Additional Articles for January/February 2004 Issue

Got bugs?

Let’s talk today a little bit about bugs. What are those little programming glitches that seem to show up, and how do you fix them? Why do they seem to pop up over and over? When you work with customers on technical issues as I do, you find some interesting patterns develop. Let me pass some info along to you, and when they come up, maybe you’ll be better suited to fix them.

First of all, restart.

It’s so simple, fixes so many things, and yet is so often overlooked. Did you just install a new piece of software? Restart. “But my computer didn’t tell me to restart.” I don’t care! Restart! Yes, sometimes some programs will tell you that you need to restart your computer before the changes take effect. I say, restart anyway. The same is true when removing software. After you’ve removed programs safely (either using the Add/Remove Programs control panel, or the program’s own uninstall function), restart your computer. Does something just seem strange? Bogged down or sluggish? Just not working right? restart. “But,” you say, “I just turned it on…” I say, “restart.”

Here’s a little tidbit for you dial-up users. What’s the first thing you click on in order to get connected to the Internet? Is it the Internet Explorer icon? OK, then that brings up the little “connect to” window, right, with your ISP’s phone number in there. You know what? That’s not really a good habit, and you should get out of it. Why? Well, when you just click an application, and expect that to connect for you, you’re relying on that program to make the connection for you. And eventually, it will break down. It will just stop working. You’ll click the Internet Explorer icon, but the little dial-up box won’t appear. Instead, make a shortcut on your desktop that refers to your ISP’s phone number. Use that first, make your connection, and then make your connection. Yes, it is an extra step. But if you don’t I guarantee the little bug is going to come around, and you won’t remember how to connect to your ISP. But just where do you find this little connection doodad (highly technical, I know!) to make a shortcut to? You’ll find that item in dial-up networking on a PC. On Mac OS-X, it’s in the applications folder, and it’s called internet connect. On earlier versions of the Mac, it’s called remote access or PPP. Those are found in the control panel’s folder.

Microsoft Outlook Express is probably the most-used email client. Why? Volume, my friends. It comes on every Windows machine produced. It’s already installed with Windows, so you don’t have to add anything (I would argue there are better programs, but maybe that’s next month’s column). But it does have some notable flaws. For the life of me, I don’t know why things people never change in this program end up changed, but it happens all the time.

Have you ever had this problem? You’re checking your email, and right after all your mail comes in, your connection to the Internet gets dropped. Or the same thing happens right after you send a message. What’s up? I’ll tell you. Open Outlook Express, and go to the tools menu at the top. From there, select options. In the options window, you’ll see many tabs; click the one that’s labeled connections. Right there at the top, you’ll see a little box marked hang up after sending and receiving. Is it checked? If you’re having this problem, I bet it is. With that box checked, after every mail check, Outlook Express tells Windows to hang up the connection. “How did that get checked? I never checked that!” Nope, you didn’t. It mysteriously checked itself. I’m not being sarcastic here. It happens. Somehow, that option gets turned on, even though it was never on before. A bug.

Here’s another magically self-checking box. It’s the don’t allow me to open potentially unsafe attachments option. With that little box checked, you’ll not be able to open almost all attachments. To fix this problem, go through the same steps as above, but instead of clicking the connections tab, click the security tab. The check box is right there. Uncheck it. You may think, “Hey, I don’t want to open unsafe attachments.” Well sure, no one does! But I know you’ve taken the advice I’ve extolled so many times before, and I know you’re running a good anti-virus program. Let that program worry about unsafe attachments. Outlook Express does a bad job of identifying them; you’ll never be able to open a Word attachment again with that box checked.

How about the disappearing checkmark? I see that frequently in the save password box. Your password was always saved before, but for some reason, it isn’t now. I have no idea why it happens, but it’s usually an easy fix. When you click the send/receive button, a box will pop up asking for your password. Retype, and check the little box that says remember password. That should do it. But sometimes, the checkmark never stays in the box. So the next time you check mail, you’ll get the password dialogue box, and the remember password box is unchecked again! This bug does have a fix, and it’s available on the Microsoft Web site. I must tell you though that fix involves editing the computer’s registry, and isn’t really for the computer novice. Actually, I don’t touch a registry unless it’s absolutely necessary. If you mess something up, you’ll be in big trouble.

And speaking of passwords, ever have your computer prompt you to re-enter your password, but it appears your password is already typed in there? So you just hit the OK button, and then the computer asks for your password again, but it’s already there, so you hit OK, and then the computer asks… Look, just take a second and retype your password. Again, sometimes something goes wrong somewhere, and for whatever reason your computer is remembering your password wrongly. A file corrupted somewhere, so instead of remembering your real password, your computer is remembering your password as “%ghtw(((kwkkjut_(&%$#!” Just retype it. That should fix it.

If it doesn’t, restart!

Bill Batty, Jr. is the Director of Public Relations and Marketing for Midcoast Internet Solutions and the hardworking drummer for five (yes, five!) midcoast bands, including Blind Albert and Three Finger Deluxe. Contact Bill by email: <bbatty@midcoast.com>, or visit his eclectic. Web site, www.billyrhythm.com.