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----------------------------------------------------------------------PowerUsers.info - Paul Doherty Askme Archive of Questions and Answers
QAId : 5373963
Asker : Anonymous
Subject : removing partitions?
Private : Yes
Question : My question concerns partitioning of the hard drive. I have no real
computer background but have been told that my hard drive is "partitioned" and
that it would be better if it weren't.
I have a Dell 266, Pentium II with 6.4 GB EIDE Ultra ATA Hard Drive.
The computer originally had Windows 95 installed by Dell, but Dell later sent an
upgrade disk to convert to Windows '98, first edition.
I have been told that the reason that my hard drive is divided into A, B, and C
is that windows 95, the original operating system, couldn't handle the size of
the hard drive without dividing into three smaller ones. I have also been told
that my computer would have improved performance if the partitions were removed,
and that my Windows '98 system would have no trouble handling the entire hard
drive without partitioning.
Finally to my questions.
1) Would it be better to remove the partitions for performance?
2) Is it a task that a computer rookie can do?
3) If I do remove the partitions, do I lose data now in my computer, or cause
other problems?
4) My "C" drive is almost full, but my D and E drives are almost empty. I am
wondering if the computer is handicapping itself by only using one-third of my
drive space.
If your opinion is that the partitions should be removed, can you tell me how to
do it, or lead me to a source of info on how to do it?
Thanks for your help!
Nancy
Answer : Please reserve "private" questions for truly private subjects. This
question will never be viewable by anyone since you've marked it private and
this limits the value of the interaction to the whole site.
There is nothing wrong with leaving your drive partitioned as long as you make
use of the space (for instance, create a "Program Files" directory on D and E
and use them for installing apps). If you are serious about changing to a single
partition to take advantage of 98's FAT32 file system the best way to go about
it is to obtain a copy of Partition Magic 6.0 from your local computer store.
This utility will let you resize, remove and general manipulate your file
systems without losing data or having to reformat. Using it you will remove the
two extra partitions (assuming they are completely empty or that you move the
data off first if not), then convert the first partition to FAT32, and finally
resize the first partition to take up the whole disk.
--
Paul Doherty
http://members.home.net/iqueue
DOS/Windows Utilities
Rating : 5
----------------------------------------------------------------------
QAId : 5436050
Asker : Anonymous
Subject : Partition trouble?
Private : Yes
Question : Hello!!!!!
I recently partition my hardrive on my old laptop.
Using something called fips. It left my A: drive and my C: drive the same but
changed my D: drive,which used to be my CD-ROM drive, to the second hardrive and
my new CD-ROM drive is now the E: drive. The probably is I partition my drive
after I fomated it and now when I try to install Win95 it says it don't see a
CD-Rom drive and when I am in dos it do not recongize my E: drive so now I can't
istall Win95 because I can't use the CD-Rom. I'm trying to install it on a 486
laptop which the CD-Rom drive is located on the docking station. Please
help!!!!!!
<!You're also welcome to email me for more information!>
Answer : You'll need a boot floppy that has CD-ROM drivers so you can see the CD
under DOS. Here's how to make one on another machine:
Start/Programs/MS-DOS Prompt
(put a blank floppy in the drive)
format a:
c:
cd \
sys a:
copy windows\himem.sys a:\
copy windows\smartdrv.exe a:\
copy windows\command\mscdex.exe a:\
copy windows\command\xcopy*.exe a:\
copy windows\command\format.com a:\
copy windows\command\edit.com a:\
copy windows\command\sys.com a:\
Download the following file to A:\
http://members.home.com/iqueue/idecd.sys
Now create a config.sys as follows:
edit a:\config.sys
The config.sys needs the following in it:
device=\himem.sys
device=\idecd.sys /d:cdrom001
Save the config.sys
Now edit A:\AUTOEXEC.BAT and put the following in it:
@echo off
\mscdex.exe /d:cdrom001 /l:f
\smartdrv /n c+ f 4096 4096
Save the file and exit.
Now test the disk and ensure it boots and brings the CD-ROM drive up as letter
"F:" successfully.
--
Paul Doherty
http://members.home.net/iqueue
Home of DOS/Windows Utilities
----------------------------------------------------------------------
QAId : 5534170
Asker : tom434
Subject : initinalization string
Private : No
Question : my connection speed has been lagging the techs at earthlink suggested
i add my modems intialization string on the advanced settings of my dialup
connection , my question where would i find it and how would i identify it i
know its all abbreveated
Answer : Find your modem on this list, copy the string and the put it in from
here:
Start/Settings/Control Panel/Modems/(select your modem)/Properties/Connection
tab/Advanced
Paste the string into the Extra Settings field for them to be applied when you
use your modem. Alternatively with a terminal program you can make the init
string changes permanent by appending an "&W" (without quotes) to the end of the
init string and typing it to the modem once.
List of modem init strings:
http://www.jenera.com/modems
--
Paul Doherty, CNE, MCP+I, MCSE, CCSA, CCSE
http://members.home.net/iqueue
Home of PC DiskMaster and other Windows utilities
Rating : 5
----------------------------------------------------------------------
QAId : 5584951
Asker : boborruth
Subject : using dvd-rom drive causes reboot
Private : No
Question : I sure hope you can help, I've given out of ideas. I have a p500,
256mb ram, dvd drive, zip drive, 1.44mb drive, win98. When I put a cd in the
drive the computer reboots every time. Nothing else is wrong . I've reinstalled
the dvd driver. I've deleted a dozen or so programs that I had downloaded
thinking one might have messed something up. I removed the programs running in
the background from startup. It still reboots. Any Ideas? Thanks---Bob Paschal
Answer : I'll bet it doesn't reboot if you put a CD in while it's in pure DOS
(If it did you definitely would have a BIOS/hardware issue on your hands). It's
likely a driver issue but to be sure:
Uninstall the drive from the System control panel, under Device Manager - then
shutdown the system and open it up. Verify that the jumpers (little black
plastic connectors with metal inside them - they bridge the electrical
connection between 2 or more pins) are configured correctly for the layout of
your disk drives and CD-ROMs. If two devices exists on the same cable one must
be jumpered as "master" and the other as "slave". If all looks good here try
switching the IDE cables so that you're using a different one for the DVD than
before (want to see if the problem f
follows the cable or stays with the DVD).
Let me know your results.
--
Paul Doherty
http://members.home.net/iqueue
DOS/Windows Utilities
Rating : 5
FUQuestion : I started in dos mode as you advised,put a cd in & It did not
reboot. I did the other things you suggested. It still reboots every time.
Answer : OK then - your cabling is fine and the BIOS settings are likely OK
(although a better test might be to boot in pure DOS *with* CD support loaded).
Let's try something else. Try putting a CD in the drive tray, then hold down the
SHIFT key as you press the button for the drive to close. Kepp pressing SHIFT
until *after* Windows has initialized the drive and the drive light stays off
for several seconds. This will disable the "auto-run" for just this loading. If
the system does not reboot this time I would suggest you may have a problem with
the handler for the type of disk you're inserting. Is this an audio CD you're
inserting by any chance? If it is try upgrading to the latest Windows Media
Player (off the Windows Update on your Start menu) or change which app is
associated with audio CDs (WinAmp can handle audio CDs and has an option in it's
menus for file associations to make it be the handler for audio CDs).
--
Paul Doherty
http://members.home.net/iqueue
DOS/Windows Utilities
FUQuestion : I put a cd in & held down the shift key, it rebooted.It reboots
with either a program cd or an audio cd. I'm familiar with w95 & w98,but don't
know too much about dos. When you say to boot in pure dos,I go to shutdown &
check where it says re-start in ms-dos mode. Is this correct? You say to boot in
dos with cd support loaded. How do I do this? I assume I have to type in a
command. I sure appreciate you taking the time to help me solve this problem.
Answer : I would suggest creating a boot floppy to get CD-ROM support to test
this from DOS. Here's how:
Start/Programs/MS-DOS Prompt
(put a blank floppy in the drive)
format a:
c:
cd \
sys a:
copy windows\himem.sys a:\
copy windows\smartdrv.exe a:\
copy windows\command\mscdex.exe a:\
copy windows\command\xcopy*.exe a:\
copy windows\command\format.com a:\
copy windows\command\edit.com a:\
copy windows\command\sys.com a:\
Download the following file to A:\
http://members.home.com/iqueue/idecd.sys
Now create a config.sys as follows:
edit a:\config.sys
The config.sys needs the following in it:
device=\himem.sys
device=\idecd.sys /d:cdrom001
Save the config.sys
Now edit A:\AUTOEXEC.BAT and put the following in it:
@echo off
\mscdex.exe /d:cdrom001 /l:e
\smartdrv /n c+ e f g 4096 4096
Save the file and exit.
Now test the disk and ensure it boots and brings the CD-ROM drive up as letter
'E:' successfully.
This disk will serve as a good rescue disk for you later, as well as
troubleshooting now.
OK now boot with that disk and try inserting a few data disks - read from them
with DIR commands like:
dir f: /s /a
You may have more than one CD drive - if you do then the drives will be assigned
consecutive letters, like E: and F:.
With this problem occurring even with auto-run disabled I would tend to go back
to a mis-wiring of the cable or other IDE-related hardware issue. Even if you
don't experience the reboot in DOS since DOS may be less vulnerable to the
corruption that appears to be taking place. My best suggestion at this point is
to reexamine the cabling and perhaps replace the IDE cables. Also ensure the
jumper settings are correct on all IDE drives.
--
Paul Doherty
http://members.home.net/iqueue
Home of DOS/Windows Utilities
FUQuestion : I might be getting beyond my capabilities. You mention mis-wiring &
jumper settings. No one has been inside the computer to change anything. It's a
year & a half old compaq. I did switch the ide cables as you suggested. Is if
possible that one of the programs I downloaded screwed up things. One in
particular was x-setup. I have since deleted it. I'm going to be out of town
several days. When I come back I'll decide if I want to continue or call the
service man. If I have someone fix it I will let you know what the problem was
for your information.
Answer : OK - good luck on it
--
Paul Doherty
http://members.home.net/iqueue
Home of DOS/Windows Utilities
----------------------------------------------------------------------
QAId : 5594527
Asker : ddpianoman
Subject : Outlook express
Private : No
Question : Today I hooked up a router with switch to network my home computers
to a cable modem...I have a Dell Dimension L667r and a HP Pavilion 6356. It all
works fine except for one thing. I cant get my mail from outlook express. On
either computer it just gives me the message "The host 'mail' could not be
found. Please verify that you have entered the server name correctly. Account:
'mail', Server: 'mail', Protocol: POP3, Port: 110, Secure(SSL): No, Socket
Error: 11001, Error Number: 0x800CCC0D"
It does the same thing on both computers. It was working fine and flawlessly
before on the one I had hooked individually to the cable modem. What do I need
to do to get my mail? Different config required?..
Answer : That appears to be a DNS problem - make sure you have the correct
domain in your DNS configuration. The problem may be that "mail" isn't a
fully-qualified name, and if your DNS domain is not configured correctly to be
"myisp.com" (or whatever yours is) then "mail" will not have the proper domain
name appended for searching.
An easy way to test if it's going to work is first go to a DOS prompt and type:
ping mail
If it can't lookup the name it will reply with an error about "unknown host".
Now make the changes to DNS (OR configure Outlook to use the fully qualified
name of "mail.myisp.com") and then try the ping again. When the ping works (at
least resolves the hostname into an IP address) so will the mail.
