FAQS! FACTS! FAX!  409 (06/04/04)

Q

I have received some emails that open with a message box that I have to click to let the sender know that I have received it.  I have looked in Help but cannot find out how to add one to messages I send.

Barbara Heard, via email

A

In Outlook Express, version 5 onwards, this option can be found by going to Options on the Tools menu. Select the Receipts tab and check the item ‘Request a Read Receipt…’.  You can also tell OE to automatically send receipts, or ignore requests for one to be sent.

Q

For some time now whenever I run Norton System Doctor it comes up with the following message: "…cannot access a necessary file, "mscoree.dll."  Please can you tell me where I might find such a file and how I can reinstall it?  I use Windows 98.
Alex B. Dobie, Chester le Street

A

We’ve had several enquiries about this one recently and good news is that you can safely ignore it. Long story short: a file is stored on your PC by InstallShield -- the popular installation tool used by many Windows applications -- that it might or might not need one day if another program is ever installed. WinDoctor checks the file detects a missing component and generates the error message you’re seeing. There are ways of getting rid of it but it involves a fair amount of tinkering, and running the inevitable risk of seeing even more serious error messages, if you get it wrong. Always remember the number one rule in computing, if it ‘ain t broke…

Q

I purchased a laptop with Windows XP and tried to install Excel from my fully licensed office 97 Professional CD. On completion of the installation I receive the message “Bdrintl was unable to register itself in the system registry” followed by “Microsoft office set up was not completed successfully”. Can you help?

John Doyle via e-mail

A

It’s a well-known bug in Office 97 installations on XP computers. It can happen if the installation fails and you try to remove the program using the Office 97 Maintenance mode, or it can just happen… There’s an explanation, of sorts, in Microsoft Knowledgebase article 162295, and a couple of fixes, one using a ‘patch’ program, the other, for advanced users, involving a Registry tweak. Simply type the KB article number into Google; it should be at or near the top of the ‘hit’ list. 

Q

When logging onto Windows XP Home Edition, on the welcome screen where you type your password, underneath the password entry box, my computer has started to flash up a hyperlink reading, ‘You have x unread mail messages.’ I have two problems with this. Firstly, I don’t want it there at all and don’t know how to get rid of the message. Secondly, however, the message lists two email accounts, only one of which belongs to me. The other one belongs to a friend who used my computer once. As I really don’t want to know the status of his email account, any help in how to get rid of the message altogether would be much appreciated.

Tom Shinner, Amersham, Buckinghamshire

A

This is another common annoyance and there are two solutions. You can reset the unread message counter, which generates the dialogue box, by downloading the excellent Tweak UI utility for XP. For those that haven’t come across it before it’s a free (unsupported) Microsoft program that can modify the way Windows looks and behaves, without going anywhere near the Registry (the powerful system file that controls Windows). You can download Tweak UI from: www.microsoft.com/windowsxp/

pro/downloads/powertoys.asp

Once it is installed go to Start > Programs > PowerToys > Tweak UI, click the ‘Repair’ branch then select ‘Repair unread mail count’ from the drop-down menu and click the Repair Now button.

To bypass the login screen altogether – assuming that you are the only user -- go to Control Panel > User Accounts and select ‘Change the Way a User logs on or off’ then check ‘Use the Welcome Screen’.

You should also make sure that your fiend’s email account has been completely deleted from your PC. Open Outlook Express then go to Accounts on the Tools menu and if it is listed highlight the entry and click Remove.

Q

I am using Windows 98 Second Edition and I receive an error message at switch on that says: ‘No ISDN devices were found.  Please install an ISDN device and run the configuration wizard again’. I have never attempted to run the ISDN Configuration wizard nor do I have an ISDN device.Can you please advise how to get rid of this persistent error message.

Jackie Barr, via email

A

Despite what Microsoft say about this message only being displayed when an attempt is made to install an ISDN modem the number of readers reporting this annoyance appearing spontaneously suggests there is a glitch somewhere. Fortunately in most cases it’s reasonably easy to get rid of, go to Run on the Start menu and type ‘msconfig’ (without the quotes), select the Startup tab and uncheck the entry for ‘cfgwiz32.exe’, click OK and reboot and it should be no more.

Q

I have been looking for a long time for some way of avoiding leaving my PC on line when not required, running up unnecessary phone bills.  The standard indication of connection is a very small icon on the bottom toolbar, too easily overlooked.  The modem disconnect after inactivity feature is unreliable.  I am looking for a large icon or perhaps an automated disconnect when the screen saver comes on, or system goes into standby.  Any ideas? 

Peter Thompson, via email

A

You need an internet timer, a simple utility that logs and controls your online activities. There are dozens to choose from but here are a couple of freeware programs to get you started. Try TimeSheet and ModemLogger, which you will find at:

http://www.timesheet.gen.nz/freeware.html

and

http://www.kt2k.com/software.php?id=4