QUICK TIPS AND FIXES
Copyright (c) 1994, Joe DeRouen
All rights reserved


[Originally published in Dec. issue of Computer Currents Magazine]


If you're having a problem you just can't seem to solve, a question you
want answered, or just an inherent need to bend a lonely writer's ear,
you've come to the right place.  Response has been great!  Keep those
cards and letters coming, folks.  But, please, don't send cash. 


Q: Which CD-ROM drive should I buy?  I have a 50 Mhz 80486 and would
   really like to try out some of those CDs I've been hearing about. 
   The triple-speed CD-ROM drive sounds better, of course, but it's also
   about three times the price of the single-speed version.  Should I go
   between the two and get a double-speed?  Is there really that big of
   a difference? 

   Brad Landsbaum
   Farmer's Branch, Texas


A: Actually, there is.  In this particular case, the old axiom of 
   "buy the very best you can afford" rings true.  Single-speed
   systems are outdated and should be avoided altogether.  They 
   won't run a lot of the newer CDs out there or, if they do, 
   performance time will be drastically reduced.  There's very few
   packages that won't run on a double-speed system, but, once again,
   you can suffer speed problems if your disk is particulary
   read-intensive.

   If you can afford it, buy the triple-speed CD-ROM drive.  You won't
   have any problems running your CDs, and you'll be state of the art
   for at least a week or two.  There's always something better on the
   horizon, but if we all waited and waited we'd still be shooting 
   asteroids on our Atari 2600s.  


Q: I've managed to subscribe to some lists and electronic magazines
   through the Internet, and some of them seem to come through okay,
   but others come through in this strange hieroglyphic-like state
   of being.  The message that accompanies the file says it's been
   encoded.                

   Linda Anne Smith
   Ft. Worth, Texas


A: Ah, the Internet.  So large.  So many resources.  So confusing.  Most
   files transferred through the internet can't be carried as-is, and
   need to be converted from binary code into ASCII.  That's where
   UUENCODE.EXE comes in.  UUENCODE takes the file, converts it to an
   ASCII representation of the binary file, and prepares it for travel
   via Internet electronic mail.  Unless your system is set up to
   automatically decode incoming files (some are) you'll wind up with a
   file you have absolutely no idea what to do with. 

   How do you decode the file into something useful?  UUDECODE.EXE, of
   course.  UUDECODE is the companion to UUENCODE, and extremely vital
   if you plan to subscribe to lists or FTP through Internet e-mail. 

   Execute the program from the DOS command line for instructions on 
   it's use.  While it's uses are indeed many, it isn't too hard to
   learn the tricks of using UUDECODE.  If you can't find the file
   on your local BBS or Internet site, please feel welcome to download
   it from the "Free Files" section of STTS BBS.  The phone number is,
   as always, at the end of the column.  


Q: Everyone keeps telling me I need to optimize my hard drive.  I have
   no idea how to do this, or even what it is.  Please, help me.

   Robin Bryant
   Grand Prairie, Texas

A: Optimizing (defragging, defragmenting, etc.) your hard drive is
   amazingly simple, and definitely something you need to do at least
   a couple times a month.  But I digress.

   First, an explanation.  When you write files to your hard drive, it 
   does everything on a first-come first-served basis.  Whatever sectors
   happen to be available to be used are the ones your computer uses.

   Straightforward enough so far.  The reason for optimization lies in
   exactly how those bits and bytes are stored.  When you delete, for
   example, a 500k file, 500k of space becomes available for use on your
   hard disk.  Let's imagine that you then download a 1 meg GIF of your
   favorite supermodel from your local Mega BBS.  Your system saves the
   first 500k of that GIF to the aforementioned free space and writes
   the rest of the file to the next available space - more than likely
   not together.  This doesn't really hurt anything, but it does slow
   down load time and file access to the hard drive.  Over time, with
   files stored haphazardly all over your disk, it can cause problems
   and severely affect your system's performance. 

   You need to optimize your hard drive a couple of times a month, more
   as a preventative measure than anything else.  Optimizing scans your
   disk and moves the files to contiguous sectors, thus saving valuable
   seconds in loading and access time and, more importantly, safeguards
   against even worse fragmentation in the future. 

   DOS comes with a file called DEFRAG.EXE.  Use this or one of the 
   commercial Hard Disk tool packages (NORTON UTILITIES or PC TOOLS) 
   and you shouldn't have any problems.  Follow the on-line instructions
   and your hard drive should be frag-free in no time!



Are you having a problem with your computer?  Write to Joe at Computer
Currents or via Sunlight Through The Shadows BBS at 214/620-8793. 

(c) 1994 Joe DeRouen.  All rights reserved.

