FAQS! FACTS! FAX!  566 (22/05/07)

Q, I have an e-machine PC, which refuses to start. When I turn it on there is no fan noise and only the power LED lights up. I tried the PSU on another PC and it worked. Using a screwdriver I shorted the two power pins on the motherboard but this did nothing. I read somewhere that you could ‘jump-start’ a PC by connecting the green cable with any black cable on the 20-pin power connector. The PSU and CPU fans started but the PC still wouldn’t boot up. Any ideas?

Trevor Kemish, via email

A. Shorting power pins, jump-starting by cross-connecting power cables, I dread to think what else you’ve done. I think it safe to assume that the motherboard is a goner. The only question is whether there was a fixable fault before you started fiddling, or you finished it off? Either way the only thing I can suggest is fit a new one. You may not be able to get a direct replacement but you should be able to find something suitable, with the same form factor and compatible with your existing CPU and memory boards, and next time it goes wrong please resist the temptation to poke around with a screwdriver! 

Q. I use Outlook (2003) and find the AutoComplete function very helpful when typing addressees into an email.  When friends change their email address, I diligently update the data in my Contacts file and/or delete obsolete information but the previously useful AutoComplete function continues to default to the old, address, even though it is no longer in my Address Book.  Is there a way of preventing this?

Richard Lytheer, via email

A. Outlook’s AutoComplete entries are stored in a file called the ‘Nickname List’, unfortunately there is no way to edit individual entries, but you can reset it and start again, which has the same effect, though obviously all other entries will also be lost. In Windows XP go to Search on the Start menu and look for a file called ‘*.NK2’ (without the quotes). Rename the file to something like profile.bak and restart Outlook. There’s a more detailed explanation in Microsoft Knowledgebase article 287623

Q. When I plug in a USB 2.0 flash drive I get the following message  'One of the USB devices attached to this computer has malfunctioned…’. I tried the Windows option of updating driver but to no avail. I recently tried to tidy up my machine by deleting old and duplicate USB drivers and ever since then this message appears. I installed a CD copy of Windows SP2 hoping that the deleted driver would reappear however it hasn't.

My external hard drive also gives the same error message. My printer and broadband modem work OK in any USB port. Should I replace the missing driver or just reset my computer?

Bob Burns, via email

A. By the sounds of it you’ve had a fair old tinker, making it difficult to pin down the exact cause of the original fault, but I would begin by making sure that the flash drive is okay and test it on another PC. I’m fairly sure it will be okay but it doesn’t hurt to check; if so then there is a driver problem and the next thing to do is delete then re-install the motherboard and device drivers. However, before you do that make sure that you have the originals, which should be on the discs that came with your PC and peripherals. If not you will have to find out the make and model of the motherboard and any other devices you attach to your PC and download them from the manufacturer’s web site.

Once you have the drivers to hand you can unplug all USB devices then ‘Remove’ all of the USB drivers on the list in Device Manager (Winkey + Break > Hardware). Reboot the PC and you will be asked to insert your motherboard disc (or browse to the location where the drivers are stored). Then, after another reboot you can plug things in one by one and install the drivers as required.

Q. Sometimes at start-up I select a desktop icon and all icons above and to the left select themselves!  If I press on all sorts of weird things happen: e.g. I can't print, Internet Explorer opens a new window on every click etc. This fault does not occur every time, but about one launch in five. The only cure is to unplug - the correct shutdown procedure doesn't work either!

Sam Eakin, via email

A. I have seen something very similar several times before and in all cases it was mouse related. One involved a cheapie KVM switch that allows two PCs to share a single keyboard, mouse and monitor (video). The others concerned faulty mice and corrupt mouse drivers, so if you are not using a KVM switch try another mouse and see if that makes the fault disappear.

Q. You recently reminded me how useful it is to have the taskbar on the right side of the screen. I have taken the plunge but is there anything I can do about the minimised icons?  I can change the size of the icons in the Quick Launch toolbar but the Taskbar icons stay the same.  Is there anyway I can (a) increase the size of the icons and/or (b) change the label text so it is under the icon?

Ian Hunter, Guernsey

A. You can make all of the taskbar icons larger but this will also increase the size of other things, like Close, Minimise and Maximise buttons. To do so right-click on an empty area of the desktop, select Properties, then the Appearance tab and click the Advanced button. On the ‘Item’ drop-down menu select Active Title Bar, and increase the size, try 30 for starters. Click OK then Apply. You can also enlarge the icon labels using the same technique (Caption Buttons on the Item menu) but there’s no way of moving the captions to below the icon. If you are having a problem with legibility I suggest a little freeware program called Visual Tooltip, which emulates the neat Windows Vista trick of generating a thumbnail preview of whatever program the Taskbar icon represents. 

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© R. Maybury 2007 0805