Monday, December 18, 2000		Dr Tribune

Dr Tribune: There are two ways of dealing with the problem. You can log on to the Web site of the vendor/manufacturer and download the required driver of the product for the specific version of the operating system. However, in your case, the second solution is easy. Windows 2000 has some marvellous qualities, which include fast and easy detection of hardware and plug and play devices and also installing them automatically. You can put the modem in place and let Windows 2000 search the most compatible driver for it. In 99 per cent cases, the software will detect the hardware as well as the most compatible driver. If this does not happen then you can ask it to search it in the CD-ROM or the floppy disk, which you would have received with the modem. Place either CD-ROM or floppy in its respective drive and let Windows 2000 automatically search for the driver. The Windows 2000 will itself pick up the most suitable version of the driver.

I have a computer with an Intel Celeron 300 MHz processor that runs on Windows 98. I face a strange problem. When the monitor is powered on first and the CPU later, the system works fine, but when the CPU is powered on first and monitor is powered on later, the PC re-boots and then the keyboard refuses to respond. To correct this problem, either the keyboard has to be disconnected from motherboard and re-connected or power to the CPU has to be turned off and then on, leaving the monitor on.

Dr Tribune: The problem in your case appears to be related to your UPS or CVT. Actually, the UPS or CVT being used by you seems to be underrated and it cannot take the entire load of your system. Thus, when you switch on the monitor first and the CPU later, the system boots normally. But when you switch on the CPU first and the monitor later, the monitor draws a heavy load momentarily, causing the CPU to re-set. So, in this case it is in your interest to start the monitor first and the CPU later. However, if you are interested in solving the problem permanently, then either you should reduce the load on your power source, get its battery back up checked or get a UPS CVT with a higher rating. As far as the problem of your keyboard is concerned, you must consult your hardware vendor.

I have a Pentium III 500 MHz based computer system with 128 MB RAM running on Windows 98 operating system. But whenever I look at the System settings in the control panel it gives the following information; Computer: Genuine Intel, Pentium(r) II Processor, Intel MMX(TM) Technology 127.0 MB RAM. Why should the system show a Pentium III instead of a Pentium(r) II? Does this mean any kind of a fraud? However, when I start my computer, it shows P-III 500MHz Processor. 2) In the past, you had written that the site www.pcpitstop.com analyses and checks the computer. I visited that site and on analyses of my computer it shows that my Internet Explorer does not support ActiveX Control for that I will have to reinstall the Internet Explorer (IE). At present I am using Internet Explorer 5. What is the role of ActiveX Control in IE? And how do I solve this problem. Is it necessary to have ActiveX Support? 3) The site www.netsetter.com claims that visiting and registering with this site can increase the speed of Internet browsing. What do you say?

Dr Tribune: Your computer system is detecting the Pentium –III processor as a Pentium II due to a conflicting with the system settings of your Windows. I think that the Bios settings are more reliable and you can ignore the systems settings. Regarding your second query related to www.pcpitstop.com, I think you have misinterpreted the results of pcpitstop. It does not say that your browser does not support ActiveX control. It only conveys that these drivers are not installed on your computer. You need not worry about it; there is nothing wrong with either your computer or your browser. It is also not necessary to have active X support on your computer, as this is required in high-end graphics work etc. Regarding the third problem, The Internet performance boosting software and the likes of sites mentioned by you improves your computer and modem settings, which may improve the Internet performance. However, these software and sites are required to be tested as some of them can even lower the performance.

Dr Tribune: You can download the printer driver for your printer from http://www.epson.co.in/drivers_monoinkjet.htm.

Dr Tribune: It is true that AMD Athlon gives a better performance in case of Multimedia and other graphics related uses, because AMD uses its patented 3D Now technology. Otherwise also, the performance of AMD scores on L1 and L2 cache, bus speed, and also improved bus architecture. Though it is worth mentioning here that Intel and its products namely Pentium-III, Pentium-IV and Celeron have their own strength and scores on other points over AMD. It is true that in case of AMD K62 processors, some patches in the form of software were required for some of the windows based applications, especially in Windows ‘98. But we are not aware of any such patches for AMD Athlon.

Dr Tribune: In all probability you have muted the microphone. Secondly, also check the preferred device in the multimedia properties in the control panel. You may also have selected to use your modems socket for microphone, while you’ll need to set it to sound card. Also see if your sound card has been set to full duplex in the default setting. In a half duplex mode only one person can speak at a time.

Dr Tribune: The warning message in your Outlook Express represents a specific setting. In order to get rid of this problem, kindly disable it. Regarding your second problem, please run scandisk at the DOS prompt, i.e. before the Windows is loaded. You can do this by pressing F8 key immediately after the computer shows your systems window after testing the memory. Here it will ask you for several options. Choose the sixth option, which is related to the DOS prompt.

Regarding your third problem, taking a back up is an essential and easy task. In case of small files, they can be backed up floppy disks. But large data can be backed up on another partition of the hard disk not in use or on a second hard disk. Other back up devices like Zip drives, CDROM etc are also available.

Dr Tribune: All the latest versions of Windows are good and offer very good features. However, for all professional purposes, the Windows 2000 Professional is being considered as the best as it has the best of both the worlds i.e. Windows NT and Windows 98. Windows 2000 professional operating system is equipped with features, which may provide stability along with the latest technology.

Dr Tribune: You can configure as many accounts in Outlook Express as you want. Therefore you can configure you wife’s account also in Outlook Express. Since Yahoo’s pop and SMTP address are known, thus it can also be configured in Outlook Express with out any problems.

Dr Tribune: Improper jumper settings can affect computer performance. The only way to check proper jumper settings is to compare the jumper settings on your motherboard with the operating manual that came with the motherboard. Otherwise you can even look at the jumper settings of your particular motherboard from the manufacturers web site. But unless you are an experienced user you should leave this to your hardware vendor. You should confront your vendor if you feel that he has over clocked your processor. The performance of any computer can be as fast as the slowest peripheral attached to the system.