Dr

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Anniversary Special e-book

 DR. CHIP - ARCHIVES

Foreword
Dear Reader,
A significant portion of all mail sent to CHIP solicits technical support. There are
some who ask “Which is the best graphics card to buy?” while others want us to
advise them on PC configurations. And then, there are some who encounter quirky
performance, strange system behavior, and unexplained error messages.

If your system is on a warranty, you’d naturally dial tech support. If it’s an Internet
problem, there’s the service provider’s help line. And if you’re lucky, there’s a tech
guru in the neighborhood. And then there’s Dr. CHIP.

Who is Dr. CHIP? Is he a person in the CHIP team? What’s his real name?
In the Dr. CHIP section within the magazine, you see a vector drawing of a young
engineer in a lab coat. We have tried to keep the true identity of Dr. CHIP a secret.
But you may already know him, as he sometimes replies directly to damsels (and
lads) in distress. But for the rest of us, we have to wait a month to see the reply to
our question in the magazine. And what if you missed an issue?

We hit upon the idea of compiling a book on all Dr. CHIP’s prescriptions, antidotes,
diagnoses and cures. You might think of it as a book of secret magic spells! So here
it is, in an e-book format. We hope you enjoy reading this e-book and find a solution
that suits you.

Meanwhile, keep those queries coming to drchip@chip.in

– Team CHIP

Intelligent computing CHip |3

DR. CHIP - ARCHIVES
Sachin Pandit
Got a computer problem?
Write to Dr. Chip at
drchip@chip-india.com
4 | intelligent computing CHip
Dr CHIP
[Q] Hello Dr. CHIP, I have a problem with my
boot loader. I have installed two operating
systems on my PC. When I installed Fedora
7 it was booting properly but after I installed
Windows XP SP2, it is not giving me the
option for Fedora.
– Vallabh Bodhane
You have installed the operating systems
in the wrong sequence. Linux should be installed
last. I assume that Windows is working properly
now. To get Linux running on your machine, boot
from the Linux CD and enter the Rescue mode.
Reload GRUB and you should have Linux running
on your system properly. You may seek the help
of a Linux user group or a friend who is familiar
with Linux.
Install Linux only after installing all Microsoft Operating
systems and use GRUB to restore problems if any.
[Q] Hello Dr. CHIP. My system’s configuration
is: Pentium 3 processor 866 MHz, 256
MB RAM, and a 40 GB hard disk. My
motherboard is made by Intel. I bought
the system in 1999. I have a broadband
connection of 256 kbps. About a month
back, I bought a 256 MB SD RAM module
and now the total RAM is 512 MB. After
adding the new RAM, the system started
restarting at the point where the HP logo
appears on the screen. I sought the help of
a computer engineer, but he did not give
me a proper reason. He said that the two
RAM modules are clashing with each other.
What does that mean? My system has
SD RAM slots and the OS is Windows XP
Media Center. Also, which is the best free
download manager? Download Accelerator
Plus or Free Download Manager? Which is
the best shareware, Mass Downloader or
DAP Premium? I use Norton Antivirus 2007
and the computer engineer said that it is not
a good antivirus. Is that true?
– Avinesh
Your new memory module is the culprit.
The speed of does not match that of your old
memory module. One may be 100 MHz and the
other may be 133 MHz. Try using only the older
module and see if Windows runs normally. Then
try using only the new one and monitor what
happens. You may have to install Windows again
or repair it because of the OS crashes. It is also
possible that the new module is faulty or the
motherboard’s memory slots are dusty or faulty.
Have these checked and you should have your
system working fine again.
Norton is a good antivirus program but
definitely slows down your computer. You may
want to use a lighter one such as AVG if you
wish. Download it for free from ‘http://free.
grisoft.com’.
Make sure you install the right frequency memory
when pairing or clubbing with older modules.
All download managers are good
enough. You can try ‘Internet Download
Manager’, a free option, which is also
good. It is also quite light on the memory
and downloads faster too.
[Q] Hi Dr. CHIP. I have to upgrade my
BIOS using Windows XP. How can I
do it? Please guide me first on XP and
then in DOS modes. I downloaded a
new version of the BIOS but I don’t
know how to upgrade it. I use Gigabyte
Motherboard P4 -G85333 F4.
– Rakesh Dhawde
Updating the BIOS is a very risky
job. Make sure you won’t have any power
problems while doing so. You should not
even attempt it if you face frequent power
cuts in your area. Having a UPS would be
good. This is because while updating the
BIOS, if there is a power failure, it doesn’t
get flashed completely, and so your
motherboard can be irreparably damaged.
Your motherboard comes with a driver
CD that contains the necessary software
for updating the BIOS. The manual or the
driver CD will give you the instructions to
do it yourself. If it’s a DOS program, then
Make sure the BIOS flash program is correct and
you have the right BIOS update.
DR. CHIP - ARCHIVES
you will need a floppy drive and one floppy
disk without any bad sectors. This floppy
should be bootable too. The rest of the
procedure is given in the driver CD. If the
BIOS software is Windows-based, then all
you have to do is install the software and
run it in Windows over an active Internet
connection. The software will automatically
connect to the required website, check
your current BIOS version, and download
the latest version from the Internet. Use good quality CD/DVD cleaning kits to ensure
smooth running of your optical drives.
[Q] Whenever I start my PC, I get a
message that asks me to increase the The DVD drive seems to have
‘maximum registry size’. How can I do a dirty or weak lens. Use a good lens
this? The OS of the PC is Windows 2000 cleaning kit to clean the DVD lens or just
and it has 128 MB of RAM. open it and clean the lens using a soft
– Lalit earbud dipped in alcohol or spirit. If this
does not solve the problem, then you will
have to repair or replace the DVD drive.
[Q] Dear Dr. CHIP. I have a problem
with my PC. Recently it seemed to be
suffering from a spyware attack, but I
did not fiddle with any config files in
the Control Panel or registry. I used
Ad-Aware to remove the spyware, but
Change the size of the registry maintained by
Windows if it is needed. still an adware icon remains near the
clock display and it keeps warning
To increase the maximum size of me. When I click on it, it takes me to
your registry when using Windows 2000, the link: ‘http://winantivirus.com/
open the ‘System Properties’ dialog box on download/2007/index.php?aid=swp_
the Control Panel (click on ‘Start | Settings | wa7p_mrt_wav-d2007&lid=6018&affi
Control Panel’, and then double-click on the d=pp_915758844&ax=1&ex=1&h=10&
‘System’ icon). Click on the ‘Performance’ j=1&ed=2&ax=1&ex=1&ed=1&purl=.’
tab and then click on the ‘Change’ button When I click on the Windows security
under Virtual Memory. The Maximum alert pop up, I get a message that says
Registry Size (MB) field is at the very ‘This operation has been cancelled
bottom of the dialog box. You shouldn’t due to restrictions in effect on this
have to increase it too much to make computer. Please contact your system
enough room for new registry entries. administrator’. I used Hijackthis, but
Add about 5 MB to 10 MB to the current
setting and enter the new number in the
Maximum Registry Size (MB) field. Click
on ‘OK’ and restart your system when
Windows prompts you to do so.
[Q] Hi CHIP. I have a Sony DVD writer.
When I insert a DVD in this writer, the
system does not detect it, but the same
DVD works fine on another DVD drive.
Please tell me how this problem can be
Fake antivirus and antispyware programs like this
solved.
one can cause a lot of damage to your data.
– Arvind Kumar
Intelligent computing CHip |5
DR. CHIP - ARCHIVES DR. CHIP - ARCHIVES

the Winantivirus link is not displayed WapCHK.dll replace them. Make sure you have your
on it. Please help me. Thanks. rpt.dll Windows XP CD handy while the system
– Vijay Krishna awvtr.dll performs this task.
yayyvsp.dll  If you still don’t solve the problem, then
WinAntiVirus Pro 2007 is also fcyxx.dll the final alternative would be to back up
System File Checker (SFC) program in Windows
known as WinFixer and WinAntiVirus Pro gebxyax.dll your hard drive and reinstall the operating
can clear corrupted system files.
2006 previously. It is a fake antispyware asmngr.dll system all over again.
program, and is a nightmare for computer fopnl.dll Windows system DLLs’.
users. WinAntiVirus Pro 2007, the latest IEFWBHO.dll  Software is not working: I bought [Q] Hi Dr. CHIP. I wrote to you recently
incarnation of this program, usually installs Scnkrnl.dll a digital web camera from HCL last that I had used my GeForce 8500GT
itself on your PC without your permission, settings.dll year. A CD was bundled with that card with a 120 Watt SMPS when Make use of better and bigger cooling fans if your The website ‘Filext.com’ informs you about the
through Trojans and viruses. It will greatly sqlite3.dll camera. One of the programs on its a 350 Watt SMPS was required. processor needs more cooling. use of any file extension you may have.
degrade PC performance, generate system WAV6COM.dll CD is Ulead Photo Express 4.0 SE. The processor was running at high
errors, and also display fake system or winpgi.dll Initially, it worked very well for photo temperatures. You asked me to apply find or buy additional fans, then you may If you do not know which program
security alerts. This is to trick the user into BORLNDMM.dll editing. Now, when I click the icon I coolant paste. I have tried it but the keep the cabinet door open and keep a opens a file with a particular extension,
buying the paid version of WinAntiVirus SCANADWR.dll get no response. I have uninstalled and problem still persists. Recently my table fan facing the motherboard. This will check the extensions on ‘http://filext.
Pro 2007. (If your homepage is hijacked, SCANBCDR.dll reinstalled this program many times. system restarted suddenly and I got a give all the components sufficient cool air com’. The ‘.uif’ is a Magic ISO Universal
your browser might redirect you to SCANLDR.DLL While reinstalling the software, I get message that said ‘The processor was for operating. Image Format File and ‘.daa’ is a PowerISO
Winantivirus.com) SCANDOS1.dll no message. When the icon is clicked shut down due to thermal overheating. Direct-Access Archive. You will need the
Manual Removal Instructions: SCANEMUL.dll also I get no response. All the other Please service the unit immediately’. I respective programs to use these files.
Stop the following WinAntiVirus Pro 2007 SCANFUNC.dll programs on this CD such as Photo restarted the system and it is running [Q] Hi Dr. CHIP. I have a few problems Try using the program Bitcomet for
processes running in the memory: SCANMCRL.dll Explorer, Cam 6200, and Power Director normally. Is there anything wrong with my torrent downloads. Some downloading torrents. As an example,
mav_startupmon.exe SCANOTHR.dll are running properly. However, Ulead with my processor? The average downloads have extensions such as in this program, when you press ‘ALT
uwa7pcw.exe SCANSCR.dll Photo Express 4.0 SE runs properly on temperature of the processor ranges .uif and .daa. I have no knowledge + ~’ the icon in the system tray will
rtasks.exe SCANTOOL.dll my office system. Even my friends have from 95 to 105 degrees Celsius. My about using these files. Is there a need disappear. Press the same keys again and
WinAv.exe SCANTROJ.dll installed this program without any computer has 1 GB RAM and uses a for conversion of the extensions? it will appear again. Try looking for more
wa7pinst.exe SCANWIN1.dll problems. Please help me. Pentium 4 processor. Are special programs that read the download applications which can hide
Search for and remove the following UNACPU.dll – Suresh Chauhan – Kumar S extensions available? These files the icon from the system tray and work
WinAntiVirus Pro 2007 Registry values: UNADBX.dll are eBooks that I need to refer to in stealth mode. Most applications that
2178F3FB-2560-458f-BDEE- unamscan.dll Your Windows operating system Your computer CPU is working immediately. Some of the files are can do this may need to be purchased or
631E2FE0DFE4 UNMIME.dll seems to have been corrupted. Please above the normal temperature. This can applications. licensed.
6F520BE0-9B54-4558-816F- UNPACK.dll make sure you have antivirus and cause errors and can reduce the life of I use µTorrent for downloads.
224E67997DF3 UNPACKS.dll antispyware programs installed with the your processor and other components. If The icon of µTorrent is shown in the
459F4226-1AAB-43B6-9DC1- UNPACKS2.dll latest updates. This is to rule out any virus/ the CPU is heating too much, I think it is system tray. The problem is that my
B6313EF83749 UNPEPACK.dll malware interfering with your system time to change your CPU cooler. Consider brother and some of my friends use
1AC5C88A-DEA7-462b-A232- Finally, restart your computer and check performance. another fan (buy an original one) or install my system and sometimes they exit
04AF5CA42E7E if the problem still exists. If yes, then you Follow these steps: a third party fan from Cooler Master. Also, µTorrent, resulting in the download
723D54C7-7483-4EB8-8EED- may have to do the procedure all over  Make sure your computer is clean from install additional cabinet fans to ensure getting terminated. Is there any way to
CE5B2AEA534D again. Please ensure that the Internet is the inside. Clean all the dust with a good adequate ventilation. This should keep make the µtorrent icon disappear from
Find and Delete these WinAntiVirus Pro disconnected when doing this. I would blower and a brush. Clean the memory the cabinet cool. Keep the cabinet in a the system tray without affecting my
2007 Files: recommend following these steps while in slots and memory modules thoroughly. Do proper place where there is sufficient air download? (I don’t want any other user
WinAntiVirus Pro 2007 Safe Mode. this at your own risk. flow around it and none of the vents are to know that currently a download is in
Defragmenting tools like VoptXP can be used to
WinAv.exe  Run scandisk and defrag your blocked. Keep the inside of your cabinet progress via µTorrent).
monitor and efficiently defrag your hard drive.
uwa7pcw.exe [Q] Hello Dr. CHIP. I am using an HCL PC computer’s hard drive. clean all the time. If you cannot afford to – Shankar
mav_startupmon with Media Center Edition and a dual  Delete any temp files found.
mav_startupmon.exe core processor. I have two problems. I  Install a registry cleaning utility and scan
rtasks hope you will help me in this context. your registry for problems.
rtasks.exe  Calculator is not working: While  Reinstall any software that does not
wa7pinst.exe clicking on the calculator icon, I get a work.
IH.exe message that says ‘The system DLL  If you still cannot solve the problem,
WinAntiVirus Pro 2007.lnk user32.dll was relocated in memory. click on ‘start | run’ and type ‘SFC /
Reinstall or Uninstall WinAntiVirus Pro The relocation occurred because the SCANNOW’ and press [Enter]. This will
2007.lnk DLL C:\WINDOWS\system32\shell32.dll check your computer’s operating system
WinAntiVirus Pro 2007 Manual.lnk occupied an address range reserved for files for any corrupted or deleted files and

6 | intelligent computing CHip Intelligent computing CHip |7

DR. CHIP - ARCHIVES
[Q] Hi CHIP. I have been facing
a problem for a while now. The
defragmenter (preloaded) is not
responding. How do I fix this?
However, I have installed another
defragmenter from CHIP DVD. Yet,
I would like to know how to fix the
default one. My OS is XP Professional
SP2.
– Gauranga B hattacharya
Try installing the Windows XP SP2
again. This should replace the necessary
files. Alternatively, you can do the
following. You can reinstall all corrupted or
missing files by using the command ‘SFC
/SCANNOW’ in Windows XP. Just type
the command in the ‘Start | Run’ dialog
box. You will require the original Windows
installation CD for the same.
[Q] Hi CHIP. I have a problem with
my computer’s monitor (HCL). My PC
monitor desktop screen goes into a
roll state but when I place my hand on
the upper part of my monitor and then
press it lightly or strongly, it returns to
normal.
– Arnab Chatterjee
Bad soldering, loose wiring, dust and over heating
can cause electronic problems in the monitor.
If you know how to repair
electronic equipment, then you may open
the monitor and check for loose cables
and wires. Also, ensure there is no dry
solder on the circuit board. If you do not
know anything about repairing electronic
equipment, then I would suggest calling
the service center.
[Q] Hi Dr. CHIP. I’m having a problem
with playing DVDs on my PC. I have a
SONY DRU170c DVD writer and it can’t
8 | intelligent computing CHip
Keep your DVD writer in good shape by cleaning
it regularly.
read scratched DVDs that can be read
by my friend’s LG drive. It shows an
error message that says ‘Unexpected
DVD error’ or ‘Cannot read a portion
of the disk, the playback may be
affected’ and stops playing. Even disks
with slight scratches are not read.
Most of my DVD collection is at a
standstill. How can I get them read by
my DVD writer?
– Arun Raj
The DVD writer’s lens is either dirty
or has become weak. You may be able to
have it replaced if it is still covered by the
warranty. Or else, just go in for a new one
as repairing makes no sense when a new
one with a one year warranty is available
for under Rs 1800.
[Q] Hello Dr. CHIP. I’m having a
restarting problem with my PC. I have
already installed a UPS. However, at
times, my system restarts as soon
as the power fails, although it works
fine on other occasions. I am quite
annoyed by this problem. To solve
this problem, I connected my UPS
to my friend’s PC and we faced no
Keep your computer safe from power failures and
surges by using a good quality online UPS.
problems. When I connected his UPS
to my PC, the same problem occurred
again. What should I do now? Please
help me. My CPU has an 865 Mercury
motherboard, Intel Celeron 2.53 GHz
Processor, 768 MB of RAM, 400 W
SMPS, and I run design applications
such as Pro E, AutoCAD, and Inventers.
– Manish Kumar
Your computer seems to have a
faulty or weak SMPS (PSU or power
supply unit). The UPS may not be an
online UPS and the system restarts due
to the small spikes in power supply that
happen when the UPS switches from
power mode to battery mode. These
spikes cannot be handled by your SMPS.
An online UPS powers the system
continuously through the battery and does
not have this switching problem. Please
have your SMPS checked or replaced.
[Q] Hello CHIP. I want to know if
constant formatting will damage the
hard drive. I have six partitions (C,
D, E, F, G, and H) on my hard drive. I
also want to know if I can interchange
spaces in drives C and D without
interfering with the data in other
drives. Please help me.
– Arvind Kumar
Formatting the hard drive will not
cause problems. Changing the partition’s
size without transferring any data can be
done with the help of programs such as
Partition Magic. But be careful because
if there is a power problem or if the PC
hangs while doing the resizing of the
partition, there could be permanent data
loss. You have to always take backups.
[Q] Hello, Dr. CHIP. I must say that the
solutions you suggest are to the point
and easy to follow. I am facing the
following problems. Please help me
solve them.
[1] My friend has two Intel-based
systems. One uses an Intel 945G
original motherboard, and the other
an Intel 915G. Network adapters are
from Realtek (onboard). When he
connects his PC through the RJ45
Partition Magic can partition your drive without
reinstalling your operating system.
Ethernet ports, he gets 10 Mbps
speed. However, both motherboards
support 100 Mbps speed. I can say
this because when we set ‘auto
negotiation’ as the value of the Speed
& Duplex Setting of his NIC Adapter,
Windows XP SP2 automatically sets
the connection speed at 100 Mbps
and displays the status as ‘Local Area
Network Connected at 100 Mbps’.
But the status of the connection was
‘The Ethernet Cable is unplugged’.
When we set the value of the above
Speed & Duplex Setting as ‘10 Mbps,
full duplex’, the status of the network
connection suddenly changed to ‘You
are connected to the network’. How is
this possible? When the NIC can give
100 Mbps according to the operating
system, how can the connection fail
to connect to the network? Also,
when the NIC’s speed is decreased,
it connects successfully. When we
told our computer engineer about
this problem, he told us that the label
‘10’ displays the speed with a normal
crossover cable, while the label ‘100’
displays the speed that we can achieve
from a network connected through
hubs and switches. Is it true?
[2] I have a huge collection of RAR
archive files, which have password
security. But I have lost the password
to extract the files stored in these
archives. Please tell me how I can
recover my files from these archives.
Have I lost all my data in these
archives?
[3] Recently My RAM (Transcend DDR2
533 MHz 1 GB) got corrupted and I got
a replacement from the manufacturer.
After the replacement, the LED of HDD
of my PC constantly shows the access
state, which means that it comes ON
when the power button of the PC is
pressed and is OFF only when the
power button is pressed to switch off
the PC. I tried clearing RTC RAM by
setting a jumper of the Motherboard
from the manual but I can’t solve my
problem. My motherboard is ASUS
M2N SLI-Deluxe and HDD is a Seagate
250 GB SATA drive.
– Vaibhav B. Pandya
Hello Vaibhav,
[1] Hubs and switches rated 10/100 can
have a speed of 100 Mbps. Systems
connected to each other with cross-
cables should reach 100 Mbps, provided
all network cards, huns, switches and
cables are 100 Mbps compatible. If any
one is 10 Mbps, then all will operate at
the speed of 10 Mbps. To solve your
problem, try replacing the drivers for the
network card. Try changing the network
cable. Finally, add a separate PCI Ethernet
card and then try with that. You do not
need to change the speed of the card
at the software level. The NIC should
be able to switch speeds automatically
depending on the network bandwidth.
[2] You will have to purchase software
to crack the passwords. Download a
DR. CHIP - ARCHIVES
You can make a cross cable by following the
above diagram.
RAR password cracker from the Internet.
Pay online and use it. If you use it for
free, then there are limitations such as
a maximum password length. Or it may
not give you the whole password and
prompt you to purchase a license to
get the cracked password. You might
have to purchase software to crack RAR
archives properly. It will be costing you
approximately Rs 1,200.
[3] Your operating system may be hiding
some software in the background or it
could be a malware intrusion. Check your
computer using antivirus and antispyware
from companies such as AVG and
Lavasoft which provide freeware or use
the products from Norton or McAfee,
which are paid versions. Use ‘process
explorer’ to check which software is
running in the background and kill it if you
have not started the software yourself.
If the problem is not solved, try cleaning
the RAM module or changing it. But if
the LED light is not causing any trouble
and your system isn’t slowing down,
then allow it to remain so. But you should
change the RAM module. See if you can
get a replacement from the manufacturer
while it is still covered by the warranty. 
If you have any computer related queries,
write to Francis D’Sa (drchip@chip-india.com)
Intelligent computing CHip |9
DR. CHIP - ARCHIVES
Sachin Pandit
Got a computer problem?
Write to Dr. Chip at
drchip@chip.in
10 | intelligent computing CHip
Dr CHIP
[Q] Hi Dr. CHIP, I am Vishal from New Delhi. I
have a serious problem with my CD and DVD
drives. I was previously running Windows XP
SP2 and all was fine, but I recently installed
windows Vista Ultimate Edition. For some
time, the CD and DVD drives were working
well, but my PC crashed once and when I
restarted it, the CD and DVD drive icons had
disappeared from ‘My Computer’.
I checked the device manager and
it showed the message, ‘Windows cannot
start this hardware device because its
configuration information (in the registry)
is incomplete or damaged. (CODE 19)’.
The location of the CD drive is ‘Location 1
(channel 1, target 1, LUN 0) and the location
of the DVD drive is ‘Location 0 (channel 1,
target 0, LUN 0)’. I do not have any antivirus
software installed. Could the reason be
malware? Should I reinstall Windows? But I
do not want to format my C: drive. Can you
please help me?
– Vishal Basra
You have installed the operating systems
in the wrong sequence. Linux should be installed
last. I assume that Windows is working properly
now. To get Linux running on your machine, boot
from the Linux CD and enter the Rescue mode.
Reload GRUB and you should have Linux running
on your system properly. You may seek the help
of a Linux user group or a friend who is familiar
with Linux.
[Q] Dear Dr. CHIP, you guys are doing a great
job. Keep it up. My computer got infected
by some virus and many of my system
files became infected. I installed ‘AVG free
edition’ antivirus [from the CHIP DVD] and
found the viruses and the infected files.
All the infected files were dumped into the
‘Virus Vault’. Then I tried to clean those
infected files, but the antivirus program
couldn’t do it. Later, my younger brother
deleted those files and restarted the
computer.
When the computer started, I tried to
log into my user account. But the desktop
wallpaper’s color looked as if it was
scribbled on. Then I went to Control Panel
to check the display properties. I set it to
‘High Color’ and restarted the computer.
However, the desktop wallpaper still looked
as if it was scribbled on. I started the
computer in ‘Safe Mode’ and tried ‘Help and
Support’ to solve my problem but I failed.
My computer had made some ‘restore
points’. But I couldn’t restore it because the
virus had corrupted them.
I used ‘PC Inspector File Recovery’ to
restore the files but that also did not help
solve the problem. Now the option left for
me is to reinstall Windows. But to make
the situation worse, the CD drive stopped
working when an error occurred. I used
‘scandisk’ to fix the error. The error was
fixed, but the CD drive is still not working.
