Q: I find "Mailbox"
very good. I have P III/700 MHz with Win98 and WinNT Workstation. How
do I check if my AGP card has 8 MB and the sound card is 64 bits, as my
vendor claims. When I look in System Information, it shows that a Pentium
II is installed in my computer. Also what are the various uses of the
infra-red port?
Manish Agarwal
via email
A: The Pentium 3 is mis-reported because when your Windows versions were compiled, the highest processor type available was a Pentium II. On the 810 motherboard, sound is usually integrated. To verify if the correct hardware has been installed you need to download a copy of AMIDiags from ZD Net. Or use Norton Utilities. Or you can have the vendor open the case.
The infra-red port is used for line-of-sight serial data communication between two enabled devices. These could be a palmtop, notebook PC, printer or even a cell phone. However, IR is even slower than a cable connection.
Q:
Please tell me about some free software with which
I can record part of a video file. Also some free video compression software.
SK Mitra
via email
A: The software may be free, but to get some semblance of quality you need to get a high-end system (Pentium III, 128-256 MB RAM, 10-15 GB SCSI-2 HDD) and a video-grabber card (approx Rs 15,000 onwards). You could consult http://www.lnt.de/~hartung/links.html for more on video compression as also http://www.abc-tv.com/dv_ABC.html for a free tool.
Q:
When shutting down Windows it is freezing at "Windows
is shutting down." Pressing cntrl+alt+del to bring up the Task Manager
shows that Real Player is not working. Restarting manually using the step-by-step
option an then immediately shutting down resolves the problem. Also the
"Display" icon has disappeared from the tray. How do I restore
it? Also, my Hotmail is not opening from IE5.5 but is opening with Netscape
Communicator.
BP Ghosh
via email
Q:
My computer stops responding once it enters stand-by
mode. Pressing a key shows a blinking cursor on a blank screen. I have
checked and then subsequently unchecked the option “reset display
on suspend/resume” without any success in solving my problem. I use
Win98 SE.
Suranjan Bhanja
via email
A: Please consult http://www.freespeech.org/Khephra/a/shutdown.htm for problem-specific information. Try closing Real Player before shutting down Windows. To get the Display icon back on the tray, right-click the desktop and choose Properties|Settings|Advanced|General and select "Shows settings icon..." As long as Hotmail is accessible what is the problem? To resolve the power issue, first disable the power management settings in the BIOS. Then use the above URL for some specific trouble-shooting.
Q:
I changed my keyboard to a multimedia one. It has started showing that
a required DLL was not found. My Netscape Navigator 4.75 also stopped
working. But when I uninstalled the driver and then reinstalled it, I
had no more problems. But now PowerPoint clip art has stopped working.
What is the problem?
Mudit
via email
A: With the general information provided, all I can think of is a software drive conflict. In Windows Control Panel go to the Keyboard tab and change the keyboard type. You can also check the manufacturer's site for more details and/or an updated driver.
Q:
Letting us know how to delete the MTX virus is of no use. I tried all
the ways you listed but could not clean my system. If you have a better
way, please inform me.
Manoj Bhatia
via email
A: Seems the virus has embedded itself in your PC. Only the ultimate is left: backup all your data (excluding programs), as well as your mailbox, then reformat your hard drive, etcetera.
Q:
I have an ancient Celeron 266 with 32MB RAM. I was
using Windows 95 and was quite satisfied with it. I had to format the
disk after which I loaded Windows 98. I like its features but find that
it has slowed down the system considerably. Is this due to insufficient
RAM or a slow processor? Will upgrading the RAM help or should the processor
be changed. I do not want to go back to Windows 95.
Muzamil Ferozie
via email
A: Windows 98 (SE) minimum RAM is supposedly 32 MB. However, with Microsoft always double the minimum to get the real figure: 64 MB. If a RAM increase speeds things up, fine. But if your PC still crawls along, consider replacing the processor too.
Q:
How do I setup Outlook Express to download my Hotmail.
I tried but it didn't work. What are the POP3 and SMTP server addresses.
Surojit Mookherjee
via email
A: Do you access Hotmail at work? If so, your stem administrators may have blocked access. So ask them. OE can't negotiate a proxy server.
A: I would like to share my solutions to some issues raised in this column. Divya Seth (Virtual Memory settings) seems to have confused Virtual Memory Allocation with Virtual Cache Settings under Windows. Virtual Memory is actually twice the total installed memory, which in her case would be 256MB. This can be set manually through the System applet in the Control Panel under System Properties|Performance.
Suronath
Ghosh (Advance Power Management is showing "!" sign) is due
to wrong settings in the BIOS. Advance Power Management has been Disabled.
He should choose the option "User Define" and not "Max
Saving or "Min Saving." Many old motherboards do not support
the Option "Disabled.".
Nawaid Iqbal
via email
Q:
I plan to install more than one sound card in my
Cyrix 6x86MX/Intel Pentium so I can Record multiple Audio Tracks simultaneously.
Is this Possible? If so, please suggest how to accomplish this successfully.
Please mention whether the cards may be of different configuration or
must be of the same type.
Kallol Acharya
via email
A: We are confused. Do you have two physical PCs or one PC? To multi-mix audio tracks you can use software like CoolEdit or SoundForge to keep laying additional channels. As for the sound card, if you plan to acquire a new one, try the
Q:
I find it@tt really helpful. I don't have a computer,
so I can't email you. Can you help answer my questions. In Borland Turbo
C, how do I compile a program larger than 64 kB? Is an "illegal operation"
error cause by less RAM or a programming error in the software. Can you
start a section that teaches readers how to install a printer and what
to do before buying peripherals. Can you also begin listing software and
hardware with prices. Please don't ignore my letter; not all of us have
a computer.
Chandan
via mail
A: From what we have been able to research, Borland Turbo C was originally designed for the Commodore 64. This has a maximum program size of 64 kB, which is why you seem to be receiving an error. For tips on installing printers et al, check out our Product Guides. As for the price listing we will consider it.
Q: I have a PIII with 64MB RAM running Win98 SE. The PC remains on overnight as it is configured to receive the fax as well. Every morning I notice that the time on the taskbar is slow by 10-20 minutes. This is corrected once I restarted the PC.
I
have an HP DeskJet 610C. Using HP's driver, which comes with the printer,
the PC freezes until the last page has been printed. I have no problems
with Window's Deskjet driver except that this cannot print lighter shades.
Biju Augustine
via email
A:
A detailed diagnosis is not possible with the information supplied. However
the clock problem may be caused by the PC locking up when receiving faxes.
Is your fax software fully Windows 98-compatible? As for your printer,
make sure printer spooling is enabled. Right click the printer icon in
Control Panel|Printers and select Properties. The Windows driver is a
generic version that doesn't support print density control.
G
Menon
[email protected]