Most users are familiar with the box asking whether you would like to send an error report to Microsoft when a program crashes in Windows XP. I never send error reports when a program crashes and being prompted each time a program crashes to send an error report is very annoying! To disable this prompt, go to the ‘Start’ menu and right-click on ‘My Computer’ and select ‘Properties’. Click the ‘Advanced’ tab and the ‘Error Reporting’ button. Enable the option ‘Disable error reporting’. I suggest you leave ‘But notify me when critical errors occur’ enabled, as it is always useful to know when an error occurs. Once you are done, click OK. (more…)

To my computer running Windows XP I have recently added a DVD burner in addition to the CD burner already installed. The other day I bought a multi-format CD, being a music CD that also includes software and a video. Using my work PC, Windows Explorer displays the files and directory structure on the CD, but does not display any audio tracks. On the other hand, Windows Explorer on my home PC can only read the audio tracks, and no other information. How can I view the video? (more…)

Since upgrading to Windows XP Professional the computer has problems between my printer (HP DeskJet 880C) and scanner (CanoScan FB320P). The scanner only operates if I have used the printer during the computer session. If I attempt to use the scanner after using the printer, the following message appears: ‘Parallel port may be used by another application: Error code 0×0060800′. This causes problems if I want to use the computer to scan and print documents (like a photocopier), as I must reboot the computer after each print-job so I can use the scanner. Interestingly enough, the printer works fine at all times. I have tried turning off the printer after the print-job, and installing the latest drivers for the scanner but these did not fix the problem. In the Canon Knowledge Base they suggested buying a USB cable and connecting the scanner to a USB port. Would this fix the problem? If all fails, I am inclined to replace both the printer and scanner, since they are quite old. Would you have any advice on good equipment for home-use? As I need to scan in book format, an ‘all in one’ machine won’t do, since it only scans A4. (more…)

Whenever I move the mouse the computer freezes. Reformatting the hard drive and reinstalling Windows does not fix the problem, neither does changing the mouse. (more…)

My Shintaro 256MB USB thumb drive is not always recognised after being plugged-into a Windows XP or 2000 machine. The problem may persist even after unplugging and reinserting the device. (more…)