FAQS! FACTS! FAX!  505 21/03/06)

Q. When I use Windows MovieMaker to create a movie using photos from My Pictures, the disc is produced in ‘Highmat’, which will not play on my DVD player although every other format will. What is Highmat and do you know what DVD players will play them?

Brian Parratt, via email

A

HighMAT or High-performance Media Access Technology has rather slipped in by the back door. It’s not a format as such but a joint effort by Panasonic and Microsoft to create a standardised play list for CDs and DVDs containing audio and video files, making them easier to navigate, set play order and so on. Not all CD and DVD players recognise HighMAT data, those that do should have the logo somewhere about its front panel, box or instruction manual. Older, non-HighMAT compatible players should still be able to play discs containing HighMAT data, provided the media files are in a format that your DVD player recognises.

That’s the nub of the problem in your case. When you create a picture disc using Windows Moviemaker it is in the Windows Media Video (*.wmv) format, which your DVD player cannot play. The solution is to create a Video CD of still images (compatible with most DVD players), or you can just copy your picture files onto the disc as many recent DVD players have a JPEG replay facility. For more on creating picture discs have a look at Boot Camp 278 ‘Pictures on Disc’

Q. Your recent Boot Camp series on Word Tips is timely, as I have been having a few problems with Word when opening documents. If I open the document from within Word (using File > Open) it opens immediately. However if I try and open the file by either double clicking on the file icon, or by right-clicking and opening using "open" or "open-with", the file takes an interminable age. Thinking it may have something to with my virus software I have disabled that but there is no increase in speed opening the file.

Rowena Broadbent, via email

A. A slight delay -- perhaps a second or two -- is normal, before a document opens in Word when you click on the file icon in My Computer or Windows Explorer. If Word isn’t already running the delay will be even longer, as long as it takes for Word to open. Virus scanners can also slow things down. Several of them check Word documents for macro viruses when they’re opened from inside Windows Explorer, though I think we can discount that possibility in your case. Another possibility is a ‘mapped’ but disconnected drive or network drive. In other words a drive that Windows expects to be there but isn’t. This can affect corporate laptop users, for example, using their machine at home. When opening a file Windows Explorer wastes time looking for network drives that are no longer available. It can also happen on machines that have removable drives that are disconnected  

Q. I recently bought an IBM ThinkPad. It has been acting up lately. We recently picked up a Trojan or two and I thought I'd have a look round to see if there was anything amiss. The first place I went to was System Information. It opened up OK. But there was nothing there! Apparently my computer didn't exist! Please tell me if there is some way to get the info back?

Chas Hobson

A. System Information is a stand-alone Windows utility called ‘msinfo32.exe’ and another way to launch it is to type the file name (without the quotes) into Run on the Start menu. Msinfo32 could be corrupt, in which case if you have access to another XP PC try copying the file (it’s only around 40kb) from the other machine to the same location on yours. You’ll find it in: C:\Program Files\Common Files\Microsoft Shared\MSInfo. Another possibility is missing OLE registration. If replacing the msinfo32 file doesn’t work you then at your own risk download and run this small Visual Basic script, which will makes some changes to your Registry and hopefully fix the problem. 

Q. I have just acquired a new Windows XP Professional PC with 1 gigabyte of memory. Everything seems to be fine except for Mozilla Firefox, my preferred browser, which freezes, either on opening or a few minutes later, and I have to End Task to close it. I have uninstalled and re-installed it several times with the same result. Internet Explorer on the other hand runs with no problems. Do you have any advice please?

Richard Berkenstat, via email

A. Unfortunately you are spoilt for choice when it comes to possible causes, everything from incorrectly configured Hyperthreading to squabbles with other programs. It’s a fairly long list so I suggest you work your way through the possibilities on Mozilla’s ‘Firefox Hangs’ help page

Q I have a problem with my Windows XP PC in that when I want to Restart it acts as though I have selected shut down and I have to switch it back on again. Please help!

V.Aswani, via email

A. It’s usually the other way around and XP can develop an irritating habit of rebooting when you select Shutdown. Your particular problem is almost always due to a troublesome program running in the background and a prime suspect is inCD, a packet writing utility bundled with Roxio Disc Creator. If you have this program on your PC try disabling it by going to Run on the Start menu and typing ‘msconfig’ (without the quotes).  Select the Startup tab, deselect ‘DirectCD’ or any reference to inCD and try again. If you are not using this software the chances are one of the programs that launch automatically with Windows is responsible. Work your way through the Startup list, deselecting one item a time and trying a Restart. Don’t forget to recheck the item if it proves to be innocent, though I must say that most of them are just wasting resources and the only ones you really need are those concerned with your antivirus program, firewall and any utilities that your PC really needs.

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© R. Maybury 2006, 1403