IT Queries: Computer problems answered

Can you recall an email sent through Hotmail?

Unfortunately not. Hotmail, like most other web based systems, doesn’t support this.

On some email systems you can recall sent messages but even then you can’t guarantee they will be recalled before they are read by the recipient.

One of the important things with email is to take a deep breath before sending them. We have more advice on email etiquette on our PC Rescue website.

We have a laptop with Windows XP loaded. We have forgetten the password to unlock it on startup.

We’ve covered this problem before and it’s relatively easy to fix if you are competent with computers, patient and have another machine available.

If you find the program difficult to use, then you should call in a computer tech.

Once you do get the problem fixed, it’s important to run the XP Password Reset Tool. Microsoft have instructions on how to do this, however you will need a floppy disk.

I’m using a Telstra Next G Sierra Aircard 880U modem to connect to the Bigpond Wireless Network

The connection seems okay but after a few minutes it freezes up, if I swap ports the status shows “Device not Connected” the only thing I can do is restart the computer.

This is a common problem we’ve been hearing a lot about. It appears to be a problem with the software and drivers provided on the CD.

The solution is to download the drivers and firmware for the 880u from the Sierra website, they have both Mac and Windows software. Make sure you download both the software and firmware upgrades and print out the instructions.

Follow the instructions, running the software update first. It’s important to let these installation wizards complete without interruption so make sure your laptop is plugged into a power source.

Be careful in the setup process with the service you choose; if you are Telstra subscriber the settings are different to the Bigpond service. You may have to contact Telstra or Bigpond for further instructions.

My new mobile phone has “bluetooth”. I’ve searched my computer but it doesn’t seem to have the necessary chip, although its only 6 months old. Can something be put into my computer to make it talk to the mobile using bluetooth? I believe that’s the way to download photos from the phone to the computer.
Thanks,
Margaret

Bluetooth is a way of communicating wirelessly between electronic devices. It’s a common alternative to using a USB cable.

It’s unlikely Bluetooth is the only way to communicate between your computer and phone, most phones have a USB cable option. It will be worth checking with your manufacturer or local phone shop to see if you can buy a USB kit, which will also include a CD.

If Bluetooth is the only way to connect then you can purchase a USB Bluetooth adapter. This plugs into a USB port and costs under a $100.

Sometimes it can be a bit tricky setting these up, if you do find yourself with problems, give your local computer tech a call.

Can you convert old audio cassette tapes to CD and MP3.

Walter

You certainly can, Walter. You need to plug your cassette player into the Line In jack on your computer’s sound card. You may need to buy the right cable from your local electronics shop.

Having done that, you should download the free Audacity program to capture the sound files and save them to your computer.

Audacity also includes a feature to remove any pops or hisses that were on the original cassette and we’d recommend doing this.

Finally you can burn the files to a CD or convert them to MP3.

While the process sounds fairly simple, it usually takes a few attempts to get right. Make sure you have at least a Gb free on your computer and that the line in function on your soundcard hasn’t been muted.

An excellent tutorial on this can be found on the nsftools site.

Best of luck.

I have bought a webcam and can see myself clearly but not the person I am talking to. I get stripes down the screen?

The fact you can see yourself means it is a problem with the software you are using or the Internet connection. The first thing to check is if this problem is happening in other programs.

Discuss the problem with the people you are trying to talk to and try using another program to see if the problem goes away. Trillian is a popular program but you can also use Yahoo! Messenger, Skype, ICQ or any other service that supports video.

If it is still a problem, you’ll need to check with your Internet provider as certain ports or services might be blocked or your plan is too slow to support video calls.

In this case, without knowing what the software is that you’re using it’s difficult to give detailed advice.

Every time I’m opening a wordsheet a question is stated on the screen to enable micros.

One of the older ways to spread viruses was to use malicious macros in Word and Excel. A person could be tricked into opening a word document, a macro would run in the background and infect their computer. The infected computer would then pass on the infected document.

To overcome this, Microsoft introduced a macro security system where only certain macros can be allowed to run.

In the first instance, we’d recommend uninstalling any unused programs and removing an macros from the Word start up routine. We describe how to do this in another post.

You can change the system settings to stop this message. This can be done by opening Word, clicking Tools, Macros and security.

In the Security options click “Low”. You’ll notice this is not recommended and you must have a reliable, up to date virus checker when you do this.

Click okay and the macro message will go away. But remember that your level of security is now not so high.

Macros are mini programs that are designed to run basic tasks. Microsoft Office has a fairly powerful macro writing system that enables users and programs to automate simple function.

Because this tool is so useful many programs like to add macros to Microsoft Word to improve their functions.

Macros though are fairly clumsy tools. They can go wrong, interfere with other functions or even carry viruses.

In our view, it’s best to minimise the number of macros that start with Word and Excel.

Most macros are built into the standard Word document, called Normal.dot. You can disable them by searching your computer for all files called normal.dot and renaming them to normal.old. This method may change other settings like custom fonts and may not disable macros in existing documents.

Other places macros can lurk is in the various Office startup folders. Word macros lurk in the Startup folder and Excel macros in the XLstart. These hide in the C:\Program Files\Microsoft Office\OFFICE11 folder. Note the Office11 folder changes on the version of MS Office in use.

While macros are useful, we’d tend to discourage programs that rely heavily upon them. This is another reason why it’s a good idea to uninstall any programs that you aren’t using.

Since my Grandchildren visited and downloaded music, I have been plagued by Pop-ups. What is the latest free program I can use to stop this nuisance.

Unfortunately you have a malware infection. Your computer has picked up a program that feeds adverts into your computer. The people who put this rubbish on computers deliberately prey on kids looking for free music.

We have instructions on removing this stuff in a previous post. Keep in mind it can be difficult to remove these infections so you may have to call a computer tech in to assist you.

We’d suggest setting up limited user profiles for your kids. We have instructions on doing this on our PC Rescue website.

I have Outlook Express 2003. In Outlook email, in the tasks section, I want to use strikeout on my tasks but I cannot work out how I did this previously. The help section suggests to go into format then fonts, but when you get to font this is not highlighted

I assume you mean Outlook 2003. Outlook Express is a different product that doesn’t support task or calendar functions.

The strikeout function is hidden away in the customize view function. To access this, open Outlook, go to Task then click the View menu, select Arrange by, Current View, make sure Simple or Detailed List is the selected view then click Customize Current View.

Once in the customize view, choose Automatic Fonts, Automatic Formatting, highlight Completed and Read Tasks and click the Font button.

All the font options, including strikeout and changing colours are available there. You can change whichever settings you like and click okay to return to Outlook.