Is there any way to restore my PC back
to the point where it was working fine? I
even tried ‘System Restore’ but that did
not help me. I am using Windows Me. Is
there any other alternate file recovery
program that can help fix my PC?
Please also tell me how to make my
CD drive work. I am planning to install
Fedora Core 6 from the CHIP DVD
[December 2006].
Also, I would like learn
programming. Can you tell me about
the websites that teach programming
for free? Do SUSE Linux and Damn
Small Linux have the same features?
Are they both the same?
– Nebu Philip
Hello Phillip, You seem to have
tried many things to get rid of the virus.
Now that the system files are corrupted,
you will have to replace all the corrupted
and deleted files. But your CD drive is not
working and you cannot copy any files
from your CD-ROM. In this case, follow
these steps.
 Make sure your computer is free
from viruses. Update and scan with
the antivirus program. If you cannot
run Windows, request a friend to help
you. Remove the hard drive from your
computer and connect it as a slave to the
friend’s computer. Update the antivirus
software on his computer before you do
so. Then scan your hard drive for viruses
and repair it.
 If you are able to clean the viruses
from your machine then delete all restore
points and temporary folders from your
computer. These may include viruses that
were backed up along with your data.
 Ask a friend to let you use his
computer for 10 minutes. Plug in a thumb
drive into the USB port of his computer,
insert your Windows Me CD into his
drive, and copy all the contents of the
Windows Me CD to the thumb drive.
 Now unplug the thumb drive and plug
it to your computer. Copy the contents to
your computer.
 Either choose to repair your computer
using ‘SFC’ from ‘Start | Run’ or reinstall
Windows over the current installation
so that Windows can replace the
damaged system files of your computer
(recommended).
 Finally, get your CD-ROM drive
repaired or buy a new DVD writer. A new
one costs around Rs 1500 and getting a
new one will be better than repairing the
older one.
Linux is a broad term used for all
operating system distributions based
on the GNU/Linux kernel which is a
derivative of Unix. SUSE, Mandrake, Red
Hat, and Damn Small Linux are different
distributions of Linux.
Finally, there are not many websites
that teach programming for free. You
can try one of these websites (www.
w3schools.com or www.codeguru.com)
or search the Internet for e-books and free
downloads.
[Q] Hi Dr. CHIP. I have created an
account name under the name ‘n’ but
now I want to delete that account.
However, I am not able to delete it. I
have gone to ‘User Accounts’ in the
Control Panel but there I have not
found any option to delete an account.
Please send me the procedure required
to delete that account.
– Amit Kumar Panjiyar
Delete a user from Windows using User accounts
in the control panel.
You will have to log in through an
account that has administrator rights
and permissions in order to delete the
account. Once logged in, choose the
account you want to delete, then choose
the option to delete the account and then
decide whether you want to save the files
created in that account or not.
[Q] Hi, Dr. CHIP. I’m having a serious
problem with my Nero installation.
I’m using a Pentium IV, 1.5 GB of RAM,
and Windows Vista Ultimate Edition.
My 80 GB hard disk is divided into four
partitions of 20 GB each. I installed
DR. CHIP - ARCHIVES
Use the Add / Remove Programs option from
the control panel to uninstall any unnecessary
programs. Don’t delete the folders directly.
Vista in one drive, which took about
12 GB of that drive. So, I thought of
installing other programs in another
drive so as to keep my Windows drive
free. But unfortunately I installed Nero
in the Windows drive. So I thought
about changing the drive in which I
installed Nero. I didn’t uninstall it,
but deleted the files in the C: drive
(in the Program Files folder). I again
tried installing it but there was no
installation option. There were only
options to modify, remove, and repair.
When I tried these options, I got an
error message. I do not have any CD
burning software right now. Can I
know if there are any other CD/DVD
burning programs or can I fix this
problem? There is no corruption in
the installation file. I am sure about
it because I installed it on another
drive—the Windows drive. I’m unable
to install it again. Nero is still there
on the All Programs list. When I try to
uninstall Nero from there, it doesn’t
work and shows the same messages.
– Vamsi Dasari
You have made a mistake while
removing the application. You did not
uninstall it, but deleted the folder, which
means that many other components are
still left behind and Windows has no way
of knowing the program is meant to be
removed. You have four options now. The
first option is use other CD/DVD burning
software such as Roxio, Deep Burner, or
Fox DVD Creator. The second option is to
reinstall your whole operating system. The
third option is to use a Registry cleaner
along with Windows install clean-up
Intelligent computing CHip | 11
DR. CHIP - ARCHIVES
software to remove the remnants of the
old software. The fourth and best option
is to install the same application on a
friend’s computer which has the same
operating system. Then copy the files you
deleted from his computer to the same
location on your computer. Make sure you
install the software in the C: drive (where
you had installed Nero on your computer)
on his computer. Later, you may uninstall
the software from both computers.
Let me know what you did and which
method worked best for you.
[Q] Hello Dr. CHIP, I am big fan of CHIP.
I have a problem with my PC. When I
turned it on there was no booting (no
beep sound, but the fan is moving).
Later, I examined the motherboard and
processor (P3) on a working rig, but
they did not work. The motherboard
and processor are totally damaged, I
think. Is this so? Please tell me what I
should do. It’s urgent. Thank you.
– Amiya Patra
Hi Amiya. If you say that you have
tested the processor and the motherboard
on a working rig, and there is still no
response from the system, then it is
for sure that the motherboard and/or
processor have been damaged. Make
sure that the processor and motherboard
are compatible or supported by the
test components you are using. If not,
then your computer will not respond. If
everything is compatible, then check the
power supply for faults. The power supply
might be the root cause for the damage to
your motherboard and processor. Check it
thoroughly.
[Q] Dear Sir, I am a CHIP reader (and
hardware engineer) from Bellary,
Karnataka. I would like to share
my problem with you and get the
solution. I have a Reliance LG CDMA
5340 handset which can be used as
dial-up modem (through USB cable
with its own software) to connect to
the Internet. I was using this handset
with my office computer (P4, 845
motherboard, 80 GB, 256 MB RAM,
Windows XP Professional). It was
working fine and connecting to the
12 | intelligent computing CHip
Internet without any difficulty. After
I bought a new PC (Pentium E2140,
D945 MB, 160 GB HDD, 1 GB RAM,
DVD writer, Windows XP Professional,
BIOS version/date-Intel corp. Nl94510
j.86a.0010.2007.0523.1650, 5/23/2007,
SMBIOS version-2.4), I am trying to
use the same handset to connect
to the Internet. But the problem is,
though the modem is found installed
in my PC, when it comes to connecting
to the Internet, the status message
‘connecting to the device’ shows on
the dial-up window, but no such status
is found on the screen of the mobile
handset. After 5-7 seconds, the system
(processing, keyboard & mouse) stops
working and hangs. Then I have no
choice but to press the ‘Reset’ button
to restart. I have tried reinstalling the
OS, cleaning the unwanted registry
entries using Windows registry
repair software, and scanning the
system with Quick Heal Total Security
antivirus. I am sure and have hope
that you will get back to me with a
solution. Thanking you.
– K. Anand
Use the right data cable (preferably supplied by
the phone manufacturer only).
You should try reinstalling your
operating system and try again. First,
try without using any drivers of the
motherboard (just install the Windows
operating system without any drivers for
motherboard, VGA, or sound). Just install
the handset drivers and check.
If all goes fine, then load the rest of the
drivers one by one and check between
installations. If the system freezes, you
know where the fault lies. Change or
update the drivers that caused the conflict.
If it still doesn’t work, then try using a
different USB port. If this also doesn’t
work, then there could be a problem with
your motherboard. You can try using a PCI
to USB card and disable the USB ports on
the motherboard.
You can also try using the handset on
another computer to make sure that it
is not faulty. Make sure that you have a
virus-free operating system. We would
appreciate it if you could reply with the
details of the procedure that worked in
your case.
[Q] Hi Dr. CHIP, can you tell me if it is
safe to insert an AGP card into a PCIe
slot? Also when I am right clicking on
any of my drives I see some different
type of script/language instead of
options. What could this be?
– Indrajit
An AGP card cannot be connected to the PCIe
slot and vice versa as the edge connectors are
different from each other.
Hello Indrajit. First of all, an AGP
card will not fit into a PCIe slot. Secondly,
an AGP card is not designed for a PCIe
slot. You will have to buy a PCIe card to
use in a PCIe slot. The slot configuration
and technology of AGP differs from that
of PCIe. About your second question,
you might have a virus or have corrupted
system files. Please make sure you
have a good antivirus program installed
and updated to the latest release. Scan
your computer and clean out all viruses.
Also, install an antispyware program
and do the same. Finally, make sure all
the system files are not corrupted. To
do this, click on ‘Start | Run’, and type
‘sfc /scannow’. Make sure you have your
Windows XP CD available when you do
this. The system file checker will then
check each and every system file of your
computer’s operating system and repair/
replace them as needed. In case you
have not managed to solve this problem
with the above solution, do write in again
and send me a screenshot of the problem
if possible.
[Q] I recently bought a Seagate 160 GB
SATA HDD. I also have an old Seagate
40 GB PATA HDD. My problem is that I
can’t install an OS on the 160 GB HDD.
My motherboard doesn’t detect it. The
motherboard is from MSI. Please help
me out and give me a solution.
– Guneshwor Okram
You need to give me details of the
motherboard. This problem is a BIOS-
related one. You will have to update the
BIOS from the MSI website. Make sure
you know how to update the BIOS by
flashing it. If you don’t know how to do
it, then seek the help of an experienced
computer engineer or else take your
motherboard to an MSI service center
near you. Flashing the BIOS is quite
risky. If you flash it with the wrong BIOS
version or if there is a power failure while
flashing the BIOS, you could render the
motherboard useless. Be careful if you
are doing this on your own. If you want to
do it on your own, follow this procedure:
Download the latest BIOS from the
motherboard manufacturer’s website.
Double check if you have the right BIOS
update file. Format a fresh new floppy
disk and make it bootable. Make sure the
floppy is in good condition and does not
have any bad sectors.
Copy the BIOS update file and the
BIOS flash program from the website or
the motherboard CD. Next, boot from the
floppy drive, run the BIOS flash program,
choose the BIOS file to be updated and
execute the program. Do not touch any
buttons at the time of the update. Once
your BIOS is updated, you can continue
with your new hard drive installation.
[Q] Hi, I am facing a couple of problems
with my PC. My configuration is:
Intel Celeron 2.4 GHz, 256 MB RAM,
and Windows XP SP2. While surfing
the net, I get the error ‘Generic
host process for win32 services has
encountered a problem and needs to
close’. A few seconds after I close
the pop-up, I’m unable to open any
website as the connection becomes
unresponsive. I am then unable to
disconnect even after switching off the
router. I have to resort to restarting
the machine. Please help me solve this
problem. Also, I am unable to use the
USB and headphone ports on the front
of the CPU. Please let me know how to
enable them. The ports at the back of
my CPU work fine.
– Abhijeet
It appears to be a worm attack on
your computer. Please ensure that you are
using antivirus and antispyware programs.
Scan and clean the system thoroughly.
Also run the programs ‘Hijackthis’ and
‘Stinger’ on your computer. After all that
is done, run the system file checker to
repair corrupted and changed system
files on the operating system. To do this,
click on ‘Start’ then on ‘Run’, and type
‘sfc /scannow’. The program will run and
scan all system files and replace them
when necessary. Do keep your Windows
XP CD ready as the program will need it
to replace the required files. Reboot the
computer and check if all is working fine.
Let me know if you need more help on
this issue.
[Q] Hi. I am from Bangalore and an
ardent reader of your magazine. This
is my first mail to you. I would be
grateful if you could answer my two
questions as below. A. The cabinet
fans (not processor fan) in my PC make
a lot of noise every time I switch it
on. If I tap the cabinet lightly for some
time, then the sound stops, kind of like
resonance! How do I reduce the sound?
Also, please recommend a good brand
of silent fans (affordable ones). B. I
am planning to buy a new system for
myself and sell my current PC. So can
you advise the price at which I can sell
the following PC and also websites/
shops in Bangalore where I can sell?
My system configuration:
 Processor = AMD Athlon 64 X2 dual
core processor 3600+ 2GHz
 Motherboard = Asus M2NPV-VM
(Nvidia GeForce 6150).
 RAM = Transcend DDR2 512 MB x2.
DR. CHIP - ARCHIVES
 HDD = Seagate Barracuda 160 GB
SATA.
 Optical Drive = Liteon Superdrive
Multiwriter DVD RW.
 Monitor = LG Flatron 17’ TFT-LCD.
 Speakers = Creative Inspire 5.1
 UPS = APC 20min backUPS with
surge protection.
 Logitech keyboard and optical
mouse
 Floppy drive = Sony FDD
 Cabinet = Zebronics mesh front
cabinet (120’ blue led fan in front, 2x80’
fans on side)+ 400 W SMPS.
Kindly help me in this regard.
– Ashwin S
Keep the fans inside the computer chassis clean
and oiled from time to time to avoid over heating.
I am unaware of computer prices
in Bangalore. You will have to ask a local
engineer or computer dealer. Try the
CHIP-India forum. You may get some
response from readers who are from the
same area who are interested in buying a
good second hand computer or can help
you with prices. The cabinet fans are now
getting old or have lost their lubrication,
which is now making the fans vibrate, and
hence the cabinet makes a noise. Tapping
it would stop the noise for some time,
but I would not recommend doing that as
it could cause damage to the hard drive
inside the chassis. It would be better if
you change the fans as new ones are
available for as little as Rs 100. Another
recommendation is to use a fan controller
such as the Wind Rider from Cooler
Master (see the hardware reviews section
of the October 2007 issue of CHIP) along
with the required fans, so one can control
the speeds of the fans. 
Send in your queries to Francis D’Sa at
drchip@chip.in
Intelligent computing CHip | 13
DR. CHIP - ARCHIVES
Sachin Pandit
Got a computer problem?
Write to Dr. Chip at
drchip@chip.in
14 | intelligent computing CHip
Dr CHIP
[Q] Hello Dr. Chip, your 4th anniversary
issue was amazing. The Infographic told us
a lot about RAID. I would like to know the
step-by-step procedure for assembling hard
drives in RAID. I have a few queries.
 One of my friends has a mobile phone
shop and he downloads a lot of mobile
software. Recently when he attached a
memory card to his computer, a virus
entered his system. This resulted in slow
system speed and the OS is now not
allowing him to restore the computer to an
earlier date. He has very important data on
the drive so he doesn’t want to format the
hard drive. He uses McAfee or some similar
antivirus program but from the time the
virus infected the system, he has not been
able to update it. Someone told him to take
his hard drive to an Internet café and update
the antivirus from there. Is this possible? If
yes, then does he have to arrange the HD by
RAID? He uses an Intel Celeron 1.2 GHz, 256
MB RAM, and a 120 GB hard disk.
 Recently my computer stopped working.
Whenever I boot up, the screen starts
fading out after displaying the first booting
menu, and the computer stops responding.
When I contacted an engineer, he said that
the problem is with the motherboard. He
inquired whether I had proper earthing in my
house but I don’t. He said that he will send
the motherboard for repairing. I want to
know that whether the motherboard can get
these kinds of problems? Can it be repaired?
What should I do? I use a Pentium 4 2.4 GHz,
512 + 128 MB RAM, 80 GB hard disk. It is four
years old. Thank you.
– Varun
Hello Varun. I am glad you liked our article
on RAID. You can look forward to a workshop on
configuring hardware RAID using some old hard
drives in the forthcoming issues.
 If your friend does not want to format his
machine, then I would suggest a good, updated
antivirus application to scan and clean the
computer. Cybercafes are known to be hotspots
for viruses, so don’t let him take his hard drive
to on. Instead you should ask him to download
the free AVG from ‘http://free.grisoft.com’ and
use it on his machine to get rid of the virus. Ask
him to run it with Windows in Safe Mode. Also
download ‘Stinger’ from ‘http://vil.nai.com/vil/
stinger/stinger.htm’ and scan the computer.
Use Lavasoft AdAware antispyware, update
and scan for malware/spyware. Finally, clean
the registry startup using hijackthis.exe. And if
possible, re-install Windows XP Service Pack 2.
 If your engineer has checked your computer
and found that your motherboard has the
Use of an antivirus on a mobile phone at a small price
can ensure data security.
problem, then it must be true. You say that
you do not have a proper earthing for your
computer. Earthing problems can cause
motherboard failure, hard drive crashes and
even power supply burnouts. I suggest
that you get an electrician to get your
house earthing wires checked and repaired
immediately. Finally, get your motherboard
repaired if you need to or else I suggest
you to go in for a new motherboard.
[Q] Hello Dr. CHIP, whenever I play
some 3D game or simply watch videos,
my computer hangs. Is there any way
out to stop this?
– Jerry Jhun
Ensure that you install the latest versions of the
drivers and DirectX.
Hello Jerry. Please check the
following possible solutions.
 Check for updated drivers for your
display card.
 Check if you have the latest version of
DirectX.
 Clean the display card and the
motherboard slots.
 Clean the system’s memory sticks and
the slots on the motherboard.
 Check if the game or movie works fine
at lower resolutions.
 Check if the CPU is overheating. Clean
the fans and apply fresh coolant paste
between the CPU and the fan if necessary.
 Check if the display card works fine on
another computer.
[Q] Hi Dr. CHIP! Please help me with
my computer (configuration Pentium
IV 2.81 GHz, 480 MB RAM, 80 GB SATA
hard disk). I have Windows XP SP2
installed with all updates and Quick
Heal antivirus with updates. It restarts
automatically without warning while
I am working. Sometimes when I
work on Paint or open any JPG file,
the computer restarts automatically.
It also restarts automatically without
warning when I use the Internet
(e-mail, Orkut). I have checked all the
hardware connections. It also shows
the message ‘Windows has recovered
from a serious error’ when I use the
Internet and the Internet Explorer shuts
down automatically. It also shows the
Blue Screen Of Death error message
‘Beginning dump of physical memory’.
I am frustrated with all these errors.
What should I do so that it does not
restart without warning and show any
such errors?
– Santoliya
Check if the cables inside the cabinet are well
attached and not loose.
Hello Nitin, there seems to be a
viral infection or a hardware problem here.
Please make sure that your computer
is virus free. Download and use a good
antivirus program to make sure that the
system is virus free. If there are no viruses,
then it could be a hardware problem.
Check if your power cord is firmly inserted
into the power socket. Check if the power
supply is heating. If you have a voltage
stabilizer or a UPS, try disconnecting each
one individually and check if the problem
still persists. Check if the video card or the
motherboard is dust free. There could be a
problem with the memory modules. Clean
or change them and check again. Also,
check for newer versions of the drivers for
all your hardware, as blue screen errors
are usually associated with faulty drivers.
You might need to reinstall your operating
system if it is definitely not a hardware
problem. Finally, if nothing works, call in
an engineer and ask him to analyze the
DR. CHIP - ARCHIVES
problem by switching parts or reinstalling
the operating system.
[Q] Hello, Dr. CHIP. I’m writing to you
as I’ve encountered a serious problem
with my computer’s hardware. My
system’s configuration is P4 2.66 GHz
microprocessor with 256 MB DDR1
RAM and an 80 GB IDE hard disk. I
had a Wipro UPS but no stabilizer. My
house didn’t have an earth connection
until August. But when I shifted my
computer from unearthed switchboard
to an earthed one, due to variable
voltage which had gone as high as
350 V (even in the earthed circuit),
it exploded with visible sparks near
the motherboard. I know all this from
what my local assembler has told me.
Neither the local electrician nor the
linesman know how to rectify it. High
voltage has claimed many computers
in our locality. Could you suggest any
remedy on how to prevent the high
voltage from causing any damage?
Also, as the explosion rendered
my motherboard & SMPS useless, I’m
planning to reassemble & upgrade my
computer. The configuration provided
by the local assembler is: Intel Core
2 Duo 2.0 Ghz, 2 MB L2 Cache; Intel
original 945 motherboard with 800
Mhz FSB, max memory 2 GB (2 slots),
integrated graphics; 1 GB DDR2 RAM
(667 MHz); LG DVD Writer and ATX
PSU. According to him, this costs
totally Rs.14,100. I am not an enthusiast
gamer but I often use my computer
for surfing, occasional gaming and
watching movies and I run a few
heavy applications (Adobe Photoshop,
Dreamweaver, Corel etc). Could you
please tell whether this configuration is
good for me?
Also, I have heard rumors of DVD
DL writers not being too efficient. I
have also heard that the drives develop
problems after a year or so. Is it true?
– Srikrishna Holla
Hello Krishna, there is no way
to predict when you are going to have
a voltage fluctuation. But yes, you can
defend your computer from such things
Intelligent computing CHip | 15
DR. CHIP - ARCHIVES
Use of voltage stabilizers can help to safeguard
your computer from power problems.
by using a good quality voltage stabilizer
coupled with a good quality on-line UPS.
The voltage stabilizer will take care of
the power dips and the UPS will make
sure that your computer stays powered
on without damaging your computer
components. This is because an on-line
UPS makes sure that the computer is
continuously powered by the battery and
not directly from the main power. So, the
maximum damage that can occur from
a power problem is the voltage stabilizer
getting damaged. Replacing or repairing
it will be no problem. Make sure that your
stabilizer and spike guard have the correct
fuses installed which can take care of
voltage spikes. Additionally, make sure that
the computer points are properly earthed
and also have a circuit breaker (the main
switch which can trip when it senses a
power leak or voltage spike) installed in
line to the power to the room or to the
computer points.
The computer configuration suggested
here is quite OK for your use. Make sure
the power supply is of good quality and
rated at 450 Watts minimum. Add a
graphics card to play games if you need.
[Q] Hello Dr. CHIP. Recently I had some
problems with my PC. When I boot
my computer, an error message is
displayed “windows/system32/config/
system file is missing or corrupt, select
‘r’ at first screen to start repair from
the setup CD-ROM”. I don’t know how
to do that, so using the setup CD-ROM,
I started the recovery console and ran
‘chkdsk’ on my local disk. The problem
was solved for the moment but when I
turned off my computer and rebooted
it, it gave the same error. I don’t
16 | intelligent computing CHip
know what to do. Every time I boot
my computer I have to run ‘chkdsk’
using the recovery console. Please
suggest a way out of this problem. My
computer’s specification are: Pentium
4 2.40 GHz, 512+128 MB RAM, Intel
chipset, 80 GB hard disk, Windows XP
with SP2. Thank you.
– Varun
Regular scanning for bad sectors can prevent
data losses. Use hard disk tools regularly.
Hello Varun, Your computer’s hard
drive seems to have a problem. It may
have a bad sector or may be getting
weaker. Get your data backed up and
reinstall your operating system after
thoroughly formatting the hard drive and
running scandisk on it. If the hard drive is
developing bad sectors, it is time to replace
it. If it is still under warranty, get it replaced
from the manufacturer. If not, buy yourself
a new one.
[Q] Hello Dr. CHIP. I am a student of
+2. I have C++ in my school course but
I did not have a PC till now. I ordered
an assembled PC, but I didn’t expect
that there could be a problem in
running C++. My PC has the following
configuration: Microsoft Windows
XP professional; AMD Sempron
3000+ processor; ASUS M2N8-VMX
motherboard; 512 MB RAM (533
MHz). To solve the problem, the seller
repeatedly reinstalled Windows XP,
Windows 2000, and Windows 98.
The different operating systems
tested: Windows XP—no result;
Windows 2000—no result; Windows
98—this time it worked. But
unfortunately, the motherboard does
not support Windows 98 as there are
no drivers for it and the system hangs
after some time. One observation:
when I run C++ from the command
prompt, its window appears. Even the
program in text mode executes very
smoothly. But the problem arises while
running it in graphics mode. I get a
linker error reporting that the library
functions of graphics are not defined
– Naman Jain
VMware can make using DOS applications
possible on systems running XP, Vista or LINUX.
Hello Naman, Windows XP and
2000 both have a problem running DOS
applications. You have no other option if
you want to use Windows XP or 2000.
If you want to run the application, use
Windows 98 and run it in DOS mode. But
if there are no drivers available for the
motherboard, you cannot use Windows
98 either. Therefore, try using VMware
in Windows XP or configure a dual boot
operating system on your computer. Use
Windows 98 (DOS mode only) to run your
C++ application and Windows XP/2000
for other purposes. If you need to run both
simultaneously, then use VMware.
[Q] I am having a strange problem of a
BSOD “Machine Check Exception”. It
happened when I changed my network
settings to create a PC-to-PC (ad-hoc)
network using a crossover cable.
