FAQS! FACTS! FAX!  203 (16/03/00)

HOT TIP

A couple of weeks ago you explained how to modify and add accounts in Outlook Express 5 and closed by saying "... Outlook Express 5 will allow you to access a Hotmail email account." Could you please let us into the secret as to how this is done? On two other separate occasions in computer magazines I have come across similar statements, but again no explanation or details of the method to use, is it too complex and difficult?

Berry Atkinson

It’s actually very easy. Open OE5, on the Tools menu click on Accounts, select the Mail tab, then click the Add button and choose Mail from the list. This starts the Connection Wizard. Enter your name or accept the default, click Next. Make sure ‘I already have an email address…’ is checked and enter your full Hotmail email address. OE5 should recognise the Hotmail.com domain and when you click Next the email Server Name boxes should already be configured, click Next to take you to the account name and password entry fields and when they’ve been filled in click Next then Finish and it’s done.

SOUNDS EASY

I would like to create short sound files (.wav) of 5 seconds duration, say, by sampling my audio CD's. How do I do it without resorting to a microphone? In other words how do I record directly from the CD to a file on the hard disk?

David Fowler

Windows 95/98 has everything you need. Go to the Start menu then Programs > Accessories > Entertainment and open CD Player and Sound Recorder (if they’re not shown they will have to be installed from the Windows Setup tab in Add/Remove Programs in Control Panel). On the CD Player View Menu select Volume Control (or double click on the speaker icon – if shown – in the System Tray next to the clock) and make sure the Wave slider is shown, if not click on Options > Properties and check Wave in the ‘Show the following…’ dialogue window. Now go to Sound Recorder and click on Audio Properties on the Edit menu and under Recording make sure the Preferred Device is your PC’s soundcard. Now you’re ready. Use CD Player to set up the track or segment you want to record, click the Record icon on the Sound Recorder and start playback in CD Player. When the recording has finished you can use the options on the Edit menu to trim the recording, and use Save As on the File menu to name and save the resulting *.wav file in a convenient location on your PC’s hard disc drive.

AWKWARD ACORN

I work in an infants’ school, which has just received its NGFL computers. Could you tell me the name of an Acorn Emulator program that runs under Windows 95? We have thousands of pounds worth of Acorn programs for which we have already paid Site Licenses for and it seems a waste not to be able to use them.

Elaine T Naughton

Acorn emulation is a surprisingly difficult task for the PC since it depends on access to data held on a proprietary ROM (read only memory) chip. There are a variety of solutions however, and you can find more information and links to suppliers of hardware and software at the following web sites:

http://www.cybervillage.oaktree.co.uk/

acorn/emulation/foreign.htm

http://www.doggysoft.co.uk/

gaming/Features/Emul.html

MISSING THE POINT

For some reason my mouse pointer has become invisible in dialogue boxes or in the body of text in a document. This is evident in Money, Word 2000 and indeed when I registered with the Electronic Telegraph in order to make this inquiry. The mouse still seems to be present, but it can’t be seen so I have to resort to using the keyboard.

David Moon

Applications occasionally take it upon themselves to modify the characteristics of the mouse pointer.  To change back to the default go to Mouse in Control Panel, select the Pointers tab and select Windows Standard or Animated Hourglass listed under Scheme.

ITINERENT ICONS

I have arranged my desktop the way I want it, icons and folders grouped accordingly, however, when someone else uses the PC the icons always get rearranged, perhaps unintentionally.  Is it possible to Save a desktop icon arrangement?

Tom Maxwell

Normally desktop icons and folders stay where they’ve been put but they will line up on the left side of the screen if Auto Arrange has been enabled. To switch it off right-click into an empty area of the desktop, move the mouse pointer to Arrange Icons and then click to deselect Auto Arrange.

HIDE AND SEEK

A quarter of my space on C: drive is taken up with Hidden Files. What are they how did they get there how do I get rid of them?

Pam Brunning

Files can be given a ‘hidden’ attribute for a number of reasons, but it’s usually because they’re important and Windows is trying to protect them from being accidentally opened and altered. Windows Explorer is set by default not to show hidden files but it’s a simple enough matter to change that by going to Folder Options on the View menu. Select the View tab, in the Advanced Setting window look for Hidden Files, check the item ‘Show all files’, and click OK. This will almost certainly reveal some very large files that could be safely erase or pruned, however, never delete files willy-nilly, instead get hold of a disc housekeeping utility, like CleanSweep or Nuts and Bolts, which will identify files that can be safely removed. Windows 98 has a utility called Disc Cleanup (Start > Programs > Accessories > System Tools), however, it is fairly conservative and ignores a lot of the clutter that accumulates on a well-used PC.

EXPLORATORY OPERATION

Whenever I open Explorer I have to do a couple of clicks to get to where I want to get to, e.g. to look in the A drive or the root directory of drive C. Is there any way of ensuring that Explorer opens at a more sensible starting point?
Tony Bartho

This question crops up quite regularly but since we last dealt with it over a year ago it’s worth covering the procedure again. The problem is the instructions that tell Windows Explorer to open on a particular drive or folder are quite well hidden. Open Explorer and double-click on the Windows folder. Next, open the Start Menu folder then right-click on the Windows Explorer shortcut icon (in some versions of Windows this might be in the Programs sub solder). Choose Properties and select the Shortcut tab; the Target field usually reads: C:\WINDOWS\EXPLORER.EXE

To make Explorer open and show the contents of the A drive, add the following ‘switches’ to the command line, thus:

C:\WINDOWS\EXPLORER.EXE /n /e, A:\

or to make it open in the root directory of the C drive change the line to:

C:\WINDOWS\EXPLORER.EXE /n /e, C:\

To get Explorer to open with the contents of a particular folder simply add the path or folder name to the command line after C:\, for example:

C:\WINDOWS\EXPLORER.EXE /n /e, C:\My Documents

Don’t forget the spaces before the backslashes and the comma after ‘e’.