IT Queries: Computer problems answered

If someone used my computer and logged on to msn messenger, are the log in name and password stored in my computer?

The short answer is “it depends”. If the user ticked the box asking to remember details when they logged in, then yes it is.

If they didn’t, it is still possible relevant files have been saved in the registry, in the user’s profiles or in the temporary file storage. Even if they are encrypted it may be possible to find them.

This is why it’s good practice to wipe a computer after use to make sure data isn’t saved.

Should you be asking in the hope you can find the user’s log in details, be careful as in many places you will be breaking the law should you log onto someone’s account without their permission.

I am using windows XP. I am on Microsoft Outlook for my email and I have gmail as my default email.

What should i do? should i go to control panel, firewall, and go to advanced and press return to default? i am scared to as it said some things could be lost. I think at some point last week I pressed a button somewhere saying ‘reset’ but i can’t remember what i did . thank you so much.

Email error 554 really doesn’t tell you much except the message has been rejected by the recipient’s server. It could be for any of a number of reasons which could lie on your system, your Internet provider’s servers or a problem at the other end.

One common problem is time and dates. If the clock on your computer is seriously out, then some servers will reject emails sent from it. So checking your computer’s time and date is a good first step.

You should also check your return addresses are correct; for instance if you are sending out emails saying you’re with AOL when you are really with Comcast will be another reason for servers to reject your emails.

If the problem continues, call your Internet provider and get their support line to walk through your email settings to ensure they are correct. Beyond that, the problems are either with the various mail servers or your ISP.

I have been having issues associated with my PC from the past 6 months. Whenever I try to insert a single stick of 512Mb of memory or two of them in pair, my PC either freezes or restarts with a blink of blue screen on booting up. Occasionally, if it does load successfully, there is no obvious increase in performance of the speed and the games as well like The Matrix Path of Neo, NFS Mostwanted etc. My PC has a 2.0Ghz of Intel Processor, an ASUS P4S533-VM board, 256MB of DDR memory, 128MB of nVIDIA Geforce FX5500 AGP card, 80GB HDD and a 350 Watts Cooler Master PSU.

It sounds like the problem lies with the memory not being compatible with the motherboard or the RAM sticks you already have on the system. Often there are timing issues between different sets of memory sticks which negate any benefit the additional memory might add.

The best solution is to take the system to your local computer supplier along with any manuals and invoices that came with the equipment and RAM so the technicians can get the right memory.

Keep in mind it may be necessary to replace the older memory with some newer sticks as this could overcome the problem, also as the ASUS P4S533-VM is an older board it may be difficult and expensive to find the right upgrades.

I am trying to upgrade from XP to Windows 7 and I’ve purchased a Western Digital external Hard drive so that I use the Windows easy transfer but I cannot save anything to this drive as it doesn’t appear as one of the available drives.

In Device Manager it shows as working correctly. It uses Windows USB drives so I have checked these. I have also used WD Help and they initially thought I had a faulty or damaged drive but I have the same problem with the replacement drive.

The likely problem is Windows has given the wrong drive letter to your external disk which is already in use by another device. This is a common problem on networks.

To fix it, you need to tell the system to change the drive letter. To do this, right-click My Computer, then click Manage and select Computer Management (Local)

On the right hand side of the screen (pictured above) click Disk Management then right-click the new drive and select Change Drive Letter and Path(s).

Click Change, and in the list, select a drive letter for the external drive that isn’t being used by another drive. It’s usually best to leave a few letters spare so this doesn’t happen again, for instance if the existing drives are C:, D: and E:, choose H or I. A good choice is R for “Removable Drive”.

When you’ve selected the new drive letter, click OK, and then click OK again.

My windows XP won’t start. I shut down the computer yesterday, today when I started it it will run till the windows boot screen, when the bar reaches the end the screen will stay black and nothings happens

Really appreciate any help.

The problem sounds hard drive related and running the Windows XP CHKDSK command to see if there are any errors on the disk is the best first step to fix the problem. The old Scandisk command went out with Windows ME.

