IT Queries: Computer problems answered

When I surf the web using Internet Explorer, I can’t see any images and just get an empty box with a red X in it. How do I see my images?

You can turn images on in Internet Explorer by clicking the Options menu in Internet Explorer then choose the Advanced Tab and make sure the Show Pictures check box is ticked. Click Okay and you should find that resolves the problem.

If it doesn’t you may have a security program interfering or there may be an other setting you need to change, Microsoft go into some detail on this in their Pictures are not displayed on Web sites in Internet Explorer Knowledge Base post.

Hi can you help me regarding internet security? I have McAfee security and also Microsoft Security Essentials? Do I need both and if not which one is best?

You don’t need two Internet security programs, one will be fine and having two or more security programs running on your system runs the risk of them interfering with each other.

On balance, we’d recommend the Microsoft program simply because it uses a lot less of your computer’s resources than McAfee’s Internet security and anti-virus programs. The computer security companies also have the habit of stinging you with expensive upgrades every year or so.

We have a list of the free internet security programs available on our Four Free Anti-Virus Programs post. All of these software packages are fine for home use.

I decided to Uninstall Internet Explorer 8 from my computer and change to Firefox and Opera for my web browsers.  However, when going to uninstall IE8 it told me that I risk corrupting all the programs that I had loaded since installing IE8. Should I ignore the warning or simply leave IE8 unused on the computer? Thanks.

The warning is a bit over the top however, technically speaking, damaging some files or settings is a possibility (although that’s an indictment on Microsoft’s installation routines and Windows’ general susceptibility to mischief by rogue programs).

Internet Explorer 8 is probably the best of all the IE versions and Internet Explorer is critical to running a lot of basic Windows processes.

On balance, unless there’s something important on your computer that insists on running on an earlier Internet Explorer version, it’s best to leave IE8 on your system. We’ve listed the main four alternatives to IE previously and think all of them do a good job.

I’m defragmenting my hard disc and I’m noticing a strange situation here! before defragging my free space was 110Gb and now when its 31% defragged the free space is 92GB and its decreasing continuously.. any ideas about what I should do now??

Mechanical hard drives store data in blocks, which are like parking spaces in a car park. When Windows saves data onto a drive it “parks” the new information in the first available space and often will break up files bigger than a single block (which are most files) across different parts of the disk. This slows down the system when you want to open or save a file.

The Windows defrag program rearranges the data on your hard drive so all the bits in each file are parked next to each other, making the process a lot more efficient.

Because defrag has to shuffle the stored data on the hard drive, you’ll see the amount of free space available grow and shrink as it goes about figuring where the best place to put data is. It’s the same as when you reorganise a cupboard or workroom.

So don’t worry about it unless you find there is substantially less free space at the end of the process. If that does happen, check your drive for bad blocks or give your drive a clean up.

turned my computer on and this error message appeared;

\windows\system32\config\

Usually data isn’t affected by a damaged registry file, however the damage can sometimes be an indicator that the hard drive is failing. So it’s important to check your hard drive for errors once the computer has been repaired.

Everytime I open an internet site I get a box with the following dialogue:

Line 11
Char 56
Error Object does not support this properly or method
Code  0
URL   http/www.google.com.au/search?
sourceid = navclient&ie=UTF
&&rlz=IT4TSAU_enAU354AU354&q=

When I start my computer a warning appears saying “update manager an error occurred”. It’s something to do with Installshield but I can’t get rid of it”

You’ll need to remove Installshield with the Remove Programs functions on the computer. To do this, follow our instructions on Adding and Removing software.

In many situations it doesn’t appear in the Add/Remove programs box and you’ll need to go into your drive and uninstall it manually by running unwise.exe from the file C:\WINDOWS\IsUninst.

To do this, click the Vista Start Button and in the search box at the bottom of the menu that appears type in C:\WINDOWS\IsUninst. This will open the folder for the Installshield remover.

Then double click the Unwise.exe program and the removal of Installshield will begin.

With Windows 7 and Vista system you may get the User Access Control messages warning you that this might be unsafe and asking if you want to go ahead with it. The answer is you do and you should click Yes to continue with the uninstall.

When complete, restart your computer and the problem will be gone.

I am operating on Windows XP.

Whilst installing the latest version of AVG Free and after re-booting a dialog box appeared with the following message:- ‘The software you are installing for this hardware Non-Plug and Play Drivers has not passed Windows Logo testing to verify its compatability with Windows XP”.

It recommends not continuing,which I did.

What does it all mean ? should I have carried on or not.

The Windows Logo testing refers to Microsoft’s program of certifying that devices and software is compatible with the current version of Windows. The aim is to let consumers know what products are guaranteed to work on their computers.

While the program is a good idea, it involves quite a bit of cost for vendors and Microsoft so not all equipment is certified. Also older products won’t be certified for newer Windows versions and manufacturers rarely bother certifying new products for the older versions of Windows.

So generally you can ignore the warnings and proceed with the installation, just note that running uncertified products on your system might increase the chances of the computer being slowed down or becoming unstable.

How do I safely download a printer driver for Vista for an older printer without having my computer scanned. I do not trust the “let me scan your computer” scam.

You’re right in not trusting services that ask to “scan your computer” before allowing you to download software. Most of them are a scam and you should avoid them.

One of the barriers to using a Windows Vista system was that many manufacturers dropped support for even comparatively recent hardware like printers and scanners, which meant many people reverted to Windows XP when they found their often recently purchased hardware wouldn’t work.

A way around this is to run your printer in “Emulation Mode”. Printer emulation is where the computer pretends the printer is a different, usually older, model.

Running a printer in emulation usually means you’ll lose some features that the older printer doesn’t support and if you’re running a multifunction device with a scanner and fax built in, you will probably find those aspects don’t work on the computer.

Microsoft have a detailed description of how to set a system up in emulation mode at their website. While these instructions are aimed at Windows XP 64 bit users, the instructions largely hold for Windows Vista and 7 systems.

Some printers, particularly the multifunction systems, don’t have an emulation mode and will only work on the systems they have software for so you may have to search the manufacturer’s website for the right drivers.

In many cases the printer manufacturers never released Windows Vista software, this was disgraceful behaviour by printer manufacturers and if you find this is the case with your printer, you may want to consider a different brand for your next device.

How can I use system restore option. It is in “off” mode in my computer?

On your computer click the Start button, usually found in the bottom left corner then right-click My Computer, and  click Properties.

The System Properties box will open, then click the System Restore tab.

Either take the tick off the Turn off System Restore check box or click the Turn off System Restore on all drives box to turn it back on. Click the OK button and system restore will be back when you restart the computer.

If you haven’t turned system restore off, you should also check your computer for viruses as a common trick for malware is to turn of Windows’ System Restore function.