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A small icon (Exif Launcher) has mysteriously appeared on the bottom right corner of my monitor. Is this an antivirus programme? Should I launch it or should I delete it?

The System Tray

The System Tray area is an area found at the bottom right corner of your computer’s screen. It contains the clock as well as notification icons that “notify” you about certain settings. For example, you might see the speaker icon that notifies you that your sound is turned on or off. Another common notification icon is the network icon that notifies you if your computer is connected to the Internet or not. Icons periodically appear notifying you that an update has arrived. Other icons provide you with shortcuts to different features. For example, if you have a laptop, an icon for your touchpad may appear in the System Tray. Double-clicking it would then launch a properties dialog box where you can adjust its settings.

Notice the pointer (it looks like a “less than” sign) at the far left of the System Tray area? If you click that, you’ll see “hidden” icons. These are icons that are not active at the moment. If you right-click a blank area of the System Tray area, you can customize the notification icons. Similarly, right-clicking an icon itself will open a menu offering several choices.

The Exif Launcher Icon

Now, about that mysterious Exif Launcher icon. This is an icon associated with Fuji digital cameras and their “Fine Pix Viewer” software. When you connect your camera to your computer, the Exif Launcher enables the Fine Pix Viewer software to launch automatically. This makes it easy to download your photos from your camera.

If the icon bothers you, you have several options. First, you can right-click a blank area of the System Tray and choose “Customize Notification Icons” and then set the Exif Launcher icon to remain “hidden when inactive.” Another option is to go into the Fine Pix Viewer software and find the Settings > Exif Launcher Settings section. From there, click “Do not run at restart.” If adjusting the settings doesn’t do the trick (it should),  you can always remove Exif Launcher from automatic startup by removing its icon from your system’s Startup folder.

Keep in mind that if you remove Exif Launcher from automatic startup, you will need to manually launch the Fine Pix Viewer manually when you want to connect your camera.

When I first had the computer I had no trouble playing any video files. Now I get an error code C00D11BB (specified protocol is not supported ) message on some videos. I have not been able to find this specific code on any help site.

Error Code C00D11BB

I checked with Microsoft and found some information about the error code C00D11BB. It is related to Windows Media Player’s inability to play a particular file, but then you already knew that. The information that I found went on to explain that a specific protocol is either not supported by the Windows Media Player or server. This means that the problem could be on either your end or the server hosting the video. If the problem lies with the Windows Media Player, you can take some steps to try to resolve the problem but if the problem lies on the server’s end, you may not be able to do much about it. First, let’s look at how to enable protocols in Windows Media Player before examining potential solutions for accessing hosted videos.

Configuring Windows Media Player Protocols

Go ahead and launch Windows Media Player and then go to the Tools menu item. If you can’t see the menu list, right-click a blank area of the black bar (where you see the words “now playing,” “library,” and “rip”), and choose “Show classic menus.” After clicking Tools, click on Options and then click the Network tab. Make sure checkmarks are present in the Protocols for MMS URL as well as in Allow the Player to Receive Multicast Streams.

While you’re in this area, look at the HTTP and RTSP protocols and see if they are set to use a proxy. The HTTP protocol should be set to use the proxy settings of your Web browser. By default, the RTSP is set to none. Try changing it to “auto detect” if none of the other tips work.  

Firewall Issues

Windows Firewall may be blocking UDP and multicast streams, so go into Windows Firewall, click the Exceptions tab, and add Windows Media Player to the list.

Accessing Videos through Open URL

If you are receiving the error code C00D11BB when using the Windows Media Player’s File > Open URL command, then it’s possible that the error lies on the server. Windows Media Player supports MMS, HTTP, and RTSP protocols with the syntaxes as follows:

• MMS://server/filename (with a multimedia file extension such as .mp3. or .wmv)
• MMS://server/sami.asf?SAMI=http://server/sami/sami_demo.smi (SAMI file)
• RTSP://server/filename
• HTTP://server/filename

When the error code is generated after using the Open URL, double check to see if you have entered the URL correctly. If so, try using a different protocol. For example, instead of RTSP, enter HTTP. If none of these tweaks work, then it’s likely a problem on the server’s end.

