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Discussion Problems

© Chris Cruickshank

I have been going through the discussion pages in the Hardware section of Suite101.com and a number of new topics have sprung up.

I have answered those I can, but I thought it might be good to have a "problem / answer" session as an article - so here goes!

In built Hardware on the Motherboard

More and more these days, computer manufacturers are putting more and more features onto the motherboard so those expansion slots are free for other things.

The two classic components to be included these days are the hard disk controller and the soundcard. In years gone by, these two items would have taken up an expansion slot each (an expansion slot is a place at the back of your computer where additional components are plugged in).

The disk controller is not usually a problem but the soundcard can be a different matter. Inherently, these on-board sound cards leave a lot to be desired. Indeed, when I purchased my Compaq Presario, the first thing to go was the soundcard!

Trouble is how do you remove a soundcard that is on the motherboard so that a new one can be put in its place? The answer is, you can't remove it but you CAN disable it.

To do this, access the System icon from within the Control Panel. Look for the "Sound and Video" section under the Device Tab. Select the soundcard and then "Disable in this profile". You MUST do this, if you add another sound card otherwise there will be a conflict between the onboard card and the new soundcard.

You will get an annoying "X" appear in your set up and if you run set up checking programs (such as "CheckIt"), they will report problems. As long as it is the onboard card, you know it is nothing to worry about.

Upgrading Across Platforms

This is a problem that is becoming more and more frequent with the advent of Windows 2000 and "normal" PC's being powerful enough to run server software.

The problem is that a program runs quite happily in one environment, you install it to another and it fails to work.

There are a couple of reasons for this...

· The program you are installing is not suited to the platform you are running on. Check your documentation and ensure you have the correct program version for the platform you are running under.

· Check that your system meets the minimum requirements needed to run the program

· You have upgraded or changed from one platform to another. The problem here is that old programs and DLL's (Dynamic Link Library - a file contain "code"), may or may not be overwritten when the upgrade takes place. This causes an out of synch type error where the program is expecting one thing and getting another. Remember that programs will often use core system components that are installed when the platform is installed. If you are upgrading, the installer may not overwrite an existing file. Alternatively, it MAY overwrite the file and the program is expecting the old version. The answer here is to get updated version of the program suitable for the platform you are running on. De-install the program and re-install with the correct versions.

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