PCA106.
feat 26/3/02 6:46 pm Page 77
300
HARDWARE
FIXES
Most hardware problems can be fixed with a bit of know-how. Alan Dexter, Joe Cassels and
Nick Peers provide you with the know-how you need.
I
ts not entirely surprising that you
can run into problems with your
PCs hardware. Its little more than
a jumble of components designed to
work together, but the variety of
components on offer is so mind-
boggingly varied its impossible to
guarantee that every piece of hardware
you ever own will work with the rest
of your system at least at the first
time of asking and without any
tweaking on your part.
As you are no doubt aware, your
PC is in a constant state of evolution.
As bits of hardware become obsolete
you replace them with newer
components. In theory this should
work seamlessly, and in most cases it
solutions
does, but there are always exceptions.
As problems arise, the manufacturers or
even enthusiastic PC users with a bit of
programming know-how release
updates and patches that can fix the
problem at hand. With this in mind, its
always a good idea to check a piece of
hardwares Web site for problems and
updates before you install it. Thus
prepared, youre ready to tackle known
problems before they arise.
The Trouble with Drivers
Driver updates are often seen as the
solution to all ills. This isnt true, and
its possible for a driver update to cause
problems you didnt encounter with
your old driver. With this in mind, dont
windows feature
install the latest driver for the sake of
it at the very least, read about it
thoroughly before downloading and
installing it, and keep your old driver
handy just in case. If youre a
Windows XP users, then the OS does
this automatically for you just choose
the roll-back driver option to do so.
40 per cent of problems in
Windows are driver-related, but that
isnt the only problem youll encounter
with your hardware. Consequently, the
300 fixes mentioned herein cover a
wide variety of subjects above and
beyond installation and driver issues.
Weve split the feature into sections
covering specific types of hardware,
from printers and motherboards to
hardware internet
digital cameras, but weve also looked
at more general topics, including
installation and start-up issues, plus
useful Web sites you should make a
note of for extra help and advice.
Rounding this off are 30 specific
fixes from the Microsoft Support
Knowledge Base, plus 10 essential
hardware articles from previous issues
in PDF format. This includes a list of
support contact details for 125
hardware and software manufacturers
if you dont have PCA99, we
recommend printing these out now for
future reference. But enough gay
banter, as John Cleese once said, its
time to reveal 300 ways to fix
hardware-related problems
MAY 2002 PC ANSWERS.CO.UK 77
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solutions windows
On the disc
You can access these PDF files through the interface on
the second cover disc.
File name
CDwriter.pdf
Floppy.pdf
Datarescue.pdf
Digicam.pdf
Hardware1.pdf
Inkjet.pdf
Memory.pdf
Modem.pdf
Motherboard.pdf
Resources.pdf
Installation Problems
Before installing a new piece of
hardware in Windows 95, 98 or Me,
remove the old hardwares drivers in
Safe mode right-click on My
Computer and choose Properties,
Device Manager tab. Double-click on
the old hardware, switch to the
Drivers tab, click Driver Details and
make a note of the files and their
location. Click OK to return to Device
Manager and make sure the hardware
is still highlighted, then click Remove.
Now delete the files you noted
beforehand before shutting down and
installing your new hardware.
To remove, roll back or update your
drivers in Windows XP, use the Drivers
tab in Device Manager. Youll find a
button to Device Manager on the
Hardware tab in the System
Properties Control Panel.
Before loading Windows with a new
drive installed either as a
replacement or an addition to your
existing setup enter the BIOS first
and make sure its being correctly
detected set your drives to auto to
do so.
After upgrading to a later version of
Windows you may run into trouble
with certain devices. The easiest way to
78 PC ANSWERS.CO.UK MAY 2002
feature hardware
Whats covered
FAQ for CD writers
What to do when your floppy drive
keeps randomly accessing itself
How to use Drive Rescue on the
PowerDisc to recover data
Digital camera FAQ
Fix Spool32 errors with your printer
and how to get around a dodgy
graphics card driver installation
FAQ for inkjet printers
FAQ for memory problems
Fix-it guide for your modem,
including a flowchart
Flowchart fix-it guide for
motherboard problems
Tips and tricks for tracking down
your own solutions, plus support
contact details for 125 hardware,
software and Internet companies
resolve these problems is to check the
Web for updated drivers that work
with your new operating system
download and install them.
Dont install Windows XP until youve
found out what is and isnt compatible
with it. Start by going to
www.microsoft.com/windowsxp/
and clicking on Find out if your
system is XP compatible.
Dont panic if youre told your piece
of hardware isnt compatible with XP.
Check the manufacturers Web site for
updated drivers if they dont exist,
look for Windows 2000 drivers instead
and try these.
If Windows 98 or Me hangs during
the hardware detection phase during
installation, boot into Safe mode, run
msconfig, switch to the system.ini
tab and clear the box next to
Display.drv=pnp.drv. Click OK,
restart, complete setup and then return
to msconfig and re-tick the box once
Windows has finished installing.
If Windows hangs on startup after
installing a new piece of hardware,
switch it off, remove the hardware and
reboot. If it now loads successfully,
check your hardware connections, or
try plugging a card into a different PCI
internet
slot or an internal disk drive on a
different IDE channel.
Resource conflicts can arise when
you install new hardware. You must
either force other devices off the IRQ
your new hardware wants, or assign it
to a different IRQ.
You can try altering settings in
Device Manager. Click on the device in
question and choose Properties,
Resources tab. Untick the Use
automatic settings box and find the
problematic setting. Select it and click
on Change Setting to move it to
one that doesnt conflict.
If this doesnt work, try moving one
of the other devices on that setting
instead. Launch System Information
(Start, Programs, Accessories,
System Tools) and select Hardware
Resources, Conflicts/Sharing to see
whats sharing what.
If youre still in trouble, try entering
the BIOS and blocking the troublesome
IRQ under PnP/PCI Configuration
set Resource Sharing to Manual.
