SOFTWARE
Q: I had WORD 2000 Beta installed and the time ran out. I deleted the sub-directory and thought that would be the end of it. Now, I have problems with error messages, WORD 97 not working right, etc. How do I clean out the rest of WORD 2000 Beta?
A: Visit the Web address below. It talks about re-running WORD 2000 Setup and selecting Remove WORD 2000. But, if you didn't do it that way, there is this utility to clean out some registry entries. You can find the article here. Also, look at how Web folders, a part of Internet Explorer 5, can cause problems.
Q: I have a question about Internet Explorer and Netscape. I prefer Netscape. I installed Internet Explorer but it keeps taking over as the default. I know there is a way to go in and change that but don't know how to do it. The only thing I have ever had work was to delete the browser and re-install. The last one seems to work. I've gotten several answers to this question but none of them have worked.
A: Both of them have the option to "Make Default Browser." In Internet Explorer, the selection is under Options. Also, you might go to the Control Panel, open up Internet and go to Advanced. I believe in that section is a check mark for "Make Internet Explorer default browser". Uncheck that and reboot. The next time you use Netscape, I believe Netscape will ask you if you want it to be the default browser. Answer yes and I don't believe you will have a problem from that point forward. If you switch back and forth then lose track of which is your default browser, you can find out with the Run command. Go to Start, Run and type in "http://" or "www." followed by a Web site name. Hit the Enter key and the default browser will start. And then, there's another way to set Netscape as the default. Be sure Netscape is not running. Find the file PREFS.JS (probably in the "Netscape Users\name\" folder) and load it into Notepad. Find the line that reads:
user_pref("browser.wfe.
ignore_def_check",true)
and change the word "true" to "false." Save the file. When started, Netscape should now ask if you wish for it to be the default browser.
Q: An earlier version of Netscape would autodial my ISP. Now, the version I have currently installed doesn't.
A: The job of autodialing your ISP when any Internet application is started was taken on by Microsoft's Internet Explorer, specifically with how it had integrated itself with the desktop. (At the right end of any directory window, "My Computer" for example, click on the Windows flag and see what happens.) Windows 95 (retail) has this typical problem. Go to this Web site to get some updated files. However, you don't have to do this for Windows 95-OSR2 or Windows 98, which should autodial as expected.
HARDWARE
Q: My kid's machine is an old 80Mhz 486 and has a VESA Local Bus. The 400 Meg drive hard drive finally died. I got a Fujitsu 4.3 gig to try but the BIOS is also very old. What kind of "work-arounds" are there to make it work?
A: There are several disk manager programs available for large hard drives. They translation a drive's cylinders, heads and sectors to get around BIOS limitations. It may have come with the drive. If not, then I'd check Fujitsu's Web site. Companies such as On Track and MicroHouse produce "disk managers" or BIOS overlay software. I don't favor BIOS overlays because they are a good target for viruses and when the overlay goes, everything on the drive goes. However, in your case, I'd use MicroHouse's overlay. One other possibility would be to replace the motherboard's BIOS. You'll have to check your motherboard's BIOS upgradability. The last available option would be an add-in card that loads its own BIOS to front-end I/O requests to the hard drive. Promise Technology is one vendor that makes adapter cards that should work for you.
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Q: I have a Maxtor 2-Gig hard drive that uses the EZ-MAX overlay. Can I go back to NORMAL? [NORMAL is a CMOS setting alternative for how the motherboard BIOS looks at an IDE hard drive. LBA (Logical Block Addressing) is another usual alternative for this CMOS setting.-Ed.] Will that get rid of the partition? Will FDISK /MBR work?
A: That's the problem with BIOS overlays. If you don't want to use one, you have to actually remove it, but the way to remove it is to destroy the drive. All FDISK /MBR does is check the master boot record and recreate it according to the BIOS table. From that point you wipe out everything. But, if your BIOS was loaded through that partition, the "fix" will only work during that session. The next time you reboot, it won't work. [So, be sure you're okay with blowing away all partitions on your hard drive. Be sure your motherboard's BIOS gives you access to the entire drive (this may require a BIOS upgrade). If that's not possible, install an adapter card that has its own BIOS to access the entire drive. Then just boot from a floppy disk that has the FDISK program on it and issue the FDISK command with the /MBR parameter. Note that most BIOS overlays give you a procedure to follow when booting from a floppy disk so that the BIOS overlay gets loaded before the system actually boots from the floppy disk. You do not want to follow that procedure in this case. The FDISK/MBR command will get rid of the BIOS overlay program. Then you can reboot once more and go into your motherboard's CMOS SETUP utility and AUTODETECT your hard drive. Choose NORMAL (uses the drive's actual values for cylinders, heads and sectors) or LBA, if necessary to see all the space on the drive.-Ed.]
Q: I picked up an old scanner and then tried to load some old software, Aldus Photostyler, hoping it would work properly. The install gets into the third floppy and gives me an error message referencing a line in the install procedure. I can see the files; they all have an underline and are all compressed. Is there any way you can get into the install procedure and find out what line it is and correct it? Also, when I try to load the software, it tells me I am missing a DLL. If I try to load all the DLLs on the third disk, will that work?
A: The line the error message is referring to is in the Install script, which you don't have access to. The Expand program, which is part of Windows, might expand some of those files. Some products use their own type of "expand" technology. Usually, files with the underline are handled by the Windows Expand program. How old is the scanner? Can you go to the Web page and download it?
R: It's an HP ScanJet Plus. Maybe only black and white. I tried the Web page; it isn't up now. It has drivers, but not the DLL.
A: Believe it or not, "the driver" file includes all the software for scanners and copiers. I think Scanjet software, which supports all their scanners, is a $15 purchase. Scanjet II software supports every scanner they have all the way up to their newest ones.
Q: I bought a brand new Panasonic CD-Recordable. It came with an installation disk but my Windows 95b won't recognize the it. I got it working in DOS. However, as soon as I get into Windows, it freezes up the system and I have to reboot. I sent a letter to Symbios and they wrote back saying this is an Asus problem. Asus has not answered me.
A: Put the Adaptec EZ-SCSI software on there and update it to the latest version. That will read it. There is a patch on the Adaptec site that will upgrade it to the latest WINASPI. It will upgrade all the files. Did you go to the Asus Web site and update your BIOS on your motherboard?
R: Yes, but I'm not sure that it works.
A: This problem has nothing to do with the BIOS. SCSI is completely different. Trust me, this will work. I've run into the same problem several times.
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