Sometimes I just shake my head in trying to divine what Microsoft is attempting to do with Vista. As we all know, Windows makes noises when performing some basic functions like the musical sounds when it starts and ends, as well as a series of less complex boops and beeps. Based on the type of “theme” selected, these sounds could change, like chirps or splash sounds. Over the years, many of us have learned to use other messages, like AOL's spoken “You have got mail” messages and more. If you wanted to generate your own insults or verbal comments, it was quite easy from Windows 95 on. If you had a microphone, you could produce your own cutesy messages using the built-in sound recorder. When used, it generated a file with a WAV format (and extension). This format had been developed jointly by Microsoft and IBM, making it the de facto standard for sound on PCs. WAV sound files may be played by all Windows applications that support sound.

For some unknown reason, probably to try to stifle competition, Microsoft has now limited the sound files that you may create in Vista to a WMA (Windows Media Audio) format, which is incompatible with the universal WAV format. Since I liked these plain English voice warnings, I had simply copied them from earlier versions to my Vista computer and all was well. However, some of my “technocrat” friends decided that they wanted to start Vista from scratch and generate their new messages directly in the new operating system. This sounded like a good exercise and test. So far, we have been unsuccessful. The sound recorder generates files in WMA and the computer wants them in WAV format to be useful. The only solution found by searching the Internet is to use audio editing programs that can handle the conversion, and do a great deal more. There are dozen of them, but all we found so far were third party and obviously required some sort of payment. Being part of a stubborn group of nerds, we wasted a lot of time trying to solve this simple problem. We did not succeed, except by using Windows XP to create and edit the original sound file. When saving them, we had several options, including WAVs. Microsoft Support personnel could offer no explanation or solution. I guess that it was one of those changes for the sake of change.

Backup

Can you address the subject of backups? Everywhere I read that it is very important. I would appreciate a quick review. Why, what, how, and where? Thanks. Ester F.

Dear Ester: This is a good question on an important subject. I will try to answer in a few sentences.

Backup is a procedure for saving your data from oblivion. At first, the data were compressed to save disk space, but I prefer to use a copying technique, leaving the data in their native format. The reason is that if you copy without compression, you can easily see and read your documents. If compressed, it has to be unpacked first. You can save everything that is on your computer, but this is generally worthless overkill. The important information is what you put into the computer, not the commercial software, which may be retrieved anytime from your original source. Important data include your documents, your financial data and photographs. This is mostly of value if you have a hardware disaster — not a very frequent occurrence.A special type of backup is the image copy where a complete hard disk is duplicated, preferably to another disk. In that situation, you would be able to just switch hard drives and be right back in business. Large companies favor that procedure as downtime translates into substantial financial losses. For home users, just copying a few files and folders usually fills the bill. At present, high capacity miniature USB memory drives are so inexpensive that all your critical data can be kept in your pocket. Many consultants now carry these small drives with them and even place executable programs on them.

Insert vs. overwrite

I know that you covered this subject before, but I can't remember the easy solution. When working on any document, if I place the mouse pointer where I want to insert a character, it replaces one that is there. How can I change that? I want to enter a character and then delete the one that I don't want afterwards. Thanks. Bernice H.

Dear Bernice: Your keyboard is set to “Overwrite” instead of “Insert.” You will see those words in the Status bar. That bar is the ribbon at the bottom of the document and shows information that applies to the file being processed. Move the mouse pointer over the word “Overtype” and click. The description will now change to “Insert.”Why not take advantage of other features? Right-click the Status bar and you will get a long list of options that you can set. As a writer, I find the Word Count to be quite helpful as well as the location of the cursor on the page expressed in line number, or inches.

Excel Viewer

I have a document which is a big list. When I try to open it, I get the message that I need a program called Excel, which costs lots of money. How can I see the document, possibly by converting it to something already on my computer? Thank you. Pierre T.

Dear Pierre: The document that you have is a spreadsheet. If you only want to see, or print it, you can download the Excel Viewer program from Microsoft Office Online. It is a free program and its use and distribution to others is permitted. According to Microsoft, this small program viewer lets you view page layout, copy, control cell sizes, and access the zoom and AutoFilter features. The Excel Viewer is built to automatically configure itself as a Helper Application for Microsoft Internet Explorer and Netscape Navigator.Note that there are several other viewers that similarly allow you to see and print a variety of Microsoft documents, including MS Word and PowerPoint.

Computer Corner 1041. Copyright 2008 by Roger Giler. Send questions for this column to P.O. Box 402, Wilton 06897 or e-mail Roger@Giler.com.