Select IRQ Resources, press [Return]
and set the troublesome IRQ to Legacy
or Reserved. Save and reboot. The
other devices should move from that
IRQ, then you can set it back to its
original setting in the BIOS and all
should be fine.
If youre still not having any joy, try
disabling an unused serial or parallel
port in the BIOS to free up its IRQ. You
can free up to three IRQs this way,
although you lose the use of those
ports that you disable not an issue if
your devices are all USB.
Start-up Problems
If you get a System Disk or Non-
System Disk Error check that you
havent left a floppy disk or CD inserted
in your PC. Remove these and restart
if you still get the same message, then
something has gone wrong with your
hard drive. Check the hard drive
section of this feature.
If your PC hangs after the Verifying
DMA data message, then insert your
Windows start-up disk and press the
reset button. When the A:> prompt
appears, type c: and press [Return]
followed by dir and [Return].
If you can access your hard drive,
type sys a: c: and [Return] to make
your hard drive bootable again. Remove
your start-up disk and restart your PC.
If you get the following error when
starting your PC then the keyboard is
the culprit: While Initializing Device
VKD -- Windows Protection Error. Try
disconnecting and reconnecting the
keyboard, or try another keyboard in
its place the keyboard may be faulty.
If drivers are causing Windows 98 or
Me to hang at startup, make use of the
Automatic Skip Driver utility, which
can disable troublesome drivers. If you
cant boot normally, boot in Safe mode,
click Start, Run and type asd (press
[Return]) to launch it.
Find out more about ASD at the
Microsoft Support database look for
article number Q186588.
When it comes to upgrading a piece of
your hardware, dont forget to remove
your old drivers before performing the
new installation.
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solutions windows feature hardware internet

Drivers may also cause Windows to
freeze for a while during the start-up
process. You can identify these using
Bootlog Analyzer download a free copy
from www.vision4.dial.pipex.com,
but look at article Q127970 at the
Microsoft Support Web site
(http://support.microsoft.com)
before using it.
been installed. Microsoft has now
released USB2 drivers for Windows XP
use Windows Update to get them.
Cant find a driver for your device?
Go to PC Drivers HQ at
www.drivershq.com, which has an
extensive A-Z list of all the major
hardware manufacturers.

Another way to troubleshoot driver How do you know if a drivers to

problems is by disabling them all via
Device Manager when in Safe mode.
Then re-enable them one at a time and
restart. When Windows stops loading,
youve tracked the troublesome driver.
Remove it in Safe mode, then reinstall
it or download an updated version from
the Web.
Faulty drivers can also cause
problems when you come to shut
down. Common culprits are
soundcards, video adapters and
network cards. Disable them in Device
Manager to see if theyre responsible.
If you have an ATX motherboard and
your PC doesnt automatically power off
when you select Shut down, you need
to enable APM (Advanced Power
Management) in the BIOS.
Driver Issues
WHQL drivers are certified by
Microsoft as stable, although the
testing takes time. If you want stability
you should only download signed
drivers, especially in Windows XP.
If your new USB2 device is sluggish,
check to see if the proper drivers have
blame for a crash or an error message?
Easy, look for files that have *.drv or
*.vxd extensions these are driver files.
Once youve tracked down a
troublesome driver file in this way, run
through Device Manager to find out
which hardware device its associated
with use the Drivers tab of each
hardware devices properties window.
Trouble identifying your drivers or
dont know whether an update is
available? Download Driver Detective
from the PC Drivers HQ Web site and
let it do the hard work for you.
While youre there, download Driver
BackUp from the same site this backs
up your old drivers and makes it easier
to restore them if an update goes
wrong. Windows XP users dont need
this as the OS automatically backs up
your old drivers before upgrading.
If you cant find a driver or even the
manufacturers Web site, try
www.driversguide.com. Here youll
find just about every single driver on
the planet, although it can take a while
to wade through!
If you cant seem to get USB to work Driver Detective is a free download, and
in Windows 98SE, then check to see if can help you identify which driver files
youre running an AMD processor of are installed on your PC.
350MHz or faster along with a VIA
Technologies USB controller. If this is
the case, download a patch from
http://download.microsoft.com/
download/win98SE/Patch/
4.10.2223/W98/EN-US/
240075up.exe (all one line)
CPU and Motherboard
Your motherboards BIOS ID string
appears at the bottom of the screen as
your machine boots. Type this unique
string into a search engine to find out
more information.
Type the BIOS ID string into
www.ping.be/bios/ to find out your
particular motherboard model if youre
having problems.
No luck with the BIOS ID string? Try
searching with the part number
(usually printed on the motherboard).

stepbystep
Resolve IRQ conflicts
Devices can now share IRQs, but what do you do if you have a serious hardware conflict? Read on

1 First identify the IRQ being shared. Open 2 Ignore Holders for PCI IRQ steering; look 3 In your BIOS go to PNP/PCI configuration
System Information (Start, Programs, for expansion cards that are sharing an IRQ. and turn off automatic resource sharing.
Accessories, System Tools) and look at Once youve found one write it down and Change the shared IRQ to Legacy ISA.Save
Hardware Resources, Conflicts/Sharing. then restart and hit [Del] or [F1] at bootup. the changes and reboot.

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Still stumped? Head over to
www.motherboards.org and take a
look at its selection of motherboard
identification tools for more help.
If your motherboard has jumpers,
make sure you configure them correctly
before installing a new processor, as
getting these wrong could fry it. You
should check both the frequency and
the voltage settings. If you have an
automatic configuration, select that.
If your motherboard beeps more
than once when you turn on your
machine, check that your memory,
video card and CPU are seated properly.
Asus motherboards feature audio
diagnostic tools to help you identify
motherboard problems, so make sure
your speakers are connected.
If you have a new MSI motherboard,
take a look at the diagnostic lights if
you have a problem. Youll have to open
your case to do this.
If your BIOS back-up battery fails,
the motherboard wont be able to store
your settings when you turn it off. Try
your local PC shop for a replacement.
A BIOS update can sort out a
multitude of problems check your
motherboard manufacturers Web site
for the latest version.