After changing the settings, when I
restarted, i got the BSOD. The PC is set
up with dual operating systems. When I
using Win98 SE, no problem. But when
I start Windows XP normally, it doesn’t
work. However Windows XP works fine
in Safe Mode. Please help me. My PC
has: Asus K8V-MX motherboard, AMD
Sempron 2500+ processor, 256 MB
RAM, integrated graphics.
– Agrawal
Re-install the drivers and/or check without the
network card if the OS works fine.
Hello Achal. Please uninstall the
driver of the network card and reinstall it
again. Your problem should be solved. If
not, remove the card physically and check
your computer without the card. If it works
fine, then the card may be faulty. If the
card works fine under Windows 98, then
the drivers are definitely faulty. Replace the
drivers with a fresh new set.
[Q] Dr. CHIP, I am using Windows XP
SP2 (genuine) on my Compaq V3137TU
laptop.
 I have loaded Internet Explorer
7 from the CHIP DVD and kept my
homepage blank. But when I open IE7,
the default MSN site opens. I want
IE7 to start with my homepage when
I open the browser. Can you suggest
how this can be done (about: blank).
Also I find Internet Explorer 7 a bit slow
in comparison to Internet Explorer 6.6.
Is this observation correct?
 Is Windows Firewall sufficient or
should I use other firewall software? I
find the popups in other firewalls really
irritating.
 What is shareware?
 I have an unknown device with
device id ‘ACPI/HPQ0006 and hardware
id *HPQ006’. What is the function of
this device?
– Satyakam
Hello Satyakam.
 To make the home page blank, do the
following: click on ‘Tools | Options’, then
delete everything typed in the homepage
section. Add ‘about: blank’ or simply click
the ‘Use Blank’ button and you shall have
a blank page displayed next time you
start Internet Explorer. Also click on the
‘Settings’ button in the ‘Tabs’ section and
uncheck the option ‘Open home page
for new tabs instead of a blank page’.
Internet Explorer 7 is a little slow because
it includes a lot of additional functionality
such as a Phishing filter.
 Windows firewall is sufficient for your
basic browsing, but if you have important
data on your computer and you browse
through a lot of unknown, unsafe and adult
related websites, then I would suggest a
better firewall program. There is no way
you can get rid of the firewall popups
forever but they will reduce in time.
 Shareware is basically “try before you
buy” software. Once you have tried a
shareware program, you know whether it
will meet your needs before you pay for it.
 Finally, the unknown device with
Phishing filter in Internet Explorer 7 can help you
browse safely on the Internet.
device id ACPI/HPQ0006 and hardware id
*HPQ006 is the row of HP Quick Launch
Buttons on your laptop. You will have to
provide the drivers for this device from
the driver CD/DVD given to you by the
manufacturer of the laptop.
[Q] Hello Dr. CHIP. I have a question.
Can an MP3 players such as iPods,
flash memory based or hard disk based
ones be used to back up data from my
computer’s hard drive? Can I then copy
the data to another computer? Will I
require any special software in the iPod
for that? Please help!
– Minsingn
Hello. Yes, most MP3 players can
be used as simple removable storage
devices. In most cases, you can just
connect them with the supplied USB
DR. CHIP - ARCHIVES
cable and your computer will detect it as
a removable drive. You can copy your data
and then later plug it into another computer
and copy it across without any problem.
If you are using an iPod, you will have to
check an option in iTunes on the player’s
configuration screen which will enable disk
mode (only the iPod touch cannot currently
be used as a removable drive). You do not
require any special software.
[Q] Hello Dr. CHIP. I have a couple of
problems:-
 How can I enable the USB and
headphone ports on the front of the
CPU? The ports on the back of my CPU
are working fine.
 Is there any type of freeware or
shareware utility available that enables
us to capture (and save to hard disk)
embedded Adobe Flash videos (used
for streaming videos on many sites)? It
would be great if you can help me.
– Abhijeet
Install plug-ins for your browsers to save flash
videos from the Internet.
Hello Abhijeet. To enable the front
USB and audio ports, you need to have a
cabinet with the front ports available and
also the motherboard should have headers
for front panel connections (usually labeled
“FPAUDIO” or something similar). Some
cabinets do not need these headers from
the motherboard. Instead, they connect
the front ports directly to the back ports
using normal extension cables. There is
software available on the Internet to save
Flash videos from the Internet directly to
your hard drive. Check this website as one
example: ‘http://www.browsertools.net/
Flash-Saving-Plugin/’ 
Send in your queries to Francis D’Sa at
drchip@chip.in
Intelligent computing CHip | 17
DR. CHIP - ARCHIVES
Got a computer problem?
Write to Dr. Chip at
drchip@chip.in
18 | intelligent computing CHip
Dr CHIP
Sachin Pandit
[Q] Hello Dr. CHIP. I am a regular reader of
your magazine. My system configuration is
as follows—384 MB RAM, Mercury 845GL
Motherboard, Windows XP SP2 and an Intel
Pentium 4 processor. Recently, I installed
Foxpro 2.6 for Windows. Whenever I try
to run it, a message is displayed: “System
error: divide by zero or overflow error” and
then it quits. How can I solve this problem?
I also face another problem frequently.
Whenever I try to cut or copy any files or
folders on my hard disk, Windows Explorer
gives a message “Windows Explorer has
encountered a problem and needs to close.
We are sorry for the inconvenience.”—the
same message appears for ‘Dr Watson’s
postmortem debugger’. I have never
installed this software. It creates a big
nuisance for me. Please help!
– Alok Acharya
Explorer problems can be due to faulty or dusty
hardware or viruses.
Hello Alok. There is a bug-fix from
Microsoft related to this issue with FoxproW
which you can download from ‘http://support.
microsoft.com/kb/240982’. I am sure this
should fix your problem.
Secondly, Dr Watson is an in-built problem
detection utility in Microsoft Windows. This
problem occurs due to a lot of reasons.
Maybe your computer needs cleaning. Try
cleaning the motherboard slots, the memory
modules etc. Also check if all the cables in
your computer are firmly attached. Finally,
check and ensure that your hard drive is not
developing bad sectors. Run Scandisk on
your hard drive to confirm that the drive is
in good condition. Also, check for viruses.
[Q] Hello Dr. CHIP. I wan to install Windows
Vista and Office 2007. Can you please tell
me the specifications required for these? I
have a Pentium 4 Computer.
– Fenu Chopra
Hello Fenu. If you want to know whether
your machine can support and run Windows
Vista, then hit this link
http://www.microsoft.com/windows/
products/windowsvista/buyorupgrade/
upgradeadvisor.mspx and download the
Use ‘Upgrade Advisor’ to check if your computer’s
hardware/software are enough to upgrade to Vista.
advisor. Run the application and it will
analyze the complete system and inform
you if your computer is compatible with
Windows Vista on both the hardware
and software fronts. It will also give you
an incompatible hardware and software
list that you may need to upgrade in
case you need to install Windows Vista
[Q] Hi Dr. CHIP. I am Himanshu
Sharma. I have a problem with my
PC—whenever I shut it down, the
Task Manager sends a program “WMS
IDLE” which slows down my shutdown
process and my computer speed. Also
whenever I start my PC, it checks the
hard disk as if the computer wasn’t
shut down properly. Please help me
out with a solution The configuration
of my PC is 1 GB RAM, Windows XP
SP2, graphics card memory 256 MB
and CPU frequency is Pentium 4 1.6
GHz. Thank you.
– Himanshu Sharma
Msconfig shows unwanted programs that start up
automatically. Uncheck what you don’t need.
Hello Himanshu. This problem is
more common with software such as
Nero Essentials, Outlook, and some other
similar ones. Please check the following
site: ‘http://support.microsoft.com/
kb/921113’ or try the following: Click
on ‘Start | Run’, type ‘msconfig’ and
press Enter. Then go to the ‘Startup’
tab and disable ‘nmindexingservice’ and
‘nmbgmonitor’ from the list. Restart your
computer and see if the error occurs
again. Good luck.
[Q] Respected Dr. CHIP, a virus named
“Win32:Hidrag” infected my PC and
my Windows photo viewing tool got
automatically deleted. I scanned the
computer with Avast free edition.
Now, I cannot view any picture nor can
I set wallpapers. Also my PC has 128
MB graphics memory but it uses only
64 MB of it. So when I play games,
they either don’t work or run very
slowly. I also want to know whether
I can connect any graphics card to
my PC (laptop) or not, if yes, please
tell me how? My PC configuration is
Pentium Dual Core 1.7, 120 GB SATA
hard disk, 512 MB 533 MHz RAM. It is
a Compaq V3239 TU running Windows
Vista. What are AGP and IGP and for
what are they are used? Please tell
me where I can download a picture
viewing tool for Windows. Regards.
– Nrupen
IrfanView is the best and light software to view
your pictures. It is free of cost.
Hello Nrupen. If possible, reinstall
Vista all over again after backing up your
files. Secondly, you can use IrfanView to
view your images and pictures. It is a very
capable software and it is free. You cannot
add a graphics card to your laptop, but
you can reduce the amount of memory
your display card shares from the main
memory. Enter the BIOS setup program of
the laptop and change the display memory
from 256 MB to 64 MB or 128 MB. IGP
means Integrated Graphics Port, which
means that the display card is built into
the motherboard and shares the needed
memory from the system’s main memory.
AGP stands for Accelerated Graphics Port,
where you can insert an AGP graphics
card which has its own video memory
and does not use the system’s memory.
An AGP port is now outdated and PCI
Express ports are currently used for PCIe
cards which are faster than AGP.
Adding a discrete graphics card
enhances the performance of the
DR. CHIP - ARCHIVES
computer by almost 30–40 percent
because the main memory is used for
the system completely and not shared
with the video card, like in case of an
IGP motherboard. I would suggest you
increase the RAM of your laptop from 512
MB to 1 GB or 2 GB if possible, to get
better performance in Windows Vista.
[Q] Hello sir. I am unable to install
Nero 8 since the time it has been
launched. However, I am able to install
the micro version. It has been giving
me error messages whenever I try
to install it. I am using Windows XP
SP2 Home OEM with an up-to-date
AutoPatcher applied. Please do help
me for this situation. I hope to receive
some positive reply from you. Regards.
– Chandan Kumar Mahato
Turn on the automatic update feature of Windows
so that Nero can install successfully.
Hello Chandan, This issue could
be caused by a compatibility problem
between Nero and the Windows service
‘Automatic Updates’. Enable this service
when installing Nero 8. Please follow the
steps below:
 Click on the Start button.
 Click the ‘Run’ command.
 Type ‘Services.msc’ in the ‘Open’ text
field and click the ‘OK’ button.
 The ‘Services’ window will open.
Double click the ‘automatic updates’ entry.
 The ‘Automatic Updates Properties’
window will open. In the drop down menu
under ‘startup type’, you have to select
the ‘Automatic’ option.
 Confirm this change by clicking on
‘Apply’ and then ‘OK’.
 Start the installation of Nero 8 again.
[Q] Hello Dr. CHIP. The SMPS of my PC
makes a lot of noise. I have a Pentium
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DR. CHIP - ARCHIVES
Noisy power supplies mean bad or dusty fans.
Clean them thoroughly and use some machine oil.
Dual Core with 512 MB RAM. What
should I do to reduce this noise?
– Jayesh Kothari
Hello Jayesh. If you know how
to open the power supply and clean or
replace the fan, then go ahead and do
that. The fan seems to be old and wobbly
and hence makes noise. You need to
clean the fan thoroughly and apply a
drop of machine oil or grease inside the
fan (do this very carefully). If possible, I
would recommend that you change the
fan. Replacing the fan will hardly cost you
much—just around Rs 100.
[Q] Hello, Dr. CHIP. I have strange
problem with my Linksys WRT54G
[firmware version 7] router and my
Acer Aspire 5572 AWXMI Wi-Fi enabled
laptop. I have been using a router to
connect to my laptop from the past
three months. For the first two months
it worked out fine. But since the past
one month, I have been experiencing
various problems. My laptop stopped
Press the reset button on the rear of the router
and then power it on to restore factory defaults.
20 | intelligent computing CHip
connecting to the router from a
room from where it used to connect
previously. Also of late it doesn’t
connect to the router from any room
at all. It doesn’t even connect in the
room which is closest to the router. In
the Acer Enet management software
on my laptop it shows the network
strength is between 80-96 percent in
different rooms but doesn’t connect.
Also when I keep it almost next to the
router, it still doesn’t connect. I have
tried disabling the security and also
enabling different security modes like
WEP, WPA, etc but to no avail. Right
now I can’t figure out what is faulty,
the router or the laptop. Can you
please suggest something to help me
solve this problem?
– Flemingo Toscano
Hello Flemingo. Please reset your
router to its default settings (factory
default—by pressing the reset button)
Also, if possible, upgrade the firmware to
the latest version from the manufacturer’s
website. Also you need to ensure that you
do not have too many electrical appliances
interfering in the path of the router (or
even close to the router for that matter).
Secondly, if there is anyone else using a
router in your neighborhood, this problem
can exist. Try changing the channel of
the router from the default channel 6 to
anything between channel 1 and channel
11. Do the same with the Wi-Fi adaptor on
the laptop and see the results.
[Q] Hello, I have an Acer Aspire 1640
laptop (Intel Centrino mobile processor
1.6 GHz - 400 MHz FSB, 256 MB DDR 2
RAM, 60 GB hard disk, OS: Windows
XP Service Pack 2). The problem is that
the integrated keyboard and touchpad
stop functioning once Windows boots.
But they work well in the BIOS setup.
I tried reinstalling Windows but that
did not solve the problem. Also usually
the Task Manager shows more than
90 percent CPU usage. Now, the USB
ports have also stopped functioning.
Things work well when I run Windows
in safe mode (as the integrated
keyboard and touchpad work before
Windows boots). I have also tried
reinstalling the drivers, but that didn’t
work either. I have scanned my system
for viruses using Avast Home Edition
& AVG antivirus, but no threats were
found. I cannot format the whole
system as I have some important data
that I cannot afford to lose. Is this a
problem caused by some virus that
these antivirus software can’t detect
or is it something else? Please reply
soon and help me out. Thank you.
– Vikas Gaurav
Live operating systems such as Knoppix can help
find solutions to hardware problems.
Hello Vikas. Try using Knoppix or
Ubuntu (Linux) live distributions. Just boot
from the DVD and check if your keyboard
and mouse work fine in Linux. If yes, then
your Windows operating system needs to
be reinstalled. You need not format your
computer to reload Windows XP.
Just enter Safe Mode and copy
all documents to a separate folder or
removable disk. Then you can delete the
Windows, Program Files folders (if you
want a comlpetely clean reinstall) from the
Linux live CD and finally reinstall Windows
all over again. Also try connecting an
external keyboard and mouse and see if it
functions properly.
[Q] Hello Dr. CHIP. I have a Pentium
III 850 MHz, 128 SD RAM, and
Windows XP Professional SP2. My
‘Folder options’ from the explorer
file menu is no longer displayed or
it has been deleted. I checked for
it in the Control Panel—it is not
there either. I checked my PC for
viruses with Avast antivirus and the
results were negative (no viruses).
How can I get that option back?
The Group Policy Editor can help block unwanted
users from changing certain settings.
For better understanding I am
sending a screenshot in which the
menu is missing. Thanks and regards.
– Naresh Agrawal.
Hello Naresh. Have you checked
your computer for viruses properly? Please
do so using a good antivirus and anti-
spyware program. I would suggest AVG
(as it is free and quite powerful). You can
download it from ‘http://free.grisoft.com’.
After attempting this if it still doesn’t come
back, try the following steps.
 Click on ‘Start | Run’
 Type ‘gpedit.msc’ and press [Enter]
 Scroll down to ‘User Configuration
| Administrative Templates | Windows
Components | Windows Explorer’ on the
left pane.
 Search for ‘Removes the Folder
Options menu from the Tools menu’ and
double click on it.
 Change the option to ‘Enabled’ and
save the settings. Restart your computer
and check it out. Let us know if this
solution has helped you.
[Q] Dear Dr. CHIP, I own a Dell Inspiron
8000S. I bought it from a local reseller.
It works great but because I do not
have the original owner information,
Dell won’t provide customer
assistance. What can one do about
this? The RAM is only 256 MB which
(according to my friends) makes my
computer really slow. Is it possible to
upgrade the RAM in this model?
I am going to transfer all data from the
present 20 GB hard disk to another 80
GB external one. Will this speed up the
processes of my computer? I am truly
a layman and hence would appreciate
A laptop memory module is physically smaller. We
recommend upgrading from the manufacturer.
Memory modules for desktop computers are
longer and can be easily replaced by users.
a reply from that perspective. Also if
you can suggest some good and safe
place to upgrade the RAM, it will make
things easier for me. Warm regards.
– Sandeep Porwal
Hello Sandeep. Your laptop is
pretty old and upgrading the RAM may be
possible if it is available in the market. If
the new RAM module is compatible with
your computer, it would be great. I would
suggest you to first write to the company
to check out the type, compatibility and
availability of the RAM and hard drive for
your laptop model. Increasing the RAM
and the hard disk capacity will surely
improve the performance of your laptop to
a certain extent, but be ready for possible
disappointments.
[Q] Hello, Dr. CHIP. I am a regular
reader of your magazine. I have a
Pentium III computer. Recently my
brother wanted to download some
software and he went to the Microsoft
website and tried to download the
software. The next time I restarted the
computer I encountered a message
window saying “This copy of Windows
didn’t pass the Genuine Windows
DR. CHIP - ARCHIVES
Validation and you have not yet
resolved the problem” and two tabs
saying “Resolve now” and “Resolve
later” have appeared.
I scanned my computer with Norton
antivirus which has proved to be
useless. Also my computer has slowed
down drastically. Please help me solve
this problem.
– Ravi Chandra
Hello Ravi. Your brother seems to
have a pirated copy of Windows installed
on his computer or maybe he is a victim
of counterfeit software.
Please check with the computer
dealer from where he purchased the
copy of Windows. This problem is not
a virus infection, but is a validity test
from Microsoft to check if the copy of
Windows being updated is genuine or not.
Please ensure that you use a legal copy of
Microsoft Windows to avail updates and
support from Microsoft.
[Q] Hello Team CHIP. For the past few
months whenever I close my Internet
browser, and right after, when I try
opening any file I get a message “The
instruction at 0x6600accc referenced
memory at 0x6600accc. The memory
could not be “read”. Click on OK to
terminate the program”. Kindly inform
me how to solve this problem.
– Sanjeev Gupta
Hi Sanjeev. If you are running
Internet Explorer 7, try running it with
the add-ons disabled and check if the
problem persists after that. Click on ‘Start
| Programs | Accessories | System Tools |
Internet Explorer (No Add-Ons)’
Try checking for the problem again. If it
doesn’t appear again, one of your add-ons
is causing the problem. To disable add-ons
(applies for IE6 too), start Internet Explorer
normally, click on ‘Tools | Manage Add-
ons | Enable or Disable Add-ons’. Disable
all the add-ons and enable them one by
one till the problem appears and you find
the culprit. Disable the interfering add-on
and your problem will be solved.
Send in your queries to Francis D’Sa at
drchip@chip.in
Intelligent computing CHip | 21
DR. CHIP - ARCHIVES
Sachin Pandit
Got a computer problem?
Write to Dr. Chip at
drchip@chip.in
22 | intelligent computing CHip
Dr CHIP
[Q] Hello Dr. CHIP. When I insert any CD
in the CD ROM drive, it does not play
automatically and I have to use the ‘Open’
option by right clicking on CD icon in ‘My
Computer’. Earlier, it played automatically
with a graphical interface whenever I
inserted my CD in the CD ROM drive. How
can I solve this problem? Please help!
– Samir
Hello Samir. You can enable or disable
the feature of using autorun for removable
devices like CD ROM or USB devices. Carry out
the following steps to avail of the features.
 Go to ‘Start | Run’.
 Type ‘gpedit.msc’ and press enter.
Use the Group policy editor to enable or disable access
to different security levels.
 Browse down to ‘User Configuration
| Administrative Templates | Windows
Components | Autoplay Policies’ in the left
panel of the ‘Group Policy Object Editor’.
 Double click on ‘Turn off Autoplay’ in the
right panel and choose ‘Disabled’
 Save all settings and exit. Restart you
computer and your problem should be solved.
[Q] Dear Dr CHIP, I have an AMD XP 2400+
Processor on a ASUS 7N266 motherboard,
256 MB DDR RAM, 40 GB Samsung IDE
HDD. Last week, my system did not boot up
and the message ‘Disk Boot failure, Enter
System Disk’ continuously appeared. My PC
service guy informed me that the OS had
to be re-installed completely, and he did
the needful. I lost most of the data, but all
my mails were successfully saved, as I had
a backup in another folder in my ‘D:’ drive.
But now I do not know how to restore or
import these saved mails back into my
Outlook Express e-mail client. All the saved
folders have a ‘.dbx’ extension, for example,
Natasha.dbx; Anne.dbx; Bank.dbx, etc. Can
you please help me restore them?
– Praveen Gupta
Hello Praveen. The work you need to
do to restore your mails is quite simple. Create
the exact same folders in your Outlook Express
(the new one that you are currently using).
Now all you have to do is just click on each of
these folders once to view the contents inside
these folders. As the folders are newly created,
they will show no mail or empty folders.
Close the program (Outlook Express) and use
Windows Explorer to find the new place where
the Outlook Express e-mail client is currently
storing these mails. You will find the .DBX files
in the name of the folders that you created.
Simply replace these ‘.dbx’ files with the ones
Replace the DBX files from the previous backups
to the same locations after creating new folders.
you had backed up before re-installing the
operating system. Now, simply overwrite
the files. Make sure Outlook Express is
not running in the background. Ensure that
you have copy–pasted these files and not
moved them. After you have done so, just
open Outlook Express and you will find
your e-mails back again. Make sure that
Outlook Express is the same version that
you were using before or else you may
face some problems. Secondly, you can
also try using the mail import option in
Outlook Express, but you may face some
hurdles as it may not be very easy to do
so. In this option, take help from a friend
who is well versed with doing such stuff.
[Q] Hello Dr. CHIP, after Windows
starts up, a message pops up -
‘Windows cannot find “C:\WINDOWS\
eksplorasi.exe”. Make sure you typed
the name correctly, and then try
again.’ How can I solve this problem?
– Vishal Bhatia
This error indicates a missing
file required by Windows to startup a
particular program. Please delete it from
the startup folder in the Start Menu and
uncheck the line that specifies it in the
Disable unwanted/non-working entries in
msconfig to cut off errors in Windows startup.
‘Msconfig’. If the problem doesn’t cease,
use ’hijackthis.exe’ or manually find the
line in the registry using ‘Regedit’. Do
backup the registry before trying these
stunts. Usually you should find the lines in
the following paths in the registry:
 Computer\HKEY_CURRENT_USER\
Software\Microsoft\Windows\
CurrentVersion\Run
 Computer\HKEY_CURRENT_USER\
Software\Microsoft\Windows\
CurrentVersion\Run\RunOnce
 Computer\HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\
SOFTWARE\Microsoft\Windows\
CurrentVersion\Run
 Computer\HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\
SOFTWARE\Microsoft\Windows\
CurrentVersion\RunOnce
[Q] Dear Sir, I have purchased a
new laptop, HP Pavilion DV 2401 TU,
which has onboard graphics Intel
945 GM Chipset and 1 GB RAM. It
has Windows Vista premium as the
operating system. The problem is that
I use SIFY Broadband on my desktop
which has Windows XP Media Center
Edition and I also use an AIRTEL Data
card. My desktop works fine but
these Internet software (both SIFY
and AIRTEL) won’t get installed on
Windows Vista. I do not like Windows
Vista. I want to install Windows XP
SP2 on my new laptop. I want to know
if it’s possible and how to install
it. Secondly, what happens to the
warranty if I do so?
– Sagar Mohanty
Hello Sagar. First of all, your laptop
may not be compatible with Windows XP
because the drivers of the motherboard
may not be available for Windows XP. You
will have to check with the manufacturer
of the laptop for Windows XP drivers,
if any. Secondly, you will have to use a
licensed copy of Windows XP on your
laptop (you may need to purchase another
copy of Windows for the laptop). Your
warranty will not cease because you are
using a legal version of Windows XP.
Secondly, you have to contact both ISP
providers (SIFY and AIRTEL) to provide
and configure the software for Windows
DR. CHIP - ARCHIVES
ISPs (SIFY, Pacenet etc), have proprietary dialers.
They should provide Vista compatible dialers.
