Answers to questions computer users frequently ask

Answers to questions computer users frequently ask

By Zatni Arbi

JAKARTA (JP): In my "Internet Explorer" I have set up a
special folder that I've named "To Keep". I drag and drop all E-
mail messages from my readers that I want to archive from my
Inbox into this folder. Ever since The Jakarta Post first ran the
"IT Superhighway" column with my E-mail address printed at the
bottom, I have been receiving a few E-mails every week. It is
really refreshing to go through the contents of this "To Keep"
folder, which dates back to November last year.

Most interesting are the ones that flash out the word "Help!"
in the "Subject" line. I don't believe I have ever hinted in my
articles that I have enough confidence to offer help for your
computer problems. I don't. The reason is very simple: There are
zillions of different combinations of hardware, operating systems
and software out there.

Two otherwise identical PCs may have different video cards,
sound cards, hard disks, or even mouses. Buy two PCs from Compaq,
HP or IBM for two different users, and after a while they will
behave differently because each user may have installed a
different set of software programs. Now add to the staggering
number of possible causes for conflicts all the thousands of
computer viruses created by crazy nerds all over the world, and
you'll see why it is impossible for any single individual to know
the solutions to all the problems that we the computer users may
have. That is why I have never offered to man a Q&A column,
whether in this newspaper or in any other publication.

This does not mean that I have not met people with a quite
uncanny ability to solve most problems. Technical support people
are good examples, as they are usually extremely good at
troubleshooting. Maybe this superior ability of theirs has
developed over time as they consistently deal with a rather
defined set of problems.

Unfortunately, I don't have the key resource to develop such
an ability: Time. As my work expands into other areas, I've been
spending more of my time writing and less of it tweaking PCs.
With this limitation, it is impossible for me to provide
satisfactory answers to many of the problems that readers of my
column raise.

Nonetheless, there have been some quite interesting questions
from readers that I think I should share with you. The questions
are also very insightful, because they sometimes reflect the wish
list of computer users in general.

One reader, for example, asked whether he could set up Outlook
Express to choose a sound file to play based on who the sender of
an incoming E-mail is. In other words, he wanted OE to announce
to him "You've got E-mail from Mr. A.G." Unfortunately, that is
still not possible even with the latest version of Windows and
Outlook Express. Besides, that would be impractical, too. What
would happen if you used a dial-up connection to download your E-
mail messages from your mail server? If you receive 12 E-mail
messages from 12 different senders, your PC will be busy playing
twelve similar sound files. I bet you'd find it unbearable in no
time.

What you can do is tell Windows 95 and 98 to play a sound file
each time you receive E-mail. Click on "Start", "Settings",
"Control Panel", and "Sounds". Activate the "New Mail
Notification", and select the file you want to be played. You can
even record your own new E-mail announcement.

Another reader asked me what to do because she often gets
disconnected from her ISP while surfing the Net. A friend who
used to work at CBNNet suggested that the problem was caused by
(well, by what else?) the poor phone connection to her home. If
the problem is so bad, one possible remedy is to force the modem
to work at a lower bit rate. The higher the connection speed, the
more sensitive the connection is to noise. On the other hand, at
a lower bit per second (bps) rate, the communication between the
modems will be more tolerant toward line noise.

How do we do it? Close all programs, double-click on the "My
Computer" icon on "Desktop", and open "Dial-up Connection". Place
the cursor over the icon of your ISP, and click with the right
mouse button. Click on "Properties", and then on the "Configure"
button under the name of your modem. Under the "Maximum Speed"
section, select a speed that is lower that you have been able to
get. For instance, if you've been able to get at least a 28,800
bps connection, select 19,200, then click on "OK". Try to connect
to your ISP and see whether you still get disconnected as often
as before. If you still do, select a lower bps value. After all,
it's better to have a snail-paced connection than to get
disconnected every few seconds.

Another reader, David, was wondering whether it would be worth
upgrading all the remaining Pentium 133 MHz PCs in his office to
Windows 95. He personally liked Windows 95, and like many of us,
had discovered he could do a lot more things than in Windows 3.
His problem was that many of his workers were already comfortable
with Windows 3.

I remember reading somewhere that it was easier for the
completely uninitiated to learn to use Windows 95 than for those
who were already familiar with Windows 3 to migrate to Windows 95
(or Windows 98, for that matter). I should admit that it was also
not easy for me to adapt to Windows 95 at first. However, if
you're in David's position and you're willing to spend some extra
time in supporting your users, it may be worth it to upgrade.
You'll be handling one uniform operating system, which has
already matured by now. Besides, your employees will no longer
get migraine from trying to make Word 6.0 read a document created
in Word 97, for example. Just remember that each of the Pentium
133 MHz PCs must have at least 16 MB of RAM in them.

To check how much memory your PC has, here's a quick method.
Open "Control Panel" again, and double-click on "System". You'll
see the RAM size there.

Finally, if you have questions, you're welcome to E-mail them
to me. I may not be able to reply to them immediately, because I
may have to seek the help of others, too. The great news is, the
people at Microsoft Indonesia have graciously offered to help us
as well.