IT Queries: Computer problems answered

As you recommended in your checking a disk for errors column, I ran Check Disk and it said I have “Bad Clusters”.

What does this mean?

Basically your hard drive is dying. Bad blocks mean there is damage to the surface of the disks and its a matter of time before your system stops working.

The first thing you must do is backup your data. Make sure everything valuable is off your computer.

When you’re happy everything important has been saved, get the computer to your local computer shop. They’ll be able to tell you whether the computer is worth repairing or if the costs are better spent on a new system.

Windows explorer crashes on start up with Win XP Pro SP3 also crashes Dr Watson then PC freezes – restart usually same except PC doesn’t freeze. All ok with safe mode then crashes on normal reboot.

The problem is something problematic is loading when the computer starts normally.

While in Safe Mode, uninstall any old software you don’t use and clean up your hard drive using Disk Manager by clicking Start, Programs, System Tools and Disk Manager.

Once disk manager scans your drive, tick all the boxes and allow it to run.

When that’s finished check your disk for errors, this will require a reboot.

If serious errors are found on the disk, or the problem still persists, it may be necessary to access to drive from an emergency disk to repair any virus or remove data from a dying drive. This is best done by a technician.

The Windows Scripting Host is an important part of all Windows versions later than the first version of Windows 95. It automates various functions and it’s critical to operation of various Windows features like Automatic Updates.

It does have some problems however and using it to infect Windows computers through “drive by downloads” has been a favourite trick of virus and spyware writers in recent years.

While it does create security problems for Windows users, it is an essential part of the system so you need the latest updates for it.

Microsoft have a number of updates for Windows Scripting;

• Windows XP and Server 2003 users should download Version 5.7
• Windows 2000, 98 and ME users should use Version 5.6.
• Vista users should use Windows PowerShell

It’s best to download and install the appropriate package and then run the Windows Update program.

My computer says “says out of range input1: dvi-55.9khz/46hz”

What is the problem?

For some reason your screen resolution has changed and the monitor can’t handle the signal.

To fix this, you’ll need to start your computer in Safe Mode and then change the screen resolution.

In Windows XP, you’ll need to click Start, Control Panel and Display.

Once in the display screen, click on the Settings tab and move the sliding Screen resolution setting to the left.

Click okay and restart the computer.

My son attempted to uninstall limewire, my computer is now misty and wiil not switch off and simply refuses to do anything, help.

You’ll need to go back to a system restore point as we describe in previous question. 

However to do that you’ll have to turn off and restart the computer. The easiest way to do this is to hold the on/off button in for ten seconds and it will turn off.

Once the system’s running again follow the instructions on how to reset to a previous point.

It may be this is not Limewire’s or your son’s fault. It could be a different hardware problem as screens “going misty” usually indicates something like a video card problem.

See how it goes and post another query if the system restore doesn’t work

Many important files are hidden in Windows XP and Vista. The reason for this is to protect critical system files from being accidentally deleted.

Unfortunately many data files such as address books are also tucked away in hidden folders, which means it can be difficult to find them.

To view these hidden files and folders, there’s a few settings to change in Windows. We recommend only doing this when you need to, such as when you are looking for Outlook Express data files or Windows Address Books. When you are finished, you should turn the settings back on.

Windows XP

Open My Computer, select the Tools menu and click Folder Options.

In the Folder Options windows select the View tab. Click the Show hidden files and folders button and below that take the tick off the Hide protected operating system files box.

A box may appear explaining what you are doing and asking if you are happy with this, click Yes.

Click the Apply button and then the OK button and shutdown My Computer.

Now your computer is configured to show all hidden files.

Windows Vista

Click on the Start button and select the Control Panel, click on the Appearance and Personalization link and click on Show Hidden Files or Folders.

In the Hidden files and folders section select the button labeled Show hidden files and folders and remove the tick  from Hide extensions for known file types below this, remove the tick from Hide protected operating system files.

Click the Apply button and then the OK button and Windows Vista is configured to show all hidden files.

Remember that it’s best practice not to be able to see these files as this reduces the risk of accidentally damaging or deleting important system components, so once you’ve found the hidden or system files turn the hide setting back on again.

When we access the start menu, click on icon for Media player it comes up on the task bar but no window, it would appear to be hidden behind what ever screen is open at the time.

What’s happened is the media player has been accidentally dragged off the screen. The quick way to fix it is to right-click the task bar icon and  select Maximize.

If you want to fix the problem permanently and select Move, then use the arrow keys to move the program back onto the screen.

I’ve read I should use a different browser to Internet Explorer because of its security problems. Which one should I use?

Internet Explorer is the web browser built into Windows. Because of the way Microsoft have set it up, it is particularly prone to security problems.

To make things worse Internet Explorer is a fundamental part of Windows so any problem with IE becomes a problem for your entire system.

So regardless of the current security scare it’s a good idea to use an alternative to Internet Explorer and there are plenty of options.

Mozilla Firefox

The most popular alternative browser is Mozilla Firefox. You can download a free a copy from the Mozilla website.

Opera

One of the longest established alternative browsers, Opera tends to be the cutting edge browser, while it’s not for everyone it’s fast, stable and is also a free download.

Google Chrome

A new alternative is Google’s web browser. It’s fast but it does do things a bit differently from the others. You can get this free from Google’s website.

Apple Safari

If you use a Mac then the Safari browser is included with your system. Windows users can download a free version from Apple.

All of these alternatives are perfectly good for general web browsing. It’s best to try each and use the one you find works best for you.

Unfortunately you can’t completely get rid of Internet Explorer. Not only is it a integral part of Windows, but some web sites won’t work properly on anything else, so reserve IE for those sites that require it and use an alternative for the rest of the web.

I had the same error as described in this earlier question on my HP PC. I have tried the steps you showed above, but I got an error from RegSvr32: “The module “c:\windows\system32\mscomct2.ocx” failed to load. I have looked into the c:\windows\system32 folder and couldn’t find the mscomct2.ocx. 

If the entire control is missing, you’ll have to reinstall the files. To do this, visit the Microsoft website and dowload the Microsoft Windows Common Controls-2 6.0 package.

Once you’ve downloaded the cab file, you’ll need to open it by double clicking it and copy the contents into the c:/windows/system32 folder.

Once you’ve copied them into your system folder you’ll be able to register them as we discussed in our previous post.

This can be a complex problem to fix and if you are still having problems, you may need to call a computer tech.

Hi, My pc has the following:

Norton Internet Security 2008
Spyware Doctor 6.0.0.386
ThreatFire 4.0.0.8
SpywareBlaster 4.1
MalwareBytes’ Anti-Malware

My question is: is KIS 2009 compatible with ThreatFire 4.0.0.8 as I want to continue with ThreatFire as it is a very good program?

I intend to keep Spyware Doctor.

It sounds like you are very much on the ball when it comes to protecting your system against malware and certainly your choices of sofware make sense.

However I’m concerned your system’s going to struggle with both Kaspersky and Threatfire on your system. Generally it’s not a good idea to be running two scanners at the same time.

While I’m not familiar with Threatfire, it’s likely it will cause problems with Kasperski or any other anti virus simply because Threatfire will identify the anti virus program as acting suspiciously.

It’s good practice not to have more than one malware scanner running at once and I think it would be best to leave one or the other’s automatic protection off and manually run a scan every few days or weeks.

Malwarebytes and Spyware Blaster are good programs as well and it won’t hurt to reguarly run a manual scan using those programs as well.

If you are really concerned about malware then it may be better to be a Limited User for your day-to-day computing. This will stop most nasties getting on to your machine.