I just got an HP IQ846t with TV tuner. When I ran the set up only got 12 HD channels. How do get the rest? I have Cox Cable of Newport Beach CA. I am not using a box, just the cable out of the wall. I have boxes on rest of house and don’t need another on the computer.

While the computer has a built-in TV tuner, you may need to connect to an actual box in order to receive all of the HD channels offered by your cable company or you might need Cox Cable to give your computer access to the “locked” HD content. According to HP’s Viewing TV in Media Center Guide, “HDTV content providers protect their content to prevent them from being copied and played back on other systems.”

In fact, if you were to plug in a television to the cable line without a cable box, the television would likely only receive the basic channels just as your computer’s TV tuner is doing. By equipping each television in the house with a cable box, you are able to enjoy all of the channels in your cable package on each television. Since the computer is going to be another television in your home, you can either use the “basic” cable that comes in through the cable line or you can “unlock” the additional content by using a cable box.

Try connecting your computer using one of your existing cable boxes to see if the connection via the box solves the problem. This will involve moving your computer temporarily and unhooking your cable from your television. If your computer’s tuner recognizes all HD channels offered, then you’ll need to call Cox Cable and explain your situation. The cable company may have a better solution than equipping the computer with a box of its own. For example, they might be able to register you computer as an authorized system to access the content or provide you with some sort of unlock code.

Now that more computers are being built with TV tuners and preinstalled with Media Center, cable companies will eventually recognize that their users need alternative ways to access their content. As an early adopter, you may have to settle for a cable box until a better solution is developed.

DVDs are not working on my computer - any ideas?

There are so many things that can affect a DVD performance in a computer - without more information, I’m going to give you a list of the most obvious possibilities.

DVD-ROM Configuration

It’s possible that your DVD ROM drive is configured for a different region. DVDs come coded for specific regions and if it doesn’t match the region that is on your computer, the movie won’t run. To check this, go to Start and then right click on My Computer. Go to Properties and find the Hardware tab and go to Device Manager. You should see the DVD/CD ROM drive in the list. Right click on it and choose Properties. Find the DVD region tab and make any changes you need. Know that you may only be able to make 5 changes to the region before it is set and you can’t undo it. Look for a comment about how many changes you have left and don’t change the region unless you have to.

DVD Decoders

It’s possible you need a DVD Decoder. You can run the Video Decoder Checkup Utility from Microsoft which will tell you what you have installed on your machine. If you need a decoder in order to watch movies on your machine, two to try are NVIDIA DVD Decoder or the Roxio CinePlayer. Do you have a program installed that will let you watch movies on your computer? One like Windows Media Player or RealPlayer is needed in order to watch DVDs.

Drivers

Drivers are files that control internal and external devices on a computer. If you need a new driver or something happens to your old driver, you may not be able to play DVDs properly. If you have your original CD, you can go to Device Manager as you did above, uninstall the old driver and reinstall the new one from the CD. If you don’t have the CD, find the manufacturer in Device Manager and go to that website to download the newest drivers. Most manufacturers make it very easy to find the driver download button on their site. You can also get a program such as Driver Detective to do it for you automatically.

Damaged Disc

It’s possible that the disc is damaged, particularly if you can play some DVDs and not others. Computers and stand-alone DVD players read the information differently so even damaged discs that can be played in other DVD players may not work in your computer. The only cure for this is to get a new disc.

Hopefully, one of these will solve your problem. If you need more help, let us know what is happening when you try to play the disc - are you getting any error messages? Does the disc just spin and isn’t recognized? Listing some of the symptoms will help us narrow down the problem.

How do I download videos from my digital camera and then burn them to DVD disc?

The first order of business is to get the videos from your camera and onto your computer. From there, you’ll need to burn to DVD, assuming that you have a DVD burner of course. So, let’s start with the transfer process.

Downloading Videos from Digital Cameras

If you have a standard digital camera with video capabilities, the process will be similar to downloading your photos. Digital cameras save video clips as files, often with the .mpg file extension. So, if you normally transfer your photos by connecting your digital camera to your computer using a USB cable and importing them using Windows Explorer, you’d use the same process to transfer the video files. Likewise, if your computer has a memory card reader, you’d simply insert the memory card into the reader and copy and paste your files into a folder on your hard drive. In addition, your camera may have come with software for importing files.

