Monday, December 15, 2003		Dr Tribune

Q I have an Acer laptop, Pentium 4, 2.4 GHz, 256 RAM having Windows XP as OS. I face a problem while copying large-sized files (video files) from CD to hard disk. After sometime, I get a message: "Cannot copy CRC (Cyclic redundancy check) error." When I try to copy this file on my PC, I face no such problem. Please help me in this regards.

Ravish Chatrath, Karnal

A. CRC is used to verify the quality of the file. If it fails a CRC check, it usually means the file is corrupted and you need some disk scanning tools sometimes to fix the problem. However, as you mentioned the files get copied from the CD to desktop, it appears there could be two possible reasons for the problem being faced by you. First your CD drive needs cleaning, which might be causing some problem while reading the data. Second, which most probably could be the reason in your case is that there is a mismatch in write and read speed of your CD drive. This means your CD is written at a speed higher than the read speed of CD ROM drive. For example, if your CD is written at the speed of 52X and the speed of your CD ROM is 42X, then you may come across this kind of problem. If this happens to be the case then you should write your CDs at the maximum speed of your CD ROM.

Q I have a BSNL connection and had setup Outlook Express. In recent times, I have been receiving e-mails almost daily from mail delivery system, bina nusantara and some bashtikaveh. Last one may be virus e-mail. E-mail from the mail delivery system states "your e-mail to arw@yahoo.com with two attachments can’t be delivered." But I never sent any mail. I get this e-mail almost daily. The other mail from bina states that our virus detector has been triggered by a mail sent by you to arw@yahoo.com. I am fed up with these mails and please guide me properly.

A You have not mentioned the operating system and also the information about which POP and SMTP mail you are using. This is important to solve your problem. However, from the face of it, you must first upgrade your operating system with latest service pack to cover all security holes. Secondly, scan your system online either at www.trendmicro.com or www.mcafee.com to be sure about any virus present on your system. Third, use firewall on the PC to block hackers from accessing the system. You can use firewalls like Zone alarm or Sygate personal firewall, which are available free. Fourth, configure the mail client to handle spam and mark these mails as spam so that they do not bother you in future. Lastly, change your password often to solve this problem.

Q I have an Intel P III with Mercury motherboard SD RAM 128 MB, Samsung 40 GB hard disk, C: (Win ’98), D: (Win XP) with two partition. My first problem is my computer cannot open D: drive but in Properties, it shows 40 GB of total space. My floppy drive sign has also changed and it is not working. I cannot format my hard disk by DOS prompt or by partition magic as the PC shows my drive is hidden. How to get rid of this? Kindly help. My second problem is with the screen. It shows pink colour throughout screen. Is it a virus? My third query is about Norton anti-virus. I have installed it from the Net but in start mode, it show message "progr~1/nortan/ navap.vxd" missing. My PC hangs very often. Is it the fault of motherboard?

A Regarding your first problem, make sure there is no physical problem with the hard disk. Scan disk your hard disk in DOS mode would help you identify this. Then check out if the drive letter shows up when you boot to plain DOS. If it does, then this is likely a hidden drive letter problem. This problem could also occur if you try to set up a disk with two primary partitions, using Partition Magic (since this cannot be done with normal partitioning software like FDISK) then one of the partitions will be hidden when you boot up. As another possible source of problem, if you are using disk compression, and decided to compress all or most of the host drive, then the operating system may hide the host drive letter (since it would be full from containing the compressed volume, and therefore not useful). Compression software can also play tricks such as remapping or changing drive letters. You can unhide a hidden compressed volume host disk by running the compression software utility, which is normally called DriveSpace if you are using Microsoft’s compression facilities. This also addresses your second problem related to floppy drive. Regarding your third problem of pink screen, first use the degauss feature of your monitor to troubleshoot this problem. If it does not solve your problem, then you should check out the presence of any electromagnetic field around your monitor, which could be caused by cell phone, speakers TV or high voltage wire. Remove any such thing away from your PC and your problem would be solved. Regarding your problem related to Norton Anti-virus, try reinstalling the program. However, about the system instability (hanging problem) you should check out the bad sectors on your hard disk, by running scan disk in through mode. There are chances that your hard disk might be having bad sectors, which is causing instability.

