dacs.doc electric

Random Access

Instant Replay: September 1998

Bruce Preston, Moderator

DACS MEMBERS who are unable to attend the monthly General Meeting may still pose questions to the group by submitting their questions to askdacs@aol.com by the night before the meeting.

Q. Recently, Windows 98 started locking up my machine approximately every half-hour. Any ideas what might be doing it?

A. Probing by audience members uncovered that you had installed Norton Utilities/Crash Guard. There is an update release that cures several problems that show up under Windows 98, including some that lock up the system. Download it by selecting "LiveUpdate" from the Norton Utilities menu.

Q. I have an Insignia (Toshiba) desktop system that shortly after starting blanks the screen. What likely causes this?

A. It was suggested that the high-voltage transformer in the display might be failing once it gets hot. Try substituting a different display to make sure that the problem is the display and not the display adapter. If it's the display, you will need to repair it (typically about $100) or replace it.

Q. I have an annoying problem. When I boot up, my computer says, "Drive F: is not ready" and also asks me to enter a password. The "enter your password" message offers a "Do not ask again" option, which I always select but to no avail. How do I get rid of these messages? The machine has never been networked to a LAN or other machine.

A. It sounds like you may have a residual drive image, perhaps from a compressed drive, which was incorrectly removed. The "enter your password" message might be triggered by Dial-Up networking if you have an Internet connection. There is a large write-up on dealing with Windows password problems on the "Windows Annoyances" Web-site. You may find the answer there.

Q. If I have a choice of Windows 95 or Windows 98 on a new machine, which should I choose?

A. If it's a laptop, there are more power-saving features in Windows 98. Windows 98 also has 3,000 fixes of things wrong in Windows 95. (And 3,000 new bugs? Sorry.) Lastly, it supports USB (Universal Serial Bus) devices, although there are few USB devices available as yet. The general consensus is to go with 98 for a new machine but not to rush to update 95.

Q. I get my 35mm photos developed and digitized. When I bring up the images in Photo-REI, which came from the photo service, I can save only an entire "collection" rather than single images that I can then manipulate individually with software. How can I get just one image?

A. After some discussion between members in the audience, it was found that the questioner had tried most of the suggestions. It was recommended that the vendor be contacted.

Q. When I exit MS Office 4.1 applications such as Word, Excel, or Real Audio (Windows 3.1x, 16-bit), I get an "EMM386 Error 6" message. What is happening.

A. Four suggestions:
(1) First make sure you are using the EMM386 that shipped with Windows rather than the one included in DOS.
(2) EMM386 is sensitive to bad hardware cache, so see if you can disable it in your BIOS Setup screen. (Note: this will slow the machine considerably, so it is only a diagnostic test).
(3) Disable HIGHSCAN in the EMM386 reference in CONFIG.SYS.
(4) Look into using a third-party memory manager (if you can find one) such as QEMM-386.

(Follow-up revealed that AutoCadd does not have a problem with the machine. It uses its own expanded memory manager, which points a finger to the EMM386 driver you are using.)

Q. Does anyone have the URL for the Better Business Bureau? The Connecticut Bureau was here a while ago, but I can't remember where they are?

A. http://www.bbbonline.org

Q. I have a P-II / 300MHz machine with 64MB of RAM, Win 95 that continually gets "GDI Resources Low" from Norton Utilities.

A. Get the Norton Utilities update referenced in the first question. You might also want to
remove Crash Guard and Fast Start temporarily and see what happens. GDI refers to "handles" that are used to keep track of windows, pushbuttons, scroll bars, and icons that are active on the screen; it has nothing to do with the amount of memory in the machine.

Q. Can anyone tell me how to find a TrueType font for the symbols used to write Gregorian chant in the classic form rather than those for modern musical notation?

A. There are a few applications out there that let you manipulate or create TrueType fonts. One suggestion was Fontographer, but at about $500 you may find it a bit pricey for hobby work. Other names that people mentioned were FontMonger and FontManager. Searches of the Web found many font library management programs but not font creation software for TrueType fonts.

