FAQS! FACTS! FAX!  517 (13/06/06)

Q. I cannot seem to get Windows System Restore to create automatic schedule restore points. I run Windows ME, there is about 37% of resources free, System Restore is enabled, its "use disk space" is set to maximum, but it does not do anything and I have to set manual checkpoints daily. My PC is on everyday for about 8 to 10 hours and leaving it on or on standby makes no difference.

Clair Pomo, via email

A. System Restore in Windows ME is set to automatically create a new Restore Point (RP) after every 10 hours of operation, after the PC has been idle for at least 2 minutes. Otherwise it records a Restore Point whenever the PC is next booted up. The only things that will stop this happening are insufficient hard disc space, a faulty or corrupt RP or Systems Restore is switched off, which we can safely discount in your case. 

Free System Resources is not the same as free hard disc space, so that is the first thing to check. ME’s System Restore needs at least 200Mb of free hard disc space; on drives with 4Gb capacity or less the maximum is 400Mb and on larger drives the limit is roughly 12 percent of capacity. You need to determine how much free space you have by right-clicking on your C: drive icon in Windows Explorer or My Computer and select Properties then the General tab; Free/Used space is displayed as a pie-chart. Providing you have the minimum 200Mb of free space you should try changing the size of the Data Store manually to around 10 percent or less of total drive capacity (Control Panel > System > File System).  If it still refuses to work try manually purging all saved RPs by disabling System Restore, rebooting the PC then re-enabling it.

Q. I have Windows XP - less than a year old - with Windows Media Player and Real Player installed. I have some music on Mini Discs but can't seem to rip them on to the computer, so I can then burn them onto a CD. Is there a solution to this?

Philip Houseley

A. In theory it should be easy but MiniDiscs are recorded using Sony’s ATRAC compression system and since it’s very unlikely that you have a MD deck fitted to your PC there’s no easy way to directly copy and convert the digital data from an MD into the CDA format used on audio CDs. Unless you are willing to splash out on some very expensive hardware there are two options.

The simplest method is to make an analogue copy, using your MD player’s headphone or line output socket, connected to the PC’s line audio input using a jack-to-jack cable. You will also need some audio recording software and I suggest an excellent freeware program called Audacity, which will record the audio and then convert it into the CDA format, ready for burning to a CD.

You can get slightly better results if your PC’s soundcard (and MD player) are fitted with digital or ‘optical’ audio connections, in which case you will need a suitable link cable and again, you can use Audacity to record and convert the tracks into CDA format. 

Q. Recently files on my USB memory stick were corrupted. This may have been because I did not “stop” the memory stick before removing it, using the utility accessed from an icon in the bottom right of the screen. However, my laptop (a Sony Vaio) has never had this icon so I have been unable to disable the memory stick.  I usually just switch off the laptop and remove it. Do you now how I can install or recover this utility so that I can remove the memory stick?

David Larmer, Hong Kong

A. The ‘Safely Remove Hardware’ icon normally appears automatically whenever a USB device is plugged into your PC. However, it can be disabled and I suspect this is what has happened on your PC. Right-click onto an empty area of the Taskbar and click Properties.  Select the Taskbar tab then at the bottom check the item ‘Hide Inactive Icons’ and click the Customize button. Select ‘Safely Remove Hardware’ then click the drop-menu and select either  ‘Always Show’ or ‘Hide when Inactive’. Incidentally, it’s worth knowing that Flash memory devices have a finite life -- between 10,000 and 100,000 read/write cycles -- but a far more common cause of failure or data corruption is a dirty or intermittent USB connector, especially if the drive in question is on a key ring and spends a lot of time rattling around inside a dusty pocket. 

Q. I have a problem with a PCMCIA modem. When I use it, and the traffic is high, I receive a Stop Error Screen with a BUGCODE_USB_DRIVER message. I don't know how to resolve this problem; I tried everything except upgrading my BIOS. If you can help me I would be very grateful.

Ivan R, via email

A. This very scary sounding message is normally associated with power supply problems to peripheral devices but I suspect you have a driver problem and you should visit the modem card manufacturer’s website and see if there’s a patch or an updated driver available.

Q. I've just bought a new PC with Windows XP, and I've run into one small and trivial problem. At first the text below the icons on the desktop had a very nice 3D shadowed effect, but I've managed to lose it, (I think it was when I tried out the revert to standard Windows look) and it's now back to black text on a blue background. How do I get it back - I miss it?
Kevin Inskip, via email

A. Windows XP’s fancy display effects can all be found in System Properties (Winkey + Break or right-click My Computer > Properties) select the Advanced tab then click the Performance Settings button, select the Visual Effects tab and make your choices. However, I should point out that some of these effects tie up a lot of system resources, you might like to have a look at the recommendations for the optimum performance/prettiness settings in this Boot Camp Top Tip.

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© R. Maybury 2006, 0606