FAQS! FACTS! FAX!  397 (13/01/04)

Q
I have an old Windows 98 PC, which I have messed up by using RegCleaner and removing files marked N/A and before you ask, no, I did not backup the registry beforehand… Now most files on the desktop will not open but My Computer, My Documents, and IE are still okay. Also If I attempt to open a file in the Control Panel, I get a warning box: 'Access to the specified device, path or file is denied'. Is there any simple solution other than removing and replacing Windows?
Geoff Todd, via email

A

Windows makes an automatic backup of the Registry every time you boot up and there's an outside chance that there is a good copy still on the machine. You need to restart in DOS mode at the C: prompt type 'Scanreg' (without the quotes) and this will bring up the Registry Checker utility. Select Start then View Backups (you will probably have to use the cursor keys as the mouse won’t work) and with a bit of luck there will be a backup made before you started tinkering.

Q 

A few weeks ago I purchased a new PC pre-loaded with Windows XP Home. My one problem concerns e-mails. On my old Windows 98 PC, when I sent e-mails and put several addresses in the Blind Carbon Copy (BCC) Box, if I later went back to the message in the Sent folder, all of the BCC addresses were available for inspection. Not so with Win XP! The BCC Box is always empty. It is quite a problem, if I send e-mails to my friends, a few days later I have no idea as to whom I've sent the particular message. Is this  'adjustment' intentional and is there a patch to reverse it?

M. B. Allanson, via email

A

This has nothing to do with XP but appears to be some sort of privacy feature in the latest version of Outlook Express. I haven’t been able to find any way to switch the BCC field back on in a message window, I’ll keep digging but for a simple workaround, right-click on the email in the Sent list, select Properties then Details and you’ll see a full list of the recipients.

Q

The DVD-ROM drive on my four-year old PC has developed a fault and needs to be replaced. I've a lot of digital photos, taken using a Kodak camera and I would like to replace the old drive with a CD-writer so that I can create photo discs that will play on my TV through my DVD player.

Is there any technical advantage in having separate DVD-ROM and CD-writer drives or is a combined unit just as good? Is there any difference in the reliability or ease of use between different makes and price ranges? Can all CD-writers create discs that are readable on DVD players?

John Ballantine, via email

A

DVD/CD-RW combi drives are fine and these days the main differences between the various makes and models tends to be the rate at which data can be read and written. This really isn’t an issue once you get past 10x read/write speeds, unless you are always in a tearing hurry. Incidentally, it’s quite useful to have two optical drives in a PC, so you might want to add a cheap CD-ROM drive while you are at it. This will allow you to copy discs and keep a disc loaded all the time, to play music or access data.

You should check whether your DVD player can replay JPEG picture files direct from a CD-ROM as this is a fairly recent facility. If not you will need some extra software to make a VCD type still picture disc, which most DVD players can handle. There’s more about how to do this in Boot Camp 278,.

Q

I have saved some files on to 1.4Mb floppy discs, which had been compressed to 2.8Mb. My operating system has now been upgraded from Windows 95 to 2000. Much to my surprise I cannot download the files from the floppy discs as the system requires "Drivespace" which is not included in Windows 2000.
Is there any solution to this problem?

John Thirkell, Selsdon,

A

Older compression utilities like DriveSpace and DoubleSpace simply will not work under Windows 2000 and XP. The simplest way to recover the data on those discs would be to extract them to the hard drive of a Windows 95 or 98 PC and copy them to your new PC either by connecting the PCs together by direct cable connection, a local network, writing the data to a CD-ROM or possibly sending it to yourself in the form of email attachments.

Q

Is it possible to backup Microsoft updates (e.g. Critical Updates) so that when installing the operating system (Win 98) the updates can be reinstalled without downloading again?

Eddie Hollings, via email

A

It might be but I suspect it would be more bother than it is worth, and there’s a good chance it could all go horribly wrong. It’s best to let the update utility on the Windows Update site (http://v4.windowsupdate.microsoft.com/en/default.asp) scan your PC and advise which updates you need and this will include any recently released patches that you may not have previously downloaded.

Q

I run a small business and each year, I like to transfer files to a CD for archiving, but often these files contain sensitive client data. I require some form of encryption program, which will protect removable media, i.e. CDs or possibly floppies. It would help if it were relatively easy to use.

G. Stephenson, via email

A

There are hundreds of encryption programs to choose from but I hesitate to make any specific recommendations without knowing what sort of files you want to protect and the level of threat there is to your discs and the and PC the originals are stored on. I suggest that you have a look at what’s available and try a few basic programs first; you’ll find a good selection of freeware encryption utilities at: www.soft411.com/software/encryption-freeware.html and www.all-internet-security.com/

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