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There is DareDevilLady checking
to see if she has a Virus but
if she used AVG she would no
if she did or not. No81- -'Call for Help' New Computer Checklist
Use this checklist before you pull a new PC out of the box.
By Margo ShowersOctober 15, 2001
Bringing home a brand-new computer can make you feel like a kid with a new toy. But once the box is open, putting it all together can be a bit intimidating. Slow down, take a deep breath, and use this "Call for Help" checklist to help you start on the right foot with your new machine. Before setting up Keep all paperwork and disks together in one place. We suggest storing these in an expandable file folder, large Ziploc bag, shoebox, or special drawer. Keep the paperwork and disks for your ISP, new software, and peripherals here as well. What you should save Receipts for the CPU, monitor, cables, peripherals, and delivery costs Contact info for vendors Warranties and registration cards Rebates -- put these aside for the moment, but watch out, as rebates expire. All disks -- you may need them for reinstalls later. The box and packaging -- if you need to return something, or if you move, you will need the box for safer transport. Before you plug in the first plug, read the instructions. We know you are anxious to get started, but knowing what lies ahead will make you feel more comfortable with your new computer and help avoid unnecessary frustration. Tips for setting up your new computer You may have icons on the back of your CPU showing you where to plug in the keyboard, mouse, speakers, monitor, and printer. If you don't see these icons, or you are not sure what they mean, check the directions. Never try to force a connection. If it doesn't fit, you've probably got the wrong cable. Power strips vs. surge protectors Plug your CPU, monitor, and any peripherals into a power strip and the power strip into the wall. Leo's controversial opinion is that surge protectors are an unnecessary expense because they often do not work. If there is a lightning storm in your area, unplug all your equipment from the electrical outlet. You must also unplug the phone line leading from the wall to your modem. If power outages and brown-outs are a problem in your area, Leo recommends that you have battery backup in the form of an uninterruptible power supply (UPS). A good UPS costs around $150. Make sure it has enough juice to support your PC and monitor. Once your computer is connected properly (according to the manufacturer's instructions) you should label the ends of each cord. If you have it, use colored tape or masking tape that you can write on. This way you won't have to dig up your manual if you ever need to reconnect your system
No82- -Control Panel Features
Here's a basic listing of all the control panel's features. Depending on the software installed on your system you may notice additional icons. Add New Hardware -- Add new hardware to your system. Use this when Windows Plug-n-Play doesn't work correctly. Double-clicking this icon will launch a wizard that will walk you through installing new hardware drivers. Add/Remove Programs -- Double-clicking this icon will launch a dialog box to install/uninstall programs, add or remove Windows system components, or create a Windows startup disk. Always use this feature to correctly remove programs or system components. Date/Time -- This is where you access all the controls to change the date and time features of Windows. Read this story if you'd like to learn more about changing date and time properties. Display -- Features the following tabs: Background, Screen Saver, Appearance, Effects, Web, and Settings. The Display dialog box is where you can set your desktop wallpaper, monitor resolution, desktop themes, and screen savers. Read this story if you'd like to learn more about your display settings. Find Fast -- Use the Find Fast application when you can't remember where you placed a file or folder. Find Fast will search the contents of your entire system or network and retrieve the file path for you. Read this story if you'd like to learn how to use Find Fast. Fonts -- The fonts folder is nothing more than a shortcut to the fonts folder within the Windows system folder. To add or remove fonts just cut, copy, or paste them directly into the fonts folder. Gaming Options -- Use this application to configure and test gaming controllers. Internet Options -- Features the following tabs: General, Security, Privacy, Content, Connections, Programs, and Advanced. You're probably already familiar with the Internet options dialog box if you use Internet Explorer. Use this dialog box to adjust your browser's history properties, cache size, security settings, homepage, and more. Keyboard -- Use the keyboard dialog box to adjust your cursor's repeat delay, repeat rate, and blink rate. You can also set the proper language settings for your keyboard here. Read this story if you'd like to learn how to adjust your keyboard settings. Modems -- Use the modem wizard to install a new modem or change modem properties. Mouse -- Features the Buttons, Pointers, and Motion tabs. Go here to make your mouse right- or left-handed or to change the pointer to a different icon. Multimedia -- Features the Audio, Video, MIDI, CD Music, and Devices tabs. Adjust sound card properties, video playback sizes, and view all the multimedia devices connected to your computer here. Network -- Use the network dialog box to configure network and hardware settings. This is where you can turn file and printer sharing on/off, adjust TCP/IP settings, or switch the logon type to either "Client for Microsoft Networks" or "Windows Logon." Passwords -- Features the Change Passwords, Remote Administration, and User Profiles tabs. Change your Windows logon password and other passwords here. Power Management -- Features settings to suspend your PC, monitor, or hard disks after periods of inactivity. Printers -- Use this dialog box to add or remove a local or network printer. Regional Settings -- Features the Number, Currency, Time, and Date tabs. This is where you can configure how Windows displays numbers, currency, time, and dates. Scanners and Cameras -- Use this to add or remove scanners or cameras to your system. You could also use the Add New Hardware wizard. Sounds -- Allows you to customize event sounds in Windows. Change system sounds to other default sounds or use your own. System -- Provides system information such as operating system, amount of RAM, processor speed, and all the devices that are connected to your computer. It also features advanced settings for adjusting virtual memory, file system, and graphics performance. You can also access the system properties by going to your desktop, right-clicking on My Computer, and then choosing properties. Telephony -- Use this dialog box to configure telephony drivers and dialing properties. Users -- Use this wizard to create multiple user profiles on the same system. No83- -Cookie Security In Microsoft Internet Explorer 6 in
the past versions of Internet Explorer, we basically hadthree choices when it came to cookies -- accept them all,be asked before accepting them, and reject them all.Internet Explorer version 6 offers the user considerablymore latitude.To determine how your IE 6 deals with cookies, run theprogram and choose Tools|Internet Options. When theInternet Options dialog box opens, click the Privacy tab.You'll see that you can set IE 6's response to cookies from"Accept All Cookies" to "Block All Cookies" with four stepsof security between the two. Just move the slider to see all your options.When you're finished working with your privacy setting,click OK to close the dialog box and save your newselection.- Sue Whitehouse N084- -What is a fatal exception error? Windows generates an exception code when a program violates certain rules, such as when a program tries to get more memory than is currently available. Windows then sends this exception code back to the program that caused it. The program should then recognize the exception code and try to work with it. A fatal exception error occurs when the program fails to recognize or respond to the exception code. Typical fatal exception error messages appear in white text on a blue background and state something similar to the following:A Fatal Exception 06 has occurred at 0000:00000026The first two numbers/letters, in this case 06, represent the type of exception that Windows sent back to a program. The first four numbers/letters of the long number, in this case 0000, represent the instruction pointer. The last set of eight numbers/letters is the actual memory address where the exception happened.In summary, a fatal exception error is just an error being caused when a program does not respond after Windows tells the program it has done something wrong.What is an invalid page fault? Software programs have to set aside space within the computer's memory. Sometimes, they tell Windows exactly what memory addresses they want by using something called a pointer. When this pointer points to a section of memory that is not supposed to be used, then an invalid page fault occurs.What is an illegal operation? An illegal operation is a bad instruction sent to the computer's microprocessor. When a program does this, Windows brings up a screen that tells where the bad instruction occurred in the program's instruction list and what program committed the bad instruction.What to do when an error occurs 1. If a CD or DVD was recently removed from a drive, then place it back in the drive it was removed from and close the drive door. Wait about 10 seconds. 2. Press ENTER to try to clear the error message. The program that was running should close automatically, and the system will return to the main screen. 3.If Windows reappears, then save any of your work that may still be open. 4. Close all other open programs if possible. If you are not sure if programs are open, do the following: a. Press ALT + TAB. If a program is running, a window will appear briefly displaying the program name, and the program will open. b. To close the program, click the X in the upper-right corner. A message may appear asking if you would like to save changes. Click Yes to save your work, or click No to close the program without saving your work. c.Repeat this procedure until the system returns to the main screen. If you press ALT + TAB again, and a window does not appear, then all the programs are closed. 5. Click Start in the lower-left corner of the screen, then click Shut Down. Select Restart, and click OK. If this does not work, then wait one minute and press down on the computer's power button for five seconds or until it shuts off. 6. Windows should operate normally once the computer is started No85- - Preventing or reducing these system errors
There are many different causes for these errors.
