areid

When I view any Word document, it displays the text in only one font (looks like Courier), even if the document was originally prepared in another font, or a mixture of fonts. When I display the available fonts from the pulldown-list on the toolbar, I see that there are only 3 fonts available (Device Font 10cpi, 12cpi and 17cpi)! All other applications (eg. Excel) show the full range of fonts available on the pc. When I view the same documents in Word on another pc they look fine. This problem has only occurred in last few days, and I cannot think of any event that could cause it to happen. I am using Word 2002 (from Office XP). I have removed and reinstalled Word, but this has not made any difference. Any idea how I can get my full range of fonts back? Any help would be appreciated. Alan

I have a domestic telephone installation with 2 analog and one digital ISDN line (provided by British Telecom under the name 'Home Highway'). The ISDN line is connected via a CAT5 patch cable to an external USB Hayes Terminal Adapter, and from there to a laptop via a USB cable. The arrangement worked fine for a few months, but now when the TA is plugged into the laptop (not necessarily connected to the internet), neither audio line can dial-out, and incoming calls are distorted. On its own the ISDN connection works fine. As far as I know I have not done anything recently to change the setup. if I connect the ISDN line to another (desktop) pc via an internal TA card (Hayes Accura), and there are no problems whatsoever, so I guess it is something to do with using an external adapter, the USB ports and/or my laptop. I have contacted Hayes tech. support and apart from recommending the latest drivers (which I have installed), they cannot suggest anything. British Telecomm are not much help either - as the line works ok with the internal PCI card they are convinced it is a laptop/driver problem. I know many of you folks will not be familiar with UK telephone systems, but hopefully someone out there may have experienced a similar problem and/or have some idea how to solve the problem. Other info. that may be relevant... Operating system - XP Pro (SP2) USB Host Controller Type - VIA Rev.5 or later The is the only USB device connected to the pc. Whether I plug the TA directly into the USB port, or via an externally-powered hub makes no difference. I have applied the recommended USB 1.1 filter patch - no change. I have updated my BIOS to the latest version. The USB controller is sharing the same IRQ (10) as the on-board 56k modem (which is not connected to any line). I've tried to change the USB IRQ, but this cannot be done on my laptop. In the device manager, the TA has installed itself as a 'NDIS WAN miniport adapter', which claims to be working correctly. Any help would be appreciated. Currently I am having to connect to the internet via. 'snail pace' audio line 2, which only runs at 56k (well, about 45k in reality). Alan

I am trying to run Star Wars Racer under W2K, (AMD Athlon 1G, 128Mb) but with no success. If I look at the game's analysis listing it thinks that it's running on an NT machine, so I tried using the compatibility utility APCompat.exe that came with W2K. If I Selecting the Win95 or Win98 option and try and launch the game, I get a "Microsoft Visual C++ Runtime Library" error message as follows... "MSVCRT.DLL for Win32 Error: MSVCRT.DLL is not compatible with Win32s" If I ignore this message (probably not wise) and launch the game I get a blue thermometer moving across the bottom of a black screen (program loading, I guess), then the pc reboots! (What is the purpose of the MSVCRT.DLL file? Is there another version of this file I should be using (mine is c:\winnt\system32, dated 07/12/99 12:00)? How can I get around this problem? I've looked on the W2K cd and there are three versions of this file, one in d:\I386, one in d:\I386\WIN9XUPG and one in d:\I386\WINNTUPG. Which one of these should be the installed one? I tried to overwrite it with a more up-to-date version I had on my NT machine, but it wouldn't take it ("Cannot create or replace MSVCRT: The specified file is being used by Windows"). I'm probably barking up the wrong tree here...) APCompat has other checkbox options... Disable heap manager on Windows 2000. Use pre-Windows 2000 Temp path. Correct disk space detection for "-GB+ drives. make the above check nox settings permanent. The problem is I don't know which ones I should check - the Help facility is non-existent! I downloaded MSFT W2K compatibility toolkit and tried using QFixApp.exe instead of APCompat.exe, but this has so many fix options that I don't know which one(s) to use! I have DirectX 7.0 installed - Racer comes with DirectX 6.1. Could that be the problem? As well as the OS, do I need to fool Racer into thinking that it is running under an earlier version of DirectX? If so, how? Other more recent games are running ok on W2K (those that say they will run ok on NT and run on DirectX 7 or higher). I have seen on compatiblity lists that Star Wars Racer can run under W2K. If only I could find out what it needs to get running on my pc... Any help would be appreciated. TIA Alan

I have created a backup batch file using the XCOPY command, and it works fine, except for the fact that the files copied to a CD all contain date and timestamps of when they were copied. Has anyone any idea how to keep the original date and time? As far as I can see there are no switches which allow me to do this. Any help would be appreciated. Alan