Vista for your laptop. I suppose they
should be providing you the drivers
and software for Internet connectivity
free of charge. Please contact the ISPs
respectively. Why spend on another copy
of Windows and get into the hassle of
downloading the drivers for Windows XP
for your laptop when you can solve the
problem in Vista?
[Q] Dear Sir, I am Kasam from Rajkot
(Gujarat). I am a regular reader of CHIP.
I have a problem in my IBM ThinkPad
Laptop. Please help me. I have an IBM
ThinkPad R40e.
When I Power on the laptop,
I receive an on screen error
indicating: ‘ERROR 0189: Invalid RFID
Configuration Information Area.
PRESS (F1) to Setup.’ I load setup
defaults in the BIOS but the problem
is not solved. Please tell me how I can
solve this. Regards.
– Kasam Mogal
Hello Kasam, there seems to be
a BIOS problem in your laptop which can
be solved by the IBM service center. In
order to restore your operating system
to normal, you may have deleted some
partition originally created on the hard
Contact the manufacturer’s helpdesk to solve
issues when the laptop is under the warranty.
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DR. CHIP - ARCHIVES
drive by IBM. In the mean while, you can
press the [ESC] key to continue booting
regularly till you get the problem solved by
IBM’s help center.
[Q] Hello Dr. CHIP. I want to configure
my system so that whenever I press
‘Turn off Computer’, it should not turn
off normally, but it should run super
fast shutdown. How is that possible?
– Prashant Tandon
‘Super fast reboot’ or ‘Superfast Shutdown’ can
cause data corruptions and system freezes.
I would suggest not using
superfast shut down as it can damage
certain data files. Some programs need
to shut down slowly after saving all its
files from the memory to the hard drive.
Superfast shutdown forcefully kills the
applications in the background, which may
cause data corruption. If you still want to
shutdown fast, then try this link - ‘http://
www.xp-smoker.com/installations/
superfast.zip’
[Q] Hello CHIP. I read your magazine
regularly but this is the first time I am
writing to you. I have many problems,
all of which need to be looked after
urgently. You are the only hope I am
left with. Whenever I open ‘Add/
Remove Programs’ from the Control
Panel, it takes some time for the
list to get populated, but once done
it does not show all the programs,
instead shows long black lines as you
can see in the image I have attached
here. I am using Pentium D Processor,
Intel 945 GNT Motherboard, 1 GB
Zion 667 RAM, 80 GB Seagate SATA
Hard Disk. I have bought a Norton
2008 Antivirus program but cannot
install it. Whenever I try to install, it
24 | intelligent computing CHip
gives me an error message that I have
another Norton Antivirus installed,
and it then takes me to the Add/
Remove Programs option, where I
cannot find Norton Internet Security.
I had got Norton Internet Security
installed earlier which I had got with
my motherboard CD as free software.
But now I am unable to remove it
and install my new antivirus. I have
even tried to delete the Norton folder
which I saw in ‘C:/Program Files’.
But I cannot delete it due to an error
message. My system is infected with
Trojan Horse—what is this and how do
I get rid of this?
I have sub folders of the same
name inside almost all of my music
folders. How do I get rid of this?
My Phillips Go Gear MP3 player has
stopped to respond in a folder view.
It plays files from the root menu only
but cannot detect a folder and play it.
All the folders have subfolders of the
same inside it, which I can see from
My Computer, but I cannot delete.
Whenever I try to delete it, a message
“Make sure that the disk is not full or
write protected and that the file is not
currently in use” pops up. Please help
me with all these issues. Thank you.
– Srinath Varadarajan
Hello Srinath, your computer is
infected with a virus. Please urgently
backup all your data on a DVD or another
hard drive and format the entire hard
drive. Reload the operating system,
install AVG free antivirus, and update it
to the latest release. Finally install all the
drivers and other software. Also install
an antispyware (Lavasoft AdAware or
Install a good antivirus and keep it updated using
the Internet to keep viruses at bay.
AVG Antispyware will do). Check if your
computer works fine.
Now format your MP3 player too to get
rid of the virus. When all is working fine,
copy your old data back to your computer.
Clean up every virus that tries to enter
your computer from the older data—do
not ignore any error. Henceforth keep
your antivirus completely updated on the
Internet, almost every day.
[Q] I have an IBM ThinkPad R60 laptop
(Core 2 duo 1.66 GHz, 1 GB RAM, 120
GB HDD, Mobile Intel 945GM Express
Chipset). It has Windows XP Home,
SP2 installed on it. Recently when I
switched it on, it did not recognize
that I was logged on to it. i.e., when I
opened Task Manager it did not show
any user logged on under the User tab.
Also my theme was getting reset to
the default Windows theme at startup
though the wallpaper remained the
same. Thus, many programs also
refused to work and AVG Antivirus
did not update from the file given in
the January issue of the CHIP DVD.
I have a lot of important data in my
HDD and would like to know if I can
fix this problem (preferably) without
reinstalling Windows. Please tell me if
you require any more details.
– S. Jagannathan
A virus/spyware issue can cause problems in the
registry. Ensure that your system is virus free.
Hello Jagannathan, your system
may be infected with spyware or a virus.
You will have to scan your computer
using a good updated anti-spyware and
antivirus. I would recommend that you
use AVG, also as it is free. Download the
latest versions from ‘http://free.grisoft.
com’ and install it on your computer to
get rid of the viruses. Run the antivirus
in Windows Safe Mode after installing it
in Windows Normal Mode. Do the same
with the anti-spyware. Do take your data
backups regularly. If you cannot access
any programs, maybe your registry is
corrupted. But this can be confirmed after
your machine is scanned for viruses. To
backup your data, make a Windows XP
live CD using PEbuilder’s BART PE and
start your computer using this CD and
insert a USB drive before booting. Copy
your data and finally format the computer
if you need to.
You may use a Knoppix or any Linux
Live distribution, if you wish to backup
your computer. Also run a thorough
scandisk on your hard drive at least once
a week.
[Q] Hello Dr. Chip, my tech guy has
made 3 partitions on my 60 GB Acer
Laptop hard disk. But I wanted only
2 partitions (30 GB each). How do I
get rid of the E drive and just have a
simple C (System drive, 30 GB) and D
(my Data drive, 30 GB)? The tech guy
cannot seem to solve my problem.
Another thing is that he configured C
as Fat32 file system and D, E as NTFS.
What format do you think I should
retain henceforth? Thanks!
– Sachin Borawake
Hello Sachin. You can adopt any of
the following methods.
 Firstly take a backup of all your data on
the hard drive on DVDs or on an external
storage device. Then re-partition the drive
to create the necessary partitions as per
your requirement. Then reload the OS and
software and restore your data back.
Partition Magic can resize your hard drive’s
partitions with ease.
 Backup your data for safe keeping.
Install Partition Magic or any other similar
partition utility software and resize your
drive partitions. You can also convert the
FAT32 partition to NTFS if you wish, using
the same software.
Please note: In both the options above,
you will need to backup your data, if any.
When using Partition Magic, make sure
you have enough battery life (keep it
fully charged and running on AC power –
Recommended) or else you may lose all
data on the hard drive.
[Q] Hi Team CHIP, the Tips and Tricks
being published in the magazine has
given me a lot of information and
the Dr. CHIP section has helped me
solve lots of problems. I am facing a
problem with my broadband Internet
connection. I have a 256 KBPS
broadband connection provided by
TouchTel. The problem could also be a
bit weird to correctly explain.
Ensure that the telephone and power lines in your
house do not run too close to each other.
The modem I use is a Beetel ADSL
modem with three lights (The first
light glows for power, the second for
link and the third for data transfer)
which is connected to PC via USB. The
problem is that whenever I connect to
the Internet, the link stays alive for 5
to 10 minutes and then disconnects.
When I disconnect the modem wire
from the USB (when the link is gone),
my system crashes with the Blue
Screen of Death.
Later, I found that the link gets
disconnected as soon as I switch on or
off the ‘tube lights’ in my room or my
adjacent room. Please help me with a
solution for this problem. Because of
this I am unable to download any files
which are big in size.
– Ramakrishnan Manoharan
DR. CHIP - ARCHIVES
The problem is the interference
caused by the electrical circuit of the room
lighting with your telephone line. Have
the telephone line separated from the
electrical lines. Have a new cable installed
and keep it at a distance of at least 5 to 12
inches from any electrical wiring.
Finally, ensure that you have a proper
spike buster or spike guard for your
computer and check if your electrical
sockets powering your computer have a
proper earth line.
[Q] Hi Dr. CHIP. My name is Sreeraj
and I am facing a problem. I am
using Mozilla Thunderbird as my
e-mail client. I have an account in
Google mail. I set up the account in
Thunderbird, but now I can’t send mail
through Thunderbird, but I can receive
all my e-mails through it. Please give
me a solution as to where I may be
going wrong.
– Sreeraj
Hello Sreeraj. Please make sure
you have set the server settings and the
port correctly in Thunderbird. Click on
the following URL to confirm the settings
of Gmail in your e-mail client. ‘Http://
mail.google.com/support/bin/topic.
py?topic=12760’
[Q] Hi Dr. CHIP. Can I lock the
Windows XP ‘Control Panel’ so that
nobody can access it? Please help me
with a solution.
– Virendra Pundir
You can prohibit users from using
the Control Panel.
 Click ‘Start | Run’.
 Type ‘GPEDIT.MSC’
 When the group policy window
opens, scroll to ‘User Configuration |
Administrative Templates | Control Panel’.
 On the right panel, double-click on
‘Prohibit access to the ‘Control Panel’
and select ‘Disabled’ in the ‘Properties’
window that comes up next.
Save all settings and the user will not be
able to open the ‘Control Panel’. 
Send in your queries to Francis D’Sa at
drchip@chip.in
Intelligent computing CHip | 25
DR. CHIP - ARCHIVES
Sachin Pandit
Dr CHIP
Got a computer problem?
Write to Dr. Chip at
drchip@chip.in
26 | intelligent computing CHip
[Q] Hello Dr. CHIP. Whenever I start my
computer, right after the POST (Power On
Self Test), the following error prompt is
displayed: ‘Hard disk: S.M.A.R.T. command
failed. <Press F4 to resume>.’ What should I
do to solve this problem? Please help me.
– Naved Ahmed
Hello Naved. The error means that your
hard drive is on the verge of failing. Please
back up your data and purchase a new hard
drive. S.M.A.R.T (Self-Monitoring, Analysis, and
Reporting Technology) is a monitoring system
for computer hard drives. It helps detect and
report various indicators of reliability, besides
anticipating failures. Keep this option enabled
in the motherboard’s BIOS to help detect hard
drive failures well in advance.
S.M.A.R.T is a feature which helps detect hard drive
problems in the early stages so you don’t face data loss.
[Q] Hi, Dr. CHIP. I am Shuvankar from
Bhadreswar (W.B.). I am using a PC running
on Windows XP, with 512 MB RAM, Pentium
IV 3.06 GHz CPU, 160 GB hard disk. My
PC is running comparatively slower since
last month. I used to maintain the hard
disk using Windows tools. However, now
the speed of my PC is not satisfactory.
Can you suggest any software that can
enhance the performance of my PC? Does
defragmentation affect a hard disk’s life?
– Shuvankar Dey
Software like Ccleaner can help flushing junk files and
also erase private information stored in browsers.
Defragmenting your hard drive doesn’t
reduce its life. To increase the speed of your
computer, you can add more memory (around
1 GB more) and if possible, use a dedicated
graphics card. To clean unnecessary files on
your hard drive, use Ccleaner.
[Q] Hello Dr CHIP. I’m a major fan of CHIP.
I use a Toshiba Satellite E50 laptop. When
I switch my laptop on, I get a message
which says ‘Zerocfgsvcmfc - application has
encountered a problem and needs to close’.
I would really appreciate it if you could tell
me why this happens and how I can fix it.
Thanking you in advance. ‘Autorun.inf’ is a file created by the virus in every
– Nabeel
Disable unwanted entries in ‘Msconfig’ to stop
loading erratic or unnecessary programs.
Hello Nabeel. The problem seems
to be a compatibility issue with the
driver or software of the wireless LAN
card. Check the latest driver updates on
the Internet for your laptop, especially
for your wireless network card and
the motherboard chipset. If it does not
help, try disabling the Wireless Zero
Configuration service from the list in
Msconfig, or just delete or rename the
file ‘zcfgsvc.exe’ located in ‘C:\windows\
system32 folder’.
[Q] When I open any drive, it brings up
the ‘Open With’ option and gives me
a list of programs including Internet
Explorer, Adobe, VLC, Word, etc. I have
scanned the system and updated my
antivirus but the problem persists.
Please mail me a solution.
– Aliasger Kiranawala
Hello Aliasger. Your drives have a
hidden file called ‘Autorun.inf’ in the root
directory. You have scanned the system
with updated antivirus software, but you
should also try scanning the hard drives
with an antispyware tool. Delete the
‘Autorun.inf’ files from the root directories
of the drives and reboot the computer. It
should work fine.
partition or drive on your computer.
[Q] Hello Dr. CHIP. I’ve encountered a
serious virus problem in my computer.
My system’s configuration is P4 3.4
GHz, 1 GB Corsair DDR2 RAM, 250
GB Hitachi SATA HDD, Asus P5B
Motherboard and Nvidia 7300GT
graphics card. The problems are:
I use Avast Home Edition antivirus
on my PC and regularly update it. It
works fine but it is not able to detect
a virus named ‘music.exe’. I think the
virus entered my system through a pen
drive. Every time I manually delete it,
it re-appears after the next boot. I use
Vista Ultimate and XP dual booting on
two separate hard drives. I use Trojan
removers separately but they have
been of no use.
My friend who also uses Avast
antivirus has a similar problem. He has
a virus in his system but Avast can’t
detect it. He formatted the hard disk
& reinstalled Windows XP. But after
2-3 days, the system got infected with
the virus again. When he double-clicks
on any folder, its size becomes 37.0 KB
and has an .EXE extension. The data
inside the folder gets corrupted. Please
suggest a solution as soon as possible.
I use Vista Ultimate. Initially
it worked fine and would detect
everything I connect, for example, card
readers, extra HDD, Bluetooth, etc. But
for some time now, when I connect
any of these things, it asks me for the
driver, even for external hard drives.
What’s the problem? I regularly update
Windows with Windows Update.
Please suggest a solution for these
problems. Thanks!
– Ajay Vikrant
Hello Ajay, please try using the
following software along with your Avast
antivirus on both operating systems: ‘AVG
Antivirus’, ‘AVG Rootkit’, ‘AVG Spyware’,
‘Lavasoft Adaware’ and ‘Hijackthis.exe’. I
am sure it will get rid of the Trojan. Also
format your pen drive after removing
the virus from your computer. The same
applies to your friend. Make sure your
friend and you also use legal operating
systems. This will help in updating the
operating system from the Internet
DR. CHIP - ARCHIVES
System File Checker or SFC can help restore
corrupted and deleted system files.
without any problems. Regular Windows
updates can protect your computer from
vulnerabilities caused due to viruses and
Trojans.
As for your third question, there seems
to be some driver corruption with Vista.
Use the command ‘sfc /scannow’ from
‘Run’ or from the DOS Prompt and make
sure you have your Windows Vista DVD
ready when needed by Windows. SFC
(System File Checker) scans your entire
operating system to find any corrupted
and damaged files and replaces them
accordingly.
We suggest you download Windows
SP1—it may help too. Keep your operating
system updated at all times. The same
applies to all antivirus and antispyware
applications too.
[Q] Dear Sir, I would like your help and
advice on the following:
 I have a Logitech wireless keyboard
and mouse. The battery of the mouse
gets drained in just 2-3 days because
the light at the bottom of the mouse is
always on. Is there any way to switch it
off other than removing the batteries?
 How can I convert content on a
video cassette to a CD or DVD?
 There are some video files on a DVD.
When I try to copy them to the hard
disk, all files gets copied except one
which is about 1 GB. An error prompt
Save your searches to avoid wasting time looking
for the same files on large volumes.
Intelligent computing CHip | 27
DR. CHIP - ARCHIVES
appears saying that the DVD is not
in good condition. Is it possible to
retrieve the data?
 I do embroidery designing work on
my computer. My computer is also
used by others. I am looking for a
system or program which can help me
disallow copying data to a CD or a USB
drive without my permission.
 I also have a problem with file
renaming. I have file names, for
instance, ‘1.abc’, ‘2.abc’, and ‘3.abc’
etc. Now I want to rename them to ‘1p.
abc’, ‘2p.abc’, and ‘3p.abc’ and also as
‘1p_mn_1.abc’, ‘2p_mn_2.abc’ and so
on. Is there any software or system
which can help me do that?
 I have one folder which contains
about 40,000 design files which is
located at ‘D:\files\’. I use Windows
Search very frequently but it is very
irritating. Every time I have to browse
to My Computer, and go to D drive,
then scroll down and so on. Is there
any way that the system can remember
this path?
 Suggest some book (not a website)
which can give me in-depth knowledge
of Windows XP from the very basics to
a very high level.
 I want to understand the full tree
structure which opens in ‘Device
Manager’ in the ‘Hardware’ tab in
‘System Properties’ from the ‘Control
Panel’. I want to know what each
section and subsection means, what it
represents in a computer system, why
it is important, what if I delete it and
also every other little or big detail.
– Amit Jain
Hello Amit. First of all, try using a
good brand of batteries (such as Duracell)
and check how long they last in the
mouse. If the problem persists, then the
mouse is at fault. If you do not want to
remove the batteries, then you can hack
into the plastic shell and install a manual
switch to turn off the power. This will void
the warranty of the mouse, or you could
end up making it look ugly. Alternatively
you can insert a small firm plastic strip
(from a visiting card or from the plastic
used in the collar of a newly purchased
28 | intelligent computing CHip
shirt) between the battery terminals to cut
off the power to the mouse.
To convert a video cassette into a VCD
or DVD, you need a video capture card, a
VCP or VCR, and video capturing and CD/
DVD burning program. Pinnacle TV tuners
are quite good for converting videos and
burn them to DVD or VCDs.
If the DVD is scratched, then it is not
possible to retrieve data from it. There is
some software that attempts to retrieve
data from damaged CDs/DVDs but it may
take hours and there is a possibility that
your DVD writer/ROM may get burnt out.
Also there is no guarantee of data retrieval.
Try the application ‘ISObuster’ to check if
it can solve your problem.
A simple and easy method is to disable
the CD/DVD writer and the USB ports
from the BIOS of the motherboard and
then lock the BIOS with a password.
Whenever you need to use them, simply
enable them before starting Windows.
Another way is to use ‘Gpedit.msc’ (the
Group Policy Object Editor) to disable the
use of a CD/DVD or USB device. But if you
forget to undo the same, you may land up
with minor problems. BIOS tweaking is a
secure way to do this.
Try using ‘QuickFileRename’,
‘BetterFileRename’ or ‘Batch-File-
Rename’. Just Google these names and
download the files.
You can save your previous search
strings. Simply, use the ‘Save Search’
option from the Search window. Try using
‘Windows XP for Dummies’ available
at any local computer book store. To
understand all that is displayed in the tree
structure in the ‘Device Manager’, you will
need to study advanced Windows. There
is a whole lot of information available on
the Internet which you can refer to.
[Q] Hi Dr. CHIP, I study at Guru Nanak
Dev University, Amritsar. I am trying
to learn Linux using video tutorials.
The problem is that I can’t watch and
execute the videos simultaneously. I
want to set 2 monitors to do this. Can
you include any tutorial for this in the
next CHIP issue?
Also, I have one 80 GB HDD which
has 2 partitions (a) NTFS C: and (b)
By using Vmware, one can run multiple operating
systems on the same computer.
EISA Healthy preloaded IBM Rescue
and Recovery. I don’t want to fiddle
with this hard disk nor do I want to
touch its MBR, since sometimes I
feel helpless to some problems and
I am forced to reformat the drive. By
God’s grace it’s been almost a year
and I haven’t needed to format the
HDD. Now, I want to install Linux OS
(RedHat and Ubuntu). Is it possible that
I can install it on a new disk (in master
mode) and then later attach it to my PC
(in slave mode) and when I need to run
Linux I press F8 for boot options? Will
this protect my master HDD’s MBR?
Also can I run different operating
systems on 2 monitors? As in, on 1
monitor I run Windows XP and on
other monitor, Linux. Can I do this
while also sharing resources of the
same PC.
My PC configuration is: P4 3.0
GHz processor with 800 MHz FSB HT
technology, 910G or GV motherboard
with 1.5 GB DDR2 RAM running at
533 MHz, an 80 GB SATA HDD and no
graphics card installed.
– Jagmeet Singh
Hello Jagmeet. To use two
monitors on one computer simultaneously
you will need a graphics card with two
VGA D-Sub or DVI ports. The display card
should have two physical connections to
attach two monitors at the same time. If
your motherboard has two PCI-e slots, you
can connect two display cards too.
Alternatively, if you have an older
motherboard, you can try installing a PCI
graphics/3D card to run two monitors.
Once the cards are set and the drivers are
installed, just use the display properties
to enable ‘Extend my desktop onto this
monitor’ and you will be able to use both
monitors. You will not be able to use two
operating systems on one single computer
at the same time.
If you need to do the same, I would
suggest you try ‘VMWARE’ as this will
enable you to use two operating systems
at the same time and on different
monitors too. You can also share the same
resources.
If you need to install Linux without
touching the hard drive’s MBR, you can
install it on another hard drive. Physically
disconnect the current hard drive and
install the new hard drive on the secondary
master IDE bus. If it is a SATA connection,
then remove the older hard drive and
connect the new hard drive with another
SATA connector (e.g. use the old HDD
on SATA1 and the new one on SATA2,
remove the cable of SATA1 for now).
Install Linux on the new hard drive with a
regular installation procedure.
Once the installation is complete, you
can reconnect SATA1 (the old hard drive)
and change the boot sequence in the
BIOS to boot through your choice of the
operating systems on the two drives by
pressing the F8 button. It’s simple but
can be a little confusing for new users.
Take help of a friend who has dealt with
hardware solutions before.
[Q] Hi Dr. CHIP, I am Niaz Ahmed from
Chennai. I have a serious problem with
my motherboard. I have a branded
PC, Compaq Presario 1425IL, with
a PTGD-LA Goldfish2 motherboard
from ASUS. Last month I decided to
buy a graphics card for it, but I found
out that there was no PCIe slot on
it, but it does have pins with a label
just above them that reads “PCIe
x16”. I installed PCWorks 2008 and
it detects the PCIe x16 bus. I don’t
know if my motherboard is actually
a case of error from Compaq! But
please tell me whether I could solder
a PCIe slot to it? Since upgrading the
motherboard, processor and RAM
would cost me around Rs 10,000. But
making the provision of PCIe slot on
my current motherboard would help
Some motherboards installed in branded
computers do not provide a PCIe slot.
me buy a decent graphics add-on. I am
not worried about the HP guarantee
(it has expired). Please help me in any
way possible. The motherboard is only
worth Rs 1,000 currently because its
chipset is outdated.
– Niaz Ahmed
Hello Niaz. If you solder a PCIe
slot to the motherboard, there is a chance
that it will work. But only a slot would not
make any difference, as there are many
more components that are needed to
support PCIe graphics cards.
The information you are getting from
PCWorks is the BIOS information read
off the CMOS chip. Your motherboard
seems to support a PCIe slot, but the
manufacturer has chosen not to have
it soldered on, possibly for cost-cutting
reasons or to sell a more expensive
upgrade.
If you do want to go ahead with
physically soldering on a PCIe slot, I
suggest you speak to a local motherboard
repair outfit (find an expert who deals
in chip-level repairs) to find out if the
motherboard can in fact do what you are
looking for. Alternatively you can also
check with Intel or ASUS if this can be
done. Just e-mail them using the links on
their websites.
I would recommend you don’t try
soldering the slot on yourself, because
if there is any problem, leave alone the
expired warranty, you may land up with
a dead motherboard and will have to
purchase the upgrades which would cost
you Rs 10,000 anyway.
[Q] Hi Dr. Chip, I have a lot of original
game CDs and DVDs. To play games
DR. CHIP - ARCHIVES
I obviously need to insert the media
every now and then. Since they are so
many in number, I would like you to
recommend the type of cloth I should
use to wipe off dirt, thumb prints, and
scratch marks on the disc surface.
Also tell me what kind of cases are
best to maintain discs—plastic, paper
sleeve or glass cases? Of late, I’ve
come to know of many products
available in the market for CD/DVD
cleaning. Please suggest a product
pertaining to CD/DVD disc cleaning
available in the market.
In your September 2007 issue you
had mentioned about using ‘SFC/
scannow’ to repair corrupted files in
Windows XP. But the command doesn’t
run on my system. Please help.
