IT Queries: Computer problems answered

my problem is when i try to save movie clips — i usually use windows media player as i can save them— but when i did a general update it changed over to quick time movies when they download and i cannot find were to save the movie clips

What has happened is Quicktime has become your default media player. To fix this, open Quick Time, click Edit, Preferences and Quicktime preferences.

In the Quicktime preferences select File Types and take the tick off MPEG. The next time you try to open an MPG video clip, the computer will ask you what program do you want to use and you can then choose Windows Media Player.

Quicktime caches files in the Temporary Internet Files folder on your computer, depending upon your setup this will be either in C:\Windows or C:\Documents and Settings\your user name\Local Settings.

In Vista, the Documents and Settings folder has been renamed Users, but the layout is the same.

If you can find them, it’s a simple matter of copying them to a more accessible location.

When I install the Hewlett Packard F380 all in one printer on my daughters PC, it fails to fully load properly, its a Vista Home edition sytem, I have used the vista software CD supplied with the printer, all loads OK, but when you turn off the PC and turn it on the next time it does’nt recognise the printer!!!

You then have to put the CD back in again, load the last bit again and then it works?????? trouble is, you have to do this every time! (it is connected via a top quality gold USB cable by the way)

This problem of devices not loading at startup is quite common in Vista. It’s usually a driver problem.

The first thing is to download the latest F380 drivers from HP.

Then, disconnect the printer and uninstall all the F380 printer software. Restart the computer when you are finished.

When the computer has restarted, open the downloaded file and run it. Connect the printer when you are asked to do so.

This should clear the problem, however we have had reports of Vista having problems with multifunction printers, specifically with the scanning functions. If this is case, you need to contact HP.

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.

I recently had problems with my computer. Have down loaded new virus scanners etc but my problem is now with Windows Media Played 9. When I run it I have sound but no picture…. has any one got a solution.. running windows 2000

The usual solution for this is to change the video acceleration setting. Open Windows Media Player, click Tools and Options.

In the Performance tab you’ll find the video acceleration settings, if it’s available click the Default Settings button. If it isn’t, slide the performance bar to none at the extreme left.

Click okay, shut down media player and restart your computer.

My new computer has no sound. It has no external speakers but the built in speaker was fine to begin with. Then we intalled Adobe Shockplayer and Spybot, and the sound was gone. I has a “high definition sound device” installed which Windows says is working properly, but the sound icon at the bottom right corner of the screen has a cross next to it, and flashes “No Audio Output Device installed” when I move the mouse pointer to it. Can you help? I’m running Vista operating system.
Kindest regards, Chance.

Hi Chance,

The problem is probably not related to Shockwave or Spybot. Some device drivers have an irritating habit of just dropping off the system. Sometimes the Windows Update service messes up an upgrade.

The simplest way is to go back to an earlier restore point. We’ve described how to do this in an earlier post.

If this doesn’t work, you can use the Device Manager to repair the driver.

Click the Start button, click Control Panel, and then double-click System. In the system box, click the Device Manager tab. If you are prompted for an administrator password or for confirmation, type the password, or click Continue.

In the Device Manager box, you’ll have a list of all the hardware connected to your computer. Click the “+” sign next to Sound, video, and game controllers and you’ll get details of the audio devices.

If it isn’t working properly, then there will probably be a yellow and black exclamation mark symbol next to the device.

Double-click the errent sound card, and then click the Driver tab. Click Update Driver Software button. Follow the Update Driver Software Wizard to update the sound card driver. You may be asked to insert the CD provided by the manufacturer.

Repairing these problems can be tricky and if you find yourself stuck, it’s best to call out a qualified computer tech to help you.

My son has a computer running Windows 2000 Professional. He created a user name and password to to prevent a minor from accessing the computer. On closing it down and rebooting it he was refused access to the computer. how can he bypass the password to get in?

There is no way of bypassing the login screen if it has been setup, luckily there’s a number of useful tools that allow you to reset passwords.

The best tool in my view is the free Offline NT Password & Registry Editor by Peter Nordahl.

Your son will need to download the tool on another computer and then either burn it to CD or extract it to a floppy disk.

Once he’s done that, the locked computer should be started with the floppy or CD. This will start a mini version of Linux that has allows you to reset the Administrator password.

Read the instructions carefully! and take your time with the tool.

You should also be aware that if there are encrypted files in the Administrator profile, they will be inaccessible after resetting the password. There are also some problems with more advanced functions on Windows servers.

Once the Admin password has been reset, remove the disk, restart the computer and login into Windows using the name Administrator with no password.

Once in Windows, go to the Control Panel, click Users and reset the passwords for all users to something secure.

With minors, it’s a good idea to setup each user with their own Limited User profile. We have instruction on doing this on the PC Rescue website.

This process requires a fairly high level of computer skill, so if you find it’s too complicated, it’s best to call a qualified technician.

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.

I’ve been told to find my IP address. What is it and how do I find it?

IP stands for Internet Protocol, it’s the way computers talk to each other over the Internet. To do this, each computer has it’s own address on the network or Internet.

To find your computer’s IP address, open the Run (Windows XP) or Find (Windows Vista) and type CMD. A black screen will appear and you then type IPCONFIG (capitals don’t matter).

This will list all your IP addresses. IP addressed appear in the form of four groups of three separated by fulls stops (eg 192.168.100.203) disregard those that say “not connected” or have a number starting with 169.

One thing to be aware of is if your computer is connected to a home or office network then the IP address shown is that of the local network, the address on the Internet itself will be different and you can find that through online services like What is my IP.

If you require the IP address for something like Virtual Private Networking, it may be necessary to obtain a fixed IP address from your ISP. It may also be necessary to organise a computer tech to setup your service..

I have I Dantz Retrospect Backup Program and recently I receive the following message every day. I assume my back up is not working properly.

What can I do to get my back up working again properly? Thanks for your advice

There’s two basic ways to address Restrospect Express backup errors.

Option One: Remove restore points

The first thing to try is to delete restore points. On your Maxtor drive find the folder called “Retrospect Restore Points” and delete the file named RestorePoint.rbc

Reboot your computer, start a backup and Retrospect Express HD will recreate the RestorePoint.rbc file.

Delete configuration files

Retrospect cpp errors often refer to damaged configuration files. To do this, you’ll have to remove them.

Open My Computer and go to C:\Documents and Settings\All Users\Application Data and rename the Retrospect folder to Retrospect.BAD. The restart your computer and Retrospect.

If you do this, you will have to reset all your backup settings as Retrospect won’t see the old ones.

We’d also recommend checking the EMC site for updates to your program. Retrospect Express also uses Microsoft’s .NET framework which sometimes gets itself in trouble and can be updated from the Windows Update website.

I have just bought a Ipod shuffle and have not been able to sync my music from my desk top (windows XP sp2) error messages are, could not find required disk and unknown error 1418. I have tried with out success is any one able to help??

It sounds like there is a problem with the disk format. The first thing to do is format the disk. In Windows, open My Computer, the iPod should appear there as a device. Right click it and choose Format.

The format settings should be as follows;

Capacity: The full size of the iPod.
File System: FAT 32
Allocation Unit Size: Default Allocation Size
Volume Label: Can be anything you like

The format options are important, none of the options should be ticked.

Click start, leave it until it is reformatted then eject it. Restart your computer, update iTunes and try again.

If it still doesn’t work on the computer, try it on another. If that still fails return it to the shop for a replacement.