IT Queries: Computer problems answered

I am running Windows XP with service pack 2. I have Norton Antivirus. The computer is running slower by the day. It was suggested to me that I might need to check for Spyware , so i have downloaded spy Doctor . Now it runs even slower . It takes about 10 mins to access the internet from stat up

It could be a number of things causing the problem. You may have a full hard drive and we’ve covered this previously.

It’s possible Norton is causing this problem. One of our criticisms of Norton products is that not only do they allow spyware onto machines, but when the spyware is on the machine Norton makes the problem worse.

The next step is to check your machine for spyware, we have instructions on doing that in an earlier post.

Once you have checked and cleared any spyware, consider installing the latest Windows Scripting Host. Norton relies upon this software to run properly.

In the worst case, uninstall Norton and replace it with another anti virus program.

If the problem continues, it may be you have a more serious problem with your computer and it may be time to call a computer tech.

I think my hard drive is full, how do I check it?

To check how full your hard drive is, open My Computer and you’ll see a list of all your computer drives. Right-click the drive you want to check and go down the menu to properties.

Click Properties and you’ll get a graphical view of how full your drive is. Generally we like to have at least 20% or 5Gb free.

If it is full, it’s worthwhile running some cleanup tools on the computer. We’ve covered that in a previous post.

You may need a larger hard drive or to make some system changes to stop this happening again, if so call a computer tech to help you.

I cannot hear anything on my computer when looking at websites( youtube etc) I can hear things when using media player or itunes but nothing else. When I go to control panel and click on sounds and audio devices it says no audio device. It use to work normally but all of a sudden stopped. any ideas please??

We’ve covered missing sound devices in a previous post.

In your case, the situation’s slightly different. The sound device is obviously working but Windows isn’t recognising it as being the default setting.

To change this open the Control Panel by going into Start, Settings, Control Panel and clicking on Sound and Audio Devices.

In the Sound and Audio Devices properties click the Voice tab. In this tab you will the default devices, click the drop down box and change the device then click okay. If you have a number of devices you may have to experiment to find the correct one.

My previous computer was using Windows XP Pro. I used Outlook for my e-mail program. Many times I saved e-mails in the Outlook format – .msg I bought a new computer that now is Windows Vista and the Windows Mail is .eml format. I am unable to open any of my old saved messages of the .msg format. If I try, it opens a box asking me which file format I want to import contacts from, which makes no sense to me. Is there any way to open these .msg messages in Windows Vista? I am a bit frustrated that this hasn’t been a “uniform” type updated system. Thank you for your help.

You are quite right to be frustrated, Microsoft really dropped the ball with having different file formats for Outlook and Outlook Express/Windows Mail. It’s another example of how pointless the name “Outlook Express” was for Windows Mail was when the two programs have nothing in common.

All of that aside, there are tools that allow you to open .msg messages, but the simplest solution is to download the Office 2007 Trial Edition then use Outlook to open the files and then save them in .txt format where they can be read by almost any program.

Have updated to Norton 360 on main computer now can’t access this computer on my network places

Regards John

Hi John,

The problem is almost certainly firewall related. The Norton 360 is blocking access from other computers.

This is proper behaviour for a firewall, unless told otherwise the system will block anything that’s potentially a problem and other people trying to connect to the computer is certainly a problem.

To fix this, you’ll need to tell Norton 360 to trust your local network.

Open Norton 360, click Tasks and Settings then Advanced Settings and Firewall Protection Settings.

In the Firewall settings, click Network Location. In there your network will be listed under Limited Locations, highlight it and click the arrow to it the Trusted Locations box.

There are some other errors that can cause this with the network sharing in Vista and XP which can be fixed through changing file permissions and network locations in the Vista Network and Sharing Center.

The Microsoft System Configuration utility tool is a handy program built into Windows versions since Windows 98. It allows you to change how Windows starts and what programs run with it.

This is a very useful function if you are trying to diagnose what’s slowing a computer or to get rid of an irritating message.

To start it, click Start and Run and type MSCONFIG. In Vista do the same except type MSCONFIG in the Search box.

For most people, the important part of MSConfig is the Start Up tab, this lists all the programs starting up with Windows and lets you turn them off with a tick. If you find an important function stops working, then you can undo it simply by ticking the box again.

There are millions of programs that can start with your computer, if you’re not sure what one is then you can search it’s name on the Sysinfo website.

Note though that more sophisticated spyware and viruses hide themselves deeper in the system or hitch hike on legitimate programs, so not everything that starts up will be listed.

The other important part for novice users is the General Tab where you can choose diagnostic startup which is the equivalent to Safe Mode.

The other tabs in the tool are for more advanced users. If you don’t know what you are doing, then you should call for an experienced tech.

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.