Ray Shaw's  Questions  &  Answers  ---  Page 31 18-2-09: Question: I bought a PC accessory from Harvey Norman. It was faulty when I got it home and I went straight back and requested a new one or a refund. I was told that I had to deal with the manufacturer to claim warranty and was pointed to the "small print" on the sales docket. Is this right? Answer: I sympathise as it has happened to me too. This appears to be in contravention of the ACCC laws on refunds http://www.accc.gov.au/content/index.phtml/itemId/8818 and you are entitled to lodge a complaint. Simply put, if the goods are faulty, called dead on arrival (DOA out of the box, usually within 30 days) you can demand a replacement with new goods or refund. Too many retailers are in the "sell and forget" mode and seem to get away with avoiding their part in the warranty process simply because they are ignorant of their obligations. Question: I have read about ASHAMPOO WINOPTIMISER 6 in PC User but do not know anyone who has used it. Keeping in mind that the review was written by the people selling the program, I wonder if it as good as it claims to be? Answer: I have no doubt that it is a legitimate program i.e. no spyware etc. I have no doubt that it does some of what it promises. But I have no doubt that Windows will chug along quite well without it and I tend to avoid these "fix it" programs as I have never really seen any tangible speed or other benefits. I use the free Cleanup from www.stevengould.org daily and it is wonderful. I use the free Regseeker from www.hoverdesk.net to clean XP (only) registries irregularly. It is not a tool I recommend to the novice user. I have used the free CCleaner http://www.ccleaner.com/ on Vista and it does a competent cleanup. I have used XPAntispy free from www.xpantispy.org (now supports Vista) to cure some issues as well but it is not for the novice either. In the end Microsoft issues patches and updates expecting Vista to be in the "as shipped" state and unexpected things can happen if you go tweaking with the operating system. My advice - leave well enough alone. Question: I use MS Outlook and have thousands of important emails. I do not know how or where to find these files so I can back them up in case I need to recover from a crash.  Answer: Outlook can be backed up using a number of paid and free programs. MS has a free program at http://www.microsoft.com/downloads/details.aspx?FamilyId=8B081F3A-B7D0-4B16-B8AF-5A6322F4FD01&displaylang=en. You may also find this reference handy. http://www.sitedeveloper.ws/tutorials/outlook.htm. If that does not do the trick look on Google for Outlook backup and see what will. Question: I have software (LP Recorder & Ripper) for recording vinyl records to CD and have used it successfully on my old PC. It requires connecting a turntable to computer line input socket, however my new Toshiba laptop does not have such a socket. Are you aware of an adaptor possibly USB that will give me line input to the soundcard? Answer: It may work via the Toshiba's microphone socket - but that maybe too sensitive to handle the line out volume from the turntable. It depends on the output from your turntable "pre-amp" which, if you can, should be adjusted to a low setting. It should not hurt the Toshiba for a few seconds or so. There are USB sound cards as well but these tend to have only a microphone socket (which may or may not work). An Express card version may offer more inputs. -------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- 1-3-09: Question: I have just purchased a new PC with an Intel Core 2 Quad processor. At idle the CPU is at 62 degrees. The dealer says that is normal but I am told it's too hot. Answer: I think this is above specifications but I can't be sure as there is nothing definitive on the net.  Core 2 Dual (not quad) runs up to 68 degrees (mine runs at 43-52 degrees) so I would expect the Quad to be slightly hotter. I suggest you try Speedfan (works on Vista as well) to monitor the temperature. http://www.almico.com/sfdownload.php. The cure is a better case and cooling fans. Question: I am a member of a small group who is collecting information on the past pupils of a boarding school. Excel has been used to record information like name, address, year, sports house etc. This information is merged into reunion invitations or other forms. It was suggested that FileMaker would be better. Answer: The basic difference between Excel and FileMaker is that Excel in this case is acting purely a database - yes it can add up etc., but it is being used to "manually" store information in fixed columns which you can sort on. It is very easy to merge with Word and email documents. FileMaker lets you set up a "front window" or form to enter data into a database. It can also be used to write reports, print lists etc. I have not used FileMaker for a very long time but I expect it would have pretty good Word and email integration. However at around $500 you would probably want to be managing more than a few hundreds records before making that investment. Then you need to invest the time in designing the forms and reports (pretty easy but still not for a novice) etc. By the way MS Outlook (full version) "Contacts" can store all that information - there are lots of custom fields that can be set up. It can also export to Word, Excel and may be a lower cost, easier solution. Question: I use Windows Media Centre (WMC) on a Vista Ultimate PC in my home office to record my favourite TV shows. I then burn these to a DVD-RW disk and play them on a DVD player in the lounge or on my Vista Business notebook - both of which work fine. I have two problems. First, using WMC to burn a DVD-RW takes much longer than the time it takes to record the show - very frustrating. Second, I copied the TV show file (about 4GB but it copied much faster than burning) over the network to my Vista Business laptop but Windows Media Player (WMP) said that Vista Business could not play it - only the Premium or Ultimate versions supported the WMC file. I have heard of WMC extenders (WMCE) - what are the options? Answer: Whether it is by design to control digital rights (piracy) or not WMC seems to only want to use approved WMCE devices physically networked to the WMC to playback its recorded