FAQS! FACTS! FAX!  313 (14/05/02)

Q

My PC runs Windows XP, which comes with Windows Media Player. A couple of the visual effects of Windows Media Player could be very useful as an aid when teaching Deaf children to speak. "Bars and Waves: Firestorm" is actually a modified frequency spectrum of the audio channel while "Bars and Waves: Scope" displays the audio as one would see it on an oscilloscope. If one were able to drive these displays from the PC's microphone input, a deaf person would be able to compare, visually, their own pronunciation with that of more intelligible speech. Do you know how this might be done? My profoundly deaf granddaughter and I would like to experiment with this idea.

Stephen Lawson

A

There are several possibilities, the simplest is to bypass Windows Media Player (WIMP) altogether and use a utility like Sound Frequency Analyser, which displays both an oscilloscope type pattern and a Fourier Transform, which represents the frequencies in the sound as colours. It will display any sound going through your PC’s soundcard, which of course includes the microphone input. It’s freeware, small (31kb) and can be downloaded from http://www.relisoft.com/freq.zip. The alternative is to install a Windows Media Player tool called Windows Media Encoder. This is an advanced utility, which, amongst other things, converts incoming sounds into a ‘streaming’ media file that can be ready by WIMP. It’s a bit fiddly to set up, and the download file is in excess of 4Mb but if you’re interested more details can be found at: http://www.microsoft.com/windows/

windowsmedia/default.asp

Q

I've just bought a new (Toshiba) laptop, and on the desktop is a shortcut to 'Convert to NTFS'. I've read the Win XP help file about this, which turns out to be a disk partitioning system, but since the Help file says it is irreversible, should I convert the laptop's 20Gb hard drive?

Andrew Higgins, Scarborough

A

Converting to NTFS or ‘New Technology Filing System’ is a one-way trip and it has a number of advantages over the FAT-32 (File Allocation Table) system that you’re probably using now. They include increased reliability, improved efficiency, it’s faster and it is essential if you use large (in excess of 2 terabytes…) hard drives and storage systems. However I’m a great believer in the old ‘if it ‘aint broke...’ maxim, the performance gains are minimal and only really show up on demanding applications, like video editing and graphics. Large drive compatibility is obviously not an issue in your case and if your present system is operating satisfactorily and you haven’t had any warning messages to the effect that you need to convert then I suggest that you leave well alone.

Q

I have been using Word 97 (as part of Office 97) for some years. I now wish to install Word 2000 but am concerned that I may lose all my many macros, Autotext settings, fonts, Select-a-Font, labels settings, Avery Wizard, etc. How can I keep all these items?  I'm using Win 98SE.

Fred J Brooks

Q

When you install Word 2000 on a PC it will attempt to import all of your settings and preferences from Word 97. Most of them will be carried across without any problem but you may find that one or two macros will no longer work, however the newer version of Word has an edit utility that will help you to manually correct errors by highlighting troublesome commands and suggesting solutions. Unfortunately there’s no way of knowing beforehand which ones will cause problems so it’s a case of suck it and see.

Q

 I have seen contradictory advice about installing antivirus programs. Some "experts" say that one should only ever have one program installed, because they will interfere with each other.  Others say that to be really safe - as no one manufacturer can give 100% protection - one should and can install a proprietary retail product (e.g. McAfee or Norton) and also download and install a "free" one such as AVG alongside it. Who is right?

Brian Stewart

A

Whilst I agree that you can’t have too much protection I have come across several cases of programs clashing, where the signature files used to identify viruses in one program has been identified as a threat by another. The vast majority of viruses nowadays come attached to emails so I recommend that you stick to just one program, keep it religiously updated and take all sensible precautions by not opening any attached files, unless you are one hundred percent sure of their provenance, and only then when they’ve been run through the virus checker.

Q

How can I stop my modem answering the telephone when the phone rings and the computer is turned on?

Dick Gray

A

The option to pick up the line when the phone rings – usually called ‘auto answer’ – can normally be found in the modem’s setup software, or in any other fax/voice software installed on your PC. There are a couple of places to look, go to Control Panel (Start > Settings) and click on the Modem icon, highlight your modem’s entry and click the Properties and Advanced buttons. Check also Dial Up Connections in My Computer, right click on your dial-up connection and select Properties and click the Configure button. If you have any fax programs on your PC you can see if they’re responsible by pressing Ctrl + Alt + Del to print up the Close Program dialogue box, highlight the offending program and click End Task and see if that makes a difference, if so you may be able to switch the facility off from it’s setup menu, remove it from the Startup group or uninstall it if you are not using it.

Q

My PC tells me that it cannot find file "acroread.exe" which enables me to use Acrobat 4 and read/printout pdf files e.g. from the web. It seems very likely that it was accidentally deleted when a suite of files, which I no longer required was deleted - by an "expert" whose help I sought. Following the small window telling me that acroread.exe cannot be found I get another saying "Run-time error 53". Your advice as to how to recover/obtain a new copy of the missing file would be greatly appreciated.

Peter Lee

A

Rather than trying to repair Acrobat I think it will be a lot easier to uninstall it, from Add/Remove Programs in Control Panel then install the latest version (currently version 5) from http://www.adobe.com/products/

acrobat/readstep2.html

Q

I recently changed from Windows 95 to 98. All I have found so far is problems. I have been told that you cannot use it to send faxes directly. Can you please suggest a simple programme that I can download for this?

Stanley C

A

It can be done but as you’ve found out the built-in faxing utilities in Windows can be difficult to configure, fortunately there are plenty of freeware alternatives, have a look at CallCentre, which you can find at: www.v3fax.com/freecc.htm