Ray Shaw's  Questions  &  Answers  ---  Page 43 25-2-2010                                              IMPORTANT ANNOUNCEMENT I apologies for being late with this announcement which was delayed due to some unforeseen health issues. It is with great regret that we will not be able to continue to present the very popular Question & Answer segment from our friend and technology expert RAY SHAW. For reasons best known to them, The Courier-Mail has determined to sacrifice Ray Shaw's contributions in favour of a generic Q & A article from another source. The first of such appeared in the CM yesterday (24/2/2010) and it is a pitiful attempt and nowhere near the quality we have seen previously from Ray Shaw. However, Ray Shaw has assured us that in case we should we be able to generate sufficient support for his expert advice, that he would be more than pleased to continue his Q&A segment exclusively for Silver Peers. It is now up to you, our many readers and visitors, to let us know as soon as possible if you wish us to bring Ray's expert comments and advice back on a regular basis. Please send an e-mail to: webmaster@silverpeers.com indicating that you would support such an idea. If we do get sufficient interest, we could start to direct your questions to Ray Shaw virtually immediately. I look forward to your reactions.........webmaster. --------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- --------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- 26-1-10: Question: Does Windows 7 Home Premium with Media Centre (MCE) now have a free electronic program guide (EPG)? I am using Vista and the lack of the EPG is a problem. Answer: Windows 7 now supports both the Freeview style EIT/broadcast guide (sent via the digital TV signal) as well as making it easier to integrate more fully featured internet based guides like IceTV (cost $99 per annum). My experience with Win 7 shows that it is more stable than XP and Vista MCE versions and in general more reliable when using the EPG to record one off shows or series. Question: I have been using a Windows Mobile phone accessing NextG as a modem for my notebook. It works well except that I don't know how much data I have used and often exceed my limit. Are there bandwidth measuring programs I can use? Answer: SPB Wireless Monitor www.spbsoftware.com costs USD 19.95. There are versions for both touch screen and non-touch models. They plan to release versions for iPhone, Blackberry and Android soon. It is invaluable in controlling data usage and not receiving nasty accounts for going over the limits. Question: I bought a HD LCD TV from Hardly Normal and they sold me a 2m HDMI TV cable for an extra $149. Next day I was in Kmart and similar HDMI cables were being sold for $30-40 and my local computer store says that the real cost is about $5. Is there any difference between one brand and another? Answer: All HDMI cables from the cheapest to the most expensive support 1080p (HD) standards. Many mass market retailers use the "expensive" cables to boost profit on the sale or as throw in item instead of discounting the TV. The only time you should consider a more expensive Category 2 (Class 1.4) cable is if you need one over 5 metres in length. Don't fall for this blatant rip off. Question: I have a computer running Windows XP and my emails go into Outlook Express.  I have accidently "permanently" deleted everything from my Deleted Items file, which included two other files attached to it.  Is it possible to retrieve this data? Answer: As long as you exit Outlook Express and don't use the program (or it may overwrite the data stored in the mail database) there are a number of DBX repair programs you can use to retrieve deleted emails. Search for "retrieve deleted outlook express emails" and you will find a number of commercial programs that will restore your deleted emails. Question: I am a teacher with a PowerPoint problem. Short movie clips quite often will not play when placed in the folder of the PPT file. The movie goes white when clicked. Movie files always work from My Documents but this is impractical when producing copies for school use from my home PC (Windows XP Pro). How can I fix this? Answer: Movies cannot be played in PowerPoint if the file name and directory path are longer than 127 characters. In addition it only supports certain movie types including: Advanced Streaming Format (.asf); Audio Video Interleave (*.avi); Motion Picture Experts Group (*.mpg; *.mpe; *.mpeg); and Windows Media File (*.wmv). If the movie you wish to use is not one of the above you need to covert it accordingly. There is a good reference site athttp://www.pptfaq.com/FAQ00155.htm Question: I am having terrible problems with Outlook Express freezing and having to log off when I receive a runtime error message. Answer: There is a great article at http://www.microsoft.com/windows/ie/community/columns/oerepair.mspx on repairing Outlook