dacs.doc electric

Random Access

Instant Replay: December 1998

Bruce Preston, Moderator

Q. I am thinking of upgrading my file system to FAT 32. When I start up, it takes me to FDISK and warns me that I will lose all of my files. Is this true?

A. You shouldn't need FDISK. There is a utility in the START / PROGRAMS / ACCESSORIES / SYSTEM TOOLS folder that does it. (Q: I'm not in Windows, I'm in DOS) A: No, you have to be in Window 98, or Windows 95b (second OEM version, not the original Windows 3.x to Windows 95 upgrade, with or without the service pack, which would be Windows 98a.) (Q: I'm not in any of those; I'm running Windows 3.1) A: There is absolutely no support for FAT32 in DOS (any version), Windows 3.x, or Windows NT 4.0 and below; the only O/S versions that support FAT32 are Windows 95b and Windows 98. (Q: How about Linux?) A: See the previously mentioned list; those are the only releases that understand FAT323. The list may change with Windows NT 5.0 (a/k/a Windows 2000) or Linux 2, but for now, that is all. For file system is undecipherable to all other operating systems.

Q. I just installed Windows 98 and pressed the Upgrade 98 button. Is this something that I should have done?

A. It shouldn't hurt. The Upgrade button looks for patches to the operating system as well as patches for other Microsoft software and divides them into these categories: critical things you really should install, recommended things, and other known fixes you may do at your pleasure. In all cases, it does not force the installation; instead it gives you the list of recommendations, much like the selection mechanism for "custom install" when you setup a large application.

Q. Can you use the new USB ports with Windows 95?

A. You must have the patch that can only be applied to the last release of Windows 95 (known as Windows 95c), which was only released to hardware manufacturers. Otherwise, you must upgrade to Windows 98 to get USB support. The easiest way to find out which release you are using is to right-click on My Computer and then select Properties. The General screen of the System applet will appear and show you the release number. For example, for the system I am using now, it lists "Microsoft Windows 95 4.00.950a," which means I have the original release of Windows 95 with Service Pack 1 installed (the "a").

Note: In the General Meeting it was mentioned that you can see which release you are running if you go to Explorer. If Windows Explorer does not display it, some releases of Internet Explorer might. The mechanism described above will always work.

Q. I have a PowerMac 8.1, and upgraded Netscape Communicator 4.01 to 4.5. Now when I go to print from Netscape Communicator, it shuts down Netscape.

A. The only suggestions were to 1) disable virtual memory, 2) clear out the cache, and 3) remove Norton Crash Guard.

Q. I changed a display card, and now Windows is asking me for a "CAB" file. What is it?

A. A format called .CAB (for Cabinet) is used by Microsoft to store components of products in a compressed format similar to that of a .ZIP. You need the EXTRACT utility (installed when you installed Windows 9x or Windows NT) to get a file out of a .CAB file. There are also utilities (CABVIEW is one. It is in the PowerToy package, which may be downloaded from Microsoft's Website) that let you examine the contents of a .CAB file without actually extracting the file. One member mentioned that double-clicking on a .CAB file in Windows Explorer (Windows 98) would open up a window of contents for the .CAB. I tried it on one of my machines, and it started WinZIP, which gave me a directory of the .CAB file and offered to let me extract files.

Q. I went to www.dudly.com and tried to purchase a file. I gave it my credit card number and started a download. It did not complete. How do I find out if I will be charged, since there is no way to send e-mail to www.dudly.com.

A. You can get the name of an administrator by doing a search on "internic," and you will probably come up with a reference to NetworkSolutions, who are currently the administrative body in charge of assigning Web addresses. There is also a "whois" utility, which will give you the mailbox for the administrator of that site. To get a ".com" address you must have an identifiable administrator. You could send your message there. Alternatively, and probably more directly, is to contact the Customer Service representative for your credit card and find out if the charge was posted, and to challenge it if it has. Have at hand information such as the date, because the Website collection may be done by an "agent" for the supplier (there are companies that do the billing for multiple clients, just as there are companies that run 800- order sites for multiple clients. Once challenged, the transaction can not be billed as "late" until it has been resolved. Lastly, most sites that distribute products electronically will not post the billing until they get a "transfer complete" message from the underlying software. This is done without your control.

