Monday, June 11, 2001		Dr Tribune

Q I have an Intel Pentium III processor, 810 motherboard, 64 RAM, Windows ’98, LG 52 MAX CD ROM and 20 GB hard disk capacity. My CD ROM broke two CDs. Is their a fault in my CD ROM?

A. If your CDs were broken while running them in your CD ROM, then you can believe that your CD ROM has some problem. Normally, such kinds of problems are associated with the alignment of CD ROM. Regarding this problem, please consult the hardware vendor and get your computer checked. Also take precaution not to tilt your PC while running. Moreover keep the PC exactly perpendicular to the ground (in case of tower model) and also do not put it at a shaky platform. These precautions can solve your problems, if your CD ROM is not faulty.

Q. I have an assembled Pentium 200 MHz PC. I had recently upgraded its hard disk from 1GB to 8.4GB.Then I had it partitioned into c:, d: and e. Before upgradation there were only c: & d:(CD ROM). I had not used my computer for a month and when I reused it, I was surprised to see that I could not open d: (neither from the Windows Explorer nor from DOS). I even scanned my computer for viruses but there were none. My other problem is that my computer checks for errors whenever it is not properly shut down. And each time there is some error. It says "73328 bytes (the number may vary each time) have been lost in some file. Do you wish to delete the file?" Every time I delete it but the next time again it gives the same problem. Please help.

— Mohit Sharma, Chandigarh

A. It appears that the CD ROM driver in your computer has become corrupt or the file MSCDEX is missing from your system. So, you must reinstall the CD ROM driver again in order to check this problem. This problem may not necessarily occur due to virus, as there could be several reasons for this. However, it is not a serious problem and could normally happen in cases when the hard disk is upgraded and old programs are being copied on it. Regarding second question, there is no problem as such as automatic running of Scandisk is a normal feature of Windows and whatever lost clusters are being found in this process, it is reported as files. Since, each time the computer is not shut properly, the information written on your system is either not written or is only half written. Thus in all such situations, scandisk collects these lost cluster and stores them as a file. Therefore in the light of these facts, you need not worry about it, as it does not represent a problem.

Q. I have an assembled PC with Celeron 667 processor, 64 MB RAM, 810 motherboard with Windows ’98 OS. I tried to configure my Yahoo! account on the Outlook Express 5.0, but didn’t succeed. I selected my Pop Configuration from the Yahoo! site, the details of which are as follows: E-mail id: sharmaparv@yahoo.co.inLogin Name: sharmaparv ncoming Mail Server(POP3) :pop .mail.yahoo.co.in Outgoing Mail Server (SMTP) : smtp.mail.yahoo.co.in Please guide me how to configure my account on the Outlook Express so that I can handle my mails more continently.

— Parveen, Barnala

A. In the mail settings, please change the pop address as pop.mail.yahoo.com and the smtp address to smtp.mail.yahoo.com. This will solve your problem and you will be able to use your account in Outlook Express. However, in configuring Yahoo! in Outlook Express, you may come across some problem in sending mails. Thus, in this regard I would suggest you to use your ISP’s smtp address. As it will speed up your outgoing mails. Using this method you can have the best of both the worlds.

Q. I recently purchased an assembled PC with the following configurations — P III 733 Mhz, 815e Mercury motherboard, LG CD-ROM and 20GB HDD. My current operating system is Windows Me. I want to use Linux with Windows Me. My hardware vendor says that it is difficult to find drivers for Linux. I don’t know anything about it. Please tell me where can I find drivers for Linux. Also tell me which OS of Linux is better for learners.

— O.S. Sandhu, Jalandhar

A. It’s a good idea to have Linux along with other regular operating system on the computer. Linux has a feature that it can co-exist with any operating system and can be installed on any partition. However a separate partition would be better. Now as far as finding drivers for Linux is concerned, you can find almost all drivers on CD of your hardware’s drivers. If it is not provided on the CD, then you can download it from the Web site of the manufacturer’s site. As far as the best Linux version is concerned, it is quite subjective. But generally speaking, Linux Red Hat is the most popular and best version. However, I would recommend you to buy a reference manual on Linux first, which also has all the necessary CDs on Linux. This way you get all necessary CDs of operating system as well as programs at one place and though reference manuals you also get step-by-step online help.

Q. I have P III with 600 MHz processor and Windows ’98. My problem is that when I start my computer it gives an error message SPOOL32.The program has performed an illegal operation and will be shut down. If the problem persists contact the vendor. My second problem is that when I connect to the Internet using Motorola speakerphone modem (internal) sometimes my system hangs. Please guide.

— Aman Goyal

A. For solving this kind of problems, we need to know the full details of your problem, which includes exact error message that you get including the module number etc. Without knowing which module conflicted with Spool32, the errors are almost impossible to clear. Not all Spool32 errors are caused by the same problem. In fact, they can all have many different causes, and most can be solved by knowing which module is conflicting with Spool32. You can get the necessary details of this problem, by clicking in the details button of the error box. The details of the error message though would be quite long but the exact module and memory address will sufficiently define the problem for me to solve.

Regarding your second problem, please send us the details of your browser and also run scandisk in thorough mode and check out errors, which could be present on your hard disk. Also please avoid opening multiple sites at the same time as most often this also cause the system to hang.

Q. I purchased a Priya Mother board for Intel 700 MHz (bus speed 100Mhz) processor. Within seven months my two hard disks have crashed (20 GB). Is it due to motherboard problem? The motherboard is compatible for 500~600 Mhz PIII as per the manual. Also while shutting down Windows I hear a click sound in the hard disk. Please reply.

— P. Robin Jacob

A. Normally, the motherboards, which are compatible for 500-600 MHz, are also compatible for 700 MHz also, although due to their wrong jumper settings the capacity of the PC might not be optimised. However, if it is written categorically in the manual of your motherboard that it will not support above 600 MHz, then you must consult your hardware vendor.

Regarding the problem of hard disk crashing, at the first instance I do not think that this could be due to some problem in your motherboard. However you must get your hard disk rechecked and take special care to handle you hard disk well. Also take care in mounting it properly and put it at a flat and stable platform. Sometimes due to bad alignment hard disk crashes.