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Question submitted by Henry:
My home built computer just started not doing the POST every once in
awhile. When I turn it on, it just sits and looks at me. I have to hit the
reset button and then everything works OK. Running Win98SE but that
shouldn't matter -- it never gets past the POST. Anyone have any idea what
is happening? Thanks.
It sounds like something in your computer needs a little
time to warm-up. Since you didn't provide any details about your
system, I can't guarantee that my suggestions will help. Try adding a
setting for a delay in Detect IDE Devices or Hard drives in the BIOS.
Also in the BIOS you could try setting the PC to do a floppy seek.
You could also try turning off the Quick or Fast boot option in the BIOS
(this may also be done enabling a complete memory test).
Question submitted by Bill in DC:
1. How do you control the order of items in the context menu in explorer?
2. How do you create a context submenu and move items from the current
context menu to the submenu?
3. Why do some program command lines in context menus require "%1" and
others %1 (no quotes) to work? (This could be considered a separate topic.)
For example, I have Norton and McAfee antivirus applications installed.
They appear as items 14 and 15 surrounded by dividers. I also have Avast and
AVG installed. They appear as items 2 and 3 immediately after OPEN. I would
like all four items to be contiguous. (Note, for a different file type, the
placement may change somewhat, e.g., 9,10,18,19.) Even better, I would
like to add a submenu to the context menu that contains the four antivirus
options. The avast antivirus entry appears as "Scan <filename>" (Scan
abc.exe). I would like to change this text to identify avast as the virus
scanner. Finally, I would like the last entry in the antivirus submenu
to identify the folder or file to be checked as visual confirmation of the
selection. Although I have used antivirus programs as examples, there
are other items that I would like to be able to rearrange. These may be any
combination of DLL, registry entries, etc. Thanks.
Hi Bill. I put this question out to the Fleet and the consensus is that
doing what you want to do requires programming knowledge and dll hacking, so
you might have to hire a programmer if you really want this done. However,
Vic Ferri wrote an article on how to add and remove items from the right
click menus if you want to do that...but rearranging them and creating
subfolders for them is out of the context of what the Fleet will do for
free...sorry.
Here's a link to Vic's article and good luck::
http://personal-computer-tutor.com/abc2/v11/vic11.htm
Question submitted by G.L.:
I have 2 questions that I hope you will answer for me. I read your
article on identity theft and it got me to thinking. I delete my
banking information as soon as I get through banking, is that information
still on my hard drive, and if so how is the best way to get rid of it? I
have got to take my computer in to the repair shop to have the hard drive
replaced, and I don't want the wrong hands getting hold of my information.
THANK YOU
I think the only 100% effective method involves physical destruction of
the hard drive. The article I wrote in ABC#15
http://personal-computer-tutor.com/abc2/v15/mike15.htm
lists a lot of other links and list of other methods.
Question submitted by imagegreen:
Recently reloaded MS Office 2000 Pro - When I start or end Word, I
receive the following message:
Microsoft Visual Basic Compile error in hidden module: AutoExec.
Problem only occurs with Word, not Excel, Access or PowerPoint. Did
uninstall and reinstall - same problem.
Hi imagegreen. This is usually a problem with one or more add-ins in Word
(possible Adobe Acrobat?). Read this Micorosoft Article for the fix:
http://snurl.com/1tul
Good luck
Reply from imagegreen:
Thanks, Fixed the problem
Question submitted by n/a:
WORD XP: I have generated a table of contents using styles. Is there a
way to automatically add the word "page" before the page number? In other
words, when I go to the insert menu, reference, tables and index, table of
contents tab, select styles, OK it generates a table of contents built on
the styles I select, I want the word "page" to appear before the actual page
number. How can I do that? MUCH THANKS!
I have played around with this quite a bit and never found a way to do
it, other than by straight typing into the TOC itself (yes, you could record
a macro to do this, but...). The problem with doing it by hand (or with a
macro) is that you have to reapply the changes every time your TOC changes.
