IT Queries: Computer problems answered

I have Windows XP and would like to know do I have to remove Adobe 3 from the system before installing Adobe 8

It’s a good idea to remove older versions of Adobe as one of the long standing bugs with Acrobat is it leaves older versions sitting around to cause trouble.

The best way to remove programs is to open the Control Panel (click Start and then Settings), go to Add/Remove Programs and then select each of the older versions of Acrobat on the system.

Unfortunately this doesn’t always work as it should, if this happens Adobe make it difficult to remove the package. Adobe have the instructions for removing version 6.

To remove earlier versions, it might be best to delete the Adobe program folder and then run a registry cleaner. We recommend you get a qualified tech to help you with this.

We are running Windows XP – every time we start the computer we get the following error message:
Windows – No Disk: Exception processing message c0000013 Parameters 75b6bf9c 4 75b6bf9c 75b6bf9c

It doesn’t seem to make any difference to the way everything works – is it a problem – or how do we stop the message appearing.

It sounds like there’s a program starting with the computer that looks for a disk, probably a removable drive or a CD/DVD that isn’t in the tray or connected so the system bleats about it being missing.

To fix this, first disconnect your computer from the Internet. By this, we mean unplug the affected computer from the modem or network.

Then open the System Configuration Utility by clicking start, run and typing MSCONFIG. Once in the utility, go to the startup tab.

In the startup tab, take the tick off ALL the items. This will probably disable your firewall and antivirus which is why we recommend you are not connected to the net while doing this.

Reboot the computer. You may get other error messages relating to other programs not starting, ignore them.

If the error message does not go away you need to call a tech.

Normally the missing disk message should have gone away. It’s now a matter of finding which one is the problem program. We do this through a process of elimination.

Go back into the start up tab of the System Configuration Utility and tick the top half of the programs listed and reboot the computer.

If the problem re-appears on restarting, it’s one of the programs you’ve ticked. Take half the ticks you put on last time and reboot again. Keep doing this until the problem go away.

Should the problem not reappear, it’s in the other half of the programs. Tick half the ones remaining and restart again. Keep doing this until the problem reappears.

By adding and removing programs, you’ll find the one causing the problem. You can then leave that one disabled or uninstall the program.

We often see this after removing spyware or viruses, the removal tools fix the underlying problem but don’t remove what was starting with the system.

“When attempting to download images from some websites, I am asked to download a program “Video ActiveX”. Do you know if it is safe to allow this program to my PC?

Also, when I try to cancel the image download, I am not able to without accessing Task Manager and closing Internet Explorer. Can you advise an alternate method?”

Both of these problems indicate a spyware infection. Active X downloads are the favourite methods of spyware writers. Firefox and Opera don’t have built in support for Active X and this is why we recommend them over Internet Explorer.

You must check your computer for spyware. We’ve previously posted the instructions to do this. We’d also strongly recommend you stop using Internet Explorer and start using an alternative browser.

I am using an aging laptop-Windows 98. It’s a delightful little computer but runs really slow.
How do I delete cookies? Would that help to speed it up?

Also is it possible to upgrade it to Windows 2000?

Unfortunately computers are like cars, over time they struggle to keep up with the newer models. With the rapid changes in the computer industry, older computers have to work harder to keep up.

We really wouldn’t recommend upgrading to Windows 2000 or any other operating system. The poor machine is going to struggle and you open all manner of opportunities for things to go wrong.

The problem with the computer not opening links and pop ups is probably due to the web browser on the machine. You should upgrade to Internet Explorer 6 (version 7 won’t run on Windows 98), Firefox or Opera.

You may have to install other software to read some attachments.

For cleaning up the computer, we’d recommend Cleanup! You should also check your anti virus program is still running, updating and is not slowing the machine down.

Sadly, it might just be that it’s time for a new computer. If you still aren’t happy with the performance, you may want to visit our PC Rescue site for the latest computer specs and go shopping.

Hi

After working on a document (University paper) for 8 hours that same document was saved without the final changes although it was saved at various stages along the way. All we have is the document opened at the starting point.

Our question is, is there a way to access the document at a point prior to the last save, the save icon was pressed to save the work to C: drive, and also e: Flash drive, but the search with the filter, ‘date modified ‘failed to locate the finished document in either place.

I have Windows XP.

It sounds like the document hasn’t saved to where you think it did. The first thing we’d suggest to search all your drives to see if it isn’t hiding in a different location.

Another possibility is the name is wrong, try searching for all files modified in that time. It might be under a different name or file type.

If you still can’t find it, Microsoft Word (which is what we’ll assume you’re using) saves the file you’re working on as a tmp file. Often, Word doesn’t clean these up so there’s a working copy of your document still on the system.

