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Windows 95/98

Internet

Hardware

Software

How can I stop my CD from automatically starting when I put it in the CD tray?
How can I tell if my hard drive is getting full?
How do I check my systems hardware settings?
My hard drive starts up every so often
Should I specify ISA or PCI for my new hardware card?
There are horizontal black lines on the page when using my HP printer
What is an IRQ?
What is an USB port?

How do I stop a CD from automatically starting when I close the tray?

By default, windows automatically starts a music cd when it is placed in the cd tray. Also most programs on CD now have an autostart feature which starts the install routine for the user. To prevent CD's from auto-starting, simply hold down the "shift" key while closing the CD tray. Keep the "shift" key depressed while the CD player initialises and it will prevent the autostart feature from running.

How can I tell if my hard drive is getting full?

Double click on "My Computer" on the desktop, and then right click on C: drive and select "properties." Windows will report on the amount of space used and available both in byte count and graphically. The blue represents used space. It is important to note that windows requires a large amount of free space for its working environment. If you have very little free space and your system is running slow it is time to upgrade the hard drive or delete some files that you no longer need or use. How much free space should you have? A good rule of thumb is 10% of the hard drive size for drives 1 gigabyte or larger. (20% for smaller drives.) Another rule of thumb that some people use is 2-3 times the amount of RAM that you have installed on your system.

How do I check my system hardware settings?

Your hardware system settings can be found in the Contol Panel. You can access the control panel in one of three ways. You can select Start/Settings/Control Panel, or you can double click on "My Computer" and then double click on "Control Panel", or you can double click on Control Panel in Windows Explorer. Which ever method you use, select "System" by double clicking on the icon in the control panel. Then select the "Device Manager" tab. All of your systems hardware is listed together with detailed information on the resources and drivers that each is using. Note: If one of your devices has an exclamation mark on a yellow diamond, that indicates that the device is either not working or is not configured properly, or that the drivers have not been properly installed.

Why does my hard drive start working for no apparent reason?

Windows uses a swap file called win386.swp located in the windows directory to store temporary files and resources essential to its working environment. Periodically it has to update the swap file or exchange information from it.

I am thinking of getting a new hardware card, should I specify ISA or PCI?

If you have a pentium class computer you probably have both ISA and PCI slots on your motherboard, so in many respects it does not really matter as long as you have a free slot of either type. If you are thinking ahead though, you should consider specifying PCI because in all likelihood ISA slots will be slowly phased out of existence. By specifying PCI you can be reasonably assured that the card will fit into a replacement motherboard at some time in the future.

Why are there are horizontal black lines on the page when using my HP printer?

After a period of time, dust accumulates underneath the ink cartridge carriage. This dust becomes contaminated with surplus ink from the cartridge during normal use, and gradually a 'stalactite' forms. This 'stalactite' eventually grows long enough to act like a paint brush and as the carriage travels back and forth it 'draws' a line across the page. To correct the problem, carefully remove the ink cartridges from the carriage. You will notice three 'lands' (one on each side and one in the middle) at the rear of the carriage where the ink cartridges sit. NOTE: It is best viewed from beneath the carriage. Using a q-tip moistened lightly with isopropyl alcohol, very carefully clean the offending material from the underside of the carriage and then dry off the area. In the absence of isopropyl alcohol you can use clean water. Re-insert the cartridges and run a test page to ensure success.

What is an IRQ?

IRQ stands for "Interupt Request." Each of your systems hardware components has to communicate with the processor (CPU) in order to perform its functions. As each piece of hardware such as your hard drive needs to communicate with the CPU, it sends a message via the interupt to the CPU that it needs to perform a task. Because your system has several components that need to communicate with CPU in order to function it needs a unique way of letting the CPU know that it has a task to perform. For this reason IRQ's are uniquely assigned to each piece of hardware. Unfortunately there are a limited number of interupts available (currently 15) and with the numerous accessories available today it is a challenge to not only find a free IRQ but it also has to be one that is compatible with the component. New systems available today now have USB ports to help ease the demand for interupts.

What is an USB port?

USB stands for "Universal Serial Bus" and is a feature available on all newer motherboards. It is the modern answer to making resources available to run the numerous accessories and peripherals available for your computer. The USB allows system resources to be shared, unlike IRQ's which have to be uniquely assigned to specific components. Also a USB device can usually be plugged in and out of your system without the need to shut your system down. This is called hot-swapping, something that is very risky to do with non-USB devices.