66 13 - 26 November 2019
GENERAL PC
Set up Explorer associationsQ
When I try to access my Windows 7
Downloads file, I receive the
following message: “Explorer.EXE. This
file does not have a program associated
with it for performing this action. Please
install a program or, if one is already
installed, create an association in the
Default Programs control panel”. How
do I perform these actions?
Derek Wellings, via emailA
We’re not sure what’s going on
here. Do you mean you can’t access
the Downloads folder, or a particular
file in the folder? It sounds as if you’ve
downloaded a file that has an extension
Windows doesn’t recognise.
For example, if you downloaded a ‘.7z’
file and double-clicked it in Explorer, an
error message would appear saying thatnoprogramis associatedwithit.Thefix
is to install a program that can open .7z
files, such as 7-Zip (www.7-zip.org). The
program will tell Windows to associate
that type of file with it when it installs.Q
EaseUS Todo
Backup tells me that
my system backup will
be 304GB. How can this
be true when my C: drive
is 304GB in total and
has 190GB free? The
Windows folder takes up
just 22GB. Surely a
system backup shouldn’t
copy the entire C: drive
including empty space.
What’s going on here?
John Perkins, via emailA
There are different types of
backup. File backups copy only
your files, while clone-type backups
make an exact copy of the hard drive
and intelligent backups copy only the
parts of the hard drive that are in use.
Todo Backup is telling you that the
backup will be the same size as the
disk, which implies that it’s configured
to clone the drive, creating an exact
copy. This is useful if you need toReduce the size of your backups
SOFTWARE
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replace a hard drive, but a waste of
space if all you need is a data backup.
To check which type of backup
you’re running, choose System
Backup, then click Backup Options,
Advanced and make sure ‘Sector by
sector backup’ isn’t ticked. In the
Space section of the backup options,
make sure normal or medium
compression is selected.If a backup seems too large, check
Options to see which type your usingNETWORKING
Get your network backQ
My household has a desktop PC,
two iPads, two iPhones and, until
recently, an HP laptop. However, a
message now appears on the laptop
telling me that the Ethernet connection
doesn’t have a valid IP configuration.
Everything has been working perfectly
well for years, and both PCs are running
genuine Windows 10 software. They have
both succumbed to numerous updates
since Windows 10 first appeared. Now,
despite every effort, I can’t connect the
laptop to the internet.
I’m reluctant to reinstall Windows on
the laptop because I’m not sure how up
to date the backup is.
Sandy Cameron, via emailA
A couple of things spring to mind,
the first of which is to ask why you
are using Ethernet instead of Wi-Fi.
Although routers tend to come with one
or more Ethernet ports, which means
it’s possible to connect a laptop using
an Ethernet cable, most home networks
use Wi-Fi. Perhaps Wi-Fi is disabled and
Windows is trying to use Ethernet as an
alternative, which is not set up.
Some laptops have a Wi-Fi on/off key,
such as F12. If yours has
one, turn it on, then open
Windows 10 Settings,
click Network & Internet
and select Wi-Fi on the
left. It should be turned
on and you should see a
link to show available
networks. Click it to
make sure the computer
is connected to your
home Wi-Fi network.
The other possibility is
that it’s an IP address
problem. Every PC,
phone and tablet on
your network must have
a unique IP address, such
as192.168.2.10.If a device doesn’t have
one, or two devices try to use the same
address, problems can occur. This can
happen if you set IP addresses manually,
so it’s better to use automatic settings.Windows won’t recognise certain types of file unless it has
a compatible program installed – such as 7-Zip for ‘.7z’ files