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BYTEBACK
Assorted queries
Can you please answer these questions:
1. I have a CD that contains two games (GTA3 & GTA4). The original GTA3 and GTA4 require 4 CDs each to contain all the games files, and the installation requires at least 3GB of hard drive space. What kind of compressing technoloy is used? And is it possible to store it on a single CD?
2. Is there any way to edit the contents of the explorer.exe file using any wordprocessing file?
3. I get a humming sound from my Advance AC 97 Audio sound card. What could the problem be and how can I fix it?
Abdul Basith
Rawalpindi
Editor’s reply: Your questions are answered in the same order as asked:
1. It's not compression in the actual sense. What you have are games sans any videos. The reason why most games take up multiple CDs is because of heavy-sized video and or music files. It is this multimedia content that takes up the most space. In the pirated version, CD developers get rid of the videos and heavy music files and just fit the game files to a single or two CDs. That's why two or more games can fit onto a single CD very easily. Besides simple game files are compressed by using Windows default installers.
2. To learn “Reverse Engineering” you have to visit some of the hacker sites and learn to use tools on editing Window's source codes, etc.
3. It is possible that your sound card’s microphone is turned on, which is causing this weird humming sound. Check volume properties. If that's not the case, it is suggested you update the drivers.
Unassociated file type
I receive the following message when attempting to open a photo received via email: "This file does not have a program associated with it for performing this action. Create an association in the Folder Options control panel." What do I do?
Kamran Arshad
Lahore
Editor’s reply: It seems that you have encountered the classic file association problem that inevitably pops up for anyone that operates any flavour of Windows. The basic problem is that Windows no longer knows what program is to be used to open that file type. The file type is determined by the file extension, which are the three letters after the “.” in every filename.
Normally, Windows is notified as to which program to use during the installation of a program designed to work with those files.
For instance, when you install Microsoft Word, it notifies Windows that it will be the program of choice whenever a file with the .doc extension is used.
Once this is in the Registry (Windows internal playbook), Windows knows to launch Microsoft Word whenever you try to open files with the ‘.doc’ extension.
What has happened in your case is that the ‘file association’ for the photos that you are trying to view has been removed, so Windows has no idea what program to use to open .jpg files (the most common format for digital photos).
The fix is actually rather easy as long as you know what type of file you are working with. By default, Windows will hide the file extension of any known file types in an attempt to remove some of the confusion that may result.
This also allows malicious users to send file attachments that appear to be something that they are not, so I highly recommend turning off this default setting. To do so, open “My Computer,” click on the Tools menu, then on “Folder Options.”
Next, click on “View” and look for the entry “Hide extensions for known file types” and remove the checkmark from it and click “OK.”
The next step is to save the e-mail file attachment that you working with to your “Desktop.” In most email programs, you can right-click on the attachment and select “Save as.” Be sure to save the file on the “Desktop” by changing the “Save in” option at the top.
Locate the file on your “Desktop” (the area that you see when you first start your computer) and right-click it. Choose the ‘Open’ option, which will open a window that says “Windows cannot open this file”. Click on the “Select the program from a list” option, then on “OK.”
A list of programs will appear, including the “Windows Picture and Fax Viewer” which is the default program used by Windows to view photos.
Highlight it, then make sure to checkmark “Always use the selected program to open this kind of file” before clicking “OK.” This will launch the picture viewer and notify Windows to always use this program for these files. If you ever want to change the file association, simply right-click on the file again and choose the “Open with” option to reveal the program list again.
System going slow
1. My P4 Win2000 Pro system’s performance has slowed down considerably. How can I maximize the speed and performance of my PC?
Saleh Umar
Karachi
Editor’s reply: Regarding your first problem, it appears that your system is infected with malware or some virus. It is suggested that you download Ad-Aware SE
Information on graphics card
Can you tell me the websites for information on graphic cards cost and their models. Also tell me which graphic cards would be suitable for the latest games?
Hassan Inayat
hassan_inayat@hotamail.com
Editor’s reply: Visit
Any nVidia or Radeon card will be good. You can read more about the cards that fit your budget on CNET only. However, for top-of-the-line card, Geforce 6600 series or Radeon 9800 card are suggested.
