FAQS! FACTS! FAX!  376 (12/08/03)

Q

I want to install a CD Writer but being a novice I am afraid of doing the job myself. If I take my PC to a high street dealer what is to stop them downloading confidential information from my PC? Are there any safeguards?

Gerald Waterfield

A

None whatsoever! The only way to protect sensitive data on your PC is to remove it or encrypt it, which is easier said than done since things like passwords and PIN numbers may be stored in many different locations. You should also back up any important data files or any other information that exists only on your PC, just in case the engineer has an accident… However, rather than going to all that bother and expense why not have a go at installing the drive yourself? It’s really not that difficult – assuming that you know which end of a screwdriver to hold -- in fact we covered this very topic in Boot Camp 158..

Q

Is there a way to open Windows Explorer (in Windows XP) at a particular directory rather than where it opens as default?  

Tony Nicholson

A

There is and it simply involves making a small change to the ‘Target’ field in the Windows Explorer’s Properties box. It’s explained in a Microsoft Knowledgebase article, which you can easily find by typing ‘Q307856’ (without the quotes) into Google’s search window (www.google.co.uk)

Q

I have Windows XP and Word 2000. When I type in my surname Marwick a space opens up between the "r" and "w" as soon as I hit the space bar after typing "k".  I have to go back and delete the space each time.  I would appreciate any help in overcoming this glitch.
Robert C. Marwick

A

It’s not a glitch, as such; at some point you must have accidentally clicked the AutoCorrect button in Word’s spellchecker, accepting ‘mar wick’ as the automatic replacement for Marwick. You can easily put a stop to it by going to AutoText on the Insert menu, then AutoText and select the AutoCorrect tab. Scroll down the list and you should find Marwick, highlight the entry, click Delete and then OK.

Q

I’m writing on behalf of ma-in-law of 91, Eva, who is very keen on communicating by email. She tends to hit Caps Lock by accident and it always throws her. Sometimes her emails look like ransom notes. Is there a facility to disable Caps Lock, Help doesn't help?

Miranda Spatchurst

A

There are several utilities that can switch off Caps Lock, have a look at ‘I Hate This Key’, which can also disable the Windows key (Winkey) and the Power and Sleep buttons. It’s freeware and you’ll find it at: http://www.bytegems.com/help/ihatethiskey/

Q
I am selling my old Gateway computer and can remove everything except my full name, which appears in the start up menu and on the banner on Outlook Express. Can you please advise?
Albert Bibbey

A

Strictly speaking you’re not supposed to sell a PC with Windows or other commercial programs still loaded, unless you are also transferring the licences. It’s usually easier and safer to format the drive and leave it to the purchaser to install their own operating system and software. However, for the record, the Windows registered owner details are held in the Registry, and experienced users can change them using Regedit (not recommended for novices).

In Windows 98 they’re stored at:

HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\software\microsoft\

windows\current version.

In Windows XP the location is:

HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SOFTWARE\Microsoft\

Windows NT\CurrentVersion

Q

When I turn my computer on I get an unwanted screen, which appears briefly and is titled: res://ie4tour//welcome.html.  A friend thinks it is a residue of Internet Explorer 4 (I now have version 6) but I cannot find any reference to it anywhere. It is more of a nuisance than a serious problem but it is very annoying. 

Rosemary Marshall

A

This is another Registry issue and again it behoves us to warn novices not to meddle with this crucial system file. If you can find a computer savvy friend, or get yourself up to speed on Registry editing (see Boot Camps 126 & 127)

then you can switch this annoyance off by going to the following Registry keys and changing the settings to those shown:

HKEY_CURRENT_USER\Software\Microsoft\

Windows\CurrentVersion\Explorer\Tips\ShowIE4=0

HKEY_CURRENT_USER\Software\Microsoft\

Windows\CurrentVersion\Policies\Explorer\NoStartBanner=1

HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\System\CurrentControlSet\

Control\Windows\NoPopUpsOnBoot=1

Q
Last year you ran a 5-part series on recording CDs/DVDs. This was very informative and I saved it for reference. A friend and myself have now graduated from 35mm photography to digital photography. We needed to move our digital photos on to CDs to save on hard disk space and for secure archive purposes. We tried to use Easy CD Creator to do this, with the Track-At-Once' option and the default settings. But then we realised that every time we added new images, they were included with those already there and the whole lot was recorded as a new session. This of course meant that the CD could not be used efficiently because it was filling up with sessions. Is it possible to simply collect images onto a CD by adding them a few at a time?
George M England

A

You can treat a CD-R just like a floppy by using UDF/Packet writing; to do that you need to install the Direct CD utility included with Easy CD (or inCD in Nero Burning). Basically all you have to do is format the disc -- this takes around 10 seconds -- and then you can write or erase files in Windows Explorer or from the Save/Save As dialogue box in applications, just as you would on a floppy. The only point to watch out for is that deleted files still take up room on the disc (erasing simply removes files references from the disc's table of contents) and that until the disc is 'finalised' it will only be readable on the drive it was created, or other PCs that also have Direct CD/inCD installed.