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Byteback
RAM
QUESTION: I have a P4 3.0G processor with 512mb RAM. My work on the system primarily Involves Adobe PhotoShop or Adobe Premiere. I’ve been working on these programs for a while now. Recently when I opened PhotoShop the system told me that I didn’t have enough RAM left. What is the possible problem and how can I solve it?
Babar Ali Khan
reach_babar@hotmail.com
EDITOR’S REPLY: Your problem might not be related to the physical RAM present in your computer but the ‘Virtual’ RAM that Adobe Photoshop uses. When your system does not have enough RAM to perform an operation, PhotoShop and ImageReady use a proprietary virtual memory technology, also called scratch disks. By default, PhotoShop and ImageReady use the hard drive that the operating system is installed on as its primary scratch disk. In all probability, this is the drive that is filling up and thus causing you
MEMORY problems.
You can change the primary scratch disk and designate a second, third or fourth scratch disk in PhotoShop to be used when the primary disk is full. Your primary scratch disk should be your fastest hard disk, and should have plenty of defragmented space available.
To change the scratch disk assignment:
— Choose Edit > Preferences > Plug-Ins & Scratch Disks.
— In PhotoShop, choose the desired disks from the menus. PhotoShop lets you create up to 200 GB of scratch disk space using those scratch disks. Click OK
— Restart PhotoShop for the change to take effect.
Remember that the scratch disk file that is created must be in contiguous hard disk space. For this reason you should frequently optimize your hard disk.
Adobe recommends that you use a disk tool utility, such as Windows Disk Defragmenter or Norton Speed Disk to defragment your hard drive on a regular basis.
Partition
I have a P4 with 80Gb hard disk. All the partitions on my hard disk are NTFS-based so I need to install AutoCad 2000i, which requires Win95, Win98 or WinNt. But Win98 requires FAT32 based partition. How can I change my NTFS partition to FAT32 without losing my important data stored on my hard disk?
Farooq Mohiuddin
farooq_mohi@hotmail.com
NTFS drives are non-convertible to Fat32 format. The only way to convert a NTFS drive is to format it totally. However, in your case I recommend that you get the software Partition Magic 8.0. You can use that to free up space on your hard disk and then create a Primary Partition of Fat32 Format. Then use that to Install Win98 and AutoCad.
The best part is that PM8.0 will do all this without you losing any data. However, we would recommend that you do make a backup of all your important files, because any interruption during the process at all (electricity shutdown, accidental reboot, etc) will render your Partition useless.
Firewall
Can you suggest an effective firewall which is a freeware?
Syed Humza Shah
humzashah@hotmail.com
My personal favourite is ‘ZoneAlarm’. It is shareware, but unless you buy the full version, you don’t have to pay anything for usage. You can download it from www.download.com.
Emulators
I have a D865 GBF Main Board with 2.26 Pentium processor and DVD ROM (built-in AGPcard). Can I play PS-2 games on my system. If yes, then what is the procedure? If no, then what are the requirements?
Shoaib Farhan
shoaibfarhan@hotmail.com
You can try and download the emulators for PS-2 games from:
PCSX2: http://www. emulator-zone. com/doc.php/ ps2/ pcsx2.html
PS2emu: http://www.emulator-zone.com/doc.php/ ps2/ps2emu.html
NeutrinoSX2: http://www.emulator-zone.com/doc.php/ps2/neutrinosx2.html.
However, remember that not all PS-2 files will work with these emulators and/or will be compatible with your system. So you will need to keep experimenting between these emulators and settings.
Bad sectors
Whenever I start my PC it says that my hard drive has bad sectors and that I should run a scandisk. Once the disk is scanned, it tells me to press any key to load Windows. I have even reinstalled Windows and yet I get the same message. What should I do?
Khalid Saifullah
saifullah_86@hotmail.com
When a hard disk develops bad sectors, it’s best to get it replaced. Bad sectors mean that sooner or later your drive will crash and all the data will be wiped out. There is really no way to get rid of these sectors.
However, you may try doing a Low Level Format, but that is only a temporary solution and may still cause you problems. You can also try Windows Own Scan Disk Utility:
1. Double-click on My Computer to open the My Computer window.
2. Select the disk that you want to diagnose and repair.
3. Choose Properties from the File menu. You should see the Properties window for the drive that you selected.
4. Choose the Tools tab.
5. Click the Check Now button under Error Checking Status.
6. Depending on your version of Windows, choose either “Thorough” or “Scan for and Attempt Recovery of Bad Sectors.”
7. Click Start.
On Windows XP, start with a “chkdsk /R”. (/R: “Locates bad sectors and recovers readable information”). Fire up a command prompt to run that command.
If you still get bad sectors, the drive should be viewed as being on the verge of failing and you should contact your vendor.
Anti-virus
I want to find out whether an anti-virus software can be installed only when the operating system is installed or can it be installed later as well? Which is the best anti-virus software and from where can I get it?
Ibrahim Hassan,
titfortat_10@yahoo.co.in
An anti-virus software can be installed at any time, whether at installation or afterwards. My favourite software are ‘McAfee 8.0’ or AVG. You can get them from www.download.com.
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