Log in ....Tribune-- Dr Tribune

2) Playing songs from the hard disk, while using the Internet does not affect your computer’s performance.

3) Yes, normally a full hard disk works slower than the one that is substantially blank.

4) Running of maintenance wizard depends upon the computer usage. For an average computer user, the running of maintenance wizard once a week is sufficient.

5) Voice chat and telephony, work in lower speed also, but for video conferencing or for the use of Web camera, you need a minimum of 33.6 kbps. However, 56 kbps would be better.

I have a Pentium MMX 200 and use Win 98 as the operating system. For the Internet, I had purchased an internal modem of Motorola and installed it properly. The number gets dialed properly, but it hangs during "hand-shaking". It does not connect to the Internet nor is there any login screen.

— Aman Parmar

Dr Tribune: You can try to sort out this problem by reinstalling the dial up networking again. Also please uncheck the "wait for dial tone before dialling tab" in the connection tab of modem properties. Under normal circumstances, this should solve your problem. However, if it does not solve your problem, then you can uninstall the modem and install it properly on another port (com3/com4).

I had upgraded my computer from Cyrix to Pentium III, as my processor failed. Somebody told me that the reason behind the crash was my Creative CD drive or partition in the HDD. Now I have a Pentium III 550 and use Windows 98 as operating system. My problem is that Infrasuit is not installing on it.

— Dharminder Soni

Dr Tribune: Infrasuit of Creative Labs has no known conflicts with Windows 98. So, there is no logical reason for its not installing Infrasuit. You should try again. However, if you wish to use alternative, then install Samsung CD driver, as it works with all major CD ROMs, including Creative 52X.

I have a Compaq 7462 model with Windows 98 and Internet Explorer. If I see an article with pictures on a site, how can I copy it to post it on my Web site? My printer has a built in scanner. After scanning a document, I am unable to post it on my site.

— Rajeev Chibber

Dr Tribune: First of all, you must understand that the copyright laws protect a lot of material available on various sites. However, there are free sites also, from where you can take text and graphics. For picking text from a Web site, just select the text you want and click your right mouse button. You will find copy option. You can use it to copy it to the desired location. Similarly for copying image from a Web site you’ll have to click on it and then click your right mouse button. Choose the save image as option for storing it on your hard disk.

I have been in the business of software development since the last two years. I have P-III, 64 mb tech RAM, 10.2 GB Seagate hard disk, mercury Intel chipset motherboard. Recently my computer started behaving abnormally. Whenever I work with Windows Explorer, my system hangs up. The following is the exception that is generated (exception oe has occurred at 0028:ff02d018 the system is busy waiting for the close dialog box to appear press Ctrl+Alt+Del to restart)
the system does not hang when I am working in other applications. Kindly tell
me the reasons for this and the means to rectify this.

— Amrik Singh

Dr Tribune: Your problem is possibly related to use of any older version of Symantec software like Norton Antivirus etc. If you are using an old version then, most likely this problem is due to it only. Moreover this error also shows that your registry is has also got corrupt, so you may have to edit it. First of all check it out and also let me know, if the cause mentioned by us is the one, which is responsible for your problem.

Should every computer user install a UPS? I work on computer and the Internet. My use is limited to MS Word & Excel. Is a UPS necessary for me?

— Dharam Pal Sharma

Dr Tribune: The UPS is a must for every computer. It does not matter if you use it for one minute or 24 hours a day. It saves you from voltage fluctuations and also gives an uninterrupted power in case of a power failure. As you know that improper shutdown, either knowingly or by accident, may cause damage to the PC, therefore a UPS is necessary for everyone.

First I would like to thank you for a wonderful and a much-needed effort. My problem is that when I try to load software, the system gives the following message: "Out of memory" whereas 83 per cent memory is free.

