IT Queries: Computer problems answered

I have a new HP tablet/notebook running Windows Vista Home Premium. When I start it up I get the error message “Wmdsync.exe – unable to locate component. This application failed to start because re. Re-installing the application may fix this problem”.

I suspect it happened because I installed ActiveSync, then realised I didn’t need it, then uninstalled it. I have tried installing the latest version of Windows Mobile Centre, but it has not fixed the problem. Any advice please? Regards Wendy

Hi Wendy,

The problem is ActiveSync still want to start but Vista, correctly won’t let you install the required dll.

To fix the error message, open the system configuration tool, select the Start Up tab and take the tick off Wmdsync.exe. This  will fix the error message.

You may need to install the Windows Mobile Device Center which is the Vista replacement for Active Synch. You can get the latest update from the Microsoft website.

I have Vista Ultimate with AVG8. Last time I ran HijackThis it identified 020-AppInit.DLLs:avgrsstx.dll C:\Windows\system32\guard32 .dll C:\Windows\system32\cssdll32.dll.

Some forums say it is dangerous and should be removed and others say it is OK. I thought it came as an AVG8 update but I am not sure. What do you think? Thanks for your great radio program and web service.

It’s legitimate and part of the Comodo security suite. You may want to check you don’t have some unnecessary programs hanging around on your computer.

I do a lot of travelling and I would like to take my own movies with me.  So I recently bought an ASUS EeePC (XP version) and a very thin and compact external 160gb WD hard disk.  As you would know the Asus has no DVD facility so I want to burn DVDs to an external drive so I can view them on my EeePC.

I’ve tried a couple of freeware things like Handbrake and DVD Shrink (which has a fraudulent scamming website purporting to be its real website!).   Is there a way I can do this safely, please?  Barry.

Warning: Duplicating copyrighted material without the owner’s permission is illegal in most countries. Make sure you have the right to copy before doing so. This answer assumes you have that permission or legal right to do so.

Copying DVDs to disk is useful function. I use DVD Shrink myself to copy DVDs that events organisers have sent me of my speeches and presentations. It’s very handy to save them to a hard drive and helps with making showreels and compliations.

The official website for DVD shrink is at dvdshrink.org. This site doesn’t have any malware and it sounds to me like you’ve been directed to a malicious site by a search engine.

The Pain in the Tech website has an excellent tutorial on using DVD Shrink and that’s what I would recommend you follow to get the files across. Once they are on your external drive, try them on the EeePC.

Let us know how you go with this as it’s an interesting use of an EeePC we haven’t tried.

I installed deepfreeze on my computer.

My problem is I don’t know how to uninstall. a friend of mine said that if i want to uninstall the program i must click the installer file. but a message appears.

“Deep Freeze 6 Standard must be disabled before any Install/Uninstall can proceed.”

How can i disable the deepfreeze where can i find the program? is not in the control panel add remove program menu.

thanks.

The problem is Deepfreeze is running in the background.

Unfortunately Deepfreeze isn’t a trivial program. It has some tricks to uninstalling. Before doing anything you should ensure all your data is backed up.

Once you’ve backed up your date, follow the instructions on the Deep Freeze website.

If you are still stuck, you’ll need to call a computer tech. This program is very secure and shouldn’t be messed with unless you know what you are doing.

I have Windows XP and Office 2003. I can’t open tif. documents when sent via email, unless I buy Winzip which I don’t particularly want to do….is there another option please?

 Winzip probably won’t help you with this either. You need an image viewing progam that can handle .tif programs.

The built in graphics editing program on Windows XP, MS Paint, will do this. When opening the file, right click it and choose Open With. In the list of programs that appears, choose Paint.

Some email programs require you to save the attachment before doing this, if that happens save the file to a location you’ll remember then open it through the Paint program.

If you’re prompted to always open with this program, click yes and you shouldn’t have this problem again.

When i turn on my PC an errors appear on the screen, “The system has recovered from a serious error. A log of this error has been created ….”

What is the problem? do I need to reformat my PC? or this is a virus?

It could be a number of things. Something is causing an error when your computer shuts down.
First, you should check your hard drive is free of errors. Be warned that this can take some hours to run. We find it best to leave it overnight.

Once the chkdsk has finished make sure your computer doesn’t have a virus or spyware infection.