o When running a program from the CD-ROM, make sure the compact disc is clean and unscratched. A dirty or scratched CD can cause errors.
o Increase the computer's system resources. System resources are how much memory, hard drive space, and processing power a computer has to work with. Use this HP support document on how to increase your computer's system resources <http://www.hp.com/cposupport/personal_computing/support_doc/bph06569.html> to reduce the chance of having system errors occur.
o Run a virus scan to find and remove viruses. Computer viruses can cause system errors.
o Remove or reinstall any programs recently installed. Some of the dynamic link library (.DLL) files may be damaged or corrupted.
o Verify that Windows is managing the virtual memory:
1. Click Start, Settings, and Control Panel.
2. Double-click the System icon.
3. On the Performance tab, click Virtual Memory.
4. If the setting Let Windows Manage My Virtual Memory is not checked, check it, and click OK.
o Verify that enough memory is available to run the program. To check the memory available on a computer, follow these instructions:
4. On the main screen, right-click My Computer (Figure 1), then select Properties to open a System Properties window.
Figure 1: Right-clicking the My Computer icon
2. Click the Performance tab. The information on this tab varies by computer model.
3. Under Performance Status, the amount of memory installed on the computer and the percentage of free memory is displayed.
4. If the amount of free memory is less than 30 percent, you may need to free system resources by closing open programs (including programs running in the background) on the system.
o If you determine that a particular program is causing the error, make sure the computer meets the minimum requirements to run the program. Computer specifications are found printed on the packaging, on the computer case, or can be found by right-clicking the My Computer icon on the Windows desktop and selecting Properties.
o Outdated and incompatible software may also cause error messages to appear. Software designed for Windows 95 may appear to run correctly in Windows Me but can give occasional system errors. Older software may no longer recognize the new codes and features that Windows Me may pass to the program.
Upgrade or replace the software. This also includes drivers for older hardware. Consult the manufacturers of these products for available upgrades or replacements.
o If the error message appears while reading from a CD-ROM drive, try turning off the CD-ROM drive cache. This may make the drive more reliable but may reduce performance. To turn off the CD-ROM drive cache, follow these steps:
1. Click Start, Settings, and Control Panel.
2. In the Control Panel window, double-click the System icon.
3. Click the Performance tab, and click File System.
4. Click the CD-ROM tab. In the Optimize Access Pattern For list, click No Read-Ahead.
5. Drag the Supplemental Cache Size slider to the left position (the "Small" setting), and click OK.
Figure 2: CD-ROM optimization screen
o The random access memory (RAM) module may be faulty. Replace the memory module (see the product's User's Guide for more information).
No86- --"A stack overflow occurs when there is not enough space in the memory to run the hardware interrupt routines. When Windows delivers an error message related to an internal stack overflow, it is because there is not enough space in memory either set aside or available to handle the calls being made. In your case, this error can occur when Windows OS encounters an Internal overflow of the Stacks used by 32-bit Windows device drivers.
"Stack overflow conditions are indicative of errors in the device driver. Device drivers are allocated 4 kilobytes of space to be used as a stack. If the device driver uses more than 4 kilobytes of memory, a stack overflow condition occurs.
"Please perform the following steps which will help you to find a solution for the problem you are facing:
1. Go to Start -> Run.
2. Type "sysedit" in the "Open" text box.
3. This opens the "System Configuration Editor" window Click the "System.ini" window.
4. Add the line MinSPs=8 to the [386Enh] section.
NOTE: If the problem persists, increase the number of spare stack pages in increments of 4 (for example, 8, 12, 16).
