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My computer was recently installed with Windows XP-SP2 via CD-Rom. During daily operations, this message pops up several times: 'Tsc.exe. No disk'. What is it, and how do I fix it?

William Lo

Quarry Bay

It sounds like your system is using Trend System Cleaner (TSC.EXE), an application that is part of the Trend Micro virus-scanning technology, PC-cillin. I have checked on the Web and found you have a fairly common problem. It would appear that most people need to upgrade PC-cillin to fix this problem.

This is hardly surprising because constantly updating your virus scanner software is the bare minimum you need to do to be safe. It certainly seems odd that the application needs upgrading, but it is not unreasonable. It is likely that an upgrade is needed after installing Microsoft Windows XP Service Pack 2. If you bought the Trend Micro software recently, you should be able to download the upgrade free.

Last week, Tech Talk ran an article about someone who was having difficulty getting his wireless connection to work at home ('Wireless installation a vexing problem'). A reader commented and there is a postscript to the story.

I had this problem earlier this year but never even thought of reformatting my hard drive to fix the problem.

I installed a Buffalo wireless network to connect two PCs at home to share one broadband connection.

I already had a broadband connection - it was a matter of installing the router between the modem and the PC. I remember on my first attempt I could not do it, but I blame the badly written instructions that came with the router. After a couple of extremely frustrating tries, it worked, but I have yet to connect the two PCs using the same router. I find that even more complex and not really necessary. I use a FlashDisk to move files between machines, or I'll use e-mail sometimes. I would never format my hard drive unless my PC could not restart after a dozen or so tries.

Harry Chen

Hong Kong

Reformatting the disk  should only be done as a last resort. Mr Chen is not quite accurate about the router, however. The Buffalo device includes a router as well as wireless capabilities. The manual, although 'minimal' at best, is not the real problem.

I spoke to the person who wrote in about this problem and he said the problem had been fixed.

He stopped using Microsoft's Internet Explorer, moved over to Netscape and downloaded the latest Java Virtual Machine software. Sure enough, the whole thing worked.

The problem was the inability to connect to the router using IE. It may have been a setting within this browser he did not know was set. Although it is tempting to think it may have been Java (why would Microsoft turn it on by default?), it is unlikely because there would have been a message saying Java was not running.

The sad truth about troubleshooting computers  is that it is often a question of just trying everything you know and hoping for the best.

The reason some people are better at this than others is they have seen more problems. Doing radical things such as reformatting a disk should only be done when you are certain all other options will not work.



Anti-virus ware needs a regular shot in the arm