Ever since I recently installed a new 10.2gB hard disk drive, ScanDisk has run at startup the message “There is an invalid long filename on this drive which ScanDisk is unable to fix”. How can I fix this? (more…)

I tried twice to download Windows Media Player 7, first time via the Windows Media Player upgrade function and, when this failed, from ZDNet. The problem is after the download completes and Norton Antivirus scans it, the message “Cannot save file” appears. Can you advise? (more…)

My newly-installed 10.2 gb hard drive seems to access data slowly. I sought help from the manufacturer’s website and one of the tests suggested was to check whether my operating system is DMA capable. My operating system is Windows 95 version 4.00.950B which is DMA capable. The website also suggested that I check if my hard drive is already DMA enabled. The trouble though is that the Windows Device Manager doesn’t show a ‘Resources’ tab for the hard disc drives, which (I think) is where the DMA check box should be. When I look for DMA channels in ‘System’ control panel > ‘Device Manager’ tab > ‘Computer’ there does not seem to be a DMA channel for either of my hard drives. How can I be sure whether or not my hard drives are DMA enabled and if they are not how can I enable them? Also, ever since I installed the new hard drive Scandisk has run at startup giving the message “There is an invalid long filename on this drive which Scandisk is unable to fix”. I have no idea what to do about this. What could be causing it? (more…)

When I right click on Start, the open and explore menu items are always grayed out and I cannot access them. Hope you may be able to help. I am using Windows 98. (more…)

I bought a Pentium III 700 with Windows 98 SE. Two features which I could use previously with my old computer with Windows 98 SE were lost. Firstly, the install new fonts feature. Windows Help says to go to the ‘Control Panel’, then ‘Fonts’. When I look in the ‘File’ menu there is no ‘Install Fonts’ as previously. I can copy the fonts across manually into the ‘Fonts’ folder but they don’t show up in Word 7. Secondly, I am unable to cut and paste some files. These files include documents which I created myself and applications which I downloaded from the internet. Also, I completely defragmented C drive. I then created a image of an Audio CD which took up some 700mb of hard disk space. After I copied the image file onto a CD I deleted the image file and defragmented again. I did this by using a registry entry as you advised in a previous column so that defragmenting occurs before anything else is loaded at bootup. My hard drive is 9 gb and after 6 hours the defragment was only 40% completed! My question is, with me moving huge chunks of hard drive space moving around with CD copying, when should I defragment? I know some people who defragment every day and I am wondering whether that will wear out their hard drive quicker? (more…)