5. Go to File -> Save.
6. Go to File -> Exit.
7. Restart your computer:
"Please refer to the following link for a more detailed description
of your problem and a possible solution for the same:
No87- -http://support.microsoft.com/support/kb/articles/q145/7/99.asp "
Here is how to use MSCONFIG on Windows98 and WindowsME to clean out some of the programs that automatically load on start-up. Doing this will help your computer boot faster and may even decrease the chances of Windows crashing on you:
1. Go to Start --> Run
2. Type MSCONFIG
3. This launches Microsoft's System Configuration Utility. Click on the Startup tab (the tab at the far right).
4. This takes you to a page with a list of "startup items." Every item with a checkmark next to it is automatically loaded when you start Windows. The only programs you need are: ScanRegistryTaskMonitorSystemTrayLoadPowerProfile (if you don't see this, that's okay)Your antivirus program (trust me, you won't have a hard time figuring out which one is your antivirus program. It is pretty obvious.)Make sure there is a check mark next to these programs and uncheck EVERYTHING else.
5. Click on the OK button.
6. A message will pop up telling you that you must restart your computer before these changes will take effect. Click on "Yes" and your computer will automatically reboot.
Unfortunately, MSCONFIG is only available in Windows 98 and ME. If you have Windows 95, you can (sort of) achieve the same results by going to
C:\WINDOWS\Start Menu\Programs\StartUp
and deleting any shortcuts you see in that directory. Then restart your computer
No88- -- -Q: I heard that you could do something with the virtual memory setting in Windows that would improve performance. Is this true and if so, how do you do it? -Kyle
A: Windows has, since its creation, used your hard drive as a secondary memory source for swapping information to and from RAM (Random Access Memory), as it is needed. This use of Virtual Memory (or a Swap File) frees up your RAM, which is much faster, for items that are being currently processed. Windows, in its default installation, decides upon the size of the Swap File and must resize it from available disk space as needed. In order to be efficient, Windows looks for large chunks of un-fragmented disk space to create this swap file, but can be slowed down if it has to spread it around various parts of your hard drive. This process is one reason its recommended that you defrag your hard drive periodically. By permanently setting the parameters for the Windows Virtual Memory, not only can you increase performance, but you can also put a guard in place that will keep Windows from becoming unstable when you get low on disk space. One of the worst operating conditions for your computer is to be with little or no empty space on the primary hard drive as this can cause it to overwrite or corrupt critical system and data files. By setting a permanent size for your swap file, you are essentially fencing the space off just for Windows to use in the operation of the computer. Since no user data can be written in this space, it will always be available for Windows to use as Virtual Memory. Before changing the settings for your Virtual Memory, it is highly recommended that you run the Defrag utility. (To access the Disk Defragmenter click on Start, Programs, Accessories then System Tools.) Once the Defrag has completed, click on Start, Settings, Control Panel then double-click on the System icon. This will open the System Properties window with four tabs across the top. Make note of the amount of RAM detected at the bottom of the General information screen, then click on the Performance tab and then on the Virtual Memory button. Change the option from the default setting Let Windows manage to Let me specify. The general rule of thumb is to create a swap file that is roughly 2.5 times the amount of RAM that you have. For instance if you have 16MB of RAM, set both the swap file Minimum and Maximum settings to 40. If you have 32MB of RAM, use 80 in both; for 64MB use 160; for 128MB use 320, etc. Once you have put the same number in both the Minimum and Maximum fields, click the OK button. This will generate a warning message that asks you to confirm the change. Confirm the change and then reboot your computer for the changes to take effect. WARNING! If you are experiencing any problems with your computer, do not make this change. If you ever increase or decrease the amount of RAM installed in your computer, remember to reset the Virtual Memory to reflect the change.
