FAQS! FACTS! FAX!  419 (15/06/04)

Q

Following the recent series of Boot Camp of articles I am now building my own PC. It is going well, except for the optical drive. Where can I get the driver software for the Sony DWU-14A, multi-format drive that you referred to? These appear to be sold without any installation discs.

David Wiscombe, via email

A

This is an OEM (original equipment manufacturer) drive, intended mainly for system builders, so it doesn’t come with any software or documentation, however that’s not a problem as the basic drivers included in Windows 98, SE, ME and 2K allow it to work as a CD-ROM drive, though you will need to install CD/DVD burning software, like Nero, Easy Media Creator and so on if you want to use it to write discs. Windows XP recognises it as a CD/DVD writer so it can be used to burn discs without any additional software.

Q

I remember, back in the early days of Connected that you described how to prevent those annoying arrowheads that appear on the left of each line of a forwarded e-mail. I've spent the last half hour trying to locate it in the Connected Archives but without success. Help, please!!

Mick Lane, via email

A

The original method was to copy and paste the text of the email into WordPad or Word and use Find and Replace to remove the arrows then paste the text back into a New Message window for forwarding or archiving. There are now several utilities that make this job a whole lot easier. Have a look at ecleaner; as well as removing the arrows it can also delete message headers and HTML coding from emails, it’s freeware and can be downloaded from:

http://ecleaner.tripod.com/

You can also put a stop to Outlook Express inserting arrows on any emails that you forward by going to Tools > Options and select the Send tab, in the Mail Sending Format section click either the HTML or Plain Text Settings button -- whichever is active -- and deselect 'Indent the Original' or Indent text with > when replying or forwarding'. Click Apply then OK.

Q

I am unable to export edited video footage from my computer to my camcorder without the picture either freezing or breaking up. I have taken the PC to two experts to have it checked and both concluded that it was working fine. On returning the computer home the problem returned.

It has been suggested to me that it could be some sort of interference. The computer is sited at the top of the house and not far away is a tall mast, which I believe is operated by the army. Could this have a bearing on it?

Sonia Fox, via email

A

Moving the PC to another location appears to confirm the theory that your PC or more likely the camcorder is suffering RFI (radio frequency interference) from the nearby transmitter but it must be unusually powerful (or you are very close).  PCs are normally quite well protected against RFI by their metal cases, though it can sometimes get in through unshielded cables and mains leads. Camcorders on the other hand are housed in plastic cases, which offer little or no protection against RFI.  Try this rough and ready test; put the camcorder inside a large biscuit tin, or loosely encase it in a ‘tent’ made of baking foil. This should act as an RF shield so see if that makes any difference. Otherwise experiment with new locations for your setup. You could try reporting the problem to the Radiocommunications Agency, there’s an explanatory document and local contact addresses at: www.ofcom.org.uk/static/archive/ra/

publication/ra_info/ra179/sec1.htm

However, if the transmitter is operated by the military I doubt very that much that any action will be taken.

Q

Referring to your recent Boot Camp articles on home movies to DVD, I understand some digital video cameras have analogue video inputs. Would it be possible to use this to digitise video from an analogue source, such as my old camcorder or a VCR so it is ready to download to the PC for editing and conversion to a DVD?  If so presumably one could convert ones home movies from VHS tapes (possibly my old John Wayne movies…)?  Would this remove the need for the Pinnacle software?

James Barr, via email

A

Digital camcorders with analogue video inputs are well worth shortlisting, though it is not a common feature due to EU regulations, which classify said camcorders as VCRs and therefore subject to higher tariffs and import restrictions. They tend to be a little dearer but they do solve the problem of getting video from an analogue source into your PC. However, once a recording has been downloaded onto the PC you still need extra software to convert the digital video (DV) data from the camcorder into MPEG2 format suitable for DVD replay. There are several stand-alone conversion utilities but editing programs like Pinnacle 9 and Ulead Studio 8 will do that and so much more besides, they’re easy to use and can make a really professional job of it.

Q

Can you help with the irritating report of runtime errors on websites, and the offer to debug, which just locks the screen whether you say ‘Yes’. My operating system is Windows XP.

Roz Foad, via email

A

Most Runtime error messages are nothing to do with your PC but are caused by faults or sloppy coding on the actual web pages. Normally you won’t see those error and ‘debug’ messages, but they can get switched on accidentally or by a glitch in a MS security patch or update. Either way you can turn them off by opening Internet Explorer, go to Tools > Internet Options and select the Advanced tab. Scroll down the list to ‘Disable Script debugging’, make sure it is checked and untick ‘Display a notification about every script error’.