– Navraj Shubham
Hello Navraj, you can use a good
lint free cloth to wipe your CDs and DVDs.
You can use a lens or spectacle lens
cleaning cloth and liquid to clean the dirt
off the CD/DVD, but make sure you wipe it
in a circular manner from inside out of the
media disk.
Do not apply too much pressure.
Alternatively, a micro fiber cloth from 3M,
called Scotch Brite, is available in the
market ranging from Rs 40-80. This cloth
should give you best results.
To store your discs, use a CD case
which has jackets coated with plastic but
where the inner surface is made from lint
free, scratch proof cotton material, for
safe keeping. It is available in all stationary
stores and does not compromise on
quality or price. Storing in plastic, paper or
the jewel cases may damage your DVDs
in the long run. Sony CD/DVD cleaners are
supposedly the best. Hunt for 3M cleaners
if available.
As for the SFC command, make sure
there is a space after the SFC command.
Type in the command ‘sfc /scannow’ in
the ‘Run’ field. If your machine does not
have the SFC command, copy the SFC
executable from some other machine
which has Windows XP, to the Windows
folder on your computer. 
Send in your queries to Francis D’Sa at
drchip@chip.in
Intelligent computing CHip | 29
DR. CHIP - ARCHIVES
Sachin Pandit
Got a computer problem?
Write to Dr. Chip at
drchip@chip.in
30 | intelligent computing CHip
Dr CHIP
[Q] Hello, I am a regular reader of CHIP.
Your solutions are simply great as they are
easy to follow. I am facing a problem with
my new Sony DVD RW drive (DRU-190A). I
bought it in October 2007 and the problem
has existed from the very day I bought it.
 It takes about two minutes to read a
data CD (MP3, JPG, etc), 5-6 minutes to read
a DVD, but it is unable to read an CD-RW.
The same disk which my Sony DVD writer
cannot read is detected normally by another
Sony CDRW drive and also on my laptop.
 While writing a DVD, it stops writing
when the progress is 87 percent complete,
and displays “Aborted by User”.
 It is also unable to detect/read any dual
layer DVD; even new movie DVDs.
 My PC hangs when I insert the CHIP
DVD, showing 100 percent CPU usage.
I exchanged my DVD writer for a new
one around 15 days ago. But now it’s
showing another problem along with above
problems. The new drive is unable to burn
DVDs at higher speeds. It burns only within
the range of 1x-1.5x. It takes around 55-57
minutes to complete the burning process. I
am using Nero 8.1 (licensed version) as the
burning software.
I also tried using a new Philips DVD lens
cleaner to solve this problem, and checked
the driver and disk speed etc. It also shows
speeds between 1x-1.5x. I am very sure
that my system does not have any viruses.
Two of my friends are also facing similar
problems. I need an expert’s help. My PC’s
configuration is as follows: Pentium 4 HT
3.0 GHz, Intel 915GL motherboard, 512 MB
DDR 400, 80 GB HDD (7200rpm, SATA 2),
Sony CD-RW 48x and Sony DVD-RW 20X,
OS: Windows XP SP2, Antivirus: AVG 7.5
and Spyware Doctor 5.5 (Registered), Nero
8.1 (Registered), Diskeeper 9 (professional
version) for defragmenting.
– Chinmay Das
Hello Chinmay. Try changing the IDE
cable from the motherboard to the writer and
check your drive again to rule out any cable
issues. Also ensure that the writer is not sharing
its IDE cable with any other device (hard drives
or any other writers). If all is fine and the writer
still gives you problems, then the lens may be
weak or the writer has come with a factory
defect. Replace the writer if it’s under warranty.
If your friend who has the same problem has
brought the writer at the same time and from
the same dealer as you have, then either
the whole batch could be faulty or the entire
consignment might have been damaged or
mishandled during shipping to India. Check the
writer thoroughly on another computer before
you approach the dealer for a replacement.
[Q] Dear Dr. CHIP, my Cooler Master TX2
CPU cooler’s fan has one broken blade. I
contacted my hardware vendor but he said
that this cooler’s warranty does not cover
such damage to the unit (only internal
damage, as if that is more likely!) For now,
I am using the stock CPU cooler that came
with my processor, an Intel Pentium D 805.
I managed to stick the broken blade of the
fan with super glue but I am not sure it will
hold for long as the fan runs at around 1800
A broken blade on a CPU cooler fan might wobble
and possibly break again if you try reattaching it.
rpm. Please tell me if it is safe to use
this cooler. I just bought it a couple of
months ago and can’t afford another
one for at least another year or so.
– Arun Prasath
Hi Arun, It is not safe to use a
cooler with a glued fan blade. The glue
might not be of much help as the speed
you mentioned is too much for it to stay
attached. It might wobble and possibly
break again, causing either a noisy or
an overheated system. You will need to
continue using the stock cooler till you can
afford another one.
[Q] Hello Dr. CHIP. My system runs on
Windows XP. I have only one LAN card
and I checked in my network settings
to find that the IP I use cannot be
used any more. My LAN card has an IP
address provided by Sify Broadband
but when I try to type this IP in the
same LAN card, the following error
appears: “The IP address xxx.xxx.xxx.
xxx you have entered for this network
adapter is already assigned to another
adapter <name of adapter>. The name
of the adapter is hidden from the
network and dial-up connections folder
because it is not physically in the
computer or is a legacy adapter that
is not working. If the same address is
assigned to both adapters and they
become active, only one of them will
use this address. This may result in
incorrect system configuration. Do you
want to enter a different IP address for
this adapter in the list of IP addresses
in the advanced dialog box?” Please
help!
– Rakesh Dhawde
Click on the 'Show hidden devices' option to list
all unused and non-connected devices.
Hello Rakesh. This problem is quite
common when you change the network
card or use a motherboard with an
onboard LAN card. Windows remembers
that you had earlier assigned an IP address
to a particular LAN card and hence will not
allow you to use it with another one.
To solve this issue, you first need
to delete the older network card that
exists in the Windows database. Follow
these steps:
 Click ‘Start | Run’, type ‘cmd’ and press
[Enter].
 When the command prompt opens,
type ‘set devmgr_show_nonpresent_
devices=1’ and press [Enter].
 Close the command prompt by typing
‘Exit’ and pressing [Enter].
 Right click on ‘My computer’ and click
on ‘Properties’.
 Click on ‘Hardware’ and then on ‘Device
manager’
 Click ‘View’ and then on ‘Show hidden
devices’
 Under ‘Network adapters’ you should
find the older network card that does not
physically exist anymore. Right click on it
and select ‘Uninstall’.
 Restart your computer and then assign
the IP address to the new network card
as usual.
The next time you replace your network
adapter with a new one, ensure that you
remove the assigned IP address before
shutting down your computer.s
[Q] Hello Dr. CHIP. I have a Lenovo
ThinkPad laptop. I had Avast Free
Edition antivirus installed, which
detected one Trojan in my Windows
XP system files, but was unable to
delete it. Hence I uninstalled Avast and
DR. CHIP - ARCHIVES
The virus creates hidden files called 'autorun.inf'
on every hard drive or partition. Get rid of them.
installed QuickHeal Antivirus Plus 2008
Evaluation Version which detected the
said Trojan and repaired the system
files. Since then, the system has been
working properly but I am unable to
open my local drives C: and D:. On
double clicking the drives, an ‘Open
With’ dialog box opens, instead of the
drive folder. What is the problem and
how can I access the local drives C:
and D:? Windows XP is installed on C:
drive. Thanks.
– Dr. S.K. Das
Hello Dr. Das. If you right click on
each drive and click ‘Open’, you will find
that there is a hidden file called ‘autorun.
inf’ in it. Delete this file from the root
directory of each drive and restart your
computer. They should now open properly
with a double-click.
[Q] Hello Dr. CHIP! I am facing a really
annoying problem. My Windows XP
Pro (with SP2) shows that my 56
kbps dial-up modem is removed even
though I installed it correctly many
times. The same problem is happening
with the TV Tuner Card. Are my
motherboard’s PCI slots the reason
Carefully clean the cabinet from inside, and
ensure that the expansion slots are free of dust.
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DR. CHIP - ARCHIVES
for this problem or are the cards
damaged? This is unlikely since my
Pinnacle TV Tuner Card shows no signs
of damage. I urgently need your help.
Thank you!
– WarBustOn Sangma
The PCI bus on your motherboard
is possibly the problem. Try removing the
cards and cleaning the slots thoroughly
with Isopropyl alcohol. Also clean the edge
connectors on the cards. Then reinstall
the cards and try again. Also reinstall the
drivers. If this effort fails, check whether
the cards work on a friend’s computer
before making a decision on changing your
motherboard.
[Q] Hi Dr. CHIP, I am Himanshu from
Jaipur. Whenever I start my computer,
a prompt appears saying that my
Windows is not validated (I have a
pirated copy of Windows). It pops up
randomly whenever I watch movies,
play games or do anything else on my
computer. Please help me resolve this
problem.
– Himanshu Sharma
Use legal software, especially the operating
system, to be eligible for updates and patches.
Hello Himanshu. This is an
anti-piracy measure which cannot be
circumvented. Once the Windows Genuine
Advantage application is installed on your
computer, it cannot be removed, but the
irritating warnings will go away when you
buy a legal license.
I would suggest you get rid of the
pirated version of Windows and buy a legal
copy. This will also entitle you to receive
updates and online support. Pirated copies
could put your data at risk and also cause
legal trouble for you.
32 | intelligent computing CHip
[Q} Hello Dr. CHIP. I bought an 18x
Samsung DVD writer a year ago. It
was working fine but I still wanted
to clean it, so as instructed in the
supplement of the December 2007
issue of CHIP, (optical drive cleaning
workshop), I opened and cleaned the
drive, then reassembled it. But as
soon as I turned on the computer, the
drive was unable to read or detect any
DVDs. Now it’s reading and writing
only CDs. Please help me with a
solution. Also, I got a digital and an
audio cable bundled with my writer,
so please do tell me how to connect
and use them. Thank you.
– Jamie
Applying too much pressure while cleaning the
CD/DVD lens can permanently damage it.
Hello Jamie. While cleaning, you
might have dislodged the lens from its
position. Your drive’s lens may not have
been cleaned properly. Open it and
carefully clean it again, or else you might
have to repair or replace the drive.
Secondly, your drive comes bundled
with a digital data cable and an audio
cable. You can use the digital cable to
connect the drive to the IDE port of the
motherboard, but since you already have
an internal cable connected to the drive,
keep this one as a spare.
The audio cable is of no use—keep it if
you want to, or dispose it. The audio cable
is an analog cable (only for audio output)
which connects the left and right audio
channel to the sound card. All media player
programs today get their data from an
audio CD directly, hence, an analog audio
cable is not necessary anymore.
[Q] Hi Dr. CHIP. What should I do to
transfer some data from one drive to
another? Let’s say 5 GB from D: drive
to C: drive.
– Rohith Chinna
Just copy and paste the data. If
the data has transferred successfully, then
delete the data from the D drive.
[Q] Dear Dr. CHIP. I have a used
computer which uses a Pentium 4, 2.0
GHz CPU, 256 MB RAM, and a 40 GB
hard drive with two partitions, C: and
D:. The problem is that the guy who
sold this computer to me had made
really inconvenient partition sizes.
He assigned 7.95 GB to the C: drive
and 25.9 GB to D:. My system shows
that I have a shortage of hard drive
space, which refers to the C: drive. I
tried to gather information about this
problem but everyone only advises me
to format my drive, which I don’t want
to do. One of my friends told me about
Partition Magic but it doesn’t seem
to combine two partitions into one.
Please help me with this matter.
Note: I certainly don’t want to format
my hard drive. If there are any
programs required please put them on
the CHIP DVD. Thank you. before attempting such changes. Also
– David Park
Dear David, Using Partition Magic
will be risky but it could be the best
solution for you. Follow these instructions:
Take a complete backup of the C: and
D: drives on DVDs, an external hard drive
or a networked computer. Confirm that
the data is copied properly. Delete the
contents of the D: drive, and then install
and run Partition Magic. Use the program
to delete the D: partition and increase the
space of the C drive so that it extends into
all the free space formerly occupied by
the D: drive, or increase it only as much
as you need, and then create a smaller
D: drive from the rest of the space. Save
the changes and restart your computer.
Partition Magic will take over and carry
out the necessary changes and then start
Windows normally. Your drives will now
be changed exactly as you specified. Once
this is done, you can uninstall Partition
Magic from your computer. Check if the
Partition magic can be used to effectively resize
your disk partitions.
drives have any errors by running Scandisk
on them. If all is fine, copy your backed
up data to the new partitions as required.
Your work is done without having to
reinstall the operating system.
Note: If your computer previously had
applications that were installed to the D:
drive rather than the usual ‘C:\Program
Files’ location, you may have to install
them again.
Partition Magic also helps in
transferring applications from the D: drive
to the C: drive and makes the necessary
changes to the Windows registry for you,
but only if there is enough space on the C:
drive to accommodate them. Check your
data and back up everything important
note that the lesser the data on D: drive,
the faster Partition Magic will do its work.
If there is more data on the D: drive,
Partition Magic will take longer, since it
first needs to transfer all data from D: to
C: and then changes the partition table to
resize the partitions.
There should be no power outages
while undertaking this procedure.
Please Note: Use Partition Magic at your
own risk. Back up all your important data
before using it.
[Q] Dear Dr. CHIP. My name is Jitendra
and I am a regular reader. The articles
and Tips and Tricks provided by CHIP
are very good and informative and I
like the Dr. CHIP section. I am working
as a desktop support engineer in
Bangalore. I have one problem and I
hope you will help me with it. There
are about 350 desktop users in my
company. Based on the department,
we have configured the network. We
A setting change using Administrator mode can
ban users from changing desktop wallpapers.
have divided workgroup based on the
departments. For example: ‘AccDept’,
‘Gap-Inc’, ‘Non-Gap’, etc. We don’t
have any domain controllers. It is a
workgroup-based network.
In some departments, users change
their desktop wallpaper on a daily
basis. My senior administrator ordered
me to restrict this and instructed me
that they should not set any personal
wallpaper on their desktops. I have
tried some registry-based restrictions
for users so that they cannot access
the Control Panel, right click on
the desktop and right click on My
Computer. I have tried ‘gpedit.msc’
but in a workgroup model it sets
the restriction to the ‘Administrator’
account also. In my case, I need full
control for the Administrator only, and
all other users should be restricted.
That’s why I used a registry tweak.
I have found another loophole: Users
are opening the JPG file and right
clicking on the image and then using
the ‘Set as Background’ option to
set wallpapers. I want to restrict
this option also if possible through a
registry tweak. I request you to help
me out. Please post a registry tweak
to disable this option for users. I hope
I get a positive answer from the CHIP
technical team. Thank you.
– Jitendra
Hello Jitendra. Do what is
described here. It is possible to prevent
users from changing desktop backgrounds.
To do this, click on ‘Start | Run’ type
‘Gpedit.msc’ and press [Enter]. Navigate
to ‘Local Computer Policy | User
Configuration | Administrative Templates
DR. CHIP - ARCHIVES
| Desktop’ and click ‘Active Desktop’.
Double-click ‘Active Desktop Wallpaper’
on the right panel and on the ‘Setting’
tab, click ‘Enabled’. Here type the path
to the Desktop wallpaper that you want
to be used all the time (this could be a
JPG file on another computer or the same
computer itself) in the ‘Wallpaper Name’
and click ‘OK’. You would also have to use
the ‘Enable Active Desktop’ policy which
is found by navigating to ‘Local Computer
Policy | User Configuration | Administrative
Templates | Desktop | Active Desktop’.
This is available only on computers running
Windows XP Professional version and is
not available in Windows XP Home.
[Q] Hello Dr. Chip, my problem is that
I have selected a scheduled time to
run Windows Update, but whenever
I connect to Internet, the tool starts
downloading updates. Is there any way
I can update Windows at a particular
time only? Thanks,
– Rahul Choudhary
Schedule Windows Update to download
important updates only when you want it to.
Hello Rahul. If an Internet
connection is unavailable at the time
you specify, Windows Update will wait
till you connect and start downloading
immediately. You can schedule Windows
to update at specific times during the day.
Click on ‘Start | Settings | Control Panel’
and double click on ‘Automatic updates’.
Here, you can choose the first option
‘Automatic’ (Update Interval) and select
the day and time you would like Windows
updates to be installed. You need to be
connected to the Internet at the time you
specify here. 
Send in your queries to Francis D’Sa at
drchip@chip.in
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DR. CHIP - ARCHIVES
Got a computer problem?
Write to Dr. Chip at
drchip@chip.in
34 | intelligent computing CHip
Dr CHIP
Sachin Pandit
[Q] Hi Dr CHIP. I have a Laptop loaded with
the Windows XP Operating System, it
has 512 MB RAM, 40 GB hard disk with a
Celeron 1.7 GHz Processor. It's infected by
the "Microsoftpowerpoint.exe" virus. The
Norton Antivirus check shows the virus.
This virus has also infected my pen drive. Its
attribute is hidden, and whenever I delete it,
it regenerates itself. How should I get rid of
this virus? Please help me out.
– Gaurav Sharma
Hello Gaurav. Your machine is certainly
infected with the virus and is infecting all the
other drives. After deleting the files, the virus
continues to copy itself onto other drives. Once
the program runs, your computer system is
infected. However, this virus does not destroy
any of your system files. Instead, it hides all the
hidden folders and disables the ‘Show hidden
folders’ option in the ‘Folder Options’ menu. It
runs its process in the memory. The virus, after
affecting your computer, creates a folder named
‘heap41a’ in your root drive i.e. C: drive, where
it resides, and therefore, it is not easy to locate.
To rectify this, you will have to change these
keys in the registry, back to the actual value. To
open the registry editor, go to ‘Start Menu | Run’
and type 'regedit'. Browse to find the following
entries and change them.
Go to ‘HKEY_CURRENT_USER\Software\
Microsoft\Windows\ CurrentVersion\Explorer\
Advanced’. On the right hand side, you
will find the value ‘Hidden’. Right click and
modify it to ‘1’. Then go to ‘HKEY_LOCAL_
MACHINE\SOFTWARE\Microsoft\Windows\
CurrentVersion\Explorer\Advanced\Folder\
Hidden\SHOWALL’ find the ‘Checked all’ key to
the right, change it to ‘1’ from ‘2’. This will enable
‘Show hidden files and folders’ in the ‘Folder
Option’ menu. Now open the ‘Windows Task
Manager’ and end the process named ‘svchost.
exe’ that runs under your user name. Then delete
the folder ‘C:\heap41a’ and go to ‘HKEY_LOCAL_
MACHINE\ SOFTWARE\Microsoft\Windows\
CurrentVersion\policies\Explorer\Run’ and now
clear the entry that says ‘heap41a’.
To ensure that the computer is free from
all infections, search the entire computer
system and check to see whether there are
any files with the same name as the ‘.exe’ file
mentioned earlier. If found, delete them. Now
your computer system should be completely
free from worm infection. Make sure that you
also format the USB drive before you reuse it.
This will prevent the virus, if present in the USB
drive, from infecting other computers.
Clean up the restore points in Windows XP and Vista
before attempting any virus cleaning to ensure the virus.
[Q] Hi Dr CHIP, I'm a regular reader
of your magazine. I have a problem.
While surfing the internet, on a friend's
PC, I accidently clicked on ‘remember
me on this computer’. Now, he is able
to access my account without my
password. Please help.
– Srikant Kala
Clear out all the usernames, passwords and forms
before exiting the Internet on a public computer .
Hello Srikant. Always remember,
whenever you are at a Cybercafé or any
shared computer, it's dangerous to enter
your username and password, as there can
either be a key logger software installed to
grab your keystrokes (such as usernames
and passwords) or your details can get
saved in the browser via the ‘remember
my username and password’ feature of
the Internet Explorer. Therefore, whenever
you use a public computer to browse the
Internet, make sure to follow these steps,
after you have completed your work and
before you log out of your account.
 Start Internet Explorer.
 Click 'Tools | Internet options'.
 Click on the ‘General’ tab.
 Click ‘Delete files’ and ‘Delete cookies’
button under ‘Temporary internet files’.
 Click on ‘OK’ when asked in the
upcoming screens.
 Then select the ‘Content’ tab.
 Click on ‘AutoComplete’ button under
‘Personal Information’.
 Uncheck all the listed options on the
settings page and then click ‘Clear forms’
and ‘Clear passwords’ buttons. This will
clear out all your saved passwords (if any).
Browsers like Mozilla Firefox and Opera
have similar options, to clear out your
details. To safeguard your e-mail account
do apply these steps before and after you
have browsed through the Internet.
[Q] Respected Sir, I have an AMD
Athlon XP 2800 XP+ machine, 1 GB
DDR2 RAM, 80 GB hard drive and a
NVIDIA GeForce FX 5200 graphics card
with 256 MB VRAM. The machine runs
on Windows XP Genuine Version. I
can’t find the disk defragmentation
utility under system tools, whenever
I right click on the drive and click
the defrag button, 'Windows' pops
up a message ‘The program is not
installed please go to Add/Remove
programs under Control Panel and try
again’. How can I get back the disk
defragmentation utility into the system
tools or how can it be reinstalled.
– Anand Nayyar
Use the Msconfig utility to restore any corrupted
or deleted file from your computer.
Hello Anand. To get back the
defragmenting tool, follow these steps.
 Click on ‘Start | Run’.
 Type ‘msconfig’ and press [Enter].
 Select the ‘General’ tab.
 Click the ‘Expand file’ button.
 In ‘File to restore’ select your Windows
CD from the cdrom drive (insert the
Windows CD in the ROM).
 Browse to the ‘i386 folder’ and select
the file ‘defrag.ex_’ and restore it to your
‘C:\windows\system32’ folder.
 Repeat the same procedure for files
‘defrag.hl_’ and defragp.ch_’ cnd restore
them to ‘C:\windows\help’.
Your system should now have the
defrag software enabled. You can also
copy the defrag.exe file from some
other computer located in ‘C:\windows\
system32’ folder to the same location in
your computer.
[Q] Hello Dr. CHIP. I have Windows
Vista Home Basic OS installed on my
laptop. Whenever I format my laptop
DR. CHIP - ARCHIVES
all the Windows updates are lost. Is
there a way to restore the updates and
how can I save them onto the hard
disk? Please help me to enhance my
ideas to use the PC.
– Anshul Mehta
Windows Update Downloader stores downloads
if you constantly keep re-installing your OS.
Hello Anshul. It's difficult to copy
updates of Windows XP or Windows
Vista as Windows installs the updates
and does not store the executables
anywhere. But try this solution. There
is a third-party software that you can
download from ‘http://wud.jcarle.com/’
called ‘Windows Updates Downloader’.
This software once installed, gives you
options to download current updates from
the Microsoft update server for Windows
2000, 2003, XP, Vista, Office 2003 and
Exchange 2003—directly to the folder
of your choice. Once downloaded, just
keep installing each update manually. This
is the best way to keep your Windows
installation up-to-date if you constantly
keep re-installing your operating system.
Note: These updates will not install on a
pirated Windows copy. Download and burn
the updates onto a DVD and use them
to update any computer which needs
updates. Alternatively, you can slip-stream
the updates into your Windows installation
CD by using the ‘nLite’ program to avoid
installing the updates every time.
[Q] Dear Dr. CHIP. I am from Bangalore.
I own a laptop (HP Compaq Presario V -
4000) with a configuration of P-4 2 GHz
processer, 512 MB RAM & 100 GB HDD.
I've hidden a folder on my hard drive
(with five partitions) and have named it
‘MG’. But it’s not visible. I have tried all
sorts of methods to retrieve it; I even
tried to repair my OS (Windows XP)
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DR. CHIP - ARCHIVES
Check the attribute of each file by running the
'attrib' command before making changes to it.
though without much success. I am a
regular reader of CHIP magazine, and
you are my last hope.
– Navalgund
We are not clear what you mean
by ‘I have hidden a folder on my hard drive
(with five partitions), with the name of
MG’? Is there a folder on all 5 partitions?
The problem, as I understand it, is listed
below.
You may have a folder ‘abc’ (for
instance), which is hidden in drive
(partition) C, D and E. (Example: C:\
mydata\mystuff\abc). You cannot see it in
Windows Explorer, yet you would like to
see it there. Follow these simple steps:
 ‘Start | Run’ – type ‘cmd’ and press
[Enter].
 Go to the folder and drive where this
hidden folder exists. (c:\mydata\mystuff).
