Q: On page 214 of Windows 7 for Dummies, you mention how “to fill in, fit, stretch, tile, or center” the desktop wallpaper, but I cannot find out where you explain the difference. It was so easy to do in Windows XP.

Also, Windows XP’s screensaver could put my photos on rotation, with their file names shown at the top. Is this feature lost in Windows 7?

A: Today’s computer monitors come in many sizes, from the tiny screens of cell phones to wall-hugging wide-screen TVs. To accommodate them all, Windows 7 offers more desktop background options than Windows XP.

To choose the right background, spend some time on the Picture Position drop-down menu, shown in the top, left corner. A click on that menu offers these options: Click to read more »

Q: My 250 GB hard disk has two partitions: one-third of the drive is the C: partition, the other two-thirds is on the D: partition. I’d like to delete my empty D:  partition, and expand the C: partition to fill the entire 250 GB of space.

How do I do this? Do I need a professional?

A: Today’s huge hard disks can be sliced up in a zillion different ways by dividing them into partitions. In plain language, a partition is simply a portion of the drive’s space.

Some people divide their computer’s hard drive into a single huge partition — the C: partition — and work from there. Others like to divide their hard drive into two or more partitions, keeping Windows on the C: partition, and saving the D: partition for bulky files like digital photos, movies or music.

In your case, you want to delete your D partition, and expand the C partition to fit the entire drive. Windows XP can’t handle this task by itself, but Windows Vista and Windows 7 can both handle the job fairly easily when you follow these steps: Click to read more »

Anthrax virus, courtesy of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention

Q: I was scanning my laptop for potential threats, and the scan results stated there was a “threat agent” on my laptop. I know what a threat is, but what’s a threat agent. Is there a difference?

A: The word “threat” usually stands for a category of things that pose a potential danger. Viruses, worms, and other types of malware, for example, are threats. A “threat agent,” by contrast, is a specific threat, or a specific type of virus, worm, or other malware. For example, the Blaster Worm is a threat agent.

So, it sounds like your laptop has picked up something nasty, and should be disinfected. I like Microsoft’s free antivirus program.

Q: Your book, Windows 7 For Dummies, uses the term “Start” button for the button that launches the Start menu. As I understand it, the term “Start button” was changed in Vista (and continues in Windows 7), and the button is now called the “Orb.”  That’s one reason why the word “Start” no longer appears on the icon.  The Orb is a launch icon that provides access to Windows’ programs and features.  The continued reference to the now non-existent “Start” button fails to recognize an important and long overdue change.

A: An “Orb,” eh? Well, the button is spherical. And many folks on the Internet call the button a Start Orb. Even Paul Thurrott began calling it an Orb in his review of Windows Vista from November 16, 2006. (He still refers to the mystery switch as the “Start Button” in both his books, Windows Vista Secrets and Windows 7 Secrets.)

Microsoft, however, still refers to the button at the base of the Start menu as the “Start button” in both its online documentation and within Windows 7 itself.  For example, follow these steps to see Windows 7’s own Help menu mention the “Start button:” Click to read more »

Q: While searching for holiday sales using Internet Explorer, a Web site sent me pop-ups saying my computer needed to be scanned for viruses, then began scanning it. What’s going on? Is my computer safe?

A: You’re seeing the result of a Web site that’s been “hacked” or compromised. Web sites, just like computers, can be broken into by strangers. In your case, you’re seeing a Web site that’s been broken into and filled with pages that try to cause harm to your PC.

That’s one of many reasons I recommend people switch their Internet browser from Internet Explorer to Firefox. Using Internet Explorer, I visited the three sites you sent me; all three performed a bogus “scan” on my computer, then tried to trick me into downloading a “program” that would cure my computer. (If this ever happens to you, readers, keep clicking the X in your brower’s top, right corner until you’ve closed Internet Explorer and any residual pop-ups.)

But when I revisited the sites with Firefox, I was safe: Firefox displayed the “Attack Site” warning, seen below: Click to read more »