Printing the Address Book

Q: I am going overseas shortly and would like to take a hard copy of my contacts list from Outlook Express. Try as I may, Microsoft has got me beat!

A: There are couple of ways to do this. One way is to open Outlook Express and from Tools, Address Book select the ones that you wish to print by holding down the Crtl key and clicking on individuals or highlight one and press Ctrl + a to select all. Then click on Print and select your print style from the three choices. If the contacts are not sorted correctly then click on View and Sort by before starting.

If none of three styles suit and you have Excel then you should export the address book by opening Outlook Express and click on File, Export, Address Book and select the CSV option. Then click on the fields that you want and save the file as something.csv. Exit Outlook Express and double-click on this file and Excel should open it and you will have full control on how you want it printed.

Paying for spam

Q: If I delete spam in the Outlook Express Inbox without opening it will not count as a download by my ISP?

A: Unfortunately yes. It will count because your ISP has already delivered the message to your computer. When you open messages in Outlook Express they are opened from messages already on your hard disk.

To prevent spam from adding to your download allowance you must delete the junk on the ISPs server before you transfer it to your hard disk. Most ISPs allow you to check your mail by using a browser to enable you to access your mail when you are travelling overseas so that you do not have to download mail to a strange computer. Ask your ISP as to how to achieve this.

You can also use a program such as Mailwasher where you can review all mail on the server and all delete unwanted mail first without having to download it to your computer. Mailwasher will automatically label possible spam for you. A free version of Mailwasher can be downloaded from: www.mailwasher.net

Wireless is dropping out

Q: We have a new Asus laptop - Windows XP. To have access to Broadband Internet we purchased BigPond ADSL wireless that comes with a small blue modem. It needs to be connected to mains power and USB port of computer. At all times when using the internet we have excellent signal strength with maximum bars showing. Our problem is that when using, the connection drops out - it can be at any time of day or night and in different locations - and any time from 6 mins use and longer. There is no time that is the same. Even when connection is not available the signal strength doesn't alter and stays excellent. The only way to get connected to the Internet again is to shut the laptop down and restart. We have had BigPond look at it. They say it is not a problem with them and the virus programme help team say it not a problem with their product. Would you have a solution or have you heard of this happening? We are reluctant to return the computer to Asus at this stage even though it is under warranty.

A: The problem is most likely due to interference from some other source, possibly a neighbour who is using wireless on the same channel as you, but it could be interference from other radio emitting devices.

My suggestion is that you alter the default channel on the wireless router to some other channel and this can immediately fix this type of problem. My guess is that you are on channel 6 and you should try 10 or 2. If this does not help then try using another channel. Moving the wireless router to another more central location, or even moving it higher may also help. Note that a microwave oven can also interference this as the frequency of the microwave ovens is also in the 2.4 GHz range.

There is nothing that you need to do on the laptop.  Access the router by using Internet Explorer as described in the manual. I cannot give the actual steps as they vary with different equipment manufacturers.