FAQS! FACTS! FAX!  423 (13/07/04)

Q

I have lost the rescue disc that came with my laptop, which also had all my driver information on it. This is now a spare machine which isn't running as fast or smoothly as it once did, despite my having done a very through cleaning and defragging job on it. I have been reading your articles on making a start-up discs and formatting the hard drive but I wonder if I made a start-up disc for this laptop and reinstalled Windows, will it have all the driver information on it?

Annette Spark, via email

A

The Windows Emergency Startup disc (Control Panel > Add/Remove Programs, click the Startup Disc tab) only contains basic system files and utilities so you will need to backup all of your drivers. I suggest a shareware utility called DriverGuideToolkit. You can download a fully operational trial version from: www.driverguidetoolkit.com/. Copy all of your Windows and non-Microsoft drivers onto a CD ROM so that when you reinstall Windows and it asks for drivers you can point it to the files on the disc.

Q

I have several hundred Bitmap images that need to be converted to JPEGs. Is there a program that can do this without having to open each one separately and saving it in JPEG format?

Tim Morris, via email

A

You need a ‘Batch Conversion’ utility and there are plenty to choose from. I would have a look at these three shareware programs: Neomesh Image Converter (www.neomesh.com/content/view/9/32/), Advanced Batch Converter (www.gold-software.com/) and Advanced JPEG Compressor

(www.winsoftmagic.com/?ref=g08).

Q

Thanks for your recent Top Tips for Outlook Express. One thing that's been niggling me for years is how to print received messages in larger type without copying the text into another file and editing it. It's easy to change OE's screen display but whenever I hit print, it defaults to 8pt. What have I missed?

Keith Jenkins, via email

A

This can happen if the font sizes are set differently in Internet Explorer and Outlook Express. The trick is to set both to ‘smallest’, reboot Windows, reset both to Medium and reboot again. In Internet Explorer the option is on the View menu, go to Text Size and select Smallest. In Outlook Express go to Tools > Options, select the Read tab and click the Fonts button.

Q

I have taken up many of the freeware or near-freeware programs reviewed in Connected, including Avant Browser, Polderbits, Ad-aware, Cookie monster, MailWasher, Acoustica MP3 burner, CCleaner, and so on and without exception, I have found them useful and practicable.I am not sure if it is caused by one of these, but whenever I shut down the computer, I am always told that a program has stopped running and do I wish to "End Task" now. The name given is CiceroUIWnd Frame. Can you advise, please, what this program is and how I can stop it preventing me from shutting down my PC?
Andrew Miller, via email

A

Program interactions are not unknown but I plead not guilty on this one.CiceroUIWnd Frame is the Speech and Handwriting component in Windows XP Office, which has a reputation for locking up. If you are not using it then you can safely uninstall it by going to Add/Remove Programs in Control Panel, select Microsoft Office and click the Change button, Browse to Office Shared Features and ‘Alternative User Input’ select ‘Speech and Handwriting Recognition (both) and select Not Available from the drip-down menu.

Q

Over a period of time I have compiled a list of web site addresses on a Word document, which allows me to click onto any of them for easy access. However, for some reason every time I click on them now I get the message back 'Unable to open. Cannot locate the Internet Server or proxy server'. Even if I retype the address onto a fresh Word Document and click on it comes back with the same answer. Can you help?

Tony Morris, via email

A

There are several possibilities; your firewall may be configured to block HTTP requests, Internet Explorer is not set as your default browser but the most likely explanation is that a Registry entry has been changed or corrupted. You can easily remedy this but I strongly recommend that before you start you make a backup of your Registry. To do that go to Run on the Start menu and type ‘regedit’ (without the quotes), select Export on the File menu, leave ‘Save In’ set to My Documents and in the FileName box type the date, i.e. 1306 and click OK and exit the Registry Editor. If you later get a Registry error message simply go to My Documents double-click on ‘1306.reg’ and the backup Registry will be automatically reinstalled. The registry fix for Word is very straightforward and outlined in Microsoft Knowledgebase article 218153 (just type the number into Google’s search window).

Q

I have a problem with desktop background in Windows XP, which has appeared in the last month. Whatever background I apply, after a few minutes it reverts to ‘Mgxwp Black background’, as shown in Display Properties. Any new background also disappears from the dropdown list. Any suggestions?
Keith Cross, via email

A

My guess is that you have Micrografix Snapshot Screensaver Manager running in the background (that’s what the Mgxwp belongs to), without any images for it to display. Check the taskbar (next to the clock) or desktop for icons for this program and shut it down or uninstall it from Add/Remove Programs in Control Panel.