Opening JPEG Attachments From Outlook

Question: When I receive e-mail attachments through Outlook Express, I find that I cannot open those that come as “online.jpg.” The following message appears: “This file does not have a program associated with it for performing this action. Create an association in My Computer by clicking View, and then clicking Folder Options.” I can get to Folder Options, but there is no direction beyond this. What are the remaining steps?

Answer: You didn’t mention what operating system you’re using, but this will work with many Windows versions. Put your cursor over the file you want to open. Hold down the Shift key. Assuming your mouse is configured the usual way, hold down the right mouse button. You should see a menu that has a line that begins something like “Open with.... “

Select “Choose program” and then select whatever program you’d like to open the file with.

Q: I own a Dell desktop that has 96 megabytes of RAM and a 6-gigabyte hard drive running Windows 98 SE. I switched to DSL, and I wasn’t very impressed by the speed. I thought about upgrading the memory, but a friend told me the life of my computer would decrease because my system’s fan would work harder and eventually burn out. Is that true?

A: Nope, that won’t be an issue, but it’s not entirely clear that boosting your RAM will solve your problem. More RAM can help display data faster, but if the data isn’t moving very fast through your DSL pipe, that won’t help. You might need to beat on your DSL provider to see why you’re not getting the speed you were promised.

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Dave Wilson is The Times’ personal technology columnist. Submit questions to Tech Q&A; at techtimes@latimes.com. Please be specific about your computer and operating system and include a daytime phone number.