Monday, September 10, 2001		Dr Tribune

Q. I have an assembled PC having the following configuration - Intel Pentium II processor, 64 MB RAM, 4 GB Hard Disk, Creative CD ROM, 3 ½" floppy drive, GVC External Modem 33, 600 BPS, Windows '98 SE. My problem is that while working on the Internet whenever I click on any link of the .pdf file to open it, after waiting for some time the message appears, "Could not launch Acrobat!" But I have Acrobat Reader 4.0 installed on the computer that works offline while I have some .pdf files in the computer. The computer opens them without giving any error message. Could you please tell me what the exact problem is?

A. Normally in order to view the .pdf files available on the Internet, you will need to download them first. If you will try to open these files online, then you may get this kind of message. So, for viewing the .pdf files on your computer, please download them and then view it using Acrobat Reader.

Q. I have P III 800 MHz, Mercury 810c motherboard, 128 MB Ram, 20GB HDD (Seagate). Recently I upgraded from Win '98 to Win Me. After upgradation everything except the scanner (HP Scan Jet 3300C) worked fine. When I tried to reinstall the scanner software, it showed the following message "The setup program was unable to turn on your USB ports. Please contact your computer manufacturer's support line to assist you in turning on your USB support in the BIOS ". The scanner works well with Win '98. What is the exact solution, please suggest.

A. It appears that you are using the USB port to run your scanner. Now, in order to turn it on please go to the CMOS settings by hitting Del at start-up. Next go to BIOS features set up and locate USB Support option and by using the page up or down key, enable the USB support on your PC. Now restart your PC and try using the scanner. By all probabilities you will be able to use the scanner using the USB port. However, if it does not work, then open Control Panel from My computer and then click on System. Now click on device manager and check out whether the USB drivers are set correctly. If it is not set properly, then you will see a round before the icon. In this case read the message correctly and then troubleshoot the problem. You may also have to reinstall the driver using the motherboard CD. But it will surely correct your problem.

Q. I have Intel Celeron, 8.4GB HDD, 64 MB RAM and Windows '98 SE, 48x Samsung CD ROM, SC-148F. I face a problem while accessing the CD drive whenever I click to CD drive, e:\ , I get a message, e:\ is not accessible. The device is not ready though the system reads the CD ROM while reading it on boot. In device manager CD ROM properties shows Hardware Version: Not Available. As of this, I have not been able to access my CD ROM. Please help me regarding this.

A. You need to reinstall your CD driver as it appears that your CD driver has become either corrupt or is not working properly. I think that installing the driver again would solve your problem.

Q. I have a Celeron 466 MHz computer, 64 MB RAM, 20 GB HDD assembled PC, Logitech mouse, SM 56 PCI Speakerphone Internal Modem (Motorola) .My problem is that I am unable to get drivers of modem for upgraded Windows like 2000 XP. So I want to know from which site should I download its driver as I had whole of Motorola site that doesn't benefit me. Also I have installed Linux. I also want to know how to install modem driver to Linux and from which site can I get it.

Chetan Gupta, Ludhiana

A. The recent versions of Windows like Windows 2000 etc already have the necessary driver support for the modem mentioned by you. So, if you are going in for a clean install, then the Windows will automatically install the driver for your modem. However, for Linux, you will have to source the driver and normally you will find it on the CD that comes with the modem. However, if you do not get the driver you require, then you can search it on the Web and you can easily find it at the manufacturer's Web site. Otherwise you can also search the site www.windrivers.com for the driver you are looking for.

Q. I have an assembled PC, P III, 500 MHz, 64 MB RAM, 10 GB HDD and Windows Me as OS. I often encounter the following problem while opening the Explorer window. "Explorer has caused an error in shlwap1.dll (or linkinfo.dll). If you continue to experience problem, try restarting your computer." Similar type of problem is encountered in other programs such as MS Word, Visual FoxPro etc. The problem is usually solved by just relogging or sometimes by restarting the computer. I tried to reinstall Windows Me but the problem persists. Please tell me the cause and solution of the problem.

Munish Garg, Sangrur

A. This problem could be due to many reasons and there are many ways to solve this problem. First of all try the IE repair tool in Control panel> add/remove programs. Now highlight IE and click add/remove. Put the bullet in repair. Close all open programs and restart the Windows. If this does not solve the problem, then try replacing the file shlwapi.dll. You can download this file from the Internet. This will solve your problem. Otherwise as another alternative you can try reinstalling the Windows.

Q. I have a Celeron assembled PC with Azza 810 DTC motherboard, 64 MB RAM, 10.2 GB HDD, 1.44 MB FDD, Toshiba XM-5602B and Win '98 SE installed on it. I am using onboard sound card but my right speaker doesn't work. I have tried a number of drivers and also reinstalled windows but it is still not working. Both speakers work well on my friend's computer and on my cassette player? A socket is given on my motherboard that indicates TV out. There is not much of detail about it in the users' manual. It has nearly 25 pins for signal whereas the television needs only two pins or two wires. How can I utilise it? Thirdly, I have Toshiba CD ROM drive Model - XM-5602B. My CD-ROM does not detect a CD present in it. While sometimes it automatically starts detecting and accessing a CD with good efficiency. I've checked all cables.

A. Regarding your first problem, you must first of all check the Volume Control Balance; if it is set to one side. Then it will produce sound from one speaker only. Since you have written that you have tried the correct sound card drivers, it appears that you have set the Volume Control balance to one side. Please check it and correct it by placing it in middle. Regarding your second problem, there could be various kinds of socket for connecting your TV to your PC. You can use more information about this on the manufacturer's Web site. Regarding your third problem, open the Control panel>Systems>Device Manager. Now check out the exact problem in the CD ROM tab. If there is some problem, it will be mentioned here. However, if it is shows that device is working properly, then you will need to reinstall the correct CD ROM driver again in order to use it efficiently.

Q. I have a Pentium I, 166 MHz, 32 MB RAM, 20 GB hard disk system and Windows '98 SE installed on the machine. Please clear the following queries:

1. The size of command.com has increased from 93,880 bytes to 93,890.I have already run Norton anti-virus 2000 that has not detected any virus. I also overwrote the file with the original size but after some days the size grew to 93890 bytes. What could be the possible reasons? Please note that I have partitioned the hard disk into four partitions of 5 GB each using the Samsung disk manager downloaded from the Net. Secondly, what is degaussing the monitor that is often replied as solution to various queries?

A. Increasing the size of command.com does represent a problem as it can increase due to many factors, which are normal function of your PC and because of some addition of system entry. So, once you have tested it for virus, and your PC is not found to be having any, you need not worry about it. Regarding your second problem, degaussing simply means demagnetising. Thus degaussing a computer display removes any undesirable magnetic field that may have built up within the display, causing distortion of the image or colour. Since the colour monitor uses the cathode ray technology so generation of undesirable magnetic field is a common thing. Therefore this is the first step in troubleshooting of monitors.

Q. I have Pentium III processor with CRD hard disk. I want to install one more hard disk with the older one. Is it possible? If yes, how?

Jaspreet Singh, Chandigarh

A. You can always add additional hard disk on your PC by making the second hard disk as primary slave or secondary slave. You can also make it a secondary master drive if you do not have a CD ROM installed on your PC. All you need to do is set the jumper setting of your hard disk and connect the hard disk connecter accordingly. Now detect the hard disk from the BIOS setup and then reboot your system. This will make your hard disk functional.