Q. I have a Windows 95 machine with a conflict of resources. One of the conflicting resources is the floppy disk controller: If I try to change the resource, I get the message, "You can not change the resource on this device." This doesn't happen every time I boot, which is the really mysterious thing.

A. Turn off "Plug and Play" since it is getting confused. On one of the "fortuitous days" when the system comes up right, get into My Computer/ Control Panel / System / Device Manager, and select PRINT detail. This will show you a combination that works. Then go into the BIOS at boot time (usually DEL when booting, or F10, etc.), disable "Plug and Play," and manually configure the devices as much as you can. When Windows 9x boots, finish manually setting the configuration to match the settings in the printout. Make an emergency recovery diskette with the working configuration.

Q. Has anybody used the FAT to FAT32 conversion utility in Windows 98?

A. Yes, it works fine. But first defrag your disk, and then back it up. Note that you don't have to back up everything; you can get away with just backing up data since you can always reinstall applications if you must. Don't do it during a storm you feel is violent enough to interrupt the backup with a power outage.

Q. Does anyone know of a good Web site for Christmas cards?

A. Two sites were mentioned: www.bluemountain.com and www.regards.com.

Q. In Windows 98 Internet Explorer, one of the configuration parameters is "Idle time Disconnect." If I set it to 0, to not disconnect, or to 20 minutes, Internet Explorer honors the settings but Netscape Communicator 4.5 ignores it and disconnects after five minutes. Once I run Netscape Communicator 4.5, Internet Explorer also disconnects after five minutes.

A. Idle time "resides" in only one place in the Registry, but there are several places where the Idle Time Disconnect can be set, and any program that has been programmed to do so may change the setting. The suspicion is that there is a parameter in Netscape Communicator you need to set so that when NC runs, it will put the same value into the Registry. Note that there is also a mechanism to set the Idle Time Disconnect parameter in Dial-Up Networking.

