When adding a drive over 1024 cylinders (540BM or higher), make sure your system supports it. Older systems won't recognize the presence of the extra disk space without first having to make provisions to accommodate it. There are two fairly trouble-free methods of accomplishing this. If you can use a BIOS update, this is the "cleanest" way to approach the problem. Systems with a Phoenix Technologies-based BIOS can contact MicroFirmware at either 800-767-5465 or http://www.firmware.com for upgrade information. If you can't find a BIOS for your system, obtain a software overlay program, for example EZDrive from Western Digital. This program is for use with their (our) WD 2.1, 2.5, and 3.1 gig drives. You can get this, among other very useful utilities, from their website at http://www.wdc.com/support/ftp/drives.html. Another good source for drive software is http://www.ontrack.com.
     If you have an “older” Pentium-based system or 486-based system with a PCI bus, your BIOS will support drives up to 2.1 gig. If you have a recent system, just make sure you have the newest BIOS if you run into problems. In either scenario, configure the new drive in the CMOS so that the LBA Translation and the Hard Disk type are set to Autoconfigure. If you have no success, go to our website at http://www.gw2k.com/ for the latest BIOS for your system. If you’re unfamiliar with how to install a BIOS, contact us online or call us before you proceed. A word of advice, however: If you don’t need a new BIOS, don’t bother downloading it. It’s not going to make the system run any faster or do anything that it doesn’t already do.

What type of microphone should I get for my Ensoniq sound card?

The Ensoniq Soundscape cards are compatible with most microphones available, but don’t even think about getting a Creative Labs mike, as they use a voltage which the Ensoniq doesn’t support. Your Ensoniq card has “phantom power supply,” a small power supply built into the cards that amplifies the input signal if the mike is not capable of the task. If the mic needs phantom power, the proper jumpers need to be set on the card. Check the part number of the sound card on your invoice. SNDCRD002AAWW and SNDCRD002ABWW cards need JP-4 covered if the power supply is needed. On all other Ensoniq cards it’s JP-1. Do not enable the power supply if you have a powered mike, or you may damage either the mike or the card.
     There are three types of microphones, those being dynamic, condenser, and electret condenser. Dynamic mikes are typically hand held or desktop mikes. They have a larger response range and typically sound better than condenser mikes. A dynamic mic does not require phantom power. Condenser mikes are the small multimedia mikes that typically come with computers. They do not have as good of a response range as dynamic mikes. They have a smaller diaphragm and require the phantom power supply. Electret Condenser mikes are condenser mikes with a built in battery. They have the same response as a condenser mic, but do not require phantom power. Some electret condenser mikes will allow you to remove the battery, in which case the cards need the phantom power. Because of the small size and low price, condenser mikes seem to be the most popular. If you need to record a narration, or if you’re using voice recognition software, they’re the microphone of choice. If you want to record vocals or create a professional presentation, get a dynamic mic.

Backing up your registry

Keeping a backup copy of your registry is not only a good idea, but if you change your registry and encounter problems, you always have a backup on which you can rely. Click the Start button, choose Run, type Regedit and press Enter. Under the Registry pulldown menu, choose Export Registry File. Just like any other file, save this file under the name and directory you wish (the file will be saved with a .reg extension). To restore this file in the future, simply choose Import Registry File and reference your most current backup file. The registry is actually stored as two separate files on your hard drive, those being SYSTEM.DAT and USER.DAT. Every time you restart Windows 95, backups of these two files are created and named SYSTEM.DA0 and USER.DA0. These can also be used to restore your registry by renaming them back to their .DAT extensions.

Another way for those with MS-Office for Windows 95 to keep those often used programs close at hand is to customize the MS-Office toolbar. Click on the small multi-colored box to the far left of the toolbar and choose Customize. Select the Buttons tab and Add File. Find and select the program you want to add to the toolbar. As soon as you add it, the program’s icon will appear on the tool bar. Since the toolbar always stays on top, you can now open your program any time you need it with a simple click of its icon.

Let’s face it. We’ve all gotten them. How? Usually from your friends and co-workers. Those pesky little viruses that mysteriously infiltrate your computer, attach themselves to your boot sector and make life behind the keyboard very difficult. Worse case scenario: You lose everything on your hard drive. An obvious and easy way to avoid this is to periodically scan your drive with an antivirus program. You can find these things all over the web, including McAfee's site among many others. The files are usually shareware, and there is a small registration fee, but it’s a small price to pay to avoid hours and hours or recovering what otherwise wouldn’t have been lost.

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