Flashing your motherboard with the
wrong BIOS can be catastrophic, so
check you have the right one and heed
any warnings from the flash program
itself. Well cover this in more detail in
next months PCAnswers.
Take a look at http://mrbios.com
if you are having problems locating the
latest BIOS upgrade for your machine.
Once you flash your BIOS, you
should select Load Setup Defaults in
the BIOS configuration utility to load
the correct settings.
If youre unhappy with the general
performance of your machine, try
selecting Load Optimal Defaults in
the BIOS to see if this improves things.
Installing a new motherboard? Make
sure it works by connecting the power
supply, CPU, memory, and graphics
card before sliding it into your case. The BIOS ID string appears at the bottom of the screen as your machine boots. Try
searching the Internet with this if you need more info on your motherboard.
Good airflow is essential for the cool
running of your machine try to keep latest hints and tips for getting the PC if you dont have access to another
cables and leads tied up to the side of most out of this motherboard. source you can search by PC
your motherboards if possible. manufacturer or motherboard maker.
Upgraded motherboard? Instead of
Most motherboards come with reinstalling Windows from scratch, try Dual-channel RDRAM memory needs
temperature monitoring software; use deleting the HKEY_LOCAL_ to be updated using pairs of identical
this to check the running temperature MACHINE\Enum key in Registry RIMMs. Any free memory slots also
of your processor. Editor before shutting down and need to be occupied by continuity
installing your new board. Make sure modules otherwise your PC wont work.
Use thermal paste between your youve backed up first, too.
processor and the heatsink to ensure a CAS Latency (CL) defines the
good conductive contact. Memory response time of the memory at a set
The combinations and placement of speed, with a lower CL rating
If you dont use your motherboards memory is defined in your producing better performance, albeit at
onboard sound or game ports, disable motherboard manual check there a slightly higher price.
them in the BIOS to free up resources. before thinking about any upgrade.
Be careful not to set the CAS Latency
VIA-based motherboard? Take a look Use www.crucial.com/uk to too low for your memory in the BIOS
at www.viahardware.com for the identify the memory supported by your configuration this will slow your
machine down significantly.

Lies, damn lies, and FDISK SiSoft Sandra (Toolkit on the

The partitioning tool that ships with Windows 95, 98 and Me is showing its age
The version of FDISK that ships with Windows 95/98/Me
has a rather significant problem when it comes to
handling drives larger than 68.7Gb. In these instances it
will report drive size as the difference between the actual
capacity of the drive and this built-in limit, so a healthy
79Gb hard drive will be reported as having the capacity of
an 11Gb drive. This problem will also rear its ugly head
when dealing with RAID arrays that span multiple disks
to create a single virtual drive.
For the most part this is just a cosmetic problem
you can still use FDISK to create a single partition, but
for multiple partition creation youll need to specify each
partition as a percentage of the overall size of the drive.
This can be a little trickier to work out than simply
specifying the size in megabytes, but it will produce the
correct overall results. If you try specifying the partition
sizes in megabytes youll get a rather unpleasant error for
your trouble. Obviously, if your partitioning needs are
complex you should consider using specialised software
anyway such as the wonderful, if somewhat expensive,
PartitionMagic (www.powerquest.com).
The 68.7Gb limit also surfaces if you try formatting a
large drive using the FORMAT command in DOS. Again,
the program will tell you that the size of the drive is
much smaller than it actually is. Dont worry though, this
is a purely cosmetic problem and each partition will be
fully formatted without problems, with the correct
amount of space being shown after the operation. Ideally,
you should perform this procedure in Windows, but if
this is your only drive it wont necessarily be possible.
PowerDisc) does a commendable job of
querying the memory module for the
supported CL ratings and frequencies.
Use this if you have any doubts.
Your BIOS should give you the
option of deriving the memory timings
from the modules SPD. Only use this if
youre using identical modules.
If youre unsure of the correct CL
setting for your PC, use the memory
benchmark of SiSoft Sandra at the two
settings to see which is quicker.
Make sure that any memory you
install is seated correctly as you push
the memory into the socket, the
memory clips should click into place.

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If you install 1Gb of memory in a
machine running Windows 95/98, the
machine may not start. Take a look at
Knowledge Base article Q184447 on
Microsofts Web site for why this is so
and to locate the fix.
Memory modules are particularly
susceptible to static damage, so hold
them by the edges and store them in
an anti-static bag when not in use.
If you have an nForce-based
motherboard, youll need to use two
identical pieces of DDR SDRAM in slot-1
and slot-3 for optimal performance.
If your motherboard has four
memory slots, it may not support
double-sided memory in all the slots.
Check the manual before upgrading.
If youre overclocking your machine,
youll need to use faster memory for
the best performance try to use
PC150 memory, or PC2400.
If you exceed your motherboards
memory limit, your system can run
slower, as there isnt enough cache to
handle the memory.
Dont mix different memory types in
the same machine ECC and non-ECC
memory should be kept apart for
compatibility reasons.
You can mix different densities of
memory, and use different
manufacturers on motherboards with
single-channel memory controllers.
Memory faulty? Use a DOS-based
memory tester such as DocMemory
(www.simmtester. com) to check it.
If your memory is capable of running
faster than the CPU FSB, try upping
the memory speed in the BIOS for a
speed boost.
Your system may report less memory
than you have installed if the
motherboard has onboard graphics
capabilities this will claim some of
this memory for itself.
Hard Drives
An IDE channel runs as slow as its
slowest device, so keep your hard and
CD-ROM drives on separate channels.
If you have two devices sharing an
IDE channel, its essential that one is
Page 81
solutions
defined as the Master and the other
the Slave using jumpers on the back of
each drive.
Run ScanDisk (chkdsk in WinXP) and
Disk Defragmenter regularly to detect
problems early on and also keep your
hard drive running optimally.
Hard drives can use a DMA channel
to improve performance; check the
settings screen for your hard drive in
Device Manager to see if its enabled.