Often temp files are hidden, so in the Windows search panel choose the More Advanced Options heading and tick the Search hidden files and folders option and repeat your search on all files modified during that time.

Unfortunately in this case it does sound like you’ve done everything right. So if you can’t find it there might be a problem with your computer and we’d recommend getting a tech out to check it.

Hi,

Can you please tell me to name of the programme that you can buy/download that is used to return digital dictation that you have accidently deleted from your computer.

Julie

Hi Julie,

Losing any file is a serious pain. The best free tool we’ve come across is Restoration.

When you’ve lost a file, the most important thing is to stop using that computer. The more you use the computer, the more likely you are to overwrite the deleted file.

We recommend you download the program to another computer, then copy the program to a USB drive or CD (Restoration will actually fit on a floppy disk which you can use if you have spare disks and both machines have floppy drives).

When you run it, choose the drive (usually c: drive) where the file was lost from, type part of the lost file’s name (leave blank if you don’t remember what it was called) and click Search Deleted Files.

The search might take some time, several hours if you’ve left the file name blank and it’s a big drive. Be patient and let it run.

Once its finished and the list of found files appears, highlight the file you want and click the Restore by copying button. You’ll be asked to save the file somewhere, make sure you choose a place and name you’ll remember.

Losing data is always a big worry and this is why we always recommend having a backup drive and good backup software.

I’m using Windows XP Pro Service Pack 1. The system is often very slow changing from one page to another, especially on Ebay.

I can select a favourite search in MyEbay and the new page sits there blank white with an hourglass and no activity on the data in & out meter. Hit refresh and it comes up immediately for a second and then goes blank again. This has lost us a few good buys on Ebay cause it wouldn’t go to the next page quickly.

Progressively getting worse, used to be perfect. Now on 1500k/sec connection.

Ta Geoff

Hi Geoff, we assume you are using Internet Explorer. It’s possible the phishing filter is interfering with the site. We’ve discussed this previously where it’s caused problems and we’d suggest turning it off.

You may want to check you aren’t infected with spyware. One favourite trick of spyware writers is to redirect web browsers so it looks like they are coming from somewhere else and this is exactly the sort of problem they can create. Try the XCleaner online scan tool.

Other things that could be causing it are toolbars with various phishing and malware filters. The Google and Yahoo! toolbars are quite capable of this. You can either uninstall them or disable them.

I don’t seem to have any temporary internet files. When I go into disc cleanup no files are shown. I used to have many folders with these files in them.

I have windows XP.

Regards Caryl

Hi Caryl,

Given your web browser is working you almost certainly will have some temporary Internet files. It may be that you’re not using Internet Explorer, programs like Firefox, Opera and Safari save their temporary files to another location.

If you are using IE, then it might be that someone has set it to delete temporary files when you close it.

You can check all of this by going into the Internet Explorer and clicking Tools, options and Advanced. The setting to clear temporary files is under the Security heading.

Just wondering what you think about registry cleaning software. Is it a good idea? I visited a comparison website at compareregistrycleaners.org and the test results for Max Registry cleaner shape up the best.

We’re a little wary of any registry cleaners. While the theory of deleting unnecessary registry entries is good, there’s a lot of scope for things to go horribly, horribly wrong.

In our view the risk of messing up the computer doesn’t justify the speed improvement most computers will see after running an effective registry cleaner.

If you do want to try a registry cleaner we’d suggest the venerable and free CleanReg from Armstong Systems. This will scan the registry and find redundant entries. It’s best to run it after uninstalling any unused programs as poor uninstall routines are the main cause of unnecessary registry keys.

Before running a registry cleaner, make sure you’ve created a restore point. This will save your system should the scanner delete a critical value.

Also note that we haven’t tested any registry cleaners on Windows Vista. We’d suggest not running any until there’s a better body of knowledge on how Vista behaves with these cleaners.

I have been a McAfee user for a year, but my subscription has run out and when I tried to renew nothing happened, they took the money and I did not get renewed. They have repaid me the money , but I need to have virus protection, can you help me with my problem please.

Unfortunately McAfee and Symantec don’t make it easy for customers to renew their subscriptions and it’s one of the reasons why we recommend other products.

For antivirus, we’d recommend something like Kaspersky, F-Secure and AVG Professional. These are paid-for programs which give you support.

If you want to save money, there are free programs like AVG Free and Anti-Vir. Be aware that free software comes with no support. So if you hit problems you are on your own.

Another criticism we have of the bigger anti-virus programs is they have convoluted and unreliable removal programs. We’d strongly recommend going to the Add/Remove programs section of the Control Panel and removing anything with McAfee in its name.