The January meeting is going to be the continuation of the September meeting where we put together the hardware of a computer. Quite a few people wanted to see how to load a new operating system on the computer that we built. We ran out of time that night so we will finish the process at the January meeting.

We will have a complete computer system that does not have any operating system installed. It will be just as we left the newly assembled computer at the end of the September meeting. With the help of people from the audience, as a group we will start by formatting the hard drive. We will use FAT32 from Windows 95 to format the drive. From there we will load the operating system from the CD-ROM drive.

After the operating system is loaded, we will add a soundcard, internal modem, and maybe some other devices to the system. If we have time we will load either Corel Office 7 or Microsoft Office 97 to the computer to make a fully functioning system.

Because of the time it takes to load the operating system, while we are waiting we will discuss the loading of DOS 6.22 and Windows 3.11 from floppy disks. There will be handouts explaining about how to load each operating system from start to finish. There will be only 150 copies of each handout, so we ask that you take only one copy per household.

Hope to see you there.

The Genealogy Special Interest Group (SIG) is starting back up the second Saturday in January (10-Jan-98) at the Elkhart Library at 10:00 a.m. - Noon. This will probably be more of an organizational meeting to decide what direction to go. Bring your ideas & anything that might help others in their genealogy search. Also, we still need a Genealogy SIG Director.

The next Genealogy SIG meeting will be second Saturday in February (14-Feb-98).

Special Interest Group Director.
Mark L Meidel
mailto:markm@qtm.net

No answer to your question at the meeting? Help Line didn’t help this time? Q&A time run out before you got your question asked? Put your question here and it goes out to all members. Maybe the person with your answer could not make it to the meeting.

Do you know the answer to a question asked here?

Write your questions or answers and bring them to the meeting, or mail, e-mail, or call them to the editor. Please include your name and phone number even though we will not print it, just in case we need to clarify something. Be brief and clear with both questions and answers.

New Questions

Q. I have just installed a new game and played it. Then I loaded another game and discovered I no longer have any sound! What do I do?

A. Have you re-booted your system yet? Before panicking, your problem could be as simple as the need to re-boot your system. Some games are absolute control freaks and won’t let go of things even after they are closed. You could save yourself a tech call, if this happens to be the case. (Try a complete cold boot, if a reset doesn’t work. — Turn the computer completely off rather than just telling Windows 95 to restart the computer, or closing Windows 3.1 and hitting the reset button.)

Q. In Windows 95, every so often, the system seems to be accessing the floppy drive, for no apparent reason. Any ideas?

A. If you have recently opened a document from the floppy, it is most likely in the “Recent Documents” listing under the Start button. Depending on what you are doing, Windows 95 is trying to access this file again, just to update its list. To eliminate this if it is annoying, RIGHT CLICK an open spot of the TASKBAR, CLICK the START MENU PROGRAMS tab, the CLEAR the DOCUMENTS MENU.

All your recent document references are now gone!

As usual, the December Games Night was well-attended, with seventy to eighty people of all ages playing a variety of games on 13 systems. A new game, Flight Simulator 98, proved to be quite popular with many of the adult males who were in attendance. It seemed to me that some of the “pilots” playing the game needed some more practice before I want to go flying with them. Crashing seemed to be as much, or more, fun than just flying the plane!

Another brand new game, Blade Runner, was quite interesting, and very similar to the move of the same name. It featured a lot of audio, with clues embedded in the conversation. This one was also very popular with many of the real gamers present..

Some people brought computers that we networked together so people could play against another player. In one corner, two boys playing Quake chased each other up and down the hallways on the screens, surrounded by quite a large crowd of onlookers. In another corner, a X-Wing Fighter was taking on a Tie Fighter in a fantasy space combat simulation again with one person against another, not the only against the computer.

We also had several systems running ever-popular shareware games. There were games like Solitile, Zentris, Scrabble, and Dominoes with versions running in either DOS or Windows. You could also play Yahtzee, Cribbage, and other card games. Jewel Master, a colorful version of Tetris, proved to be popular. There was a new an improved version of good old-fashioned Solitaire.

Those of you who missed out on Games Night missed some great games, and some terrific door prizes that were mostly games. There was also and auction of a multimedia sub-woofer system donated by Bolt Computer. Mapletronics donated three great games, Top Gun, F22 Lightning, and Flight Simulator that were also auctioned off to those who attended.

A large thank-you to all those who donated prizes, the use of their computers, and to everyone who participated in making Games Night a success again this year.

In last month articles how do I know if my hard drive is failing. In this article I will be discussing the what I feel are the proper procedures to do hard drive maintenance. I say what I feel is correct because there are about as many opinions on this as there are computer geeks like me in the world.