If turning on DMA stops your
machine booting, you should force the
drive to use DMA Mode 0 in the
Integrated Peripherals section of the
BIOS to rectify the matter.
While your hard drive may support
the ATA-133 standard, it can only
transfer at the faster rate if your IDE
interface also supports it.
If your drive supports ATA-66 or
higher, be sure to use 80-wire IDE cable
a 40-wire cable cant maintain signal
integrity and performance will suffer.
Hard drive manufacturers count
capacities using a decimal system, as
opposed to binary so dont be
surprised if your new drive appears to
be a few megabytes short.
If you have a large hard drive, but
your BIOS only recognises it as an
8.4Gb or 33.8Gb drive, then you need
to flash your BIOS to update it.
Be sure to partition your drive using
the FAT32 standard under Windows
95/98/Me, otherwise you wont be able
to create partitions larger than 2Gb.
If your hard drives boot sector is
damaged, the drive wont boot, but
this doesnt mean youve lost data.
Boot from your start-up disk and check.
Floppy and Zip Drives
Cant find the floppy cable? Look for
the ribbon cable with a twist in it.
A constant drive light indicates that
the cable has been plugged in the
wrong way around either at the
motherboard or at the drive end.
If youre getting no response from
the drive at all, then check that the
power connector is in place; these can
be easily dislodged.
windows feature hardware internet
Bad floppy disks are all too common. This disk is write-protected. Flip the tab at
Never keep your only copy of data on a the top left to remove write protection.
floppy disk.
Cant write to floppy? Check the disk
isnt write-protected, or run ScanDisk
on the A drive to check for errors.
Cant boot from floppy? Check the
boot sequence in your BIOS, and make
sure you have a bootable floppy disk
installed. Try the disk in another PC to
check its working.
If you are having floppy problems If youre trying to tweak your memory
check the drive is correctly identified in performance, SiSoft Sandra is an
your BIOS. Most commonly this is 3.5- indispensable tool. Youll find it in the
inch, 1.44Mb. Toolkit section on the main PowerDisc.
Does opening My Computer
immediately access the floppy drive?
Edit the Registry key,
HKEY_CURRENT_USER\Software\
Microsoft\Windows\
CurrentVersion\Policies\Explorer.
Ensure NoDriveTypeAutoRun has
the value 95 00 00 00.
If Windows Me is showing your Zip
drive as a floppy drive, check your
jumper settings on the Zip drive. Reset
to the Slave position.
Zip drive doesnt eject during WinMe
shutdown? Me shuts down too quickly
for the driver to cope. Eject the disk
before shutting down.
Sometimes your Zip drive can be
responsible for Windows 98 running
slowly. Update your driver if this is the
case see overleaf.
You can boot from internal Zip drives
with most BIOSes, but not many
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solutions windows
Nero is one of the finest pieces of CD writing software currently available, and it supports
all manner of BURN-proofing.
support booting from drives attached
to the parallel port.
Dont think you can boot from your
USB Zip drive you cant.
If your parallel Zip drive isnt
detected, this could be due to a parallel
port conflict. Remove all other parallel
devices, connect your drive directly to
the port and try again.
If Windows XP doesnt give your
parallel Zip drive a drive letter,
download an updated driver.
Also check your parallel port settings
in your computers BIOS. It should be
set to EPP 1.9, Fast Mode, PS/2,
Standard or SPP.
If your USB Zip drive isnt detected,
make sure its connected directly to one
of your USB ports, not via a hub.
If your Zip drive is sluggish, check
your disk. 100Mb disks work in 250Mb
drives, but they do so very slowly.
You can also increase the speed of
your USB Zip drive by unplugging all
other USB devices.
Does your USB Zip drives letter keep
changing? This can be caused by using
different USB ports, so stick to the
same one if you can.
Visit www.iomega.com for driver
updates, extra tools and lashings of
technical support. Check for the latest
version of the IomegaWare software.
82 PC ANSWERS.CO.UK MAY 2002
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feature hardware
CD and DVD Drives
If you cant listen to audio CDs on
your PC, check the audio cable that
connects your CD-ROM drive to your
soundcard has been set up.
If you want to watch DVDs youll
need an MPEG-2 decoder (software or
hardware). PowerDVD is a fine software
option for a limited demo check out
www.gocyberlink.com.
As with hard drives, enabling DMA
for your drives will improve
performance, unless your motherboard
uses an old VIA chipset.
To update your CD drives firmware,
check your drive manufacturers Web
site for the latest version.
Problems can occur if you connect
the IDE cable to the drive incorrectly.
For most drives the red edge of the IDE
ribbon should be closest to the drives
power connector.
If you are experiencing problems
playing back audio CDs youve created,
try cutting them at a slower speed.
Non-SCSI External CD-RWs suffer
from poor transfer rates, so unless the
drive features buffer under-run
protection you should slow down the
write speed to 6X.
Ideally your CD-RW drive should be
on the only device on the second IDE
channel, assuming your hard drive is on
the first. If it is sharing the channel
with another drive, you should make it
internet
the master device, so as to receive
priority during operations and thus
improve performance.
If your CD-RW isnt BURN-proof, you
shouldnt run other programs when
recording to disc, otherwise your CDs
may end up unusable.
If a direct disc copy doesnt work, try
creating an image of the CD on your
hard drive using your CD-RW drive at a
slow read speed.
Creating a multi-session CD makes
moving small files around much easier,
but has a negative impact on the CDs
capacity you lose 13.8Mb each time
you append a new session.
Some older drives are unable to read
CD-RWs, so if you need to pass on
information, writing it to a CD-R at
1X speed is usually the safest method.
Occasionally youll come across an
ISO image (for Linux installation for
example); simply open these images in
your authoring software and write it
out to CD normally.
Windows XP boasts integrated CD
writing, although youll need to make
sure your CD-RW is capable of this.
Check your manufacturers Web site for
any updates if its not.
If the BIOS cant see your new
CD-ROM drive, make sure you havent
turned off the relevant channel in the
drive configuration section of the BIOS.
