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MacFixIt Answers is a feature in which we answer questions e-mailed in by our readers. This week we had questions on Spotlight having problems indexing an external drive, the memory slot utility continually showing messages at bootup, keyboard brightness controls not working on external monitors, and DVD drives not playing audio CDs. We continually answer e-mail questions, and though we present a few answers here, we welcome alternative approaches and views from readers and encourage you to post your suggestions in the comments.

Question: Spotlight indexing hanging on new external drive MacFixIt reader Kyle asks:

Windows 8 will let you open and view ISO and VHD files all on its own, according to the latest "Building Windows 8" blog from Microsoft.

Posted yesterday by Microsoft engineer Rajeev Nagar, the new blog post, titled "Accessing data in ISO and VHD files," revealed that native support for ISO and VHD files was one feature often requested by users, prompting the company to add it to its upcoming OS.

ISO (International Organization for Standardization) files are image files that hold the contents of a CD or DVD. Large programs available for download through the … Read more

CDs and DVDs can store a lot of data, but over time they have a tendency to get lost or damaged. When either of these tragic events happens the data on the disc becomes unusable or impossible to recover. Follow these steps to create a digital archive of all of your software discs and never have to worry about these issues again.

First you'll need to download and install Daemon Tools. For general use the Lite version will provide all the options you'll need--and it's free! However, there is also a Pro version&… Read more

Netflix's share price closed trading Friday at $205 per share, down 32 percent from the company's 52-week high of $304.79 per share, which it hit last month shortly after announcing it would raise prices.

Yes, the entire stock market has stumbled since then but it doesn't totally explain the dramatic plummet of Netflix shares, at least to the satisfaction of some. A group called the Shareholder's Foundation from San Diego announced earlier this month that a law firm would investigate Netflix on behalf of investors over "potential federal securities laws violations."

The group … Read more

The major film studios have forced Zediva to shut its doors, but the case is far from closed.

A federal court yesterday officially issued a preliminary injunction against Zediva, a start-up video-rental service that made a name for itself last year by employing a legally iffy business model. Earlier this month, a U.S. District judge announced his intention to issue a preliminary injunction but waited for some legal housekeeping chores to be completed before making it official.

Last week, Zediva suspended operations, and now the case moves to the next and very important stage of determining whether the company … Read more

You were born in a great family, had a fun childhood. Then you grew up, went to school, spent an exhilarating time at college, learned a whole bunch, and fell in love. Then you had a job that you loved, got married to a partner of your dreams, and continued to live a happy, exciting, stimulating, and healthy life.

Now, that's a great success story, but guess what? Then you died. And your story, the true details of it, might last a bit longer and would die, too. In a hundred years or so, nobody would have any real … Read more

Redbox is seeing strong demand for its disc rentals, the company announced yesterday.

According to the rental firm, which is owned by Coinstar, 1.5 billion DVDs and Blu-ray discs have been rented from its kiosks since it launched its service in 2004. Moreover, the company has rented 4 million video games.

To help build upon that success, Redbox said yesterday that it's rolling out game rentals to 5,000 more kiosks around the U.S. starting August 1. With those additions, consumers will be able to find games at 27,000 kiosks around the country, Redbox said.

Redbox … Read more

They said Hulu was going to save the film studios and television networks from repeating the mistakes of the music industry.

They said the video portal would help turn the Internet into a new means of distributing the most popular TV shows and movies for less money than cable and offer viewers much more control over where and when they watch.

But the latest news out of Hollywood seems to indicate that enthusiasm was misplaced, premature, or both. The most recent and most dramatic sign of this came yesterday, when the Fox Network, owned by Rupert Murdoch's News Corp., … Read more

Retailing behemoth Wal-Mart Stores said today that it has added the Vudu streaming-video service to Walmart.com.

The move comes 18 months after Wal-Mart acquired Vudu and enables shoppers to stream Vudu titles or buy physical DVDs or Blue-ray discs from Walmart.com.

Customers can rent or buy movies and TV shows on a per-title basis. Netflix, the leader in distributing films and TV shows over the Web, rents movies for a monthly subscription fee, which, as it happens, is going up come September.

Wal-Mart launches Vudu on its Web site at an opportune time. Netflix announced earlier this month … Read more