Express. Question: I recently bought a Toshiba Satellite laptop running Windows Vista Business 32-bit edition. As part of the purchase agreement, I have now received Windows 7 Pro upgrade disc. The disk contains both 32-bit and 64-bit versions. Could I upgrade from a 32-bit to a 64-bit version and what issues would this present for applications and drivers? Answer: For most users the 32bit version is fine. It has the widest driver support and the benefits of 64 bit are very specific, mainly relating to accessing more than 4GB of memory but you will need 64bit software to take real advantages of this. There are some downsides: 16 bit applications will no longer run; existing 32 bit drivers no longer work so if you have older peripherals you may find that they can no longer be used; unsigned kernel-mode drivers no longer work; and running some 32bit applications on a 64bit PC could actually be slower. Question: Where can I download the genuine Spybot Search and Destroy program? I have inadvertently removed this program from my computer and want to download a new version.  There are so many sites claiming to feature it that I can't tell which one is the genuine article. Answer: www.spybot.info is the genuine site and it is an excellent free program. I would like to repeat my warning however about using free stand alone anti-virus and anti-spyware programs - there are still cracks between these programs and nasties can get in. My strongest advice in 2010 is to buy a proper Internet Security Suite like AVG 9 or Norton. Question: I have Windows XP, with Trend Micro Internet Security, which will be due for update next June. A sales person recently told me the new Kaspersky is better than Trend and Norton. Is this true? Answer: More "old wives tales" based on speculation, not fact. The facts are that most legitimate antivirus and anti-malware programs do a reasonable job and you should stick with what you are comfortable with and know rather than change from one program to another. See the previous question however on using a full internet security suite over stand alone paid or free programs. --------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- 13-2-2010 Question: I just upgraded to Windows 7 and have discovered I cannot use by BigPond wireless internet connection as a result. Telstra say they won't have a fix for up to two months. As we still travel quite a lot would like to retain my mobile capability. Do you have any suggestions? Answer: It is not Windows 7 fault per se - it means that the USB or wireless card you have does not have drivers for Windows 7 and these may take a few months to be developed. The cure is either to buy a new wireless modem with Windows 7 drivers or visit www.maxon.com.au who make many of BigPond's USB modems and look for your model and support (updated drivers are often available at the manufacturers web site before Telstra has them). Question: I use Microsoft Outlook 2007 and I am not able to insert an email address using the "To" button, as it is empty, and if I do a search it tells me I have no address list to search, and to contact my Microsoft Exchange Administrator. My address book has hundreds of names in it. I transferred my list from another computer running the same software. How can I make it recognise this address book? Answer: It sounds like the import from 2003 to 2007 did not work. See http://support.microsoft.com/kb/287070 for details. Question: I was interested in your recommendation of CCleaner. I find that the first phase is free but it performs a limited cleaning process. Then it directs users to use another product that is not free, called PCOptimizerPro. Answer: CCleaner is free from www.ccleaner.com and is in no way associated with PCOptimizerPro - you have been scammed either by downloading a "clone" look alike of CCleaner or being redirected to PCOptimizer - remove it and try the real CCleaner. Question: When I receive Microsoft Updates they all look the same to me. Do I need to install them all? Answer: Yes you do. You really need to set up your computer to receive automatic updates which will keep it up to date. Question: My Telstra Broadband is a 1500/256 ADSL service that gives me an effective download speed of around 26kbps. Given the size of upgrades and various programs this makes any sizeable download take hours rather than minutes to appear. Can you advise me of the effectiveness of software such as Download Accelerator Plus? Do they really speed things up? Answer: So called internet download accelerators do not live up to their claims, many are spyware and all should be avoided. The real issue is that your download speed appears to be too low compared to what you are paying for. I suggest that you go to www.speedtest.net and test your real upload and download speeds over a period of a few days. If they are consistently less than say 66% of the rated speed you have cause to complain to Telstra and