Graphics Cards
When installing new drivers for your
graphics card, it is wise to uninstall
Older CD drives have trouble
reading CD-Rs and CD-RWs. Try burning
at single speed if you run into problems.
your current drivers first, so as to limit
the chance of version conflicts.
If youre upgrading your graphics
card, make sure you remove the old
drivers first this is more important
than with other upgrades.
There is a known incompatibility
between Videologics Vivid!XS graphics
card and the newer Asus motherboards,
so avoid combining the two.
There are so many versions of
graphics cards, thats its important to
know which chip you have in yours.
3DMark2001 (Toolkit on the PowerDisc)
can easily detect this information.
If youve got an nVidia-based
graphics card, you can find out the
cards specifics by right-clicking the
desktop. Choose Properties, Settings
tab, Advanced and then hit the
obvious tab. This also includes the
firmware version.
The firmware on graphics cards is
updated to fix problems and improve
performance. Check your cards Web
site for the latest version.
Modern graphics cards require an
unshared IRQ to work flawlessly. You
can check that this is configured
correctly in the BIOS. Use the
walkthrough on page 79 to help you.
Graphics drivers are continually
being updated, so check your
manufacturers Web site on a regular
basis for updates.
Failing that, go straight to the
graphics chip manufacturers site for
PCA106.feat 26/3/02 6:47 pm
the reference drivers, but make sure
you remove your existing drivers before
installing these as they could clash.
The AGP Aperture setting in the
BIOS should be set to half your physical
memory size.
Another BIOS setting, AGP driving
control, defines the strength of the
signal to the graphics card set this to
Auto unless you are overclocking.
The AGP Mode setting in the BIOS
should be set to 4X, if your
motherboard and graphics card support
it (otherwise 2X).
Newer graphics cards also support
Fast Writes for improved performance,
although setting this on older cards will
cause crashes.
There have been some problems with
nVidia-based cards and power saving.
Go to www.entechtaiwan.com/
files/nvresume.exe and place the
downloaded file in the Windows\
Startup folder if you have problems.
If you have an nVidia-based card, but
you want more control over it, take a
look at nVmax, available from
www.nvmax.com.
If youre having problems with your
AGP graphics card and Windows 95,
make sure you download and install the
latest Service Packs by default
Windows 95 doesnt support AGP.
Extra features such as TV-out are
added by the card manufacturers, so if
you use these, only download drivers
from that manufacturers Web site.
If you use a graphics card offering
multiple-monitor support, you may
experience some problems with OpenGL
software, as this only supports
acceleration to one output. If this is
the case, disable the second monitor
when using OpenGL software.
Recent graphics cards are far more
power-hungry than older generations,
and if youve got anything less than a
235 watt power supply you should
consider upgrading.
Some hardware problems are down
to the motherboards AGP controller
drivers, so check you have the latest
motherboard drivers.
Page 83
solutions windows
If the fan on your graphics card
becomes noticeably noisy, it could be
failing. Source a replacement fan if Help from Microsoft
the fan fails while using the card, The Microsoft Knowledge Base has a wealth of
permanent damage could occur. troubleshooting tips. Heres 30 of the best.
Monitors Q102228
You will sometimes need to re-centre
and resize your display after upgrading Q125174
your graphics card drivers, due to slight Q127139
changes in the timing information.
Q128345
If changing your graphics cards
resolution causes your monitor to
produce a blank screen, but you can Q130179
hear the program still working in the
background, it is probably because Q131690
Windows isnt using the correct drivers Q132882
for your monitor. Download the latest
drivers from your monitor Q140334/Q127022 Troubleshoot WAV sound playback problems in
manufacturers Web site.
Q150532
The easiest way of changing the
Q175629
refresh rate in DOS is by using a little
piece of freeware. Take a look at
www.informatik.fh-muenchen.de/ Q182930
~ifw98223/vbehz.htm for details.
Q186168
If you notice two fine horizontal
lines running across your screen, dont Q190554/ Q253633 Troubleshoot modem problems in Windows 98/Me
worry, this is normal theyre the Q195241
damping wires used in Trinitron and Q216204
Diamondtron tubes.
Q243450
If you notice a slight discolouring at
the edge of the screen, it could be Q245162
down to magnetic interference, in Q262381
which case try moving the monitor
away from your speakers. Q263218
Q264998
If your screen starts to flicker or be
affected by magnetic interference, use Q274370
your monitors degauss function to
reset the screens magnetic field.
Q277994
Try not to use low refresh rates
they produce a noticeable flicker that Q282530
can cause eyestrain and headaches.
Q288922
Take time to configure your monitor
so that the display uses all of the Q298837
visible screen area.
Q303368/Q285882 Windows Me hangs after hibernation or when
Run Windows at a resolution that is
clear and easily visible for 17-inch
Q306393
monitors youre looking at 1,024 x 768.
If colour reproduction is important, Q310664
its worth setting the colour
temperature of your monitor correctly Q310922
for your working environment.
Q312494
While your monitor may claim a
visible diagonal of 17-inches, most are
feature hardware internet
Benefits of cold booting when troubleshooting
hardware problems
Explanation of error codes in Device Manager
Troubleshoot display problems in Windows
95, 98 or Me
Troubleshoot printing problems in Windows 95, 98
or Me
Troubleshooting MS-DOS Compatibility Mode on
hard drives
Troubleshoot problems with floppy drives
Computer hangs copying data from a CD to the
hard drive
Windows 95, 98 or Me
Error messages caused by physically damaged drives
Remove Page Compatibility Mode problems for
large hard drives
Troubleshoot multiple display support in Windows
98 and Me
Windows 98 Backup utility is unable to recognise a
removable drive as a back-up device
USB mouse not detected in Safe mode
The reason Windows incorrectly identifies your
Pentium processor
ScanDisk errors on IDE hard drives larger than 32Gb
Cannot access hard disk after booting from floppy
How to troubleshoot problems relating to your PC
hanging when detecting new hardware
Troubleshoot USB devices in Windows 98 and Me
Epson TWAIN scanner displays error after upgrading
to Windows Me
Fix a blue-screen error message when you try to
play digital CD audio
What to do about cmdninst-related errors that
appear after upgrading to Windows Me
Prevent drive letters from changing after adding a
new CD or hard drive
Computer pauses with HP ScanJet 3200C Scanner in
Windows 95, 98 and Me
How to use Registry Editor to help identify an
unknown PCI device in Device Manager
trying to enter standby mode
How to fix the Stimon Caused an Invalid Page
Fault in Kernel32.dll error message
Problems hot-detaching a CD or DVD drive in
Windows XP
PC hangs at shutdown with USB Legacy Support
enabled in the BIOS (Win98)
HWINFO tool causes invalid page fault in Windows
98 setup or when running hwinfo.exe
MAY 2002 PC ANSWERS.CO.UK 83
PCA106.feat 26/3/02 6:47 pm
solutions windows
slightly smaller than this its the
norm, so dont panic!