 Type ‘DIR’ and press [Enter]. See if you
can find the folder.
 Type ‘DIR /AH’ and press [Enter]. See if
your folder is listed. If yes, then do the next
step.
 Type ‘attrib <folder name>’ (for
example: attrib abc’.
 This command will show you the
attributes of your folder if it is hidden, read
only or a system file by using the codes
‘S H R’.
 As you say your folder is hidden, then
type the command ‘attrib abc –h’ to
unhide your folder. Do the same command
with ‘-s’ for the folder.
 Now type exit and return to Windows.
Your folder will be seen there.
 Do the same for all the other partitions.
[Q] Dear Dr. CHIP. Whenever I start my
computer, it shows a message - ‘CMOS
36 | intelligent computing CHip
checksum bad. Press F4 to run setup’. I
selected ‘Load optimal settings’
and restarted.
The computer booted without
a hitch. The next time I booted, I
faced the same problem. Thinking
that the CMOS battery was weak, I
replaced it with a new one, and even
cleared the BIOS. But the problem still
exists. Help!
– Kumar S
The CMOS battery should be replaced at least
once a year to avoid losing the BIOS settings.
Hello Kumar. The problem seems
to be with the motherboard itself. The
only way to resolve this issue is to have
it either repaired or replaced, if under
warranty. Replace the motherboard if
the warranty is still available or else I
would suggest that you live with the
problem rather than repair it. The cost of
repairing it would be marginal, but there
is a possibility of your motherboard giving
other problems if the board is not serviced
by a good professional.
[Q] Hi, Dr. CHIP, I have installed the
AVG Antivirus 7.5, on my computers at
the office and also at home. Whenever
I download the definitions update file
from the location ‘http://free.grisoft.
com/doc/update/us/frt/0’ and try to
update AVG by selecting the folder
option from the update dialog box,
I sometimes receive an error
message ‘No New update file could be
found at the selected location’ despite
the fact that the downloaded files are
available (on the Desktop in my case).
I tried to download that file again,
without much luck. Why does AVG not
recognize its definitions update file?
– Vaibhav Pandya
Hello Vaibhav. The problem occurs
when AVG definitions are not updated
prior to the new updates. Therefore AVG
does not recognize the new files and
requires the older updates to recognize
the new ones. To solve this issue, copy all
the files from the AVG update bank, onto
the machine which has an updated AVG
antivirus, to a folder of your choice on the
required computer. Then feed the update
to the AVG which requires to be updated.
The update bank folder will be located in
these locations listed below.
 For Windows XP: ‘C:\Documents and
Settings\All Users\Application Data\
Grisoft\Avg7Data\upd7bin’.
 For Windows Vista: ‘C:\ProgramData\
Grisoft\Avg7Data\upd7bin’
[Q] Dear Dr. CHIP. Every time I log onto
my computer, an error message pops
up. ‘The system has recovered from a
serious problem. A log of this error has
been created.
Serious error:
Error signature:
BCCode: A, BCP1: EB532A8,
BCP2:000000FF, BCP3: 00000000, BCP4:
806BB1BE,
OSVer: 5_1_2600, SP: 0_0, Product:
768_1. ‘
Please help. Why does this happen?
What can I do?
– Dr. Pancholi
Hello Dr. Pancholi. You have
upgraded your Operating System. After
you upgrade your operating system from
Microsoft Windows Millennium Edition
(Me) to Windows XP, you may receive an
error message similar to the following.
You may receive this error message when
Pick up updates of AVG from one computer and
update the antivirus program on other computers.
Check for the compatibility options before
upgrading from your older Operating System.
Windows attempts to use device drivers
that are incompatible with Windows XP.
To resolve this issue, verify that each
device in your computer uses a driver that
is compatible with Windows XP. To do so,
follow these steps:
 Click Start, right-click My Computer, and
then click Properties.
 In the System Properties dialog box,
click the Hardware tab, and then click
Device Manager.
 For each device, use the following
steps to verify that it is using a Windows
XP-compatible driver. NOTE: To narrow
down the search, begin with devices that
have been disabled. A disabled device has
its icon overlaid with a red X.
 Double-click the device name to open
the device Properties dialog box, and then
click the Driver tab.
 Examine the driver version. All
Windows XP drivers should be version
5.1.2600 or later.
 If you are not sure about the displayed
version, examine the driver date. Drivers
created before the year 2001 may not be
compatible with Windows XP.
 After you identify an outdated device
driver that may be causing the problem,
follow these steps to update the driver:
 Insert your Windows XP CD into
the CD-ROM drive. If Setup starts
automatically, quit it.
 In the device Properties dialog box,
click Update Driver to start the Hardware
Update Wizard.
 Click Install from a list or specific
location (Advanced), and then click Next.
 Click to select then include this location
in the search box, and then type your
CD-ROM drive letter in the space below.
For example, type D:
 Click Next.
 Follow the on-screen instructions to
finish updating the driver.
 Restart your computer if prompted.
NOTE: If Windows is unable to locate the
driver for your device, the device may
not be supported by Windows XP. To see
the list of supported devices, checkout
the most recent Windows Hardware
Compatibility List (HCL) at the Microsoft
Web site: http://www.microsoft.com/
whdc/hcl/default.mspx
[Q] Hello Dr. CHIP. I have a 120
GB V6000 series Compaq Laptop.
Whenever I click on the hard drive it
does not open directly. But on double
clicking, an ‘open with’ window pops
up. I have scanned my laptop twice,
with the latest Avast version; the
problem still persist. Please advice.
– Manish Agarwal
Periodic computer scans using updated virus
definations will prevent viruses from breeding.
Hello Manish. To begin with, please
ensure that you clear out all the restore
points that have been saved by Windows
till date, as this may contain the virus.
Next, scan the hard drive thoroughly using
the latest updated version of antispyware
and antivirus. After this is done, delete all
the hidden files called 'autorun.inf' from
all the drives and partitions (including your
external storage drives and flash drives).
Now, reboot your computer and confirm.
[Q] Hi, Dr. CHIP, I have encountered
a problem. Whenever I switch on my
computer, it remains on for about 5-6
minutes and then it reboots itself. I
have tried to fix this problem a couple
of times, but failed. Please help!
– Ayush
DR. CHIP - ARCHIVES
Place packets of silica gel inside the computer
cabinet. This helps absorb excessive moisture.
Hello Ayush. What you need to
remember is that a computer can act in an
unexpected manner during the monsoon.
The reason is that damp atmospheric
conditions tend to invite a set of problems
induced by moisture. Please ensure that
your computer is placed far away from
open doors or windows, and is safely
tucked away in a dry corner.
If you use an air conditioner, keep the
temperature above 22 degrees. If your
computer is placed in the same room as
the air conditioner, and if you have the
air conditioner running throughout the
night, do not switch on the computer
immediately. First, turn off the air
conditioner, wait at least an hour or so, for
the room to get to room temperature and
then start the computer.
The reason is that moisture in the air
condenses onto the computer's warm
internal components and forms dew,
which can ruin the complete circuit inside
the cabinet or monitor.
Take some precautions. Place plenty of
silica gel packets inside the cabinet (these
can be purchased from a medical store).
This will help absorb moisture if any, and
will keep the computer dry.
At times, when the your computer
does not boot or there is no display, leave
it switched on for around half an hour and
restart it. The heat generated inside helps
to drive out the moist air.
In your case, clean all the parts inside
the cabinet as dust retains moisture. This
can also lead to corrosion of copper tracks
on all the parts. Keep your computer clean,
dry, and use it often. 
Send in your queries to Francis D’Sa at
drchip@chip.in
Intelligent computing CHip | 37
DR. CHIP - ARCHIVES
Sachin Pandit
Got a computer problem?
Write to Dr. Chip at
drchip@chip.in
38 | intelligent computing CHip
Dr CHIP
[Q] Hello Dr. CHIP. First of all, it's because
of you, that I have turned into a PC Guru
at home and within my locality. Now,
everybody comes to me to resolve their
PC problems but the credit actually goes
to you. I have two questions to ask: (1) The
[F8] key prompts me to select any bootable
medium, i.e. the HDD and DVD writer etc. So
how can I reboot my PC in safe mode? What
is the method to reboot it in the ‘command
prompt’ or ‘safe mode’? (2) I no longer use a
floppy drive. But to burn a bootable XP SP2
or any OS CD, Nero asks for a floppy drive.
I currently use Nero 7 Premium and have
downloaded Magic ISO to make ‘boot.iso’.
Was it the wrong decision to have discarded
the floppy drive? Is there an alternative
method to make a bootable CD? I look
forward to your guidance.
– Anurag Kapil
Download the appropriate image and use it to create a
bootable CD / DVD.
Hello Anurag. Thank you for being a
regular reader. I am glad that CHIP has helped
you grow. Now that you have credited me and
our magazine for turning you into a PC Guru in
your locality, I think we should sit together and
discuss my commission. Just kidding!
Well, many motherboards allow you to
select the boot device priority when you press
the [F8] button when booting. You will get a
list of detected storage media to boot from
and you need to choose the hard drive option
(since this is where your operating system is
installed) and press [Enter]. As soon as you
press the [Enter] key, immediately press the
[F8] key again to get the menu from Windows
XP that allows you to choose Safe Mode.
To make bootable CD/DVDs, you will need
to use an image of a bootable disk or have a
bootable disk in the floppy drive. Since you
don't have a floppy drive, you can substitute
just use a bootable image which can be
downloaded from the Internet.
Go to the website www.bootdisk.com
and download the bootable image of your
choice. Save it to the hard drive and select
the location to this image file in Nero. Other
websites also offer bootable images to help
make bootable CD/DVDs. Just search for
them on the Internet. Hope this answers your
queries. All the best!
[Q] Dear Sir, I urgently need your help. I
downloaded some files and put them in a
folder on the desktop, and these were later
deleted after I had finished working on
them. Now for some reason, I cannot delete
the folder. The folder shows that it is empty
but it cannot be opened. I think it is a virus.
How can I delete the folder?
– Ukul Kulu
Run the 'Attrib' command to see the attributes of
each file or folder before deleting it.
Hello Ukul. Here’s what you
need to do. Start the command prompt.
Change to the desktop directory. Run
the command ‘attrib <folder name to
be deleted> -s -h -r’ and then run the
command ‘del <folder name to be
deleted>’ this should delete the folder
with ease. Exit from the command
prompt.
[Q] Hi Dr. CHIP. I use an Internet
connection via a proxy. Therefore,
it is not possible to update my AVG
Free Edition 7.0. I couldn't find any
proxy settings in AVG to update from
the Internet. Manual updates create
a problem as AVG cannot identify the
update file as an update. Could you
please help?
– Vaibhav Pandya
Hello Vaibhav. If you are using
a proxy server for the Internet, you will
have to specify the name of the proxy
server and its port for the AVG update
settings. For this, double click on the
AVG icon in the system tray, click on the
Update Manager link and click Settings.
If you use a proxy server, the settings need to be
entered in your antivirus software as well.
In the next window, drop down the list
to choose Use proxy server. Fill in the
fields for the proxy server IP address
and port number. If your proxy needs
authentication, then fill in the username
and password too. Save and update.
Updates for AVG version 7.0 might not
be available anymore, since version 7.5
is currently being phased out and 8.0
has been launched. It will not recognize
the update files if they are for a newer
version than you are using. You can
upgrade to AVG 8.0, and then enter the
proxy settings under ‘Tools | Advanced
Settings… | Proxy’.
[Q] I have been having a problem
since for the last two months. I use
SIFY broadband on my home PC, and
when the IP address is entered into
the LAN card, a message appears
“Your IP address already exits” (the
IP address is provided by SIFY). The
service provider’s solution to this was
to format the PC. My friend advised
me to go into safe mode and uninstall
all LAN card drivers. I tried, but my
Realtek LAN driver and others did
not uninstall (my PC now has only
a LAN card). When uninstalling and
installing, new local area network
connections (Local Area Network 3,
4, 5) are created. Can this be solved
without a fresh Windows installation?
– Rakesh Dhawde
Hello Rakesh. The problem is that
your LAN card is listed as an unused or
disabled device in the Device Manager.
You will have to delete the older LAN card
from there, as it is using the IP address
You can view devices that are currently not
connected in the Device Manager.
DR. CHIP - ARCHIVES
and Windows will not let you use it again,
as this is now allocated to another LAN
card. To resolve this, open a Command
Prompt window and type ‘set devmgr_
show_nonpresent_devices=1’ and press
[Enter]. Then start the Device Manager or
run the command ‘devmgmt.msc’ from
Start | Run. Now, click on ‘View’ and
select ‘Show hidden devices’. Delete all
LAN cards listed here (uninstall them) and
then reinstall your LAN card drivers.
[Q] Hi, doctor. Thanks for the solution
to my previous problems, but I
have another query. I have an Asus
P5RD1-VM Series motherboard, does
it have an AGP graphics card slot or
PCI express?
– Rudresh Ved
VmWare is good for running multiple operating
systems, and can support full screen mode too.
Hello Rudesh. Your motherboard
has a PCI express x16 slot.
[Q] Hello Dr. CHIP, I have been reading
your magazine since 2004 and like the
magazine very much as it provides me
with lots of information on computers
and gadgets. This is the first time I
am writing to you. I am learning Basic
and Qbasic, but they do not work on
my Windows Vista Ultimate edition.
Please help!
– Adarsh
Hello Adarsh. You can use
Microsoft’s Virtual PC or VMware to
create your own virtual machine on
Windows Vista or XP. Just download,
install and create a virtual machine which
runs an older version of Windows, and
then run your old software on it. Similarly
try using DosBox (download and install it).
Intelligent computing CHip | 39
DR. CHIP - ARCHIVES
Use a good registry cleaning and repair tool for an
error-free registry.
[Q] Hello Dr CHIP. For the past few
months my PC has been facing a
peculiar problem. The ‘Add or remove’
option in the Control Panel doesn't
seem to work. The list does not show
a single currently installed program.
I face a problem uninstalling any
program on the PC. Yet another
problem is that whenever the PC
boots and the desktop screen appears,
a message pops up saying “This
application failed to start because
Telecalib_logging.dll was not found”.
Though this error does not cause
any problem, I want to fix it. I have a
2.40Ghz Celeron CPU, 256 MB of RAM
and Microsoft Windows XP SP2. Please
help.
– Subhayan Bhattacharya
Hello Subhayan. Was your machine
infected or attacked by a worm or virus?
If yes, it has corrupted the registry of your
computer’s operating system. You will
have trouble trying to solve the registry
problem, and the chances of setting it
right are remote. I suggest that you back
up all your important data and reformat the
computer. Then reinstall your operating
system and all your software. Ensure that
you have an active and updated antivirus
program installed on your computer before
you use the Internet for the first time.
[Q] Dear Dr. CHIP, I have a Sony
DW-G120A DVD writer. These days,
it simply refuses to read some DVDs.
When I insert certain DVDs, it does
not detect anything. This includes
the CHIP DVDs of the March and April
issues (really frustrating, as I can't even
40 | intelligent computing CHip
To get rid of dust, use lens cleaning kits on a
regular basis.
watch the CeBIT videos supplied on
the disc!) and the Mega Software DVD
and a disc I burned (this disc reads
as an empty disc). These run fine on
a friend's computer (he has the same
DVD writer). Other DVDs read fine on
my drive. I installed the latest firmware
(version MYS6) but it didn’t solve the
problem. I also uninstalled the drive
from Device Manager and restarted the
PC but the problem still persists. I have
Windows XP Professional SP2 installed
on my machine and a Samsung CD
writer connected as slave to this Sony
DVD writer. Another strange thing is
that the drive was able to read the
Mega Software DVD once. My drive is
one and a half years old. Please help!
– Sounava Ghosh
Hello Sounava. The lens of the DVD
writer might have dust particles on it or
could be damaged. Try cleaning the lens
thoroughly, either with a good lens cleaner
or by opening the drive and cleaning
the lens using a clean earbud dipped in
isopropyl alcohol. If this does not work,
I suggest that you just buy a new drive
Use genuine software and operating systems to
lower the risk of a virus infection.
because repairing the drive might or might
not solve your problem.
[Q] I'm using Windows XP SP2 and
recently defragmented my hard disk.
After this, I found that some of the
folders were detected as .exe files with
the 'system' attribute, and I could not
access the contents of these folders.
I'm sure that the defragmentation has
nothing to do with this. The PC has
been scanned with Kaspersky provided
on the CHIP DVD and it detected
Trojans. I don’t want to lose my files or
reinstall my operating system. Please
tell me how to get rid of this problem.
I wrote it on the CHIP forum but only a
few replied.
– Gune 30
Hello there. Please use a good
antivirus and antispyware updated to the
latest definitions from the Internet and
scan your full computer. If the problem is
not resolved, your might need to back up
your data and format the computer. Install
Windows XP Service Pack 3 and check if
it makes a difference. Ensure that you use
a legal version of Windows XP before you
attempt to install Service Pack 3.
[Q] Hello Dr. CHIP, I am a regular
subscriber of your magazine. Recently,
my PC was infected by the virus
‘W32.Popwin’. The PC has Norton
Antivirus installed on it. Every time I
start the machine, Norton pops up a
message saying the file ‘C:\Windows\
System32\78FD9CC2.dll’ was infected
and thus deleted. If scanned, the
machine doesn’t show the virus. But if
it is rebooted, the message reappears.
Also, the option for ‘Show hidden files
and folders’ is missing in my PC. There
is only one option seen ‘Do not show
hidden files and folders’. I look forward
to your solution to this problem.
– Rohit Mehta
Hello Rohit. Your system is
definitely infected with a worm. Make sure
that you clean the computer thoroughly
using good antivirus and antispyware
software. Try out AVG (freeware). After
Clear all past restore points, as a virus might be
backed up along with your system settings.
you have removed the virus from the
computer, follow these steps:
 Temporarily disable System Restore
(Windows Me/XP).
 Update the virus definitions.
 Reboot the computer in Safe Mode
 Run a full system scan and clean/delete
all infected files
 Modify the value added to the registry.
Or Restore the following registry entry to
its previous value, if required:
HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SOFTWARE\
Microsoft\Windows\CurrentVersion\
Explorer\Advanced\Folder\Hidden\
SHOWALL\’CheckedValue’ = ‘0’
 Exit the registry editor and restart the
computer.
 In order to make sure that the threat
has been completely eliminated from your
computer, scan your computer thoroughly
using antivirus and antispyware software.
[Q] Dear Sir, I am a regular reader of
CHIP magazine and I have problem.
I have a bootable Windows XP
Professional (Service Pack 2) CD. I’ve
forgotten its product key. Is there any
software which will help me to find its
If you reinstall Windows, you can activate your
copy by calling the Microsoft Help Line.
product key? I would be grateful if you
reply as soon as possible, as you are
my last hope.
– Aman Saini
Hello Aman. If you have forgotten
your product key, you will need to call
Microsoft and get the key. State your bill
number when asked for proof of purchase.
[Q] Hi Dr CHIP, I have a couple of
problems. (1) My PC doesn't sound
a beep, can you tell me where to
connect the internal speaker wire
on the motherboard? I have an Intel
original 945 motherboard. (2) A file
named ‘cookies’ appears in my Mozilla
folder (C:\Documents and Settings\
Administrator\ Application Data\
Mozilla\Firefox\Profiles\5oa0x3vk.
default). When scanned it was found
to be a virus so I removed it using AVG
Anti-Spyware and Ad-Aware 2007. But
it still reappears after a minute. Please
help. (3) The net speed slows down
when I try to browse www.filefront.
com or www.moddb.com. After 2
hours of use, it stops responding and
when rebooted, everything returns to
normal. Please help.
– Adil Darbar
Hello Adil. If you look closely at
the motherboard where the HDD LED
and power/reset switches are plugged
in, you will find a 4-pin header. This is
where you can connect the speaker wire.
It does not matter which way you plug it
in. Alternatively, check the manual of the
motherboard. Check for a diagram of the
front panel connectors.
The speaker, HDD LED, power LED, and power/
reset switch headers are located together .
DR. CHIP - ARCHIVES
Also, your system is infected with
a worm. Please have your system
scanned with good updated antivirus and
antispyware software. Use AVG if needed.
As for your last question, there is an
application that runs when Windows starts
up and stays resident in the memory. You
will have to scan the system in safe mode.
Press [F8] when the system is booting,
select ‘Safe mode’ and then scan your PC
with the same tools. Restart the computer
and use it.
[Q] Hi Dr CHIP. My PC has 1GB RAM,
an Intel Pentium 4 2.66GHz processor,
and an Intel 82915G/GV/910GL express
chipset-based motherboard. I have
been longing to buy a graphics card
but my computer assembler told me
that there was no slot for a graphics
card on my motherboard. I opened
my PC to check but could not find it.
Is there any solution to my problem?
Could I solder an AGP/PCIex16 slot
onto the motherboard? Please help!
Buying a new motherboard along with
all new components might become
too costly.
– P Jerrin Jacob
A motherboard might be able to support a PCIe
slot, but it isn't actually soldered on.
There is no way you can add/solder
a card or slot to your motherboard. You
can buy a PCI graphics accelerator card,
but the performance will not be anywhere
near an AGP or PCIe card. The only
option is to buy a new/second hand 915
motherboard with a PCIe slot and also a
PCIe graphics card.
[Q] Hello Dr CHIP, I have a serious
problem with my Lenovo laptop. Its
configuration is: 120 GB hard disk, 1
Intelligent computing CHip | 41
DR. CHIP - ARCHIVES
GB RAM, and genuine Windows Vista
Basic. I have now installed Windows 98
but it is not working properly. Vista’s
System Restore function does not
load and the one-touch doesn’t work
either. The system shows only the C
drive with 2 GB space. No other drive
is visible. When I try to open other
drives by typing the drive letter, it pops
up a message saying “your drive is
either moved or removed”. I have very
valuable data that I can’t lose and I
need to get it all back. Help me in this
regard. 1) Is there any possibility of
getting all the data back to my laptop?
(2) If possible what is the process to
transfer the data to another PC?
– Supriya T
An external casing for a laptop hard drive can be
helpful when transferring or backing up data.
Hello Supriya. I am sorry but you
might already have lost all the data on your
hard drive. The only option you have is to
remove the hard drive from the laptop,
plug it into another computer using an
external casing (or directly to a desktop
computer if it is a SATA hard drive) and
try using file recovery software. Please
note: doing this could void your laptop’s
warranty. Check with the manufacturer’s
website before attempting any data
recovery on the laptop.
[Q] Hello Dr. CHIP. I have a PC with
the following configuration: AMD
Athlon 64 X2 6000+ processor,
Biostar TA690G AM2 motherboard,
Transcend 2x1 GB DDR2 800Mhz
RAM, Viewsonic A1912WB monitor,
Zebronics 400W PSU (stock), Hitachi
HDS728080PLA380 80GB hard disk,
Maxtor 6L080M0 80GB hard disk, Sony
DVD-RW AWG170A DVD writer and a
42 | intelligent computing CHip
Most monitors' power LEDs glow orange if no
video signal is detected.
Sony floppy drive. The problem is I
brought an XFX 8600GT 256MB GDDR3
graphics card. When I inserted the
card into the PCie slot and connected
the monitor to the card's DVI port, the
monitor remained blank, saying ‘no
signal’. I’ve even changed the settings
in the BIOS, (like initial display first to
PCie) and have disabled the onboard
graphics, but the problem still persists.
I know the card is powered, because
its fan starts running as soon as the
power is switched on. What do I
have to do to make sure the card is
detected? Please help me!
– Adithya
Hello Adithya. Please check the
monitor’s settings and the cables. See
if the monitor is works with another
card. Finally have the XFX card tested on
another computer. It is possible that the
PCIe slot is faulty or the XFX card itself is
the problem.
[Q] Hello Dr. CHIP. I have created an
email ID (say xyz@live.com) but I’m not
able to configure it in Outlook Express.
Yahoo, Rediff, Hotmail, etc have paid POP3 email
access while Gmail offers it for free.
Please help me configure my desktop
email client. Thanks.
– Pankaj Pathak
Check if the email provider offers
free POP access for this email ID. Most
sites like Yahoo and Hotmail give you POP
access for a price per year. Gmail offers
it for free; check if live.com has the same
offer. If it is free, you can get the POP and
SMTP server addresses from the website
itself. Use these settings to configure
Outlook Express.
[Q] Dear Sir, I am Kasam Mogal from
Rajkot, Gujarat. I have a desktop PC
with an Intel 945GCNL motherboard,
Core 2 Duo processor, 2 GB of DDR2
667 MHz RAM, and a 250 GB SATA HDD
with Windows Vista Home Basic.
