AFTER disabling some start-up programs and using a registry cleaner on my Gateway, the screen saver stops working, and the machine redetects the graphics card after a restart. Gateway said only a system restore would work, but I find that hard to believe.

Surprise!—sometimes tech support actually has the answer. Windows’ System Restore, which will take a glitchy system back to an earlier and less-troubled state, was made for this kind of scenario.

To run it in Windows XP, go to the Start menu, select All Programs, then Accessories, System Tools and System Restore. In Vista, type “System Restore” in the Start menu’s search bar. Pick a “restore point” prior to that cleanup.

You’ll lose any programs you’ve installed since then, but your own files should be safe. You can redo the system tuneup without the registry cleaning, which can cause weird problems if done incorrectly.

You should also duck into the Control Panel to change your power options (in XP, look under the “Performance and Maintenance” category). There’s no reason to keep a screen saver running for hours unless you want to pad your electric bill. Instead, set the computer to shut off the monitor after 15 minutes of inactivity.

I’m looking at getting a MacBook Pro, but I’m not sure if I should spend the extra cash on the 17-inch model.

Unless you need a bigger screen everywhere (unlikely, unless you do professional graphics or video work) there’s no reason to spring for the 17-inch MacBook Pro. The money saved—even if you get the priciest 15-inch model—would easily buy a huge external monitor or backup hard drive.

Remember this anytime somebody’s selling you some system upgrade: you could put that money toward other gadgets that will make a much bigger difference in your quality of digital life.

Make your own kind of music

AFTER my unfortunate experiences with the iPod—a shuffle that at best acted funky whenever I tried to manage the music on it via iTunes on my Microsoft Windows XP-based PC, the Windows-compatible claim of Apple Inc. notwithstanding; and a nano that,

Help File: Go 17 inches or not?

AFTER disabling some start-up programs and using a registry cleaner on my Gateway, the screen saver stops working, and the machine redetects the graphics card after a restart. Gateway said only a system restore would work, but I find that hard to believe.

Feeling the fear

NAOMI WATTS feels guilty. That, at least, is the reaction the actress says she had when she first watched Funny Games, the 1997 film she has just remade shot-for-shot with its original director, Michael Haneke.

When she plays, we smell ‘sinigang’ and ‘adobo’

SHE can play in the dark. While reading musical notes, she can already hear the music inside her head. Heaven forbid, but she can go deaf and blind and still give justice to the works of Beethoven, Bach, Mozart, Chopin, Rachmaninoff and other gods among composers.

A critic’s criticism of actor’s actors

LET’S retire the phrase “actor’s actor” before it does any more damage. Maybe it was a useful label when serious actors worked nonstop on-stage and didn’t have time to feed off tons of high-toned adulation.

The Alchemy of Ann Tiukinhoy Pamintuan

IT was a rare date, February 29, 2008, one that comes only once every four years. My friend Ross Camara prodded me to join her for dinner at Ann Tiukinhoy Pamintuan’s place after we finished watching portions of American Idol and the Makati rally on television.