Random Access

Instant Replay: December 1998

*Bruce Preston, Moderator*
Q. I am thinking of upgrading my file system to FAT 32. When I start up, it takes me to FDISK and warns me that I will lose all of my files. Is this true? A. You shouldn't need FDISK. There is a utility in the START / PROGRAMS / ACCESSORIES / SYSTEM TOOLS folder that does it. (Q: I'm not in Windows, I'm in DOS) A: No, you have to be in Window 98, or Windows 95b (second OEM version, not the original Windows 3.x to Windows 95 upgrade, with or without the service pack, which would be Windows 98a.) (Q: I'm not in any of those; I'm running Windows 3.1) A: There is absolutely no support for FAT32 in DOS (any version), Windows 3.x, or Windows NT 4.0 and below; the only O/S versions that support FAT32 are Windows 95b and Windows 98. (Q: How about Linux?) A: See the previously mentioned list; those are the only releases that understand FAT323. The list may change with Windows NT 5.0 (a/k/a Windows 2000) or Linux 2, but for now, that is all. For file system is undecipherable to all other operating systems. Q. I just installed Windows 98 and pressed the Upgrade 98 button. Is this something that I should have done? A. It shouldn't hurt. The Upgrade button looks for patches to the operating system as well as patches for other Microsoft software and divides them into these categories: critical things you really should install, recommended things, and other known fixes you may do at your pleasure. In all cases, it does not force the installation; instead it gives you the list of recommendations, much like the selection mechanism for "custom install" when you setup a large application. Q. Can you use the new USB ports with Windows 95? A. You must have the patch that can only be applied to the last release of Windows 95 (known as Windows 95c), which was only released to hardware manufacturers. Otherwise, you must upgrade to Windows 98 to get USB support. The easiest way to find out which release you are using is to right-click on My Computer and then select Properties. The General screen of the System applet will appear and show you the release number. For example, for the system I am using now, it lists "Microsoft Windows 95 4.00.950a," which means I have the original release of Windows 95 with Service Pack 1 installed (the "a"). Note: In the General Meeting it was mentioned that you can see which release you are running if you go to Explorer. If Windows Explorer does not display it, some releases of Internet Explorer might. The mechanism described above will always work. Q. I have a PowerMac 8.1, and upgraded Netscape Communicator 4.01 to 4.5. Now when I go to print from Netscape Communicator, it shuts down Netscape. A. The only suggestions were to 1) disable virtual memory, 2) clear out the cache, and 3) remove Norton Crash Guard. Q. I changed a display card, and now Windows is asking me for a "CAB" file. What is it? A. A format called .CAB (for Cabinet) is used by Microsoft to store components of products in a compressed format similar to that of a .ZIP. You need the EXTRACT utility (installed when you installed Windows 9x or Windows NT) to get a file out of a .CAB file. There are also utilities (CABVIEW is one. It is in the PowerToy package, which may be downloaded from Microsoft's Website) that let you examine the contents of a .CAB file without actually extracting the file. One member mentioned that double-clicking on a .CAB file in Windows Explorer (Windows 98) would open up a window of contents for the .CAB. I tried it on one of my machines, and it started WinZIP, which gave me a directory of the .CAB file and offered to let me extract files. Q. I went to www.dudly.com and tried to purchase a file. I gave it my credit card number and started a download. It did not complete. How do I find out if I will be charged, since there is no way to send e-mail to www.dudly.com. A. You can get the name of an administrator by doing a search on "internic," and you will probably come up with a reference to NetworkSolutions, who are currently the administrative body in charge of assigning Web addresses. There is also a "whois" utility, which will give you the mailbox for the administrator of that site. To get a ".com" address you must have an identifiable administrator. You could send your message there. Alternatively, and probably more directly, is to contact the Customer Service representative for your credit card and find out if the charge was posted, and to challenge it if it has. Have at hand information such as the date, because the Website collection may be done by an "agent" for the supplier (there are companies that do the billing for multiple clients, just as there are companies that run 800- order sites for multiple clients. Once challenged, the transaction can not be billed as "late" until it has been resolved. Lastly, most sites that distribute products electronically will not post the billing until they get a "transfer complete" message from the underlying software. This is done without your control. Q. I have a Windows 95 machine with a conflict of resources. One of the conflicting resources is the floppy disk controller: If I try to change the resource, I get the message, "You can not change the resource on this device." This doesn't happen every time I boot, which is the really mysterious thing. A. Turn off "Plug and Play" since it is getting confused. On one of the "fortuitous days" when the system comes up right, get into My Computer/ Control Panel / System / Device Manager, and select PRINT detail. This will show you a combination that works. Then go into the BIOS at boot time (usually DEL when booting, or F10, etc.), disable "Plug and Play," and manually configure the devices as much as you can. When Windows 9x boots, finish manually setting the configuration to match the settings in the printout. Make an emergency recovery diskette with the working configuration. Q. Has anybody used the FAT to FAT32 conversion utility in Windows 98? A. Yes, it works fine. But first defrag your disk, and then back it up. Note that you don't have to back up everything; you can get away with just backing up data since you can always reinstall applications if you must. Don't do it during a storm you feel is violent enough to interrupt the backup with a power outage. Q. Does anyone know of a good Web site for Christmas cards? A. Two sites were mentioned: www.bluemountain.com and www.regards.com. Q. In Windows 98 Internet Explorer, one of the configuration parameters is "Idle time Disconnect." If I set it to 0, to not disconnect, or to 20 minutes, Internet Explorer honors the settings but Netscape Communicator 4.5 ignores it and disconnects after five minutes. Once I run Netscape Communicator 4.5, Internet Explorer also disconnects after five minutes. A. Idle time "resides" in only one place in the Registry, but there are several places where the Idle Time Disconnect can be set, and any program that has been programmed to do so may change the setting. The suspicion is that there is a parameter in Netscape Communicator you need to set so that when NC runs, it will put the same value into the Registry. Note that there is also a mechanism to set the Idle Time Disconnect parameter in Dial-Up Networking.

Bruce Preston is the president of West Mountain Systems, a consultancy in Ridgefield, CT, specializing in database applications. A DACS director and moderator of the Random Access sessions at the general meetings, Bruce also leads the Access SIG. Contact him at askdacs@aol.com.