Microsoft Virtual PC, VMWare, etc can run your
DOS applications in full screen mode.
I recently installed Turbo C++
(DOS based) and when I try to run it
full screen ([ALT] + [Enter]), an error
message appears on screen: “This
system does not support full screen
mode”. How can I run DOS programs
full screen in Windows Vista? Can I try
to install a Windows XP display driver?
– Kasam Mogal
Hello Kasam. Windows Vista does
not support full screen DOS mode. You
can either use VMware or Virtual PC to
get DOS on your computer with Windows
Vista and run it in full screen. Or else you
can try the program DosBox to do the
same.
[Q] Hello Dr. CHIP! I am facing a
problem. I purchased a new Jetway
motherboard along with a Pentium IV
Ensure that there is adequate airflow inside your
PC to keep the components from overheating.
3.0 GHz processor and a new power
supply. The system heats up very
quickly even though I open the cabinet,
and it restarts automatically. Please
suggest some solution. Thank you!
– Sangma
Hello there. Make sure your cabinet
has enough cooling fans. Also ensure the
CPU fans are not clogged with dust and
are spinning at full speed. Try replacing the
CPU’s thermal paste (the paste between
the CPU and heatsink) and see if it helps.
[Q] Dear Sir, my PC has a dual core
processor, 512 MB of RAM, and
Windows XP. Whenever the PC boots
Windows, instead of the user names,
an error message appears, saying
“lass.dll is missing, go to safe mode,
see the log file and then restasrt”. But
the safe mode also shows the same
message. Please tell me what to do
now.
– Sapan Doshi
Your computer is infected
with a virus. Please download the
HijackThis.exe can get rid of unwanted registry
entries that are created by viruses or spyware.
latest definitions for your antivirus and
antispyware programs and scan your
computer. Also download and use
Hijaskthis to clean unwanted entries which
might be hijacking your registry.
[Q] I have a HCL L19- L1908 notebook.
The specifications are: Intel Celeron M
440, 512 MB RAM, 80 GB HDD, 15.4-
inch widescreen TFT, combo drive,
and Free DOS. The problem is that
when I play any video or movie, the
audio output is distorted and after
few minutes there is no audio output
and the system hangs. The system
has been formatted but the problem
persists. Please help.
– Tribhuvan Rathore
Live operating systems such as Knoppix and
Ubuntu can help identify hardware faults.
Hello there. You can check the
sound card and the computer hardware
by using a Linux live CD like Knoppix or
Ubuntu. If the distortion and hanging
still occur, then the hardware should be
repaired. If the problem does not arise,
then the drivers of your motherboard
might be faulty or need to be updated.
There could also be a virus issue on your
operating system.
[Q] I purchased an 80 GB Seagate
Barracuda hard drive (ultra ATA) in
2005. I used it for some time and put
it away for about a year. When I tried
to convert it into an external hard
disk using a casing, it was not detected
by XP. It showed the 'Detected new
hardware’ message and called it a
'USB to IDE' something. When I open
the Device Manager it shows a 'USB
Mass Storage device'. But I can’t find
DR. CHIP - ARCHIVES
Check the hard drive manual for jumper settings.
An incorrect setting can cause data loss.
it in My Computer or Disk
Management. I plugged it into my
PC the normal way and all I got was
31.4 GB. I posted this on the CHIP
hardware forum and got a reply asking
me to forward this message to this
mail address. Thank you
– Maheswaran M
Hello Maheswaran. Please check if
the hard drives jumpers located next to the
IDE / PATA cable connector (see attached
image) are positioned properly. The drive
should be set to primary master mode.
Also study the jumper values given on the
label of the hard drive. If all is fine, then
your drive should be checked on another
computer or another hard drive should
be connected to the external casing to
determine the culprit.
[Q] Hello Sir, I have a problem
with Windows 98. I use 10 PCs in a
workgroup, running either Windows
98, Windows 2000 or Windows XP.
One Windows 2000 computer has an
HP Laserjet 1018 printer installed.
This printer can be accessed from all
the operating systems, but when I
tried Tally 5.4 on Windows 98, it does
not accept the print command. Word
documents print just fine on both
Windows 98 and 2000 but Tally 5.4
does not. Can you help me?
– Rakesh
Hello Rakesh. Are you are using
a pirated copy of TALLY? If not, please
report the situation to Tally's helpline. 
Send your queries to Francis D’Sa at
drchip@chip.in
Intelligent computing CHip | 43
DR. CHIP - ARCHIVES
Sachin Pandit
Got a computer problem?
Write to Dr. Chip at
drchip@chip.in
44 | intelligent computing CHip
Dr CHIP
[Q] Hello Dr CHIP, I have several entries
in my computer’s “hosts” file created by
Spybot Search & Destroy. But there should
not be any entry apart from localhost.
I am sending the file as an attachment,
please examine it and advise me. I have
AVG Free Antivirus version 8, ZoneAlarm
firewall and Spybot Search & Destroy
with all the latest updates installed. On
scanning no virus, spyware or adware is
detected. Also I have given the hosts file
read-only permission after reading the
September 2007 issue of CHIP. How were
those entries written? My system is running
absolutely fine, but I am worried about
the entries. I have not created any users
with restricted permission, and connect
to net from an administrator account. Is
that safe? When I open Internet Explorer
7, the resident tea timer of Spybot flashes
this message: “Spybot Search & Destroy
has detected an important registry entry
The Hosts file located deep in the Windows directory
can be tweaked to block out unwanted websites.
that has been changed. Category: User-
specific browser toolbar. Change value
deleted. Entry {F0D4B239-DA4B-4DAF-81E4-
DFEE4931A4AA} Old data hex: 39,B2,D4,F0,4
B,DA,AF,4D,81,E4,Df,EE,49,31,A4,AA” I deny
the change, but I am confused whether to
allow it or not.
– Satyakam Mohanty
Hello Satyakam. SpyBot has inserted
these entries on its own. These entries are the
websites that you have denied access to using
SpyBot. If you delete the entries, you will be
allowed to browse the blocked websites and
could be infected by a worm. I would suggest
that you let the file be as it is. You can also block
any website from opening in your browser by
adding the entry ‘127.0.0.1 www.<website-to-
be-blocked>.com’ to the last line of the ‘Hosts’
file. You can edit it using Notepad.
Using an administrator account can be
dangerous, especially if you have a virus
infection. You could be locked out of your
own computer. I suggest you add a user with
limited rights and use that profile for your daily
work. Also keep the administrator account
password protected. Regarding the Internet
Explorer 7 message, your machine seems to
be infected already. Deny all changes and scan
your computer thoroughly. Download and use
the program Hijackthis to resolve any registry
startup issues.
[Q] Respected sir, I need software for
indexing the contents of my various CDs
and DVDs because I have to search through
many of them before I find what I need. Is
CDrLabel can gather and print information from a
CD or DVD to make jewel case covers.
there any software which can save a
catalogued/indexed report to a text or
Excel file? Please guide me.
– Chandan
Hi Chandan, You can use a program
called ‘cdrLabel’ which is available at
‘www.cdrlabel.com’. This will index your
discs’ contents and save the index to text
or Excel format as well as print jewel case
inlay cards if you want.
[Q] Hi Dr CHIP, Can you please tell
me how to burn a downloaded AVI
format file onto a CD/DVD retaining its
original quality, and the best software
for doing this? If I burn the .AVI file
onto a data CD will it retain its original
quality? Is it necessary to convert the
file before burning it onto a DVD?
– Sachin Goswami
Hello Sachin. If you burn the file
on the CD or DVD as a data CD/DVD, the
quality will be as good as the original. But
if you need to burn the file as a Video CD
or Video DVD, you will need to convert it
to that format. You may lose the original
Use Nero Recode to convert regular video files to
DVD format and later use Nero to create a DVD.
quality of the video in the process. Use
Nero which comes bundled with most
DVD writers.
[Q] Hello Dr CHIP, I don’t know if my
problem is big enough to worry about.
My HCL notebook has an AMD Turion
X2 CPU and Geforce Go 6100 graphics.
It runs Windows XP. Recently, I had an
LCD problem for which the notebook
was sent to the HCL service center.
They changed my motherboard
and updated my BIOS. Now when I
open the Nvidia display properties
dialog box, it tells me that the GPU
temperature is 100 degrees. Due to
this I’m unable to play games or videos
as they run very sluggish and slow.
Is it a hardware problem or a BIOS
problem? Please help me. Attached is a
photograph of the display panel.
– Tarun
Laptops heat up after a while. Ensure that the air
vents are clean.
Hi Tarun, Please get the notebook
serviced as soon as possible. The cooling
mechanism on your GPU might not have
been fitted properly, or there could also be
a malfunction in the sensors.
[Q] Hello Dr CHIP. I am a regular
reader of your magazine. My PC
configuration is: Intel DG965RY original
motherboard, 3.0 GHz dual-core 4 MB
cache CPU, 1 GB 667 MHz DDR2 RAM,
160 GB HDD (SATA), 17-inch monitor,
and Windows XP Professional SP2. I
face a strange problem. Whenever I try
to play games like GTA San Andreas,
NFS Carbon or GTA Vice City or play a
movie in Real Player 11, the speakers
produce a rattling sound and the
keyboard and mouse freeze. I have
to reboot the PC using the power
DR. CHIP - ARCHIVES
Keep your drivers updated by checking
manufacturers' websites and getting upgrades.
button. I encounter this problem every
time I play these games. But when
I uninstalled the audio drivers that
came with my motherboard and use a
Bluetooth audio device instead, then
it works fine. I use a Bluetooth device
because I can’t play movies or games
without audio. I also tried updating my
audio driver from Intel’s website but
it doesn't works. I have two versions
of the audio driver, both of which are
creating problems. The old driver is
named SigmaTel 5.10.5208.0, and the
newly downloaded driver is AUD_
allOS_x5511_v5511_PV_IDTGUI_v005.
exe Please help me. Thanks
– Dushyant Chaudhary
Hello Dushyant. The problem
seems to be with the motherboard, since
you have installed new drivers for the
audio chip. Check whether the sound card
is sharing an IRQ with another device on
the motherboard. This could be the cause
of the hanging and sound problems. But
I suggest you use another hard drive and
install the operating system all over again
and check if the problem still persists. If
the problem is still the same, try to have
the motherboard replaced under warranty,
or else buy a new PCI sound card which
will solve your problem.
[Q] Dear sir, I recently started reading
your magazine and am impressed by
it. I have a problem. I want to block
users from accessing some websites,
as some of my friends open obscene
things, I can't tell them not to open
those sites.
– Eshwar Sirse
Intelligent computing CHip | 45
DR. CHIP - ARCHIVES
It is quite simple. Just add the
website name along with the local host
IP address to the hosts file in your
Windows directory. Let me explain:
Suppose you do not want your friends to
access the website ‘www.some-adult-
website.com’, just add the line ‘127.0.0.1
www.some-adult-website.com’ at the end
of the file ‘hosts’ found in ‘C:\Windows\
system32\drivers\etc\’. You can open the
file using Notepad. If you ever need to
access that website later, just delete the
line or add a semicolon to the beginning
of the line. Similarly, you can add as
many websites as you want to block your
computer from accessing.
[Q] Hello, Dr. CHIP, I’m from Surat, and
a regular reader of your magazine, this
is the first time I am writing to you
about my problems.
 In the April 2008 issue you wrote
about ‘gpedit.msc’ for user settings
configuration. I have a laptop (HP
NX6110), 256 MB RAM, 1.6 GHz Intel
Celeron processor, and Genuine
Windows XP SP2. But whenever I try
to run this program an error appears,
saying “Windows cannot find gpedit.
msc. Make sure you have typed the
name correctly, and try again.” I am
quite confused. I reinstalled Windows
XP but this hasn't solved the problem.
What can I do? Is it due to a virus?
 Sometimes the Task Manager is
disabled. I’ve scanned the system with
Avast 4.8 Free Edition. There were
some Trojans which it removed, but
the problem persisted. Which antivirus
program should I use?
 In ‘Tools | Folder Options’, the
Use a good antivirus or internet security suite to
keep viruses and spyware at bay.
46 | intelligent computing CHip
option to show hidden files and folders
doesn't work. It automatically resets
to the first option. Is this also due to
a virus? I can’t open the Group Policy
Editor to configure it. A lot of people
face this problem.
 When I use a pen drive, I can’t open
it by double clicking/right clicking. I
have to autorun it every time. What is
the reason for this?
I hope you will reply to me via email or
publish my problem.
– Rohan Patel
Hello Rohan, All these symptoms
mean your computer is definitely infected
with a worm. Please back up the data from
all your hard drives and USB drives and
reformat the entire computer. Download
and update good antivirus and antispyware
programs such as AVG Free and Spybot
Search & Destroy, and then scan all your
older data before copying it back to your
computer
[Q] How can I delete more than one
macro in MS Word?
– Bhavna
Hello Bhavna, It is quite simple
to delete a macro in MS Word. Click on
‘Tools | Macro | Macros’, click on the one
you wish to delete and click the ‘Delete’
button.
[Q] Hello, Dr CHIP. I have a strange
problem. I have recently bought a
new computer, and whenever I try
to defragment the drive D which is
a hard disk partition, it gives me an
error: “Disk Defragmenter has detected
that Chkdsk is scheduled to run on
the volume: Software (D:) Please run
Chkdsk /f”. When I go to the Start
menu, click 'Run' and type Chkdsk/f
it says “The type of the file system is
NTFS. Cannot lock the current drive.
Chkdsk cannot run because the volume
is in use by another process. Would
you like to schedule this volume to
be checked the next time the system
restarts <Y/N>”. Could you tell me how
to solve this problem?
– Sukrit Kalra
Chkdsk should be used at least once every week
to get rid of hard drive allocation errors.
Hello Sukrit. Your computer’s hard
drive seems to be in bad shape. Run
‘chkdsk /f’ on all drives at the command
prompt. Should you receive the same
message (cannot lock drive and check
when it restarts), select ‘Y’ and restart
the computer. Chkdsk or scandisk will
automatically scan your hard drive and fix
all errors. You should do this regularly to
keep your hard drive and data safe.
[Q] Hello sir, My name is Sriram. I have
a few queries.
 There is a problem with my DVD
writer, it writes DVDs but not CDs. It
shows some error after some percent
of burning. I have wasted over 15 CDs
so far. I use Nero. Can you help rectify
this?
 I also wish to buy a graphics card.
Which is the cheapest one?
 I have enough money to buy an
Apple iPod Nano. Should I buy that or
are there any alternatives for better
music?
 I have problems with SP3. I have
Windows XP Media Center edition.
When I install SP3, my computer keeps
restarting again and again. Then I have
to recover it again only by reformatting
Use Genuine Windows XP in order to upgrade to
new service packs, updates and patches.
the system. Can you tell me what the
reason for this problem is?
 I cannot install Windows Media
Player 11. Please help.
– Sriram
Hi Sriram. Your DVD writer might
have a a dirty or misaligned lens. To solve
this problem, use a clean earbud dipped in
isopropyl alcohol or spirit and gently clean
the surface of the lens without applying
pressure. Then, using the dry end of the
earbud, wipe the lens surface dry. To do
this you will have to open the drive. But if
your drive is under warranty, I suggest you
send it back to the dealer you purchased it
from for replacement.
If the problem is not solved after
cleaning the lens, then your drive may
need repairs. You can buy a new one
instead of spending on the repairs. As
far as the graphics card is concerned,
I would like to know your budget and
the motherboard you use. An iPod
may be expensive the quality is more
than adequate. If you want a cheaper
alternative, try Sony or Creative. They are
good too. Finally with regards to Service
Pack 3 for Windows XP and Media Player
11, please check if you are using genuine
Windows. If your copy of Windows is
pirated, these will not install.
[Q] Dear Dr CHIP, I am a regular
reader. I had transformed Windows
XP into Mac OS X with the help of a
transformation pack. When I wanted
to restore Windows XP, I uninstalled it,
but the Windows icons, toolbars and
styles have not been restored.How can
I get these back?
– Sudeep
Repair the icon cache file if corrupted when
uninstalling the transformation pack using 'SFC' .
You might not have uninstalled the
transformation pack correctly. Install it
again and then remove it using the Add/
Remove Programs box or the program’s
own Uninstall shortcut. If this does not
work, use the command ‘SFC /scannow’
from the DOS prompt. Be sure you have
the original Windows XP installation CD
ready with you.
[Q] I have a PATA HDD of 80 GB with
five partitions on my PC running under
Windows XP Pro. Someone might have
accidentally deleted three partitions
on my HDD, and now whenever I try to
access the deleted partition it prevents
access to it and says that the partition
is corrupted. Windows Explorer still
displays the deleted partitions, and
when I view the properties of each
one it shows that it is in RAW format.
I don’t want to lose any of my files
in the deleted partitions so please
recommend the best free or paid
software for recovering my files.
– Uttam Thapa
Hello Uttam, Your hard drive
may have been infected with a virus and
the partitions could have been deleted.
Also, there could be bad sectors causing
the disappearance. There are many
possibilities. I suggest that you plug in an
external storage drive (not lesser than the
size of the partition data to be recovered)
or install another hard drive inside the
computer cabinet. When you try to recover
files from a hard drive, you need another
place to recreate the files on. You can use
the software 'Undelete Plus' from 'http://
undelete-plus.com/', 'RecoverMyFiles'
from 'http://www.RecoverMyFiles.
com' or 'Smart NTFS Recovery 3.9'
from 'http://www.download3000.com'
to recover the data. Alternatively you can
create an image of the hard drive and then
recover the data later from the image file
with the help of the software 'Raid2Raid'
from 'http://www.raid2raid.com'. Please
do scan for viruses and spyware too.
[Q] Hi sir, I have Windows Vista
Ultimate on my PC and dual boot it
with Windows XP. XP was installed
DR. CHIP - ARCHIVES
UndeletPlus can be used to recover accidentally
deleted data or from corrupted drive partitions.
on the 'C' drive and Vista on 'D' drive.
The problem is when I use Vista the
Windows logo appears on the 'C' drive
icon. The other problem is that in My
Computer, the used space on 'C' and 'D'
is blue as it should be, but the bar for
drive 'E' is red. Also, the system shows
an unallocated space of 9 GB which I
can't use. Waiting for your reply.
– Abdullah
Windows System files of a particular drive are
have the Windows icon in the drive icon.
Hello Abdullah. Windows Vista
shows the logo on drive C because that
partition contains the boot loader and
system files of Windows Vista. The other
problem is not actually anything wrong.
Windows Vista shows each drive's used
space in blue, but it will appear in red if
space is running out. It is an indication that
the drive is filling up. Delete unnecessary
files or just move them to other partitions.
Finally, the system shows an unallocated
partition of 9 GB because there may be
some space remaining in the drive which
was not used when partitioning the drive.
You can use it by formatting that space
using the built in Disk Management tool
‘diskmgmt.msc’. 
Send your queries to Francis D’Sa at
drchip@chip.in
Intelligent computing CHip | 47
DR. CHIP - ARCHIVES
Sachin Pandit
Got a computer problem?
Write to Dr. Chip at
drchip@chip.in
48 | intelligent computing CHip
Dr CHIP
[Q] Hello Dr CHIP. My system configuration
is 2.33 GHz Core 2 Duo CPU, Intel Desktop
Board DG33FB, GeForce 8400GS 512 MB
graphics card, 160 GB SATA hard drive, 4 GB
of DDR2 RAM and Windows XP SP2. Three
of the RAM modules are Kingston and one
is Elixir. When I put in any three modules
on the board it shows 2.99 GB of memory
installed, but when I put in the fourth it
shows 3.50 GB. 500 MB of RAM seems to
be lost somewhere. The computer works
smoothly with 3 GB installed. I checked all
four modules separately and all are working
well. I checked the BIOS too but it shows
the full capacity of the memory. Is there
a problem with the RAM slots or is there
anything else the matter? Please help me.
– Avinash Sharma.
Hello Avinash. 32-bit versions of
Windows Vista and XP can address only 3.5
GB of RAM. So even if you have 4 GB of RAM
32-bit Windows XP can support up to 3.5 GB of system
memory. A 64-bit version can handle more RAM.
plugged in, Windows would read only 3.5 GB.
If you need to use 4 GB of RAM, you can install
a 64-bit version which can handle up to 128 GB
of RAM.
[Q] Dear Dr CHIP, the ‘Connections’ tab has
suddenly disappeared from the ‘Internet
Options’ dialog box on my PC. How can I get
it back?
– Sameer Deorukhkar
Hello Sameer, to enable the tab, type
‘gpedit.msc’ in the ‘Start | Run…’ dialog box
and press [Enter]. In the left pane of the
Group Policy Editor, scroll down to ‘Computer
Configuration | Administrative Templates |
Windows Components | Internet Explorer
| Internet Control Panel’. Here the 'Internet
Explorer' options are listed. Double click on
‘Disable the Connections Page’ and select
‘Disable’ or ‘Not configured’. It will now be
listed after you restart the computer.
Settings in the Group Policy Editor can reenable the
connections tab in Internet Explorer.
[Q] Hi Dr CHIP, I have had an Orkut
account for the last 6 months.
Everything was fine, but now I am
facing a problem. Whenever anyone
sends me a friend request and I
accept it, the person is not added
to my friends list. But when I visit
the person's profile, I see my picture
updated. The same thing happens
when I send someone a request. It
is really annoying as I am unable to
access the profiles of some of my
friends and have to search for them.
What should I do? Please help.
– Sachin Mishra
Delete all unnecessary cookies and temp files
from the Internet Explorer options.
Hello Sachin, try first clearing your
browser’s cache, history and cookies. If
that doesn’t work, try a different browser
altogether. If the problem is not resolved,
try another computer or use one at a
cybercafé. If the problem still persists you
will have to contact an administrator at
Google or Orkut by writing an email which
states the problem. I am sure they will be
able to take care of the bug.
[Q] Hello Sir, I have been reading
your magazine for past one and half
years, and it is the best computer and
technology based magazine. This is
the second time I am asking you for a
solution. I use an HP Pavilion DV6314TX
laptop. It has an Intel Core 2 Duo
T5300 processor, 1 GB RAM, genuine
Windows Vista Ultimate Edition
with SP1 and all the latest updates
installed. I also use Kaspersky Internet
Security 7.0 which is fully updated.
My laptop has a slim type DVD drive
(DS8AZH SATA device, as shown in
The remnants of deleted viruses can affect the
registry. Remove them using HijackThis.
the properties window of DVD drive,
under Device Manager). For a few days
I observed that I could only burn CDs
and not DVDs. Though it reads all type
of CDs and DVDs (like DVD-DL, etc) and
I have used many brands of media, the
result is the same. I have used many
burning programs including Nero and
Roxio, and I have even tried burning
through Windows. While burning
through Nero, it aborted the process
and asked to save the log.
I’ve burned DVDs in the past and
they have worked well without any
problem. In ‘My Computer’ it shows
a DVD-RW drive but in its properties
window it shows up as a CD drive. I
have changed my DVD region to 5. But
I don’t think this could have created
any problem. I need my drive working
very urgently and seek some valuable
advice form you.
- Siddhartha Shukla
Hello Siddhartha. The problem is
with your DVD writer. Every DVD writer
has two burning lenses, one for the CD
and one for the DVD. It is possible that
one of them is malfunctioning. Either have
the drive repaired or replaced, depending
on the warranty.
[Q] Hi Dr CHIP. I have an IBM ThinkPad
Z60M, which was bought from Hong
Kong around two years ago. It came
with Windows XP Professional
pre-installed, and worked smoothly.
Last year I reinstalled Windows XP (a
genuine copy) with SP2. It has worked
without a hitch until now.
Recently, my notebook stopped
detecting files properly, and when
I run AVG antivirus, a box pops up
stating ‘Open With: Choose the
program you want to open this file
with’. It does the same with a lot of
DR. CHIP - ARCHIVES
You can re-activate Windows installations over
the phone. Call the Microsoft help desk.
other files and programs too. When
I run the application, it logs in as
'Administrator', it gave me an error
"Something bad happened in the
application. Error diagnostics saved
to". It also gives another message at
startup: ‘rundll32.exe not found’ and
it also wanted some file called regsvr.
exe. I tried using Revo uninstaller to
remove it the unwanted programs, but
Revo itself doesn't work. Flash, Google
Earth and Firefox are also amongst the
programs that don't work.
The Control Panel cannot find
'Add/Remove Programs'. When I used
'chkdsk' in ‘Run’ it again gave the
dialog box ’Open With’. System File
Checker (SFC) also does not function
anymore. I cannot even give you my
system’s specifications as the system
gives an error ‘C:\WINDOWS\system32\
rundll32.exe - Application not found’.