I know that the page number in the TOC is picked up directly from the page
number on the document pages, but I have never figured out a way to make it
pick up anything but the number from the pages. I do know that
you can have your page numbers be done by sections and have the section
number picked up with the page number. I still believe there would be a way
to make this do what is wanted, by making the section "Page" and making the
whole thing one section, but I can't get it to work. Maybe someone else
can...
Question submitted by C.:
I am looking for info regarding the similar setup you were working
through with beautiful screen shots and nice explanation. I have an ABIT
Kg7-Raid board with 256 MB ECC DDR RAM with WDD 100GB hdd with AMD
Athlon XP 1900 with Audigy Plat EX and ATI AIW radeon (32 MB) I was
trying to install WIN XP and ran into errors. I wonder if you have done the
rest of install from this web site?
http://personal-computer-tutor.com/abc1/v7/hal7.htm
I.E. install WIN XP , SP1, drivers (via, amd, agp, miniport, SB audigy, ATI
AIW, NIC....etc.) If so, please send the link of info on this as I am
having trouble finding info together like what you have and I too as well.
I did finish the install quite a few times. I didn't write an article
about that portion though. Here are some clues that I learned about the
motherboard.
1. It needs high quality RAM and some boards have a problem with Crucial RAM
(Kingston and Corsair are fine).
2. To run XP you need the latest BIOS
3. You will need install additional SCSI device (press F6), use the high
point drivers from their site.
4. Some CPUs need to have the CPU drive strength set to 6 or 7
5. You will need to rename htpro.sys to be able to use System Restore.
6. Watch where you install your add-in cards to avoid IRQ conflicts.
Avoid the PCI slot next to the AGP slot
7. This board needs a HIGH QUALITY Power Supply
That's what I remember off the top of my head. If these don't help,
let me know what problems you are having.
Question submitted by Bill:
I loaded Partition Magic 8 and Boot Magic 8 last night. After I installed
Boot Magic on a new FAT 32 partition in a second hard drive, I resized a
nearby partition and did something else that I can not remember. The end
result is that the partition that Boot Magic was on either changed names or
for some other reason became unrecognizable. So, now I can not use, find,
delete or reload Boot Magic. I have deleted it from the registry. I can not
delete it from control panel as I am told that Windows can not find the
location that Boot Magic was originally loaded to and installation will end.
Possibly, the FAT32 partition created for Boot Magic was hidden or .? I
actually went as far as reformatting the entire disk that Boot Magic was
loaded onto. It was put on a second Hard drive. Partition Magic was loaded
onto my primary hard drive in my XP NTFS partition. So, it seems that the
fact that Boot Magic was loaded at all is resident in an area that I can not
get to in either my primary NTFS disk where the OS and Partition Magic live
or in the other disk where XP swap file and the FAT 32 partition and Boot
Magic WERE. I do not know about MBR's other than that they exist. Anyway.
How do I get out of this predicament ? Thx.
Boot Magic is still loading in the master boot record of the drive and
you need to remove it. I would boot to the XP Recovery Console and run
the command fixmbr. OR if you are running 98, boot from a 98 start-up
disk and use the command fdisk /mbr.
Question submitted by morrow_jw@wctel.net:
Outlook XP will not close on first attempt. Reopens with an error
message. Outlook XP second opening offers an error report for dispatch to
MicroSoft. How to repair Outlook XP to close on first attempt.
Before I submit this question to the Fleet, I need more information.
What is the exact error message you are getting? What does Windows XP's
error report show? (If you don't know how to check that, go to
Start>Administrative Tools>Event Viewer and click thru the categories on the
left and view the errors on the right) and tell us what they say. Have
you tried running Detect and Repair from Outlook's Help Menu? Reinstalling
Outlook? If Detect and Repair or reinstalling doesn't fix it, give me
all the details I requested above and I will submit your question to the
Fleet. However, without those details, we can't help you.