--
Paul Doherty
http://members.home.net/iqueue
DOS/Windows Utilities
----------------------------------------------------------------------
QAId : 5600353
Asker : davidshimek@...
Subject : win95 reload
Private : No
Question : I have a lab full of older wind95 pcs. I was recommended that I
reload win95 on all the computers. Should I reformat the drives? Should I just
put the win95 cds in a reload from there? What would be most effective?
Thanks
David Shimek
Technology Mentor
St. Bernard's Catholic Schools
Eureka, CA
Answer : If the systems have been in operation and a long time, or if there are
issues reinstalling over the existsing install usually will not help. A full
reinstall is best. One way to lighten the load - if the systems are identical
hardware-wise you can build *one* of them, and then duplicate to all the others
to save a whole LOT of time. Here's how:
On your master machine that will serve as the source for all the others:
1) Repartition the disk so that it is in 2 equal partitions - so if you have a 4
GB disk make two partitions of 2GB each.
2) Format both partitions.
3) Install 95 as you want it and any apps to the C: partition.
4) Use Symantec's Ghost to ghost an image of the C: partition to the D:
partition as an image file.
6) Burn that image to a CD-R disk and create a bootable floppy with CD support.
7) Go from system to system for the rest of the machines and apply the Ghost
image to their disks (using the full space for the one partition).
--
Paul Doherty
http://members.home.net/iqueue
DOS/Windows Utilities
----------------------------------------------------------------------
QAId : 5625516
Asker : Aglaia
Subject : Print Screen
Private : No
Question : Hello,
Ever since I got this new computer I haven't been able to print my screen, so
I'm wondering if something needs to be enabled. I've tried ALT + Print Scrn,
with no luck. If it helps any, I use Windows 98, and the key reads:
Print
Scrn
SysRq
Thanks,
Aglaia
Answer : All the PrtScrn and Alt+PrtScrn do is to take a snapshot of the full
Windows environment or foreground app, respectively, and places it as image data
in the Windows clipboard. That's just the first step - now that the data is in
the clipboard you must paste it into an app that can handle graphics like
Paintbrush, Word, and email app, etc.
Once you've pressed PrtScrn or Alt+PrtScrn try doing this:
Start/Run/pbrush.exe (press ENTER)
Once Paintbrush opens press CTRL-V or select Edit/Paste from the menus.
--
Paul Doherty, CNE, MCP+I, MCSE, CCSA, CCSE
http://members.home.net/iqueue
Home of DOS/Windows utilities
Rating : 5
----------------------------------------------------------------------
QAId : 5631766
Asker : Anonymous
Subject : buying
Private : Yes
Question : Where can I find a low priced computer that is up to date to use to
take distance learning courses and surf the web. I have heard that refurbished
computers are as good as new and inexpensive but, haven't had any luck. Help
Answer : EBay is a good bet if you know what you're looking for.
Paul
Answer : http://www.ebay.com
FUQuestion : I don't really know alot about computers, just how to work them.
some advice
Rating : 2
Answer : Here's a nice system that will do nicely for your task:
http://cgi.ebay.com/aw-cgi/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItem&item=1236344727
----------------------------------------------------------------------
QAId : 5639676
Asker : dgedwards
Subject : How do I save ie5 to disk?????
Private : No
Question : Hi Y'all!
I was wondering how I would go about saving ie5 to disk. It takes about 3 hours
to download from windows update. I've tried to save it to drive F which is my CD
writer/recorder but it won't let me (seems I don't have permission or something)
Also, I'm not exactly sure what I want to save. Here's what I want to do. Go to
my disk and restore all of ie5 to "wherever it belongs on my computer" without
the long waiting period. Some of the experts told me I could download it from
windows update to my disk. I looked but couldn't figure it out. Anyway, I've got
it all in place on my computer now. If one of you guys could "helps the dummie"
I would be most appreciative. I need step by step instructions in small words
please. Many thanks
Answer : These URLs describe the steps to download the install files so you can
install IE on this machine and others.
Downloading Internet Explorer for Windows 95 and Windows NT
http://support.microsoft.com/support/kb/articles/q174/6/80.asp
Download-Only Setup of Internet Explorer 5.5 on Windows 2000
http://support.microsoft.com/support/kb/articles/Q257/2/49.ASP
--
Paul Doherty
http://members.home.net/iqueue
DOS/Windows Utilities
----------------------------------------------------------------------
QAId : 5689543
Asker : BeNzE6
Subject : Internet Explorer
Private : No
Question : I use Primus as an ISP to connect to the internet.
My question is when i am connected to the internet, is there a way for IE to
come up when connection is detected?
Answer : A better way is to configure IE to dial-up when launched. Inside IE got
to the Tools/Internet Options menu. Inside go to the Connections tab and select
the button below that says "Dial whenever a network connection is not present".
Now whenever you are not currently dialed into your ISP you can launch IE and it
will automatically dial in.
--
Paul Doherty
http://members.home.net/iqueue
DOS/Windows Utilities
Rating : 4
----------------------------------------------------------------------
QAId : 5723217
Asker : andiliem
Subject : display
Private : No
Question : I am having problems with my display, red shades display as black, I
can really only see blue, white and yellow. I have a Compaq Presario 7400,
running Win98SE. How can I fix this? Thanks.
Answer : You have one of the following problems:
-The video cable is not seated well, is going out and needs to be replaced, or
has a bent pin on one of the ends.
-The monitor's red "gun" is going out and the monitor needs repair/replacement.
Your problem is that, for whatever reason, the red gun is not firing which is
why red things are black, and the other colors are skewed.
--
Paul Doherty
http://members.home.net/iqueue
DOS and Windows Utilities
Rating : 5
Answer : If replacing the cable doesn't work, and there are no bent pins you can
straighten with needle-nose pliers then no it is not a user-serviceable problem.
Do NOT mess with the innards of your monitor. Even unplugged the capacitors
inside can carry lethal voltages. It's not worth the risk to save a monitor
without proper training.
Best of luck to you!
Paul
----------------------------------------------------------------------
QAId : 5731689
Asker : Anonymous
Subject : Inexpensive Internet Service/Notebook Battery
Private : Yes
Question : Hello Expert:
I wanted to see if you might have some thoughts on the following two questions.
1)I don't spend a great deal of time on the internet with my PC (perhaps 25-40
hours a month). Thus, I really didn't want to pay too much for an Internet
Service Provider. Do you have any good advice for getting something affordable
or free, but also won't prove to be a hassle using. I understand that there are
free services such as www.nocharge.com and others and tempted by that, yet never
tried it. What are your thoughts on those. A friend also mentioned that AT&T has
something for $4.95 a month which allows one 150 free hours a month. Any
thoguhts there.
2)Any thoughts on the best place to buy a battery for a Hitachi laptop? Is it
better to buy new or refurbished and what do they typically cost.
Thanks for your time!
Answer : I wouldn't expect too much with a free internet account - you may get
what you pay for! ;-) But there won't be any harm from trying - though I have
heard of some that will install "nagware" on your PC that will pop up
advertisements.
About the battery, try some of these:
http://www.us.buy.com/retail/searchresults.asp?search_store=1&qu=hitachi+battery&loc=101
http://www.sabahoceanic.com/nbhitachi.html
http://users.pandora.be/technimex/notebooks.htm
--
Paul Doherty
http://members.home.net/iqueue
DOS/Windows Utilities
Rating : 5
----------------------------------------------------------------------
QAId : 5766190
Asker : Anonymous
Subject : IT-INSTALL SOFTWARE TO NETWORKED COMPUTERS
Private : No
Question : Please help me with this assignment q's. I have been putting alot
time researching this answers until I give up. So that is why I beg for your
answers. Here is the questions:
Prepare a brief (2Page) document on how to create a simple spreadsheet in
Microsoft Works. You can install the program from the T drive to make yourself
familiar with it. " What do you mean by that"??? Your documentation MUST include
screen dumps. "How can you do screen dumps"??? Please Help, Please, PLease...???
Answer : The "T" drive is a reference to a drive letter on your PC that has been
mapped to a network drive. He is probably referring to a lab machine at your
school.
To take a screen capture of the full screen press the PrintScreen key on the
keyboard. This puts an image of the screen into the clipboard. Once it's there
you can paste it into any application that can use images, like Microsoft Works.
With a document open in Works just press CTRL-V or select Edit/Paste from the
menus to get the image into your document. To get a screenshot of *only* the
foreground window press ALT-PrintScreen.
--
Paul Doherty
http://members.home.net/iqueue
DOS/Windows Utilities
----------------------------------------------------------------------
QAId : 5799056
Asker : taveric
Subject : What is this...?
Private : No
Question : sulfnbk.exe <--- What is that file and what does it do? I was sent an
e-mail that told me to delete because it was a virus.. and I had a strange
feeling that it woule be on my pc and I don't think it's a virus.. So what is
that file???
-THanx Alot..
Answer : It's not a virus. This one is a known hoax. sulfnbk.exe is the utility
that comes with Windows that is used to backup long filenames in the event you
need to use a backup utility that does not support long filenames and would
truncate them to their xxxxxx~1.yyy name.
--
Paul Doherty
http://members.home.net/iqueue
DOS/Windows Utilities
Rating : 5
----------------------------------------------------------------------
QAId : 5799900
Asker : BeNzE6
Subject : Free Online Storage
Private : No
Question : Where can i find a website that has a free online storage, where u
saved your stuff online and upload it somewhere???
Please help me.
Answer : Try this one:
http://www.freedrive.com
--
Paul Doherty
http://members.home.net/iqueue
DOS/Windows Utilities
Rating : 3
----------------------------------------------------------------------
QAId : 5829080
Asker : BeNzE6
Subject : Power Failure
Private : No
Question : Hi! I use a surge protector for my computer. The only three things
that are plug on the surge is CPU, Monitor, and Printer. The problem that i am
having is when i turn on my computer.............then after a few minutes, the
computer suddenly turns off. I didn't turn off anything. It just turned off!
This has been happening for a month. I have re-image my computer, because some
experts said it could be the hardware that's causing it, but it still happens.
My mom don't want to take it to the purchase store and have them fix it because
the warranty is over, and it's expensive!
What can i do??
Can i leave the computer on forever, just to avoid it from shutting down by
itself?
Please help me.
Thank you in advance.
Answer : I leave all my computers running 24 hours a day - just configure the
system so that it will shut down the monitor after 45 minutes of inactivity
(under the Display control panel).
As for your power situation. Have you tried not using the power strip to see if
the problem is related to the strip? Also if it still occurs try a different
power outlet to see if that is the problem. I'm assuming that there are not
"brown-outs" or other power anomalies as I would have expected you to mention
if, for example, every time the PC died the lights dimmed. :-)
--
Paul Doherty
http://members.home.net/iqueue
DOS/Windows Utilities
Rating : 4
----------------------------------------------------------------------
QAId : 5858165
Asker : BeNzE6
Subject : Startup C:\
Private : No
Question : When i start my computer it says: Invalid VxD dynamic link call from
NWLINK(01) + 0000010F to device "0028", sevice 8000.
Your windows configuration is invalid . Run the setup program again to correct
this problem.
To continue running Windows press Y or ENTER. To quit the current program press
N. If you continue running Windows, your system may become unstable. Do you want
to continue?
Press Y for Yes or N for No:
When i press Yes it does become unstable. When i press N it loads and displays
this: C:\
What can i do?
Answer : Try rebooting in Safe mode (hold CTRL during the RAM test until a menu
appears) and reconfigure your network - it sounds like this may be related to
the NWLink IPX/SPX network protocol.
--
Paul Doherty
http://members.home.net/iqueue
DOS/Windows Utilities
Rating : 4
End :
----------------------------------------------------------------------
QAId : 5859016
Asker : garydaw61
Subject : printing
Private : No
Question : I am looking for the way to print the whole screen. I don’t mean just
the program stuff, I need to print everything on the screen. I am working on a
manual and I want to show the whole screen as examples. How do I do this?
Remember, I want the print to show the task bar, startup task bar the whole
shooting match top and bottom EVERYTHING
Thanks, Gary
Answer : Press the PrtScrn button
Start/Run/pbrush
Press CTRL-V in PaintBrush to paste
----------------------------------------------------------------------
QAId : 5884752
Asker : Zima99
Subject : Error Message
Private : Yes
Question : Hi,
I am regularly getting an Error Message:
"Explorer has caused an error in ATI2DDAD.DRV
Explorer will now close."
Many times the computer will completely freeze,
and I will have to disconnect the power to shut
it down.
Do you have any idea what the problem could be,
and how I can fix it?
Thanks so much!
Karen
Answer : I would have to centure a guess that you have an ATI video card. If
that is the case thenm getting the latest drivers from their site, installing
them, and then installing the latest DirectX would likely fix it.
ATI drivers:
http://support.ati.com/products/pc/graphics/index.html
DirectX:
http://www.microsoft.com/directx
--
Paul Doherty
http://members.home.net/iqueue
DOS/Windows Utilities
FUQuestion : They have no new drivers for me.
What should I do now?
Should I re-install the current driver?
Do I un-install it first?
Please help me.....don't want to mess it up !!
Thanks for your help!
Karen
Answer : Just follow the steps for installing the driver that came with the
driver and you'll be OK. Then reinstall DirectX after you're done with that.
--
Paul Doherty
http://members.home.net/iqueue
DOS/Windows Utilities
Rating : 5
----------------------------------------------------------------------
QAId : 5904576
Asker : BeNzE6
Subject : Drive Space
Private : No
Question : What is DriveSpace about?? Can I use it??
How do i increase disk space??
Answer : DriveSpace is a remnant of the DOS 6 days when Microsoft incorporated
compression into their OS and file system. It is no longer utilized, but Windows
NT/2000 have compression similar to it, except that it is selectable on an
individual basis (i.e. you can select which folders to compress and which to
leave uncompressed).
--
Paul Doherty
http://members.home.net/iqueue
DOS/Windows Utilities
Rating : 4
End :
----------------------------------------------------------------------
QAId : 5914212
Asker : scoanich
Subject : Apple or PC
Private : No
Question : I am a student in college and looking to buy a computer, I have been
looking around and have been told Dell and Gateway are good brands, But I am
also interested in an Apple Computer. Is there any suggestions you might have on
the performance and reliablity of a Mac as compared to a dell or gateway? Thanks
for your advice.
Answer : Performance will be similar with either a Mac or a PC. The real
question comes from what you want to do with the machine. If availability of
lots of software and hardware is important to you go with a PC. If you already
know that the apps you want to run are available for the Macintosh then feel
free to go that way. For me the PC has far too much support for me to ever
consider (if I could have only one machine) having only a Mac.
--
Paul Doherty
http://members.home.net/iqueue
DOS/Windows Utilities
----------------------------------------------------------------------
QAId : 5935610
Asker : Pecktown
Subject : Program unknown
Private : No
Question : I have a Compaq Presario 5220 and when in the add/delete programs I
have a program listed as VTPCIIRO V1.1 What I would like to know is what is it
and what does it do? Thank you. Pecktown
Answer : I've never heard of it - you may try and do a Start/Find/Files and
Folders and do a search for VTPC* and see what directory such a file resides in
- this could be s hint as to the program and its function.
--
Paul Doherty
http://members.home.net/iqueue
DOS/Windows Utilities
Rating : 5
----------------------------------------------------------------------
QAId : 5947507
Asker : losangeles27
Subject : problems with associations in my computer
Private : No
Question : Hi,
Whenever I want to download a file on the web, I press the "download" button and
instead of a little gray box popping up asking me where I want to save the file,
I am taken to a page with a broken "Film strip" image.
Somehow I think there is an association in my computer between downloading and
one of my quicktime files.
How do I check this? How would I correct this?
thanks,
matt
Need More Information : Have you tried reinstalling a new version of QuickTime?
FUQuestion : no, i don't think so. Is this broken film strip image a quicktime
problem?
if i should reinstall quicktime again, do i get it from quicktime.com (if not,
can you please recommend where I should get this?)
thanks!
Answer : http://www.apple.com
Rating : 4
----------------------------------------------------------------------
QAId : 5948071
Asker : jready
Subject : picture displays
Private : No
Question : I'm working on a computer with a very strange problem. It wont
display pictures. Some pics it displays fine while others look rainbow colored.
This occurs on the net as well as with pics taken from disk on a digital camera.
Have tried a new video card, motherboard, processor, you name it. Have also
tried different I.E. browser versions. Your expertice would be appreciated in
this dilemma.
Need More Information : Can you describe more of what you're seeing? Is it just
when viewing pictures? Is it only in a certain image viewer (IE, for example)?
Have you tried a different monitor and video cable? Have you tried a different
resolution or color depth? Do you see the "rainbow" effect on just the images
themselves or is the Windows interface also "rainbowy"?
FUQuestion : All i can see is a faint image and colors running together. It is
only with internet explorer and viewing pictures through windows explorer. I
have tried a different monitor and cable, as well as resolution and color depth.
The Windows interface is fine just the images themselves are rainbowy. Was
wondering if I could update bios to fix it but would like other solutions before
doing that. Thank you.
Answer : Try a different image viewer to confirm that it occurs always - try
this one:
http://www.acdsystems.com/english/products/acdsee/index.htm
--
Paul Doherty
http://members.home.net/iqueue
DOS/Windows Utilities
Rating : 2
----------------------------------------------------------------------
QAId : 5956195
Asker : danandemy
Subject : Celeron or pentium 3?
Private : No
Question : I have to make a choice between 2 computers. The first is
600mhz,celeron,64mb,10gig,15in.monitor. Second is 700mhz,pentium
3,64mb,20gig,17in.monitor. The second one costs an extra $300. Is number 2 worht
an extra $300? How much faster will the p3 be compared to the celeron? I only
use the Internet, word, and other simple software, no high tech gaming.
Dan
Answer : You will not notice a big difference between a Celeron (2 - the
Coppermine type) and a P3 *of the same clock speed*. But here we are talking
about a 100Mhz difference, 10 more GB of disk space (twice the other system),
and a better monitor (who even sells 15" monitors anymore?). For normal usage
I'd say the lower-end system is just fine if you can live with the monitor and
lesser disk space. For the activities you describe there will not be much
subjective difference in speed between these systems (and you haven't described
the subcomponents like video card, audio, CD support, etc so I can't comment on
them).
--
Paul Doherty
http://members.home.net/iqueue
DOS/Windows Utilities
----------------------------------------------------------------------
QAId : 5962024
Asker : jimgun
Subject : transfer programs to a new computer
Private : No
Question : I have a few programs that I want to transfer from my old computer to
a new computer. I do not have the programs on disk. I can burn them onto cd, but
I am afraid they will not work on the new computer, because there is no
installation file in the program folders. How would I go about the transfer of
these programs?
Answer : There are three main things I'd be concerned with:
1) The app itself (usually a subdirectory under "Program Files".
2) The files the app may or may not have copied into the Windows structure
(Windows\System, usually).
3) The registry entries the app may have made.
#1 is the part you can easily get, and if the app didn't have any OS extensions,
will be sufficient to migrate it to the new machine. Most apps will recreate the
registry entries they need the first time you run them since that's how most do
it in the first place (setting up those registry entries the first time you run
them).
If you want (or end up needing) to get the registry part as well you can run
regedit.exe, dig down into HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE/Software and examine those
branches for one - usually you're looking for the name of the company who made
the app. If you find it you can export that branch for import on the other
computer with File/Export Registry File.
As for the Windows\System files that might exist I say transport the app over
without the registry or any support files and try running it (install it to the
same disk location - ie Program Files). If it asks for certain files note their
names, get them from the old computer, and copy them to Windows\System on the
new computer. If it looks like the registry entries are needed run regedit on
the new computer and import the .reg file you exported on the old machine.
Between these steps you'll be able to transport 95% of all apps.
--
Paul Doherty
http://members.home.net/iqueue
DOS/Windows Utilities
Rating : 5
----------------------------------------------------------------------
QAId : 6004703
Asker : Anonymous
Subject : Second hard drive
Private : No
Question : I have just installed a second hard drive and would like to know how
to copy the contents of my
smaller drive to the new bigger drive.
Answer : Ghost will duplicate your drive in a drive-to-drive or
partition-to-partition fashion. You can find it at your local retail store in
the SystemWorks product by Symantec.
http://software.symantec.com/dr/v2/ec_MAIN.Entry10?V1=272108&PN=1&SP=10023&xid=27674&DSP=&CUR=840&CACHE_ID=35066
--
Paul Doherty
http://members.home.net/iqueue
DOS/Windows Utilities
Rating : 4
----------------------------------------------------------------------
QAId : 6031788
Asker : BeNzE6
Subject : CD-Rom Drive - IMPORTANT - PLEASE HELP ME
Private : No
Question : Hi!
My problem is about my cd-rom drive.
When i play music cd's, while it's playing, i can't hear anything at all.
When i play games using the cd-rom, there's nothing wrong at all, it plays,
music also plays.
When i'm listening to music on my cd-rom drive USING a headphone i can hear the
music. I just cant hear the music on the speakers on my computer. This only
happened today.
I want to listen to music cd's on my computer speakers, not headphones!
My speakers are connected properly by the way.
O/S: Windows98 SE
Ram: 32 MB
MGz: 400
CD-Rom Drive Speed: 40 X
Sound Driver Manufacturer: Sigma Tel
Please help me!!
***If i re-install windows 98 SE, will i hear music on my cd-rom drive, when i'm
playing music?***
Answer : It sounds like the CD audio is turned down or muted. You hear music in
games probably because they are not CD-Audio, but rather audio stored in a
compressed form on the CD and spooled off for decompression and playback (which
would make them come out the same way as any other digitized sound effects, and
why they are unaffected by your situation). To rectify the problem:
Double-click the volume control (speaker icon) in your systray (far right of the
taskbar at the bottom of your screen where the clock is).
Check that the slider for "CD Audio" is at least as high as the "Wave" slider
and that the "Mute" checkbox at the bottom is not selected. Then try playing an
audio CD again.
--
Paul Doherty
http://members.home.net/iqueue
DOS/Windows Utilities
Rating : 2
End :
----------------------------------------------------------------------
QAId : 6043390
Asker : bartmanmark
Subject : scanner/printer probs
Private : No
Question : hi i hope you can help with this problem as i am drawing blanks every
where else... basicaly i bought a scanner (relisys scorpio2) it doesnt use usb
port so its plugged into the lpt1 port orrigionaly used for the printer. the
printer is then plugged into the scanner. the scanner is now up and running fine
but when i try to print i get an error printing to this port message. i didnt
get any manuals with the scanner so i am a bit stuck the printer worked fine
before also
Answer : Most of the time when you try to pass a parallel signal through another
device (the scanner in this case) one of two things can go wrong:
1) Devices are incompatible in this configuration (less likely)
2) One or both of the parallel cables are not bi-directional or shielded. Ensure
that both cables are high-quality bi-directional cables. (more likely)
--
Paul Doherty
http://members.home.net/iqueue
DOS/Windows Utilities
----------------------------------------------------------------------
QAId : 6096060
Asker : lstarnes@...
