One Windows 8 Hassle Solved: Media Center Will be Free (if You Upgrade)

Two months ago I advised all fans of Windows Media Center to avoid upgrading to Windows 8, for the simple reason that Microsoft would not be bundling the beloved software with the new OS -- and instead charging extra for it after the fact.

Judging by the number of comments and recommendations that post received, readers shared my outrage.

I'm happy to report that Microsoft has apparently shifted gears, giving the people what they want (kind of) and dialing back the greed.

Should I Update My BIOS?

Rohkai asked the Answer Line forum if a PC's BIOS, like an operating system or an antivirus, should be kept up to date.

You should update several programs on your hard drive regularly, usually for security reasons. Many of them, including your antivirus and Windows itself, probably update automatically. (For questions about automatically updating Windows, see Should I Turn Off Automatic Updates?)

But the BIOS is different. It's not even on the hard drive. And you should only update it with good reason.
Unlike other programs, the Basic Input/Output System (BIOS) sits on a chip on the motherboard, and is the first code to run when you boot your PC. It tells the processor where to look for the operating system. It continues working after the bootup, facilitating communication between the OS and the hardware.

Windows Icons Suddenly Looking Generic? Here's the Fix

Reader Barry is running Windows 7 Professional. Out of the blue, his system started displaying generic icons for various files and folders.

Thankfully, he was kind enough to include a screenshot, which is invaluable in troubleshooting problems like this:

Although some icons are still rendering correctly, like those representing Windows' Libraries, others -- for things like drives and documents -- obviously aren't right.

What's the problem? Most likely, Windows' icon cache has somehow gotten corrupted.

What's the solution? You can fix this with a series of command-line instructions, but over at The Windows Club, there's a simple batch file that automatically rebuilds the Windows icon cache.

Word of warning: that page is rife with ads, making it darn near impossible to know where to click to actually download the utility. In fact, be sure not to click the big blue Download button. The one you do want to click looks like this:

Once you've unzipped and run the file, it couldn't be easier to use:

Just click Rebuild, wait for the tool to finish, then reboot. All your icons should be back to normal.
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