Random Access

Instant Replay: September 1998

*Bruce Preston, Moderator*
DACS MEMBERS who are unable to attend the monthly General Meeting may still pose questions to the group by submitting their questions to askdacs@aol.com by the night before the meeting. Q. Recently, Windows 98 started locking up my machine approximately every half-hour. Any ideas what might be doing it? A. Probing by audience members uncovered that you had installed Norton Utilities/Crash Guard. There is an update release that cures several problems that show up under Windows 98, including some that lock up the system. Download it by selecting "LiveUpdate" from the Norton Utilities menu. Q. I have an Insignia (Toshiba) desktop system that shortly after starting blanks the screen. What likely causes this? A. It was suggested that the high-voltage transformer in the display might be failing once it gets hot. Try substituting a different display to make sure that the problem is the display and not the display adapter. If it's the display, you will need to repair it (typically about $100) or replace it. Q. I have an annoying problem. When I boot up, my computer says, "Drive F: is not ready" and also asks me to enter a password. The "enter your password" message offers a "Do not ask again" option, which I always select but to no avail. How do I get rid of these messages? The machine has never been networked to a LAN or other machine. A. It sounds like you may have a residual drive image, perhaps from a compressed drive, which was incorrectly removed. The "enter your password" message might be triggered by Dial-Up networking if you have an Internet connection. There is a large write-up on dealing with Windows password problems on the "Windows Annoyances" Web-site. You may find the answer there. Q. If I have a choice of Windows 95 or Windows 98 on a new machine, which should I choose? A. If it's a laptop, there are more power-saving features in Windows 98. Windows 98 also has 3,000 fixes of things wrong in Windows 95. (And 3,000 new bugs? Sorry.) Lastly, it supports USB (Universal Serial Bus) devices, although there are few USB devices available as yet. The general consensus is to go with 98 for a new machine but not to rush to update 95. Q. I get my 35mm photos developed and digitized. When I bring up the images in Photo-REI, which came from the photo service, I can save only an entire "collection" rather than single images that I can then manipulate individually with software. How can I get just one image? A. After some discussion between members in the audience, it was found that the questioner had tried most of the suggestions. It was recommended that the vendor be contacted. Q. When I exit MS Office 4.1 applications such as Word, Excel, or Real Audio (Windows 3.1x, 16-bit), I get an "EMM386 Error 6" message. What is happening. A. Four suggestions: (1) First make sure you are using the EMM386 that shipped with Windows rather than the one included in DOS. (2) EMM386 is sensitive to bad hardware cache, so see if you can disable it in your BIOS Setup screen. (Note: this will slow the machine considerably, so it is only a diagnostic test). (3) Disable HIGHSCAN in the EMM386 reference in CONFIG.SYS. (4) Look into using a third-party memory manager (if you can find one) such as QEMM-386. (Follow-up revealed that AutoCadd does not have a problem with the machine. It uses its own expanded memory manager, which points a finger to the EMM386 driver you are using.) Q. Does anyone have the URL for the Better Business Bureau? The Connecticut Bureau was here a while ago, but I can't remember where they are? A. http://www.bbbonline.org Q. I have a P-II / 300MHz machine with 64MB of RAM, Win 95 that continually gets "GDI Resources Low" from Norton Utilities. A. Get the Norton Utilities update referenced in the first question. You might also want to remove Crash Guard and Fast Start temporarily and see what happens. GDI refers to "handles" that are used to keep track of windows, pushbuttons, scroll bars, and icons that are active on the screen; it has nothing to do with the amount of memory in the machine. Q. Can anyone tell me how to find a TrueType font for the symbols used to write Gregorian chant in the classic form rather than those for modern musical notation? A. There are a few applications out there that let you manipulate or create TrueType fonts. One suggestion was Fontographer, but at about $500 you may find it a bit pricey for hobby work. Other names that people mentioned were FontMonger and FontManager. Searches of the Web found many font library management programs but not font creation software for TrueType fonts.

Bruce Preston is president of West Mountain Systems, a Ridgefield, CT-based consultancy specalizing in database applications. A DACS director and moderator of the Random Access sessions opening the general meetings, Bruce also leads the Access SIG. Contact Bruce at bpreston@mags.net.