Monday, February 23, 2004		Dr Tribune

QI have Pentium 4 845, 128 MB RAM, GB motherboard, 40 GB hard disk, glide cable Internet connection. I have the following problems: 1) The control panel of my system doesn’t respond. It says, "access to the specified path is denied." 2) The same error is displayed when I try changing my desktop settings.

Kindly guide as I own a cyber cafe and am suffering a loss because of the problem.

A This error occurs when the path is not enclosed in double quotes in registry. Like you have mentioned the error in double quotes, similarly the target for the short cut or for any component either in Program files or in registry is being entered in double quotes. (") If the double quotes are missing, then normally this error is returned. You can troubleshoot this error by simple editing the registry and putting target back in double quotes. Also, if you have created a folder by the name of Program Folder on your hard disk, then also this error may occur.

Q I am using Pentium III 600 with 256 of RAM and a 40 GB hard disk with Windows XP professional loaded on it. My problem is one of the search engine links has come to stay on my explorer though each day the history as well as the contents and cookies/temp files are cleared in the Internet Options after each session on the Net. Whenever I try writing any URL address starting with the first letter of the link, it shows itself in the drop-down box of the address bar. All my efforts to locate and delete it have proved futile. Please help me locate its path and or the way to delete it. My computer is protected by Norton 2003 anti-virus, the Internet security and a pop up stopper.

A First of all you must upgrade your Internet Explorer to version 6 with all latest security patches and service packs. Then, you should make sure that the search engine in question is not being set as home page. Some sites, using the security holes in the Internet Explorer set themselves as home pages, without your information and thus it does not get removed from the address bar. Because whenever you open Internet Explorer, the Home page is bound to open and which therefore reflects in the address bar. This problem is more common in the older versions of Internet Explorer or the one, which does not have necessary security patches or service pack.

Q My problem is my hard disk (Samsung 40 GB) is not showing correct space. Instead of 40 GB, it only shows 31.4. I have scanned it many times and it does not show any bad sectors. I tried to format it but again it showed 31.4 GB. Then I used FDisk to delete the partitions and again it showed the same amount of unpartitioned space. I have also tried various jumper settings but to no avail. Can you please suggest a solution to my problem?

Manpreet Singh, Chandigarh

A In all probabilities you have tried to install Linux on your operating system, which has formatted the hard disk with its own file system, and is thus not reflected in the FAT 32/NTFS file system. If you have tried to install Linux, whether successfully or unsuccessfully then you will have to reformat the portion of hard disk, which was used for installing Linux with FAT file system. This will solve your problem.

Q I have P III, 866 MHz, 192 MB RAM, 20 GB hard disk with four partitions C, D, E and F, operating system Windows ’98 SE on C: & Win XP on D: drive, Intel 82810e Graphics Controller. I recently purchased EA Cricket 2004. After installation it does not run and quits to reach desktop while loading. I upgraded the drivers from the Internet but they do not work. Please help me at the earliest.

A I have not tried this game, so I cannot say for sure what could be the troubling factor. But going by the logic, you must check if you have ActiveX control installed on your system as in majority of games, this causes the majority of problem.

Q I have a PC with the following configuration: Cyrix - III, 800 MHz processor on Intel 810 chipset Tomato Motherboard with 64 MB RAM and 20 GB hard disk. This computer is a part of a network of 10 computers administrated by Windows NT Server 4.0. On the network this computer plays the role of a standalone server using Windows NT Server 4.0 with Service Pack 6 and MS Office 2000 without any games or extra screensavers and use the other computer as domain. The hard disk has four NTFS partitions.

My problem is almost every week Windows NT crashes in this system saying the message, "Winsrv could not be located. Beginning dump of physical memory." Then it displays a counting till 100 and then the system restarts. I changed the hard disk to other system to analyse if the problem is due to RAM or motherboard but the problem persists. Please tell me what is the reason of Windows NT crash every week and its solution.

A This error is usually caused by a corrupted or invalid software registry hive, or by a missing or corrupt Winsrv.dll file. To Solve this problem, install a parallel install of Window NT and copy over Kernel32.dll, Ntdll.dll, Win32k.sys, User32.dll, and Winsrv.dll. Also, if you had started the installation of a service pack - and it failed to install - you may get this error because of the wrong versions of .dlls installed. In this case the method to solve this problem is as under.

1. Boot up an alternate version of Windows.

2. Look for the directory\%windir%\$NtServicePackUninstall$\spuninst

3. In that directory you’ll find a spuninst.bat file. Make sure the path references relate to the right drive letters - and then run the file. The batch file returns all files back to the previous versions.

