IT Queries: Computer problems answered

When you watch or listen to live streaming of radio and TV broadcasts are you using your data allowance ??

Whenever you do anything on the Internet you are using data. Every website you visit, every email you read and everything you watch and listen to.

This is why if you are with an Internet Service Provider (ISP) that has a data allowance you need to choose the plan that has sufficient data for your needs.

Generally we’d recommend a minimum of 1Gb for a light user and 50Gb if you have teenagers in the house.

You should speak to your ISP if you are concerned about the plan you’re on.

When I shut down my computer, it makes a sound (like grunting). Do you know why?

Inside computers there are many things that spin and it sounds like one of those is having a problem when you shut down.

The most likely cause is a disk in your CD/DVD drive or a floppy disk so make sure these drives are empty when shutting down. The other culprit could be tape drives, as older ones can make these sort of noises, your power supply may also be having some problems although that usually makes “grunting noises” when starting the computer.

It may be worthwhile getting a computer tech in to give the system a clean and check all the fans and drives are working properly.

When I am on the internet, there will be times that my computer completely goes off and back to the screen where you click your name to log in. This happens at random times and with no specific website. I have run a virus program. No virus issues. This started about a month ago and is progressively getting worse. I am working on a Compaq Presario pc in windows xp home edition. Never had this problem in the past.

If this is only happening while you are on the net then malware is the most likely culprit regardless of what your virus program says so you should follow our Removing a Trojan instructions to make sure you don’t have an infection.

Should you be clear of any infection, it’s likely your computer is overheating and causing it to reboot. You may need to call a technician to clean out dust out of the system and check all the internal fans are working.

I have many things that appear twice or more in my add or Delete programs file.Why is this …J2SE Runtime three times.

What is all this stuff and do i really need it all taking up space on my hard-drive…. Grateful for any intelligent but simple language reply Thanks

Sometimes Windows programs don’t behave as they should and you get multiple entries but in this case, it appears they are legitimate programs. Java is particularly notorious for leaving older versions on your computer.

The first thing to do is to run the Windows Installer clean up tool which we’ve described in an earlier post. This will clear out any problems.

For programs like Java which have installed multiple versions, it’s probably best to uninstall all of them then download and install the latest version from the Sun Java website.

In the case of the Windows Updates, these are best left alone as they are specific fixes for known Windows problems. Should Microsoft release a Windows XP Service Pack 4, then it may be worthwhile deleting these before installing the new upgrade.

The Visual C++, we don’t know. Do you have a programmer in your household? If so, best let them deal with it or leave the program alone.

Otherwise, it’s best to delete anything you don’t use often. However the general rule with computer is “if you don’t know what it does, then leave it alone” and that certainly applies to your Add/Remove programs.

I have 57 computers (individually owned)that share a satellite internet system that was personally purchased. The internet is running slower than expected. We discovered that some of the individuals use peer-to-peer (ie vuze, limewire). Is this primary cause for our problems?

Satellite Internet connections are always tricky beasts and it’s likely your network is pushing the limits of this technology.

That said, it is possible those peer-to-peer services are affecting your service as they are permanently connected to their network and are frequently moving files to and from users’ systems, even when the individuals aren’t actively using the programs.

So it’s best to ban these programs if you’re concerned about the traffic on the network, there’s also a few security issues and possible legal problems involved as well. A good network administrator or computer tech can configure your router to block most of the access to these services, although smart users will find a way around those blocks.

From your description, it sounds like a residential network. So if you have teenagers using these programs, you’ll probably struggle to keep them off the network. You might want to sit down with your users to discuss the problem so they understand the issues involved.

What is indexing?

Indexing is noting the names and contents of files so it’s easier to find them later. It’s like the index of a book where you can quickly look up which pages a word, name or phrase appears rather than reading the whole book.

In the computer world and on the Internet, indexing speeds up looking for things as the process of searching through millions of websites or folders for your search would be painfully slow.

On Windows computers, there is the Indexing Service which was designed by Microsoft to speed up search. Unfortunately it never really worked that well and we recommend disabling it.

Overall, Indexing is a good thing as it makes life easier for us in the Information economy. It isn’t foolproof though and if it’s poorly done it can cause problems.

I am using an Intel P4 HT 3.0GHz, ASUS P5SD2-VM motherboard and a 512Mb of DDR2 RAM. All the games I run on my PC, even the lightest game e.g. IGI, GTA Vice City etc, jerk and swap greatly. I even tried to share about 256Mb of my RAM with the Internal VGA chip SIS Mirage 3, but the performance remains the same. Please try to solve this problem.

The problem is your system has an inadequate graphics card. The built in SIS car isn’t really capable of much beyond basic computing which is fine for doing email, most web surfing and office application but hopeless for anything that puts demands on the video capabilities.

Your best bet is to install a third party graphics card, according to the ASUS website this motherboard can fit one PCI-e expansion card. Consult your local computer technician on the right card to install, list the games you want to play so the most suitable card can be selected.

XP Professional, Version 2002, 2.80GHz running Firefox. After connecting and browsing for less than 15 Min’s, there becomes no response as if the signal had gone. pages will not load, emails cannot be sent. Lights on usb device still flash blue and task bar icon states very good signal. This continues frequently.

Will this be a computer problem or a wireless device problem?

The problem is almost certainly a driver issue. The software supplied on many Internet Providers’ disks is often outdated or simply buggy and this is very frequently the case with Bigpond.

To fix this first download the latest drivers for your wireless broadband equipment from the Bigpond website. Note where you have saved the downloaded files so you can use them later.

Once you’ve downloaded the drivers, unplug the USB modem from your system and go to Add/Remove programs and uninstall all Bigpond software along with anything referring to Maxon or Sierra software and drivers.

Restart your computer without the wireless modem plugged in and install the software you downloaded earlier. During the installation you may be asked to plug the device in, otherwise leave it disconnected.

When you’ve finished installing the updated software, restart the computer and once the computer is running, plug the device in. It should be detected as a USB wireless device and the Bigpond connection manager should start. Fill in the required details and you should be connected.

Emails that I send out in Microsoft Outlook are received by others with just “Peter” in the From column of their In Box. Also, the email itself shows just “Peter + my email address at the top.

How do I change this to “Peter Kowaltzke” OR something else ??? Could you help me please.

Fixing this is relatively straightword. It’s a matter of changing the setting in the mail account. Open Outlook, choose the Tools menu and select E-mail Accounts.

In the E-mail Accounts screen choose View or change existing e-mail accounts, select your email account and click the change button.

Under User Information, change your name there. Click Next and Finish then restart Outlook for the new name to take effect.

Hi,I received an email, that indicates the receiver’s name in my yahoo email as my mom’s first and last name and it states as the subject xxx xxxxx says you should see this video clip.
xxx xxxxx thinks you will really like this YouTube Video. Check it out! Sender From : xxx xxxxx

I clicked on the “Check it out” button unknowingly thinking it really was from my mom and it led me to some unusual webpage with a cartoon-like picture and didn\’t seem like a YouTube webpage,and I quickly escaped and clicked close. I then realised may after all not be from my mom and and I verified with her and she said she did not send me that email. I am very afraid it is some kind of a scam or virus attack, pls advise what I should do now!

You’re right to be concerned as this is a classic Trojan horse attack which is aimed at infecting your computer and there is a risk you’ve been infected. You should follow our Removing a Trojan instructions and if you are still concerned, call a computer technician.