An Error Message Niggle

I am not facing any problems as a result of this, but I want to get rid of the message. It began showing up after I uninstalled Norton AntiVirus 2003. I installed the software again but the message persists. What’s up?
Kangkan Goswami

This is happening because Norton AntiVirus has not been properly uninstalled. Uninstall it-delete all the folders that it created in the ‘C:Program Files’ folder. Now, ‘ccRegVfy.exe’ is being called upon at startup, so go to Start > Run and type in ‘msconfig’. Under the Startup tab, uncheck the entry for ccRegVfy.exe, and restart your machine. You should not see the error message again.

*.GBA?!
Q. I have a file called ’29 NES Games (PD).GBA’. What is this file, and what software is needed to open it?
Chetan Gupta

A .GBA file is a GameBoy Advance ROM file, which is a dump of the original GameBoy console game cartridge. This file can be played using a tool known as a GameBoy emulator, which emulates the GameBoy console on a PC. Bear in mind that it is illegal to play the game on your computer if you do not possess the original cartridge for the game.

Error Messages Again
Q. I use Windows XP. While playing the Digit CD or surfing the Internet, I see a message on the screen. I have installed the latest versions of Flash and DirectX from the Digit CD, but I have the same problem. The message is as follows: “Your current security setting prohibits running ActiveX controls on this page; as a result, the page may not display correctly.”
Jignesh S Paradava

In the Control Panel, open ‘Internet Options’ and go to the ‘Security’ tab. Click ‘Custom Level’ and select ‘Prompt’ for everything under ‘ActiveX controls and plug-ins’. Though this will solve your problem, there is ActiveX content on some Web sites that has the potential to harm your computer-so you will have to be extra careful while surfing the Internet with these settings.

More RAM, Please
Q. One of my clients has a VIA chipset HIS Motherboard. The model is P4M266. The problem is, he wants to add an additional 512 MB of DDR RAM. Will it be OK for me to add an additional 512 MB of 266 MHz DDR RAM, parallel to the existing 256 MB?
Juzar

You will definitely be able to install an additional 512 MB DDR memory module. Keep in mind, though, that the motherboard supports up to 2 GB of 200 MHz or 266 MHz DDR RAM only. We advise that you install a RAM stick of the same speed as the one already in place, in order to avoid any problems.

I Want Space, And I Want It Now!
Q. I had a 40 GB HDD with four partitions of 9.75 GB each. I have two OSes, Windows XP and 98. While trying to install Linux Mandrake 8.2 on one of the free partitions, the installation failed, citing insufficient disk space, although I’d twice allotted 3 GB for this purpose. After that,  Windows shows only 3.88 GB of space in that partition, which means I lost almost 6 GB! How do I get this space back?
Arindam  Mookherji

A 3 GB EXT2/3 file system partition was created by the Mandrake 8.2 installer during each of your two failed attempts to install it. The EXT2/3 file system is only accessible under Linux, and so the partitions thus created are not visible from within Windows.
However, using ‘Disk Management’ in Windows XP, you can format the EXT2/3 partition to a FAT32 or NTFS partition, which will be accessible from Windows. (Note that NTFS partitions will only be recognised by Windows XP, not 98.)
To access this utility, open the Control Panel, click ‘Administrative Tools’, then click ‘Computer Management’ and then ‘Disk Management’. You’ll see your partitions in graphical format. Right-click your partition, select ‘Format’, and you’ll see the file system options available for the partition. Remember, you need to be logged in as an administrator to be able to do this.

If I purchase Norton System Works 2005, can it be installed on the above operating systems, and also on Windows 98 SE? I would like to to install a single AntiVirus software for all the above operating systems. Which AntiVirus should I purchase?
B R K Swamy

Since you wish to install the same AntiVirus on different versions of Windows, you will have to use Symantec AntiVirus Corporate Edition. No other AntiVirus software runs on all the operating systems you mentioned.

Who Does This Computer Belong To?
Q. On a branded system, when I right-click on ‘My Computer’, it shows a company name such as Compaq or Acer. I want to change this. How do I do this?
Mubin Nandavar

If you are using Windows NT/2000/2003/XP, search for the file ‘OEMInfo.ini’ in the ‘System32’ folder in your Windows directory-for Windows 9x/ME, search in the ‘System’ folder in the Windows directory.

Open the file using Notepad, and change the entry next to ‘Manufacturer=XYZ company’ to whatever you wish to see. Save the file and you will see the change immediately.

Where Do I Find The Drivers?
Q. My PC has an AMD K6-II processor on a SiS 530 motherboard and 192 (128 64) MB of SDRAM. The FCC ID of my sound card is LWHA411G7. I am not sure about the make of the card, though I was told at the time of purchase  that it was a Yamaha sound card (from the FCC ID it seems like a Labway). I find the following etched on different parts on the card: “XG”, “XWAVE”, “QS300A”, and “9846”. My problem is that the sound card is supported by Windows 98 and ME, but after installing Windows XP, the sound card driver-YMH 734-is not supported. I have downloaded several YMH 734 and also YMH 724 drivers said to be supported by Windows XP from sites such as driverguide.com, driverpit.com, and windrivers.com, but to no avail. What do I do?
Arindam Kaushik Sharma

The sound card you have is the Labway XWave QS3000A. This sound card is not supported under Windows XP. Though XP drivers used to be available from labway.com, Labway has stopped distributing the drivers. You will be able to download the drivers from http://snipurl.com/dzf8. You are required to register (for free) in order to download the drivers.

