IT Queries: Computer problems answered

 Toshiba laptop  using Windows XP home edition.  My system was working fine with battery.  

After running low  I charged it up but the battery icon on toolbar has disappeared and I cannot take out the power cord or computer shuts down.  

When I look on power options in control panel it says the battery isn’t there and says power status is AC  and battery status is unkown.  I did have a new battery put in about 18months ago.

That new battery has failed. You may want to contact the dealer and see what they can do for a replacement but warranties are notoriously tricky with batteries.

Lithium Ion batteries prefer to be partially run down rather than fully discharged. The older Nickle Cadmium had a “memory effect” where it was best for you to fully run them down all the time, but modern batteries don’t like that.

You may also want to make sure you are using brand name batteries and the proper, brand name, recharger. Cheap generic replacements can cause problems.

Recently I received a note to say that my PC had a virus attack. I did turn of the computer and when I tried to re-start it it came up with a screen that I did not have before which indicated that I was part of a network with my user name for a log on. When I tried to logon it came up with “starting up” then immediatly came up with “computer shutting down”. It is now NOT letting me start up at all. any information will appreciated.

Unfortunately you have a serious virus infection.

You can follow our removing a trojan instructions by downloading the spyware removers on another computer, transferring them to CD or flash drive then copying them to your infected computer while it’s running in Safe Mode, but it’s probably unlikely you’ll remove it and that assumes the computer will actually start in Safe Mode.

A virus infection of this size is probably best dealt with by a professional computer technician as it can be extremely difficult to remove.

I tried the Microsoft Office 2007 trial version. I decided to go back to Office XP. However, now Outlook reports an error message “‘Unknown error 0xF5940107 Could not open the item. Try again” when opened.
Also, all my Outlook pst files that I saved in Outlook 2007 now give the following message:
“Unable to display the folder. Microsoft Outlook could not access the specified folder location. Could not open the item. Try again.”

The Business Contact Manager displays the following error:
”Unable to display the folder. Microsoft Outlook could not access the specified folder location. An unexpected error has occurred. MAPI was unable to load the information service BCMMS.DLL. Be sure the service is correctly installed and configured.”

The only pst files that will open are older files containing pre-2007 emails, that were not updated by Outlook 2007.
Do I need to purchase Outlook 2007 to restore these folders?

The problem is Outlook 2007 and 2003 stores their files slightly differently to earlier versions of Outlook. When you did the upgrade to 2007, you chose to convert the pst file which contains Outlook data to the new version.

Now you’ve gone back to Outlook 2002, the system can’t read the 2007 formatted file.

The solution is easy if you still have Outlook 2007 as Microsoft describe on their knowledge base article, “You receive a “.pst is not compatible” error message when you open an Outlook 2003 or Outlook 2007 .pst file in earlier versions of Outlook”

The problem for you is getting Outlook 2003 or 2007 on your system. In the first instance, try re-installing the Outlook 2007 trial, if the original trial hadn’t expired, you may be able to do the export.

If it hasn’t, then the best solution would be to find a friend, neighbour or colleage with Outlook 2003 or 7 and copy the file to their computer where you can then do the export.

Finally, your local computer guy may be able to help. Most computer shops and mobile techs will have a computer running a recent version of Outlook and can do this work for you.

Why did a disc shatter in in my DVD Burner? I have just got a new computer (2 months old)with Vista Operating system.

The disk probably shattered because it was damaged. A modern CD or DVD disk drive spins disks at up to 10,000 revolutions per minute.

At those speeds, the slightest damage or flaw in the disk can cause it to shatter. A few years ago, disk manufacturers stopped selling 52X CD burners because the speeds were simply too dangerous for this reason.

If you notice damage on a optical disk (DVD, CD or BluRay) don’t use it or, if it contains important data ask your computer tech to burn a new copy for you at the lowest possible speed.

You may also want to get your computer tech to check the CD drive wasn’t damaged by the exploding disk and remove any left over plastic.

I was working on a word document at uni then emailed it to myself to work on at home later. When home i open the file from my email ( not save it) and work on it for several hours. I then click “Save” and close the document only to find out that it hasn’t saved into the usual document folder. Can i still get this file back and how. Many thanks

This is some bizarre behaviour by Microsoft that dumps Outlook attachments deep in your temporary files rather than your documents folder.

To find the lost documents first set your computer to view hidden and system files.

Once you’ve followed those instructions go to a folder starting with OLK (sometimes OLK92) in the following folder  C:\Documents and Settings\your user name\Local Settings\Temporary Internet Files and you’ll find the file there.

You can permanently change where Outlook dumps the file by following Microsoft’s instructions on setting the default attachment folder in Outlook but be warned that changing the registry is a task best left to experts.

I am upgrading from Office 2003-2007. How I keep all my outlook contacts and emails as I replace Office 2003.

Outlook 2003 and 2007 use what’s known as Personal Storage (.pst) files. Outlook 2007 can use 2003 pst files, but it doesn’t work the other way.

Generally, the upgrade goes fine and all your emails, addresses and tasks transfer across to 2007 without problem.

However it’s always good to err on the side of caution and back up your 2003 pst file just in case things go wrong.

On our PC Rescue website we have the instructions on backing up the files and a link to the microsoft tool that does this automatically.

I can insert a SD card and read it, I can then eject it using the icon with a green arrow on it. however when I put in another SD card it won’t find it. I’m using win 2000 profesional. it works OK with usb flash drives.

The problem is the drivers for the SD card reader. Windows 2000 is particularly buggy with flash media as it was only becoming coming at the time of it’s release.

It’s unlikely you’ll find updates from the manufacturer for Win2k and the device itself is probably ten years old. Although a visit to the Windows Update

After updating internet explorer 8, some sites are not opening. How do I remove internet explorer?

The first thing to try is uninstalling Internet Explorer from Add/Remove Programs. Follow our instructions for uninstalling software and choose Window Internet Explorer 8.

If you can’t remove it, Microsoft have a removal tool and further instructions on their website.

Before running the removal tool, we’d strongly recommend backing up your data as a damaged Internet Explorer installation can cause problems for a Windows computers.

When I send an email with an attached photograph. It doesn’t appear to leave my Outbox but arrives at its destination as many as 19 times. I have contacted our service provider, Harbour IT who took me through a series of tasks but the problem still exists. Can you help?

The likely suspect is the time your email program waits before giving up. You need to change your timeout settings.

In Outlook Express, click Tools, Accounts, highlight your email account and click the properties button.

In the account properties window, click the Advanced tab and under Server Timeouts move the slider to the extreme right, which will show the timeout as being five minutes.

Click okay, restart the computer and see if that clears the problem.

I recently bought a mobile broadband modem which connects on every machine but the one I need it too. I have a Dell Inspiron 1720 running Vista.

The software loads, there are no conflicts but when I try to connect to the net, I get “connection terminated”.

I have removed and re-installed the software several times and rebooted the machine.

As it works on other computers, I would think the mode is not faulty. Any suggestions?

The modem isn’t faulty. As you’ve gathered, if it’s working on other machines then it isn’t the hardware.

This problem is almost certainly a Vista driver problem. The solution will be to download the latest software for the modem from the manufacturer’s website.

When you do this, make sure you uninstall all the old software and reboot before setting up the modem using the new drivers.

There may also be some quirks with the telco’s setup having one of your other computers handy will allow you to check your settings to make sure you are accessing the right access point and have the right login details.