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.