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Random Access

Instant Replay: August 2000

Bruce Preston, Moderator

 

Reminder: As a service to members, if you are unable to attend a General Meeting and would like to have your question submitted, e-mail it to askdacs@aol.com by the day before the meeting.

Follow up on a previous item:

I also have run across the problem of Windows not shutting down when you tell it to do so. I have found that if you have mapped network drives active, Windows may not shut down because it still thinks the drives are active. The way to eliminate this is to use Windows Explorer / Tools / Disconnect Network Drive.

Moderator’s note: I checked this on a client’s notebook machine that was notorious for not shutting down. Sure enough, when we disconnected the mapped network drives, the machine shut down properly. We removed the drive mappings permanently from his system, and created a batch file (and associated icon) that he now runs when he connects the notebook to the LAN. The batch file
contains DOS’s NET USE command(s), such as NET USE G: \\servername\sharename
Thanks for the follow up.

Q. (AskDacs) My machine has been working fine for several months, but now I can no longer defrag the C: drive. The other partitions defrag nicely. What is preventing me from defragging C:?

A. Windows will not defrag a drive if it detects that an application is writing to the drive. Be sure that you have temporarily turned off Norton Utilities (such as System Monitor, Crash Guard, Speed Start,) screen savers, anti-virus software and personal firewalls. If defrag still won’t run, then boot in “safe mode,” turn the above off again, and try again. If this still fails, then boot to “command prompt only” and run the defrag utility - it is usually found as C:\windows\defrag.exe

Q. I am not satisfied with the scanning results on my HP 5100 series ScanJet scanner. Can someone recommend a software package that has better OCR performance?

A. A member with a similar problem reported that the software bundled with the software (Caere OmniPage Lite) worked much better once new drivers were downloaded from HP’s site. Start at
http://www.hp.com/cposupport/jsnav/schome.html

Q. Does Windows 2000 have a DOS Window?

A. Yes.

Q. Is there any way to prove or disprove the availability of a parallel port?

A. CheckIt for Windows, Norton Utilities 2000, and OnTrack System Suite 2000 all have hardware diagnostics. Some make use of a “loopback plug” which replaces the printer cable and sends data sent to the “printer” back to the printer adapter where the utility can read it after the round-trip. A simple printer test that works for most printers is to boot to the command prompt (not a command window) and then type “DIR *.* >LPT1:“ which will send plain ASCII text to the specified printer ports. Almost all printers will accept plain ASCII text and print it in the default font, usually Courier. This will
NOT test to see if the printer cable is bi-directional capable, which is required for most newer printers. Newer printers make use of the additional capabilities of bi-directional printer ports and cables to report printer status beyond the “offline” and “out of paper” error states.

While we are on the topic of testing printers, here are other things to look for: In the system BIOS (i.e. SETUP before the machine boots), check to see that the printer port type matches the type required by the printer. Most require ECP or EPP ports (Extended Capabilities Port and/or Enhanced Parallel Port, respectively.) If you are still having problems, try the following: a)
borrow a known to be good IEEE-1284 printer cable; b) make sure that you have the latest driver for the printer; c) go into device manager and delete your parallel ports, then go into control panel and delete your printer(s), then do a power-off shutdown. Boot the machine. Windows will re-install the printer port(s) and then re-install the printer.

Q. My printer doesn’t print yellow. How can I check it?

A. First, run the stand-alone self test. Usually, this is initiated by turning off the printer, disconnecting the data cable, and then holding the Form Feed button while turning the printer on. (See your manual to see if this the method for your particular printer.) If it doesn’t print yellow during the self test, then you know that it is the printer or print head/cartridge. If you know that the cartridge has yellow ink (Yellow, Cyan, and Magenta are the three colors used to create the others), then run the
printer through one or more head cleaning cycles. Some printers let you do this while the printer is disconnected as well. If you still don’t get yellow, it is probably time for a service call. If you do get yellow, then it is something in your machine or (less likely) the cable. Make sure that you have the latest drivers for your operating system. Reconnect and then open Start / Settings / Printers, and right-click on the printer. Select Properties, and then run the “Print Test Page.” You should get a
multi-colored Windows flag on the test page.

Q. I bought a used computer - whenever I install software, it wants to register the software to the previous owner’s name. How do I fix this?

A. Windows 3.x built the core component during installation and embedded the registration information within - you had to re-install. With Windows 9x and later, it is in the registry, in several places. Microsoft puts the registration for the operating system in the key: My Computer\HKEY
Current_User\Software\Microsoft\Windows\CurrentVersion\RegisteredOwner. MS also places registration info for MS Office in My Computer\HKEY_Current_User\Software\Microsoft\MS Setup(ACME)\UserInfo, other vendors use similar keys. You can do a search on your name in RegEdit via EDIT then FIND.

Q. Every time I boot the machine, it finds the printer port and insists upon re-installing it. The HP OfficeJet 600 (a combination fax, copier, printer, scanner, etc.) wants to override the port definition completely. How do I get it to install correctly, once and for all?

A. Another member solved the problem by first letting Windows install the Windows drivers. He then went into Device Manager, and marked the ports as “disable in this hardware configuration”. This will keep Windows from trying to re-install them. Then install the HP drivers as per the HP instructions.

Q. I have a machine with an internal IBM 56K modem - on a machine running Windows 98 SE. It shows up properly on device manager, and claims that it is functioning properly. However, if I go into Control Panel, then Modems, and select it, it appears as associated with COM2. In Diagnostics - More Info, it complains that the device can’t be found or is already open. Needless to say, the modem doesn’t work. Suggestions?

A. Most motherboards come with two com ports, which default to being COM1 and COM2. The modem card is an ISA card, and “Plug ’n Play” but is not a PCI card. We suspect that the machine is getting confused - that it actually has one of the motherboard comm ports also on COM2. Go into the CMOS settings via the machine SETUP (available during power-up) and see if either of the com ports is set up as COM2 - address 02F8 and IRQ 3. If so, change the com port on the motherboard to “disabled.” Another possibility is that you have software that has already claimed control of the modem - such as an answering machine software, fax software, etc. Check to make sure that they
aren’t running.

Q. Is there a way to delete recent Internet Explorer “visits”?

A. Go to VIEW / INTERNET OPTIONS and go to the CONTENT page, Personal Information, AUTO COMPLETE and change settings there. You might want to take a look at X-SETUP, which is a super-set of the popular TweakUI utility - this free utility fine-tunes all of your windows settings. Go to www.xteq.com and download x-setup v5.6. By the way, if you are going out to web sites via a
gateway at a corporate site, be aware that the gateway/firewall is probably keeping track of where you go.

Q. I downloaded Windows Media Player 7.0 onto my Windows 2000 Pro machine. It seemed to work just fine until I rebooted, Now it crashes. Any suggestions?

A. See if it works better with Windows 2000 Service Pack 1 - which has just been released. Go to
http://www.microsoft.com/windows2000/downloads/recommended/sp1/ordercd.asp and fill in the form. It has all of the recommended security patches as well as all of the accumulated bug fixes.

Q. Microsoft Outlook 2000 seems to crash a lot. Any suggestions?

A. Compact your message stores. (This is usually found associated with your mail “profile”.) Use Qualcomm’s Eudora Pro.


Bruce Preston is president of West Mountain Systems, a consultancy in Ridgefield, CT, specializing in database applications. A DACS director and moderator of the Random Access segment at the monthly general meetings, Bruce also leads the Access SIG. Members may send tech queries to Bruce at askdacs@aol.com. Responses will be published in the next issue of dacs.doc.

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