Subject : SIMMS RAM Question
Private : No
Question : I have copied over all of Paul's files to the new computer. I was
going to try to use some RAM from Paul's old Compaq (24 MB) to optimize his
memory on his new Micron (48 MB).
Micron Millenia Pro 3 or 4 years old (200MHz): 2- 16 MB and 2 - 8 MB (4 slots)
Compaq ProLinea 4/50 MHz:
1- 16 MB and 2 - 4 MB (4 slots)
I replaced one of the 8MB chips with the 16MB chip, but the system did not
recognize it. In fact it booted saying there was only 16 MB of RAM overall. It
may be that the speed of the chip is too slow or it may be that the one machine
uses parity RAM the other non-parity RAM. This was my best guess, but if you
could offer some clarity about mixing RAM that would be great especially
clarification on how the parity works.
Thanks,
Lana
Answer : It's my understanding that the SIMMs must match in density on each pair
of slots. IOW you can have any two densities you like as long as each pair of
SIMM slots (0 and 1, 2 and 3) are the same density. The pairs of memory banks
operate together.
--
Paul Doherty
http://members.home.net/iqueue
DOS/Windows Utilities
Rating : 4
----------------------------------------------------------------------
QAId : 6100989
Asker : secondson
Subject : my pc's "locking up"
Private : No
Question : Lately, whenever I'm on my computer, if I take a break, the screen
will go dark after a while (as it should) and then, when I return and press any
key to illuminate the screen, I will get no response -- the screen stays dark
and I have to restart my computer! It's like there's a disconnect between the
keyboard and the computer, but only in those instances...
Why is this happening, and what can I do to fix it?
I appreciate your help/advice.
Mitchell
Answer : This is most often a problem with Windows and your BIOS both performing
power management duties. Enter your BIOS on a reboot (usually by pressing DEL
when prompted) and turn off power management in your BIOS.
----------------------------------------------------------------------
QAId : 6122160
Asker : mehmet_halil
Subject : Excel Functions
Private : No
Question : please can you help me before my boss sacks me. i am currently
designing a spreadsheet using excel. the task requires me to round up the a
half. for Example
5.32 rounded to 5.5
5.00 rounded to 5.0
5.78 rounded to 6.0.
i am able to round up, however i am unable to round to 0..5. instead the excel
rounds to the decimal place. for example
5.32 rounded to 5.3
5.00 rounded to 5.0
5.78 rounded to 5.8.
i am presently using excel 97. Please Help
Answer : I think I may have worked out an answer for you. I put a number into A1
and this formula into cell B1, and then tested by changing the value in A1.
=ROUND(IF(A1>(TRUNC(A1) + 0.5),TRUNC(A1) + 1,IF(A1 > TRUNC(A1), TRUNC(A1) + 0.5,
A1)),1)
Any number from .01 to .50 results in the original number .5 - for example
5.01 -> 5.5
5.34 -> 5.5
5.49 -> 5.5
Any number greater than 5.5 results in 6
5.64 -> 6
etc
Just format cell B1 with a single decimal place and you will get the "5.00
becomes 5.0" etc that you are after.
--
Paul Doherty
http://members.home.net/iqueue
DOS/Windows Utilities
Rating : 5
----------------------------------------------------------------------
QAId : 6166544
Asker : watersedge
Subject : internet issues
Private : No
Question : Hello -- please forgive the detailed complexity of my question and
help if you can! My boyfriend's parents are moving in the next couple of weeks
and have asked me to set up their computers when they arrive. I said no problem
but now they have a ton of questions that I don't feel "brave/confident" enough
to answer on my own!
They both work from home (consulting) on separate computers, presently using an
AOL connection. Here are their thoughts:
They presently have 2 phone lines -- one for phone calls and another for PC and
fax machine. "Dad" wants to keep AOL for client and project concerns but "Mom"
says they cannot both use the internet at the same time, the way AOL works.
She's asking if DSL is a better option and could they still both use the
internet at the same time? Or should they just have 3 phone lines?
Now "Dad" tells me that he has a Dell optiplex computer which is designed for
networking through an internal 3-om device that operates through phone lines.
This has not been successful in the past but if it would work he thinks they
should both be able to be on-line at the same time, through one server.
I am getting lost quickly but really want to help them!!!!!!!! Thank you for
your time!!!!!!!!!!
Answer : The easiest way for them to do this is to get the DSL (which will save
them the cash they were laying out on a 2nd or 4rd phone line). Then get them
each an ethernet network card and a cable/DSL router like the LinkSys or DLink.
It's a natural firewall and keeps internet intruders out quite effectively and
allows them to share the bandwidth of the DSL connection. If the machines are
not close together you will need appropriate lengths of CAT 5 ethernet cabling
to hook each to the cable router (all devices hook to the cable router - get the
kind with switch ports too - usually has about 4 ports for PCs to plug into).
Here's a link to the LinkSys model:
http://www.us.buy.com/retail/product.asp?sku=10235958&loc=14577
--
Paul Doherty
http://members.home.net/iqueue
DOS/Windows Utilities
Rating : 3
----------------------------------------------------------------------
QAId : 6181134
Asker : Anonymous
Subject : Running into errors
Private : No
Question : Hi Paul
Im using win98se, P3800, 128sdram, after i formatted my computer it always run
into errors
sometime say windows protection error or windows encountered an error acdessing
the system registry. Also when i try go into safe mode it'll say HIMEM.SYS has
detected unreliable XMS memory at address 00DD503E XMS driver not installed and
there are more errors too like explorer, kernel32.dll, etc
Plz tell me whats wrong with my computer and how do i fix it?
Thx,
Wing
Answer : From your description it may be bad, or poorly seated, RAM. Try
removing or moving around memory modules. If you get nowhere with this you might
try a reinstall of Windows (over the top of the existing install - won't hurt
your installed apps but fixes things a lot of the time).
--
Paul Doherty
http://members.home.net/iqueue
DOS/Windows Utilities
Rating : 5
----------------------------------------------------------------------
QAId : 6195944
Asker : joserodriguez
Subject : Build a Computer
Private : No
Question : Hi my name is Manuel Rodriguez and i am going to build myself a
computer and i want to know exactly what do i need, i want to tell you that i
the computer is not for me it is for my friend but i am going to help him build
the computer. he don't nothing, he does not have a computer so please tell me
what i need thanks
Answer : This site will help:
http://www.pcmech.com/byopc/index.htm
--
Paul Doherty
http://members.home.net/iqueue
DOS/Windows Utilities
----------------------------------------------------------------------
QAId : 6205210
Asker : philso1003
Subject : fonts don't work in photoshop or Paint
Private : No
Question : Hi,
I installed some new Chinese fonts on my computer. They worked well in MS Word.
But when I try it in Window's Paint, it came out just like regular Times New
Roman. and when I tried the fonts in PhotoShop, it says "Could not complete your
request because the necessary CMap files were not found."
Could you please tell me what I should do?
Thanks a lot.
Phil
Answer : It sounds to me like the font type may not be correct for some apps.
Like for example it's a TrueType font that doesn't work in paint. Or perhaps a
bitmap font that needs to be a TrueType. Try a few more font types and see if
you can see a pattern to which work and which don't. If you open the Fonts
control panel you can see the TrueType fonts as they have a "TT" icon.
--
Paul Doherty
http://members.home.net/iqueue
DOS/Windows Utilities
----------------------------------------------------------------------
QAId : 6213138
Asker : ngtj
Subject : error msg
Private : No
Question : "MCI device not open" i get this error msg after i run a game.. the
game stop just before the movie so i suspect it is something to do with direct
movies.. any solution ? i can't play the game , if the movie don't play...
thank you...
Answer : This looks like an error opening the sound device for playback. I'd
recommend getting and installing the latest audio drivers for your sound card,
and the latest DirectX drivers.
Audio cards:
http://www.windrivers.com/alpha/sound.htm
DirectX:
http://www.microsoft.com/directx/
--
Paul Doherty
http://members.home.net/iqueue
DOS/Windows Utilities
End :
----------------------------------------------------------------------
QAId : 6222488
Asker : cynthia94
Subject : Securing a folder
Private : No
Question : Is there a way for me to create a password on a specific folder on my
c drive? I want to put several confidential Word files on a folder and instead
of creating a password for each file I would like to create a password for a
folder containing sensitive files. thanks
Cynthia
Answer : You can use one of these applications for that:
http://download.cnet.com/downloads/1,10150,0-10001-103-0-1-7,00.html?tag=srch&qt=password+protect+folder&cn=&ca=10001
Or you can use encryption to protect folders or individual files from
reading/tampering:
http://download.cnet.com/downloads/1,10150,0-10001-103-0-1-7,00.html?tag=srch&qt=folder+encryption&cn=&ca=10001
--
Paul Doherty
http://members.home.net/iqueue
DOS/Windows Utilities
Rating : 3
----------------------------------------------------------------------
QAId : 6224429
Asker : ERASEF301
Subject : Wireline Modem?
Private : No
Question :
Hello there, I recently bought a Wireline modem for my Handspring Visor (Palm
Pilot copy) and was having trouble hooking it up to my PC. I was hoping you
might be able to help me with this. I have found no help elsewhere on the
internet, so any help would be great! You see, I followed the instructions that
came with the modem, but they are so general. The way it works, is this. You
hook up your Handspring/Modem combo to a phone line. IT is supposed to dial up
your computer, and Download your email ect... I have cabel internet, so this is
not a problem. What the modem does, is actually HOTSYNC, if you are familiar
with the term, my Handspring over the phone line Downloading email, and my other
conduits (i.e. AvantGo, and Epocrates)... N E ways, when I was setting up the
modem on my handspring, it ask me, "phone number" I chose my home phone
number... Is this the right phone number to choose? Then I hotsync with the
modem connected to the visor, it dials up the modem, and i can hear the Visor
Modem working (like all dial up modems sound)... However, it always says BUSY!!!
Well, obviously if I am at my OWN House it would logically BE Busy... right??? I
guess I"ll try doing this at a friends house... BUT,,, they recomended you try
it before leaving the house>>>> How am I supposed to do that??? Am I doing
things correct so far do you think???
Any tips on getting this thing working would be greatly appreciated...
sincerely, ERASEF
Answer : I would agree that it's not possible to test it from home unless you
have different phone lines. Try it from a friend's house - it sounds like you
are on the right track.
--
Paul Doherty
http://members.home.net/iqueue
DOS/Windows Utilities
Rating : 5
----------------------------------------------------------------------
QAId : 6240910
Asker : Anonymous
Subject : which way is best to leave your computer on ?
Private : No
Question : dear experts,
Is it better to only turn off the monitor and leave the computer on while you're
away or put it into Stand by mode ?
thanks
Answer : I leave my systems on 24/7 all year long. Why? When a system first
powers up it is at room temperature. Over a short time it heats up until it
reaches an equilibrium point (where the heat it produces is counterbalanced by
the environment's ability to take on the extra heat). At that point unless the
environment changes the system temperature is fairly stable, fluctuating several
degrees but nothing like the initial powerup. Powering systems off allows them
to cool back down. Doing this power off, power on cycle repeatedly decreases a
system's life by stressing the power supply and all ICs and other components by
the sudden application of power. The heating up/cooling down cycle can also lead
to traces failing on the CPU and motherboard, and can add to the tendency of
solder to become brittle. So leave the system on...
