FAQS! FACTS! FAX!  346 (14/01/03)

Q

Is there a way of extracting a soundtrack from a DVD and copying it to CD so I can create a compilation album that will play on an ordinary CD player?

Steve Norris

A

Copyright and legal issues aside, the soundtrack information on a DVD is interwoven with picture data so it’s not possible to directly copy audio tracks, as you can when compiling home made audio CDs. In addition DVDs contain several layers of copy protection, which may also defeat attempts to extract raw digital audio data from a DVD. It can be done, however, but you will have to resort to copying the analogue stereo audio output from a DVD player on your PC using a suitable audio recorder program. The resulting *.wav files can then be converted into CD-A audio tracks and burnt to a CD-R disc; you’ll find more details of how to do this, along with links to software resources in a recent Boot Camp article (No. 254) on recordable CD. Since the soundtrack has to go through several stages of conversion (from digital, to analogue then back to digital again), the quality will suffer slightly – compared with the direct sound from a DVD – but it’s only likely to be a concern if you’re a real hi-fi buff with top-end audio equipment.

Q

What can I do to alter any settings to enable me to open attachments in OE when it insists in deleting perfectly safe ones from friends and colleagues? The message that I get when I try to open one is: ‘OE Removed access to the following unsafe attachment in your mail’

Charles Lagus, Mauritius

A

A security feature in Outlook Express, which on some system setups appears to be enabled by default, generates this message. Two switch it off simply go to Options on the Tools menu and click the Security tab. Deselect the item ‘Do not allow attachments to be saved or opened….’, then click Apply and OK and you should be able to open the attachments. However, it’s still wise to take precautions so make sure your anti-virus program is set to scan incoming emails for viruses.

Q

My bottom toolbar with Start, icons, clock and minimized windows etc has moved to the right of my screen and is presented vertically. I have tried everything to put it back horizontally at the bottom of the screen but to no avail.  When this happened once before I somehow managed to re-position it but haven't a clue how I did this.

W. Phillips

A

Actually I prefer to have the Start Button and Taskbar on the right side of the screen as it frees up space at the bottom of the screen, adding an extra centimetre or so of depth to documents and web page displays. Nothing much happens down the right hand edge of the screen in any case. There’s a bit of a trick to getting it back to its default position, place your mouse pointer on the edge of the taskbar and it will turn into a double headed arrow and without moving the pointer click the left mouse button once and the outline of the taskbar will be briefly shown. Now move the pointer into an empty area of the Taskbar and click and hold the left mouse button then move the pointer to the bottom edge of the screen and release the mouse button; as you move the taskbar highlight will reappear so you can see where it’s going.

Q

Can you tell me how to set the default for the fonts in Outlook Express? I have tried via Tools - Options-composing/signature but all it seems to set is the font for the address and subject line. Similarly with the signature, that cannot be altered. I have even tried to paste it in. 

Mary  McPherson

A

It’s only possible to change font style and size when sending emails in HTML (hypertext mark-up language) format, so check first that Outlook Express isn’t set to the default ‘Plain Text’ mode. You’ll find that option on the Tools menu, click the Send tab and make sure that ‘HTML’ is selected under Mail Sending Format and click Apply. Now you can go to the Compose tab and make your changes by clicking the Font Settings button and this time they should stick when you click the Apply button. Incidentally, your new font style will also be applied to your Signature.

Q

My HP 8540 PC has worked well for the past three years and now I have a digital camera, and with it a minor problem! The computer has two USB connectors, one at the rear and another to the front on the tower chassis. At the front is also a 9 pin ‘D’ connector labelled "Digital Camera Port". If I connect my scanner or camera separately to either USB ports I obtain satisfactory results. If I connect both camera and scanner simultaneously to both USB ports I obtain an error message "Device not found".

Must I assume that both USB port connectors are merely a parallel connection, and that I must use the 9-pin connector for the camera? Or can I configure the HP 8540 to address the two USB ports separately?

My camera retailer appears unable to supply other than the USB connecting cable and recommends reconfiguration of computer. I am not convinced by his advice, that I must use the D connector when my scanner is connected to a USB port. But if he is right can you advise from where I may obtain the necessary USB to D type adaptor and how to reconfigure the computer?

Jim Sargent

A

Most recent PCs, i.e. built within the past three or four years have two independent USB sockets and as far as I’m aware that’s the case with the HP 8540 so it may be something to do with the PC’s BIOS or driver setup. There’s a helpful USB troubleshooting article on the HP support web site at http://www.hp.com/cposupport/

docindex/hppavilion18904_solve.html, select Other Problems > Ports > USB Troubleshooting. Otherwise I recommend fitting a USB expansion card with two or four extra ports. These plug into one of your PC’s spare PCI sockets, they only take a few minutes to fit and are wide available from PC dealers for less than £20.

Q

Since updating one of my drivers I get an error message every time I start up my PC as follows: ‘RUNDLL Error in NvQTwk Missing entry NvCplDaemon’. Can you tell me how to deal with this please?

Bryan Rowe

A

This is quite a common error message and it seems to be caused by a ‘monitor’ program associated with some makes of video adaptor card. There’s a quick and simple cure, go to Run on the Start menu and type ‘msconfig’ (without the quotes) then click the Startup tab. Look down the list for the ‘NVQTwk’ or NVCPDaemon’ entries and deselect them. Click Apply, then OK reboot and all should be well.