FAQS! FACTS! FAX!  260 (26/04/01)

Q

In trying to free up space on my modest 1.9Gb hard drive, I recently deleted all the named French and German files of a game (Civilisation) from Windows Explorer, leaving only the English. Following this, although the game's elaborate introduction works, when I try to commence a game, it refuses to respond. Would the removal of those 20 or so foreign language files which all appeared to duplicate the English ones in terms of number of Kb, affect the functioning of the game, and if so, how, please?
Frank Millington, London SE19

A

Manually removing files from within a program is a risky business! If that's the only thing you've changed then it is almost certainly the reason the game stalls, and you will probably have to re-install it. For the record the only safe way to cull files is to remove just one or two items at a time then run the parent program to make sure it is still working, if not you can easily restore the deleted file from Recycle bin

Q

We used your Top Tip from the other week concerning use of the System File Checker. We ran this and when it checked the files we got the message, user.exe is corrupt.  Then we continued to the window to restore the file we got the message, 'Specify the location that contains the file you want to restore and the destination for the file.' We have no idea what to do about this and obviously need help.

Arthur and Ann Rush

A.

Don't touch anything yet! System File Checker can replace the corrupt user.exe file for you, and the procedure is usually quite straightforward but there is a known problem with this particular file and some versions of Windows 98 and you should read the Microsoft Knowledgebase article at: http://support.microsoft.com/

support/kb/articles/q192/8/32.asp

Q

I was choosing an Easter card from the Blue Mountain site when a box appeared suggesting a download a program called NetBoost to increase my modem speed. Might this be worth doing at approx £20?

Bob Dudley

A

Well, it is true that there are some modest performance gains to be had from tweaking various default settings in Windows but there are plenty of shareware programs that can do the job for you for a lot less than £20, many are free, see: http://www.tweakfiles.net/networking/. If you don't mind a bit of fiddling around you can do it for yourself and there are lots of web sites that will show you how and test your modem and connection speed; have a look at:

http://www.speedcorp.net/guides/

dialup/tweak01.shtml

http://homepage.tinet.ie/~leslie/testpage.htm

http://206.170.44.66/NetTest.html

Q

I was surprised your comment to Keith Griffiths (F!F!F! April 12th) did not make reference to laptop screen failures. My laptop is less than three years old, very lightly used but has been returned three times to the manufacturer for screen problems. I understood this to be the most common failure on laptops. I have now decided to live with it and I am trying to find an External Monitor to keep me going until my future requirements are clarified but I certainly will think very carefully as to whether I really need a laptop or desktop. Have I just been unlucky?

J.A.King, Glocs

A

I agree that laptop LCD screens have a bit of a reputation but I think it is largely undeserved and the vast majority of problems are due to gravity and mishandling (i.e. owners with butterfingers…). The other common problem is faulty pixels or picture elements in the display. Because of the difficulty in manufacturing 100% perfect LCD screens most manufacturers regard several dud (always 'on' or always 'off') pixels as acceptable. That's providing they are not close to the centre of the screen, where they can be distracting. However a lot of users quite rightly find even one permanently lit faulty pixel incredibly annoying and will generally complain, which skews the track record of what is generally a very reliable component.

Q

I have a problem with my PC, it keeps losing clusters, and I find this out by running Norton System Doctor. It happens after I've had a crash or a bad shutdown and is getting more frequent. It has happened 3 times in the past two weeks. I spoke to someone who thinks that when you start losing clusters on the hard drive it means its about to die! Is this true and if so what should I do?

Jonathan Bennson

A

Heed those timely warnings and backup all essential data now before it is too late! Any change in the condition of a hard disc drive is a sign that it could fail, and that it needs to be promptly replaced.

Q

I know how to delete temporary Internet files, cookies, etc. but I can't seem to get rid of some of the sites I have visited from the Address Bar itself. If I click on the drop-down list to show the URLs, some remain even though I have deleted all the relevant files. Is it possible to get rid of them?
Antony Hall

A

If you don't mind clearing the Recent Documents list as well the quickest and simplest way to expunge all of the desktop 'history' files that keep tabs on what you've been up to, (including that list of addresses), is to go to Settings on the Start menu, select Taskbar and the Start Menu, then the Start Menu Programs tab and click the Clear button under Documents Menu. You should be aware that Windows also maintains a number of hidden files and Registry entries that record your Internet activities but these are not available to a casual snooper. If you wan to find out more have a look at Boot Camp 132 on Internet privacy.