What You Need to Know About Audio Drivers

One of the greatest improvements made to personal computers in recent years has been the use of audio drivers that have improved the sound quality that computers are able to produce. Modern computers are able to reproduce a full range of sounds, including human voices in conjunction with multimedia applications. These improvements often, but not always, include a separate sound card that handles input/output devices such as microphones and speakers for the system. Others allow the sound to be handled through the motherboard using limited internal speakers.

Advantages of Dedicated Sound Cards

It is easy to tell if a computer has a sound card installed. If there are ports for speakers, headphones, and a microphone, the computer has an active sound card, also called a dedicated sound card. The sound quality is much better with the sound card system than that run through the mother board. This is partially because the devices that produce the sound are of much better quality, and partially because the sound card is more powerful and able to handle more of the many nuances of sound.

What are Audio Drivers & Why are they Necessary?

One fact that is not changed, regardless of the type of audio output the computer generates is the need to have an audio driver to connect the operating system of the computer with the various devices used to output sound and/or accept sound input to the system.

Audio drivers are intricate pieces of software that act as a go between for the operating system and the devices that allow the system to operate the devices at peak efficiency without the system knowing exactly what brand, size, or type of devices are involved. Audio drivers have to be written to handle virtually any configuration of sound input/output devices to properly reproduce sounds.

Drivers are normally written to operate specific devices. General Purpose audio drivers work specifically with the sound card model in the computer and are more general to the end devices. Different versions of the drivers have to be written to work with different operating systems, even if they operate identical devices.

Potential Audio Driver Problems

Occasionally, audio drivers encounter devices or conditions for which they are unable to handle the entire range of sounds. When this happens, problems with sound quality are noticed that cannot be corrected until a new driver is written and downloaded. Drivers are often rewritten specifically with a patch to overcome a known problem. New versions are released periodically throughout the year. It is important to keep track of new driver releases and always have the newest driver for your system installed in order to accommodate any change in equipment or upgrade to your devices.

Computer sound reproduction quality has come a long way since desktop computers were first invented. Operating systems are faster and better. Memory availability is incredibly increased from that time. New platforms, such as surround sound and 3D sound systems have been invented that can produce multiple tracks of sound simultaneously. The one thing that pulls all these features together and makes the different devices work together properly is the audio drivers. These sophisticated software items act as a go between to allow the operating system to work with the audio devices without having all the specific details on the devices stored in memory.

How to Troubleshoot Runtime Error 424

Runtime errors are popping more often on Windows XP and especially Windows Vista computers. One of the more common problems is runtime error 424.

The cause of the error is generally given in the error message, which will read “Runtime Error 424 Object Needed”. This particular runtime error occurs most often when running MS Internet Explorer 6.0 and the chart wizard for MS Excel. In certain rare instances, it can pop up with MS Outlook 2000.

Troubleshooting run time error 424 is usually a fairly simple project due to the nature of the error and its cause being displayed when it occurs. It is, however, important to deal with the problem promptly to keep it from growing into a more serious problem for your system. This and other runtime errors can cause your computer to slow down dramatically and prevent some applications from loading or running properly.

How to Get Rid of Runtime Error 424

Fixing run time error 424 is usually as simple as updating your web browser. Internet Explorer 6.0 has been replaced twice now. IE 7.0 and IE 8.0, which has just been released, are available for download to computers running Windows XP and Vista. There are also other options, including Mozilla Firefox, if one wishes to avoid Internet Explorer completely.

If the Excel chart wizard is creating runtime error 424, one may wish to avoid using the wizard. It is a useful tool, but if it is generating this type of error, it is not worth the trouble it causes.

For the rare instance when this error occurs with MS Outlook, the solution is to change the format in which the email is sent to html and save this setting for future reference.

Runtime error 424 and most other runtime errors can be minimized or eliminated by periodically running a registry cleaner program to get rid of outdated, abandoned keys in the registry and make sure that files are located on the disk at the address they are supposed to occupy. Several different registry cleaning utilities are available for purchase or free download. It is important to choose one that will perform to one’s expectations and restore the system to the speed and efficiency it is supposed to operate at.

Runtime errors are occurring more and more frequently with newer operating systems and older applications that do not mesh perfectly. Runtime error 424 is a classic example of this type of error. Getting to the bottom of the problem and fixing it as soon as possible is the only way to prevent it from having a major impact on the performance of one’s system.

To conclude, solutions to runtime error 424 include updating the web browser to a newer version that does not cause the error, avoiding the use of the chart wizard in MS Excel, and setting the format of mail in MS Outlook to HTML. Prevention of runtime errors in general includes running a registry cleanup periodically to remove outdated data so that the system can run smoothly and efficiently.

Tips on How to Keep Your Hard Drive in Good Form

As with all things in life, those that cost less tend to be taken for granted. Indeed, why spend countless days in maintaining something that can easily be bought by a day’s wage?

Hard drives are fast spinning out of the PC users’ orbit of attention. As of this month, a terabyte (yes, we’re already past the gigabyte era) of storage costs around $100, and it’s expected to slide further. That’s extremely cheap, considering that about a decade ago, a gigabyte of the said accessory would’ve easily out-priced its principal.

Just because a hard disk could easily or cheaply be bought like an ordinary item in a 7-Eleven store doesn’t mean that you shouldn’t give much attention to it. While the peripheral itself can be replaced anytime at one’s whim, the contents thereof aren’t exactly disposable. For the prudent and the wise, a hard drive is like a gold mine or a vault; its contents are undeniably precious.

