FAQS! FACTS! FAX!  638 (11/11/08)

Q. Against my better instincts I installed Vista Service Pack. Since then my computer has slowed right down and every so often it just locks up. The Ctrl+Alt+Del trick doesn’t work, actually nothing works, and the only way out is to hold in the On switch for a few seconds and reboot. The PC is only just over a year old and it is running Vista Home Premium.

Greg Stevens, via email

A. A slow-down immediately after installing SP1 is not that unusual, in fact it’s almost inevitable as during the installation the Prefetch Cache is deleted. This stores details of frequently accessed programs and files, though this will normally be rebuilt with a few days. It sounds a bit more serious in your case, though and it may have nothing to do with SP1.

In earlier versions of Windows this type of fault used to be quite difficult to diagnose but Vista has a handy tool, called the Reliability and Performance Monitor. You’ll find it by typing ‘Reliability’ in Search on the Start menu. Double click the icon to launch it and in the left hand Task Pane select Reliability Monitor. You’ll see a graph plotting your PC’s general health since you first switched it on. Any radical dips in the graph, red ‘Xs’ or exclamation marks at around the time it started playing up should be investigated. Simply click on the point on the graph and below you’ll see a list of any software and system changes. If SP1 is implicated I suggest removing it and reinstalling.

Q. I’m running Windows XP on a Dell Dimension.  My desktop frequently, and for no reason I can think of, reverts to a blank, white background when I boot it up and I have to reset it to my chosen picture.  The icons remain.  Each time, I reset the display and hit the ‘Apply’ and ‘OK’ buttons, but then it will happen again a day or two later – can you suggest anything to stop the gremlin?

Sarah Henwood, via email

A. This sounds a lot like an ‘Active Desktop’ glitch. For those of you unfamiliar with this feature, the idea was that you could set your desktop to display parts of web pages, or even whole pages. It never really caught on and disappeared with Vista. Anyway, if it is enabled by accident, and no page is chosen, you can get the white or blank screen that you describe. To switch it off right-click on the desktop and select ‘Arrange Icons’ by, then make sure that ‘Lock Web Items on Desktop’ is unchecked. Next, select Properties on the right-click menu, then Properties, click the Desktop tab, then the Customize Desktop button. Choose the Web tab and make sure that all boxes are unchecked, exit the dialogue boxes and reboot.

Q. I purchased a laptop from a well-known manufacturer earlier this year. It was advertised as having a 80Gb hard drive, which it did indeed have, but it is divided into two equal partitions. The C: partition is used for Windows Vista and the E: partition is labelled Data. The C drive was already three quarters full with the manufacturer’s pre-installed software and Windows. The E: drive seems inaccessible. How can I reclaim the 32 or so gigabytes of space in the E: partition so that I can actually use it? Please keep it simple, as I’m only semi-computer literate!

Peter Vick, via email

A. On balance and in view of your self-confessed inexperience I would advise you to leave well alone. If you need more storage space I suggest that you buy an external hard drive. The E drive, also known as the Recovery partition contains all of the files needed to restore your computer to its factory state, should it suffer a catastrophic crash.  On some models you can recover this space by copying the recovery files to CDs or a DVDs and then combine the partition with the C: drive, or use it as-is. Check the manual or the manufacturer’s web site to see if there’s a procedure for creating Recovery Discs. If not it can be done manually but be warned that it can be a tricky business, it’s not without risk and may require specialist software so it is best left to more advanced users. 

Q. I bought a new hard drive and installed Windows XP Pro. The strange thing is that the drive has been identified as G: instead of C:. Some programs will not install because they cannot find Drive C: I tried to change the drive letter using the Windows hard drive Management program but it refuses to make the change from G: to C:

I downloaded the freeware partitioning program but that also will not allow a drive letter change. What may have gone wrong in the operating system installation to cause a drive identification other than C: and is there any way I can change the G: to C: without reinstalling Windows? By the way, my computer was built 4 years ago from your articles in Boot Camp and is still going strong!

Gordon Blake, via email

A. This can happen if the old drive or a memory card reader was connected when you installed XP, in which case Windows assigns the next available drive letter after C: for the primary or System drive. To avoid it happening next time disconnect all drives (other than the new one and your CD/DVD drive), card readers, USB drives and so on.

As for changing the System drive letter, well that’s not so easy. The problem is that during the installation Windows creates numerous system files, including the Registry, with references to the drive letter and if you install any software afterwards the number of references rises exponentially. It is possible to change the System drive letter, and if you do it soon after installation it’s not too difficult but if you’ve loaded any software, and used the machine for any length of time then trust me, it will be quicker, and easier, to start again and re-install Windows.

If you have a computer problem write to: fff@telegraph.co.uk

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