As for the monitor - I leave mine on all the time too, but I have my screen
saver set to come on with 30 minutes of inactivity, and have the monitor power
down after an hour. Why is this better than turning it all the way off? Well
this stand-by mode:
1) Uses less electricity by far (about 1/10th of normal full-on state).
2) Maintains some heat inside the monitor to avoid the full cool-down discussed
above/
--
Paul Doherty, CNA, CNE, MCP+I, MCSE, A.A.Sc., B.A.
http://members.home.net/iqueue
Home of PC DiskMaster and other Windows utilities
Rating : 5
----------------------------------------------------------------------
QAId : 6306641
Asker : joshfunk357
Subject : adaptec
Private : No
Question : Hi.
I have some questions with this software
1. I tried to make an audio CD by copying one of my existing CD's to a CD-RW,
but the computer says that it is a CD-RW and will not play in a car audio or
home audio player, is this true? Is there a way to do this?
2. I wanted to erase on of the CD-RW's so I went to the Adaptec CD wizard to
format the CD. It said that it erased everything but when I tried to use it
again, the computer says it is a non-recordable CD. What am I doing wrong?
Any tips or advice using this software?
Thank you!
Answer : Most car players can not read the dye type of a CDRW. You will need to
use CDRs (some players can't play these either, but they're becoming rare) for
the audio disks you make.
What I have done is to use a unit by Philips called 'Expanium'. It's a portable
CD player with a cassette adapter for your car stereo. You can also play MP3s
with this player so I load up a CDRW with 150 songs and play them in the car
until I want a different mix.
Inside Easy CD Creator just go to the CD menu and select Erase CD. Then perform
a "Quick Erase". If you can't write a new disk with it after that point
something is wrong with one of these:
- media choice (CDRWs may be marginally compatible) - try a different brand
- drive (less likely if it works for other disks)
Tips -
Keep your hard disk defragmented to lower the chance of underruns that can trash
your blanks.
Don't use the PC for anything else during burning unless it's a really fast
machine and a really good burner.
--
Paul Doherty
http://members.home.net/iqueue
DOS/Windows Utilities
Rating : 5
----------------------------------------------------------------------
QAId : 6322910
Asker : coolies31
Subject : computer
Private : No
Question : Hi,
I have a problem with my Pionex Computer (it has Windows 98). When I started it
yesterday, an error message came up that said there is a problem with Windows
directory and windows will have to be installed. So, I tryed re-installing
windows 98 by using the CD and the book disk. It started to check the files and
during "StartDisk" then found an error on Windows. It had choices of "Fix
Problem or Don't Fix. So, i chose 'Fix Problem' than the same screen comes up
that asked me if i want to fix the same problem it meioned before. Do you know
what ishould do? Sorry to sound so confusing. Also, do you know a phone number
for Pionex tech support where you can actually talk to someone? I have 4
different numbers for them and I try calling all day but they ring off the hook
and no one ever picks up.
Thanks You Very Much
Answer : It sounds like a disk problem. Try running a pure scandisk as:
scandisk /autofix
which will not prompt you on each error. Then go get a Coke or something and
come back. Your drive may be dying and this should show it (also do the surface
scan when asked by scandisk).
If the CD they gave you is a full recovery CD (and not just a Windows 98 CD) you
may try formatting the drive to see if it's really a hardware problem or just
the disk contents got scrambled somehow.
--
Paul Doherty
http://members.home.net/iqueue
DOS/Windows Utilities
Pionex's contact numbers:
Pionex Technical Support
Phone: 800-313-1995
E-mail: Pionextech@Pionex.com
Please have your serial number ready when contacting a Pionex representative.
Send technical support your problem by email.
Pionex Customer Service
Phone: 800-888-3425
E-mail: Pionexservice@Pionex.com
Pionex BBS Service Number
732-563-9150
You can reach Pionex (via modem only) 24 hours/day at this number. Use this
number for product information or to download updated drivers, utilities and
shareware.
Pionex Sales
For information on carrying Pionex please contact our sales staff.
E-mail: PionexSales@Pionex.com
----------------------------------------------------------------------
QAId : 6329761
Asker : Anonymous
Subject : Leavimg PC On
Private : Yes
Question : We've been told without ,explanation why, that is is good to just
leave your computer ON all the time. How is this "good" for the computer ? Why
do so many people say leave it on all the time ?
Answer : I leave my systems on 24/7 all year long. Why? When a system first
powers up it is at room temperature. Over a short time it heats up until it
reaches an equilibrium point (where the heat it produces is counterbalanced by
the environment's ability to take on the extra heat). At that point unless the
environment changes the system temperature is fairly stable, fluctuating several
degrees but nothing like the initial powerup. Powering systems off allows them
to cool back down. Doing this power off, power on cycle repeatedly decreases a
system's life by stressing the power supply and all ICs and other components by
the sudden application of power. The heating up/cooling down cycle can also lead
to traces failing on the CPU and motherboard, and can add to the tendency of
solder to become brittle. So leave the system on...
As for the monitor - I leave mine on all the time too, but I have my screen
saver set to come on with 30 minutes of inactivity, and have the monitor power
down after an hour. Why is this better than turning it all the way off? Well
this stand-by mode:
1) Uses less electricity by far (about 1/10th of normal full-on state).
2) Maintains some heat inside the monitor to avoid the full cool-down discussed
above/
--
Paul Doherty, CNA, CNE, MCP+I, MCSE, A.A.Sc., B.A.
http://members.home.net/iqueue
Home of PC DiskMaster and other Windows utilities
Rating : 5
----------------------------------------------------------------------
QAId : 6372193
Asker : txrrcowboy
Subject : Graphics and memory
Private : No
Question : Howdy,
I'm a freelance writer and want to add a small home business producing graphic
designs and photo collages. I have Microsoft Photodraw (which I understand has
just been discontinued), which makes beautiful designs--but the designs I create
quickly run up to 1 or 2 MB or more. Consequently, my computer starts moving
very slowly, sometimes taking as much as an hour to change one small feature of
a design or to spool the file to the printer. Yesterday, it caused the monitor
to go black while trying to print a design--I had to reboot the whole computer
to get the monitor back up.
Obviously, I don't have enough of something--memory of some kind is my guess.
I'm pretty good at learning and using software, but I really have no idea what's
"under the hood" of my computer, so to speak. I can tell you I have 96 MB RAM, a
10 GB hard drive, Windows 98.
So I guess my question is, short of buying a new computer, what can I do to make
my graphics program reasonably fast and easy to use? Will be very grateful for
any help you can give, as I am financially pressed at the moment and looking to
increase my income with the graphics sideline
Answer : If this behavior happens over time (not immediately) it's probably not
memory you're running out of (especially if you're not receiving out of memory
error messages). Your problem probably lies with (in order of liklihood):
1) Video drivers
2) MS Photodraw
Get the latest video drivers for your video card here:
http://www.windrivers.com/company.htm
Then check with Microsoft's web site and get that program patched up to the
latest:
http://office.microsoft.com/Downloads/default.aspx
FUQuestion : I'm good with using software, but not a techie. Before I can update
anything, how do I find out what kind of video card I have? I have poked around
under Control Panel>System, but it's all Greek to me.
Answer : In the System control panel go to the Device Manager tab and into the
subsection in the list for your video card. See what driver it's using now - if
it was done correctly in the beginning when the system was made you should see
the name/brand of the card there.
----------------------------------------------------------------------
QAId : 6402391
Asker : Anonymous
Subject : Auto Scanning Bugging Me!!!
Private : No
Question : Hi
I don't know how to describe my problem but believe me I have never been bugged
so much in my whole life by an O.S and that too by the great Win 98. What
actaully is happening whenever I shut down my P.C it shut down normally but when
I start the P.C the message appears is that you have not shut down the P.C
properly and so autoscan will start. And so it does and I have to escape from
it. What I did next that I changed the value of AutoScan command line to '0' in
MSDOS.sys file but now if suppose P.C stops then the Auto Scan which normally in
any good pc would have appeared doesn't appeared. Please help me I am really
getting tired of this O.S and the Auto Scan message. Is ther any way out. Please
reply back soon.
Answer : Sure, just leave the autoscan disabled and use the Task Scheduler (in
the systray at the bottom-right of the Windows interface) to schedule routine
scandisks of your hard disk to ensure no errors are present.
--
Paul Doherty
http://members.home.net/iqueue
DOS/Windows Utilities
Rating : 1
----------------------------------------------------------------------
QAId : 6427389
Asker : Anonymous
Subject : System wont recognize new memory
Private : No
Question : Have a Pentium 233mhz processor. Want to add or change memory to
256mb from 64mb. Replaced with 4 cards of 64mb 60ns memory and system will not
recognize new memory. Changed back to original memory and now wont work. Tried
to use 2 cards of 64mb, or two 32's and two 64's, or just the original two 32's.
Any suggestions? Found out AFTER the fact that my computer will only max out at
128mb. I can do this with two of the new 64's but did I mess something up in
trying to switch?
Answer : Are you sure you're populating the first two slots (the same that were
occupied by the two 32MB sticks)? If you are (and the 32's don't even work) you
may have damaged one of the SIMM slots. More likely is that you are not seating
the RAM modules properly and they are not making good contact.
Rating : 3
----------------------------------------------------------------------
QAId : 6427592
Asker : iwillbeback
Subject : Boot Problem
Private : No
Question : Dear Expert
I have a brand new computer but when it begins to boot-up it says 'cmos check
sum error please enter system disk' If I keep booting after about 3 times
everything seems o.k.
The computer is 1Gig cpu, 128 ram, AMD Processor.
Can you help please!!
P.S. I don't have a floppy system disk only a cd for the motherboard.
Answer : I would contact the seller and get support for it - it sounds like a
corrupted or poorly-seated BIOS. If it wasn't new I'd suggest making a boot
floppy with the latest flashBIOS from your motherboard manufacturer's web site
and updating the BIOS.
--
Paul Doherty
http://members.home.net/iqueue
DOS/Windows Utilities
Rating : 5
----------------------------------------------------------------------
QAId : 6443088
Asker : joes_mail_box
Subject : no video
Private : No
Question : Hi,
I have two computers with what are probably different problems but results in
the sme thing...no video. I've tried other monitors (with their attached cables)
and replaced the video cards but still have no video. The screen gives
absolutely no indication of anything taking place. The monitors do power up and
work on other machines so I've eliminated (I think) a monitor problem. One of
the machines manuals indicated that if I wanted to replace the built in video
capability with a video card that I had to jumper a certain jumper, P2. I did
this with no improvement. Then later in the manual, I see that the SAME jumper
reference is to be jumpered to clear the CMOS!!
I guess my question is where do you start when you have no video on the monitor,
not even the bios message...
thanks,
Joe
Need More Information : 1) You can find a improved manual very likely in Adobe
Acrobat form (PDF) on the mobo maker's website. This should take care of the
errors on the jumpers and get you on the right track.
2) Try different slots for the video card(s) and rules them out as a possible
problem by using them in the machine that you said worked with the monitor.
What got you to this state? Did the systems work prior to this? What have you
done to get where you are? Without background info it's a little hard to
diagnose your situation.
