking for the O/S disc you discover it’s a recovery disc.  That’s one of the ways computer resalers are saving money and driving the price of the computer down, they do not include discs for your O/S or for the Microsoft Office Suite programs.  A system restore disc is supposed to put your computer back to factory specs but they don’t always work.  Then you find yourself spending the money you "saved" buying the O/S.  This can become an even bigger problem when you discover that the O/S you have is no longer available to purchase ie Windows XP Home.

When buying a computer that comes with an O/S make sure you are getting the O/S disk and not a recovery disk. If your system crashes and you need to repair or reload the operating system, you can’t do that if you have a recovery disk. All you can do is recover your system back to what it looked like the day you booted it for the first time. A lot of people aren’t aware that those fantastic computers complete with Windows XP Home for $500 don’t actually come with the disk. They come with a special license that gives them a copy of XP, but not the actual disk.

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