FAQS! FACTS! FAX!  519 (27/06/06)

Q. I have a windows XP PRO, My son lives in Spain and has an Apple Mac is there any way we can communicate via webcam or voice or are the systems incompatible.

Ron Almond, via email

A. One of the key features of the Internet is that it is based on a near-universal set of technical standards that are not tied to any particular PC system or ‘platform’. That is why you can send and receive emails from your Windows PC to your son’s MAC. In the same way you can exchange other types of data, and that includes audio and video, so the short answer is yes.

Problems only arise when you try to use proprietary communications software that’s only available for one operating system but that shouldn’t be a problem, provided to you stick to the most popular packages. I would see how you get on with Skype, which is a free and easy to use VOIP (Voice Over Internet Protocol) Internet telephony system. Versions are available for both Windows and MAC PC’s and once you’ve got it set up and working on voice calls you can try out the two-way webcam video call feature

Q. I am trying to edit some simple tables of data (I just want to add one column of data from one file to three columns of data in a different file), but the files now contain around180, 000 rows, which is three times longer than Excel will accept! At the moment I am chopping them in to 3 pieces using Notepad, then using Excel to add the column, then joining them back up again using Notepad.  But there must be an easier way!  Is there a very simple spreadsheet package I can get hold of to add my columns of data, which will cope with 180,000 rows?

Estelle Manson-Whitton, via email

A. All current versions of Excel have a built-in limit of 65,536 rows (and 256 columns) per worksheet and this is fixed. All you can really do is split the data across multiple worksheets, though managing them would prove quite challenging. Office 2007, due out in a few months and currently being Beta tested, is reputed to be able to handle more than 1 million rows. If you can’t wait then take a look at Corel’s Quattro Pro, which also has a limit around the million row mark. However, there comes a point, and I suggest that it is well before you get anywhere near Excel’s 65.5k row maximum, with that amount of data you should be using a database program.

Q. When I highlight a photo from one of my picture folders and click on ‘E-mail this file’ a window opens asking to downsize it or keep it the same size.  Whichever option is selected the window disappears, but no create mail screen opens and the photos cannot be sent. 

Terence Bradshaw, via email

A. The first thing to do is open Internet Explorer then go to Tools > Internet Options, select the Programs tab and make sure that your default email client program is displayed in the ‘E-mail’ box. If that’s okay then it is possible that there’s a problem with the Windows Picture and Fax Viewer utility, which is responsible for the picture email feature. A few months ago it was the focus of a security alert and modified Windows Metafiles would allow hackers to run malicious code or change settings on PCs. It’s possible that one of the hot fixes and patches has upset the Picture and Fax Viewer program, in which case you should be able to reset it to its default condition with this simple Registry command. First set a new System Restore Point then go to Run on the Start menu and type the following (without quotes, and watch for the space): ‘REGSVR32 SHIMGVW.DLL’. Press Return and reboot.

Q. My Windows XP computer is accessing the Internet upon boot up. This is a recent change, as previously it did not access until opening a browser. How can I trace which program is doing this as I do not like that lack of control?

Mike Neale, via email

A. Part of you problem is the lack of an adequate firewall, which would stop and identify anything on your PC trying to make an outgoing connection. I suggest you make that a priority and in addition to the many fine commercial programs there are excellent freeware options like Zone Alarm, so there is no excuse not to have one. (The Windows XP Firewall only blocks incoming attempts to connect to your PC).

Assuming that you haven’t got a broadband connection, which is set to connect automatically at boot-up, then the rogue log-in is probably quite innocent. It’s probably just your anti virus software or program ‘Services’ and utilities searching for updates, but it could be ‘malware’, so you should run scans using AdAware, Spybot and Microsoft Defender(all free). Otherwise you should find the program(s) making the connection in the Startup list, which you can edit by typing ‘msconfig’ (without the quotes) in Run on the Start menu. Many of the entries you’ll find will probably look meaningless but you can check them against the very extensive list of legitimate and malicious components on the Sysinfo website.  

Q. I attempted a restoration of Internet Explorer Windows XP Home by inserting my Windows XP CD.  Not only did the restoration not work; somewhere or somehow I lost all access to the games, which had been included in the original download of XP.  Is there any way I can recover those games short of a total reload of XP?

Robert Quesenbury

A. I’m not sure why that would have happened but all of XP’s bundled games can be installed or uninstalled from Add or Remove Programs in Control Panel. Click the Add/Remove Windows Components icon, double click Accessories and Utilities then Games, and you’ll see a list. The simplest thing to do is uninstall the lot then reinstall them one by one from your Windows XP installation CD.

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© R. Maybury 2006, 2006