Gimme DMA
Q. I have an AMD Athlon XP 2400 , an ASUS A7N8X-X, 256 MB of DDR333 RAM, and Windows XP Pro SP1. I use Alcohol 120% and Nero Express CD. My problem is that I can’t write at maximum speed; if I try to, my writer takes about 10 to 15 minutes to write at a speed of 52x, as well to image a CD. I formatted my C: drive and reloaded XP.

At first, my device manager showed me that Direct Memory Access (DMA) was enabled, and my writer worked properly. But right now, the transfer mode is auto-detected as PIO. How can I change the transfer mode to DMA instead of PIO without formatting my C drive?
Debasis Dash

To enable DMA, Go To My Computer > Properties > Device Manager, and click the ‘Hardware’ tab. There, expand ‘IDE ATA/ATAPI Controllers’. You will find your hard disk and CD-ROM controllers listed under ‘Primary IDE channel’ and ‘Secondary IDE Channel’. Double click ‘Primary IDE Channel’ and click the ‘Advanced Settings’ tab. Set the transfer modes to ‘DMA if available’ for both the Master and the Slave devices-these could be listed as ‘Device 0’ and ‘Device 1’. Repeat the above steps for the Secondary IDE Channel. Once you change the settings, reboot and you are good to go!

Using the Everest diagnostic software, the OS shows up as Windows XP Professional (5.1, build 2600) Service Pack 2, v.2096 (2600.xpsp_sp2_rc1. 040311-2315), while the DirectX version is DirectX 9.0b (4.09.0000.0903).
Karan Pratap Singh

It’s evident that you have Release Candidate 1 of Windows XP SP2 installed. Install the final version of SP2, which was supplied with the Digit September 2004 DVD. Alternatively, you could download it from the Microsoft Web site.

Just WAV Doesn’t Do It Q. I bought a new Aiwa CD Player, model XP-V416C, EASS 10 sec, 1-bit DAC, CD-R/RW playback. It can play only Audio CDs. When I convert MP3 files to .wav using mp3 decoder software and burn them onto CD, the player doesn’t play anything. But when I copy an audio CD, it plays. I have MP3 Work Shop 2.01 by Donal Riordan. Please tell me how to create an audio CD using an MP3 decoder and Nero Burning Rom 6 Express Edition. Krishna Caitu An audio CD contains audio tracks in RAW form (which is a form of the wave file format), but if you notice, the files on an audio CD are .CDA, just a few KB in size. These files point to the location of the RAW audio tracks on the audio CD, while the tracks themselves are not visible. You can create an audio CD using Nero Express. To do so, move your mouse over ‘Music’ in Nero, and click on ‘Audio CD’. Click ‘Add’ in the next window, browse to the folder where you have stored your songs, select the songs to be added to your audio CD compilation, and then    click ‘Add’. After you are done, click on ‘Finished’. Now click ‘Next’, select a burning speed of 8x for backward compatibility with older CD players, and click ‘Burn’. The audio CD thus created will be playable on any audio CD player.

Where’s The Colour?
Q. I have an Athlon XP 1700 processor on a Gigabyte KT400 board, 512 MB of SDRAM, and an nVidia GeForce FX 5200 AGP card with 128 MB of RAM. The display card has a 4-pin S-Video out socket. I have a Sony combo drive, and also an LG 52X CD-Writer. I tried connecting my TV using an S-Video to RCA cable (S-Video out to the video-in of the TV). I adjusted the necessary configurations in ‘Display Properties’, and selected my TV as the secondary analogue clone display.

My problem is that the display on the TV monitor is Black and White. I tried to configure the TV display properties to the lowest resolution of 800 x 600, but am still unable to get the TV to display colour.
K Ramanathan

Your problem is that your display card’s TV output is conformant with a TV standard other than the one for which your TV is configured. There are three widely-used TV standards, PAL, NTSC and SECAM-PAL is the one used in India.

There are three solutions to your problem. The first and best is to install the latest version of the nVidia ForceWare drivers from the Digit CD/DVD. Your display card should now correctly detect your TV. Otherwise, you can download and install a utility called TV Tool from http://snipurl.com/dzfa. Using this, you will be able to change the TV standard of the TV-out signal of your display card. The third solution is that if your TV supports multiple standards, try changing the TV signal standard of your TV from PAL to NTSC.

Umm, I Deleted Some Folders…
Q. I deleted the folders of some unwanted programs, and cannot remove them from the ‘Add/Remove Programs’ list. How do I do this?
Abhishek Kumar

To remove entries from the ‘Add/Remove Programs’ list, use the registry editor. Be very careful when using it: one false move can render your PC unbootable.  Click Start > Run, type in ‘regedit.exe’ and click OK. Go to HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINESOFTWAREMicrosoftCurrentVersionUninstall. Here you will find the various registry entries that correspond to the entries in the Add/Remove Programs list. Just delete the entries you don’t want.