I find that using Windows to import files is the easiest. In my case, my camera uses a Sony Memory Stick and my laptop has a compatible card reader built right in. I simply insert the stick and the Auto Play wizard appears offering me several import choices. I usually select “Import Pictures Using Windows.” If you chose this option, be sure to click the Options link which will give you options such as: Prompt for tag on import, always erase after importing, rotate pictures on import, and Open Photo Gallery after import.
If the Auto Play / Import Pictures Using Windows box doesn’t appear, you can manually launch Windows Photo Gallery, which is built into Windows Vista, and use the File > Import from Scanner or Camera option. Select Import Photos and Videos, choose your camera, and click Import.  

Burning the Videos to DVD

Once you have the videos on your computer, the next step is to burn them to DVD. Of course, you may want to view the videos first for quality and content as well as consider editing them. While I have used several third party video editing programs, the built-in Windows Movie Maker works just fine for basic editing and DVD burning. You can use it to edit your videos, add titles, add transitions, add music, and other effects.

Once you’ve fine-tuned your video, you can use Movie Maker to “publish” it. In this case, you want to burn it to DVD, so go ahead and save your work and then choose Publish to > DVD in the Task Pane. This will launch another built-in program, Windows DVD maker. Select your project from the list, select your DVD drive letter, and click the Options link for further options. Here you can change the playback settings, aspect ratio, and television format (PAL or NTSC).

In addition, you can choose the DVD burner speed. I recommend choosing the slowest speed possible for best results. In fact, when you’re editing videos, I recommend closing everything running on your computer with the exception of essential programs like your computer security products. Video editing requires massive amounts of system resources and when resources are in low supply, noticeable glitches appear in the video or the burning can fail.

Once you’ve made your selections, click the Next button and create the DVD’s menu (if you opted for a menu earlier). Click the Burn button to burn your video to a blank DVD.

If you have a pre-Vista computer, you may need to invest in software. In general, after importing your video files, you can use a disc burning program like Nero to create a DVD. Make sure that you choose a video format, not a data format if you use a disc burning program.

I am using Virtual DJ. How can I get the program on one screen and something else on the other?

Configuring Dual Monitors

The configuration you need to sort out to use two monitors depends more on your computer and operating system than on the programs you want to use, like Virtual DJ. First of all, your computer itself will need to support dual monitors, as many newer models do without any additional hardware. You can check if your computer has one or more monitor connections on the back of the PC - the VGA, HDMI or DVI connectors are large, with screw pieces on each side and are the port used to plug in the monitor. If you have more than one of these ports, then you can try connecting a second monitor. If not, you will need to see about outfitting your computer with a video adapter to share the one port you do have. In this case, take your computer specifications to a computer shop and consult with a technician. If you’re using a laptop, connection the second monitor to the VGA, HDMI or DVI on the back should be no problem.

Adjust Display Settings XP - Extend Desktop

Once connected, you need to configure the two monitors. Reboot your computer so that it can recognize the new monitor, and then adjust your display settings in Windows XP like this:

1. Click Start, then Control Panel
2. Choose Appearances and Themes, then Display
3. A Display Properties dialog box will open, choose the Settings tab
4. Click to select the monitor icon numbered 2 - you can drag and drop to position them in alignment with the physical monitors
5. Then, click to check the box beside Extend My Windows Desktop onto this Monitor
6. Click Apply, then OK

Adjust Display Settings Vista - Extend Desktop

If you are using Windows Vista, follow these directions to adjust the display settings:

1. Connect the monitor, then reboot the computer
2. Right click the desktop, choose Personalize
3. At the bottom, click to open the Display settings
4. Drag and drop to positions the numbered monitor icons
5. Click to choose monitor 2 - the additional monitor
6. Click to check the box beside Extend the Desktop onto this Monitor
7. Click Apply, then OK

Drag and Drop Programs

Now you can drag and drop your programs across the extended desktop to one or the other monitor. This should allow you to display whatever program combinations you want. Good luck!