FAQS! FACTS! FAX!  563 (01/05/07)

Q. I have been unable to locate in Open Office the facility to type addresses on envelopes. There is the facility to print but not to write and no mention is made in their index. Is there a way to do this, please?

Bernard D.W. Wright, via email

A. Admittedly it’s not quite as intuitive as Word but OpenOffice Writer is certainly up to the task. For one-off envelope printing, or printing lots of envelopes with the same address simply open a new document then go to Format > Page, select the Page tab and choose your envelope size or type on the Format drop-down menu. Select the orientation, type in the address (and return address if required) and print. 

If you want to print envelopes on an industrial scale, from an address database then go to Insert > Envelope and you will see a Word like interface for importing addresses, creating a standard layout with sender and recipient’s addresses and setting up the printer. For a more detailed explanation of Writer’s addressing facilities see the article written by OpenOffice guru Solveig Haugland.

Q. Having recently purchased a new PC with Vista Home Premium I find myself in the difficult position of not being able to get warranty backup from Microsoft, or the manufacturer, who both claim it’s the other one’s problem, or want to charge me for a support call at £1 per minute!

The problem is simple and the error message reads ‘Windows Media Centre has stopped working and needs to close’. Also I see the same message with Media Player; both error messages then say Microsoft is looking for a solution but that’s when it stops with no solution or help.

I have tried both companies and the web for the answer but am getting nowhere and cannot afford to pursue it further. Can you help please as I feel sure a simple download should fix it?

David bailey, via email      

A. This may well be a hardware problem – more on that in a moment – but in any event it really is something that the PC manufacturer should sort out as Windows was pre-installed and the machine is still under warranty. If you want to have a crack at it yourself then there are a couple of known issues with Windows Media Player 11 that you can check. The first one is a problem with motherboard drivers. If your PC uses the Intel 945/946 chipset then the drivers may need updating, but you should consult the motherboard manual or manufacturer’s specs to see if this applies to your machine. The other glitch concerns a conflict with some types of plug-in memory device. It’s all down to ‘noncompliant descriptor layouts’ since you ask, but if you really want to know what’s going on, and how to fix it then see Microsoft Knowledgebase article 933547. If neither of those apply then you should pursue the manufacturer for a solution.

Q. I use Outlook Express 6 and when I click Read Mail, it shortly gives me a message saying that I have been disconnected and would I like to be reconnected. Sure enough, when I click Yes, my mail dutifully pops up. However, this is a big irritant and I wonder if you can help?

Geoffrey Corbett, via email

A. It sounds as though you have OE set to automatically disconnect from the Internet when it has finished sending and downloading emails. This is a throwback to the bad old days of dial-up connections (and my apologies to anyone still using one…) to prevent OE from leaving the line open, racking up huge phone bills. To switch it off go to Tools > Options, select the Connection tab and under Dial Up make sure that ‘Hang up after sending and receiving’ is unchecked.

Q. I have an IBM ThinkPad laptop, which my daughter bought in the US. She gave it to me about 3 years ago and I am trying to rid it of all the Americanisms, such as spelling. But most importantly, when I tried to book a flight to and from the US the 'system' required an American postal address and credit card details etc., which I could not override. The laptop is about 6 years old and has Windows 2000 Professional operating system. I would be most grateful for any assistance you can give to an 84-year old beginner.

Bill Church, via email

A. Bad news I’m afraid, it’s not the laptop’s fault. The IP address assigned to your computer by your Internet Service Provider tells the web site that you are located in the UK.  This information is sent to the site by your browser, so it knows where to send the pages you’ve requested.

Normally your geographical location doesn’t matter but a lot of global websites check to see where you are so they can automatically redirect you, or point you to their UK or European sites.

You could try contacting the company by phone or email but I suspect it is based in America and has a policy of not accepting orders from outside the US.

Q. A couple of months ago I purchased a cheap 4Gb MP3 player online. It worked well up until last week when I tried to download some more tracks. An error message appeared on the screen, saying that the data on the disk was corrupt. I have tried re-formatting it several times but it still doesn’t work. As I have fiddled around with it I don’t think I can send it back and I can find no mention of makers name on the net (it’s made in China). Do you have any ideas?

Mick Leaman, via email

A. I’ve had dealings these devices and found that their filing systems can be a bit touchy. Formatting usually gets things back on track though for some reason Windows XP doesn’t do a very good job. For best results use the Scandisk and Formatting utilities in Windows 9x (98/SE/ME). It may be something to do with the fact that older versions of Windows and these players both use the FAT 32 filing system.

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© R. Maybury 2007 2404