FAQS! FACTS! FAX!  258 (11/04/01)

Q

You advised that data could not be updated on a rewritable CD. Not correct - if the CD is formatted for packet writing it can be used as a normal drive.  It is advisable to copy the file to be updated to the hard drive, delete it from the CD and then write the updated version back.  There is one nasty bug in the version I have used. Very large files (I was using 30 megabyte plus ones) cannot be successfully written with the version I have. The PC hangs when it is attempted - the CD cannot be read normally although a CD writing program such as Nero can copy the CD and recover almost everything and the CD can then be re-formatted.
J. R. Gibson

Guilty as charged! Thanks to J.R. Gibson and everyone else who wrote in to remind me about packet writing or UDF (Universal Data Format). This is a facility on several popular CD writer applications that does indeed allow a CD-RW disc to be used like a floppy or hard disc with incremental re-writing and selective file deletion. Unfortunately it has a number of limitations, and it can be unreliable. Not all CD-R/RW drives support packet writing, the disc has to be specially formatted (this can take an hour or more), after which it can only be read on the drive that created it, or another compatible drive with the correct software. The formatting also reduces the capacity of the disc from 650Mb to around 500Mb.Given that write-once and re-writable discs are now so cheap I am not convinced that the loss of capacity and compatibility or potential reliability problems that packet writing entails is worth the relatively small improvement in functionality.

Q

I use my laptop about 6 hours a day and am interested to know what the added risks are for breakdowns compared with a lighter user. What is the life of the various components? In particular is the hard drive susceptible to early failure if it is used a lot?
Keith Griffiths

A

You needn't be concerned, the electronic and mechanical components in a laptop – apart from the power supply (i.e. the battery) – are no less reliable than a desktop machine and that goes for hard disc drives, for which most manufacturers quote an MTBF (mean time between failure) of between 250,000 and 1.2 million hours or a little over 28 years! You shouldn't read too much into those numbers, but the bottom line is that the average disc drive has a life expectancy of at least five to eight years, by which time you will almost certainly have replaced the machine. The main risk to a laptop's well being is careless handling; most machines will not survive even a relatively small drop of a few inches on to a hard surface or repeated rough treatment. Ironically your laptop is probably least liable to fail or suffer damage for the six hours a day it is in use…

Q

E-mails from my sister in New Zealand arrive in my Delete folder instead of my Inbox folder, and I am concerned that I may miss one altogether. She has changed her computer fairly recently, so says the problem must be at my end, but I have no problem with anyone else's e-mails.

Peter King

A

Normally this only happens if you or someone has set up a message 'rule' that instructs Outlook Express to send an email from a particular sender, or by some other criteria (message size, keyword, date etc.) straight to Deleted Items. You can check this by clicking on Message Rules on the Tools menu, and select Mail from the list.

Q

Now and again a warning banner is displayed on start-up which states that Spool 32 has performed an illegal operation and will be closed down.  "OK" removes this and nothing else seems to be wrong, all then works smoothly.  What is Spool 32? Can it be removed altogether?  If so, how? 

Richard Walker

A

Spool 32 is a program within Windows that speeds up multiple printing jobs by temporarily storing each one on the hard disc drive, before being sent to the printer. The Spool 32 error message is very common and there are dozens of possible causes but most of them come down to other programs interfering with the print process, a corrupt printer driver or your PC is very low on resources (less than 100Mb free space etc.). Try reinstalling your printer software and have a look at your printer manufacturer's website to see if there's an updated driver for your model or anything about error messages in the support or FAQ sections. Before printing exit all other programs that use the printer, in particular any fax software you may have.  If all else fails and your printer is not very heavily used you can safely disable print spooling, without any significant reduction in performance. Go to Start > Settings > Printers, right click on your printer and select Properties, select the Details tab, click the Spool Settings button and check the item 'Print Directly to the Printer'.

Q

Every hour I like to get up from the computer to relax my eyes and my body. How can I set the computer to play a sound at hourly intervals?

Ian Pembroke

A

Have a look at an excellent freeware utility called Alarm Simple, which sits in the Windows System Tracy (next to the clock). It allows you to set up an almost unlimited number of alarm 'events' by time, day and date, and assign each one to a sound or on-screen message. The program is tiny (the download zip file is only 134kB) and it can be found at:

http://www.jumbo.com/utilities/

Click on Time Tools in the Utilities category.

Q

My home power sockets are protected by an RCD consumer unit. Am I right in relying on this to protect my PC from "spikes" and surges?
Norman Wilson

A

No, RCD or residual current detection devices are designed to protect users of mains appliances, like power tools etc., from electric shock. Some products may well incorporate additional surge protection facilities but it is definitely not a standard feature.

Q

I am sure I read about a web site where letters etc., could be translated from English into French and vice versa. Can you tell me again what it was?

Judith Whitworth 

A

There are several free on-line translation web sites, the best known is Babelfish, which can be found at: http://babelfish.altavista.com/

Q.

Could you please tell me if it is possible to make icons from picture files and if so how is it done?

Anji B

A

Yes it is; Windows lets you turn any bitmap (extension *.bmp) picture file into an icon simply by changing its extension. All you have to do is open Windows Explorer, find your chosen picture file and click once to highlight it, wait a second, click again insert a cursor, wait another second and click a third time and you can change the extension to '.ico', press return and Windows automatically resizes the image. To change a desktop application's icon right click on the shortcut, select Properties, then the Program tab, click the change icon button and use Browse to locate your new icon.