FAQS! FACTS! FAX! 118 (16/07/98)

UNIVERSAL POINT

I recently paid to have my PC upgraded with a new motherboard, CPU and hard disk drive. When the PC was returned I had a note stating that the motherboard, made by Microstar International, has got a USB port, but it does not come with a USB cable. I tried to obtain a connector cable but without success. Several suppliers have told me that I need a specific cable for the motherboard in my PC. I have tried to get the number for Microstar International from Directory Enquires but they did not have it listed. I was wondering what I should do next and whether you have a contact number for the company?

Samir Damle

The Universal Serial Bus or USB has been a more or less standard fitment on Pentium motherboards for about the last eighteen months. The USB port is a powered high-speed serial connection, with a maximum data rate of 12Mbits/sec. Before your eyes glaze over, the main benefits are ease of use, (it's hot-pluggable, which means you don’t have to turn the PC off to connect peripherals), up to 127 devices can be connected to the PC at once and it does away with the troublesome IRQ and DMA settings, that plague conventional serial and parallel connections to a PC.

Everyone had high hopes for USB with the promise of effortless plug-and-play scanners, digital cameras, disc-drives, etc., however, to date only a handful of USB peripherals have actually reached the marketplace, and it's already being overshadowed by the faster, multimedia-friendly FireWire interface. There are two sorts of USB plug/socket, types A and B. Type A is the most common, it's a small flat 4-pin connector. Any device using a USB interface should come with a suitable cable and connector. A to B adaptors and USB extension cables are available from computer specialists and Maplin Electronics (telephone 01702 554000). Microstar International is based in Taiwan, which explains why Directory Enquiries had no record of them. Their UK distributor is Microteq Innovation Ltd, they can be reached on (01733) 896667, you'll also find lots of useful information on the Microstar International web site on: http://www.msi.com

STOP START

I have a Pentium 120 with Windows 95. When I switch on my computer my desktop gets layered with windows, which ask me if I want to run certain programs. I have managed to get rid of some of them because they had check boxes, which if ticked will not load next time. However, others don't have this option and I end up having to click cancel boxes every time I switch on my computer. I even get four belonging to the same program asking me if I want to connect to the Internet. How do I stop these from loading every time I switch on?

Patrick R Wooding

You need to edit your PC's start-up folder. This can be found by clicking on the Start button, then Settings, select Taskbar and the Start Menu Programs tab. Click the Remove button and scroll down the list of folders until you come to one called StartUp. Double click on the '+' sign to show the contents, highlight the programs you do not want to start automatically then click Remove.

COLORFUL ENGLISH

Although I have my PC, running under Windows 95, set to use British English I find that the spell checker in Word 97 insists on suggesting American English.Could you please explain how I can correct this?

David J Cook

Unless you specified the British English dictionary during the initial set-up Word 97 will use the default Custom Dictionary. Regional Settings in Windows 95 have no influence on dictionary selection in Word 97. You can change the setting by clicking on the Tools menu and selecting Options and the Spelling and Grammar tab. Click the Dictionaries button then scroll down the list in the Language field until you find English (British), click Add then OK.

FAX OR E-MAIL

I am using a Pentium II, 233MHz and Windows 95 with a HP Scan Jet 5100c plus a HP 820 DeskJet printer and I want to be able to scan and send documents. I understand I can attach colour photos to E-mail in .jpg format, do all attachments have to be in jpg? Is it better to send documents by E-mail or fax?

Robert Lemon

Stand-alone fax machines are a fast and efficient way of sending documents and simple black and white graphics to other fax machines and PCs, (providing they're switched on and set to receive incoming faxes). All fax machines print out a transmission report so you know it has been received straight away and they are cheap (prices start at less than £100). The downside of faxing is that it cannot handle dark or heavily coloured images, resolution -- the ability to reproduce fine detail -- is poor, so too is contrast and sending long faxes overseas can be an expensive business. Sending faxes from a PC is almost as convenient as a dedicated machine, especially if you've got a scanner, which means you can send hand-written notes or diagrams as well as documents created on a word processor.

E-Mail is a quite different kettle of fish. The message or image is forwarded to the recipient's server computer, where it remains until they next log on. The journey from your PC to the server can take anything from a few minutes to several hours. You have no way of knowing when it gets there, or if and when it is picked up. However, E-mail is cheap, you only pay local call rates and the on-line subscription, irrespective of where the E-mail is going, how long it is or what other files are attached. The bottom line is that faxing is best for speed and notification of delivery. E-mail scores for bulk text colour images and computer files, when speed and absolute certainty of it getting there, or being read, are not critical.

As far as E-mail attachments are concerned, JPEG is the format of choice for colour photographs because it is very efficient, file sizes are small and quality losses are minimal. Other formats are used for other sorts of file; you'll find a potted explanation in CompuServe Help, under File Types.

ON THE CARDS

Having upgraded to Windows 95, I am experiencing difficulty transferring my CardFile program. Can you advise?

Lawrie Smith, Broadstairs, Kent

You need to copy and move two files. Cardfile.exe is the main program and address.crd is the address file it creates, both can be found in the Windows 3.1 folder. Assuming you are using two PCs, simply copy the files to a floppy disc -- they are quite small -- create a new folder for them in Windows 95 Explorer and copy them to it. You can assign a desktop shortcut in the usual way, by right clicking on cardfile.exe file and choosing the Create Shortcut option from the menu. Alternatively, you might like to try CardBase for Windows 95, which incorporates numerous extra features not found on CardFile, including provision for E-mail, Internet and fax information. A 30-day trial version can be downloaded from: www.exepc.com/~sdb/CARDBASE.ZIP