So before you eventually blow up your mine by your continuous inaction and lack of care, I suggest that you take into heart (and into action!) the following tips:

1.  Kick Out Idle Files

If you’re going to take a long and careful look at the contents of your hard drive, you’ll discover that about a third of it is either unused or unwanted. You may contend, though, that that shouldn’t be a problem since there’s lot of bytes to spare. However, space isn’t the problem in stuffed disks.

PC speed and performance dips when the disks are spinning with a full load. The more data that the drive carries, the longer it takes for it to locate and load a particular file. You should therefore do a little spring cleaning inside your hard drive from time to time, preferably at least once a month. Delete files or applications that you no longer need. If you’ve installed a new version of a program, make sure that you delete the old one. If you’re testing demo versions of programs that you mindlessly download over the Internet, make it a point to uninstall them if you later realize that it doesn’t suit your needs.

2.  Run Check Disk

If you haven’t experienced a sudden shut down or a system crash, then you probably haven’t seen this program in action yet. Check Disk is a Windows utility that scans hard disks for bad sectors caused by damaged platters. It marks unusable portions of the drive so that no data would be written on them.

While Check Disk runs automatically after every crash, you should make it a point to run it manually from time to time, especially if you’re disks seem to be making unusual noises whenever it is retrieving data or running applications.

3.  Don’t Ignore Disk Cleanup

Some users confuse Disk Cleanup with Check Disk. While both Windows utilities care for your hard drive, they do so in different ways. The latter examines the physical integrity of the peripheral, while the former checks its contents. Disk Cleanup scans for files that are no longer needed or should’ve already been deleted along with the program that it was associated with. You would be surprised at the amount of disk place that could be freed up after the cleanup.

How to Fix Msoe.dll Errors

The msoe.dll file is an important element of the Microsoft Outlook Express mail client. When this file experiences problems, it might generate errors on your computer and even prevent the Outlook Express application from working properly. The message that usually comes along with this error is “Outlook Express could not be started because Msoe.dll could not be loaded.” Let’s go over the causes of the msoe.dll error and work on a several resolutions to solve it.

Missing Address Book

You may encounter the msoe.dll error on a PC running Windows ME if the Address Book has been removed from the system. When this is the case, repairing the error is simple as all you have to do is restore the Address Book. To do so, follow the four steps below:

1.) Launch the “Control Panel” and select the “Add or Remove Programs” option.

2.) Click the “Windows Setup” tab and then check the “Address Book” option.

3.) Click “OK” to reinstall the Address Book.

4.) Lastly, choose “Yes” to restart the system and allow the changes to take effect

Outlook Express Conflict

The msoe.dll error may also occur if you are running two different versions of Outlook Express on your computer. So if you have both Outlook Express 5.0 and 6.0 installed, you would need to manually remove one of the applications from the system and then reinstall a new copy from the installation files. This is a multiple step process that requires you to do the following:

1.) First, backup your Outlook Express emails and Address Book.

2.) Next, launch “My Computer”, open the “Tools” menu, choose “Folder Options” and click on the “View” tab.

3.) In this window, select the “Show hidden files and folder”.

4.) Disable the checkboxes for the “Hide file extensions for known file types” and “Hide protected operating system files” options.

5.) Select “Yes” to confirm and then exit.

6.) From here, you want to open the “Windows Explorer” utility and rename the following folders:

- “C:\Program Files\Common Files\Microsoft Shared\Stationery”
- “C:\Documents and Settings\username\Application Data\Identities or C:\Documents and Settings\username\Local Settings\Application Data\Identities”
- “C:\Documents and Settings\username\Application Data\Microsoft\Address Book”

* Take note that these path may vary in accordance to the version of your operating system as well as the root folder path. As an example, you might want to consider naming the folders to “Stationery_old”, “Identities_old” and “Address_Book_old”.

7.) The next step is to run the “Regedit” command to launch the Windows Registry Editor. Once inside the registry, delete the following entries:

- HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\Software\Microsoft\WAB
- HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\Software\Microsoft\Outlook Express
- HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE \Software \Microsoft\Active Setup \Installed Components\{44BBA840-CC51-11CF-AAFA-00AA00B6015C}
- HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\Software\Microsoft\Active Setup\Installed Components\{7790769C-0471-11D2-AF11-00C04FA 35D02}
- HKEY_CURRENT_USER\Identities
- HKEY_CURRENT_USER\Software\Microsoft \Outlook Express
- HKEY_CURRENT_USER\Software\Microsoft\WAB

* Keep in mind that is advisable to backup the Windows registry before making any changes. This can be done by utilizing the “File>Export” option within the Registry Editor or a third-party registry editing tool.

8.) The last step is to rename files in both the “C:\Winnt \System32″ and “C:\Winnt \System32 \Dllcache” folders. These files are as follows:

- Setup50.exe
- Wab.exe
- Wabfind.dll
- Wabimp.dll
- Wabmig.exe
- Csapi3t1.dll
- Directdb.dll
- Wab32.dll
- Wab32res.dll
- Inetcomm.dll
- Msoeacct.dll
- Msoert2.dll
- Msoe.dll
- Msoeres.dll
- Msimn.exe
- Oeimport.dll
- Oemiglib.dll
- Oemig50.exe

Once you complete all the steps above, restart the computer, and then reinstall the version of Outlook you want to keep. After the installation is done, import your messages and Address Book from the backup. If all goes well, this should be the end of your msoe.dll errors.