I am trying to get hold of a BIOS update for my laptop pc (running XP pro SP1). My current version is Insyde MobilePro BIOS version 3.00.03 but I can't find an update anywhere! I've looked on the Insyde website, but there is no facility for downloading updates. Can anyone point me in the right direction? Any help would be appreciated. Alan Harris-Reid

I am using a Hayes Accura ISDN terminal adapter connected to my laptop via a USB port. When I want to disconnect the modem, because I am using XP pro, I cannot simply unplug the modem from the USB port without getting the famous blue-screen-of-death (BSOD) and having to reset the pc. The 'correct' way is to 'safely' disconnect the modem via an icon in the icon tray, but I always get the message "The device USB ISDN TA128 CE cannot be stopped because a program is still accessing it." As far as I can see there are no services or programs in the task manager using the modem. Is there any way of being able to see what programs are using the device, or is the error message misleading? Alternatively, is there any other way of disconnecting the modem without getting the BSOD (incidentally the message is "Multiple IRP Complete Requests")? Any help would be appreciated. Alan

Sampson, thanks for the reply. >>...you should be able to select your device and stop it. ...Does your system not have an icon showing?<< I do have the icon showing. I double-click on it, then click on 'Stop', then on OK to confirm, then I get the "in use by another program" message, although I am sure there are no programs using the modem. Regards, Alan

Sampson, thanks for the reply. >>You've written here about this before.<< I've written about other problems with this modem before (eg. not working properly on the same pc as a 56k modem), but not this particular problem. >> Add/Remove Hardware in Control Panel.<< With my version of XP Pro (SP1) there is only an option to add hardware in the control panel, not remove hardware. To unplug the device I have to double-click on the icon in the icon tray, but when I try to stop the device before unplugging, I get the "in use by another program" message. Regards, Alan

When I have a modem (ISDN terminal adapter) plugged into a USB port on my laptop, there is an abnormal amount of cooling-fan activity (about 75% of the time), even if the modem is not in use. Could this be because the modem is taking its power from the pc (even though the power consumption is very small)? I don't mind the fan kicking-in now-and-again, but to have it on most of the time is a real pain. Has anyone any ideas how to solve this problem? Would an externally powered USB hub be the answer? I don't want to have to disconnect the modem every time it is not in use (that causes other problems described in another thread). I am using XP pro. Any help would be appreciated. Alan

Many thanks to all who have replied so far - I now have a few things to check-out and hope the problem can be solved. Best... Alan

Ever since I installed XP pro service pack 1, I have had some strange behaviour with my IIS 5.1 setup. In short, it doesn't work any more! http://localhost is producing http 500 error message (ie. Internal Server Error - the page cannot be displayed). According to the service manager, the world-wide web publishing service is running. According to MMC, the default web server is running, with the IP address "* All unassigned *" (is that right?). Pinging localhost works fine. There used to be an icon in the icon tray by which I could tell whether the service was running or not. How can I get this back again? Any help would be appreciated. Alan

ECLG_ENIGMA, thanks for the reply. I eventually had to reinstall IIS and things seem to be working ok for now. Regards, Alan

I have a Hayes Accura ISDN Modem which I connect to my laptop (XP Pro (SP1)) via. a USB port. Everything works well until I use the on-board 56k modem. When I use the 56k modem (not at the same time as the ISDN modem) it behaves very erratically, often slowly and often disconnects within a couple of minutes of connecting! If I physically disconnect the ISDN modem from the USB port (after 'safely' disconnecting via the software, otherwise I get the famous BSOD), everything is ok with the 56k modem. I don't want to (and shouldn't have to) remember to unplug my ISDN modem (which is a pain to have to do via the software) every time I use the 56k modem (which is v. frequently). Is there any way that both modems can live in harmony? Any help would be appreciated. I have made sure that the latest modem drivers are installed. TIA, Alan

trilliansucks, thanks for the reply. >>or you could manage your IRQs from the bios instead of having XP do it.<< I presume managing IRQs from the bios involves looking at the setup when the laptop boots-up, but how can I do it from XP? TIA Alan

Samspon, thanks for the reply. >>I think that Hayes is out of business,<< Really? They are still selling loads of stuff here in the UK. >>... but there may be a software upgrade that could change the IRQ (though I doubt it.)<< I'll look into it. >> If I run across something, I will get back to you.<< Many thanks. I'll contact the laptop manufacturer and see if they have any ideas. Regards, Alan

