FAQS! FACTS! FAX!  457 (15/03/05)

Q

I recently bought a Sony Vaio computer and after some years with Windows 98 I am trying to get my aged brain cells around Windows XP (Home Edition). Windows 98 had a useful little accessory called ‘Phone dialler’.  I used it to dial stored numbers from my keyboard and it kept a log of phone messages. Does this facility exist in Windows XP?  I have searched all the help programs in vain.

Walter Eggert, Norwich,

A

It's still there, at least XP has something very much like the old Windows 98 dialler program but for some reason Microsoft has hidden it away. To start the utility go to Run on the Start menu and type ‘dialer’ (without the quotes, and watch the spelling…). If you want to create a desktop shortcut to the program you will find the executable file icon in C:\Program Files\Windows NT, right-click on it and select Send To, then ‘Desktop (Create Shortcut)’.

Q

Suddenly, when I now switch on my machine I get a flash screen saying ‘Gigabyte is Hailing You’ when I would usually see the boot-up messages.  My virus scanner is up to date and I’ve checked the C: drive but to no effect.

Ian Pengelly, via email

A

You have somehow managed to pick up an odd little virus that inhabits the PC’s BIOS (Basic Input Output System), which is the small program that checks and configures the computer before Windows is loaded. Fortunately it is non-destructive and only displays the message you are seeing though there have been reports of it interfering with floppy drive access as well. The only certain way to get rid of it is to ‘flash’ the BIOS, a slightly risky procedure that should be outlined on your motherboard manufacturer’s web site. However, it’s worth trying a BIOS reset first. When you enter the BIOS program, usually by pressing a combination of keys immediately after switch on -- check your motherboard manual for details -- look for the menu option ‘Load BIOS Defaults’, click Yes then Save and Exit.

Q

I use Word 2002 and occasionally the Title Bar starts to flash and the program freezes. I am told this is a known bug but I can’t find a fix.

Brian Rhodes, via email

A

This sounds suspiciously like the work of a Norton Anti Virus ‘plug-in’. This particular one checks Word for macro viruses, and the simplest solution is to switch it off. It’s quite safe, and unlikely to cause you any problems unless you process a lot of Word documents sent to you over the Internet, in which case you may want to take additional security measures. There’s some helpful advice in Microsoft Knowledgebase article 187243 (just type the number into Google). Depending which version of NAV you have there are several different ways of disabling the plug-in, if you are not sure have a look at Symantec Knowledgebase article 1999091612160606 (again use Google to find it with the reference number).

Q

In the word processor program in Microsoft Works 2000 the default font is Times New Roman. Apparently someone at Microsoft has a sense of humour as it can’t be changed; both Dell and Microsoft have confirmed this. The word processor on my five-year old Windows 98 laptop has this facility; this looks like a retrograde step by Microsoft, or is it a sales pitch to persuade users to upgrade?

Harry Jeffers, Hove

A

Dell and Microsoft are both wrong and the default font can be changed. Dell have an excuse but whoever you spoke to at Microsoft should have been able to point you in the direction of MS Knowledgebase article 250307 -- it took me precisely ten seconds to find using Google… Admittedly the procedure is not as straightforward as changing the default font in Word but all you have to do is open a blank document, choose the font and font size, select SaveAs on the File menu, click Template, give it a name, select ‘Use this template for new word processor documents’, click OK and it’s done.

Q

A few weeks ago I installed a wireless system so that the three computers my family use can access the Internet without running cables all over the house. It works well but recently dialogue boxes announcing that ‘another computer on your network has the same IP number’ have begun to appear. What does this mean and what, if anything, should I do about it?

David W. Murray, Helsinki, Finland

A

The IP address for each computer on a network can be assigned manually or automatically and if two machines on your network have the same address you will normally see an ‘IP Conflict’ error message. It’s possible, therefore that you are within range of another wireless network that, like yours, appears to be running on default settings without any of the security options enabled. However, you should first check the IP addresses of the PCs in your network. If any of your PCs use Windows 98/SE/ME type ‘winipcfg.exe’ (without the quotes) in Run on the Start menu and the IP address will be displayed. On Windows XP machines type ‘cmd’ in Run on the Start menu then type ‘ipconfig’ at the flashing prompt. The addresses will look something like 192.168. 0. XXX (where xxx is a number between 1 and 255) and they should all be different. If two of them are the same you need to run the Windows networking ‘Wizard’. If you haven’t changed the default network and PC names you should do so straightaway, and most important of all, enable the WEP (wired equivalence privacy) encryption on your Wi-Fi router and client PCs.