Q: I have a 56k modem, yet when I connect to the internet, I rarely get connection speeds above 44k. Why is this? Is my modem faulty?

A: The modem speed quoted is under ideal conditions with no line noise and a short geographic distance between you and your ISP (Internet Service Provider). In reality, phone lines are seldom totally quiet as there is nearly always a little background hiss or crackle.

This interferes with the modem sending data down the phone line because the computer at the other end of the phone line 'mishears' the data and asks the sender to send it again (this is called handshaking in computer circles). Even if your connection is reported by windows to be 56k, this may not be the case.

You can check your actual connection speed at: bandwidthplace.com/speedtest/ Q: I am trying to register on the www.friendsreunited.co.uk web site using my online services from NTL but I just get a blank page. I contacted NTL but their response said something about too many pages for the NTL computer.

A: I'm afraid I don't have a clear-cut answer here. I did look at the friends-reunited site and they do use a fair amount of client side JavaScript (code embedded in the web page) some of which attempts to add their page automatically to your favourites list (a bit cheeky). It may be the browser software supplied by NTL can't cope with this. If there is anyone reading this who works for NTL and could provide a solution I will pass it on.

Q: Every so often when I turn on the computer, it tells me it is running in 'safe mode'. Why does it keep doing this?

A: When Windows boots up into safe mode, it usually means the computer has not been shut down properly.

This may be caused by Windows crashing or someone turning of the computer without first shutting down properly.

Q: I sometimes get error codes when I run Windows Software ('This program has caused an illegal operation', etc.) some of which seem cryptic to say the least. Is there an online resource to explain what all these error codes/messages mean?

A: It is important to draw a distinction between error codes that are generated by applications and those generated by Windows. Well-

written software attempts to intercept internally-generated errors and provide meaningful information about what is causing them. Application error messages should be explained on the relevant company's web site or in documentation accompanying the software. Windows messages in their many and varied forms are explained at: support.microsoft.com/support/windows/topics/errormsg/emresctr.asp