FAQS! FACTS! FAX!  365 (20/05/03)

Q

A couple of weeks ago in Boot Camp Windows XP tips you mentioned that it was possible to display the date in the Windows XP's System Tray. I cannot find out how to do it?

Mark Porteous

A 

It’s actually very easy but I’m afraid you may be a little disappointed with the results. All you have to do is widen the taskbar to three times its normal width by clicking on the edge and dragging it. The date will now be automatically displayed but unfortunately the taskbar is now so fat it obscures a good chunk of the screen, so thanks but no thanks Microsoft. If you want to display the date on a normal sized taskbar try using the Tclockex utility mentioned in Boot Camp, which also works on Windows XP.

Q

I have, in Program Files\Windows\Update, some 5700 files, mostly 1kb in size with the extension .bkf and most of them dated 6-12-2002. As each file occupies a fair chunk of my 20GB drive, can I delete them?

Chas

A

The extension *.bkf indicates that they are Windows backup files and usually it is best to leave well alone since you never know when you or Windows might need them. The fact that there are so many of them, mostly of the same size and with the same creation date suggests that they were generated in error or are now redundant, as for taking up valuable disc space, together they probably add up to less than 10Mb which is a tiny fraction of your 20Gb drive. If you feel you must remove them then back them up first, either to a recordable CD, if you haven’t got a CD writer use WinZip (www.winzip.com) to compress and ‘span’ the files across half a dozen floppy discs.

Q

Can you tell me how to restore a folder containing course work documents, which was stupidly consigned to the Recycle Bin just before it was emptied?  I am running Windows ME and am obviously not computer literate.  I promise never to empty the Recycle bin again until instructed by my PC.

Jen Capewell

A

Even when you empty the Recycle Bin the data you’ve deleted remains on the hard disc but the space it occupies is marked as being available for use, so sooner or later other programs will overwrite it. However, if you are quick much of it may still be recoverable using specialist software. There are plenty of programs to choose from but I suggest trying the free demo version of File Recovery, which displays the files it can recover. If you consider it worthwhile you can then buy the registered version, which restores and saves the recovered files. You’ll find a link to the demo at: http://stud.upb.de/~n9180779/rescue/

Q

Boringly, my machine burps at me from time to time and tells me that ‘This program has performed an illegal operation’ and I get the error message ‘rnaapp caused an invalid page fault at module Kernel32.dll… etc.’. It's not a problem - just a nuisance.  Can I get rid of it? 

David Smith, Woking

A

Rnaapp or Remote Network Access Application is a component in Windows Dial Up Networking (DUN) and this problem is usually due to a corrupt rnaapp.exe file. However, there’s also a know problem in some versions of Windows 95 in which case you should download a DUN upgrade pack, which you will find at:http://support.microsoft.com/

If you are using a later version of Windows (98 onwards) then try uninstalling and reinstalling your modem. If you have Norton CleanSweep on your PC try disabling that and if that doesn’t help replace the rnaapp file from your Windows installation disc. To do that go to Start > Programs > Run and type (without the quotes) ‘sfc’ and this will open the System File Checker utility. Select the ‘Extract file…’ option, load your Windows installation disc and browse to Win98\win98­_42.cab rnaapp.exe and follow the prompts.

Q

I know what CRT and LCD is but is TFT part of these monitor systems or is it separate to them?

Jack Munro

A

Where would we be without acronyms? TFT stands for Thin Film Transistor, which is one of two technologies used in the manufacture of colour LCD (Liquid Crystal Display) screens. First generation colour LCDs used what’s known as a ‘Passive Matrix’ type display, which produces a rather dim, smeary image but they were relatively cheap to make. Most current LCDs now use the superior TFT technology, for a brighter, sharper display that at its best rivals the picture quality on a Cathode Ray Tube (CRT) type display.

Q

I have a number of photographs taken while on holiday in Japan. Several of my wife's friends have asked if we could put on a 'slide show' -- that is to say the old version of a slide show using a projector on a wall or screen. As we do not have slides this is not possible. However, I investigated the possibility of using a projector with material on a disc. It seems this would entail using a laptop (or similar) with a dedicated digital projector - costing £2k - £3k. A lot for just a slide show. Is there a projector, which can take the information from a SmartMedia card or disc and project without the use of a laptop and power point? Or is there some other way - i.e. cheaper - of projecting these photos?

Chris Dursley

A

It’s not a common feature but several projectors have memory card slots but these tend to be expensive high-end models and they either cost in excess of   £3000, or have the wrong type of card slot for your camera. Video projectors are expensive gadgets and even a good second hand one will cost you at least £600 to £800, beware of anything significantly cheaper, and check the cost of replacement bulbs, on some models they cost over £200!

Does your slide show have to be projected? You can always copy your picture files to a recordable CD and play them on your TV using a PC or most recent DVD players; this is something we’ll be looking at in detail in a forthcoming episode of Boot Camp. Otherwise your photographs, whether they are on film or digital media, can be transferred to 35mm slides, your local camera shop will be able to quote you a price.