Sampson, thanks for the reply. >Sounds like the classical IRQ sharing problem.< I think you've got it. The 56k modem uses IRQ10 (I/O range E200-E2FF), and the properties says that there are no conflicts. The USB modem appears in the device list as a network adapter USB ISDN TA, for which no IRQ is listed. However, I discovered in the device manager that under 'USB controllers' is an entry for 'VIA Rev 5 or later USB Universal Host Controller' which also uses IRQ10 (I/O range 12000-121F) (again it says there is no conflict!). This could also explain the fact that there is much cooling-fan activity when the USB modem is plugged-in (I rarely heard the fan until I got this modem!). It seems to me really bad configuration that the internal modem should have the same IRQ as the USB controller! So, now I think we've cracked the problem, how can I change the IRQ for either the 56k modem (preferably) or the USB port? Many thanks, Alan

I have a USB ISDN modem (Hayes Accura), which I want to use with my laptop pc. Whenever I unplug the modem from the pc I get the famous blue screen, and I have to reboot the pc! I have downloaded the latest driver from Hayes, but it makes no difference. I am using XP pro SP1. Could this be an XP problem? Any help would be appreciated. Alan

When I boot-up my laptop (running XP pro) I get the following message just after the desktop icons are displayed... "pctvoice MFC Application". I am then invited to send an error report to MSFT. The error occurs on cold-boot only, not warm-boot. I can close the window with no apparent problems, but it would be nice to get rid of it permanently Upon further investigation it appears the program in question is pctspk.exe, which I think is connected with the sound/speaker controller. I've checked-out the registry and found an entry under mycomputer\hkey_local_machine\software\microsoft\windows\currentversion\run, Name:pctvoice Type:REG_SZ Data:pctspk.exe. What does this program do? What would happen if I stopped this program running on boot-up? If it's ok to do so, how do I do it? Does XP pro have a service pack yet? If so, could it solve my problem? Any advice would be appreciated. Alan Harris-Reid

I am running a laptop with XP pro and a DVD CDRW combo. The inbuilt OS CDRW facilities are virtually useless, so I installed Nero 5.5 on the laptop (which worked fine on my previous W2K desktop machine). Reading + writing to/from the CD are ok, but there are still 2 big problems... a) When I change disks, Windows explorer still shows the file-listing for the old disk. Refreshing does nothing. Restarting explorer does nothing (although there is disk activity). Only rebooting the laptop produces the correct file-listing on the new disk. Executable files copied to the CDRW on one machine cannot be executed on the laptop machine (I get the message "xyz is not a 32 bit application"), but if I download the same .exe directly onto the XP machine, it executes with no problem. Has anyone any experience with Nero on a XP pro machine? Will upgrading to the XP version of Nero solve this problem (and will it work ok on the W2K machine)? What about DirectCD (comes with EasyCD creator)? Is that any better? Any help would be appreciated. Alan Harris-Reid

Sampson, >You can use msconfig and tell it not to run at bootup. It is only a nicety for Video Conferencing.< In that case, it's going. Thanks for the advice. Alan

Sampson, thanks for the reply. >See if there is a file on your hard disk called xpctspk.exe then change your registry to hkey_local_machine\software\microsoft\windows current version\run xpctspk.exe. It seems to have installed the ME version.< Just had a look, unfortunately no xpctspk.exe exists. Regards, Alan

I am having trouble using my CD-RW on a laptop with XP Pro installed. Read-write CDs which have been recorded on another (W2K) machine using Nero 5.5 can be read on my XP machine, but all files have readonly attributes, and I cannot delete files or write to the disks! XP invites me to erase the disk, which will also reformat the disk so that XP can read and write to it. This is a pain, as I want CDs written to on one machine to be readable and writable on another machine. Does XP use a different format from Nero? If so, which is better? Is it ok to install Nero 5.5 on my XP machine, and if so, will it automatically 'override' the XP format? Any opinions will be appreciated. I would be surprised if no-one else has has this problem. Many thanks, Alan Harris-Reid

All respondents.... I've now installed Nero and it's running a treat - many thanks. Alan

I'm just about to purchase a new laptop pc, but I'm torn between having W2K pro or XP pro as the pre-installed operating system. I already have W2K on my desktop pc and I am perfectly happy with it, but I am being pushed towards XP by the vendors. Has anyone good or bad experiences of either? Any help would be appreciated. Many thanks, Alan Harris-Reid

CUViper, thanks for the reply. >If you get WinXP on your new laptop, then you get one WinXP license. That license means that you can legally put WinXP, Win2k, NT4, or even earlier NT versions on that laptop if you want. So if you can find a Win2k disk somewhere (from your desktop), then it would be legal for you to have it on both the desktop and the laptop, since you have two licenses that both cover at least Win2k.< I understand now. What about the (unlikely) scenario that I didn't like XP pro at all, and wanted to remove it from the laptop completely in favor of W2K. Would the XP license cover the additional W2K installation in this case, or does XP have to be installed on the same machine (ie. not just on a CD lying around in my office)? Many thanks, Alan