Solutions

ScanDisk problem traced to hard drive's cluster size

By JOHN TORRO
© St. Petersburg Times
published January 13, 2003

Q. I installed a new hard drive and now get the following message when I try to run ScanDisk: "ScanDisk could not continue because your computer does not have enough available memory. If any other programs are running, quit one or more of them, and then try running scan disk again." I tried running this in Safe Mode, but no luck.

A. This is a known problem that can occur if you are running Windows on a hard disk that is larger than 8 gigabytes and has a cluster size less than 8 kilobytes. Cluster size is the increment in which files are created or made larger. The larger the cluster size, the more potentially wasted space is used because small files take up more room.

This nonstandard cluster size configuration may have been created if you used a third-party disk tool to create a partition on a hard disk that is larger than 8GB and has a cluster size less than 8KB. Microsoft's recommendation is to contact the manufacturer of the third-party hard disk tool to inquire about a possible update to the software that resolves this problem.

Reinstalling Windows

Q. When I start up my PC, it goes into Safe Mode and tells me that I have to reinstall Windows 98 SE. Do I have to reformat my hard drive in order to reinstall Windows, or is there another way to do it?

A. Reinstalling Windows does not require you to reformat your hard drive. In fact, all of the data you've added to the system along with programs you've installed should stay intact. Basically, the reinstall will just put back the baseline operating system files and rebuild parts of the registry. Most of the time this can solve some problems with the system and is always one of the things to do on the Windows trouble-shooting list.

Troubleshooting an HP printer

Q. Every time I print a page on the Web (and occasionally not on the Web), I get an error message called "hpfvls14 or 06." The error box says: "An error has occurred in your program. To keep working anyway, click ignore and save your work in a new file. To quit this program click close. You will lose information you entered since your last save." I click on ignore, then I can print another page, but I must do that after each page I print. I tried uninstalling my printer and reinstalling from the printer boot disk.

A. You didn't provide any specifics about which printer or Windows version you are using (in violation of the No. 1 rule of seeking technical help). So these instructions may vary slightly and you may need to improvise.

The error message is coming from the HP printer driver, hpfvls14. Try this: Click Start, Settings, Printers. Right-click your printer and select Properties. Click the Details (or Advanced) tab and select the Print Directly to the Printer setting. Click OK to close the Spool Settings window, then click OK to close the Printer Properties window. You may also need to turn off bidirection communication between the printer and the driver.

This gets a little more complicated, and you'd be better off getting this information direct from HP's Web site (search for hpfvls14 and follow the links that detail this procedure). This is only a work-around. I would contact HP for a more permanent solution.

Word document won't print

Q. I have Microsoft Me. I wrote a lengthy paper using Microsoft Word with a previous Microsoft edition. Now I cannot print this paper using Me. I get only gobbledygook.

A. Maybe it's using a font that is no longer available on your PC, or maybe the file is corrupt. Can you view the paper normally in Word? If so, try saving it using the File, Save As menu command and specify .RTF as the file type. This may reset whatever is causing the problem for your printer. You can also try opening the document in WordPad. This may allow you to cut and paste at least parts of it back into Word (this would remove any file formatting anomalies).

-- Send hardware and software questions to personaltech@sptimes.com or Personal Tech, P.O. Box 1121, St. Petersburg, FL 33731. Questions will be answered only in the column. John Torro is a Microsoft Certified systems engineer and Microsoft Certified solutions developer. He has been writing for Personal Technology since 1997.

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