FAQS! FACTS! FAX!  247 (25/01/01)

Q

Can you help with a recurring PC problem that my suppliers technical support team seem unable to solve? After approximately 30 minutes use error messages appear on screen causing program in use to close. The error message usually relates to whatever application is in use, e.g. "WinWord has caused error in Winword.exe" and the program closes. Occasionally other messages have appeared seemingly unrelated to the current program, such as 'Spool32, Helpctr caused error in mshtml.dll'. The PC can only be shut down by pressing Ctrl + Alt + Del, not via the Start menu, and it can only be restarted after waiting a good few minutes. I have run Scandisk, tried system restore and reinstalled Windows but the errors persist.
Les Waterhouse, Fareham, Hants

A

The fact that it happens to any running program, after a fairly regular interval, and it gets better after the machine has been switched off for a while, suggests that it may not having anything to do with Windows or the software on your PC, but is actually a cooling problem! The symptoms you describe are precisely the sort of thing that happens when the fan mounted on the CPU fails, or runs erratically. Nine times out of ten it is the fan – grinding and whining noises is usually an imminent sign of failure – but occasionally cables inside the system unit come loose and interfere with the fan blades. Either way this is something you can easily check for yourself, by opening up the machine and check to see if the fan is spinning when the PC is switched on. However, if the fan is faulty you may want to have an engineer carry out the actual replacement. They can be in an awkward position or tricky to remove, and you can easily damage nearby components on the motherboard trying to undo the retaining clips.

Q

As my eyesight deteriorates, is there a utility for Windows that will make the normal blinking cursor bigger or a different colour?

Graham Houghton

A

You will find an almost endless supply of freebie cursors and pointers on the web, plus some handy utilities that will let you design your own. A good place to start is: www.anicursor.com/curlinks.html, which has links to dozens of other cursor sites.

Q.

I enjoyed your 10 Top Demons article (dotcom 11th January) and found it helpful. I have just one query. Under the heading "Defrag Hangs", you said one must remember to disable an anti-virus or screensaver program first. Similarly, a newly bought Microsoft DTP program said, "Before installing, turn off any anti virus programs". Turn off? Disable? How does one do it? You didn't say and I don't know.
Roderic Walkington

A

To see a list of programs running in the background and those loaded automatically with Windows press Ctrl + Alt + Delete once, to display the Close Program dialogue box. You can either highlight each item in turn (all except Explorer and Systray) and click End Task, or right-click on icons in the System Tracy (next to the clock) and select Close or Exit. You can disable programs Windows loads automatically from the Start-Up group (Start > Programs > Start Up) by dragging them onto the desktop, then re-boot and run Scandisk or Defrag. Don't forget to put the shortcuts back when you've finished. If you are using Windows 98 or ME you can temporarily disable programs that start with Windows by going to Run on the Start menu and type 'msconfig', select the StartUp tab and uncheck as necessary (make a note of what you do if some items are already deselected).

Q

I am gradually building up a collection of scanned photographs, particularly ancestral ones in connection with genealogy. To help future generations identify the persons, I add names etc. as part of the graphics. This is successful in itself but does not ease the difficulties of locating photos containing a given individual or event. A database would not be particularly helpful as it would require multiple fields, free format etc; and would be divorced from the primary computer source of the scanned photo. Is there a graphics file format, which accepts and retains text so that this would be available to search facilities such as in Find where files can be searched for "Containing Text

Alex Dow, Cowdenbeath, Fife

A

Several possibilities spring to mind, including using long file names (Windows 9x/ME file names can contain up to 255 characters) and no doubt F!F!F! readers will have a few suggestions but the one that would seem to make most sense is to use a family history/genealogy program? Most of them allow you to incorporate images into an easily searchable database, along with any relevant notes etc. that will be linked to the personal histories of the people involved. Alternatively, if you want to associate a fair amount of text with an image you could simply paste it into a Word document. Any other ideas?

Q

Is there a simple way of sending the contents of ones email Address Book to a recipient? I have tried using the help file in Outlook Express without success. I finally had to copy and paste the contents into Word and send it as an attachment. Is this the only way?

Gordon Bryant

A

In Outlook Express go to the File menu, click on Export and select Address Book, highlight the option Text File (Comma Separated Values) then name and save the file (it will be given the extension 'csv'. You will still have to send it as a file attachment, but it is in a form that can be readily imported into most other email client programs. 

Q

Very recently I allowed myself, whilst online, to be talked into setting up my own web site. I don't really know what I expected but I no longer want it. I also inadvertently clicked to say I would have it as my Home Page. I now wish to get rid of it but would settle for removing it as my Home Page. How do I go about it please?

Bill Crafter

A

If you are using Internet Explorer, on the Tools menu click Internet Options select the General tab, type in the new address in Home Page and click Use Current. A similar option in Netscape can be found on the Edit menu under Preferences.