A little computer problem
Hi Martha -
Hope you’ve been well.
It’s hard to say exactly what is wrong. MSN’s web-based email is a horrendous mess & one of the worst web-interfaces I have ever seen. That is typically Microsoft.
I presume you’re using Internet Explorer – which you would assume would be most compatible with their own email, but often times that is not the case.
A few options:
1) Switch from Internet Explorer to Mozilla Firefox (mozilla.com). Firefox is an alternative web browser, 100% free, very secure, reliable & fast. It tends to be a very compatible browser & has become very popular these days.
2) Can the MSN email & save yourself $240/year. You could use the Yahoo email exclusively or use another address. I would actually recommend NOT using Time Warner’s email – if you ever switch providers or TW falls off the map, you’ll lose the address. Yahoo or GMail (gmail.com) are more effective alternatives.
3) Update Internet Explorer to the latest version. Often times issues that are browser related can be fixed by updating them to the newest versions. I’m not sure what version you have, but version 8 is now available for Windows XP. Version 6 was fairly buggy. 7 was OK.
4) Attempt to fix the problem as-is. You’re right – it could be a security issue – but it could be a conflicting plugin, a missing or corrupt system file, a Windows glitch. You can rule out the security option very easily: Close Internet Explorer Open Control Panel Open Internet Options On the Security tab, press the button at the bottom that says ‘Reset all zones to default’ Hit OK Try accessing attachment again. The problem may also be the result of a corrupt IE Cache. I would recommend using CCleaner (ccleaner.com), a small, free utility to clean out unnecessary files. You can also delete the cache in the ‘General’ tab of the Internet Options Control Panel.
If you’ like to take a stab at any of these things first, please feel free. If not – or if they don’t work – we’d be happy to take a look at it for you.
Windows 7 is coming out this fall. We’re anticipating that like all of Microsoft’s previous workstation-class operating systems (Windows 95, 98, ME, 2000, XP, Vista), it will be a riddled with security flaws & won’t actually offer half of the features they claimed it would.
Best,
hunter greene Brainspiral Technologies, Inc. hunter@brainspiral.com http://brainspiral.com w: 413-458-5755 c: 413-281-4918
On Aug 11, 2009, at 7:40 AM, martha wrote:
> Hi Hunter, > A business question….. > > My old Dell computer is giving me a problem. I would like to buy a > new one but I heard a new version is coming out in October and so I > should wait. > > Internet e mail….I can access it but I am unable to “open” any > attachments. So, I get the NYT on line and so many other > things…of my choice AND e mails that I can read, but once I click > on the attachment, I get a window up that is blank and says > only MSN. To get out of it, I have to right click on the bar below > and close the window…then, the whole operation reverts to my desk > top and I have to start all over again just to read the opening page > of each e mail. > > OK…I’ve taken it to Staples for a clean out…..and told them > about the problem but they were unable to fix it. > I know it’s only my own Dell computer, because when I open my msn e > mailany other place, (eg, my office computer) I have no problem. I > can also open Yahoo account….no problem. > > I pay msn. only $20. a year or so…..yet use it as my home page. > > My server is Time Warner but I don’t use the roadrunner e mail they > provide. I suppose that would be the easy way out of this > > I’ve gone in to the control panel…since it looks like a security > problem….but I cannot figure out what to do to alleviate the > situation. > > I could drop off the tower to your place if you think you could fix > it. > > Thanks for your time…and, I am asking this as a business problem > and will pay you your fee. > > Martha > > or e mail….I CAN read it…I just can’t open anything much ….
