Picture Perfect

Q: I have a question that I hope you can help me with. I have Windows XP
Home Edition on my computer. I have been able to move a picture from an
e-mail or web site by simply placing the pointer on the picture. When I
did so a small window would come up with four options. I could select
the My Pictures option and the photo or image would go directly to the
My Pictures file on my computer.
I recently accepted an on line Windows Update and the reinstatement of
my Norton Anti-Virus. After doing the updates I no longer get a small
window when I put the pointer on a picture or image. So I have lost the
quick and easy ability to transfer images to the My Pictures file. Can
you help me with a procedure to restore the function of transferring
pictures or images from my e-mail or web page to the My Pictures file. It
is a function that I used often and miss a great deal. Any help that you
can provide will be appreciated.
R. Eley
A: Before I offer you some possible solutions, I am working on the assumption that you are using Internet Explorer as your web browser. This may seem trivial, but it’s not. It may explain why a Windows Update would affect your ability to move picture file from your web browser to your My Pictures folder.
A quick method to move your pictures to the My Pictures folder is to follow a three step process. First, place your pointer over the image that you want to save. Next, click the right side of your mouse. A drop down menu should appear. Save Picture As is one of the listed options. Once you have selected that option, a window will appear with the location where the image will be saved. Normally, the My Pictures folder is the default save to location. If it is not, then you can change it manually. You can also rename the image, otherwise it will be named untitled.
The other option is quite simple. Restore your system to a time before you performed the Windows Update. You can do this by following the system restore wizard found in the System Tools sub-menu, in the Accessories folder, in the Programs list in the start menu. This system restore will only affect changes to your system settings such as downloaded programs. Other changes like saved pictures or text documents should be unaffected.
After the restore, insure that you can transfer pictures as you did before. Next you can reinstall the Windows Update one item at a time. This will allow you to identify which specific part of the update was causing the problem. You can then install all of the updates except the problematic one. If the problem is pervasive enough, Microsoft normally issues another update with a patch to fix the problem.