FUQuestion : Lets deal with the one that went out most recently. I had not used
it in a few weeks as it is a secondary computer. Its a Spacewalker HOT-553, with
a PII 166Mhz cpu and AMD bios. When I plugged the power in and powered it up,
there was no indication on the monitor that anything was happening. I do hear
the hard drive start up but only for a short period then all is quiet. As I
mentioned I have tried different video cards in different slots and different
monitors. The monitor on the system works on other computers.
I guess your dead in the water if anything happens to the video on the
motherboard.
Joe
ps: you ever worked in Annapolis Junction, Maryland?
Answer : Never worked in Maryland.
You're not dead if the onboard video dies, you'll just need an add-on video card
in a PCI or ISA slot, and may have to set a jumper to bypass the onboard video.
--
Paul Doherty
http://members.home.net/iqueue
DOS/Windows Utilities
End :
----------------------------------------------------------------------
QAId : 6449459
Asker : AlexW100
Subject : Possessed cd drives
Private : No
Question : Hi,
I'm having some major problems with my the d drive (cd rom) of my computer. It's
a Compaq Presario 4220, running win 95 on a pentium 1 proccessor. The problem is
that it wont read any programs on the cds - they just spin around in the drive
while the computer clicks and whirrs. The strange thing is that it will play
audio cd (unless the cd contains a hidden bonus program), possibly suggesting
that it's a software problem rather than a hardware one. I've tried to run the
reset cd which wipes everything back to the factory settings but I cant because
the cd drive doesnt work! Argh! How can I fix it?
Alex
Answer : Turn the PC off and open the case. Ensure all cabling to the CD drive
is intact and well-seated. Your symptom could be consistent with a loose IDE
cable (as audio CDs do not even require a connection to the IDE ribbon cable)
and your inability to read data would be in line with this. More likely the CD
drive is wearing out. If the cables check out then I'd suggest picking up
another CD-ROM (or better yet a DVD-ROM) at your local computer store. It's an
easy swap and requires no changes at all.
--
Paul Doherty
http://members.home.net/iqueue
DOS/Windows Utilities
----------------------------------------------------------------------
QAId : 6451097
Asker : Anonymous
Subject : Computers
Private : No
Question : Hello,
I need to know what are the hottest computer(wiht dvd and cd-w) these days, and
the site of them. Price not matter. The best computers, fast, huge memory,
and..... anything .
Answer : The best PCs to be had would be from
http://www.voodoopc.com/home.htm
The best in terms of value for the money would be Dell:
http://www.dell.com/us/en/gen/products/line_desktops.htm
--
Paul Doherty
http://members.home.net/iqueue
DOS/Windows Utilities
----------------------------------------------------------------------
QAId : 6477833
Asker : dij
Subject : windows
Private : No
Question : Hi
I have a problem.
I just formated my c: drive and I am trying to install windows.
I have 3 of them ,win98,winme,winXP.
But all of them don't work.They ALL freez at the moment when copying files, all
3 of them.
I think it's my cd-rom.. can it be?
because winme works on my other machine.
But in other hand, ALL my other cd's works on this machine, this only happens
with windows cd's.
Thanks a lot,
dij
Need More Information : So you're saying that when trying to read any of the
Windows install CDs that it locks up? Or that *during installation* of any of
the 3 (from CD) that it locks up? If it's the latter I would lay odds as you
mentioned on the CD drive having a problem. Check the cabling to be sure all is
good there, and if necessary try a replacement CD-ROM drive (or borrow one out
of another computer as a test).
I notice you said all the other CDs works on this machine. What are they working
under (what OS)? Since you're trying to install these other OSes, which are you
using when you read these other disks?
--
Paul Doherty
http://members.home.net/iqueue
DOS/Windows Utilities
FUQuestion : Hi
My winME installed without freezeng so i am gonna use it now.
Thanks for all the help!
Answer : OK - great.
Rating : 5
----------------------------------------------------------------------
QAId : 6507998
Asker : Anonymous
Subject : automatically connected to the internet
Private : Yes
Question : I have downloaded shockmachine from shockwave.com to download and
work their puzzles off line. But lately when I try to pull up a puzzle to work
off line, I am automatically connected to the internet. You are not supposed to
be connected, that's the whole of shockmachine, to stay off line and play their
games. I have written to shockwave about this, but have recieved no answer.
Thought one of you might be of help. Thank you
Answer : If you are configured to dial automatically if *any* internet-capable
app touches the internet you will auto-dial. I've used ShockMachine, although
not recently, but I was not familiar enough with it to tell you where to go to
disable any access it may make (it could be loading advertising - does it
display ads while you play?).
--
Paul Doherty
http://members.home.net/iqueue
DOS/Windows Utilities
FUQuestion : No, no ads are displayed and no pop-ups. Just starts AOL. Never did
this till a few days ago. Thanks for you in-put. If you can come up with
anything else that might be helpful. I would appreciate it. Thank You
Declined (Reason) :
Rating : 1
----------------------------------------------------------------------
QAId : 6527113
Asker : luizgm
Subject : Hard drive space
Private : No
Question : Hi, I bought a computer from Gateway, the notebook Solo 1200.
Everything is fine. The only problem that I noticed is that the computer was
suppoused to have 10 GB in the hard drive. When I opened the properties window
of C: it says that the total capacity is 9.35 GB that is io 10,041,425,920
bytes.
So my question is if the computer is missing .65 of the 10 GB, or if this is
something standard.
Thank you.
Luis
Answer : Hard drive manufacturers live in a special place, where a MB is defined
as 1,000,000 bytes. We, in the real world, define a MB as 1,048,576 bytes. Thus
the hard drive capacities are overestimates of what is truly there. In addition
formatting a hard disk for use with an operating system uses some space as well.
My advice is to sue. ;-)
--
Paul Doherty
http://members.home.net/iqueue
DOS/Windows Utilities
Rating : 5
----------------------------------------------------------------------
QAId : 6535300
Asker : taveric
Subject : file transfer...
Private : No
Question : how are you doin'...
okay I was wondering if the following is possible..
I have 2 pc's.. both with ethernet cards and running in WIN95...
But only one of them doesn't have cd-rom drive that works...
I was wondering if there was anyway to connnect both pc's using the ethernet
cards to transfrer data between them..
But more importantly is it possible for me to access the cd-rom drive on the
other pc for the computer with he busted cd-rom drive..
and lastly is there any freeware or shareware software that is good to use for
this sort of thing...
I know this is alot... But I appreciate all the help the askme experts give and
I want to thank you for helping me with my question in advance.. =)thanx
Answer : You can hook the PCs together with what's called a "crossover cable" -
it's an ethernet cable that has the send/receive pairs switched and will allow
the PCs to talk without anything in between. No additional software is needed -
you will just need to install the "Client for Microsoft Networks" (in Network
control panel), put both machines in the same workgroup (under Identification
tab in Network control panel), and add "File and printer sharing for Microsoft
Networks".
Once done the machine's names should appear in the Network Neighborhood and you
can then enable shares between them by right-click a drive letter on each
machine's "My Computer", selecting "Sharing" and setting a password for access.
--
Paul Doherty
http://members.home.net/iqueue
DOS/Windows Utilities
Rating : 5
----------------------------------------------------------------------
QAId : 6571838
Asker : jav90
Subject : Floppy Pass.
Private : No
Question : Is there a way of putting a password on a floppy disket
Answer : Not really. Since a floppy can be moved and used on another machine.
The only real way to protect the data on a floppy is to encrypt it.
<http://download.cnet.com/downloads/1,10150,0-10001-103-0-1-7,00.html?tag=srch&qt=encrypt+files&cn=&ca=10001>
--
Paul Doherty
http://members.home.net/iqueue
DOS/Windows Utilities
----------------------------------------------------------------------
QAId : 6582077
Asker : Michael126
Subject : PAge Fault
Private : No
Question : Hi there
May i know when do page faults occur. And what actions are taken by the
operating system when a page fault occurs.
Regards
Mike
Answer : They usually occur when the operating system encounters an unexpected
condition, such as data that has been written into an area it shouldn't have
been, thus corrupting that data on next access. As for what Windows does in this
case it would seem that Windows either suspends the task or hangs the OS
entirely (blue screens). Apparently the innocuous password files that Windows
keeps can be a source of page faults and are an easy way to try to fix them. All
the password files are is a storage place for Windows to keep the passwords
associated with your user account. They are kept in *.pwl files - just find the
one you're using (or delete them all) in C:\WINDOWS and delete it.
More info on this at:
http://support.microsoft.com
articles Q154092, Q151708, Q166898
--
Paul Doherty
http://members.home.net/iqueue
DOS/Windows Utilities
Rating : 5
----------------------------------------------------------------------
QAId : 6593346
Asker : dgedwards
Subject : Adding Files to the "New" Screen @ Desktop
Private : No
Question : Hi
Need More Information : Can you tell me what your question is?
FUQuestion : Sorry, I re-typed the question but I guess it didn't come through.
What I asked was how do you re-establish a file in the "New" window on desktop.
I inadvertently removed "text" from the window.(this is when you are at the
desktop screen and you right click and a window comes up with one of the tabs
noted as "New" with various files indicated. I'm running windows 98 and ie5.
Someone told me to download "Tweakui" from microsoft, which I did but it's of no
help. It tells me I need to re-establish the program used to open text
documents. I don't know how to do that. I would like for someone to guide me
through with step by step procedures. I'm not very good with a computer but I
sure would like to be able to acess text from this window which will allow me to
convert other files. Thanks, Don
Answer : The site I gave you in the other answer has step by steps with pictures
to assist you.
http://www.jfitz.com/tips/rclick_custom.html
--
Paul Doherty
http://members.home.net/iqueue
DOS/Windows Utilities
Rating : 5
----------------------------------------------------------------------
QAId : 6593385
Asker : dgedwards
Subject : Adding Files to the "New" Screen @ Desktop
Private : No
Question :
Hi!
When I'm at the desktop screen and right click a window comes up along with the
tap "New" with various files noted. I inadvertently deleted one of these (text
document). Can someone tell me how to restore it and can I add others such as
"jpeg" to this window?
Thank You,
Don
Answer : http://www.jfitz.com/tips/rclick_custom.html
--
Paul Doherty
http://members.home.net/iqueue
DOS/Windows Utilities
----------------------------------------------------------------------
QAId : 6599911
Asker : alshooter
Subject : creating a screensaver
Private : No
Question : Hi,
I have an existing .exe file which I want to convert to a screensaver (.scr)
file on my PC. Can anyone give some advice for this?
Thanks.
Answer : Try this app that uses EXEs as SCR files:
<http://ww2.vobis.de/bbs/shareware/brett75/exess10e.zip>
--
Paul Doherty
http://members.home.net/iqueue
DOS/Windows Utilities
----------------------------------------------------------------------
QAId : 6599916
Asker : colflgg73
Subject : Dell Dimension Beeps!
Private : No
Question : I have a Dell Dimension that beeps constantly at about five second
intervals. I can turn down the speaker volume to limit the distraction, but it
still clicks. Everything seems to work fine, but it doesn't seem that this
should be happening.
Problem started today and have not had it happen before. System is two years
old.
Answer : Open the case and ensure that all fans are in good shape and operating.
This may be a heat warning or a fan failure warning. Dust may have built up or a
fan's bearings may have gone out.
