To burn a CD or DVD (using your computer to write files to a CD or DVD disk using a ‘laser’), you need:
- electricity or a really big battery
- a computer
- a CD or DVD-burner (don’t waste your money on a CD burner, go for the DVD burner)
- blank CDs or DVDs (CD burners only burn to CDs, DVD burners burn to DVDs and CDs)
- software for burning
- files to burn
Hopefully, you already have #1 and #2, but for the burner, click here. Blank DVD disks can be purchased locally or at K-Mart, Target, etc. or online. Nearly all the DVD burners sold now are multi-format, meaning they burn to all types of disks (+R, -R, +RW, -RW, DL, and CDs).
Installation directions can be found here.
Software should come with your burner, but if not, you can right-click on any file and click send-to, and then click on your CD or DVD drive. Windows will then prompt you to burn those files to disk. For CD and DVD software, go here.
You can surely handle accumulating the files needed to burn to a disk (family pictures, backup copies of your DVDs, TV shows you downloaded, etc.).
Re-installing Windows is not fun. It takes time to backup all your pictures, gather install disks, hit reboot a 79 times, etc. The following may help you, it’s an excerpt from http://diveintomark.org/archives/2003/08/04/xp.
How to install Windows XP in 5 hours or less
My Windows XP installation has reached its half-life. (You do know that Windows has a half-life, don’t you? Every installation of Windows naturally degrades along a logarithmic curve until it becomes annoying, then unbearable, then unusable. Each successive revision of Windows has featured a slightly longer half-life. Back in the day, Windows 95 would last me about 3 months, while my copy of Windows XP has lasted me almost 9. I’m not bitter; when you realize that you’re measuring on a logarithmic scale, a factor of 3 improvement is really quite impressive.)
Still, the fact remains that my Windows XP laptop can no longer (a) print, (b) sleep, or (c) change network settings without crashing. This is not multiple choice; it can’t do any of those things. It’s time for a clean re-install.
- Back up entire d: drive to iMac upstairs. rsync rocks.
- Find Windows XP install disc.
- Reboot with Windows XP install disc.
- Asked for product activation. Curse Microsoft.
- Search my house in vain for my original, 100% legitimate, retail Windows XP box.
- Reboot.
Continue original article here.
Gmail is Google’s internet-based email. In my opinion, Gmail is better than Hotmail, Yahoo! mail, or your internet service provider’s email (Verizon, Comcast, AOL, etc.). Gmail is free, has tons of storage, and Outlook can be setup for Gmail (called POP access). None of the other email services offer these features for free.
Signup for Gmail here.
Settings for Gmail in Outlook or Outlook Express.