Q. I have written to you before, without success. I know you must get a great many e-mails. My problem is I can’t print out my Windows Address Book with a single line for each person’s address and other information. The only way it will print is to four contacts per page, so I end up with 11 pages of material. I want it all on one page for a backup and occasional reference and would like to just make a single line out of each contact.
I have tried MSN and HP (my printer is the new 7960), and what they tell me to do does not work.
Geoffrey Marsh, Las Vegas
A. Thanks for the patience, Mr. M.
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As you suspect, I get way too much mail to answer every one, which is why the purpose of this column is to try to help folks with particularly vexing problems so that other readers with similar issues also can get some of my well-chosen (I hope) advice. I am delighted to say there is a quick answer to this common problem when users of that address program want a hard copy but find the software only permits a format with each bit of data–such as name, address, phone number and e-mail–on a different line.
The solution is to use a feature of the Windows Address Book called import/export to convert the data into a format called tab delimited or comma delimited that is designed for text files and spreadsheets. If you export your Address Book as a delimited file, it will place all of the data for each entry across a single row in an ordinary text file or one in a format called .csv that can be read by Microsoft Excel and other spreadsheets.
All you need to do is print this new file, and you’ll have a hard copy of the address book with a single line for each name.
Q. My son has a computer with Windows ME for the operating system, and when he tries to use the USB ports, the computer crashes. Specifically, we sent him a digital camera that uses a memory stick along with a card reader that plugs into the USB ports. What can he do so he can download pictures using the card reader through the USB port?
Betty Kieser @acsalaska.net
A. A lot of people who use Windows ME find themselves in similar straits because the operating system has proven to be something of a problem child when it comes to getting it to work with peripherals.
For example, Windows ME boasts wiring very much like Windows XP, and so that new digital camera treats ME as though it had the full plug-and-play powers of XP. With XP, the vast majority of add-on gear gets recognized by the operating system, which then loads the needed driver software from XP’s own memory banks to make stuff like scanners, printers, PDAs and such do their stuff.
ME tries to do this, too, but all too often it lacks the needed stuff.
For example, Windows ME arrived back when computers used USB 1.1, a far slower version of the USB 2.0 now becoming universal. I’d say chances are strong that the computer is freezing because the card reader is flooding it with data at USB 2.0 speeds–33 times faster than the USB 1.1 that is onboard.
The good news is that most peripheral devices like memory card readers and cameras and scanners come with software designed to make them work with Windows 98 as well. So ignore the ME plug-and-play instructions that came with your card reader and install it instead as though you were using it with Windows 98.
This requires using the included Windows 98 CD. If the disc includes installing software, do that. Otherwise, use the CD with the Windows “add hardware” wizard to load the drivers during setup for the card reader.
If you need to do this, put the CD in the drive and then click on Start and Control Panel and then Add/Remove Hardware. Now follow the prompts to have the computer look on the CD for the drivers and install them.
Q. I have a problem with my computer, an IBM NetVista, not recognizing the DVD drive on my computer. The system has a DVD drive and a CD-ROM drive. When I go to the My Computer icon, it shows both drives as CDs. I was wondering if you could help me get back my DVD drive.
Brian M. Murphy, Kingston, N.Y..
A. There is a way to force a Windows computer to reacquaint itself with its various and sundry peripheral devices, like keyboards, printers, modems and CD and/or DVD drives, Mr. M., but first check to see if you really need to do anything at all.
One feature of the Windows operating system can sense whether one has inserted a 650 megabyte CD or a 4.7 gigabyte DVD into a drive and label the icon accordingly. Many machines thus change the icon on DVD drives to show CD if a user inserts a CD in the DVD drive, which, after all, can play either CDs or DVDs.
Assuming the problem remains when you remove a CD, let me describe how to force a computer to restore the software drivers that handle chores such as identifying a CD drive versus a DVD drive. The trick is to repair or remove the drivers for a balky peripheral, and thus force the operating system to reinstall a fresh version of the software.
Here is that drill:
In Windows 98 and ME, right-click on the My Computer icon and look for a tab called Device Manager on the display that pops up. Open Device Manager and scroll down to the listing for CD/DVD drives and find your DVD drive.
First try clicking on the Refresh choice that you will find at the bottom of the device list. If that doesn’t do the trick, pick the Remove icon, also at the bottom, and reboot the computer to force the machine to reload the drivers.
The procedure is close to identical in Windows XP, except the tab that you need after right-clicking on the My Computer icon is Hardware, and the Device Manager appears in the next display.
Let me add that an easier way to call up the My Computer menu is to hold down the Windows key that is between the Alt and Control keys and then tap the Pause/Break key just above the numerical keypad. This keyboard shortcut will save you at least 10 seconds.
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Contact Jim Coates via e-mail at [email protected] or via snail mail at the baiduhai, Room 400, 435 N. Michigan Ave., Chicago IL 60611. Questions can be answered only through this column. Add your point of view at chicagotribune.com/askjim.