Your Questions:

Converting Audio Files

A regular visitor submitted this question:

"I bought an Acapella cd to mix into my beats. There is a problem though. I have a pc program/game called hip hop ejay 5. on this program you are able to import samples, hence I bought this cd. I have been able to import other songs before but not these ones. The program only allows me to import wav.files and possibly mp3.files... The cd must have copied to my computer in a different format... Do you have any suggestions in what i should do cause i really want to use this...."

I checked out a review of the game on ACE GAME2 it looks like fun. I am converting audio files all the time now for my podcasts, have you checked them out? I use GarageBand to record the podcast, and then have to convert the file to an mp3 file; to get this done I use iTunes and you can do the same with your PC. Go to the Apple web site and download iTunes for Windows 4.7 then install the application on your machine if you do not already have it. The installation wizard will ask you if you want to use iTunes as your default application, you don’t have to choose this option. Once you install iTunes, open the program and follow this path: Edit/ Preferences/ Importing. Then from the drop-down menu for the field ‘Import Using’, choose the encoder option of your choice. From the drop down menu for ‘Setting’, you can choose the quality of the encoding. You can leave the other boxes on their default settings or change them if you desire. Now go to the file that you want to convert, right-click then select ‘Open With’ and choose iTunes. The file will open in iTunes and then you need to select ‘Advanced’ from the toolbar. You will see an option that will allow you to convert the file to the format you selected during the preference setup. If you selected the WAV option, you will see ‘Convert Selection to WAV’ double-click on that and the file will begin to convert (you will see the activity icon in the source column. When it is done converting, right-click on the file in the Song Name field and choose ‘Show Song File’. You will then see the converted file with the new file extension. Then you can move the file to the desktop or wherever you store your music files and use it in your game. This is the easiest way to do this that I have found for Multiple Platforms users and iTunes is free.

MDATA.DAT Error

A regular reader had this problem:
"I know you have helped me before and I am very grateful but I need help again!!
When I start my PC, I get a message which says:
 
ERROR
File "MDATA.DAT" not found
OK
 
It doesn't cause any problems but is just annoying me as it appears whenever I start my PC!
 
Any help would really be appreciated!!"

Reply:
This could be related to the mouse in your house; have you added a new one lately? If you have, try uninstalling any software related to the mouse by using this path: Start/ Control Panel/ Add or Remove Programs. Then look for anything related to the mouse (company name, etc.). Reconnect the mouse, restart and update the drivers by using the method described in the next paragraph or by using the software that was provided by the mouse maker.

If you have not added a new mouse, we will try Plan B: Start/ Control Panel/ Mouse. In the General tab select the Troubleshoot button and run the diagnostic test. If it declares that the device is working properly, select the Properties button adjacent to the Troubleshoot button. Choose the Driver tab and click on the Update Driver button. If you have updated your PC recently (and I hope you have, Microsoft is preparing to release another important security update this coming Tuesday), you may need to update the driver for the mouse; follow the prompts if this is the case and then restart. If no driver update was available use the uninstall button; this will open a Confirm Device Removal dialogue box, select OK (don’t worry, Windows will recognize the mouse when you boot-up again). The computer will have to restart for the change to take effect, and more than likely you will be instructed to restart once more before the PC is satisfied with the new configuration.

1406 Error Message

Mr. A writes:
I have just bought an iPod and am trying to install iTunes. Unfortunately I keep getting an error message when I am near the end of it. It says: Error 1406. Could not write value to key HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\Software\Classes\.cdda\OpenWithList\iTunes.exe. Verify that you have sufficient acces to that key, or contact your support personnel.
Do you know how I can solve this? I tried what you say on the website about removing iTunes but it hasn't helped!! I am at a loss as to what to do next!! Any help would be very much appreciated as I currently have a £250 paperweight!!!

I couldn't replicate this problem on my PCs or using Virtual PC, but Mr. A is not alone when it comes to the 1406 error message and I found recent posts on CNET and SmartComputing.com that were most useful when taken together; this is how I changed the permissions (and it was set so that only the admin had access and privileges) and it should work for you if the message is "Error 1406. Could not write value to key \Software\Classes\.cdda\OpenWithList\iTunes.exe”. Make sure you are logged in as the Administrator so you can utilize the following method, or contact your support personnel (AKA geeky daughter or son). Use this path: Start / Run. Then type in "regedit" (without the quotes) and find the caption HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE and open it. Next use Edit found in the toolbar and select the Find Next option, double-check to make sure that the boxes for "Keys, Values, and Data" are checked (they are by default), and in the text box type: “.cdda” ( again, without the quotes). Click on the button "Find Next" and if this folder is in your system you will see it highlighted in the left column. Look for caption “OpenWithList” and click on it to open. Next you need to right click on "OpenWithList" folder and tap on Select Permissions. Choose the Add button and select the Advanced button. Look for the Find Now button and click on it then choose the"everyone" selection and hit the OK button. After the dialog box closes, choose the OK button in the dialog box now at the front of your desktop to close this box. Now back to the Permissions for “OpenWithList” box where you need to select "allow" checkbox in the "full control" row and select OK.

  Repeat the process with the “OpenWithProgids” folder directly below the “OpenWithList”. Then you can close up the regedit and re-install, hopefully for the last time.

WARNING: You should always backup your important data before attempting a regedit.

Excel pros can skip this question; but for those who don't use applications on a regular basis, Excel can sometimes be frustrating. Dave from Chico was feeling that frustration when he called me this week. He was trying to create a chart with Chart Wizard in MS Office 98 Excel. Dave wanted his chart to reflect time values on the bottom of the graph, the x-axis, but could only get sequential numbers to appear on the x-axis (e.g. 1, 2, 3...). I don't have that version of Office loaded in Virtual PC yet, but usually the problem with charts isn't the wizard but the spreadsheet itself. In this case, Dave inadvertently formatted the cells or he had placed something in a cell (in this case cell A-1) that caused the time values to be recognized as numbered columns. That is why he was getting his column labeled 1, 2, 3...

The fix was easy, and there are many ways to do this. If Dave had the word "time" in cell A-1, he could simply remove it and begin the chart wizard process again. If Dave had accidentally formatted the cells he could simply select all (Command A for Mac or Control A for Windows) and click on edit on the menu bar; scroll down to clear and click on format from the pop-out menu; then with the format clear, begin the chart building process with the wizard again. Other options include just selecting the cells containing the values and formatting them, or he could have typed in alpha information in the cells with the minute values (e.g. 20 min) his chart would reflect the information he needed. Sometimes the easiest fix is to just start the spreadsheet again and save yourself some frustration.