If you want more control over your
display, install Entechs excellent
PowerStrip from the Toolkit section of
this months main PowerDisc.
If you find that some applications
are too dark, you should use your
graphics cards gamma correction tools
to correct the problem.
More precise control over gamma
correction is afforded by using E-colors
3Deep, available for download from
www.ecolor.com.
Be careful which resolutions and
refresh rates you run at if you are using
a KVM switch the additional cables
can adversely affect higher resolutions.
Dont cover the grills on the top or
the sides of your monitor good
airflow is essential for the smooth
operation of your monitor.
A ghosted image is usually due to an
improperly shielded cable a
replacement quality cable wont set you
back too much.
Normal household glass cleaner can
be used to clean CRT screens, but
should not be used for plastic TFTs.
Dont be surprised if you hear a
clicking as you change resolutions
the sound is produced by mechanical
relay switches that control the
monitors voltage.
Connection speed revealed
What to do when hovering your mouse over the connection System Tray icon doesnt reveal its proper speed.
1 If hovering your mouse over the icon returns
57,600 or 115,200 then youre being shown
the speed of connection between your PC
and modem, not the modem and your ISP.
84 PC ANSWERS.CO.UK MAY 2002
Page 84
feature hardware
If the monitors colour seems wrong,
its worth checking the pins in your
monitor cable. If any are damaged, get
a new one.
Soundcards
Be selective when installing the
software that comes with your
soundcard Creatives latest will
happily install 500Mb of extra stuff.
Having problems getting your
microphone working? Make sure your
soundcard is the preferred recording
device, and that the microphone is the
selected recording source.
If you have a SoundBlaster Live! or
Audigy soundcard, youll find the latest
drivers including Windows XP on
this months second cover disc.
The installation procedure for
Creatives soundcard creates two icons
in the Control Panel, one for
controlling your audio (AudioHQ) and
one for managing automatic CD
insertion (Disc Detector). These are
both worth a thorough investigation to
help configure your machine exactly as
you need it.
If youre having problems loading a
MIDI waveset to your soundcard, try
installing the soundcard into a
different PCI slot.
If you dont play DOS games, and
youre having problems with your
SoundBlaster soundcard, try disabling
Creative SB16 Emulation in the
Device Manager.
2 First try your modem manufacturers Web
site, as this problem usually appears if you
arent using the correct drivers. Make sure
you get the right ones for your exact model.
internet
Having problems identifying your exact brand of graphics card? Take a look at MadOnions
3DMark2001 for more information...
Having no musical joy in your yet. Keep an eye out for it in a
games? Check that DirectX isnt at fault forthcoming driver update.
by running dxdiag.exe from the
Start, Run command and looking Mice and Keyboards
under the Sound tab. Mouse doesnt work in MS-DOS
mode? You need a dedicated DOS driver
If you find your starting sound is for it. Check with your manufacturers
repeating continuously, check your Web site.
autoexec.bat file for a reference to
sbeinit.com. If it exists, put a rem If your USB keyboard or mouse
before the line to see if that helps. refuses to work in Safe mode or MS-
DOS mode, you need to make sure that
Cant find Line-In for your Audigy USB Legacy Support is enabled in
soundcard? Creative has grouped CD the BIOS. Remember too, that you
Audio, Line-In, TAD-In and Aux In under need DOS drivers installed for your
the term Analog Mix. Use this instead. mouse for it to work in MS-DOS.
Under the SBLive! range of cards you If your BIOS doesnt have this then
can pan analogue sources, but under youll need to use a PS-2 or serial mouse
the Audigy cards this isnt possible just or keyboard in these modes.
stepbystep
3 Didnt work? Open the Modem Control
Panel and select Properties, Connection,
Advanced.Type w2 in the Extra Settings
box. Restart and it should now work.
PCA106.feat 26/3/02 6:47 pm Page 85
If your cordless mouses cursor flickers
or freezes then try re-sychronising it to
the receiver this is done by pressing
the Connect buttons on the receiver
and if applicable the mouse.
If youre using a non-cordless mouse
and the cursor flickers you need to
right-click on My Computer, choose
Properties and switch to the
Performance tab. Click on Graphics
and move the slider one notch to the
left and click OK.
A cordless mouses receiver can be
affected by other electrical devices,
especially those in your computer. Try
placing the receiver up to eight inches
(20cm) away from other devices.
Also, keep multiple PCs using
cordless equipment around 10 feet
apart to prevent possible interference
from one to the other.
If your mouses special functions
dont work, chances are you havent
installed the mouses custom software
or drivers for example, Logitechs
MouseWare software.
Problems with the mouse wheel? Try
updating your mouses driver, or
removing any third-party software
completely wheel functions are
supported natively from Win98 on.
If the keyboard icon appears in the
Taskbar its because you have more than
one language set up. Fix this via the
Language tab in the Keyboard
Control Panel.
The [Num Lock] key can be set to
on or off by default in the BIOS.
Modems
If you cant get your modem to work
using the drivers that came with it, try
setting it up using one of the generic
drivers that ships with Windows. This
way you should be able to get online to
download the latest drivers.
