Ask Rosie

By Sandra Rosenzweig
     
      Toolbars, USB, backups-I have more answers
      than you have questions.
     
      Hey, you out there. Thanks for all the hard questions. A few were easy (although clearly not for the askers), some made my brain hurt, and some woke me up to the daily compromises we make with our computers. I think perhaps killing
      the compromises was the most fun, like scratching an itch you didn't know you could reach. For example:
     
      In Microsoft Word 2003, Tools, Options, I elected to always have the Task Pane show. But every few months Word forgets, and I have to type Control-F1 on every page to get the pane to show up again. Do you know a permanent fix?
      This is one of those small things that drives a person (this person) crazy. So, thanks for asking, and thanks to MVPs Beth Melton (word.mvps.org/faqs/Customization/ ShowTaskPane.htm) and Bill Coan (word.mvps.org/ AboutMVPs/bill_coan.htm) for providing the answer. It seems that the Task Pane takes umbrage when you install add-ins or plug-ins to Word. Add-ins range all the way from Adobe Acrobat's toolbar to WinZip, StuffIt, and even some sets of templates. It punishes you by making you beg for your Task Pane. If you want the pane to appear whenever you open a file or do another Task Panetype task and then disappear when you start working on the file (which is the way Microsoft originally designed it to work), or if you want the pane to open and stay open on each and every page, try the free Task Pane Controller for Word (pubs.logicalexpressions.com/pub0009/LPMArticle. asp?ID=325). The same page also has a controller for Excel.
     
      Every time I try to synchronize my Pocket PC (PPC) Outlook with my desktop Microsoft Outlook, either nothing happens or my computer crashes. This device is useless unless the two Outlooks talk to each other.
      Sounds like the USB blues to me. (Much of the advice I give here also applies to most other USB devices, from printers to hard drives to cameras and so on.) Did you plug the PDA's cable into a hub, or into one of the computer's own USB ports? Some USB gadgets won't work from a hub. They need the juice fresh from the source. If so, move it. Or perhaps you plugged the PDA into the hub or computer before you installed the device's software. (This is one of the most common reasons USB peripherals misbehave. Even though Windows XP probably contains the drivers for your PDA, it still may need other enabling programs. Or better drivers.) You can't undo the damage unless you unplug the USB cable from the computer or hub and then uninstall its software from your computer-in this case, Microsoft's ActiveSync program. Then, from the PDA's installation disk, reinstall ActiveSync. Then (and only then) plug the PDA end of the USB cable into the cradle (or directly into the PDA's port) and, finally, plug the other end into one of the computer's USB ports. If your computer continues to crash, the most likely source of the problem is your antivirus or antispam or firewall program. Go into that program and set up a special profile for ActiveSync synchronizing (see the program's manual). If none of these suggestions work, throw out your computer and your PDA and buy a good supply of pencils and paper.
     
      I've been using SpamBayes [a self-learning, spam-catching Microsoft Outlook plug-in]. It worked wonderfully until a few days ago. Then I noticed that I wasn't getting any Spam Maybes anymore. That meant that SpamBayes had stopped learning. I uninstalled and reinstalled SpamBayes. No improvement. I went to their website (http://spambayes. sourceforge.net/) to look for updates. I uninstalled the program again and then went into the registry-a journey that always makes me nervous-and removed every SpamBayes key and value, and then reinstalled the program. Still had Alzheimer's. What have I missed?
      From the Start Menu, open Windows Explorer. Find My Computer and then, beneath that, Documents and Settings. Go to the SpamBayes profile in Documents and Settings and delete the profile file it uses. Click on the SpamBayes button on the Outlook toolbar, select SpamBayes Manager, then the Advanced tab, then Show Data Folder at the bottom of the dialog box. Up will pop the C:\Documents and Settings\[your logon name here]\Application Data\SpamBayes folder containing, probably, two .db files and one .ini file. (Mine is called Outlook.ini.) Delete that .ini file. This should restore the program's memory. If there are two .ini files, delete the one that isn't called default_bayes_customize.ini. Don't delete the two .db files unless you want to lose all of your training info. Come to think of it, it wouldn't hurt to back up those two .db files once in a while.
     
