VirtualBox

Wake up unresponsive DVD drives, restore transparency effects and keep clocks in sync

Guest OS doesn’t respond to new CDs/DVDs

If you’re using VirtualBox to run a guest operating system (OS), such as an older version of Windows, you may find it fails to recognise your optical (CD/DVD) drive. A quick Registry tweak should fix the problem. Back up the Registry first, by creating a system restore point. Then, in your guest OS, type regedit into Start and press Enter to open Registry Editor. Navigate to HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\System\CurrentControlSet\Services\cdrom. Right-click AutoRun in the right-hand pane and choose Modify. Change the ‘Value data’ field to ‘1’ and then restart the guest OS.

Lightroom CC

Have Adobe Lightroom’s advanced RAW editing features made it more than a photo organisation tool? We take a look at the latest release to find out

It used to be the case that Lightroom was considered useful primarily for image organisation and RAW workflow. However, its image-editing capabilities have come such a long way that for many photographers, it now acts as a replacement for Photoshop for an increasing number of imaging tasks.

Download newspapers from the day you were born

What was making front-page news on the day you came into the world? Jonathan Parkyn reveals where to find historical headlines and download newspapers to keep

It’s now easier than ever to browse and obtain copies of historical newspapers and articles, whether that means getting hold of a real, physical copy or a downloadable one. In addition, there are other archive materials – newsreel videos, comics and more – that you can view or download. In this feature we’ll be explaining where to start your research, how much it’s likely to cost you and how to get some of it for free.

Lenovo B50-30

A full-size Windows laptop for well under £200

It’s a long time now since Lenovo took over IBM’s laptop division, but there’s still something of the business computer about this budget system. It’s functional rather than elegant, but it ticks a lot of boxes.

Laptops at low prices are usually very small and/or have limited functionality (such as Chromebooks, which run everything within a web browser). The B50-30 has a large 15.6in screen and a full-size keyboard. And while ‘under £200’ often means £199.99, in this case you’ll have £30 change.

How your tablet can save your life

Your tablet and phone can help you investigate symptoms, monitor your fitness and even train your brain. Jonathan Parkyn reveals the health apps that really work

Health trackers and “fitbands” have become big business over the last couple of years. But you don’t necessarily need an overpriced elastic band round your wrist to keep yourself in good nick. There are dozens of brilliant apps that let you monitor, analyse and improve your health using your tablet or phone – and many of the best are completely free.

Unfortunately, there are plenty of poor-quality, misleading health apps on the market, too. So here we’ll direct you to the best ones, so you can be sure of good health advice and steer clear of the virtual quacks.

Netgear PLP1200

Carry wireless broadband over your mains circuit

Powerline networking adapters (or HomePlugs) send your broadband connection around your home using your electrical wiring. They’re a great solution to those blackspots where your router’s Wi-Fi signal struggles to reach.

Plug one of the two Netgear units into a wall socket near your router and connect it to the router using one of the two Ethernet cables supplied. Plug the other one into a socket near to your PC, games console, or any other device with an Ethernet port and connect it using the second cable. If you need to connect a device wirelessly, such as your tablet or phone, you should consider the Devolo dLAN, which creates its own Wi-Fi network.

Get your PC ready for Windows 10. Part 2

In the second part of our series, Jonathan Parkyn reveals how to check if your installed programs and peripherals will continue to work in Windows 10

What will work?

When a new operating system (OS) is released, there’s no guarantee that programs or device drivers written for earlier versions will still work. Going by our experience with the Windows 10 Technical Preview, most software and peripherals that work in Windows 8/8.1 should work fine in the upcoming OS.

Cakewalk Music Creator 7

Ambitious music production on a budget

Considering the number of people that play a musical instrument, it’s surprising there isn’t more music-production software aimed at home users. Then again, it’s no easy matter creating software that combines recording, editing and mixing of live and MIDI performances, complete with effects and virtual instruments, for just £30.

Delete All Junk Files

Your hard drive is choking on giant junk files. Jane Hoskyn reveals how to find your PC’s space hogs and delete them completely

Hard drives are getting bigger, but digital files are getting bigger faster. Two minutes of video shot on a budget smartphone equals around 200MB. Ten minutes is a gigabyte (GB). Save that 10-minute clip to your PC, create a couple of edited versions and an accidental duplicate or three, and suddenly your humble video has swallowed a tenth of your hard drive – far more space than you can free up every time you run CCleaner.