If youre having problems making a
connection to the outside world, try
connecting the modem directly to the
phone point.
If you have a plugnplay modem, you
may find you have multiple instances
appearing in Device Manager. Simply
delete them all and reboot; Windows
will then re-detect the hardware.
solutions
Identify your modem from the
Modems Control Panel: select your
modem, and then choose
Diagnostics, More Info.
Modem too noisy? You can turn the
speaker off by right-clicking the modem
in Device Manager, choosing
Properties, Modem tab and then
using the Speaker volume slider.
If youre having real problems, try
getting hold of Modem Doctor from
www.modemdoctor.com.
Its also worth visiting
http://808news.com/56/ for more
diagnostics advice.
If your connection to the Internet is
somewhat flaky, try connecting at a
slower speed by throttling your
modem. Take a look at your modem
manual to see how to do this.
You can get Windows 95, 98 or Me
to create a log of your connection
activity to help aid diagnosis. Open the
Network Control Panel and choose
Dial-Up Adaptor tab, Properties,
Advanced and set Record a log file
to Yes. You can then view the
Ppplog.txt file in your text editor.
Networks
The easiest system for configuring
your own network is to get the server
to allocate IP addresses using DHCP.
Network card manufacturers often
produce several cards with similar
names; make sure you are using the
correct drivers for your card for trouble-
free operation.
If you are having problems with the
driver configuration, try removing the
current drivers and then reinstalling
the card in another PCI slot.
Check the physical connections of
your network while setting it up. Each
network card should show a green
light, confirmed by the network hub.
All the PCs on your network need to
share the same workgroup name, but
have different Computer names. Check
by right-clicking My Network Places
or Network Neighborhood and
selecting Properties, Identification.
Make sure that at least one PC on
your network is configured to share.
windows feature hardware internet
Right-click the My Network Places Having problems getting all the features
icon in XP, select Properties and click of your soundcard working? Try disabling
File and Print Sharing. legacy DOS emulation in Device Manager
to see if that helps.
In earlier versions of Windows youll
find the button for setting up file and
printer sharing in the main tab of the
Network Control Panel.
Give your network time to set up
it can take a minute or two for the
various machines to appear in the
Network Neighborhood.
Once you have configured your
network, use the network benchmark
from SiSoft Sandra to make sure that its
up to speed.
One of best reasons for setting up a
network is to share a printer. You need
to install the drivers on each machine
that wants to print to it of course.
Manual configuration
Some rules for trouble-free network configuration.
While configuring each machine on a network may sound masochistic, it
does offer you more control and also a better understanding of why things
can and do go wrong. You need to set up the physical side of your network
first and then you can move onto the software configuration.
There are several network protocols you can configure your network to
use, but undoubtedly the most useful is TCP/IP. When you configure your
network to use this system, each machine on the network needs to have a
different IP address. The address takes the form of four 8-bit numbers
separated by periods, and there are rules dictating which numbers you can
and cant use. IP numbers starting with 192.168 are considered safe for
home networking and wont interfere with those used by Internet sites.
For most home networks, you should define the first PC as 192.168.1.1,
the next 192.168.1.2, and so on. Each machine on your network also
needs to have a corresponding subnet mask, and in this example this mask
is 255.255.255.0. Type this into each PC and youre ready to start sharing...
MAY 2002 PC ANSWERS.CO.UK 85
PCA106.feat 26/3/02 6:47 pm
solutions windows
Printers
While USB printers offer a faster
connection to your PC than their
parallel cousins, they can be trickier to
install. Turn it on and attach it to your
PC before installing the drivers.
If Windows still refuses to detect
your USB inkjet, try adding them
manually. Choose Start, Settings,
Printers, Add Printer and point
Windows to your drivers folder.
If youve installed Windows 98 over
the top of 95 you may find it
impossible to install USB printers or
even other USB devices. The solution is
to format your drive and install a fresh
copy of Windows 98.
If you use your printer in different
ways with different programs, create
two printer profiles, both using the
same drivers. Configure each at will.
If youre having problems
communicating with your printer, try
changing the parallel port
communication mode in the BIOS.
Ideally it should be set to ECP.
If your printing seems slow, check
that youre not printing at the highest
resolution, plus close down any other
programs that might be running.
Avoid printer jams by not overfilling
your feed tray, plus fan the paper back
and forth before adding it to your
printers tray.
Keep inkjet cartridges in their
original packaging until you are ready
to use them theyll dry out otherwise.
Laser printers need good ventilation
for smooth operation; dont obscure any
of the vents while using the printer.
If your printouts appear more faded
than normal, or gaps appear in the
printing, check the adjust lever to
make sure the paper is set correctly.
Digital Cameras
USB Camera not showing up in
Device manager? Click on Refresh in
Device Manager and it should appear.
Conversely, the Kodak DC25 camera
can continue to download images to
Check out our selection of network tips
on page 85 for trouble-free connections.
86 PC ANSWERS.CO.UK MAY 2002
Page 86
feature hardware
your PC even after being disabled in
Device Manager.
Card reader not showing up as a
drive in Win9x? Go to Windows Help
and follow the Installing Support for
Flash memory card instructions.
Serial cameras need to be installed to
a COM port. If it isnt working check
that another device such as a mouse or
modem is not installed on the same
port. Remember COM ports 1 and 3 are
shared, as are 2 and 4.
If your USB camera is not recognised
and its the only USB device you have,
check that your USB controller is
correctly installed.
Check your USB controller in Device
Manager. If its showing an error,
remove it and reinstall the driver from
your Windows CD.
If you cant find the USB controller can halt proceedings by cutting in.
in Device Manager, check that your
USB ports are enabled in your
computers BIOS.
Flash and Smart media cards can
suffer from static electricity build-up,
so use anti-static precautions when
handling them.
Does your image appear speckly?
Your shutter speed is too slow. Adjust
your camera accordingly.
If you cant retake the picture,
remove speckles after the fact, using
the Despeckle filter in Paint Shop Pro.