--
Paul Doherty
http://members.home.net/iqueue
DOS/Windows Utilities
----------------------------------------------------------------------
QAId : 6609833
Asker : k926
Subject : opening photos on my computer
Private : No
Question : Sometimes when someone send me a photo, I save it and then can't open
it. What I see is a "windows symbol" in My Computer. What does that mean and how
can I change it so I can open it? Thanks.
Answer : I'm not sure what you mean by a "Windows symbol" but I suspect you mean
a "default icon" that indicates Windows doesn't know to what app the filetype
belongs. The easiest way to make sure you can load any and all graphics formats
is to grab the very excellent ACDSee image viewer, and during install allow it
to register itself as the handler for all graphics formats:
http://www.acdsystems.com/English/Products/Downloads/ACDSee.htm
--
Paul Doherty
http://members.home.net/iqueue
DOS/Windows Utilities
----------------------------------------------------------------------
QAId : 6609852
Asker : nat2b
Subject : CD burning menu
Private : No
Question : Can someone suggest a program (preferably freeware) that would allow
me to easily make a bootable CD listing a menu (directory) of copied programs?
Also can you suggest something that would also allow booting of these programs
by clicking a number from the menu? Thanks for any info you can provide.
Answer : Here is an exhaustive and step-by-step to creating bootable CDs with or
without menus, and all with freeware applications:
http://www.nu2.nu/bootcd/
--
Paul Doherty
http://members.home.net/iqueue
DOS/Windows Utilities
Rating : 4
----------------------------------------------------------------------
QAId : 6616372
Asker : tayley
Subject : adobe photoshop 5.5
Private : No
Question : Hi, Paul...I want to add the characteristic copyright symbol to a
graphic I drew. It is already "digimarked", yet in order to prevent a PC novice
from claiming "innocent infringement", shouldn't I add the visual symbol to the
graphic? Where should it be displayed on the work? Where do I get this symbol?
How is it added? I searched Adobe's help files, but found nothing. Thanks...
Answer : I don't know about placement on images, but I'd suggest the
bottom-right corner as a good location.
As for getting the character itself use the Character Map utility
(Start/Programs/Accessories/System Tools). Select the Tahoma font and you should
see the copyright symbol 4th column, 6th item down. Double-click it or click the
Copy button to put it in the clipboard. Then go to your graphics app and paste
it in as a text item, then position it.
--
Paul Doherty
http://members.home.net/iqueue
DOS/Windows Utilities
Rating : 5
----------------------------------------------------------------------
QAId : 6633267
Asker : Anonymous
Subject : Is e-auction site reliable?
Private : Yes
Question :
I am very new to this when I see there are online auction sites like
http://auctions.ebid.co.uk/ or http://www.computermarket.com/auction.htm , which
allow you to bid and buy whatever you want.
Could you please tell if it is advisable to buy computer hardware from these
sites? What are the cautions? I live in England and want to buy a CD-Rom drive.
Answer : I've had very good luck with EBay.com, and I hear good things about
UBid.com. As for these others I'd be very surprised if any site that neglected
it's customers too much would be around very long, but if you're really
concerned try doing some searches in:
http://groups.google.com
and see if any negative comments surface.
--
Paul Doherty
http://members.home.net/iqueue
DOS/Windows Utilities
Rating : 5
----------------------------------------------------------------------
QAId : 6636383
Asker : phydeault
Subject : Windows
Private : No
Question :
Hello, I curently have Win98, which is not working properly since I installed
DirectX8. (Videos won't play, Direct Sound doesn't work, evrey site with flash
makes my computer freezes, ...)
I didn't format the disk yet for a new instalation of win 98. However, I went to
the C prompt command (in the boot up, not in msdos), and I was unable to get to
D:/>. However, in MSDOS, I can access D:/> ?
Do you know what I mean? lol
How can I acess D:/> so I will be able to access the win 98 instalation set up ?
Answer : You can't access D: in DOS because it's probably your CD-ROM drive. DOS
needs a driver to access a CD-ROM (so does Windows, but Windows handles that for
you). The easiest way to attempt a fix for this problem is to boot into Windows,
pop the Windows CD into the drive and run the setup right over the top of your
existing install. All your apps will be left alone but Windows may fix whatever
is causing your problem. If it doesn't you can still rebuild as you were ready
to do anyway, but this may save you a lot of time and effort.
--
Paul Doherty
http://members.home.net/iqueue
DOS/Windows Utilities
----------------------------------------------------------------------
QAId : 6645839
Asker : wumply
Subject : Do signals in cables sometimes get attenuated?
Private : No
Question : Hello:
My scanner plugs into my pasrallel port and my printer into my scanner. Works
fine. But I was told or read that the scanner cable should not be over 4 feet in
length.
I have an Intel video cam that sits on top of my monitor. It has an 8-9 foot
cable and works beautifully. But when I aksed Intel about using an extension
cable, they said that in their experiments, extension cables frequently cause
computer freeze-ups.
Can you tell me in some detail what it is about cables or extension cables that
appears to indicate they cause problems if beyond certain lengths? What is going
on?
Is there a way around this problem? I mean a longer scanner cable would be
easier for me to connect/disconnect and if I had a longer cable on my videocam,
I could move it around the room to show someone a closeup of some object 10-20
feet away from the computer.
John
Answer : Yes, I think attenuation does occur on the cables. You may want to try
using USB where possible instead. If you get a highly shielded cable you may be
able to go the distance you require.
http://www.cables.com/computer1.html
--
Paul Doherty
http://members.home.net/iqueue
DOS/Windows Utilities
Rating : 4
----------------------------------------------------------------------
QAId : 6647109
Asker : Anonymous
Subject : How to call from the net?
Private : Yes
Question : How to call from the net?
I am a foreign student, so calling home costs me much money. I heard that there
is some way to make international calls from your computer so long as you have
internet connection. In this way, it costs you nothing.
Is it true? Could you please tell me the simplest way to do this? I am studying
in England and need to call to Vietnam.
Thank you so much.
Answer : Here are several...
http://www.comlink.f2s.com/e_freecalls.htm
http://www.hottelephone.com/
http://www.dialpad.com/
http://www.mediaring.com/
http://www.net2phone.com/
http://www.go2call.com/
FUQuestion : Could you tell me whether I can use this service from the laptop? I
don't use normal ISPs like AOL but my laptop is connected to the university
network (LAN.)
Answer : Those are all accessible with any type of internet connection. Just
open those sites in your browser, and follow the instructions.
--
Paul Doherty
http://members.home.net/iqueue
DOS/Windows Utilities
Rating : 5
----------------------------------------------------------------------
QAId : 6651657
Asker : dimibri15
Subject : Automatic change?
Private : No
Question : I have an AMD 1200, I am super happy so far. But something strange
happened twice since I got him. I don't know if it's the processor's fault but
let me explain. The ASUS motherboard I have is set to jumperfree mode and after
maybe a month I got the AMD, while at the very start waiting to start, I noticed
the speed of my AMD had changed to 900MHz. I changed it back to 1200 from the
BIOS settings and everything worked fine. Until today. I noticed again the same
thing, the clock was set at 100 (by 9 makes 900), I haven't done anything at
all. I changed again to 1200 and I just have to be careful every time it starts
I must pay attention at the speed setting. Do you have any explaination? I would
appreciate it.
D.
Answer : In jumper-free mode your motherboard may be attempting to automatically
determine the chip installed, and is improperly detecting it as a lower-clocked
chip. Either update your BIOS by getting the flash utility and BIOS from your
motherboard maker's website, or set it to jumper mode and set the jumpers for
your chip's true speed.
--
Paul Doherty
http://members.home.net/iqueue
DOS/Windows Utilities
Rating : 5
----------------------------------------------------------------------
QAId : 6657709
Asker : tayley
Subject : hiding the icons...
Private : Yes
Question : Okay...I
> ...right clicked the start program, clicked on "explore"...
> ...double-clicked on programs...found the macromedia flash folder...
> NOW. Do I drop-and-drag the flash icon over to the accessories icon, or what?
I cannot see any folder that specifically says, "icons". I can't tell the
difference between the folder of icons, and the program directory. I'm ASSUMING
the program directory, as you describe it, is this flash folder I'm dragging and
dropping to accessories. How do you identify the icon folder?
Answer : Yes, whatever the name of the folder is that has Flash installed.
Likely it's called Adobe. Try double-clicking it and see if it has a Flash icon
in it. Then you'll know.
----------------------------------------------------------------------
QAId : 6660371
Asker : Anonymous
Subject : BIOS & Optimization
Private : No
Question : Basics:
I have a 3mo old Dell Dimension 2100 with Windows ME.
Two questions:
One, I recently updated my BIOS through dell.com, as my computer is from there.
And I wanted to know how to disable or change the BIOS picture. Is this
possible?
Two, what programs or techniques do you recommend to optimize or configure my
computer?
Thanks for your time and effort.
Answer : Usually the picture is not able to be disabled, but some BIOS's have an
option to use a small picture versus a large. Press whatever key during boot is
indicated as the one to enter the BIOS and look around for the option.
As for optimization you'll have to be more specific with a needed area of
performance. For general information see this site:
http://www.pureperformance.com/
--
Paul Doherty
http://members.home.net/iqueue
DOS/Windows Utilities
Rating : 4
----------------------------------------------------------------------
QAId : 6666058
Asker : LevGartman
Subject : CD-Rom Recognition
Private : Yes
Question : My self-built PC lately has become a POS. It has never performed this
horribly. It worked well running 98, and I usually didn't have any problems. Now
I've changed some hardware and upgraded to ME. The performance is horrible. Its
a P3 500, with 256MB RAM, a total of 50 GB HD space, and definately doesn't
perform as well as it should.
One thing that I'd like to solve is the problem I have with installing OS's.
When I try, DOS will not recognize a CD-ROM drive. When ME is running, it
recognizes the two drives, a TDK VeloCD burner, and an EPO DVD-ROM, no problem.
When I put ME on the computer, using the 98 OS still on the computer, I had to
copy the CD files to the HD, and installed it from that drive through DOS,
because DOS would not recognize the CD-ROM drives. The drives run through a
Promise Ultra100 TX2 card mounted on my Tyan Tiger 100 motherboard(just upgraded
the BIOS).
I've built this PC myself, but friends showed me how and what to do, so I think
its a hardware problem. Please help.
-Lev Gartman
Go Blue!
Need More Information : I'm not sure of exactly your situation but CD-ROM drives
are *never* accessible from DOS without specifically loading DOS CD-ROM drivers.
So not being able to access the CD-ROM drives from pure DOS (not a DOS prompt
inside Windows) is quite normal. Can you give me more details and what you need
help with?
FUQuestion : Here's my whole comp history, maybe it will help.
Ever since I upgraded some parts of my computer, I've been having a lot of
problems with it. With friends, 3 years ago, I bought and put in the computer:
Tyan Tiger 100 Motherboard, Quantum Fireball 10 GB Hard Drive, 256 MB RAM,
Promise Ultra ATA/66 PCI Controller Card, Diamond Viper V770 Graphics Card,
Sound Blaster Live! Value Audio Card, CompUSA Power Supply, a Kenwood 52X CDRom,
a Adaptec Burner, and an Intel Pentium III 500 Processor. And the computer
worked great.
Over time, I upgraded the power supply and put in a SOHOware 10/100 Ethernet
Card. The computer still worked great.
Recently, I took out the CD Rom and burner and replaced them with an EPO 16x
DVD-ROM and a TDK 12x10x32 VeloCD Burner. I replaced the ATA/66 PCI controller
card with a Promise TX2 Ultra ATA/100 PCI controller Card. And I added an IBM
deskstar 60GXP 40 GB Hard Drive. All of these changes I made at the same time.