When you boot from the hard drive, you need to choose the Recovery Mode option which allows you to run basic operations on the system without reintsalling. Microsoft have instructions getting into it on their website. Once you are in the Recovery Mode, type the command CHKDSK /r and be prepared to let the disk check run for anything up to several hours.

If you have important data on the system, it would be best to boot the system from a Knoppix disk and copy all valuable information across to an external drive before carrying out any work.

This post is a follow up our earlier answer on Windows XP won’t install

I’ve run the Dell diagnostic CD and no problems were found. I’ve loaded a different version of XP from another CD with similar results. When I try another reload, you receive a message that there is already an operating system on the hard drive do you want it deleted.

This suggests that XP is being loaded but can’t be booted/activated. I now have a variation on the earlier results in that when the computer attempts to boot into XP it requests that the Service Pack 2 CD be inserted then press Enter. Doing this had absolutely no effect.

What you’re describing is consistent with what we suggested in our previous post. If anything, it indicates the problem is with your hard drive.

The Dell Diagnostic CD doesn’t run a disk surface check unless you choose Extended Test and this is what you’ll need to do. Note that Dell advise this may take an hour, however if errors are found it can take substantially longer.

Dell have more details on their Diagnostic programs on their website. If your system is still under a Dell warranty, you should note any errors reported by the Diagnostic routines and call Dell support for further assistance.

When you watch or listen to live streaming of radio and TV broadcasts are you using your data allowance ??

Whenever you do anything on the Internet you are using data. Every website you visit, every email you read and everything you watch and listen to.

This is why if you are with an Internet Service Provider (ISP) that has a data allowance you need to choose the plan that has sufficient data for your needs.

Generally we’d recommend a minimum of 1Gb for a light user and 50Gb if you have teenagers in the house.

You should speak to your ISP if you are concerned about the plan you’re on.

When I shut down my computer, it makes a sound (like grunting). Do you know why?

Inside computers there are many things that spin and it sounds like one of those is having a problem when you shut down.

The most likely cause is a disk in your CD/DVD drive or a floppy disk so make sure these drives are empty when shutting down. The other culprit could be tape drives, as older ones can make these sort of noises, your power supply may also be having some problems although that usually makes “grunting noises” when starting the computer.

It may be worthwhile getting a computer tech in to give the system a clean and check all the fans and drives are working properly.

When I am on the internet, there will be times that my computer completely goes off and back to the screen where you click your name to log in. This happens at random times and with no specific website. I have run a virus program. No virus issues. This started about a month ago and is progressively getting worse. I am working on a Compaq Presario pc in windows xp home edition. Never had this problem in the past.

If this is only happening while you are on the net then malware is the most likely culprit regardless of what your virus program says so you should follow our Removing a Trojan instructions to make sure you don’t have an infection.

Should you be clear of any infection, it’s likely your computer is overheating and causing it to reboot. You may need to call a technician to clean out dust out of the system and check all the internal fans are working.

I have many things that appear twice or more in my add or Delete programs file.Why is this …J2SE Runtime three times.

What is all this stuff and do i really need it all taking up space on my hard-drive…. Grateful for any intelligent but simple language reply Thanks

Sometimes Windows programs don’t behave as they should and you get multiple entries but in this case, it appears they are legitimate programs. Java is particularly notorious for leaving older versions on your computer.

The first thing to do is to run the Windows Installer clean up tool which we’ve described in an earlier post. This will clear out any problems.

For programs like Java which have installed multiple versions, it’s probably best to uninstall all of them then download and install the latest version from the Sun Java website.

In the case of the Windows Updates, these are best left alone as they are specific fixes for known Windows problems. Should Microsoft release a Windows XP Service Pack 4, then it may be worthwhile deleting these before installing the new upgrade.

The Visual C++, we don’t know. Do you have a programmer in your household? If so, best let them deal with it or leave the program alone.

Otherwise, it’s best to delete anything you don’t use often. However the general rule with computer is “if you don’t know what it does, then leave it alone” and that certainly applies to your Add/Remove programs.