Reply from morrow_jw@wctel.net:
Thank you for your immediate response. I will try the Detect and Repair
because the reinstall didn't help. The error message says to the effect
"Outlook has detected an error and needs to close". This comes when the
Close command is issued. The program then puts up the dialogue box offering
to report the error to Microsoft. Then the program reopens. The
program runs as it should under all circumstances. Screenshot of error
report log attached.
Are you running any 3rd party add-ins or the MS small business tools
add-in? Here is some info from MS that may help:
OL2000: Error Message: The Add-in Sbcmsync.dll Could Not Be Installed or
Loaded
The information in this article applies to:
Microsoft Outlook 2000, when used with Microsoft Office 2000 Small Business
Tools
This article was previously published under Q257882
SYMPTOMS
When you start Microsoft Outlook 2000, you may receive the following error
message:
The add-in <Drive>:\Program Files\Microsoft Office\Office\Sbcmsync.dll could
not be installed or loaded. This problem may be resolved by using Detect &
Repair. You may be out of memory, out of system resources, or
missing a .dll file.
CAUSE
This behavior occurs if:
You installed Microsoft Office and Microsoft Office 2000 Small Business
Tools on a drive partition of the hard disk, such as drive D.
You registered Outlook 2000 as your default e-mail manager.
You enabled the macros used by Small Business Contact Manager (SBCM).
You removed Office 2000 and Office 2000 Small Business Tools.
You reinstalled Office 2000 and Office 2000 Small Business Tools on another
drive partition of the hard disk, such as drive C.
WORKAROUND
To work around this behavior, delete the following file:
C:\Windows\Application Data\Microsoft\Outlook\Extend.dat
If that is not successful, from Add-in Manager, disable the Outlook Sync
add-in by using the following steps:
On the Tools menu, click Options.
On the Other tab, click Advanced Options.
Click Add-in Manager.
Select and clear the Outlook Sync add-in. Click OK , and then OK to
close all the dialog boxes.
MORE INFORMATION
When you remove Office 2000 and Small Business Tools 2000, .dat files are
not removed from your operating system.
Reply from morrow_jw@wctel.net:
Thank you for your immediate and concerned response. An interesting/not
predictable result happened after installing MS Windows Updates. The problem
has not occurred since 7/31/03. I'm not sure which update (may be) cured the
problem. I'll pursue, and update you if positive cause / effect can be
determined. Thanks for your support and your contribution to the newbie
world.
Question submitted by Rmgipson@riderlaw.com:
I have created a very simple database in Access 2000. In my main
form where users enter records I want the cursor to automatically be active
in a certain field after clicking a command button. How do I do this?
Find "On Click" in the properties box of your command button. Select it
then click on the ellipses to the right of the property to edit the code. At
the end of the "On Click" procedure add the following line: PickMe.SetFocus
Where PickMe is the name of the control (field) that you want to select. HTH
This is fairly simple. In the on click event of the command button in
question enter a go to control command. The wizard can walk you through it.
If you want the cursor to go to a specific field when you open the form, you
will want to set your tab order in the properties of each field.
Question submitted by Anita Short:
How do you put your own picture as a screen saver in Windows 2000?
In Windows XP, there is a picture show screen saver that allows you to
choose the pictures you want and you can use your own, but in Windows 2000,
this is not a feature. You would have to go search the net for a third party
program that would allow you to make a screensaver using your own picture.
Here's one I found, that is free for 15 days, then $15 if you want to buy
it...and I'm sure you can find lots more:
http://www.zbsoft.net/slideshow/
Screensavers aren't like wallpaper...they need to be configured specially
to work. Good luck.
Two Questions submitted by Adrian:
#1 Every time i change the language to English UK in Word, for spell
checking purposes, the next time I use it it has reverted back to English
US. Whats going wrong? I click English UK and then change to default
and it then confirms that English UK is the default langauge. Please
help as i am spelling everything wrong. Many thanks.
