IT Queries: Computer problems answered

I have big trouble and don’t know what to do. I have a 160 GB Seagate Barracuda drive that is not recognized by my computers. When installed in my computer, I can feel it spinning, but the system does not see it.

I have a ton of stuff on it that I cant use now. I had been using it as a storage drive (Windows is not on it). It worked well for a couple of years then all of a sudden it stopped being recognized.

I use XP home on my units but no matter what I do, I can’t get this drive to be seen. I don’t have the money to send the drive to one of those services that will take the drive appart and recover the data. Basically I’m broke. Can you help me? Is there a program that forces the computer to recognize the drives that are connected to it?

It sounds like the hardware controller for the hard drive has failed and usually this is an expensive fix.  One possible solution could be the Spin Rite program, but from your description it’s unlikely.

Generally it isn’t good idea to attempt data recovery unless you are experienced at this sort of work as you can do more damage to a distressed system.

You may want to give Spin Rite a go but our advice is to talk to your local computer tech to see if they are prepared to have a quick and an inexpensive examination of your drive to see if it can be recovered.

My problem is  with Windows XP sp3 and the Firefox web browser. The problem has become worse over last few days.

When I download attachments from Yahoo emails & software programmes the file extensions are not there. Can’t open them on my pc even when try the “Open with…” tab. Files show as “_auto_file”.  All of them show up under the Windows Media Player symbol which is wrong so file type is unrecognised and unable to open.

Tried using Internet Explorer as web browser, but it wouldn’t even let me download.  Yesterday, was able to download one of the Mozilla files (opened using Adobe Reader) from the Mozilla help chat line.  Why could I receive that one file ok when none of the others will?

It sounds like something has messed up your file associations so the computer doesn’t know what to do with the files once you have downloaded them.

It’s an irritating problem we’ve covered before in our Cannot Open Programs post.

Another problem that can affect downloads is not having enough space on your hard drive. This will stop programs downloading and installing properly.

We detail how to free up space on your hard drive at our speeding up a computer post. Follow those instructions to make sure you have space on your system.

I am running windows XP business on a network @ work thru a server environment. Recently we experienced a problem with the server sending out spam, and I was told that my work station may have been the problem because I had several web sites that I was on and left open overnight. My question is that a problem? I have done this for years.

The short answer is “no” and this sounds like either a misunderstanding or a tech who is making up stories.

While it is possible to get a malware infection from an open browser window, having a web page open all night makes no difference one way or another.

If your network is sending out spam then one of your computers is infected with malware. If it’s the server then you have a serious problem.

You’ll need to engage a competent technician to audit your network, determine exactly where the spam is coming from and remove any virus infections.

It is good practice though to turn your computer off at night, if only to save money, reduce your energy consumption and minimise your carbon footprint.

When turning my computer on it loads in stages and feezes, ie i turn it on it freezes i turn it off/on it goes to the next stage windows xp page,  it freezes turn off/on windows start up page, feezes turn off/on blank desktop, freezes turn off/on desktop with icons, turn off/on loads ok and then works fine

What’s causing it to freeze and means i have to turn it on then off all the time before it will load fully?

It sounds like your computer is extremely sick and you need to back up your important data before taking it to a competent computer mechanic.

The most likely cause for this is bad blocks on your hard drive although it may be a driver or another software related problem.

Either way, this is serious and you need to get it to a technician as soon as possible.

When we store some data on the desktop from where that memory is allocated?

Generally, memory isn’t allocated when you store a file on the desktop. The actual storage in on the hard drive which is different to your RAM memory and won’t affect your system unless the disk is full.

There can be problems if a desktop file  is corrupt, virus infected or the icon has some sort of glitch but these situations are fairly unusual.

It is good practice though to keep your computer desktop tidy and keep files organised in files. Also keep in mind some Windows based backup programs won’t save desktop files as they only choose My Documents to save.

Hi, I have Microsoft Publisher on my computer and I run on Windows Vista.

I have a 2GB memory, This message comes up anytime I attempt to open anything from the internet. How can I fix this?

The problem is Publisher can’t convert the webpage into a format it can work with, so it throws out an obscure and misleading error.

If you insist on using Microsoft Publisher, it’s unlikely you’ll be able to resolve it as Publisher is notorious for compatibility problems although you may want to try re-installing the program to see if a damaged installation is the culprit.

Otherwise, you might want to try copying the website into another program such as Microsoft Word or Open Office Writer, saving it and then trying to import into Publisher.

Generally though you’ll struggle with using different formats in Publisher as it is simply isn’t designed for sharing with other programs.

I was using Norton Antivirus which expired few days back. Hence i uninstalled it. But it is still showing in my Add/Remove programs list and its not allowing any other antivirus to get installed.

Norton can be problematic to remove and it’s one of the reasons why we don’t endorse the product.

Symantec are aware Norton doesn’t always uninstall with ease or grace so they provide the Norton Removal Tool to eradicate all traces of the product.

Before running the removal make sure you have downloaded your new antivirus program and you’ve backed up important data. Also note the Norton Removal Tool will remove older Symantec products like Winfax and ACT! so if you are using those, take care.

Many of my file and folder icons (Windows Vista) now have “an icon on the icon.” Most of these are either a double blue arrow, like >>, or a gray rounded square with a white slash mark. Other “designs” have come and gone. One, as I remember, was a red electrocardiogram-like design. What are these and how do I get rid of them? Thanks for your help.

The simplest solution is to download the free Winbubbles programs which gives you a whole range of customisation options as well a quick and easy fix for this problem.

You can download Winbubbles from the Unlockforus website and they have the instructions for resetting icons using the program described on their blog.

Before using the program, it’s best to backup your system just in case something unlucky happens. If you find the program works for you, consider making a donation to the developer.