FAQS! FACTS! FAX!  494 (03/01/06)

Q

I purchased a Dell 2350 some years ago and it works very well. However, it is limited with Intel Extreme onboard graphics and I wondered is there some way of disabling this and putting in a dedicated graphics card to increase my machines capabilities?

Bob Macdonald, via email

A

Possibly, it is quite common for machines designed for graphically undemanding applications (word processing, web browsing etc.) to have the video adaptor integrated with the motherboard but normally there is a facility to disable the on-board graphics. This allows a separate video card to be installed in a vacant PCI or AGP socket. The ‘switch’ is usually in the integrated peripherals section of the BIOS program, which configures the PC’s hardware prior to loading Windows. However, I have had a look through the documentation for this machine and there doesn’t appear to be any such facility. This may or may not be a problem but the only sure way to tell is to install a graphics card in a spare PCI slot (this model doesn’t have an AGP port), connect a monitor to it and see what happens. If you have another PC to hand you could ‘borrow’ one from that otherwise you’ll have to buy one but they’re not expensive and a basic video card costs around £12 to £15 from online sellers.

Q

I have noticed my laptop occasionally slows quite significantly and the fan is almost constantly running. This usually happens when I have a couple of Internet Explorer windows opened, or the machine is doing something.  I would suggest this is as a result of a lot of background processes running, but I am not sure how to find out where they are and which ones I can stop (and prevent starting again).  I’d be grateful for any advice you can offer.

Anthony Richards

A

Have a look at Boot Camps 355 to 357, Windows XP Tuning Tips, which runs through the many and various background Services and Processes that can increase boot time and slow your PC down.

Q

I have a laptop and desktop home network, which can operate either by cable or wireless. Is there a program that can synchronise files in matching folders on both machines? I have tried Microsoft Briefcase, which comes with Windows, but it doesn’t seem easy to use at all.

Paul Ormerod, via email

A.

You should have a look at another Windows utility, which I suspect will meet most if not all of your needs. It’s called Offline Files and the idea is the files or folders that you want to ‘synchronise’ are actually all stored on one machine. You can work on them independently on any other PC and the main file will be automatically updated whenever a network connection is made. For a more in-depth explanation have a look at Boot Camps 378 and 379, which deals with file synchronisation and how to set up and use both Briefcase and Offline Files.

Q

I recently copied My Documents to CD/RW disk. The files were all archived before copying.  When I tried to selectively to load them onto another PC they all appear as Read Only Can you please tell me how to archive them on the disk and the second PC?

Alan Stagg, Dunchurch

A

Windows and most CD burning applications automatically apply the ‘Read Only’ attribute to any file copied to a CD-R/RW because they are basically a ‘write-only’ media. In other words the file, once stored on the disc cannot be edited. The only exception to this are discs created using UDF or Packet Writing formatting, although a file that has been changed isn’t re-written but simply removed from disc’s the table of contents (TOC) and a new file bearing the same name is written to the disc.

The trick to using a CD-R/RW to transfer files from one PC to another is to copy the files onto the hard drive of the second PC then change the Read Only attributes en-masse. In Windows XP the can be done from the DOS-like Command Prompt. Go to Run on the Start menu and type ‘cmd’ (without the quotes) and this opens the Command Prompt window. Next change to the folder where the files are stored, in your case by typing ‘cd C:\Documents and Settings\<yourname>\My Documents’ (again no quotes) then enter the following command: ‘attrib -r *.* /s’ and press Enter.

Q

I have just set up a dial-up connection for my new computer (as I had on my previous computer) but the number has changed from an 0845 number to an 0844 number at 5 times the cost and I cannot get 20% off my OneTel charge as it will only accept 0845 numbers. Have all the providers increased their charges like this?

Thelma Huggett, via email

A

Not as far as I am aware but you have clearly become a victim of fiendishly complicated premium rate and lo-call charges and low-user Internet tariffs. I suspect that the new call charges now means that you could be paying as much for your slow and inefficient dial-up connection as entry-level broadband. You should tot up the figures then go on line and check out the cost of switching your Internet connection to OneTel -- it has a range of dial-up and broadband plans -- or switch your phone line back to BT or another provider (you can compare both phone and broadband prices at www.uswitch.com) and take advantage of the numerous cheap packages now available.

For future reference if you are worried about switching telephone providers and ISPs and loosing your email address the trick is to start over and register a domain name (i.e. Thelmahuggett.co.uk -- I checked, it’s available) and this will cost you around £7.50 plus VAT for two years from the likes of Lowcostnames . This includes free email forwarding, so even if you change your ISP again emails sent to Thelma@thelmahuggett, for example, will be automatically forwarded to whatever email address you are currently using. 

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© R. Maybury 2005, 2712