Software

I guess I don't get out very much because a handful of Infopackets Readers informed me today that there are indeed DVD Records which also burn CD-R and CD-R/W discs. Chris J. wrote in and told me about his Sony DVD-Burner, model DRU500A. This drive ... was a popular pick among many other Gazette Readers: " I have a Sony DRU500A DVD – CD Burner. It writes in DVD+RW (2.4x), DVD-RW (2.0x) & CD-RW (10x) and reads in DVD+R (2.4x), DVD-R (4x), CD-R (24x) and CD-Rom (32x) formats. It retails for $350, but I’ve seen it as low as $315 on the Internet. So far it’s working great. " Rob R. also ...href="/news/9182/dvd-cdr-cdrw-all-one-combo-burner-part-2" class="more-link">view more)

Lavandran R. asks: " Dear Dennis, I've heard about combo drives which include DVD and CD-R/RW all-in-one. Does this mean I burn DVDs and CD-R/RW with the same unit? I'm confused! " My Response: There are DVD burners which can burn DVDs, but they are ... very expensive since it's new technology. I'm not aware of any DVD burner / CD-R/RW combo units on the market at this time. Unless it is specifically stated that the drive is a DVD-Burner, it probably is not. Most likely the drive you're looking at is a combo DVD reader and CD-R/RW burner. I've had a combo drive like this in the past and ... (view more)

Infopackets Reader David R. writes: " Dear Dennis, I just finished reading your latest newsletter entitled, ' Required DLL not found error message .' On a related note, searching Google is usually one of my first steps in dealing with any unknown ... computer problem. Invariably, I'll find that someone else has had the same or a similar problem before me, and I avoid 're-inventing the wheel' by trying those solutions first. Two days ago I found a DLL file resource that was the best I'd ever seen! I use Win98SE and it listed EVERY DLL file, briefly told what it does, gives the version number ... (view more)

Recall yesterday's Visitor Feedback question which dealt with a disappearing Shutdown menu: " I'm running Windows 2000 Pro. When I try to shut down the machine by clicking on Start -> Shutdown, I no longer have the option to Shutdown, Restart, or ... Hibernate! In fact, the machine automatically does a restart, offering *no* choices when Start -> Shutdown is clicked... " There were many good suggestions sent in from the Infopackets Readers. Since I've never experienced this problem before, I can only guess at the most probable answers, starting with Pattie W.'s suggestion: " ... (view more)

Infopackets Reader Larry O. writes: " Dear Dennis, I'm running Windows 2000 Pro. When I try to shut down the machine by clicking on Start -> Shutdown, I no longer have the option to Shutdown, Restart, or Hibernate! In fact, the machine ... automatically does a restart, offering *no* choices when Start -> Shutdown is clicked. The only way I can actually shut this computer down is to either pull the plug from the outlet or to hit the sleep button on the keyboard. Any ideas? " My Response: I have no idea on this one -- aside from maybe a Registry Tweak (where to start?) or, worse yet ... (view more)

Recall: Yesterday, Don W. sent in a question which asked why he kept getting a Window every time Windows booted up saying that the file "DDRAW.DLL" could not be found . My suggestion to Don was to search for the .DLL on his system and try to locate ... the program folder to determine where the .DLL came from, uninstall the program, and then reinstall it in hopes of clearing up the error message he was receiving. Unfortunately, I forgot that some Windows operating systems will not display a .DLL file by default. Furthermore -- as Darren B. points out, the DDRAW.DLL file is actually a ... (view more)

Infopackets Reader Don W. writes: " I have Windows 98 second edition. Just recently when windows is loading it gives an error popup; A required DLL file -- DDRAW.DLL -- was not found. Windows seems to operate as usual, but I really don't know what ... this file does and how to resolve this problem. Do you have a suggestion? " My Response: Click Start -> Find -> Files / Folders and type in the DLL file name. The result should come up with a folder that the DLL has been installed to -- this should give you an indication what the program is for. After that, you can attempt to ... (view more)

Infopackets Reader Lim Chee A. writes: " Greetings from Malaysia! I have been subscribed to your Infopackets Newsletter since May 2002, and I really enjoy your work! I have a question though: What's the difference between GUI and skins? " My ... Response: GUI is a short-term word which means "Graphic User Interface". A skin is an extension of the GUI which changes the GUI appearance. If you're interested in changing the way that Windows looks, you might be interested in checking out these web sites: http://www.shellcity.net/ http://www.stardock.net/ http://www.wincustomize.com ... (view more)

Infopackets Reader Michael H., writes: " Dear Dennis, Firstly, let me thank you for your great newsletters. They are a wealth of information! I have Windows XP installed on system which consists of an Asus P4B (Pentium 4 capable motherboard). My ... problem is that whenever Windows XP begins to load, I hear a voice that says, 'System completed power-on self test; computer now booting from Operating System.' Can you please tell me how to remove this annoying feature?! I have to shut off my speakers every time I boot my computer to avoid hearing this annoying voice? " My Response: I can't ... (view more)

As some of you may know, I recently installed Windows XP on my system. So far, not so good. My computer system has one of those cutting-edge video cards (NVidia GeForce 400 MX w/ 64 meg) that allows me to output the video to my monitor and my big ... screen TV. I use my DVD drive (inside the computer) to play videos on my TV. Yeah, it's a pretty sweet setup. I have the latest NVidia drivers (30.82) for my video card (for Windows 2000 / XP). When the driver is installed, I get a message that "this video driver has not been certified by Microsoft ... blah blah" warning. Basically, this ... (view more)