Q I have a seen a file when I use the floppy drive it shows a one extra file always. Then I used anti-virus software and it shows a virus whose name is "W32/pesin.b.worm." How can I remove this virus? Please help. My e-mail id is navi_b4u@hotmail.com

A Check out the site of trend micro, McAfee, Panda and Symantec for details on this virus and download the tool from one of these sites to download the virus removal utility and remove the virus. You can also opt for online virus scan at www.trendmicro.com or www.mcafee.com to hunt down the virus. If you have the latest version of anti-virus software, then you can also boot with the anti-virus CD and remove the virus from your system.

Q I have a system with P-II, 233 MHz, Window ’98, Office ’97, Flashget 5.0 (software for downloading), 10 GB hard disk (C: 5 GB, D: 5 GB), 64 MB RAM, Sound card, Samsung CD ROM 52X, FDD 1.44 MB, External modem Intex. (seemingly 56.6 KBPS). I have installed Internet rocket (software for increasing Internet speed). I have some problems:

1. Sometime when I connect to the Internet via dial-up (BSNL-NETONE), my modem dials the number but I am disconnected from the Internet without verifying username and password window. After dialling it produces normal sound but disconnects. The call is normally of three minutes. Please suggest some settings so that the modem should try to connect to the Internet for three minutes (1 call) if it is unable to do in its first attempt.

2. I have an e-mail account on rediffmail.com, yahoo.com, sify.com, indiatimes.com, hotmail.com and Outlook Express 5. I want to configure my rediffmail, indiatimes and Yahoo! e-mail accounts in it. Please tell me regarding incoming and outgoing servers and how to configure my e-mail accounts.

3. Can you please tell me free software for faster uploading of files to the Internet (attaching files to e-mail)? Please tell me the Website providing the above-mentioned software for free.

Manjit Singh, Yamunanagar

A What I understand from your problem is that your telephone line is faulty and needs attention. Dialling up the Internet connection and then disconnecting means there is noise/disturbance in the line. This problem could also be due to the earthing problem in your telephone line, which is normally reflected by a hum sound. Regarding your query for some setting so that the modem should keep negotiating for three minutes without dropping is not possible, since the ISP server has a common setting for all users. If in other cases, this can be done easily in a single attempt. I suggest you to check the line for the problems and do the needful for the right solution. Regarding your second query, rediffmail, Yahoo!, Indiatimes, cannot be configured on your e-mail client ( Outlook Express). However, you can configure Hotmail easily on Outlook Express. The procedure for this is very simple and self-explanatory and all you need to do is open Outlook Express and under identities choose add and then follow the instructions, which would come on your screen. As far as Sify is concerned, if you have the Internet account from Sify, then you get the POP and SMTP addresses also, which you can configure in any e-mail client including Outlook Express.

Q I have a branded HCL computer. Its present configuration is P III, 750 MHz, 64+128 MB SD RAM, 40 GB Seagate HDD, Windows XP operating system. (20 GB Seagate HDD, previously). My problem is nearly a month ago, the computer started making an unusual noise. Concurrently, error messages starting appearing like "We apologise for the inconvenience, but Windows does not start up properly. A recent hardware or software change might have caused this..." followed by options like "Do you want to start Windows - normally, -or with previous known good configuration, - or in safe mode?" The computer starts normally in any mode I select. Then, after two to three days, the computer does not boot up at all. After the welcome screen, the monitor just goes blank. My computer vendor says the hard disk is gone. Indeed the computer started to give the error message, "Disc Boot Failure. Please Insert System Disc." Then I purchased a new HDD, Seagate, 40 GB, loaded the Windows XP, and computer started normally. But the unusual sound persisted. I opened the cabinet and found that the CPU Fan was not running and the sound was coming from it. It started to run after I cleaned off the dust on its surface, but the sound still persisted. However, two days ago, I again started to receive that old error message: "We apologise..." along with the new message "The windows has been shut down to prevent damage to the computer. A problem in software or hardware might be the reason..." Also, at the begining of boot, the Windows showed bad sectors in the HDD. Please tell what is the problem with my computer. I shall be grateful.

A From the description of your problem, it appears the problem in you case is due to a faulty CPU fan, which is causing undue heat and therefore system failure. Replace the CPU fan immediately. You must note that over a period of time and due to environmental conditions, the CPU fan can get clogged and may need replacement. Mere cleaning would not work as it may not run at desired RPM, which could be necessary for cooling down the CPU. As far as the bad sectors are concerned, if the bad sectors have come up so early, then you may get it replaced as it would be under warranty.

For all your computer-related problems contact Dr Tribune at drtribune@tribuneindia.com