FAQS! FACTS! FAX!  486 (08/11/05)

Q

I wonder if you could help me with this little problem? I found out that on the BBC Radio 4 website it is possible to 'Listen Again' and download some programs to save on the computer to listen to at your convenience. So I downloaded a whole week of 'Book of the Day’ and saved them into a folder on the desktop to transfer onto a CD so that I could play them in the car. I now find that the files have updated themselves and my original file now contains programs for the following week so I have lost them. Can you suggest a way to save these types of files that would stop them from disappearing?

Doug Skillcorn, via email

A

For various copyright reasons the BBC imposes a 7-day limit on material downloaded from its website using its Interactive Media Player or ‘iMP’ (confusingly the BBC also refer to it as the ‘Integrated’ and ‘Internet’ Media Player), and this is why the contents of the file change when the time limit expires. The trick is to ‘freeze’ the file by converting it into another format and there are several ways of doing that.

One solution would be to make an analogue copy by recording your PC’s audio output on a cassette tape recorder, but that isn’t very elegant and not much good for listening on the car’s CD player. The best solution would be to replay the program and re-record it using an application like Audacity. This is a sophisticated freeware audio recorder and editor that captures any sound passing through the PC’s audio system. The new recording can then be exported as a WAV or MP3 file and converted into an audio CD using a program like Roxio Easy Media Creator or Nero Burning.

Q

For various reasons I seem to be 'restoring' my XP computer a lot to earlier settings. This seems to take an inordinate length of time; is there any way of speeding up the process? What files are restored and is there any way I can keep it to just system settings?

Andrew Peaty, via email

A

Quite honestly I would be more concerned about sorting out the fault that requires you to keep restoring your system. A full Restore does take time because you are replacing your PCs critical system files and for the record they include the Registry and DLL (Dynamic Link Library) files, Windows Management Instrumentation (WMI) and Windows File Protection (WFP) data, Component Object Module and Internet Information Services (IIS) databases.

These are all important and without knowing a lot more about the nature of the fault it’s impossible to say which of them needs to be restored. In any event I’m not aware of any way to change what files System Restore records. At least not without hacking into the Registry, and that’s clearly not advisable given the current state of your PC. The only easily accessible user option is to limit the amount of space available to System Restore. This can be done from Control Panel (System > System Restore > Settings) but this just reduces the number of restore points rather than make it work any faster. Other configuration settings in System Policies are concerned with administration so the best way to avoid having to use System Restore is to fix the underlying problem.   

Q

Having just changed from a 15-inch CRT monitor to a 19-inch LCD flat screen I am a little disappointed with the clarity, digital pictures are acceptable but text displays are slightly blurred.

My old PC does not have a DVI output; can it be modified? If so can it be done via software or would it need additional hardware? Would this make a difference?

Roy Booth, via email

A

You will need some extra hardware and yes there should be a noticeable improvement in image quality and for those unfamiliar with DVI (Digital Video Interface) it’s worth briefly explaining why DVI is the new and improved way of connecting PCs to LCD monitors.

The video display generated by a PC starts out as a stream of digital data but until recently the only way to present the image was on a cathode ray tube (CRT) type monitor; these are essentially analogue devices and the digital display data from the PC has to be converted into an analogue signal by the graphics card. Then along came LCD monitors, these are digital devices with the image made up of individual picture elements or ‘pixels’, When an LCD monitor is connected to a PC you have the somewhat absurd situation of the pristine digital signal being converted into analogue form by the graphics card, then converted back into digital data by the monitor and at each stage of the conversion process the image is degraded slightly.

The solution is to bypass the unnecessary conversion stages and use an all-digital connection between the PC and the monitor and that’s where DVI comes in. It’s worth knowing that not all LCD monitors have DVI inputs -- you are more likely to find them on mid-market and top end models -- but almost any PC can be upgraded with a DVI output simply by replacing the graphics card. Dual output (VGA and DVI) graphics cards are not expensive, prices start at around £25, and you’ll be getting the best possible picture from your LCD monitor.

Q

I have a two-year old Canon G3 digital camera. Is there some generic software or means by which I can use it as a webcam? There is nothing in the camera manual or on the Canon website.

Derek Greenaway, via email

A

As far as I am aware it cannot be done since there is no provision to output a live video image from this camera. That’s not necessarily a bad thing and it would be a rather demeaning and undemanding task for a camera of this calibre. There are plenty of inexpensive webcam on the market, and no end of cheap digital stills cameras with that facility, so why not get one of those and save your G3 for more serious applications?

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© R. Maybury 2005, 0111