No89- -Q: I often get a message telling me This file does not have a program associated with it for performing this action. Create an association in My Computer by clicking View and then clicking Options. The real question is, how do I know what program is needed to look at the file? - Dan
A: This is one of those error messages that the Microsoft programmers didnt bother to think through when they created it. In most cases, when you get this message, your computer is telling you that it does not know what to do with the file that you have chosen to open. And, of course, neither do you! Windows based systems use something called File Associations in order to determine the proper program that is needed to open a file when you click on it. The association is determined by the file extension or the characters after the . in a filename. (ex:filename.ext) This file association is supposed to be created during the installation of a program. For instance, when you install Microsoft Word, the program notifies Windows that any files with the extension *.doc are to be opened with Word. So the beginning of your journey starts with identifying the file extension of the file that was sent to you. I have created a fairly extensive list of file extensions, what they represent and what popular programs can be used to open them on my website at http://www.computerproblems.com/filetypes.cfm. Once you have deciphered what the file type is, you have to look for a program that is loaded on your computer that will allow you to open it. Depending upon your e-mail program, when you attempt to open an attached file, you may be asked whether to Open or Save the file. If you get the above message when you try to open it, then save it on your hard drive and remember where you saved it! Next, use My Computer or Windows Explorer to go to where you saved the file and hold the shift key down while you right-click on the file, which should give you a dialog box with an option to Open with. When you choose Open with, a box with an alphabetical list of installed programs will appear. Using the table that I have created, try to find a program that can be used to open the file based on the file extension. If you want to have Windows remember this file association, be sure to place a checkmark in the box next to Always use this program to open this type of file and it will never bother you with this dumb question again! (for this file type)
This page was last updated on
10/27/2001 at 9:40AM EST By
Mr BOOTS
No90- -Finding Your IP Address
If you're running on a LAN and using a router and your
Internet Service Provider (ISP) uses dynamic addressing,
your IP address could be almost anything at any given time.
If you need to know what your IP address is so someone can
download a file from your computer using FTP, or if you
want to run a server, you'll need some way of keeping track
of your IP address.
The problem with finding your IP address is that most
programs you run will only display the addresses of your
LAN. You need a program that will report your Internet
address. We use IP2 because it very quickly determines your
WAN IP address. It does this by going to outside servers
and getting them to report your address.
IP2 is freeware.
You can get IP2 here!
http://keir.net/ip2.html
No91- -Q: What is the best procedure for creating off-site backups? -Jim
A: You should all be asking yourself on a regular basis "Is my critical data safe in the event of a catastrophic event at my home or business?" Disaster planning is an important part of today's computing, because of everything from virus attacks to flood, fire or data corruption or just plain old equipment failure. The events of September 11th helped to emphasize the importance of an off-site data backup procedure. The primary off-site backup procedure in the past was to have an individual take the most recent backup tape or cartridge home with them every night and bring it back the next day or week. As long as the procedure was followed religiously and the backup media made it back to the office (without melting in the car!), it was an effective guard against critical data being lost. The problem of course, is that human nature eventually takes over and in many instances the process became 'once a year' instead of daily. Since the Internet is literally the world's largest computer network, it has become a player in the data storage game. Not only does it give you another way to secure your data, it also gives you instant access to that data from anywhere in the world! Web-based storage systems range from free (advertiser supported) to several hundred dollars per month, mainly based on the amount of storage you require. A dial-up connection will work if you are backing up a home computer or a small business system, but web-based backups are much more usable with high-speed 'always on' connections, such as a cable modem, DSL or T-1. If you don't have a large amount of data to secure you may be able to use the free service from Yahoo! called "Yahoo!Briefcase" (briefcase.yahoo.com) It is an advertiser supported system that allows up to 30 MB of simple storage but does not provide any automated procedures for daily backups. While 30 MB may not sound like much space, remember you only want to store your data files not the programs themselves. An average Microsoft Word document takes about 20K per page, which translates to roughly 1500 pages of text that can be stored in that 30MB. If your needs are larger, you may want to consider a fee based system such as Xdrive.com, iBackup.com or BigVault.com. Not only do they allow for larger amounts of information, they also include tools that allow you to 'map' a drive letter directly to the on-line storage system and automatically backup to them. The ability to schedule a backup to an off-site system has caused some to consider it a primary backup method, but I recommend against it. An on-site backup procedure that incorporates a tape or cartridge system should still be used as the primary backup method and the off-site should be considered as a safety net in case the primary system fails. No matter how much data you may generate, it is likely that some or all of it is critical and should be secured. Take some time to review your disaster recovery plan before an unexpected event catches you off guard!
No92- -Q: I was sent a tip that suggested creating a fake contact "!0000" in my address book to keep e-mail worms from spreading. Does this trick really work?