content. Approved WMCE's include the X-Box 360 (with a network adaptor) and dedicated products from Linksys, D-Link and HP. Of course these all cost several hundred dollars but give you pretty much full remote control access to the WMC to your TV in the lounge. As your Vista Business notebook does not have WMC functionality WMP has been crippled from playing its files. MS's solution is for you to upgrade at additional cost to Vista Ultimate but you can play WMC recorded TV files using the free Media Player Classic (MPC) version 6.4.9.1 (for Vista) from www.free-codecs.com/Media_Player_Classic_download.htm . The long burning time to DVD-RW is because the "raw" WMC file has to be converted to a format that the DVD player and notebook can use. You can also use MPC to play back the raw WMC file via the home network. Please note that MPC does not "officially" recognise raw WMC files and when you browse the shared hard disk you need to set it to show *.* (all files) or you wont see the file. Your notebook could either connect to the TV via the VGA external monitor connector or Video Out port if you have one. Neither will play back full HD (but you probably did not record the show at full 1080p HD anyway) - usually they will playback at 1024x768 (or similar resolution) which is pretty good. And you will need to connect the audio out (headphones) to your TV sound system. I am afraid that WMC still has a long way to go - no Electronic Program Guide, difficulty in playing on non-WMC approved devices etc. I hope that when Freeview is launched some of these issues may be solved. Question: I have an Acer laptop running Vista Home basic and previously a Compaq running XP. In both cases, whether typing in Word or doing an e-mail, it's cursor re-locates to somewhere else on the page and the text being typed appears as an insertion. I generally use a USB mouse so is it something to do with the touchpad? Answer: Sometimes the Synaptics software that controls the touchpad can cause this. I generally disable it. Go to Start, type msconfig in the search box and press return. This should bring up the System Configuration Utility. Go to the Startup tab and look for any Synaptics programs and untick them. Reboot and the issue should be solved, if not look at replacing the USB mouse. On some rare occasions it can be caused by a virus or malware - make sure your protection is up to date and run a full scan. -------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- 16-3-09: Question: I have begun converting my favourite downloaded MP3 tracks to CD using Nero 7. I understand that MP3 reduces the size of the music track by compression and that it reduces sound quality as well. Can the MP3 be up-scaled back to CD quality? Answer: MP3 are encoded or ripped at a bit rate - usually around either 64 or 128 kbps to keep the file size as small as possible. MP3 uses lossy compression based on "perceptual coding," throwing away portions of the original information on the premise that you can't really hear what's thrown away. Audio experts say that encoding at 192kbps (or higher) will give an MP3 near CD quality but at the expense of size. So once a music track has been ripped to MP3 there is no way to regain all information that has been lost - the question is could you have heard what was lost anyway on a car audio or MP3 player? If it sounds good then it is good. Question: I have heard of a thing called a Buzz Box to cut phone bills for house and mobile phones last year, but have heard no more. Have you any information on this? Answer: Buzz Box is simply a device to allow you to connect your normal analogue home phone handset to broadband internet and use Voice over IP (VoIP) to make and receive cheaper calls. Most ISP's offer some VoIP services (usually bundled with ADSL2+ packages) and some like MyNetFone and Engin specialise in VoIP. The drawback is that you still need a Telstra/Optus landline to connect ADSL to your home and you cant use your normal "white pages" phone number but the quality issues of VoIP have long been solved and its worth talking to your ISP about it. Question: Where are Windows Updates stored in Vista so that you don't have to download them again if you have to do a future operating system install? This becomes more critical with dialup accounts. Answer: Vista does not store the updates on your PC - it is all part of the genuine Windows authentication process that means you can only install them from the Windows update site each time your Windows is validated as genuine. Some web sites have some of the security patches but not the updates. See http://www.softwarepatch.com/windows/index.html Reader comment regarding modem on hold (MOH) disrupting dial up modem internet access: Should the MOH function be triggered by an incoming call, the solution is to simply defeat the phone line call waiting feature by dialling #43# from a normal landline phone handset connected to the same line, or add *44 to the start of the ISP's dialup number to defeat the facility on a call-by-call basis.  This is always a good idea for any dialup connection. If the MOH function is being inadvertently triggered by impulsive line noise, the most elegant way around the problem is to defeat the MOH function itself.  Most modems will permit this by adding "+pmh=1" (minus the quotes) to the modem's initialization string, but users should check the manual for their modem to determine that this command is compatible with the chipset of their modem. Question: When I install Windows service pack 3 for XP Pro my notebook computer stops connecting to the router. My PC connects via Ethernet cable and its fine. Answer: The wi-fi router (worst case) or the wireless adaptor (either built into the notebook or the PCMCIA adaptor) does not support the later wi-fi security requirements of SP3. Unfortunately the usual solution is either not to apply SP3 (not really an option as it will try to install itself via auto updates anyway) or to buy a new wi-fi adaptor or router. You could try to download the latest drivers for your adaptor from the manufacturer's web site - it may work. -------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Back to: HOME       Back to: Computers    Back to: Ray Shaw (30)   Forward to: Ray Shaw (32)