#2 My keyboard has developed some problems. To type the @ sign, I now
have press the " key to get it. If I try and type a pound sign, I get
# and if I press hash I get \. My pound sign has vanished completely
as has the Euro sign. This is driving me mad. What has happened?
Please help Kind regards
Default language is set
in the default paragraph in your Normal template. Word has a bug where
if you set a Default Language different from the System Installed Language,
it applies the default language as a hard property (direct formatting) on
the default paragraph of Normal. After that, it becomes really difficult to
change it.
1) Set English UK in your System (Control Panel>Regional Settings)
2) Set English UK in Word
3) Close Word and re-name your Normal template. (search your hard drive for
normal.dot and rename it)
Open Word again and Word will create a new normal.dot in which the default
language should now be correct.
Good luck...it's a known bug...and it may come back, so save these
instructions.
I have sent your other question about the keyboard to the Fleet cuz I have
no clue what is causing that, tho I suspect it may also have something to do
with the regional settings in your control panel. If they send me any
suggestions, I will forward them on to you.
Before you go too far make sure that you are using the correct keyboard
driver and that your computer is set-up for the correct country. To
check your regional or country setting look in the Control Panel -->
Regional settings.
Reply from Adrian:
Listen you lot. You are fantastic. You have solved both my
problems that have been bothering me for months. Your service is
fantastic. Most kind regards.
Question submitted by Don:
Getting old softway to run under XP. While I have seen lots
of ideas and opinions about XP and how well it
works or doesn't work, I have seen little about backward compatibility with
older software, especially games. Yes, XP attempts to let older software
work with the capability modes for 95-98-2000 and NT, but for me this only
works in about 30% of the older software I try to run. I'm dual
booting XP with Win98 SE and frankly I'm tired of catching H*ll from my wife
when ever she wants to play a game or use older software. It's the
"Why did we get XP if it won't run any of the programs I want?" syndrome I
have to deal with LOL! I've looked at MS Compatibility
Administrator Tool 3.0, but have cannot seem to make it work. I'm not
especially stupid but I'm have difficulty in understanding just how to apply
the "fixes" and tweaks provided in the tool. you point a way or
explain in non-tech jargon how to use this tool? I've down-loaded the 7 web
pages of MS instructions on how to use this program, but it is orientated to
more technical folks I think. Just frustrated.
The best resource I've found on the Internet for running older software
under NT based OSes (XP is technically NT 5.1) is
http://www.ntcompatible.com . Look up
the software you are interested in on their list and see if someone has
already solved the problem.
Question submitted by Arthur:
I came across your page RAM, RAM, I need more RAM!, when searching for an
explanation about how to visually identify the speeds of DDR Ram while
looking at the modules. I cannot purchase memory from the web, and have to
depend on local suppliers in India. I want to be able to distinguish between
DDR 266, 333, and 400 (PC 2100, 2700 and 3200. Are the modules marked and if
so where? You were kind enough to offer your help in the article and I
would be grateful if you could clarify this for me. Thank you very much!
Most high quality RAM that I see has a sticker on it that identifies the
speed of the RAM. IF the RAM you find doesn't have an identifying sticker
you can also use the numbers on the chip to identify it. What I
usually try is typing the info from one of the chips into Google. The
easiest way though is to put it into a motherboard that can handle various
speeds of RAM (set the BIOS to auto identify the RAM first), and boot it and
then look in the BIOS to see what it is.
Question submitted by Ken:
I was hoping you might know how to disable the password prompt when
windows 98 is opening. I recently added a new hard drive and would love to
not have to click on the password screen since we do not use one .
thank-you
Sure...I have a whole webpage devoted to that ....here it is:
http://personal-computer-tutor.com/windows_password_problems.htm
Thanks to all who submitted questions this
month. If you submitted a question and did not get an answer, and the
problem still persists, try going
here and submitting it again. Just remember that we cannot
guarantee that we will answer every question, though I think the Fleet did a
bang-up job this month! Thanks to all of the Fleet for your expert
advice and your valuable time :-)
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