get them to fix the issue. Question: What would be the minimum specifications for a laptop running Dragon Naturally Speaking Professional software? Also, is it relatively simple to add specialised, medical terminology to its dictionary? www.nuance.com is the Australian distributor and would be able to recommend a specialist reseller who understands your medical needs. It will run on Windows 7 either 32 or 64bit and any modern notebook should support it (there can be issues with the type of sound card in the notebook so check this first). Question: I currently have a computer using Windows Vista. I want to install Windows 7. Should I get a Windows 7 upgrade or the full version? And if I get the full version, how do I perform a clean installation? Answer: To be fair Vista is the underlying technology of Windows 7 and it looks and feels very similar. If you are having issues with Vista then you will most likely have issues with Windows 7 so I recommend a clean install. To do this you can buy the lower cost upgrade version and once it has booted from the DVD it will ask you if you wish to upgrade the existing Vista version or do a clean install. The latter will require you to back up all data (i.e. Mail, Word, Excel etc) and reinstall all programs (i.e. Office etc). Question: I have Adobe Acrobat 5 that I use to create PDF files. Since buying a new PC with Windows Vista, an upgrade from XP, Vista indicates a "compatibility' problem" that says an update to Adobe is needed. If I update to Windows 7 instead, will this fix the problem? Answer: No you need to use Adobe Acrobat 9X for Vista and Windows 7 compatibility. You can get the upgrade version for $185 RRP or the full version for $555 RRP on line from www.adobe.com but shop around for a better deal. Question: I have a number of icons in the Windows Taskbar next to the clock in Windows XP. Is it possible to remove these as they slow load times? Answer: They are not slowing the load time - the programs being loaded are. There is a good article at http://www.theeldergeek.com/taskbar.htm but the real issue is to stop programs being loaded at start up and these require more knowledge of what they are doing and use of the MSCONFIG command to stop unnecessary start up programs. Question: I recently purchased a Windows 7 upgrade disc. After running the software for 90 minutes it appeared with several compatibility problems regarding Windows Mail and Verisoft Access Manager, and said programs such as iTunes, IntelliPoint, and Logitech Desktop Manager might not work properly. I took the disc back to the store and got a refund instead. What are your thoughts on this? I was upgrading from Vista. Answer: I have now upgraded several PC's from Vista to Win 7 and found that whilst it is usually fine the best cure is to do a clean install and download the latest drivers so that any existing problems are not migrated. The compatibility advisor is really telling you that there are later versions of the drivers that you should install. Verisoft drivers are available from http://h10025.www1.hp.com/ewfrf/wc/genericSoftwareDownloadIndex?softwareitem=ob-49006-1&cc=us&lc=en&dlc=en  Question: I nearly bought the Windows 7 Upgrade package but a salesperson said I would have to remove everything from my hard drive before loading it. If I did this, would I have to re-validate the programs (all authentic and previously validated)? Also, if I also upgraded my other computer from XP to Windows 7 how would I validate it without an internet connection? Answer: XP requires a complete clean install for Windows 7. Most programs automatically validate via the internet but if you don't have access then they will normally provide a phone number to call revalidate the software. Whilst many XP computers will run Windows 7 my advice is to leave well enough alone and wait until you purchase a new computer with Windows 7 or 8… It can be very expensive to get older hardware working properly with newer operating systems. Question: I am trying to connect a router to my home computer but cannot get the username and password accepted. A message appears saying "401 unauthorised". My internet connection is running through a modem and then the router to the computer but a computer with a wireless plug in another room does not see the signal. Answer: Connect a PC to the router using a wired Ethernet connection and access it via Internet Explorer using the routers IP address (see the routers manual). If the user name and login do not work you can reset the router using a push button to wipe all settings to factory defaults (see the manual). Once that is done the router should automatically pick up the type of connection and provide DHCP to the computer - if not then you will need a technician to come to your home to set it up. --------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Back to: HOME      Back to: Computers     Back to: Ray Shaw (42)     Forward to: