Q. I do not have the spell feature on my Outlook Express. Can you help, please help?
Jim Spinale @charter.net
A. First off, Mr. S., do you know that there is no spell-check software built into Outlook Express and that it gets its spell-check feature by borrowing that of a word processor like Microsoft Works or Microsoft Office?
It would be nice if that is your problem, because there are inexpensive programs available that can add spell-checking to machines lacking the feature. Check out www.spellchecker.com/personal, which offers software for $20 and permits free trials beforehand. Or go to www.downloads.com and use “spell check” as a keyword to find the wealth of shareware for this feature.
Sadly, a significant number of users have encountered a problem with one of the Windows files that is used to do the checks. It is called csapi3t1.dll and if you have Works or an equivalent program then you need to replace it. This is complex but doable.
Fire up Internet Explorer and type in this as the address: C:
Program Files
Common Files
Microsoft Shared
Proof. This takes you to your PC’s Proofing directory, which is used for spell checks, grammar checks and other supervisory jobs. If the csapi3t1.dll file is there, delete it.
Then you need make a fresh copy of the file using the Expand tool. Click on Start and Run and then type msconfig and click OK.
In the next display, click on Expand File. In the box that comes up you are asked for the name of the file to restore so type in csapi3t1.dll and then in the Restore From box, type in C:
Windows
I386, which is where these files are kept. In some cases the master file is on the supplied Windows CD; if so, type in the drive letter for the CD drive and I386.
Finally, point the Expand tool to the Proof folder mentioned above and click the Expand button. This will restore spell-checking in a matter of seconds.
Q. I have a Sony desktop PC with NTFS-formatted hard drives. My C: drive is only 15 gigabytes and the D: drive is 170 gb. Can I increase the size of the C: drive to make more space? I only have 11.5 percent open on C:.
David Ericson @aol.com
A. For the stout-hearted, riverboat-gambler type of computer user, it is possible to do these kinds of partitioning jobs using Windows’ built-in tools, but I strongly recommend finding a program like PartitionMagic instead. This hands-down winner among partition managers is sold by Symantec Inc., maker of everything Norton, as well as other utility software.
It is at www.symantec.com and costs $49.95 for either a downloaded version or a disc in a box. Fire it up and you’ll find handholding every step of the way as you expand that puny C: drive by taking over space from your D: drive.
For the adventurous, here is how to find the Windows partitioning wizard. Click on Start and Control Panel and then open the Administrative Tools icon. Select Computer Management and finally, chose the Disk Management tool.
This will bring up a display showing every drive on your computer, along with information about partitions, size, status and such. The instructions for resizing partitions can be opened by clicking on Action in the Disk Management window and then calling up the Help choice.
Remember always that messing with the hard drive is like messing with brain surgery because a misstep will bring the same unwanted result–a dead patient.
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Contact Jim Coates via e-mail at jcoates@tribune.com or via snail mail at the Chicago Tribune, Room 400, 435 N. Michigan Ave., Chicago IL 60611. Questions can be answered only through this column. Add your point of view at chicagotribune.com/askjim.