      By the way, be careful about the SpamBayes URL (see above)-there are impostors.
      Editor's note: Speaking of backing up, Microsoft has released a new version of SyncToy (version 1.2). I still rely on SyncToy, even though I have a drawerful of much more powerful backup programs. But then, I follow my own advice and use a different external backup hard drive for each day of the workweek, so I don't have to worry about swapping CDs or DVDs. Also, SyncToy saves files in what we tech writers call native format. Human beings might call that format original. Use the Windows Task Scheduler (in the Start Menu) to schedule automatic syncs.
     
      How do I get rid of the Start Menu and the Start button in the Windows Taskbar? I don't need them because I put all of my icons on the desktop.
      The Start Menu gives you more than just a menu of installed programs. It also gives you access to Windows' built-in search program as well as the Control Panel and the Run command. I don't recommend doing anything to endanger it. Because the Start button resides on the Taskbar, you're stuck with it too. On the other hand, you might enjoy changing the way they look by skinning them. Skins are customized combinations of backgrounds, icons, typefaces and, often, shortcuts-altogether changing the way your desktop looks and acts. If this appeals to you, check out Stardock's WindowBlinds (www.stardock.com/products/ windowblinds, $19.95).
     
      I recently installed Uniblue's SpeedUpMyPC at your suggestion. Almost immediately, my computer had bouts of slowing down horribly. I uninstalled the program and the problem instantly vanished, but the uninstallation screwed up my network settings.
      I apologize heartfully, heartfeltly, and heartsickly. After experimenting with SpeedUpMyPC here again, I take back my entire recommendation.
     
      I use Trend Micro PC-cillin Internet Security. But I can't figure out how to scan a single file. Everything I do scans the entire hard drive.
      Right-click on the file, then either select Scan for Viruses from the drop-down menu, or select Properties from the drop-down menu and click the Virus Property tab. Alternatively, just drag the file onto PC-cillin's main window.
     
      I use the Auto-hide option for my Windows XP Taskbar. That way, as soon as I move my cursor off the Taskbar, the bar disappears into the monitor bezel until I swoop my cursor up there to retrieve it. But every once in a while, the bar doesn't autohide, and it blocks part of the text I'm working on. Is it because I dragged my Taskbar from the bottom to the left side of my screen?
      I had the same problem, although my Taskbar sits at the top of my screen, so, no, that's not the autohide problem. Not that I know what is. The temporary solution is to right-click on the Taskbar and then check or uncheck Lock the Taskbar. It doesn't matter which-just change its state. Or right-click on the Start button, select Properties, and uncheck Auto-hide. This moves the rest of the window out of the Taskbar's way. If you don't want to have to do this several times a day, every day, try the free Taskbar Repair Tool Plus on Kelly's Korner (www.kellys-korner-xp.com/ taskbarplus!.htm).
     
      I've just installed StuffIt to open files that are zipped into formats such as .rar. It installed a StuffIt program and icon into my system tray. How can I delete it?
      The ZipFolders StuffIt applet (for that is what lives in your system tray) is removable through the Add or Remove Programs (in Start Menu, Control Panel). Find Allume System's StuffIt in the list, click on the Change/Remove button, then select Modify. Uncheck ZipFolders in the resulting list, click on Next, then Finish. The applet will be gone the next time you reboot your system.
     
      I learned a lot from these queries. Keep those cards and letters coming, folks.
     
      Another Editor's note: Last month I promised to report on whether 3M's Ergonomic Optical Mouse reduced the pain in my right wrist and how long it took me to get used to mousing around with this joysticklike mouse. The 3M folks told me it usually takes a few to several days to adjust to it. I found it easy to adjust to, and the pain in my fingers and wrists was gone within a week. However, I think I'm going to revert to a standard mouse anyway. Or maybe alternate between them. For one thing, it takes a lot of concentration for me to hit a small, precise point with the 3M cursor. For another, the 3M mouse seems to use a larger skating surface than, say, Microsoft's optical mouse. That leads to problem number three: I frequently mouse way off the mousing surface. And that's how I discovered problem four: It seems 3M mice break if you drop them on a hardwood floor more than 10 or 20 times. Still, my hands don't hurt anymore. Available in either small/medium or large size. (3M, street price about $43 to $59, products3.3m.com/catalog/us/en001/ office/computer_workstation/node_GSNG558FYWbe/root _GST1T4S9TCgv/vroot_GSVFQG1Y9Fge/gvel_SGJ62MP1RBgl/theme_us_computerworkstation_3_0/command _AbcPageHandler/output_html)
     

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