IT Queries: Computer problems answered

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.

I stupidly opened an e-card sent to my box.When I opened it the script was in an unrecognisable format.I deleted it.Since then I have a box which continually comes onto the screen saying: Windows-no disk. I have done a virus scan and there were nil virus found. Can you help me solve this problem?

It sounds like the card probably wasn’t malicious, it was just in a format your computer couldn’t read.

The first step would be to clean up your computer as we describe in a previous post.

If that doesn’t clear it, then run a registry cleaner to flush any nonsense out of the system. Before running these programs make sure you’ve backed up your system.

I’m using a 150Gb external hard drive to backup my data. The software, Retrospect Express, keeps telling me there isn’t enough space on the hard drive.

When I check the drive there’s 100Gb of space available. I’ve reinstalled the software but the problem keeps happening.

Almost certainly the problem is how the hard drive has been formatted. Most external drives come with the FAT32 system format. This limits file sizes to 4Gb. Your backup file has gone over that limit.

When Microsoft starting using the FAT32 system in 1995 it was rare to find a 4Gb hard drive, let alone a single file that big. Today that system struggles; particularly when faced with backup files that easily go over the 4Gb limit.

Windows XP, Vista and Mac OS support the older file system but Windows systems today use the NTFS file system that supports bigger files and has better security features.

You need to convert your hard drive to NTFS by running the convert.exe program which is included in Windows XP. Microsoft have instructions on using it at their website.

When using it, make sure you do not turn the drive or computer off while it’s converting. Usually the program will take around 20 minutes to convert a 100Gb hard drive.

Once it’s converted, restart both the computer and drive. You may have to also rerun your backup program’s setup routine.

Why would the computer not let you play  solitaire on it?  It just flickers on and off and says something is not responding?

Contrary to popular belief  Solitaire isn’t just a time waster. For techs, it’s a quick and easy way to test your graphics hardware is behaving itself.

In your case it could be the graphics card is misbehaving and if that is the case you’ll need to take it to your local computer store to get it checked.

It is possible this is caused by a virus or defective software. Before lugging it down to the store you should give the computer a clean up and check for viruses.

If you have the Windows disk, you should also check there aren’t any damaged files in the system by running the System File Checker tool. This will repair any problems with the Windows files including the solitaire program.

I am regularly getting this message “Windows – Virtual Memory Minimum Too Low
Your system is low on virtual memory.  Windows is increasing the size of your virtual memory paging file.  During this process, memory requests for some applications may be denied. For more information, see Help.”

I don’t find “Help” very helpful and would like to know what is virtual memory and what I need to do to remedy this situation?

Sadly the help files aren’t much assistance for problems like these.

All computers use memory to store what you are using on the computer. When you’re finished using a document or web page or whatever you can save it to the hard drive or just shut it down and lose it.

The built in memory is known as RAM or physical memory and they are computer chips that plug into the main board of your computer. This is what the system uses most of the time.

If the computer finds it’s running out of physical memory it falls back on virtual memory which is a file on the hard drive. This is saves the machine from simply crashing when it runs out of physical memory.

In your case Windows has for some reason set the virtual memory level too low. To fix this, click Start, Settings, Control Panel and select the System icon.

In the System applet, choose Advanced and click the Settings button in the Performance section of the screen.

The click the Advanced tab and Change under the Virtual Memory section. Set the initial size under the Custom heading to at least 500Mb and the maximum to 4000 which is the highest Windows XP and earlier can go. Click Set and then keep clicking okay until you get back to the desktop where you’ll be asked to reboot the computer.

Cannot access any web page even though modem is dialed up properly. Typical page not available message.

Running Internet Explorer 7 for Windows XP sp2 on Dell 2400.  I use dial up with Eartlink.  Access internet modem connects up properly — hear dialing and handshake and then message pops up that it is connected and I can see a IP address(I have even checked this by using a brand new USB modem and get the same result, so it is not modem). I have tried Earthlink and Dell help lines with no success.  I reloaded Internet Explorer 7 with no effect.   Am unable to use recover utility.  Anyone out there have any ideas?

The first thing to do is uninstall any firewall programs. Before going on the net, make sure your dial up connection has the Windows Firewall enabled so you don’t get any worms wriggling their way onto your system.

If you still have the problem, then try repairing your TCP/IP stack by clicking start then run and typing CMD in the box.

You’ll find yourself at the DOS prompt and there you should type the following command.

netsh int ip reset resetlog.txt

Press enter and this will reinstall the basic TCP/IP stack.

One thing to note with this problem is that it can be spyware related so it is essential you check your computer for spyware and viruses.

You may also have to completely remove Internet Explorer 7 and then reinstall it. This may be an opportunity to check out alternatives like Firefox, Opera or Safari.