In my job of selling and servicing computers, I receive many phone calls from people who are having problems with their computer’s hard drive. Often the problem is that the computer’s hard drive has never had any hard drive maintenance performed to prevent problems. Since so many people do not know how to perform this maintenance, I want to go over the basic procedure on how to complete this maintenance process successfully using the Windows 95 operating system. The procedure is similar, but not exactly the same, in DOS/Windows.

We begin with the computer turned on and with Windows Desktop showing. Check that there are no other programs running in the background. Look at the task bar to make sure that no other programs are running. It is preferable to shut off the screen saver before continuing. The screen saver will stop the hard drive maintenance process unless you sit and keep moving your mouse the entire time. The easiest way to shut off the screen saver is to move your mouse cursor into an unoccupied section of the desktop screen. Press or click the right mouse button. You will see a menu appear on the screen. Move the cursor to the Properties selection; then press the left mouse button once. You will now see the properties window for your video display. With the cursor over the Screen Saver tab, click on the left mouse button. You will then see the setting for your screen saver. I strongly suggest that you change it to the None selection. You can move your cursor into the box and type “none” or use the small down arrow beside the window and then select None. This disables the screen saver. When this is completed, you hit the OK button at the bottom of the window with a single left mouse click.

To begin the actual maintenance process, move your mouse cursor over the Start button and then press the left mouse button once. This will bring up the Windows 95 function menu. Move the mouse cursor over the Programs function and then let the cursor sit for a moment. A new menu will appear shortly; the faster the computer, the faster this menu will appear. Move the cursor into the new menu and select Accessories with one click of the left mouse button. A third menu will then appear. Move your cursor over the System Tools selection; either hit the left mouse button once or pause for a moment. You now see the fourth and final menu. You select Scandisk and click the left mouse button once.

The Scandisk program will now appear. You are asked to select the proper drive. Usually this is the C-Drive or the first of your hard drives. You then need to decide whether you will do a standard or a thorough check of your present hard drive. I usually run the Standard to save time. I also check that Automatically Fix Errors has a check mark in the box, so Scandisk will fix the problems without any help. You now press the Start button on the bottom left corner of the Scandisk window with a single click of the left mouse button. Scandisk will now check your hard drive and fix any problems. When it has completed, close the window with a left mouse click on Close. Then close the Scandisk window.

You now have a properly functioning hard drive, but there is more to this than just checking to see that the data is readable. Often there are many leftover files in the computer. You need to clean them out of the hard drive. The BAK files are copies of data created by the some software to save the old data. Files with a TMP extension are files that Windows 95 and other programs create as storage places for information. They are supposed to be deleted when the program closes, but sometimes they are not. The easiest way to find and remove these files is to use Windows 95’s Find function. You need to again move the cursor over the Start button and press the left mouse button again once. You will see a selection of Find, so move your cursor over it and click the left mouse button again. A new menu will appear and you select Files or Folders in this menu. Click again with your left mouse button. Yet another window opens and you are asked for the name of the files to be looked up on your hard drive. Enter “*.bak” in the small window beside Named. Check to see that the box beside Look In has C-Drive showing; if not, change it to C-Drive. Now look to see that the Include Subfolders box has a check in it. Now press the Find Now button in the upper right corner of the window.

You will be shown a list of every BAK file on your hard drive. You can delete each one by clicking a file name once with the left mouse button, causing the file name to be highlighted. You can then hit the Delete key on the keyboard to move the file to the Recycle Bin. When you have removed every file you want to remove, close the window by pressing the X button in the upper right-hand corner of the window. You need to repeat this process to remove the “*.tmp” files from the computer. Close the window by left clicking the mouse one time over the X in the upper right hand corner of the window.

You now have many files in the Recycle Bin of your computer, so you need to clean it out. Move your cursor over the Recycle Bin icon, then press the right mouse button once. You will then see a new menu, so select the Empty Recycle Bin selection and click the mouse left button once. You have now cleaned the hard drive of unneeded files.

The next step is to restart your computer. Move your cursor back to the Start button and click the left mouse button again. In the now familiar menu, select Shut Down and click the left mouse button again once. You will be asked if you want to Shut Down the computer or Shut Down and Restart the computer. Select the Shut Down and Restart option and click the left mouse button once again. The computer will now shut down and restart the system.

The next to last step is to reorganize the hard drive. This step is one of the most important. Each time you store data on the hard drive, it is put in the first available space. Files can be broken into many pieces on the hard drive. Often the data is strewn all over the hard drive like debris thrown out of a tornado. This is the same as taking a phonebook and cutting off the binding, then shuffling the pages like a deck of cards. It would then be hard for you to look up a phone number from this pile of paper. This is how your hard drive works if you do not reorganize it. Move your mouse cursor again over the Start button and then press the left mouse button once. This will bring up the Windows 95 function menu that you are probably getting tired of seeing. Move the mouse cursor over the Programs function and then click with the left button once. Move the cursor into the new menu and select Accessories with one click of the left mouse button. You see the third menu that you have seen before. Move your cursor over the System Tools selection. Click the left mouse button once to open the next menu. You now see the fourth menu again, but this time you select Disk Defragmenter with a left mouse click.