Is there any alternative to reinstalling
the OS, because I do not want to spend
Rs 6,000 for it. Again, is it possible to
reuse the same OS which I purchased
last year? It is working fine on my
desktop. Please help urgently.
– Jason Mariadas
Considering that your operating
system is original, you should have the
original Windows XP disk with you which
came bundled with the laptop. You can
reinstall the operating system completely
without having to pay again, and it will
automatically update to SP2 (or SP3 now).
Use the same CD and install Windows
XP. You might need to activate it over the
phone. You will need to call the Microsoft
helpline and explain your reason for
Intelligent computing CHip | 49
DR. CHIP - ARCHIVES
reinstalling the OS. They will give you
a code number which will activate it.
However, you cannot use the same copy
of Windows you installed on your desktop
computer as the license for the OS is for
single PC only and not multiple PCs.
The reason for your problems is that
your system is infected with a virus.
Install an antivirus program and check
your computer thoroughly. You might
even have a problem running the antivirus
program, in which case you could use
a live distribution of Linux or Windows
(BartPE), or back up all your data on an
external drive and then reformat your
computer. Install an antivirus program and
then restore the backed up data.
Alternatively, you can remove the
hard drive from your laptop, connect it to
another computer using an external casing
and remove the virus from it. You would
get better results by simply reformatting
the laptop, but it is worth a try. Once the
virus is removed, you might have to install
your software again.
[Q] Sir, I am a regular reader of CHIP.
I have Windows XP (pre-installed) and
Ubuntu 8.04 from the CHIP DVD of
June 2008 on my computer, but I do
not know how to uninstall Ubuntu and
restore the disk partitions. Please give
me guidance as soon as possible.
– Chitta Biswas
Hello Chitta, after you have
installed Ubuntu on your computer,
removing it is actually very easy. You only
need to go through two steps.
Step 1: Right click ‘My Computer’. Select
‘Manage’. Scroll down the left pane
to choose ‘Disk Management’ under
‘Storage’. This will list all the partitions
present on your hard drive. Carefully select
the partition(s) created while installing
Ubuntu and delete them. Then create a
new volume from the unassigned disk
space available. Format it by right-clicking
on the partition and choosing ‘Format’.
Step 2: Once you have successfully deleted
Ubuntu, you need to restore the Master
Boot Record (MBR). To do this, boot your
machine using the original Windows XP
CD that came with your computer (or
50 | intelligent computing CHip
The FixBoot and FixMBR commands can repair
the master boot record of the hard drive.
any Windows XP CD would do). Choose
'Rescue mode' when asked, and get to the
command prompt from the rescue mode.
Execute the following commands one after
the other.
FIXMBR [Enter]
FIXBOOT [Enter]
Once you’re done, reboot your
computer and everything should be fine.
[Q] Hi Dr. CHIP, I’ve been reading your
magazine for the past three years. My
computer was infected by a strange
virus and I removed it using the trial
version of Kaspersky 8. After that, to
create more disk space on my ‘C:’ drive
I deleted the temporary files from ‘C:\
users\arun\appdata\local\temp’. Now
I have an error message ‘Error loading
C:\Users\arun\ AppData\Local\Temp\
ssqRLDUL.dll’ whenever I log in. Is it
a virus problem? I am using Windows
Vista Home Premium Edition. My
system uses a Pentium 4 processor, an
Intel original Motherboard and a 160
GB hard drive.
– Arun
Hello Arun. Download ‘HijackThis.
exe’ from ‘www.download.com’ or
from one of the CHIP DVDs and run it.
Scan and choose the entry in the registry
that corresponds to the file in the error
message and delete it. The error is
generated by an unwanted or deleted file
from the system whose entry still exists
in the registry. The system is trying to
find the file and is generating the error
upon failing to find it. According to the
error it seems like a worm which has been
eliminated or removed from the system
HijackThis.exe can be used to prevent unwanted
programs from starting up automatically.
when using your antivirus software. Don't
worry, it’s nothing to panic about.
[Q] Hello Dr. CHIP, I am a regular
reader of CHIP magazine. I have a
problem that has been persisting for
too long. I have four partitions of 40 GB
each on my 160 GB hard disk. I have
Windows XP as my operating system.
Now, whenever I boot my system,
scandisk is performed on the E: and
F: drives. I let Scandisk run, and then
Windows works properly, but this
increases my booting time. Also I want
to know how to increase the speed
of my computer without any major
alterations to the system.
– Kartik
Hello Kartik. Your hard drive seems
to have one or more bad sectors. These
bad sectors may be physical or logical. You
need to back up your data and reformat
your entire hard drive after removing all
existing partitions. If the problem was
logical bad sectors, then your hard drive
can be reused without any worry.
If Scandisk keeps running again and
again, you may need to replace your hard
drive. Physical bad sectors cannot be
repaired and can spread, causing data loss
and system crashes. Check the warranty
of your hard drive and replace it if the
warranty still covers it. Scan the hard drive
every two or three weeks using Scandisk
to keep it in shape.
[Q] Hello Dr. CHIP. I am using a laptop
which has a 40 GB SATA hard drive,
384 MB RAM (256 MB + 128 MB) and
a mobile Intel Pentium IV 1.8 GHz
Chkdsk can help rectify problems that crop up in
the hard drive. Run it every few weeks.
processor. I have two partitions, C: and
D:. C is the active partition on which
Windows XP is installed.
Now I want to know a couple of
things. Firstly, if I install Windows 98
on the D: drive, what will it result in?
Will my previous boot.ini be replaced
with a newer one? If yes, how can I
recover it? Will this command ’bootcfg
/rebuild’ (used in the recovery console
of Windows XP) work in recovering the
boot.ini file? And will it show both the
operating systems?
Secondly, if I install Windows
98 on the same partition as that of
Windows XP (C:) after Windows XP
is already installed, what will be the
consequences? Please help! Thanks.
– Jayesh
Hello Jayesh. It is not possible
to install any operating system older
than the one currently installed on your
laptop. To install both Windows 98 and
Windows XP on your laptop, you need to
first install Windows 98 on one partition
and then Windows XP on the other. If
you install Windows XP and Windows 98
Install the older OS first and then the newer ones
on different drives.
on the same partition, the directory for
Program Files would be the same for both
operating systems and either or both the
operating systems could crash. It is not
recommended to install two operating
systems on the same partition. Also you
should check if the laptop is compatible
with Windows 98 and the necessary
drivers for your laptop are available.
[Q] Hi, My system configuration is:
Intel Core 2 Quad Q6600 processor,
Asus P5E3 Deluxe motherboard, 2 x
1 GB Corsair DDR3 1333MHz RAM,
Seagate 320 GB hard drive, HD
EVGA 9800 GTX graphics card, Razer
Barracuda AC1 sound card, and Tagan
BZ1100 power supply, all assembled
in a Cosmos 1000 cabinet. When I turn
on my PC, an Nvidia message pops up
on the welcome screen of Windows
XP stating that my graphics card is
not receiving enough power and that
the performance is being lowered to
prevent system crashes. I am using
a 1,100 watt power supply and still
the system claims that there is not
enough power for it. Is it true? Also,
the graphics card requires two 6-pin
PCIe power connectors, both of which
are correctly connected to the graphics
card. The power socket for in the card
is present on the right hand side of the
graphics card. What do you think the
problem is?
– Vignesh Babu
Hello Vignesh, Your power supply
seems good enough for the configuration
you are using. There could be a problem
with one or both the 6-pin power cables
connected to the graphics card. Check the
connections, when the power is running
through them, by using a multi-meter. It
should be 12 volts DC. If all is fine, then
there could be a problem with the card
itself. Have the card checked on another
computer or have it replaced under
warranty if any.
[Q] Dear CHIP, I am a regular reader of
your magazine. Recently my father’s
friend started a small Web surfing
centre. As you are aware, virus attacks
DR. CHIP - ARCHIVES
Check the PCIe power connectors. They should
supply 12V DC on all the yellow wires.
are common when using the Internet.
Having basic systems, he cannot afford
to install any antivirus software as his
customers often complain that their
systems are very slow. He tried using
Norton Ghost but the systems are still
slow and the image consumes lots of
space. Also some people tend to delete
the backup files unknowingly or just
for fun. He wants to know whether he
can create a kind of ‘recovery’ CD or
DVD through which he can boot and
restore his operating system back to
how it was when first installed.
– Sriram
Hello Sriram. Norton Ghost is a
good option. I cannot think of any better
solution for creating an image of the
original state of the PC and restoring it
whenever necessary. Also as far as the
virus problems are concerned, use AVG
Free edition on all the computers. It is light
on the system and also free of cost.
To protect the computers from
troublemakers, log in as the Administrator
and set the permissions such that users
can only create files and not delete them.
Click on ‘Start | Run’ and type ‘gpedit.msc’.
Under ‘Administrative templates’, there are
a lot of options where one can enable and
disable rights to the computer's functions.
Go through each one of them and choose
what you need to increase the security of
your machine.
Caution: Remember the settings so that
you can enable them again when you need
to undo the changes. Write down each
one, if required. 
Send your queries to Francis D’Sa at
drchip@chip.in
Intelligent computing CHip | 51
DR. CHIP - ARCHIVES
Sachin Pandit
Got a computer problem?
Write to Dr. Chip at
drchip@chip.in
52 | intelligent computing CHip
Dr CHIP
[Q] Hello Dr CHIP. I have a problem with
my computer. Windows Update has
automatically downloaded and installed an
antivirus named ‘Antivirus XP 2008’. I want
to remove it, but I am not able to do so.
Please help me as soon as possible because
it does not get uninstalled. I think that this
software is causing a problem with my
computer. Thanks.
– Adarsh Pathak
Hello Adarsh. Programs named 'XP
Antivirus 2008', 'Vista Antivirus 2008', or
'Antivirus XP 2008' are malicious programs
disguised as antispyware utilities that are
spreading through the Internet. 'XP Antivirus
2008' usually comes up after you install a video
codec (especially from a pirate or warez site)
and can include trojans, malware and viruses.
'XP Antivirus 2008' normally generates fake
and misleading system popup error messages
so end users are actually tricked into paying
money for it. It is very important to remove all
the components of 'XP Antivirus 2008' and
Programs called 'XP' or 'Vista Antivirus 2008' are worms
that should be gotten rid of immediately.
'Uninstall XP Antivirus 2008.lnk’
Just search for these files using the
'Start | Search’ tool and delete them. Also
empty the Recycle Bin.
 Finally, manually remove this XP
Antivirus 2008 registry value
'HKEY_USERS\Software\ XP antivirus’
To do this, start 'Regedit’ from the
'Start | Run...’ prompt. Search for the line
and delete the entry.
Now restart the computer and the
software should be gone. Follow these
steps at your own risk. Do take backups
in case anything goes wrong. If these
steps work, disable and re-enable System
Restore at least once to clear any backups
which might have the virus backed up
inside them.
all the malware and trojans that might have [Q] Dear Dr CHIP, I have a question
been installed with it. These could have names for which I need your help. I am
such as zlob.trojan, trojan.vundo and trojan. using Opera version 9.50 build 10063
downloader. Try the following steps. and I also use DAP 8.1 (Download
 Unregister the following XP Antivirus 2008 Accelerator Plus - Free Version) for
DLL files accelerating my downloads. My
‘shlwapi.dll’ problem arises whenever I browse
‘wininet.dll’ through Opera and click 'Download';
To do this, run the following command at the it starts downloading with Opera, but
command prompt for each file in turn: I want to use DAP for my downloads.
‘regsvr32 /u <filename.dll>’ How do I set DAP as the default
 Stop the following processes: download accelerator for Opera?
'vav.exe' Please find me a solution to this
'XPAntivirus.exe' problem as soon as possible. Awaiting
'XPAntivirusUpdate.exe' your advice. Thank you.
'Xpa.exe' – Anupam Angel
'Xpa2008.exe'
To do this, launch the task manager instantly Hello Anupam. In order to get
by pressing the [Ctrl] + [Shift] + [ESC] keys Download Accelerator Plus (DAP) to
simultaneously. Select the process that you work with Opera, you need to copy the
want to stop and then click on ‘End Process’. file ‘dapop.dll’ from DAP's installation
 Find and delete these files, if they exist folder (usually C:\Program Files\DAP) into
'xpa.exe’
'vav.exe’
'xpa2008.exe’
'XPAntivirus.exe’
'XPAntivirusUpdate.exe’
'Shlwapi.dll’
'wininet.dll’
'XP antivirus’
'XPAntivirus.lnk’
'Uninstall XPAntivirus.lnk’
'XPAntivirus on the Web.lnk’
'XPAntivirus.url’ Configure Opera to use the DAP plugin so it can
manage downloads automatically.
'XP Antivirus 2008.lnk’
Opera's plugin folder (C:\Program Files\
Opera\Program\Plugins by default). Once
this file has been copied, restart Opera,
and make sure that the plugin is properly
installed by going to ‘Tools | Advanced |
Plug-ins’ to see whether it is listed. After
the plugin has been installed, you need to
specify the file types to be downloaded
with DAP. To do this, open ‘Tools |
Preferences | Advanced | Downloads’,
change the default action to ‘Use Plug-in’,
and select the DAP plugin from the drop
down menu of each common file type.
[Q] Hi Dr CHIP, I am a regular reader of
CHIP and I am writing to you as a last
resort. I have an external 160 GB hard
disk (which connects to the PC via
USB). I have been using it for the last
year and I didn’t have any problems
with it. The file system of the hard
disk is NTFS while my PC’s file system
is FAT32. A few days back while I
was using it, Windows XP suddenly
gave an error message ‘System
Volume Information corrupted, please
run chkdsk’. I was worried and so I
restarted the system immediately.
Now when I plug in the hard drive, it
is detected by Windows (confirmed
because the USB device detection
sign appeared in the lower right hand
corner). It also shows as a drive in
‘My Computer’. But when I double
click, it gives ‘Disc not found error’.
Also it does not run ‘chkdsk’. When I
checked the properties, the disk size
and space reported are zero. Also in
the ‘Computer Management’ window,
it shows as a drive but under the file
system column where there should
be "NTFS", it is blank. I am using
Windows XP with Service Pack 2. I
checked the drive on two other PCs
with Windows XP, but got the same
result. I have shown the drive to the
hardware vendor from whom I had
purchased it, and he told me either to
format the disk (in which case I will
lose all data) or to go for data recovery
(which is very costly). Please advise
me as to what may be the problem
and how it can be rectified. As I said,
you are my last resort otherwise I
DR. CHIP - ARCHIVES
'Raid2Raid' creates an image of the entire hard
drive and stores it safely.
have to go ahead and format the disk.
I have some very important data on it
and I would prefer not losing any of it.
Thank you.
– Suman G.
Hello Suman. Your drive has a
problem either logically or physically.
You will have to remove the drive from
the case and physically install it on your
desktop system. Download and use the
program ‘Raid2Raid’ from DiskInternals
and create an image of the entire drive
on your C or D drive (make sure you have
more than 160GB of space to create the
image file). Once done, you can format
the hard drive to find the fault with it.
After the image is prepared and copied
to the C or D drive, use the Raid2Raid
program to mount the image as a drive
and use any data recovery software to
recover your data from the image. You
can use 'GetDataBack', 'Unerase' or
'RecoverMyFiles' to recover your data.
If the drive has a physical problem (like
the drive motor or data platter problems),
then data recovery would be impossible
without professional help. And if the
data is really very important to you, you
might have to spend some money to get
it recovered professionally. Remember to
take regular backups in the future.
[Q] Hello Dr CHIP. I am Ayush, a
regular reader of your magazine. I have
very serious problems in my computer.
It was working fine for three years.
But eight months ago I took out the
internal hard disk to transfer some
data from my friend's computer and
then I put it back into my computer.
Intelligent computing CHip | 53
DR. CHIP - ARCHIVES
Make sure you keep your computer clean at all
times to avoid system failures and data loss.
On that day my computer was working
fine, but then a problem occurred.
Whenever I switch on my UPS, the
computer automatically switches
on, but there is no display on my
monitor. When I tapped my computer
cabinet on the sides and then retried,
it worked. Also when I am working
on my computer it automatically
hangs and the same problem occurs.
Then I tap my computer again and it
works. After that, other problems have
just started occurring. Sometimes a
blue screen comes up for less than a
second and my computer restarts. I
showed my system to many engineers
and they said that the RAM is bad.
I changed to 1 GB RAM, and then
someone else said the SMPS was
defective. I changed that and all the
data cables too, but the problem still
persists. Please Dr CHIP, help me solve
this problem. I am very frustrated.
You are my only hope. My computer
configuration is: Intel D82865GBF
motherboard, 1 GB RAM, 40 GB
Samsung hard disk, 80 GB Seagate
external hard disk, Sony DVD writer,
Samsung DVD/CD-RW Combo drive,
and D-Link 56K internal fax modem.
– Chintu Saxena
Hello Chintu. Your computer
problem is strange but very common. You
have changed the SMPS and RAM as
well as all the cables inside the cabinet.
So the only problem areas remaining are
the motherboard and hard drive. Please
try cleaning all the connectors, slots
and components (carefully) using a soft
brush. Remove the CPU fan and wipe off
54 | intelligent computing CHip
the old CPU thermal grease. Then apply
some new thermal grease and remount
the fan. Also clean the CPU fan properly
before remounting it. Check if the problem
goes away. Check if all the cables to and
from the motherboard and all the internal
peripherals including the hard drive and
optical drives are firmly fitted and not
loose in any way, especially the SATA
cable to the hard drive. A SATA cable that
is not properly connected could indirectly
be triggering the problem. Change the
cable if needed.
Finally if everything is fine and the
problem still occurs, try using the entire rig
without the cabinet. Carefully unscrew the
motherboard, power supply and hard drive
and assemble them on a table. Place some
antistatic foam between the motherboard
and the table. If the problem is solved,
your cabinet is the issue. Check for
loose screws and uneven surfaces inside
the cabinet which may cause shorting
problems. Clean the cabinet thoroughly
too. If the problem still persists, then try
reinstalling the operating system. Finding a
fault in such scenarios can be quite painful
and time-consuming. Be patient and you
will get to the root of the problem.
[Q] Hello Dr CHIP, my problem is that
while my computer is on a lot of noise
comes from the system cabinet. Is
it the noise of the hard drive, SMPS
or the internal fans? I am unable to
understand it. Please help in getting
my problem solved. Thanks.
– Vishal S Pophali
The CPU or SMPS fans need to be
serviced or changed. They might be dusty
or the oil and/or grease from the fan motor
might have dried out. Sometimes the
shaft of the fan loses its alignment and
causes the fan blades to vibrate. This the
cabinet body to vibrate. Remove the fans,
clean them thoroughly and apply a drop of
oil to each one. Another option is simply
to replace the fans. Keep your computer
clean at all times to avoid future problems.
[Q] Respected Sir, I have an old
computer and I am planning to dispose
of it, but I don’t want to waste its
The fans are mechanical and will eventually wear
out. Clean or replace them if the need arises.
components like the hard disk, RAM,
motherboard, etc. My PC is a branded
HP computer and hence no vendor is
willing to purchase it. Can I use the
hard disk and connect it to my new
computer using USB? If yes, then how
can I do it? Kindly, let me know how
I can utilize my old PC in the best
possible manner rather than disposing
of it at a scrap yard. Thank you.
– Saurabh Tripathi
You can use the old hard drive by
removing it carefully from the old cabinet
and using an IDE to USB connector. You
can also use an external 3.5-inch hard
drive case that converts a regular internal
hard drive into an external USB hard drive.
It should cost you around Rs 600. If your
old system is working, you can use it to
just play music or surf the Internet. Let
other people at home practice or learn
about computers on it. If you have an
internet connection, you can network it
with your new computer and two people
can surf the Internet simultaneously.
You can also use the older computer for
only downloading data. Why don’t you
consider giving it away as charity? There
are a lot of organizations that deal with
underprivileged children or schools which
are in need of computers. Also you can
check if somebody you know requires a
PC but cannot afford to have one. Ensure
your private data is deleted or format the
hard drive before you give it away.
[Q] Dear Dr CHIP. I am Shukla from
Andhra Pradesh. I have a serious and
urgent problem with my computer. I
am using Windows XP with Service
Pack 2 and for a few days now,
whenever I use my computer and
browse on the Internet for a few
minutes, Windows Firewall keeps
alerting me about a serious threat
to my computer. I have attached a
screenshot to this email for your
reference. The message indicates
"Windows Security Alert – the
firewall has detected activity of a
harmful software – Trojan-Spy.Win32.
GreenScreen with a security risk level
of critical value." I am asked to click
to enable protection, but the firewall
is already activated and my antivirus
program does not detect any such
problem. When I click the 'Enable'
button, a web page opens for me to
download some antispyware utility.
Also the error screen does not close
and refuses to go away. I have to
reboot the computer, but it comes up
again after some time. How do I solve
this problem? Please answer my email
at the earliest. Thanks in advance.
– Shukla
Hello Shukla. Your system
is infected with a trojan. The popup
messages are fake even though they look
very much like genuine Windows Firewall
prompts. Their aim is to fool users into
downloading another virus and opening
ports to let hackers monitor your computer
remotely. Do not click on any button.
Instead, use the program Process Explorer
to kill the application in the background.
You will also notice that the Task Manager
does not work. Download Process
Explorer from 'http://technet.microsoft.
com/en-us/sysinternals/bb896653.aspx'
and run the program. Search for the virus
program running in the background and
Use your own judgement when you see warning
messages like this. They might just be fake.
kill the process. Then, download a good
antispyware program such as Lavasoft
AdAware and update it. Boot into Safe
Mode and follow these steps:
 Delete all temporary files on your
system.
 Delete the system restore points.
 Delete any files with the word
'Greenscreen' on your system. Search for
and destroy the files.
 Scan your computer and clean it using
the antispyware program.
 Use HijackThis' to prevent the spyware
from being installed again using registry
values.
 Run a virus scan on your whole
computer using a good antivirus program
updated with the latest definitions.
 Disable any fields in 'Msconfig' that
may allow untrusted programs to run.
Finally, restart your computer and check
if all is fine.
[Q] Dear Dr CHIP, I am a regular
reader of CHIP magazine. I am running
Windows XP with Service Pack 2 on
my computer which has the following
configuration: Intel Pentium D CPU
at 2.80GHz, 1.49 GB of RAM and 160
GB hard disk. My problem is an error
message: "svcchost.exe-Application
Error. The exception unknown
software exception (0xc0000409)
occurred in the application at location
0x5b86a510." After I got this message,
whenever I play a video, song or any
other media file, there is no sound at
all from my system speakers. What
can the problem be? Your help here is
urgently required.
– Adarsh Mahapatra
Hello Adarsh. The error states
that your system's sound drivers are the
cause of the trouble. Try uninstalling the
drivers completely. Download the latest
version of the driver for your sound card
(or motherboard chipset if it is integrated)
from the manufacturer’s website. Install
the same and check if it works properly.
Also, try keeping Windows XP updated
as much as possible. This would patch
or update any drivers needed by your
computer. Use Service Pack 3 from one
DR. CHIP - ARCHIVES
Keep Windows Update enabled so that the latest
security updates are downloaded for you.
of the past CHIP DVDs to update all
patches and update the system again. If
all these actions do not solve the problem,
try repairing or reinstalling your operating
system. Do take a data backup before you
do so.
[Q] Hi Dr CHIP, I used to buy original
CDs and DVDs of the games I like to
play, and also of other software. But
one of my close friends recommends
buying pirated CDs, because he thinks
pirated CDs are cheap and provide the
same content anyway. I have nothing
to answer him with. Please tell me
what could go wrong by using pirated
CDs/DVDs.
– Shwetabh Shekhar
Hello Shwetabh. Pirated CDs and
DVDs are definitely cheap to buy, but let
me tell you about the problems that can
arise. Pirated software and games are
often used to spread viruses, trojans and
spyware. You might not be able to update
the software or use additional online
resources like manuals or tutorials. Apart
from that, you could also be arrested and/
or fined. In rare cases, you could damage
your optical drive because pirated CDs/
DVDs are not made of very good quality
plastic.
Paying once for your original CD/DVD,
be it movies, software or games, can
give you peace of mind. You will also be
covered by a warranty and can use after-
sales support over the phone or Internet
if the product is not working or if you
are facing any problems with it. I always
advise and recommend buying original
products. 
Send your queries to Francis D’Sa at
drchip@chip.in
Intelligent computing CHip | 55