FAQS! FACTS! FAX!  401 (10/03/04)

Q

Is there any way of transferring the AutoCorrect list when one upgrades their PC and changes from Word 2000 to 2003?  I can’t face the thought of typing all my corrections in again!

Miranda Spatchurst, via email

A

Word (version 97 onwards) has two AutoCorrect lists. ‘Formatted’ entries are built into Word and kept in the Normal.dot document template file; they include ones like the annoying ‘smiley face’, which you get when you type a colon followed by a bracket. User-created entries are stored in a file with the extension *.acl, and this is the one you need to copy across to your new PC. There are several *.acl files in Office and Word; to find the correct one create a new AutoCorrect entry then go to Run on the Start menu, type ‘*.acl’ (without the quotes) and right-click on the with today’s date to copy it onto a floppy disc. Use the same procedure to find the location of the *.acl file on your new PC then copy the file from the floppy into the same location.

Q

My computer has been infected by MyDoom. I read of the virus in The Daily Telegraph and immediately downloaded the latest AVG update. Sure enough after a further check, the dreadful truth was revealed. I downloaded a ‘fix’ program from the web, which disabled AVG. The files were apparently "Deleted" or "Cleaned" but it kept coming up with a message saying "The disk is write protected and cannot be….", etc. The only option button that works is to "Close". I'm at my wits end over this and don’t know what to do.

Roy Lawton, via email

A

No need to lecture you on horses and stable doors then… Quite a few companies jumped on the MyDoom bandwagon with tools purporting to detect and remove the virus; some of them are obviously more successful than others. I would uninstall this particular program and try the one from Kaspersky labs; it is free and can be downloaded from: http://www.kaspersky.com/

Q

I am running Windows XP and I want to launch some programs automatically and Preferably in a given sequence) when I boot my machine up. Can you advise how to do this please?
Dai Rees, via email

A

The simple way to start programs with Windows is to put their shortcuts into the Startup folder. Just hold down the Ctrl key, click on the desktop shortcut icon, drag it onto the Start button, wait a moment for the Start menu to open then drag the icon onto All Programs, drag the icon onto Startup and into the sub menu that opens and release the buttons. (Keeping the Ctrl key pressed ensures the original icon remains on the desktop). This works for all users but if more than one person uses the PC open Windows Explorer, size and position the window it so you can see your desktop icons then work your way to C:\Documents and Settings\<yourname>\Start Menu\Programs\programs then holding down the Ctrl key drag and drop the icon into the right hand Window. Unfortunately this method doesn’t control the order programs are launched, to do that you’ll need a third-party ‘Program Launcher’ utility. Have a look at TrayWizard (freeware) at: http://www.traywizard.com/index.html, or Shareware programs like RegRun Start Control (http://www.greatis.com/regrun3startuporder.htm) and Z-Start (www.hot-shareware.com/utilities/z-start-english/)

Q

I installed Office 97, which I understand becomes the spell checker in Outlook Express. It worked fine for a short while, but now throws up a message saying: "An error occurred while the spelling was being checked". I have tried reinstalling Office 97 to no avail. Can you help?

Stuart Henley, via email

A 

It’s a known problem and there are a couple of possible causes. Have a look at MS Knowledgebase article 178238 (just type the number into Google). There’s also an informative article and cure at:

http://support.earthlink.net/mu/1/psc/img/

walkthroughs/windows_9x_nt/email/oe_5.0/2765.psc.html

Both procedures involve tinkering with the Registry but if you follow the instructions to the letter you should be okay.

Q

In light of the recent email virus that seems to be spreading around the world, is my WAP phone with its ability to download e-mails, vulnerable to virus attack?  I realise that they work in different ways but if viruses can make computers crash, could the same happen to mobile phones? 

Bob Higgins, Shropshire

A

There have already been several hoaxes and although it is theoretically possible mobile phone viruses remain unlikely. The problem for virus writers is that there are simply too many different phone operating systems, which limits the chance of a virus spreading. There is, however, a chance that an infected email could be downloaded onto a mobile and then transferred into a PC. However the chances of it doing any damage are very small, providing of course that the PC in question has a frequently updated virus scanner

Q

Several times today I have had a warning on Zone Alarm that a program called P2PNetworking.exe is trying to connect with the Internet on my computer. I have denied access but cannot seem to find out what this is.  Am I right to be suspicious?

Pete Fincher, via email

A

P2PNetworking.exe is a component in the file sharing utility Kazaa, which I presume that you or someone else has installed on your PC. It doesn’t seem to be a threat as such but it does leave a port open, even when Kazaa is shut down, which could be a potential security threat. It should go away if you uninstall Kazaa.