FAQS! FACTS! FAX!  320 (02/07/02)

(NB first letter appears as is…)

Q

I have tried my utmost being very new to this game how can I log on am using a Bush Internet @@@@dy mouse I can click. Could you please advise?
Mick Clark

A

Get a proper computer! Sorry to be so blunt but the problem with many Internet ‘boxes’ -- as clearly shown by your garbled email -- is that they cannot keep up with the many developments that are occurring on the Internet, or cope with the multitude of standards and enhancements, which makes it impossible for them to display all or parts of many web pages. In contrast the software on a PC can be easily changed or updated and you can download files, photographs, videos and music and do so much more. The learning curve is a little steeper but you’ve managed to send an email – more or less – on an Internet TV so you shouldn’t have too much trouble getting to grips with a PC.

Q

Whilst carrying out some housekeeping on my system over several days some 81 files were consigned to the Recycle Bin. No message was received that the total file space taken up exceeded the capacity of the bin. On accessing the Bin, the message "There are no items in the Recycle Bin", Clicking on File, and then Empty the following message appeared " Are you sure you want to delete these 81 items?” I’m confused, where is this Recycle Bin?
Bernard Wright

A

When you delete a file it actually stays put, so there’s no ‘bin’ as such, all that happens is the space the files occupy on the hard disc are marked as potentially available for use, and will be overwritten once the Recycle Bin is ‘emptied’. By default the size of the Recycle Bin is set to an absurdly high figure of 10% of the capacity of your hard drive, so unless your drive is comparatively small or the deleted files were very large it’s unlikely you will have exceeded the bin’s capacity. You can easily change it by right-clicking the Bin icon and selecting Properties.

Recycle Bin is usually quite reliable, however, there’s a known glitch, which can happen if your hard drive is mistakenly marked as ‘removable’. To put this right right-click on My Computer, select Properties then Device Manager, expand the Disk Drive entry and right click on the hard disc and select Properties then the Settings tab and uncheck the item ‘Removable’ and re-boot.

Q

After downloading various items into Windows Media Player, I have later deleted these items.  But if I click on the File option, these items are still listed.  Is there any way to delete this list? Clicking on items results in "The item or object was not found" and there seems to be no way of removing them.
Mike Groom

A

The Windows Media Player ‘Recent File List’ is stored in the Windows Registry and it is easy to remove using Regedit, but only if you know what you are doing, in which case all you need to know is the location, which is: HKEY_CURRENT_USER\Software\

Microsoft\MediaPlayer\Player

If that makes no sense to you and you don’t know how to make a Registry backup stay well clear! The Registry is strictly off-limits to novices. Instead download a set of freeware utilities called Windows Media Player Bonus Pack, which amongst other things includes a Recent File List Clear tool. The download is a little over 900kB and it can be found at: http://www.rocketdownload.com/

details/musi/5828.htm.

Q

I have IBM Aptiva 19U bought in Canada three years ago, running Windows 98. Now I keep getting error message: ‘RNAAPP caused an invalid page fault in module wininet.dll’. After two cancellations message disappears for a time but reappears after random interval. What to do?

John Ryan

A

Go immediately to the Microsoft Knowledgebase and seek out article Q274474, (http://support.microsoft.com/

default.aspx?scid=KB;EN-US;q274474) where you find a long list of solutions for this known aberration.

Q

I am imminently going to buy a laptop computer. I already have a fairly decent desktop machine. Could you tell me if there is some software that will allow me to transfer data and/or programs from one to the other preferably only using a cable?
Richard Taylor

A

The classic file transfer solution is a program called LapLink Gold (http://www.laplink.com/uk) though the slightly simpler PC Sync (also from LapLink) is probably better suited to your needs and at less than £40 a good deal cheaper too. (You can’t normally transfer programs from one PC to another, you will have to install them from the original program discs).

You will also need a special LapLink cable, which can be bought with the software, or obtained from most PC dealers for a few pounds. There are other solutions, however, the cheapest one being the Direct Cable Connection (DCC) utility, which is included with most versions of Windows. It can be a little tricky to configure but we published a comprehensive guide in Boot Camps 67 and 68. Alternatively, you could set up a simple cable or wireless network, details of which were in the recent short Boot Camp series on sharing a broadband Internet connection.

Q

I have some occasion to write in French and it would be very useful to be able to toggle my standard English keyboard when using Word, Excel and Access back and forth between English and French. I have access to Windows 2000 and Office XP as well as other versions of Windows and Microsoft Word etc. Is there a piece of software that would achieve this? Looking beyond this, is there a spellchecker/grammar corrector for Word in French?

R.F.Doran

A

You almost certainly have everything you need. To add extra keyboard languages simply go to Control Panel and click the Regional and Languages icon, select the Languages tab, click Details then Add and then the type of French keyboard layout you want to use. Word and all other Office applications can be configured to work in any of 80 different languages, click Help and the Index tab then type in the keyword ‘language’, hit Return and in the right pane you find links to information for ‘working in another language’, ‘installing proofing tools’ and ‘language features in Word’ all of which you should read.