If you are having problems
connecting a serial camera to Windows
internet
98SE, read article Q252183 at the
Microsoft Support Knowledge Base for
details and a patch.
Serial cameras transfer images slowly.
Ensure your screensaver is disabled as it
Scanners
If you formatted your compact flash
or smart media card in a card reader,
your camera may not recognise it.
Re-format it in the camera.
Visit www.mediachance.com/
digicam/ for more digital camera fixes
and tools.
Cameras vary widely. Make sure you
read the manual in case of difficulties.
If it cant help you, try the
manufacturers Web site. For your
convenience, here are some popular
manufacturers sites:
www.fujifilm.co.uk/technical
www.nikon-euro.com
www.kodak.com
Problems with your digital camera? Check
out our selection of fixes.
www.polaroid.com/service/
www.minoltaeurope.com
If your USB scanner isnt detected by
your PC, try a different USB port.
Also, make sure you follow the
instructions carefully for USB
scanners this can mean connecting the
scanner when your PC is switched off.
Some Canon scanners prevent
standby mode from working properly. If
a fix isnt available, unplug the scanner
before entering standby mode.
Use your TWAIN software sensibly.
Only call it from within one application
at a time, and close it before shutting
down your image editor.
You usually have to switch your
parallel-port scanner on before booting
your PC so Windows recognises it.
Parallel devices can conflict so if you
have more than one peripheral
attached to your parallel port, turn one
off while you use the other.
Can preview, but cant scan? The
problem is often in EMM386.EXE and
HIMEM.SYS. Click Start, Run, type
msconfig, press [Return], switch to
the CONFIG.SYS tab, and clear the
ticks next to the two files. Click OK
and restart.
The best time to adjust image
settings is before you scan, not after.
While its possible to rescue a poor scan
PCA106.feat 26/3/02 6:47 pm
Got a problem with
your scanner? Youve
come to the right place.
in an image editor, its far better to
have a decent image in the first place.
Once your scanner has finished
calibrating itself, dont open the lid
while scanning or youll have to
calibrate it again.
Photos from newspapers, magazines
and postcards can produce banding,
termed the moir effect. Most TWAIN
drivers have filters built-in if yours
doesnt, check your image editor as
most have tools for removing this.
A blurry scan can be caused by a
smear on your flatbed glass. Buff it up
with a soft cloth or chamois leather.
Dont use tissue to wipe your scanner
glass. The minute wood fibres in
household tissue are enough to cause
small scratches.
If your scanner works, but you cant
find the pictures youve just scanned,
you may be doing things in the wrong
order. Launch your graphics program
and find the acquire option. This
should launch your TWAIN software.
Scan and exit the TWAIN software.
Your picture should now appear in your
image editor ready for editing.
Hungry for more scanning tips? Try
www.scantips.com
Visit your scanner manufacturers site
for driver updates or specific tips. Some
common addresses:
www.hp.com/cposupport/
nonjsnav/sjetscan (all one line)
www.canon.co.uk/online_
product_support (all one line)
www.epson.co.uk/support/
Page 87
solutions
Web Cameras
Problems installing your webcam? Try
removing all other USB devices, then
plugging it in directly to the port.
Also, check your BIOS that various
settings including Legacy Support
and Assign IRQ to USB are enabled.
Also, try to make sure your USBs IRQ
isnt shared with any other devices
check the Installation Problems section
for more tips on this.
If your Windows Me system hangs
when selecting Camera Memory in
the Creative webcam Go application, then
its likely that you have Windows 98
drivers installed. Get the latest updates
and remove all entries from the
Add/Remove Programs Control Panel
(dont touch Device Manager).
Some webcams in particular the
Logitech QuickCam Home and Philips
675/680 models may prevent your
system from hibernating properly. The
quick solution is to unplug the webcam
from the USB port before going into
Hibernation mode.
If you upgrade to a later version of
Windows and your webcam stops
working with a yellow exclamation
mark in Device Manager, try
unplugging it and then plugging it
back in it should now detect and load
the correct drivers.
Got Windows XP? If youre running
Picture It! Photo 2001 it may be unable
to detect your webcam. If so, you need
TWAIN drivers for your webcam
check its Web site; otherwise use
a different program like Paint.
windows feature
10 troubleshooting sites
Still cant find a solution? These Web sites are packed
with essential information.
PC Guide
www.pcguide.com
Click on its Troubleshooting
and Repair Guide for some
essential tips and techniques on
diagnosing and troubleshooting
any PC problem.
Freehelp.co.uk
www.freehelp.co.uk/support/
A massive repository of
information. Includes links to
hundreds of major manufacturers
click on the Hardware search by
product name link. Scroll down for
links to pages on specific
hardware problems.
Logitech Support
www.logitech.com/cf
/support/1223.cfm
Superb page detailing
troubleshooting techniques for
USB connections on your PC.
Designed for webcams, but
suitable for all USB devices.
Protonic.com
www.protonic.com
Post your problem here and
hopefully youll get a fast response
from one of the many experts
who volunteer their time to
helping others.
Driverguide
www.driverguide.com
If youre looking for drivers for any
piece of hardware, then this is the
place to come. Youll need to
register first, but its free and is
your best chance of tracking down
an obscure or obsolete driver.
hardware internet
Microsoft Support Database
http://support.microsoft.com
/support/windows/topics
/hardware/hwddresctr.asp
Microsofts Windows 98 and
Windows Me Hardware/Device
Driver Troubleshooting Resource
Centre is an excellent stepping
stone to hundreds of articles
offering help for hardware
problems in Windows.
PC Tech Guide
www.pctechguide.com
Comprehensive look at PC
components find out how
theyre put together and what
they consist of.
eHelpFree
www.ehelpfree.com
A collection of links to technical
support discussion forums.
PC911
www.pcnineoneone.com
A general help and tweak site.
PCAnswers Forums
www.futureforums.co.uk
/pcanswers/
If youre struggling to find an
answer to your problem, check
out the PCA forums, where fellow
readers are on hand to offer you
help and advice.
MAY 2002 PC ANSWERS.CO.UK 87