To receive email, get GPRS settings for your phone

q+a After installing Norton, my machine has become very slow and takes up to 20 minutes to boot. The red light in the front of the CPU glows continuously. I have licensed versions of Panda Platinum 2004 and Panda Titanium 2005 anti-viruses. My machine has an Intel Pentium 4 CPU 2.8 GHz with 256 MB DRAM, and runs Windows XP Service Pack 2.

Debjit Pal

Your problem stems from having too many anti-virus software on your PC. Get rid of Norton if it isn’t a licensed version. Your Panda Antivirus is obviously outdated. Uninstall both. Buy a proper Internet Security Suite. You can go for either Norton or Zone Alarm. It will cost you around $45. The advantages of buying a security suite are many. You are protected from viruses, spyware and malware. Moreover, a firewall will ensure that no one messes around with your PC while you are online. However, remember to update the software regularly over the Internet, preferably every week. After a year, you must renew your licence, as security suite licenses are valid for only a year even if you buy them. Most people either do not know this or forget to do this. Second, your machine is a little underpowered. You should upgrade the RAM to at least 512 MB if not 1GB.

Desktop icons

q+a The texts of the icons on my desktop are always highlighted. How do I remove them?

Ananya Lahiri

Right click on a free area on your desktop. Select Properties. Click on the Desktop tab and select Customise Desktop from the bottom. Next, select the Web tab. Here, delete everything except My Current Home Page. Apply the changes made and it should solve your problem.

If your problem persists even after this, go to Control Panel and double click the System icon. Choose the Advanced tab and click on Settings under Performance. Make sure the “use drop shadows for icon labels on the desktop” check box is ticked. If not, tick it and click Apply. If it was already ticked, try unticking it before clicking on Apply. After that, you must tick that check box once more and apply the changes.

Internet banking

q+a I am not able to view any secure web pages like sites for Internet banking. Every time I open my computer, I get a message that says, “Cannot find a device file needed to run Windows. The device file no longer exists. Try reinstalling the application to replace missing file. C:\progra~1\norton~1\norton~1\navap.vxd. Press a key to continue.” Please advise.

S.Chatterjee

Your Norton anti-virus was not properly uninstalled from your PC. You need to clean the registry. Go to www.ccleaner.com and download the CCleaner application. After that, run an integrity check for the registry and click on Resolve Issues to fix the problem.

Another very good tool to fix your registry is Eusing Registry Cleaner. You will find it at www.eusing.com/free_registry_cleaner/registry_cleaner.htm.

Mobile email

q+a I am unable to receive email on my Sony Ericsson T630 mobile phone. I got my GPRS connection activated more than four months ago. I have complained to BSNL several times but they are very vague in their replies and have not been able to help me.

D.K. Bose

To be able to receive email, send picture messages and visit WAP sites, you must get GPRS settings for your phone. You have not mentioned whether you are able to browse Internet sites on your mobile phone. If yes, then it is very simple setting up the email. Go to Messages and then to Email. At the bottom you will find Settings. Set up a new account for your email provider. Select POP 3 for the Connection Type and fill in the details for the incoming and outgoing server. You will be able to get this information from your email provider, VSNL, Dataone, etc.

However, if you have not been able to surf even WAP sites or send picture messages, it means your GPRS settings are incorrect. You need to first set up two Data Accounts for BSNL. The wizard on the phone will guide you. For Internet set the APN to www.e.po, and for MMS set the APN to mms.e.po. Leave the Username and Password fields blank. Next, set up two WAP profiles for Internet and MMS. Set the proxy server to 192.168.81.163. For home page, select http://192.168.81.166/servlets/mms. These are the crucial bits of information you require. The rest you will find in your phone manual.

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