FAQS! FACTS! FAX!  495 (10/01/06)

Q

A friend has told me that she has been assured by a Mac salesman that the iMac Mini computer can never suffer from viruses. I find this hard to believe. I am a PC user of long standing and claims like this intrigues me. Can this be true?

Philip A Habib, Chertsey, Surrey

A

No PC or operating systems is one hundred percent safe and all it takes is an individual or group determined and knowledgeable enough to exploit the well-documented security holes in the Mac OS system. The problem, however, from the virus writer’s perspective, is how to spread an infection. Since Macs make up less than 5% of the PC population it is very difficult for a Mac virus to move from machine to machine quickly enough to cause a major problem. A Windows virus on the other hand can theoretically spread across the world in a matter of hours, though it is becoming less likely that we’ll see pandemics on the scale of previous years, now that Windows PC users are slowly getting the message.

The bottom line is that you are much less vulnerable to infection if you use a Mac but provided you take sensible precautions, including not opening unexpected email attachments, keeping your anti-virus software up to date, installing a firewall and staying away from iffy websites and illicit downloads the chances of getting infected are small.

Q

I have had no real problems with my Fujitsu-Siemens laptop but recent difficulties with e-mail and my broadband connection make me think that it might be a good idea to take it back to the beginning. My worry is that the drivers and utilities CD for the DVD-RW drive were not in the box with the other recovery discs. Do you know if it is possible to download the drivers to a CD/DVD or would I have to buy them? Otherwise would it be possible to save the information I have on the PC?

Irene Holcroft, via email

A.

A full reinstallation is a fairly drastic step and I would only do that as a last resort, if your system has become really unreliable. Why not try a ‘System Restore’ or ‘Repair Install’ and try some Tuning tips first (see Boot Camp 334 - 338), and see if that makes a difference?

I understand that your machine was an ex-display model, which may explain why the disc was missing but that doesn’t mean that you are not entitled to the same level of support that you would get with a new PC. You certainly shouldn’t have to pay for the drivers and utilities disc should have been included with your PC. I suggest that you get in touch with Fujitsu Siemens Customer Support, explain the situation and they should be able to provide you with the necessary discs.

In answer to your second question, yes, you can make a backup copy of all of your PC’s driver using a shareware utility called DriverGuide Toolkit You can try it for size using a fully-functional trial version (the licence costs $19). This very neat little program makes a copy of all of the drivers stored on your PC, including the all-important non-Microsoft ones that are needed by peripheral components (DVD-RW drives, printers, scanners etc.). It also has a facility to search manufacturer’s web sites and the Internet for updates. 

Q

Having had to cleanse my hard-drive and reinstall all my programs, I have lost the tip you gave a year or so ago about making text appear clearer and bolder on the screen. 

B. G. Churchward, via email

Q

We have published several tweaks for improving display legibility and they are all still available in the Archive on the BootLog website at: www.rickmaybury.com, just click the Top Tips link and look in the ‘Screen Gems’ and ‘Word’ sections. 

Q

I am having problems recording to my laptop CD drive. When I try and write to it, it goes through all the motions then at the last moment an error message comes up saying there is a fault with the disc.

I have tried many discs from different manufactures, so I don’t believe this is the problem. I have also tried a test with RecordNow and the error message ‘Command:00 Sense:03 ASC:73 ASCQ:04’ is returned.

Richard Askew

A.

Error messages like that are not a great deal of help and there’s no mention of it on the RecordNow Support site but assuming that the drive used to work and the fault has only recently developed then it is fair to assume that the problem lies in one of three places.

The least likely possibility is that the drive is faulty. CD writers are pretty reliable these days and most hardware faults are due to dirt on the laser head, so a run-through with a good quality CD cleaner disc wouldn’t hurt.

CD burning software can be temperamental so I would try uninstalling and reinstalling RecordNow, or switching to another application. If you are using Windows XP try the built-in CD writer application and if that works then you can be sure that the drive is okay.

The most common problem, however, is the driver software for your CD-writer. Visit the manufacturers web site and check to see if there’s a newer version, if so download and install that from Device Manager.  

Q

Outlook Express has recently stated it is 'receiving 1of 1' email messages but after several tries it will not complete downloading on a dial-up connection.  It is now stopping other incoming mail.  Any advice on clearing it would be welcome. 

M. Bruley, via email

A

A quick visit to www.mail2web.com should solve the problem. This site will provide you with access to your ISP’s email server, simply log on using your email address and password and you can inspect the contents of your mailbox and delete any troublesome messages.

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© R. Maybury 2005, 0312