Q. I get RFQs (request for quotes) that sometimes have 20 or 30 PDF files attached to a single e-mail message. Right now I click on the icon for each PDF and wait for Adobe to open it. I then click on the print command, close the file and move on. This takes 15 or 20 minutes, and time is money.
Is there any way to print all the attachments at one time?
Steve Ignots, Bensenville
A. These RFQ documents seem like the lifeblood of manufacturing companies like yours that are asked by potential customers to quote prices and other details by filling out those forms. They have become ubiquitous in business.
Happily, I can show you how to order all of the individual PDF (portable document format) files printed in a single batch operation.
Drag the icons for all of the PDFs attached to a message onto the computer’s desktop. Now use the mouse to select the icons for all of them. Finally, right-click on any one of the selected icons and look for the Print choice. Pick this and they will be sent to the printer, one at a time, without any more need to mess with them.
If you use Microsoft Outlook or Outlook Express, you can select the icons for the PDFs as they are listed as attachments on a message.
To select all the attachments, single-click on the first attachment icon and go to the last and hold down the Shift key while clicking that icon. This selects them all, and you can use the same right-click plus Print to do the job.
Q. I am running Windows 2000 and have recently formatted my drive and re-installed it. I now keep getting a pop-up that says, “svchost.exe has created errors and will be closed by Windows. You will have to restart the program.”
When this appears it seems to affect how my computer functions. I found it in this folder: C:
winnt
system32 and tried to delete it without success. How do I proceed to cure problem?
Robert E. Wilson @earthlink.net
A. Your quandary, unfortunately, is common among corporate computer executives whose networks have been infiltrated by some bug to the point that every machine kicked back that svchost.exe message. The machines then started to malfunction in different ways.
The good news is that these information technology types have found the problem can be eliminated by downloading and installing Microsoft’s Service Pack 4 for Windows 2000, then downloading and installing a bit of Microsoft patch code called KB823980.
Windows XP machines with the problem can be fixed with the patch alone.
Patches and Service Packs can be acquired through the Microsoft Knowledge Base (www.support.microsoft .com).
Judging from dialogue among techies at such boards as the Experts Exchange (www.experts-exchange.com), this problem may have been caused by several different recent virus outbreaks. That includes the one called “Blaster32” and another called “Nachi” by some and “W2(underscore)Welchia” by others.
At the heart of the problem is a bogus version of the important and valid Windows file svchost.exe that is placed in an incorrect directory and then run by changes made in the Windows system registry.
The svchost.exe problem likely will be around for some time because it infected lots of machines without being recognized. When IT workers re-install Windows using a mirror image of one of these bugged-up PCs, the virus rises from the dead to strike again.
Q. I have two desktops running Windows ME and one laptop running Windows XP. Can I network them through my router? Do I have to run the Networking Setup Wizard from each computer? Does each computer have to be given a name?
More Top Picks Window Cleaner
Richard Brzezicki @yahoo.com
A. The answers to those three questions are yes, yes and yes, Mr. B.
The same cable/DSL routers sold to let one share an Internet connection among several computers also can be used to create a conventional Ethernet network to move files among several computers, share printers and even exchange text messages.
Secondly, while it is possible to add each machine to the network by hand, it is far easier to start with the Windows XP laptop and follow the instructions to create a wizard setup disk for the other machines. Then insert the disk in each of the other machines and follow the prompts.
This may sound dumb because there really aren’t a lot of settings required, but the fact is that the tiniest inconsistency in how one machine is set up will knock down the whole thing.
So in the name of peace of mind, I urge you to use the setup wizard from the newest XP machine to configure the two older systems.
And yes, finally, to the question about each machine needing a name.
Not only must a name be assigned to each computer, but it is crucial that you don’t make the common mistake of tapping the spacebar after typing in a new computer name. If you do that on one machine but not on others, the computer won’t be visible on the network.
The computer name is one of several settings that needs to be exact, which is why it’s best to let those Windows wizards walk you through setting up small networks.
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Have a question for Jim Coates on small-business technology? Send an e-mail to askjimbiz @tribune.com or via snail mail at the baiduhai, 435 N. Michigan Ave., Chicago IL 60611. Questions can be answered only through this column.