FAQS! FACTS! FAX!  477 (02/08/05)

Q

I just bought a new PC with Windows XP installed and can't get rid of the echo sound effect which is there for Windows sound effects as well as listening to radio programmes or CDs via Real Audio. I have followed the Microsoft Help advice on adding/removing sound effects, but I do not have the 'Effects' tab in the Advanced Audio Properties dialog box.

Craig Rattigan, via email

A

I suspect your PC’s sound card is generating the echo. Have a look in Control Panel for an Icon relating to your computer’s audio system. My guess is this will include an option for adding acoustic or ambient effects such as ‘Hall’ or ‘Stadium’. If so switch it off.

Q

Is there a shortcut key to close several open windows? I often use the Windows + M keys to minimize but at the end of the day a ‘close all’ facility would be useful.  A colleague managed to accidentally have dozens of files highlighted and it took over half an hour to close them all!

Wendy Rakestrow, Exeter

A

Not as such each but program will usually have its own keyboard shortcut for closing multiple windows, check the program’s Help menu. Some programs may have specific menu commands. In Word (version 200 onwards), for example, hold down the Shift key and go to the File menu where you will find extra ‘Close All’ and ‘Save All’ commands. Closing the host program or initiating a shutdown will usually close all open windows at the same time. You can also shut down multiple programs at once by holding down the Ctrl key, click to highlight each program icon on the Taskbar then right-click one of the icons and select ‘Close Group’.

Q

I have tried many times to download Windows Media Player. It goes through the whole lengthy process and when asked to click ‘Finish’ I always get ‘An internal application error has occurred’. I am using MS Windows XP and Real Player. Any solution?

Charles Lagus, Mauritius

A

There are a number of possibilities but the most likely explanation is a problem with your PC’s video or audio driver. To see if that is the case try this simple test. Go to Run on the Start menu and type ‘mplayer2’ (without the quotes) and this will load the basic Windows Media Player program. Next go to Open on the File menu and Browse your way to the Windows folder and double click on ‘clock.avi’. This should open a sample clock counter display with a one second ‘ping’ sound. If this fails to display, or you can’t hear the sound then you should download and install the most recent driver software for your video adaptor or sound card from the manufacturer’s web site. 

Q

I have just re-read Boot Camps 376 & 377 on backing up files. I had intended to install the Backup utility from my XP Home Edition CD as you suggest. However, could you please explain the meaning of the mysterious statement in the readme.txt file, which says: ‘ASR is not supported on Home Edition… there is no way to initiate the ASR restore in case of a disaster...’

John Humphries, via email

A

ASR or Automated System Recovery is a facility in Windows XP Pro that helps system administrators and teccies to get a crashed or very seriously sick XP Pro PC back up on its feet. It's not supported by Windows XP Home edition, hence the (rather confusing) warning message.

Q

I regularly get a Messenger window advising that Windows has detected problems and advising me that I should visit a website and download a patch to repair my Registry. I always ignore them but can you give any advice.

Richard Moyes, via email

A

The Windows Messenger Service is supposed to allow network administrators send messages to network users but it can be abused and these Spam pop-ups can be a real pain. Fortunately it can be easily disabled. Go to Run on the Start menu, type ‘services.msc’ (without the quotes), double click the Messenger entry, click the Stop button and on the Startup Type drop-down menu select Disabled. Click OK and exit the windows.

Q

I should like to go onto a Broadband connection. I live at one address for half of a week and the rest of the week at another. Is it possible to have one Broadband connection that covers both addresses?

George Howe, via email

A

Unfortunately not, unlike a dial-up connection, which you can use anywhere, a Broadband account is linked to an individual telephone line.

Q

I'm trying to uninstall Opera (my system is Windows XP) but every time I go to Add/Remove Programs and click Remove, a window pops up saying ‘Could not open install.log file’. Can you help?

William Neil, via email

A

Install.log file tells the program’s uninstaller utility where all of the files the program it has stored on your PC are kept. If this is damaged or missing then the uninstall function cannot work. The solution is to re-install Opera, this should recreate the install.log file and you can then uninstall it from Add/Remove Programs.