Disk Defragmenter program will now start running. The program usually starts with the C-Drive selected. Hit the OK button in the lower left corner of the window. A new window now appears on the screen. I need to give you a warning at this point. Windows 95 has a fault, and this window almost always says that you do not need to run Disk Defragmenter. I had one computer that was 75% fragmented, yet Windows 95 said it did not need to run Disk Defragmenter. Hit the Start button and let the program run. It can take up to two hours for this program to complete if you have not done this in a long time. When Disk Defragmenter is done, you have done all you can to prevent a problem with your hard drive.

The final step is to put the screen saver back on to protect your monitor. Move the cursor back to an unoccupied section of the desktop, then click the right mouse button once. You will see a menu appear on the screen. Move the cursor to the Properties selection, then press the left mouse button once. You will now see the

Properties window for your video display. With the cursor over the Screen Saver tab, click on the left mouse button. You will then see the setting for your screen saver. Click on the down arrow beside the small window to select the screen saver you want to use. When you have made your selection, hit the OK button at the bottom of the window with a single left mouse click.

You have now completed all the steps of hard drive maintenance. By doing this procedure at least once per month, you have a better chance of not having a hard drive crash that would cause the loss of precious data. Retyping or reentering data is time consuming and costly. Some of the data may not be reconstructed at any price and is lost forever. Taking the time to do this maintenance faithfully can be some of the most cost-effective time you will ever spend. Doing hard drive maintenance ensures fewer hard drive failures in the future. Next month is the end of this series and the discussion will be on backing up your data. This will include discussions of tape drives, zip drives, power drives and CD-RW drives talking about the strengths and weaknesses of each type of data storage.

A year and a half ago (July 96, to be exact) I wrote a column about airline sites. Little did I know at the time that this would be the most popular column I ever assembled.

Hardly a month goes by when I do not get a note asking where to find a particular airline’s Web site (most often Philippine Airlines). Paul Heinlein, our under-appreciated webmaster, often gets hits from people who are upset that the links aren’t all current any more. The fact that we don’t maintain the links in any of the archived articles is not important; what is important, however, is that the @%!%$ link to the airline they wanted isn’t right, and would either Paul or Frank go fix the link — right now!

Recognizing that this situation was not going to get any better, and lacking any better ideas for a column this month, I thought that I would finally fulfill Paul’s request that I fix the darned airline column and submit my most recent column in a single act. I’ve changed the mix of airlines slightly, and added some search engine information you might find useful. I’ve also dropped most of the links not owned or maintained by the airline.

There’s even a page dedicated to a collection of airline airsickness bags http://rampages.onramp.net/~stevebo/airsick.html.

Several listings of airline 800 numbers can be found on the Web. Go to any search engine and enter “airline 800 numbers” or “airline toll free” and several listings will appear. Similarly, enter “airline directory” and you will get a list of a dozen or so airline directories that are reasonably up-to-date. Just enter the word “airlines” and you will likely get a list of a hundred or more Web pages to browse.

I’ll finish this column next month with lots more airlines plus a few added treats.

I can’t believe the prices of scanners! Computer Dealer, a trade journal, reported in October that flatbed and sheet-fed color units had fallen more than 30 percent since January. Sale prices of $99 aren’t uncommon. Summer mail order catalogs offered the Hewlett-Packard (HP) ScanJet 5Pse at $399; by early November it was down to $299 in some computer stores.

This new affordability makes a scanner an attractive option for any computer owner. You won’t believe how helpful a scanner can be until you’ve used one for several months.

Do you often have to retype copy (mailing lists, reports to be updated, articles for newsletters) to get it into your computer? Or maybe you don’t bother—but you sure would like to have the material available by stroking a few keys. With a scanner and the optical character recognition (OCR) software supplied with most models, it’s a snap! Just scan the printed material into a file, which your word processor can read and you can edit or format as you like.

But it’s in the handling of graphics and photos where a scanner really shines.

Do you have photos or printed art you would like to incorporate into letters, greeting or business cards, or a Web page? (Just remember to respect copyright laws.) Wouldn’t you like to produce flyers that show pictures of products you make or sell? Wouldn’t it be nice to be able move patterns for craft projects into your computer so you could easily resize or alter them, then print them on your color printer? These are just a few of the many capabilities of even the most budget-friendly scanners.

Maybe you would like to sketch your own designs in pencil, then complete them with a graphics program in your computer. Professional artists and illustrators do it all the time.

