FAQS! FACTS! FAX! 129 (01/10/98)

BLACKBOARD JUNGLE

Some time ago, you gave some very useful information regarding the removal of files from the hard disc to avoid potential nosey-parkers from searching the hard disc for deleted material.  You advised a using a program called BlackBoard FileWipe and I have used it successfully for several weeks. However, the thought occurred to me, how do I ensure complete removal of files which were deleted before the use of FileWipe?  This would be very useful before I decide to sell my existing machine.  I really don't want people retrieving my previously deleted personal files concerning, for example, financial information.

F. L. Turner

A

The proper course of action when selling a PC is to re-format the hard disc -- thus completely erasing all of the data on it. You may want to re-install Windows or the operating system -- so you can demonstrate it is working to potential buyers -- and then uninstall it, or sell it with the PC. Selling a PC loaded with commercial software is technically illegal, unless you also include all of the original program discs and registration documents. However, returning to your question, once the recycle bin has been emptied, old deleted files are overwritten fairly quickly as you load software and create new files, and you can hasten that process by defragging regularly.

QUICK ANSWER

I work from home and use WinFax Pro as a communication device. If I have the computer switched on, with WinFax disabled but the computer connected via the modem to a telephone line, I cannot receive incoming calls as the computer instantly answers and begins looking for a handshake. This, as you may agree, is intensely irritating. I cannot find anything else running which could produce this response and the modem has even been changed. My only solution is to have WinFax Pro automatically answer every call after a number of rings and to get there first or unplug the phone line from the computer. Any suggestions?

Ian Leahy

A

Check to see if the auto answer feature has been enabled in Windows Exchange (or Messaging, if you're using Windows 98). To switch it off, open the Inbox window (it should be on the Programs menu under Exchange or Messaging) and click on the Tools menu, then select Microsoft Faxes and Options. Choose the Modem tab, click on the Properties button and check the 'Don't Answer' option.

POSITIVE ACTION

I have a Pentium 233 PC with Windows 95 and a TV card with a teletext facility. The image of a teletext page is shown on the screen with a black background and if I print it out the printer uses up a lot of ink. Is there any way I can print out the teletext page as normal text?

Bernard Tate, Tarporley, Cheshire

A

The simplest solution is to either save the teletext page as an image file -- assuming your teletext software has that facility -- or capture it as a screen grab by pressing Alt + Print-Screen on the keyboard (this copies the active window to the clipboard). Open MS Paint (Start, then Accessories) or your preferred graphics package and open the saved image file or click Paste on the Edit menu to copy the image from the clipboard. Select Invert Colours on the Image menu, to turn the image negative, so you now have black lettering on a white background, which you can now print. As a matter of interest the Win TV card made by Hauppauge has a facility called DDE (dynamic data exchange) that allows teletext data, such as stockmarket prices etc., to be directly imported into applications like MS Word and Excel.

SNAP HAPPY

A recent advertisement for a computer with a digital camera made me aware that my slides -- seldom seen nowadays -- could be projected and photographed with a digital camera. They could then be saved as computer files and printed in full colour, with the added bonus of improving the colour and overlaying a title. Could a program of these edited picture files be set to show a sequence, perhaps with variable display times, and then transferred to a television screen and saved on to video tape with a commentary, and/or background music? I realise I could use a camcorder to photograph slides projected on a screen but I would like to have the kind of control over the picture which I believe a computer would give me.

Leslie Gardner, Farnham, Surrey

A

All things are possible, however instead of a digital camera you could use a PC with a dedicated slide scanner, which would give you much better results. Prices vary, from around £250 upwards. The current market leader is the Nikon CoolScan, which can handle 35mm, and APS format films and has a very high quality optical resolution of 2700 dpi (dots per inch); if you shop around you can find it selling for under £600. Slide scanners usually include a suite of software with slide show and picture editing utilities. Your PC would also need to have a video output card or adaptor, costing a further £80 to £100. Another alternative is Kodak Photo CD. This service is available at selected photographic outlets who will transfer your slides  -- at a price -- to a special kind of CD-ROM. These can be played back on a Video CD or DVD player with Photo CD playback, on a normal TV -- in whatever order your require. They can also be played on a PC with a CD-ROM plus the necessary software though you will still need a PC to TV converter module, in order to see the pictures on your television.

Nikon: http://www.nikon.co.uk

BACKUP MYSTERY

Windows 95 enables one either to copy files to the floppy disc or else use the backup program. To me the words are equivalent but in practice the operations differ; for example you cannot save a subsequent backup over an earlier one nor can you retrieve a single file out of a backed up folder. Exactly how does Microsoft envisage one uses the backup program?

Peter Denby

A

There are no hard and fast rules but generally speaking MS Backup (Start, Accessories, System Tools) and the proprietary backup systems are designed to copy (and usually compress) large numbers of files to a mass-storage medium, like tape or high-capacity magnetic and optical discs. You can elect to carry out a full system backup, and/or just selected data files that have changed. It's meant to be a safety net, to protect you against a catastrophic hard disc failure. Should the worst happen you could quickly and easily restore your system or data files. Because of their limited capacity floppy discs can only hold a relatively small amount of data and the copy to floppy facility is normally used to transfer files to another PC.

WORD WRINKLE

As a further refinement to your reply to David Edelbaum (F!F!F! 10 Sept 98) may I suggest that, instead of just saving the blank template, it would be sensible to save it with the 'read-only recommended' option selected. Then when it is subsequently used in action, any attempt to save it will force the use of the 'Save as' command instead of overwriting the original template file. I have prevented the loss of many valuable 'originals' this way.

Vivian Dunn

A

Thanks for that handy tip. The Read Only check box can be found on the Options button on the Save As window.