Specifications

ENSIGN—STATUS!
I have a problem similar to
the disappearing status bar in
Internet Explorer; in my case, it’s
Windows Explorer that keeps
losing its status bar. Is there a
Registry hack to correct this?
Also, is there a way to
change the default folder tree in
Explorer? Every time I open it, it
defaults to the “Documents and
Settings” folder. Can I change
the default so the folder of my
choice opens?
—BRYAN BOUNOUS
For readers who missed the
Doctor’s response to an earlier
letter about Internet Explorer’s
bad habit of losing its status bar,
Microsoft’s clumsy work-around
can be found at the company’s sup-
port site. Go to support.microsoft.
com
, enter “330216” in the search
field, and you’ll get the Knowledge
Base article “Status Bar Is Not
Displayed When You Open a New
Browser Window.”
The Doctor has found that a
similar technique restores the sta-
tus bar in Windows Explorer. Under
the View menu, select Status Bar (it
should be checked from now on).
Then go to Tools > Folder Options,
select the View tab, and click Apply
to All Folders.
Windows XP Service Pack 2
includes a fix for the disappearing
status bar in Internet Explorer, but
the Doctor has heard anecdotal
reports of the problem persisting
in Windows Explorer, although he
hasn’t experienced the problem
himself since installing SP2.
You’ll be glad to hear you can
change the folder that Windows
Explorer goes to by default. Right-
click the Windows Explorer icon
(Start > All Programs > Accessories
> Windows Explorer) and select
Properties. In the Target box, you’ll
see explorer.exe. All you have to do
is add a single space after explorer.
exe, followed by the name of the
folder you want Explorer to navigate
to by default. For example, if you
want Explorer to start up in a folder
called c:\brainfu, the Target box
should read %SystemRoot%\explor-
er.exe c:\brainfu.
That’s two questions, so you
owe the Doctor two co-pays.
PLAYING WITH FAIRPLAY
I recently performed a clean
install on my PC, but before
doing so, I backed up my
purchased iTunes music. Am
I going to have issues with
Apple’s FairPlay digital rights
management when I try to
reinstall my music this weekend,
or has Apple put me in the spot
of bootlegging music I bought
from them from another PC? If
the music industry wants me to
stop getting music for free, fine.
But I had best be able to play
what I’ve paid for, otherwise I’m
going back to my old habits.
—DONALD BENSEN
While “digital rights management”
as we know it today offers the
consumer far less compared with
traditional media like compact
discs, Apple deserves credit for
developing the least punitive and
messy system for online music pur-
chases. When you reinstall iTunes
and play a protected track, iTunes
will automatically prompt you to
“authorize” what it sees as a “new”
PC (up to five PCs can be authorized
to play your purchased tracks).
From then on, iTunes will automati-
cally transfer licenses of protected
tracks to this PC as you play them.
All the authorizations and licenses
are kept on Apple’s servers so if, for
example, your PC’s hard drive buys
the farm, you won’t lose your pur-
chased music.
There’s a small catch. Before
performing your clean install, you
should have instructed iTunes to
“deauthorize” that PC first (under
Advanced > Deauthorize Computer).
But you can still revoke the license
of a PC you no longer have access to
by going to www.apple.com/support/
itunes/authorization.html
and using the
web form at the bottom of the page.
Don’t forget to select “Computer
Deauthorization” from the “Specific
Request” drop-down list.
And by the way, if the “old hab-
its” you refer to include copyright
infringement, the Doctor advises
you to not advertise your intentions
while using your real name in a
nationally distributed magazine.
Salud!
STRANGE SOUNDS FROM
MY COMPUTER COME
I recently upgraded my system
to include an Abit mobo and
P4 processor. I am using the
onboard AC-97 sound chip.
My problem is that when
the hard drive is accessed or
the mouse is moved or I am
displaying a “busy” web page, I
hear a thumping sound coming
from my subwoofer. I have
downloaded and installed the
latest drivers but I still have the
problem. My speaker system
is Logitech’s Z-640, and I did
not have this problem with
the onboard sound on my
previous mobo. None of the
manufactures have offered any
solutions.
—WILBERT P. FLESCH
You’re probably running into one
of the main problems with mother-
Ask the Doctor Symptom Diagnosis Cure
MAXIMUMPC JANUARY 200568
If you fry your
BIOS with a bad
flash, you may
need to physically
replace the chip.
DID I BURN OUT MY BIOS?
I decided to upgrade my BIOS to see if it would
solve an XP problem. The BIOS flash utility
appeared to erase and reprogram the BIOS.
When my computer restarted, the screen went
blank, the system froze, and the keyboard inputs
wouldn’t work. After waiting about five minutes,
I powered off the system. When I turned the
system back on, there was no display and no
response from the keyboard. What can I do to
get my computer working again?
—DAVID MAURICE
It sounds like you killed your BIOS. You didn’t
specify what motherboard you have, but hopefully
it’s a board that has some kind of backup. Many
new motherboards are able to recover from a cor-
rupt BIOS by booting to a floppy or CD and throw-
ing a recovery jumper. Asus, for example, calls it
Crash Free 2, and many other motherboard vendors
have adopted similar technology. Others, such as
Gigabyte, even feature dual-bios chips on the board.
If one chip gets flashed improperly, you can fire up
the backup BIOS to bring the board back.
In your case, you should first pull the power to the
PC, hit the “on” button to discharge the power in the
power supply, and than reset the CMOS. If you can’t
find the jumper to do this, just remove the coin-cell
battery for five minutes. Replace it, plug the system
back in, and try booting the PC. If it doesn’t boot
(remember to plug your monitor back in and to power
it up), the BIOS is probably dead.
Look at the motherboard manual or on your mobo
maker’s web site to see if a recovery option is avail-
able. If not, you may have to replace the BIOS chip on
the board. Contact your motherboard vendor to see
if you can buy a new chip (many boards today use a
socketed design). If not, several online stores sell
replacement BIOSes.