FAQS! FACTS! FAX!  472 (28/06/05)

Q

I have Roxio InCD installed on my computer.  Lately I have been unable to access files on CD-RW discs as the Windows drive tells me that there is no disc in the drive, when there is! Could this be anything to do with Service Pack 2, which I installed recently (though no other problems encountered)? When you say in your articles recordable discs can only be read on other computers when they have been finalised, what does that mean?

Peter Minay, via email

A

It may just be that your drive needs cleaning. Dirt and dust sucked into the case through the CD loading tray by the PC’s cooling fan can accumulate on the laser read/write head. Just a few specks are enough to stop it working on recordable CDs, which have different optical characteristics to factory made CDs. Of course it could be something else but the first thing to do is give it a run through with a good quality disc cleaner. Writable/rewritable discs (CD-R/CD-RW) contain a file called the Table Of Contents (TOC), which catalogues data stored on the disc. This file remains 'open' to allow new data to be added. When the disc is full or you don’t want to add any more data it has to be ‘Finalised’, this closes the TOC and turns the disc into a standard CD-ROM that can be read on any drive

Q

I have reloaded Windows 98 but cannot transfer my saved emails (sent and received) back into Outlook Express. They have been saved correctly as ‘dbx’ files on a CD and I have managed to send them to the Outlook Express folder where the current emails and Address Book reside. Any solutions?

Bob Stebbings, via email

A

You are nearly there, however, in order for Outlook Express to recognise and catalogue the dbx files they have to be properly ‘Imported’. First copy the message folders to a newly created folder on your PC then go to Import on the OE File menu, select Messages > Outlook Express 6 and use Browse to locate your Store folder, click OK and the transfer should proceed.

Q

Until recently on closing Outlook Express or Internet Explorer I got a window stating 'Disconnect now/stay connected'; this no longer appears. As it is a useful function I would like to restore it.  Having failed to find a solution, which works, my ISP told me to contact Microsoft. They have offered to help if I pay £39, which sounds a bit steep and there’s no guarantee of success. I'm using XP home and OE6.

Tony Malin, via email

A

This sometimes happens for no apparent reason or when installing a new dial up connection but it’s easy to get the dialogue box back. Open Outlook Express then go to Tools > Internet Options and select the Connections tab. Highlight your dial-up account, click Settings then the Advanced button and uncheck the box marked ‘Disconnect when connection may no longer be needed’.

Q

When I receive Word documents via email from my Windows ME system can't open them. They go straight into WordPad and when opened it's just a lot of unintelligible gobbledegook.  However if I ask the sender to attach the file in Rich Text Format (RTF), I can then read them. Is there anything I can do to enable me to read Word documents without stipulating 'send in RTF'?  Does this mean when I finally buy a new computer with the latest version of Windows I wont be able to read my existing Word documents currently stored on floppy discs?

Roy Lawton, Quarndon, Derbyshire.)

A

Something seems to have gone wrong with your PC's file associations. Normally when you double-click on a Word document file, or a Word document attached to an email -- even if it was written on a different version of Word to the one you are using -- it should automatically launch Word. To check and edit file associations open Windows Explorer, go to Tools > Folder Options and select the File Types tab. Scroll down the list to .doc and if necessary click the Change button to reform the association between files with the extension .doc and Microsoft Word.

Q

I receive the following error message whenever I start up our computer.

‘Windows unable to detect C:\Windows\System32\MSA64CHK.dll

Can you advise how to rectify this? 

Jackson Allen, via email

A

It looks as though your computer has become infected with the Mostrar Dialler, a nasty little piece of work that dials up Spanish pornography sites. It’s triggered by entries in the Windows Registry so it may not be found by the usual Malware cleaners, nevertheless it’s worth trying them first so download, install and run AdAware (www.lavasoftusa.com) and Spybot (www.safer-networking.org/), and if you are using Windows XP, try MS AntiSpyware as well:

(www.microsoft.com/athome/security/

spyware/software/default.mspx). They are all free and should be used at least once a week to help protect your PC. If the problem persists you’ll find more detailed removal instruction for this particular program at:

http://securityresponse.symantec.com/

avcenter/venc/data/dialer.mostrar.html

and

www.kephyr.com/spywarescanner/

library/mostrardialer/index.phtml

Q

I run Windows 98. I bought a new camera and installed its installation driver OK, restarted the PC as requested, the software started to load then stopped responding and the following message came up: ‘USB Mass storage device Windows stopped responding… (Code 11)’. I have tried the camera in a friend’s machine and it worked perfectly.

G. A. Beale, via email

A

A Code 11 error message usually relates to a problem with the USB device driver, you should uninstall the camera software, visit the camera manufacturer’s web site, download the latest version for your operating system and try again.