IT Queries: Computer problems answered

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.

Every time we update our Windows XP Professional 2002 Service pack 3 programme, it causes our computer to cut out the top tool bar when we access Explorer. We are both novices at IT, so have no idea regarding rectifying this problem, other than using System Restore and going back a couple of days before the update. Why is this so ?

It sounds like the position of the screen changes. Press the Alt key and the space key (Alt-Space) together and you’ll get the dialogue box that include Move and Size. Choose Move and you’ll be able to drag thescreen to where you want it.

How can I change the default player on my computer? my default player now is quicktime player and I want to change it to windows media player. thanks…

To change all the default settings it’s best to do it through the Windows Program Defaults settings. In Windows XP, click Start, Run and type control. In the Control Panel click Add/Remove Programs and click on Set Program Access and Defaults.

In Vista, click the Start button, select Default Programs, then Set program access and computer defaults. You might be prompted to confirm the operation or provide an Administrator password.

In the Program Access settings, choose Custom and expand the list by clicking the double arrows pointing downwards to the right. Scroll down the list until you get to  Choose a Default Media Player where you’ll have all the available media players. Tick the box for Windows Media Player and the box alongside that reads Enable access to this program.

Click okay and reboot the computer.

I have an Acer Aspire Laptop with Home Vista Basic and a Trial Version of Symantec Anti Virus 2008. I uninstalled the Symantec Antivirus from the Laptop and installed Avast Free. Whenever I boot the Laptop, Windows Firewall is Off. I turn it on and it stays on. Reboot it’s off. I uninstalled Avast. Still the same problem…… HELP!

First, make sure there are no other firewall programs running. It is possible there is something else in there interfering with the Windows Firewall.

Make sure Norton is fully uninstalled by running the Norton Removal Tool. This will make sure remnants of Norton aren’t interfering.

Next, click the Start button, click find and type services.msc click enter to open the Services window. Scroll down the list of service to the Windows Firewall Service and set it to Automatic.

Restart the computer and it should now be running

How oi I disable the crt+alt+delete and the start menu for the other user in the computer? im using administrator account and i want to disable in order to maintain the safety of the computer. thanks.

You can do it through the Group Policy Editor in Window XP Professional and Vista. The Elder Geek has instructions on using Group Policies.

The problem with this is that Group Policies are a powerful tool and can cause problems unless you know what you’re doing.

Generally, we’d recommend leaving these functions alone and just locking down the other users with Limited User profiles and protecting the administrator profiles with strong passwords.

How do I go about networking both XP and Vista computers?

You’ll need to setup file sharing on both computers. Microsoft have instructions for sharing in XP here and for Vista here. You’ll need to connect both to a switch or a router either wirelessly or through Ethernet cables.

There are some tricks. We find lots of problems with firewall and security programs. Microsoft have instruction on changing the built in Windows firewall settings on their website.

You also need to make sure that all the folders you want to share have had their sharing enabled and permissions granted.

Troubleshooting network problems can be fiddly so if you find it’s taking too long you should call a computer tech to have a look.

When I look at my network in Windows Vista I see the Vista computers and my router but none of my Windows XP computers. 

Vista’s network mapping function relies on a protocol called Link Layer Topology Discovery (LLTD) protocol. This isn’t part of Windows XP.

You can download and install the necessary programs for XP to use this service from the Microsoft website.

As far as we’re aware, there isn’t a LLTD add in for Apple Macs. If you want to use a mixed Mac and Windows network with these functions, it’s probably best to use the Apple Bonjour service.