Once that is finished, uninstall any programs you don’t use.

Then, clean up your computer.

If the problem is still continuing you’ll need to consider reformatting or calling a tech to investigate further. We’d suggest the latter as it actually could be something benign.

Remember though to backup your data as these sort of messages are often an indication something may be going badly wrong.

My free AVG has been bugging me for weeks that it’s going to be upgraded and now it’s telling me I have until May 31.

When I click on the links I can’t figure out where the AVG Free version is. What should I do?

If you’re using AVG 7.5 you’ll have been nagged for the last month about the end of support for the product. Updates will finish this week. Following the websites AVG directs you to a website that pushes the paid for version and makes it difficult to find the free version.

We don’t mind the paid for version as it still represents good value compared to some of the overpriced products but there is a free version still available.

To get it, go to the Free AVG page. Click the “Get it now” tab on the LEFT side of the page under the heading “Free basic protection”.

This will take you to a comparison page will shows the differences between the free and paid for products. Go to the bottom of the page and click “Continue to AVG Free download.”

The next page explains the limitations of the free AVG, note you get NO SUPPORT for it, that’s why it’s free. If you are happy with this, click “Continue to AVG Free download” again.

Finally you’re at the last AVG page. Click the Download AVG free button and you’ll be directed to the download.com website. Click the Download now button and it will download to your computer.

When it’s finished, you can run the installer. It will ask you to remove previous versions of AVG Free and you should let it do that.

Generally we’ve had no problems with the upgrade, but you can never be too sure. So you should backup your data before running the program and check everything is working afterwards.

I’m a pensioner just coming to learn PCs. I’ve enrolled in a computers for seniors course and require microsoft office. Too expensive is opal a viable alternative?

We’re not aware of an Opal Office package. However an web search shows there has been an outfit repackaging the free Open Office suite and selling it under the name “Opal”.

While this is strictly speaking not illegal, we don’t see where there’s any value in paying for the Opal Office when you can download the identical Open Office for free.

There are a number of free online Office alternatives such as Google Docs, Think Free and Zoho. These require an Internet connection to use.

If you want to pay there are some cheap alternatives as well. 602 Office is popular and WordPerfect suite is still available for less than MS Office.

Keep in mind that not having Office may be a problem when you do the course as the materials and lessons will be based on Office and the presenter will assume everyone is using the same package.

You may want to consider using Microsoft’s free 60 day trial of Office while you do the course. Also keep in mind Microsoft offer a cheaper version of Office for students and households.

We are running Windows XP and are unable to watch videos with Quick Time. We have downloaded the latest version, please can you help.

The first thing to do is remove all old versions of QuickTime. Follow our instructions on unistalling old software.

Once you’ve done that, restart the computer and download the latest version of Quick Time. Once you’ve downloaded it, run the installation and you should resolve the problem.

If it doesn’t work, you may have to remove QT manually.

Restart your computer and delete the Quick Time program folder which will probably be “C:\Program Files\Apple\QuickTime”.  Once you’ve done this, reinstall the program and see if the problems have gone away. If so, it may be a good idea to run a registry cleaner.

If the Add/Remove function is not working properly, Microsoft have a repair tool for the function. This is a free download and you can run it to remove errant programs.

There are some more advanced things you can do to repair these problems, but these require a higher level of computer expertise and we’d recommend calling a computer tech to assist you with this.

I’m running Vista Premium on a Dell Dimension 9200 using Adobe Reader 8.1.1.It will not install updates or uninstall Adobe Reader–Error 1402 Could not open key. HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\Softwareclasses\CLSID\(D38064DA). Adobe will not provide tech help as it was a free download except for a lengthy instruction which involves fiddling with the Registry–which I dare not do.I could not find any reference in your archives.Thanks.

It sounds like something is tying up your Adobe installation. You may want to try starting the computer in Safe Mode and seeing if it is possible to uninstall Adobe that way.

If it isn’t possible, then disabling any Adobe products that are starting with the computer is the next step. You’ll need to open the System Configuration Tool and take the ticks off anything referring to Adobe in the Startup tab.

Finally, you could try creating a different administrative user and seeing if this repairs the problem.

If none of these work, you’ll have to call in a technician to fix the registry problem.