A: Most of you have likely received one of many variations of an e-mail message that claims to be a tip for tricking the current generation of auto-sending 'Mass Mailing' worms, such as the 'Love Bug' or 'Sircam'. The trick involves creating a bogus contact "!0000" in your e-mail address book without an e-mail address. The premise is that when a mass-mailing worm tries to send itself out to everyone in the address book, it will fail because the first entry in your address book does not have an e-mail address. The resulting error message, "This message could not be sent. Please check your Address Book and make sure all of the recipients have valid e-mail addresses" is supposed to act as an alert to the user. The message is then sent to your Outbox as undeliverable so that you could identify it as the culprit. While this may sound like a pretty credible process, there are a couple of major problems with it. First of all, it assumes the worm will try to send itself to everyone (a.k.a. 'send all') in address book in alphabetical order. Unfortunately, most of the current mass-mailing worms will randomly select individual addresses from the address book in no particular order, often skipping the first entry.As a virus/worm writer, it would be very simple to overcome this 'trick' by simply skipping the first address and sending to all others, so even if it did work well, it wouldn't for long.Some versions of the tip suggest the use of the email address "!0000@novirus.com" for the !0000 contact. This is even worse, because if any email address (real or not) is included with the contact, the entire tip fails no matter what. The result would be that the worm would actually go out to every address in the address book with the exception of the !0000@novirus.com address which would simply "bounce" because it is undeliverable. Another reason to question these types of tips is when they reference an authoritative source, such as an ex-FBI agent, a government official or a CEO of a tech firm. Vmyths.com refers to this blind trusting of e-mail sources as 'False Authority Syndrome'. Real information concerning the battle against viruses will always appear on multiple web sites; specifically those ran by anti-virus companies. It would be a good idea to start questioning any information that is sent to you via e-mail unless you can verify it from multiple trusted web sites. No real information exists only in e-mail messages; it will always be posted at web sites if it has credence. Another problem with falling for these 'quick fixes' is that it opens users up to hoaxes such as the recent sulfnbk.exe virus urban legend that prompted users to delete actual Windows files. I received no less than 25 different messages that professed the credibility of this 'tip' which could easily fool the average user into thinking it was valid. There are much easier ways to thwart these mass-mailing worms. Keep your anti-virus software up-to-date (check at least once a month) and don't open a file attachment unless you know exactly what it is! Remember, you will most likely get a worm from someone you know; so don't assume that you can trust anyone. If there is no specific reference to an attached file that explains what it contains, don't open it. If you have a question about a file attachment, reply to the sender asking the nature of the attachment. Not only will you get the info you need, you may also be alerting the sender that they have contracted a worm. As a sender, if you are attaching files to e-mail messages, be sure to make specific reference to the attachment in the body of the message with a brief explanation of the contents. We send out free weekly tips on computing via an e-mail newsletter, so if you want to count us as a credible source of information, sign up at computerproblems.com/quikreg.cfm!
This page was last
updated on 10/28/2001
at 1:05AM EST By
Mr BOOTS No93- -Move Back And Forth In A Flash In Netscape 6
As usual, you can move back and forth between visited pages in Netscape 6 by simply clicking the Back and Forward arrows. However, you can also right-click either of these arrows and then select a previously visited site from the menu.
You can also click the small arrow at the right side of the forward and back buttons and make your choice from the menu.
- Sue Whitehouse
No94- -Disable Autocomplete In Internet Explorer
With IE's AutoComplete function active, many of the sites
you visit that have forms will end up automatically filled
in. If you don't want others using the computer to view
your personal information, you need to turn off
AutoComplete.
To do this, choose Tools|Internet Options. When the
Internet Options dialog box opens, click the Content tab.
Click the AutoComplete button deselect "Forms" check box.
Click OK to save the changes and exit the dialog box.
- Sue Whitehouse
No95- - Tip of the Week
Teach Microsoft word how to AutoComplete.
Go to the Insert menu, select Autotext, and
then Autotext again. Then just set the words
you want Microsoft Word to complete for you.
I taught my computer to fill in "The Screen
Savers" when I type "The Scr." I'm saving
keystrokes like mad!
This page was last ypdated
on 11/04/2001 at 11:55 AM
EST By Mr BOOTS |
