"...there's ALWAYS a way..."

A while ago (2011?) I purchased a copy of "Dawn of Discovery Gold Edition" from GamersGate, one of the larger online game distributors.  I'd installed it, then later on found that I needed to free up some hard drive space.  I uninstalled it (though I can't remember if I'd used the "Control Panel" or from my start menu.  Anyhow, later on (about a month or two ago) I wanted to try reinstalled it onto an external hard drive.  Upon downloading the 4+ gigabyte file, the pretty intro launch screen started up, but when I clicked the install option, it was rejected, saying the program was still installed and would need to be removed first.  Well, the game files were no longer there, and being the stubborn type, I did the natural thing:  tried a couple more times hoping the computer gods would look upon me kindly for my sacrifice of bandwidth.  Result:  same.  Even sent an e-mail to GamersGate, to which they responded by saying that the game essentially couldn't (or, rather, shouldn't since it appears it doesn't recognize 'long' directory names) be installed on anything except the root directory - so, their 'solution' was to re-download the file and reinstall.  This still didn't solve the problem.  So, I pretty much knew I was on my own with this one - it was going to take some ol' regedit magic.  But, before proceeding, I'd noticed that there was a (relatively tough) protection scheme for the program:  Tages.  So, armed with that knowledge, I started the (always potentially hazardous) registry editing.  Basically, I first searched manually in the 'software' keys for the game title, as well as the manufacturer.  After that, i figured I'd play it safe, and starting at the top of the registry file, I did a 'find' for the term 'dawn' (EVERY instance).  One by one I checked those particular keys.  If I knew for sure it wasn't related to the game, I skipped ahead.  Otherwise, I deleted it.  Crossing my fingers, I then re-downloaded the game file (again), and voila - it worked (though I still played it ultra-safe, by installed on my root drive instead of the external I'd hoped to put it on).  One more note:  I kind of screwed up, but got away with it, by NOT making a backup of my registry before editing it.  Otherwise, everything seems fine.

...so the parrot said "Those aren't MY pants!"...

Well, let me 'begin' by listing some of the photo editing and viewing software which I use or have used (which is my personal method for learning how to use a program, though I'm slowly taking advantage of online tutorials):

FastStone Image Viewer

Corel PaintShop Pro X4

• FastStone Image Viewer - This is a free program, which I stumbled upon a couple of years ago.  I haven't had any problems while using it (except occasionally when it lets me know of a newer version).  If you have a need to browse through many different photos within a folder, this does the job just fine.  There are a few editing options available (adding text, rotating, cropping, etc.), but I usually perform those from other programs.  Still, I like having this available.  An example of where it can excel is when you have a series of images (maybe from an e-book, or a tutorial.  One nice use is browsing through a collection of census records for genealogical purposes.), and you need to repeatedly zoom-in.  Another fun option which I like having is batch renaming, coming in handy when I've been out and about, and taken several hundred photos, since I try to maintain my shots in 100-item folders, numbered sequentially from 000000-xxxxxx.  Also, there are times when I want to upload or post a photo, and it's in an unacceptable format.  I just fire this program up and it can easily make copies in another style (for instance, from .BMP to .JPG).  This can also be done in batch mode.  Wikipedia.org provides some additional information.

• Corel PaintShop Pro  - This is my general go-to program for editing and enhancing most of my photographs.  Though costly, it's still quite a bit cheaper than Adobe Photoshop CS6 Extended (a high-end product), and probably, though I don't really know for sure, comparable to Adobe Photoshop Elements 10 (which appears to have similar tools).  Since one of the first real editors I used was Corel's PaintShop Pro 7, I have become a loyal zombie-consumer, religiously purchasing upgrades and other Corel products as they come out (roughly every year).  Again, there are many tools which I haven't actually used.  There are probably many more which I don't even know are included.  Still, it performs solidly, and the price doesn't seem to be extremely high.  Wikipedia.org gives an overview of the program in it's various incarnations.

• IrfanView - I use to love this program, which is more of a multi-media viewer since you can also use it to play several different video formats.  However, I haven't tried it out recently.  It's also a free program, though, so the price is right.  Wikipedia.org provides some additional information.

There are also a few other programs which I'd dabbled with, but the ones listed are what I primarily use or have used..