FAQS! FACTS! FAX! 154 (25/03/99)

OUT CAST

My query concerns a box that appears when I start IE4 (Freeserve) or Outlook Express. Following the usual splash screens but before the 'connect' box appears I am getting a small screen with the message "WNetGetUser returned" this is followed by a line of symbols and characters (gibberish and always different) and then a button with "OK". Pressing OK clears the box and then the connection box appears. How do I stop it appearing?

Brian Slater

A

Believe it or not this annoying behaviour is usually caused by the PC not having a valid 'name'… What's yours called? To properly christen your machine go to the Start menu then Settings > Control Panel > Network and click the Identification tab. Clear the name field and put in a name like 'default', if you decide to call it something else do not use any non-alphanumeric characters or spaces.

OUT GOINGS

I was pleased to see the articles on Outlook Express in Boot Camp over the past two weeks. One problem I'm having is that when I have used it I can't find out how to disconnect. The only way I can do it is by going to the Freeserve icon and disconnecting from there! Can you solve?
Eric Griffiths

A

You can use 'Hang Up' which appears on the File menu once dialling has started or you can put a Connection icon on the taskbar at the bottom of the screen. Go Start > My Computer > Dial Up Networking, double click to open, now go to the Connections menu and select Settings and put a tick in the box marked 'Show icon on taskbar after connected'. Clicking on the icon will bring up a dialogue box with a disconnection option. Alternatively you can tell OE to disconnect automatically after your E-mails have been downloaded by putting a tick in the 'Hang Up When Finished' check box on the dialogue box that opens when dialling starts. 

SWAN SONG

Boot Camp (Connected March 11th) encouraged me to make my own sound files to use as audio reminders/errors signals. I have the RSPB CD of British Birds with perhaps some 700 wave files in it and thought a ravens croak might be a good portent when hitting the Caps Lock in error and the Trumpeter Swan to announce E-mail. I can't do it. Audio CDs, yes, wave files, no, any ideas.
Graham Menzies-Kitchin

A

Try using Find on the Start menu to list all of the sound files on the CD-ROM.  In the Named box type *.wav and change the drive to D: in the 'Look In' field (if that's the letter used for your CD-ROM drive) then click Find Now. All of the wav files on the disc should now appear; you can listen to any of them by double clicking on the icon. When you find the ones you want to use right click on the icon and select Copy (or highlight and use Ctrl + C). Open Windows Explorer and paste (Ctrl + V) the file into the Media folder in Windows and follow the instructions in the Boot Camp Tip to assign it to an event. 

ROM FOR MANOUVRE
Can I copy the contents of a CD-ROM onto my hard disk so that I can use the program without having the disc in the CD-ROM drive?
Richard Brunt

A

Yes you can though you may need to change the 'Target' -- i.e. where the computer must look to find the program -- on desktop shortcuts (right click the icon and select Properties). A few programs may object to the move but if you've got the room on your drive it's worth trying. Data can be retrieved from a hard disc at a much higher rate than a CD-ROM and programs that need to frequently access a CD-ROM (reference titles and games etc.,) will often appear to operate much faster.

HARD SELL

I am having problems when using FreeServe E-mail. When I hit the send button I get a message which says 'This Program has performed an illegal operation and will be shut down'. When I click on details it says there is a 'page fault' and displays a list of codes. I contacted FreeServe and they stated that I had a corrupt hard disc drive and needed a new one; they even got PC World to phone and offered me a new one. The PC is 18 months old and is now out of guarantee so IBM doesn't want to know. I have run Scandisk and Defrag and they report no errors. This problem does not occur when I use any other programs or the Internet, it only happens when trying to send E-mails, incidentally, I can successfully receive E-mails. I do not trust the information being given to me as it seems they just want me to buy a new hard disc drive, yet the evidence suggests this may not be necessary.

G. Pendleton, via fax

A

There are many, many reasons for page faults in Windows 95/98 but it is often associated with programs squabbling over the PCs memory resources; it is very unlikely that it has anything to do with your hard disc drive. Internet Explorer suffers from more than its fair share of page faults and a common cause is the 'Active Desktop'. If you have this enabled try switching it off by right clicking into an empty area of the desktop (or Settings > Active Desktop) and clicking the item 'View as Web page'. We will be happy to pass on any other suggestions from anyone who has suffered, and resolved similar problems.

SPLIT DECISIONS

We took advantage of BT's half-price second line offer last year (F!F!F! March 11th). We thought we were getting a new exchange line but were told one wasn't available when the engineer arrived, hence we have a DACS box fitted. When we ordered the new line, the sales operator did not ask us what the line would be used for. The result was that the family computer now could not access the Internet. After much complaining to BT and tweaking at their end, we managed to get online. However, the computer that I use in my office on the original line now had problems with connecting... and still has. It can take 5 or 6 attempts before I can get online. The modem (56K) dials in OK and connects but cuts off before the "verifying username and password" dialogue box appears. Each attempt costs me 4.7p... Sometimes I think it would be cheaper to write!

John Davis

I had an additional telephone line installed last year for my modem use. Because there were no spare lines in the road they fitted a DACS. After the line was installed the fastest speed I could logon - with my 33.3K modem - was about 20k. BT agreed that a DAC reduces the bandwidth of the line. They had to lay a new cable in the road and gave me compensation for my additional costs caused by a slower line. I am sure that a fast modem will never go at full speed if a DACS is installed.
Steve Larkins

A

Thanks to everyone who responded, we have to say that dissatisfied DACS (digital access carrier system) users vastly outnumbered those happy with the service from their split telephone line. Only one reader claimed to be getting data transfer speeds faster than 28kbps; the obvious conclusion is that whilst DACS is suitable for voice and fax, those with modems faster than 28kbps are likely to experience problems.