FAQS! FACTS! FAX!  544 (19/12/06)

Q. I am interested in building a computer that is largely dedicated to being a home entertainment system. Mostly audio, but possibly video as well. Are there any components designed specifically for high fidelity sound and top quality video? Obviously, this would be quite subjective, but I don't know where to start.

Graham Coult, via email

A. I’m sensing a collective wince from the hi-fi buffs because computers are not noted for their audio capabilities. Audio CD playback on a PC CD/DVD drive needn’t be too bad, though, since this has very little to do with the PC. Analogue audio from the drive is simply channelled through the computer’s sound card and what you hear mainly depends on the quality of your external hi-fi amplifier and speakers so don’t skimp!

All other sounds emanating from a PC go through the digital mill, which means a lot of processing and/or compression, all of which affects sound quality to a greater or lesser extent.

It’s obviously worth investing in a top-quality sound card, though be warned that most of them are optimised for gaming (loud explosions, dramatic surround sound effects etc.), which isn’t necessarily what you need when listening to intricate music. Nevertheless there are a few soundcards aimed at audiophiles, like the Terratec Phase 22, which sells for around £65 and if money is no object, consider the RME HPSP 9632 for £300 or so.

Video adaptors also tend to be geared towards video games but this is no bad thing for playing DVDs and as a general rule of thumb the more memory the video card has the better. Your short list should include models with HDTV capabilities and output connections suitable for your display devices.

Unfortunately as you ramp up the audio and video facilities you are likely to run into cooling problems. Fans are noisy and intrusive, so give case design and silent cooling a high priority from the outset. Otherwise aim for as much processor speed, memory and hard disc capacity as your budget allows.

Q. My wife and I have separate user accounts on our Windows XP computer.  Sometimes after my wife logs out and I log on I find I am unable to connect to the Internet and get the error message ‘MS Visual C+++ Runtime Library Runtime Error …Explorer\iExplore.exe’. Is this normal?  I expected every user to be able to log on to the Internet but so far we have been unable to achieve this!

Shaun Molloy, via email

A. It’s not normal and the number one suspect is a corrupt Google Toolbar. Uninstall it and if you want to continue using it, reinstall the latest version. If you don’t have it then it is almost certainly due to another Browser Helper Object or ‘BHO’. These are third-party utilities that load with Internet Explorer, though they’re not always visible, in fact some of them are malicious and stay hidden. You should download a small freeware tool called BHODemon. It seeks out all of the BHOs on your system and gives you the option to delete any you do not want. Personally I would remove them all; they’re usually more trouble than they are worth.

Q. Whenever I close Outlook Express I get the error message: ‘The installer you are trying to use is corrupted or incomplete… skip this check using the /NCRC command line switch (Not Recommended).’ At the same time the McAfee logo and ‘NSIS Error’ appears in the task bar. What does this mean?

This has been happening for a week or two. It is especially puzzling because, to the best of my knowledge, I am not trying to use an installer and if I click ‘OK’ the message and the taskbar entry disappear.

M. Lockyer

A. I don’t think it has anything to do with closing Outlook Express; this type of error message is normally linked with an aborted program installation using the built-in Windows Installer, used by a lot of software applications.

There are a couple of ways to fix this. First, if you have tried unsuccessfully to install a program recently have another go and this might clear the blockage. Otherwise replace the Windows Installer; you can download the latest version from the Microsoft website.  

Q. How do I prevent Outlook Express automatically opening the last e-mail that I receive?  One of them is going to contain a ‘nasty’ and I would like to remove the risk.

Terry Mitchell.

A. This particular feature used to be enabled by default but it should have been switched off by various security updates and service packs for precisely the reason you mention. Clearly they didn’t work, or you haven’t installed them but it’s a simple enough matter to put right. Go to the Outlook Express View menu, select Layout then under Preview Pane deselect ‘Show Preview Pane’.

Q. Recently I discovered that my e-mails were not being sent on either Thunderbird or Outlook Express. I find that disabling XP's firewall and Avast! Anti Virus solves the problem but it is not clear which one is to blame. When I switch them on again it is OK, but when the computer is switched off and then on again then same problem occurs.
W. Ryan, via email

A. This will be the handiwork of the Avast! email scanner because the XP Firewall has no facility to block outgoing connections. You can switch it off or set it to have a lighter touch by double-clicking the Avast icon in the System Tray (next to the clock). Double click Internet Mail in the Providers windows and to stop it checking outgoing mail click the SMTP tab and deselect ‘Scan outgoing mail’. If you still want to retain the facility select the Heuristics tab; change the Sensitivity slider from Medium to Low and see if that makes a difference.

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© R. Maybury 2006, 1212