computerwriter.com

March Mailbag

Toronto Star Fast Forward column for March 8, 2001

Copyright ©, Myles White, 2001

Time to dip into the Computer Wares mailbag. Our first letter this month comes via Internet from Lorne Phillips:

We have a P120 and a P166, both running W95. Are there advantages or disadvantages to upgrading either of these computers to:Win98 or Win98SE or even WinME? Friends tell me I am missing out by not upgrading but I'm not sure these computers are "capable" of the task.

Myles Replies: The axiom of upgrading is, "Never upgrade hardware or software except to fix a problem you cannot solve any other way." 

It's true that Windows 98, 98SE and ME (as well as 2000 Pro) offer better services than Windows 95, not the least of which are 32-bit file allocation tables (gain about 30% more hard drive space), fully functional USB support (Win95 OSR2 is only half-there), and better system maintenance and monitoring utilities (System Information and associated tools). 

WinMe adds the ability to roll your system back (or forward) from a previously saved state (System Restore), video editing, and (some claim while others disagree) better support for multimedia devices. Internet Connection Sharing is in 98SE, ME and 2K. Win2K offers greater stability than 95, 98 or Me, with better hardware support than NT (which it replaces), but not as broad a selection of supported hardware as the "consumer" editions of Windows. 

This greater stability, however, is paid for when Win2K refuses to run some game software that attempts to take direct control of hardware resources. Although all of the updates will run in your systems (so long as you have at least 64 MB of memory -- they'll run with 32 MB, but very slowly), upgrading the operating system may also require you to get new software drivers for your existing hardware or (in the case of Win2K) not run some of your favourite software or hardware. Before you upgrade, visit Microsoft's Web site. Go to the pages dedicated to WinMe and Win2K to check hardware and software compatibility. 

The Windows Millennium Edition page is at: www.microsoft.com/windowsme/upgrade/default.asp and the Windows 2000 page is at www.microsoft.com/windows2000/upgrade/default.asp. Both pages carry further links to system hardware requirements as well as both hardware and software product compatibility lists. Hold off on your decision until you've done more homework. Note also that some of these choices may be moot. I understand from other readers that finding Win98 or 98SE has become very difficult to do.

Taskbar revisited

I didn't think of it at the time, but my column on Taskbar tricks brought more than one letter asking how to reverse some of the suggestions made. For example, this letter from a reader whose name I'll withhold to prevent embarrassment: 

You said to right-click on an empty portion of the taskbar, then to select properties and to place a checkmark in the "AutoHide" box to get the Start Menu / Taskbar to disappear when not in use. If I don't like this, can it be reversed?

Myles replies: To prevent the Start Menu / Taskbar from hiding, simply reverse the process that made it hide in the first place. 

• Move your cursor to the portion of the screen where you've placed the bar (bottom, left, right, or top margin).
• When it appears, right-click on an empty portion (one not occupied by an icon, the Start Button, or the System Tray on the right side (if it's on the bottom margin). 
• Select Properties from the context menu, then find the AutoHide box with the checkmark in it. 
• (Left) click on the box; the checkmark with disappear. 
• Click OK. 
• The Taskbar / Start Menu will no longer hide.

How much is that husband in the window? 

Our next letter comes from another reader whose name I'm going to withhold for reasons that will become clear as you read the exchange between us: 

My computer was working great until my husband moved the CPU to look to see how many USB ports I had. When he moved it, the computer went off and he then immediately turned it back on again. That is when the trouble started. At one point an error message came up reading: HIMEM.SYS has detected unreliable XMS memory at address 02008C96. XMS driver not installed. This message only came up once or twice. I did a thorough disk scan but no errors were found. However, when I restore screens, they come up a lot larger than they were originally and take up most of the desktop area. Also the colours on the screen are faded and margin lines are not solid on the word processing program.

Myles Replies: The potential causes and solutions are: 

• Your video connection was not tight at the back of the computer and was dislodged when it was moved. 
  • Check to see if the connector is snugged down. A loose connection can confuse the graphics controller about what type of monitor you have. 
• The rapid shutdown and restart produced a power surge that may have damaged a memory module or two (or it was just time for it/them to go south), or the graphics adapter, or both. 
  • Take it to the shop. 
• Your husband didn't ground himself before fiddling with the cables at the back of the machine and gave it a static jolt that has either damaged the graphics board or the memory module(s). 
  • Take it to the shop. 
• At some point during the fun, your screen was reset from a higher to a lower resolution and bit-depth, affecting colour values. 
  • Right click on the desktop, select properties from the context menu, and check "Settings" – including the Advanced settings to see if they've been changed or somehow the driver for your graphics controller was corrupted or replaced. 
  • Reinstall the graphics driver anyway – and this might be a good time to go to the manufacturer's Web site to see if there are updated drivers for the graphics adapter available. 
• If the system begins to spontaneously reboot, or to lock up for no predictable reason, or to show you the famous "Blue Screen of Death" at unpredictable times, then it is most likely a flaky memory module that is causing the problem and the HIMEM error message appears to suggest that this may be the problem 
  • You may wish to spank your husband, then take both the computer and him to the shop. Bring the computer home when it has been repaired. The rest is up to you.

Round 2: We weren't done. A day later, I received this reply: 

Just wanted to thank you for your help – I took the easy route first which was changing the resolutions and by golly – everything is back to normal – Thank you, Thank you. As you also suggested I took my husband to the computer shop – but he wouldn't stay there – insisted on coming home with me. Next time he touches the computer, I'll ground him.

Keep those e-cards and e-letters coming.

Back to top