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DADDY BOB'S COMPUTER Q & A
August 20, 2006
Q.
Ever since I did a reinstall of XP, when the
computer boots up I get an extra screen with
duplicate items on it asking me which
version I want to use. How can I get rid of
this extra, useless screen?
A.
This can occur anytime an operating system
is upgraded. This is to facilitate something
called "Dual Booting", which allows the
computer to be booted up in the different
operating systems. However, sometimes this
will occur when the same operating system is
reinstalled. In this case, it serves no
purpose, and can be eliminated.
This can
be corrected by editing the Boot.ini file
directly, but this is risky, and there is a
much easier, better way. Here's how:
1.
Click Start, then Run
2. Type in msconfig and click OK
3. Click the Boot.ini tab
4. Click the "Check all Boot Paths"
button
If
there is a duplicate boot path, you will
be given the choice to remove it. Just
don't remove both.
Q. I
have an old program that doesn't run
well with XP. I seem to remember that
there is a way to make it run under an
older operating system setup. Can this
be done and if so, how?
A.
What you are referring to is what XP
calls "Compatibility Mode". To allow any
executable program, that is one ending
with a .exe extension, to run using
another version of Windows, follow this
procedure.
Find
the executable file that is used to start the
program in question. In my example
below, it a program called
CapSnapper.exe. Right click on it,
and select Properties. Click the
Compatibility tab and you will get this
dialog.
Here you can choose any operating from
Windows 95 to 2000. You can also choose
to set the color depth to 256, screen
resolution to 640 X 480, etc. Once this
has been set, anytime you launch this
program it will open using the
configuration you have set here.
Q.
When I open Internet Explorer and click
on Favorites, there is an item there
called Links. Every time I delete it, it
comes back automatically. How can I
delete this and keep it deleted?
A.
The favorites list in this case gets information on
the links from the top menu, so if you
remove it from there, it should stay
gone. Here's how:
Open Internet Explorer
Right click on the Top Menu
Uncheck Links
Click On favorites
Delete Links
Now it will not come back until you
once again add Links to the menu.
Q. When I tried to open an email all
I get is a bunch of characters that
make no sense at all, and a
reference to something called MIME.
Now I know what a mime is, but what
does that have to do with my email?
A. MIME (Multi-purpose
Internet Mail Extensions) is an
extension of the Internet e-mail
protocol that lets people use
email to exchange
different kinds of data files on
the Internet: audio, video,
images, application programs,
and other kinds, as well as the
ASCII text.
Email servers insert the MIME header
at the beginning of any Web
transmission. Clients use this
header to select an appropriate
"player" application for the
type of data the header
indicates. Some of these players
are built into the Web client or
browser while other players may
need to be downloaded.
Apparently the file you
downloaded was intended for use
with one kind of program, and
your computer either didn't have
the proper program, or if the
program was there, some of the
needed filters needed to run the
file were not available, or have
been assigned to another
program. It is a matter of
compatibility.
It is like trying to make a
telephone call using a radio.
You will either have to get the
sender to use a different
program, or you will have to get
the program he used.
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