InBox

By DON McALLISTER

Welcome to InBox, where we attempt to answer your internet questions.


Q. "I've been trying to update office XP with SP3 but it fails at just over 2MB! Each time I try, I get a "server reset" message. What am I doing wrong?" Colin asks.

A. There seems to be a problem with the Microsoft server, Colin. Search Microsoft downloads for: "Office XP Service Pack 3", this will take you to the manual download page. Download the 16.4MB file. (To confuse you further, when I tried this it still failed at 2.26MB. I simply restarted the download and it continued to the end). Place your original Office XP setup CD in the drive then double click the SP3 file to start the installation.

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Q. "I feel tempted to buy a program over the internet but feel apprehensive about giving credit card details. How safe is this?" Norma writes.

A. There are several rules of thumb to consider, Norma. Is the retailer/seller reputable and respected? Are their phone numbers, physical address and other contact details clearly posted on their website? Is the order form where the credit card information is to be entered secure? (All secure forms have a yellow padlock in the bottom bar of internet explorer. If the padlock is not there, don't enter any information!) If the item is to be freighted have they stated the freight cost? Is the total delivered price competitive with local retailers? If all rules are met it's reasonably safe to enter those details.

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Q. "Adobe PDF Monitor cannot be found, please reinstall Create Adobe PDF" is the message that annoys Peter each time he starts Microsoft Word.

A. Go through the Adobe support solutions, Peter. They have several solutions for this error listed.

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Q. Careful what you remove with CWShredder (Cool Web Hijack Remover). Aaron warns us that CWShredder asked if it should remove a file "smcfg.exe"; he checked out what it was: his modem driver!

A. Yes, Aaron, good point. Removing these tricky invaders can sometimes result in prompts that require investigation before reaction. If CWShredder is confused, the user must check. Usually a search for the file name on Google will tell all.


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