Alexander: Don't pay to play free Pogo PC games

QI like to play games at Pogo.com on my new desktop PC. But a month ago, a few of the games started to freeze up and I continually got Java-related errors.

I followed the instructions to make sure Java was installed correctly, and I emptied the "caches" of old information as I was told. Now I'm being told it will take $60 to fix the problem on my PC. Should I pay it?

FRED ROBERTSON, SUNRISE, FLA.

ANo, don't pay for the privilege of playing free Pogo games. The problem isn't your computer, but rather the Internet Explorer browser that comes with Windows. You can fix it yourself or get a different browser.

Several versions of Microsoft's Internet Explorer have had problems with a Web browser plug-in for the Java computer language, which is used by Pogo.com games.

Microsoft offers two websites to help you fix the problems, tinyurl.com/koqoh ("How to troubleshoot script errors in Internet Explorer on Windows-based computers") and tinyurl.com/yb5mh8 ("How to reset Internet Explorer settings.") If you don't want to wade through the instructions, both sites have "fix it" buttons that will make the changes for you.

Alternatively, you could try playing Pogo games using a different free Web browser, such as Mozilla FireFox or Google Chrome. You can download Firefox at tinyurl.com/3hlp65m or Chrome at tinyurl.com/6mvtcq.

QThe heat-removing fan for my computer's video card, a VisionTek Radeon X1550 256MB AGP, has quit working. Is the video card worth fixing?

LARRY SCHOOF, TUCSON, ARIZ.

AYour video card, which rapidly reproduces the high-quality moving images used in computer games or multimedia, is a replacement item, not a repairable one.

But there's a catch. That model video card in no longer available because the AGP (accelerated graphics port) technology has been almost entirely replaced by PCI Express (Peripheral Component Interconnect Express) technology that permits faster data transmission between the video card and the computer. You can buy a VisionTek video card with the newer PCI Express technology for $30 (tinyurl.com/3n63see) to $59 (tinyurl.com/6gdgje7).

But these PCI Express video cards require a different kind of plug-in, or "expansion slot," on your PC's main circuit board than your old card did. In order to add one of them, you may have to install a new plug-in connection on the main circuit board at a cost of $20 and up. To learn more, see tinyurl.com/mu798y, to buy see tinyurl.com/3ljezd3.

E-mail tech questions to steve.j.alexander @gmail.com, or write to Tech Q&A, 425 Portland Av. S., Minneapolis, MN 55488. Include name, city and telephone number.