IT Queries: Computer problems answered

Not able to send using Reply and Forward with broadband BigPond on Outlook emails. We just get a standard reject email.

We have emailed bigpond re this issue several times and though they said they would address the issue in a general email they have not come back to us.

The reason is your email is setup to use the Optus Broadband connection. When you’re connecting through Bigpond, the Optus servers reject the attempt to go through system as they don’t know who you are.

To fix this, you have to set up Outlook Express to use the Bigpond servers.

To do this, open Outlook Express, click  Tools, Accounts, highlight Bigpond and click the Properties button.

In the properties, the servers should both be set to mail.bigpond.com, the account name should be your Bigpond email address and the password your Bigpond password. Remember my password should be ticked and nothing else should be ticked.

Click okay and close then Outlook Express should be fine.

Hi , problem is that since a few days back I was using Windows XP on my laptop and I had some encrypted and compressed (locked) folders in d: in which i kept all my important and private data in .

Now yesterday I formatted my c: to install the new version of windows vista home basic but now whenever I am trying to open those folders or files inside them ,its showing errors saying “access to the folder is denied” or you need permission to access this folder . Plz help me coz the data is really important & I literally can’t afford to lose it .

Thanks .Take care .

Normally this is an easy to fix as this Microsoft advice page explains.

However, you’ve encrypted the drive and I’m sorry to say but it’s unlikely you’ll get the data back.

Microsoft’s encryption is fairly powerful and if you lose your passwords or reinstall Windows you will get locked out.

For this reason our recommendation is to keep a secure, unencrypted backup of encrypted data unless you have serious security requirements.

I’d like to give you better news but in this case I suspect recovery is close to impossible.

I received this email from a friend.

FW: HUGE VIRUS COMING!!! PLEASE READ & FORWARD
Hi All,
I checked with Norton Anti-Virus, and they are gearing up for this virus!
I checked Snopes (URL above:), and it is for real!!
Get this E-mail message sent around to your contacts ASAP.
PLEASE FORWARD THIS WARNING AMONG FRIENDS, FAMILY AND CONTACTS!
You should be alert during the next few days. Do not=2 0open any message with an attachment entitled ‘POSTCARD FROM HALLMARK,’ regardless of who sent it to you. It is a virus which opens A POSTCARD IMAGE, which ‘burns’ the whole hard disc C of your computer.
This virus will be received from someone who has your e-mail address in his/her contact list. This is the reason why you need to send this e-mail to all your contacts It is better to receive
this message 25 times than to receive the virus and open it.

If you receive a mail called’ POSTCARD,’ even though sent to you by a friend, do not open it! Shut down your computer immediately.

This is the worst virus announced by CNN. It has been classified by Microsoft as the most destructive virus ever. T his virus was discovered by McAfee yesterday, and there is no repair yet for this kind of virus. This virus simply destroys the Zero Sector of the Hard Disc, where the vital information is kept.

COPY THIS E-MAIL, AND SEND IT TO YOUR FRIENDS. REMEMBER: IF YOU SEND IT
TO THEM, YOU WILL BENEFIT ALL OF US

 Is it true or should I just ignore it?

Like all good myths, there’s some truth to this one. A few years ago we had a plague of fake e-mail postcards that used various tricks to infect people’s computers. 

Over time, these stopped working as the software companies fixed the holes in their software. Today the main targets, Microsoft Internet Explorer and Outlook Express, are a lot less susceptable to this method of getting malware onto your computer.

That’s not to say there’s no risk today. As the economic downturn bites we’re seeing a lot of scams appearing in our inboxes and these sort of tricks are among them. The people who make these things are smarter and more cunning as well.

So it’s best to be on the safe side. If you receive any email you think is suspicious, then don’t open it. If it’s from someone you know, contact them to confirm they did send something legitimate.

Given the number of scams around, it’s not a bad idea to run a Windows computer in Limited User mode. This restricts the opportunities for viruses and Trojan horses to get on your computer.

We have instructions on setting up Limited User profiles and we’d recommend this for general computer use to prevent the possiblity of things like fake postcards taking advantage of your computer.

A friend has the following problem with lost emails (about 300)

He changed the stored folder location from the default OE one to his desktop. So all his .dbx files were on his desktop.

