Why Won't My PC Awaken From Power-Saving Mode?

Send questions to answer@pcworld.com. You'll find Contributing Editor Lincoln Spector's humorous and other writings at www.thelinkinspector.com .

Lincoln Spector

Windows doesn't awaken from its standby or hibernate modes. What can I do?

Name withheld upon request

Many standby and hibernate problems can be traced to graphics boards and sound cards. A simple driver update might get hibernation working again; browse to Common PC Problems Solved: The Ultimate FAQ for an easy way to handle this chore.

Some applications can cause sleep/wake-up difficulties as well. As a test, put your PC into standby or hibernation when particular programs are running, and when they aren't. If everything works when you're not running a certain program, look for a free update, replace the app if no such update is available, or close the program before you take a break.

A BIOS update could also resolve the matter. Check your system vendor's Web site to see if one is available.

If something doesn't work immediately after your system wakes up, wait a bit and try again. Your computer could take a while to come back. If all else fails, enter the name of the hardware or software you installed most recently along with the words standby or hibernate in a search engine to find Web pages and Usenet discussions on potential problems.

Convert PDFs to Word Docs

How do I convert Adobe Acrobat PDF files into Microsoft Word's .doc format?

Joe Kuner, via the Internet

There are several ways to accomplish this conversion that don't involve paying $299 for Adobe's full Acrobat program. Here are some of your alternatives:

FREE: Open the PDF in Adobe Reader and select Edit, Copy File to Clipboard. Then open a new Word document and press <Ctrl>-V to paste in the text. This doesn't copy the file's images or page formatting, and every line of text becomes its own paragraph, so editing the file is harder.

$10: CTdeveloping's PDF to DOC program (see FIGURE 1

Figure 1: Preserve the look of PDFs when you convert them to Word documents with CTdeveloping's $10 PDF to DOC utility.

) accurately imports a PDF file's images as well as its text and all but the most complex page formatting. However, each line of text will be its own frame---as bad for editing as the free option above. Still, the program is useful for straight importing without any editing.

$40: Your PDF file's text will flow from line to line with only an occasional error when you paste it into a .doc file using Investintech.com's Able2Doc utility. Like PDF to DOC, the program converts most of the original file's formatting correctly.

Switch E-mail Addresses

What's the best way to notify people of a change in my primary e-mail address?

Joe Smith, Coos Bay, Oregon

Once the new address is active, send a notice from that mailbox to everyone you regularly communicate with via e-mail. While making the new address your primary one, keep the old address for a month or two. Check both regularly, but send mail exclusively from the new account. If any people send you mail at the old address, be sure to alert them to the change, but send that message from your new address.

Once you've gone a week or two without getting a new, pertinent message at the old account, cancel it.

Record Directly from a DVD Without Added Equipment

In the October issue's Answer Line, I recommended using a cable to record sound from a commercial DVD (go to "Synchronize Files Easily With Windows' Briefcase" and scroll down to find the tip)--this makes a legitimate backup. Girish Modi of Montgomery, Alabama, wrote to tell me that he can record sound off a DVD with Roxio Easy Media Creator's Sound Editor program. Some PCs allow you to directly record whatever is currently playing through their sound system. (Other sound cards intentionally disable this feature to protect copyrights.) To see if your system can do this, launch your recording software and look for a recording-source option named Default Mapping Device, Master, Stereo Mix, or something similar. Then see if it works with protected content, such as a commercial DVD.