Q I am working on Windows ’98-based network (Workgroup) since last couple of days. My network is infected with w32.opaserve(win.ini) virus. We are regularly updating Norton 2003 anti-virus and despite this my system has been infected. Anti-virus detected the virus but is unable to clean or quarantine. Any sure shot remedy for this?

A Visit www.trendmicro.com or www.mcafee.com and search for this virus and also its removal tool. Read the instructions for removing the virus and down the virus removal tool. Run this tool to remove the virus from your system.

Q I have P III, 866 MHz processor with 128 MB RAM having Windows ME operating system. I have following problems:

1. While using the Net and Yahoo! Messenger (ver 5.5), the colour of buttons on toolbar Internet explorer (Ver 5.5) gets distorted and quite often Yahoo! Messenger gets logged off automatically. I have to log in again. After using the Net and pressing Windows logo key, an error appears - "Explorer has caused an error in GDI32.dll. Explorer will now close. I am unable to shut down.

2. While logging on to rediffmail, my ID and password automatically gets filled when I press the first key. I don’t want to store them for security purposes.

Is there a way to get rid of this?

A Regarding your first problem, it is a well-documented issue related to Windows Me and has been dealt with by Microsoft by providing a patch. For knowing more about this problem and its detailed solution, you can log on to http://support.microsoft.com/default.aspx?scid=
http://support.microsoft.com:80/support/kb/articles/q275/0/03.asp&NoWebContent=1. Here you will also find a link to download the patch to troubleshoot this problem.

Regarding your second problem related to Autosave feature, click on Tool in Internet Explorer and then click on Internet Options. Now click on Content Tab and then under the personal information section, click on auto complete. First click on clear forms and then click on clear passwords. Now uncheck the option for username and passwords on forms.

Q. I have Pentium 933 MHz, 128 MB RAM, Intel chipset (Vintron) Motherboard, ATX cabinet, Samsung 20GB HDD, Samsung 52X CD ROM. My problem is whenever I start my computer, it doesn’t start. Rather it gives a beep sound and when I press the restart button for nearly 30 seconds, it suddenly starts up. But this is also erratic. Sometimes, it doesn’t start at all. I had also changed my CMOS battery, but this also did not solve my problem. Please tell me the exact solution.

A Check out the memory (RAM) as it might have got corrupted or might be having a lot of static dust in the slot. Pick up RAM from the slots and clean it with dry cotton cloth (only at the lower edge) and place it back, I am sure this will solve your problem. However, if the problem still persists get the RAM checked.

Q. I have Compaq Presario 5500, Pentium IV (64+256) MB RAM. My Internet Explorer does not show .JSP links. I have also reset all Internet settings many times. Please tell what can be the problem. What should I do and whom should I contact?

A Please check out if the settings for JAVA (Sun) and Microsoft VM are check marked under the Advanced tab of the Internet options Window available Tools menu in Internet Explorer. If these items are not checked then you get this kind of problem. Check these options and then restart the browser after closing all open Internet Explorer Windows and your problem would be solved.

Q. I have recently upgraded my OS from Win 98 to Win XP (Prof). I had software named Istyle on Win ‘98. When I tried to install that on Win XP, a message appears saying that it requires Win ‘95 or Win ‘98. Is there any freeware which may enables me run that software on Win XP? Also please suggest the site.

A From the description of your problem it appears that this software is not compatible with Windows XP and hence cannot be installed on Windows XP. You need to check out for the updates of this software, which might be Windows XP compatible.

Q I have a Samgung 40 GB HDD, which make a lot of noise when being used. It is one and a half years old. Can the noise be reduced by FDISK or any other method? I am not using a UPS. Can it be a cause for this? The HDD is working OK at this point of time. Earlier, I had to change my HDD for the same problem. What is the proper solution?

A Some hard disks do make extra noise but normally it does not harm it physically. However, if this noise is being caused by wrong alignment or improper mounting of the hard disk then not only it will make extra noise but could crash also in due course of time. Therefore, check out for the alignment of hard disk in your PC cabinet and also its mounting and make sure it should not be loose. Taking care of these points would solve your problem.

For all your computer-related problems contact Dr Tribune at drtribune@tribuneindia.com