He then created a folder called “emails” on his desktop and dragged and dropped all his .dbx files into this folder.

He then re-opened OE and changed the location of the stored folder from his desktop to the new folder “emails”. He closed OE and when he re-opened it all his old emails had disappeared.

The question is where are the old emails that were replaced. I ve run file recovery software on his PC and nothing shows up. Any help is greatly appreciated as there are some really important emails missing.

This shows the danger of messing with computers when you don’t understand the consequences.

Luckily, the fix is quite easy and we’ve explained this in our Recovering Outlook Express Messages and Address Book post.

Your friend just has to point the import location to the emails folder on his desktop and all the messages will be imported.

I have been offered a copy of the new version of Windows should I install it?

Yikes! who offered it to you?

First, Windows 7 is still in beta. That means it’s being tested. Do you really want to be Microsoft’s crash test dummy? 

Second, if someone is claiming your getting the latest and greatest cheap or for free then they are trying to trick you. There’s a good chance whatever they are offering you is either defective or infected with a virus or spyware.

Our recommendation is not to install Windows 7 unless you are a serious computer user who understands the limitations of beta software.

You should avoid this generous offer.

Can I connect a computer with windows XP home to a small business server network?

You can however you won’t be able to use the Active Directory features. The practical consequence of this is you’ll be prompted for passwords whenever you want to use network resources like shared drives, Exchange mailboxes and printers.

There are many more reasons than that to use an XP Professional system on a business network as taking advantage of Active Directory gives you a vast range of mainentance and security features.

Connecting an XP Home system is fine for one off or occasional  use, however its not recommended if you’re intending to use the computer as an office system.

To set it up, just enter the domain name of the network as the workgroup name and choose a name for the system that doesn’t conflict with anything already on the network and it should work fine.

Remember the user name you log in as needs to be listed in the Windows Server account manager or you won’t be able to connect.

I posted this question before – please help. In Vista – when I open Help – I get little red crosses – how can I get rid of these please?

This is an irritating Windows problems we’ve covered previously. The solution is probably the second one listed which involves reinstalling the Windows Scripting Shell.

It may be you’ve uninstalled something that’s damaged your system. We’d also suggest following our Removing a Trojan instructions.

I am using XP home edition as my OS. When I try to convert an AVI file to a DVD file using DVD Flick or Convert X to DVD my computer freezes up and eventually turns itself off. This is a recent problem as i had no bother using both programs before last week. Any suggestions? Thanks

Given this has recently started, is happening with two different programs, both of which are heavily CPU intensive, and the computer freezes before turning itself off, it sounds like the system is overheating.

Open the computer and see if there’s dust build up, particularly around the CPU. If there is a light brushing or a squirt of compressed air should shift the dust.

Before doing this, unplug the computer from mains power and leave off for an hour or so before working on it as hitting hot CPUs with a blast of icy compressed air may damage your system beyond repair.

It’s also worthwhile investing in an anti static strap as doing any work inside your computer risks damaging your system with static electricity.

Finally, note that opening the system may get you into warranty disputes with some suppliers. Although a system supplied with Windows XP Home is probably well past its warranty period.

If all of this sounds a bit much then contact your local computer tech to look at it for you.

Do you know when is the next version of MS office coming out as it does not seem worth getting 2007?

For those who already own a version of Office, the current 2007 version doesn’t add much in return for its cost. So most people haven’t bothered and the majority of those with Office 2007 only got it because it came with a new system.

Those that did get it, found a compatibility problem that requires a fix so others can read their files.

The short answer to the question is “no”, we don’t know when MS will release the next version and given their track record of running late with new releases we probably wouldn’t believe the dates anyway.

It’s unlikely Microsoft will add anything radically different in the next version of Office, so don’t hold your breath and keep using the existing one.

The ram of my laptop is 248 kbps how to upgrade that free of cost?

Unfortunately you can’t upgrade RAM for free. It involves buying memory and it’s best to have it installed by a competent technician.

In your case, it sounds like you have 248 Mb of RAM in your laptop which indicates a fairly old system so you may struggle to find reasonably priced memory.

If the computer’s running slow, it might just need a cleanup. Should you need new RAM, you may find a new system is a far more sensible purchase.

I’d suggest taking your system to the local computer shop and asking them what the options are.