Solutions: Easier alternative for blocking e-mail

Q. In your May 6 column, you addressed blocking senders in Outlook Express. I have Outlook Express 6 and can block a sender by clicking on Message and Block Sender. The sender must be highlighted as when deleting, replying, etc. This is easier than cut and paste.

A. Yes, of course! How did I miss that? Very intuitive not. I guess I was used to Microsoft Office Outlook, which only requires you to click on the e-mail in the inbox (you don't have to open it). Of course your way is much easier than the cut-and-paste solution. Thanks.

Regarding the problem of junk e-mailers, I've found that the spammers change their addresses too often to make adding them to your Blocked Senders list very effective. But it's better than nothing.

Alphabetizing Internet favorites

Q. In your April 22 column, you addressed alphabetizing Internet favorites. No matter how I try, I do not get a Sort by Name prompt. What am I doing wrong?

A. All you need to do is right-click anywhere on the Favorites menu when it is expanded, then choose Sort by Name. Just make sure you click on Favorites and right-click on the drop down list. And this is only for Microsoft Internet Explorer 5.01 and above. If you're asking about AOL or other browsers' Favorites, this probably won't apply.

Missing memory

Q. I upgraded my older Pentium computer running Windows 95 from 16 megabytes of random access memory to 48 MB. Plug and play seems to have detected the new memory and everything runs much faster. The BIOS shows 48 MB. However when I right-click on my computer, Windows properties still shows 16 MB. When trying to install some new applications, they fail for lack of memory. Is my computer really using the memory and how do I get the new RAM to register in Windows 95?

A. Check your CMOS BIOS to make sure there is not a configuration setting that limits the amount of memory reported to the operating system. (This was not unusual on some older motherboards.) Most motherboard vendors keep documentation for settings on their Web sites. This could be the case even though the correct amount is counted at system startup. Also check the [386Enh] section of your SYSTEM.INI file for a MaxPhysPage=nnn setting (with nnn being a number limiting the amount of RAM the operating system recognizes). If there is such a setting, delete the line, save the file and reboot.

Missing on-screen controls

Q. The screen on some of my games has slowly moved up until I can no longer select the easy, medium or difficult buttons. I also cannot close the game. I must shut the computer off and power up again to change games. Can you help me to solve this?

A. Try using the monitor adjustment control (either on the front panel or rear of the monitor). Most of these controls are self-explanatory but can be confusing at times. The booklet that came with the monitor might be of use. Most monitors will start to lose their shape after a few years, and a manual adjustment is sometimes needed.

To close any Windows application, type Alt-F4 (hold the ALT key while pressing the F4 function key). As long as the running application has the focus, it will act as if you clicked the X in the top right of the application's window. If no application or window has the focus, the Alt-F4 sequence will start to shut down the PC. If this happens by mistake, click Cancel.

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