Monday, January 29, 2001		Dr Tribune

Dr Tribune: Just open the outer cover of the computer. After removing the outer cover you will see all it’s components, including, motherboard, hard disk etc. Look closely and you will find a button cell on it. Simply remove the button cell from its slot and replace it back. This will erase all passwords and also any special settings that have been saved to the BIOS. However, it will not affect the data, operating system or any information on the hard disk. After replacing the button cell, put the outer cover in place.

Regarding your second problem, you can definitely upgrade your computer to 17 GB HDD, 128 MB RAM and CD Writer. There would be no problem, absolutely.

Dr Tribune: The logic provided by your computer vendor is not correct. No matter, how cold it gets, the kind of noise mentioned by you is a cause of concern. Heat does affect the working of computer; however colder climate is considered better for computer. Now this kind of noise could be because of two reasons:

1) The fan in your SMPS is jammed or there is dust in it that might be making noise. In this case you must either get the SMPS serviced or replaced.

2) The CPU fan, which is mounted on the processor, has developed some snag, or any wire, which normally dangles in the computer, is obstructing the CPU fan. Thus when this wire touches the rotating fan, it creates noise. The best solution would be that you open the computer’s outer cover and check it out first that no wire is too close to the CPU fan. If everything in OK, then try concentrating on the SMPS fan, which is on the back of your computer. The problem would normally be related to either of these cases.

Dr Tribune: Most probably, you have Windows ’95 installed on your system. This error comes mostly in cases, when you install, then remove and then reinstall Windows ’95. This problem is because, DriveSpace 3 from Microsoft Plus! for Windows ’95 places real-mode drivers on the hard disk that are not removed when you delete the Windows folder. When you reinstall Windows ’95, Setup places a DriveSpace VxD in the Iosubsys folder that is incompatible with the DriveSpace 3 drivers. In order to correct this problem, you must replace, the Drvspacx.vxd file in the Iosubsys folder with the correct version from the original Microsoft Plus! disks or CD-ROM. The Drvspacx.vxd file is located in the Plus_1.cab file on both Microsoft Plus! disks and CD-ROM. You can extract the Drvspacx.vxd file by using the following command extract <drive>:\ plus_1.cab drvspacx.vxd /L <destination>. Where <destination> is the Windows\ System\ Iosubsys folder and <drive> is the drive containing the Microsoft Plus! disk or CD-ROM.

Dr Tribune: ODBC Driver is basically used in Microsoft Excel. These drivers help in accessing an external data source by creating a link. So, whenever the source changes, the linked file also changes. The ODBC driver can be installed from the MS Office CD, by following this procedure:

1)Close all open programs.

2)On the Start menu, point to Settings, and click Control Panel.

3)Double-click Add/Remove Programs.

4)Click the Install/Uninstall tab, click MS Office or MS Excel, and then click Add/Remove.

5)When the Set up dialog box is displayed, click Add/Remove.

6)Click Data Access and ActiveX Controls, and then click Change Option.

7)Click Database Drivers, and then click Change Option.

8)Select ODBC drivers you want to install. To install all ODBC drivers, click Select All. Click OK and then click continue, and follow the directions to finish Setup.

Dr Tribune: Data transfer rate normally depends upon a lot of internal and external factors. However, external factors are out of your control, but you can certainly do something internally to improve the download performance. First of all, you should use the correct version of driver and should not use the V.90 version of driver unless the ISP specifies it. You should also not use extensions on the phone line. In order to boost the download speed, you can also download some good boosters, which help in improving the Internet experience.

Dr Tribune: Your computer vendor is right to the extent that downloading and installing too many games and shareware programs may affect the performance of your computer. Frequent installations may increase the size of your computer’s registry, which becomes a potential source of it getting corrupted. Moreover, sometimes games install some drivers on your computer, which makes it slow. If you wish to utilise the computer for dual purpose, i.e. for playing games as well as work, then you can install two operating system on separate partitions of your hard disk. You can keep C drive for your work purpose and the other drive for other purposes. This will help you in maintaining the performance of computer in a better way.

Dr Tribune: Regarding the operating softwares are concerned, I feel that Windows- 98 Second edition is still power packed and offer good features and resources to the users. However, Windows Me, which is a new addition to the Microsoft family, is equally strong and is rather better in areas like Video etc. However, performance wise I personally did not find much difference between Windows 98 SE and Windows Me. Basically Windows Me is based on Windows 98 only but it excel in some features. So, your decision to upgrade is not wrong.

Regarding the USB port, please check in your BIOS Setup that the USB support is enabled, and then try to load the software.

Net meeting is a very user-friendly software and is also very easy to use. All you need to have is an hotmail account and the person you wish to speak with, should also have a Hotmail account. You can simply create a list or record of all your friends and relatives in net meeting and can chat with them online. The best way to learn this software is to use it. It is absolutely self-explanatory.