If the above comments have tweaked your interest enough that you go to a computer store to look at scanners, here are some tips that will help scanner novices.

I can’t believe the prices of scanners! Computer Dealer, a trade journal, reported in October that flatbed and sheet-fed color units had fallen more than 30 percent since January. Sale prices of $99 aren’t uncommon. Summer mail order catalogs offered the Hewlett-Packard (HP) ScanJet 5Pse at $399; by early November it was down to $299 in some computer stores.

This new affordability makes a scanner an attractive option for any computer owner. You won’t believe how helpful a scanner can be until you’ve used one for several months.

Do you often have to retype copy (mailing lists, reports to be updated, articles for newsletters) to get it into your computer? Or maybe you don’t bother—but you sure would like to have the material available by stroking a few keys. With a scanner and the optical character recognition (OCR) software supplied with most models, it’s a snap! Just scan the printed material into a file, which your word processor can read and you can edit or format as you like.

But it’s in the handling of graphics and photos where a scanner really shines.

Do you have photos or printed art you would like to incorporate into letters, greeting or business cards, or a Web page? (Just remember to respect copyright laws.) Wouldn’t you like to produce flyers that show pictures of products you make or sell? Wouldn’t it be nice to be able move patterns for craft projects into your computer so you could easily resize or alter them, then print them on your color printer? These are just a few of the many capabilities of even the most budget-friendly scanners.

Maybe you would like to sketch your own designs in pencil, then complete them with a graphics program in your computer. Professional artists and illustrators do it all the time.

If the above comments have tweaked your interest enough that you go to a computer store to look at scanners, here are some tips that will help scanner novices.

Most scanners offered now are single-pass models. As the name implies, they complete a scan in one pass. Some older three-pass models might still be available at really low prices but a single-pass unit is worth the extra money because it is faster and more accurate.

A 30-bit scanner generally is generally more desirable, and expensive, than a 24-bit but a good 24-bit model, like the Hewlett-Packard 5Pse, may be preferable to a cheaper 30-bit unit. You may also see some 36-bit models, but save your money; they’re overkill for our purposes.

Scanning speed is of less importance to buyers who will be using the scanner only a few times per day normally, than it is for graphics professionals working against deadlines. I wouldn’t worry too much about scan speeds; manufacturers’ specs don’t mean much in the real world anyway.

Maximum image size for flatbed scanners usually ranges from letter-size (8.5x11 inches) to legal-size (8.5x14 inches). Having the larger scanning bed is nice, but it may be a luxury many of you will never need.

This article is meant to be only the most basic of primers. If you dig deeply into the subject of scanners, it can seem hopelessly complex. Take it one step at a time, learn as you go, and I’m sure your reaction in a short time will be like that of almost everyone I talked to in preparing this article: “I don’t know how I managed before I got my scanner; now I couldn’t imagine how I could get along without it!”

Copyright 1997 by Ken Fermoyle, Fermoyle Publications.

Ken Fermoyle (kfermoyle@earthlink.net) has written some 2,500 articles for publications ranging from Playboy and Popular Science to MacWeek, Microtimes & PC Laptop. He was co-host/producer of a radio show on computers and a partner in a DTP service bureau during the ’80s. Fermoyle Publications offers editorial, consulting & graphics

What people need to remember with the Elkhart PC Users Group is that these are volunteer positions, and mistakes do happen. EPCUG’s officers have always appreciated and needed help. When only one person is doing the job, and you are talking/complaining to that person, they must not be getting any help from you.

For example, as newsletter editor, I am responsible for the layout and content of the newsletter, making a hard copy and getting it to the printer. I appreciate all the praise and criticism I receive. It helps me to make it better when I know what you like and what you don’t like. I have made mistakes like running the wrong ad, missing an ad, misspellings, or many other things. Some time’s mistakes happen! It’s what you do afterwards that makes the person, and how you react when someone else makes a mistake! Some of our positions are really hard to do on their own. For an example, consider my job. I have people who write articles for me, give me a list of names for prizes, and someone to proofread ALL articles especially the ones I write myself.

If you see something that is in need of help then maybe you could volunteer? I know I couldn’t just sit back and watch mistakes happen without trying to help someone out and I hope you don’t either.

The GENTECH 98 conference will be in Fort Wayne this January. This is their first conference outside the Dallas-Fort Worth area. GENTECH, Inc. is an independent, non-profit organization chartered in the state of Texas to educate genealogists in the use of technology for gathering, storing, sharing and evaluating their research.

GENTECH98 is being held at the Grand Wayne Center, a convention facility connected to the conference hotel, The Fort Wayne Hilton. It is also less than two blocks from the Allen County Public Library, home of PERSI and its nationally renowned genealogy collection. The GENTECH web site is http://www.gentech.org/~gentech/gt98chp.htm.