— Rahul Kumar

Dr Tribune: It seems that there are lots of games, drivers and fonts installed on your system. Or possibly you have installed too many sharewares. As the first step, free some valuable resources by removing unnecessary drivers and games from the system. Second, if the need arises or the problem does not get solved, and then you can increase the RAM of the computer. Also, please mention which Windows operating software you use, as some more fine-tuning in the form of increasing the paging file size would also be required.

I have a PC having 810 Intel chip set motherboard, sound card on board (in-built), Intel Celeron 433 Mhz processor, 64 mb RAM. I have a problem. What is the cause of message box showing illegal operation? Whenever I run any program along with Winamp, a message box appears showing illegal operation appears after some time and Winamp stops responding. I have got my system reinstalled that was of no use. Please tell me a suitable remedy. Is there any problem with the sound card or does the problem lie elsewhere.

— Deepak Sidana

Dr Tribune: Please mention the exact message that you get. As each and every error message has its own meaning, you need to specify the message. There is no need to reinstall Windows, as this problem can be solved. Moreover, there is no problem with the sound card.

In Monday’s edition of The Tribune, I found invaluable information regarding Outlook Express. While explaining the configuration of Yahoo.com in Outlook Express, you did not provide information regarding POP3 server number of Yahoo mail, which is required while linking it with Outlook Express. What is the POP3 server number of Yahoo mail?

— Ajay Sood

Dr Tribune: The POP address of Yahoo is pop.mail.yahoo.com while the SMTP address is smtp.mail.yahoo.com. Though the POP server works well with any e-mail client, yet there are some problems with the outgoing server, i.e. SMTP server. However, for receiving e-mail, you need POP server only.

Log in… Tribune is a great effort in bringing the world of computers and the Internet to a common man. I have not found such informative details on computers, elsewhere and I look forward for it every Monday. I have some queries:

1) I have a home computer, which is Pentium I 100 MHz, 16 mb EDO RAM and 1.2 GB hard disk. I would like to know whether this system is okay for the Internet connection. I bought this system from HCL-HP three years ago. It was an expensive system hence I would like to avoid any further up gradation. What do you advice?

2) To get the Internet connection, I need to have a modem. Whether internal modem will serve the purpose or will I have to buy an expensive external modem.

— Ravish Chatrath

Dr Tribune: Thanks for appreciating our effort. For accessing the Internet, you need a good amount of RAM. Though using your present home computer, you will be able to connect to the Net, yet the performance would be relatively slow. There are two main reasons for that

1) The EDO RAM has a speed of 66 MHz, so they are slower than SD RAM. It’s important to note that the RAM is the most critical component of a computer for accessing the Internet

2) 16 MB RAM is inadequate and may not give optimum performance.

However, the Internet performance is a relative term. If you are a casual surfer, then this PC may serve the purpose. If you wish to have a better performance, then it is advisable to go for a new computer instead of getting this computer upgraded.

For the purpose of accessing the Internet, you may use good quality internal modem like US Robotics or may go for external modem like, Dlink, Aztech and Zyxel

There are some temporary Internet files in my computer. Should I delete them or not?

— Manish Hans

Dr Tribune: You must always delete the temporary Internet files, either manually or using some utility, only after going through the browser’s instructions properly. Moreover, you should also delete *.tmp files present in your temp folder. These files are unwanted yet take up unnecessary space. Thus, deleting these files may improve the computer’s performance. There is a good site also on the Internet, www.pcpitstop.com, where unnecessary files can be removed automatically. It also checks and analyses the computer.

My computer has Windows 98 but its settings are not proper. It has two colour options, i.e. 256 and 16, and I am unable to move the bar. Please tell me how to do my colour settings. My second question is how to use the Outlook Express.

— Charu Dureja

Dr Tribune: You have not written about your current setting and the problem you face due to your computer’s colour settings. Broadly speaking, these settings also have a lot to do with the AGP card. If your AGP/VGA card is old then, it may not support higher colour resolutions. Or, if you have a good AGP/VGA card, then probably it is not properly configured using the correct driver or you are still using default VGA driver for the system. If this is correct, kindly change your VGA display settings then and install the correct driver for your AGP card.