Now, the PC runs incredibly slow, much slower than it did before the changes.
When I try to install a new OS, DOS will not recognize a CD-ROM drive. I've
tried bootdisks galore, and replacing the DVD-ROM with my old Kenwood CDROM.
When ME is running, it recognizes the two drives, a TDK VeloCD burner, and an
EPO DVD-ROM(or the Kenwood), no problem. When I put ME on the computer, using
the 98 OS still on the computer, I had to copy the CD files to the HD, and
installed it from that drive through DOS, because DOS would not recognize the
CD-ROM drives. I've called TDK and EPO, and TDK told me their burner should NOT
be recognized in DOS, so that problem is solved. The EPO people said theirs
should, but couldnt help me as to why it wasnt. And the Kenwood has worked
before in DOS, and now DOS recognizes no CDROM drives. I get the feeling it has
something to do with compatability between some of the stuff and the TX2 or the
motherboard, but I've been wrong before. Any help?
Answer : You can not access ANY CD-ROM from DOS - DOS does not have native
drivers for CD-ROM drives. You must load one. Here's how to build a boot disk to
access your CD/DVD drives:
OK - Make a boot floppy (on your or another Windows machine) as follows:
Start/Programs/MS-DOS Prompt
(put a blank floppy in the drive)
format a:
c:
cd \
sys a:
copy windows\himem.sys a:\
copy windows\smartdrv.exe a:\
copy windows\command\mscdex.exe a:\
copy windows\command\xcopy*.* a:\
copy windows\command\format.com a:\
copy windows\command\edit.com a:\
copy windows\command\sys.com a:\
Download the following file to A:\
http://members.home.com/iqueue/idecd.sys
Now create a config.sys as follows:
edit a:\config.sys
The config.sys needs the following in it:
device=\himem.sys
device=\idecd.sys /d:cdrom001
Save the config.sys
Now edit A:\AUTOEXEC.BAT and put the following in it:
@echo off
\mscdex.exe /d:cdrom001 /l:f
\smartdrv /n c+ f 4096 4096
Save the file and exit.
Now test the disk and ensure it boots and brings the CD-ROM drive up
successfully as letter F.
--
Paul Doherty
http://members.home.net/iqueue
Rating : 5
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QAId : 6744205
Asker : seemalv
Subject : file transfer
Private : No
Question : hello,
i need to transfer some file from one computer to another that is about 4 MB. It
does not have infrared either.
what else can i do?
thanks
Answer : One way is with a null-modem serial cable available at most computer
stores and a software program, like xport.exe (run it in DOS on both machines
while connected via the null-modem cable - be warned that it is old and does not
understand long filenames).
Another way would be to ZIP the file to successive floppies with WinZip. If you
start creating a ZIP file of this 4 MB file to a floppy WinZip will fill the
first disk and then prompt for additional disks as needed until the whole file
is backed up. This is probably the easiest way (http://www.winzip.com).
--
Paul Doherty
http://members.home.net/iqueue
DOS/Windows Utilities
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QAId : 6798189
Asker : Anonymous
Subject : Broken Laptop
Private : Yes
Question : Hi, I was wondering if you could help me. I own a Dell Inspiron 3700
and latley it has been screwing up quite badly. When I turn it off for the night
and I come back inn the morning to turn it back on, it will freeze at the
Windows 98 screen. I coildnt do anything so the best i could come up with was to
push the on button. This didnt do anything, so I took out the cable modem card
(probably not to good) however, this shut the computer down. Then when I turn it
back on, I get a series of, "windows could not load properly on the first try"
or something, and it gpoes into safe mode, then i go to start, shut down,
restart, and I will have to go into safe mode or take out the modem card about 3
or 4 times before it will load properly. What should I do. THANK YOU!
Answer : The easiest thing to do would be to break out your Windows CD and, from
within Windows, reinstall Windows right over the top of the one you have now -
it will preserve your drivers, all installed programs, your data, etc. All it
will do is force Windows to reevaluate your hardware (and will likely correct
your problem which is almost certainly a driver issue).
--
Paul Doherty
http://members.home.net/iqueue
DOS/Windows Utilities
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QAId : 6824113
Asker : jharle1
Subject : Word corrupted??
Private : No
Question : I am having a problem with Word-my guess is that it has become
corrupted, but I don't know what the next step is. These are the messages I am
getting: WinWord is not responding, Qttast is in my ctrl-alt-del and it is
listed as not responding, when I click ctrl-alt-del, I get There is not enough
free memory to run this program, system is dangerously low on resources, system
is waiting for close program dialog box to be displayed.
Am I to reinstall Word, or I have a tape back-up. Do I instead reinstall
something from the tape? I am a beginner and so please make it simple. Thank
you.
Need More Information : The first thing I would do is figure out what this
"Qttast" program is. Try and find it on your system and see what program it is
coming from. Do a Start/Find/Files and Folders and type in:
qttast*
with C:\ being the selected starting location and "subfolders" checked.
Let me know what you find.
FUQuestion : qttask.exe d:\Windows\System 28kb
Qttask.lgc C:\Windows applog LGC file
1 kb
Answer : That is a QuickTime app - uninstall your QuickTime player from
Start/Settings/Control Panel/Add-Remove Programs and then, if that file
qtttask.exe still exists, delete it manually. Then go to http://www.apple.com
and get the latest version of QuickTime and install it. Then let me know if your
problem persists.
--
Paul Doherty
http://members.home.net/iqueue
DOS/Windows Utilities
FUQuestion : I did all the steps and the problem still persists. However, qttask
is no longer in my ctrl-alt-del. But still when I click on a word file it gets
as far as the logo screen and then freezes. Ctrl-alt-del brings up the same
messages and I am out of system memory to even get writing when I click on the
start menu and must shut down the computer using ctrl-alt-del twice.
FUQuestion : I just picked up my PC World magazine and on page 63 see some info
that may or may not be related to my problem. It can be found at
www.find.pcworld.com/15000
That is not exactly the message that I get. And I use the Word application that
is a part of Microsoft Works.
Answer : I would try backing up your documents and uninstalling Works, and then
reinstall it. If no other apps are giving you errors and Windows works fine in
all other cases.
Rating : 5
FUQuestion : I uninstalled Word (not works) and reinstalled it. Unfortunately
there was no change. Question, possibly would the "Repair Word" box be a
possibility? (comes up with the CD in while Word is still installed along with
the option to uninstall Word in Control Panel, Add/Remove Program) Or do you
suggest uninstalling Works and reinstalling it as the next step? Thanks
Answer : If I were you I'd do one of two things:
1. Remove any and all apps that startup with Windows - those apps that start and
sit in your systray. If after all of those are uninstalled (or at least stopped
from running) you still get the errors then I would go to step 2.
2. Install Windows again over the top of your existing install. This will fix a
lot of strange errors like this, as Windows will replace out of date or
incompatible DLLs and other files/settings that are difficult to track down.
Just put the Windows CD in and install to the same dir you have Windows in now.
Your programs and data will be safe.
--
Paul Doherty
http://members.home.net/iqueue
DOS/Windows Utilities
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QAId : 6824669
Asker : autographsforsale
Subject : hard drive transfer to new computer
Private : No
Question : My home office PC is getting long in the tooth (266 mhz, 64MB ram)
and I've upgraded as much as I can. I am anxious to buy a new PC and I actually
have the model in mind.
The only thing that's holding me back from doing it immediately is I dread
transferring all the files and programs from my old hard drive. I am especially
worried about losing all the internet passwords and IDs that I assume are stored
in my cookies folder. I do not have a zip drive, only a read-only CD ROM and a
floppy drive. I do have a cable modem and 6 MB of e-mail storage on Yahoo, so I
could theoretically e-mail myself attachments with my old computer and retrieve
them with my new computer.
Any advice or tricks you can offer would be appreciated.
Answer : Probably the easiest way for a novice to go about this would be to:
Buy the new PC.
Unplug the hard drive from the old machine.
Plug it into the new machine jumpered as "slave" onto the extra connection on
the same cable as the new machine's hard disk.
Boot the new machine and copy over what you need from the old hard disk (which
should appear as drive D:). The cookies and such are stored in subdirs under
\Windows - ex \windows\cookies and \windows\favorites for your browser
shortcuts. If you use Outlook Express your email folders are kept as .DBX files
under \Windows\application data\identities\(some long hex-like
value)\Microsoft\Outlook Express.
Once you're done getting what you want you can pull the old hard drive out.
--
Paul Doherty
http://members.home.net/iqueue
DOS/Windows Utilities
Rating : 5
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QAId : 6832543
Asker : jav90
Subject : Anti Virus
Private : No
Question : Hi, Is it possible to use many Anti Virusses at the same time on one
computer?
Answer : It probably is, but it's likely a very bad idea. I would find your
favorite and stick with only that one, keeping it up to date with the latest
virus definitions from their web site.
--
Paul Doherty
http://members.home.net/iqueue
DOS/Windows Utilities
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QAId : 6835311
Asker : Anonymous
Subject : OldMainThreadWndName
Private : Yes
Question : My utilities program keeps telling me I have a crash in
OldMainThreadWndName. Please explain what this is and what can be done to
correct it. Thanx.
Answer : I'd have to guess that this is an internal variable the program uses
and this is a bug the developers didn't fix. I would find an update to fix the
program or discontinue using it.
Rating : 4
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QAId : 6840973
Asker : Anonymous
Subject : Windows Media Player
Private : No
Question : Hey, I've got windows 98, and I just got windows media player 7.1. I
notice that when I pull down the file menu.. i see movies I have played most
recently... is there any way I can delete that "history" or any way I can turn
that function off?! THANK YOU
Answer : It is likely stored in the registry.
The easiest way I can think of to do this is to rename one of your AVI or other
video files something unique like:
GOOBER.AVI
Then open it in media player and ensure that it shows up in the recently opened
list. Now close media player and Start/Run/regedit
Once in the Registry Editor press CTRL-F and type GOOBER.AVI - note the location
where it is found (and press F3 to search again - it may be in more than one
place). Delete those entries and note the location for future use. Then open
media player again and ensure that Goober.avi doesn't show up in the list
anymore.
As for disabling the feature entirely try poking around in the menus - I don't
know if there is an option to stop that or not.
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QAId : 6842824
Asker : nasrene@...
Subject : PC System problems
Private : No
Question : Hi,
We have a new store brand PC running Windows Millenium. It freezes up, or blinks
off/on with loss of data when there has been no power problem. We let McAfee run
a check on our computer and it fixed a long list of things, but told us this:
The "ACPI IRQ Holder for PCI IRQ Steering" device has a problem. Cannot be fixed
automatically.
What do we do?
Thanks for your help!
Nasrene
Answer : Those are not "real" devices in the same sense as a sound card or video
card is a real device. They are just placeholders.
I would ignore the "error" being generated by McAfee unless you have a known
problem you think is associated with this.
--
Paul Doherty
http://members.home.net/iqueue
DOS/Windows Utilities
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QAId : 6868664
Asker : Anonymous
Subject : passward protection for a folder
Private : No
Question : Is there a software that can password protect a folder, so that any
file I move to that folder will be automatically password protected by the same
password.
Answer : Try some of these...
http://download.cnet.com/downloads/1,10150,0-10001-103-0-1-7,00.html?tag=srch&qt=encrypt+folders&cn=&ca=10001
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