Mysteriouser and mysteriouser
Keyboard lock up
More keyboard problems
DoubleSpace and DrvSpace, Fax macro, AWE32 problem and more
. . . no, it's my RAM!
The GPF stops here
Operating on the system
New DOS version is no fun
3/4 speed CD
Slimmed-down CD-ROM storage
Sleuthing for file origins
Q A friend recently purchased a new DX2-66 computer from one of the many distributing companies around Sydney and as he had not much experience with PCs, I gave him a hand to set it up and load some software. I left him to it for a few days to enable him to learn about his new "toy".
He rang me a few days later to tell me that he was having a problem with the keyboard locking up intermittently. I had never experienced this before and we tried at length, over the phone, to establish what combination of keystrokes were causing this lockup. The only thing which would reset the keyboard was to re-boot.
The lockups seemed to occur when Caps Lock or Num Lock were used (but not always). To cut a very long story short . . . the computer was taken back to the store five times. After each time my friend was assured that they had found a problem which they had fixed.
I won't bore you with the details but the reasons ranged from a dodgy keyboard connection (No. 1 excuse) to a virus. On the last occasion the motherboard was replaced but only after my friend insisted that the manager of the store come to his house and see for himself (previously the shop had stated that they had been unable to duplicate the problem).
When the motherboard was replaced my friend made them set up the computer in front of him and run it. It took no more than three minutes for the keyboard to lock up. He now has his money back in his pocket but with his confidence somewhat shaken.
My question is have you seen or heard of this before? The sales people insisted on telling him that they had never experienced this before. I must stress that the computer was a "name" brand as my friend had been cautious to avoid shonky equipment! Unfortunately I have no diagnostic print outs (MSD) and don't expect a lengthy reply, just any ideas to satisfy our curiosity.
- Jim McManus, CompuServe
A It wouldn't surprise me if I get a letter saying something like "geez, mate, don't you know this happens because JP5 on the veeblefetzer board is open?" But that's the sort of detailed knowledge I don't have. In this case, the first thing I'd try is a different brand of keyboard. The keyboard and the motherboard are talking to each other over a peripheral interface, just like a printer or mouse, and their respective makers may have read the specification slightly differently.
My guess is that the two have a slight misunderstanding, so that the keyboard is saying "I have a keypress for you" and the motherboard is answering "whuffor you no wanna send more dem letters?" or words to that effect. I can't guess if it's the keyboard or the motherboard that's off spec, but it's cheaper to try a different keyboard . . .
No sooner had I written that, than this letter arrived:
Q On looking through my cupboard I discovered I had collected enough bits from various upgrades to build a 386 computer. The only parts needed were a keyboard and a case. The motherboard is a KT electronics 386DX-40 with the AMD chip, 512K 9000 Triton video card and a 130Mb Seagate hard drive. The hard disk controller manufacture is not known to me but there are two cards - one for the hard disk and floppy disk and one for COM1, COM2, games and parallel ports.
My problem is when I start the machine it reports a keyboard error ( "press F1 to resume") and on pressing F1 it boots correctly and works perfectly. I ran Norton diagnostics on the machine and it reports no problems. I then changed the keyboard for another known good board and got the same error message. It was suggested to me by my dealer that the board may be dodgy and he lent me another motherboard, same specs (386 DX-40) but different brand; amazingly, I got the same problem.
After changing back to the old motherboard I tried another keyboard and this time the machine started up no trouble at all and is still running quite happily three weeks later. Both of the other keyboards run fine in other machines and the switches on them (AT XT ) are set correctly. I am at a loss to understand what is going on and any help would be appreciated.
- John Spits, Nowra, NSW
A Let me refine (if that's the word) my theory in the answer to Jim McManus: the high-speed square-wave signals passing between the keyboard and the mumboard need to fit together; it sounds to me as if yours started up slightly out of step and fell into synch after warming up.
Perhaps one or the other has a signal level, frequency or stability that is slightly outside the specified tolerances while cold; you may happen to have a motherboard that's erring on the high side and a keyboard that's weak on the low side. Curing the problem becomes a matter of finding a near enough match - which is exactly what you've done. Don't think I'm joking about temperature effects - my first XT had its full 640K only in winter, dropping to 256 on hot summer days . . .
In case you think I'm just being mock modest, have a read of this letter from somebody who knows a lot more:
Q I am a self-employed computer consultant, specialising in the sales, installation and setup of Windows stand-alone and network systems. A large part of my time is taken up solving problems such as those in these pages, so I read them each month with interest, looking for tips and generally just out of interest. I must say, I don't always agree with you and sometimes find myself mumbling curses at you because the answer is plain and you missed it, or I just disagree, but I think you generally do a damn good job, considering you have to assume so much via correspondence.
I decided to take the time to write you, to contribute a Word macro which you may like to pass on to your other readers and, while I'm at it, I thought I'd comment on some of the letters in the June issue.
First, regarding the comments by Paul Yang and before him, Jin Li. I have set up Doublespace on many machines for my clients in the past. I have a lot of accountant clients, whose general ledger packages are very sloppy in the database department. They compress by up to 16 to 1!
Even a 286 computer will run these programs quicker as the processing overhead for compression/decompression is far outweighed by the comparatively tiny disk accesses. Over time, I have seen very little problems with Doublespace. Even version 6.00 was OK in its own right. It just didn't protect itself against wayward programs which trashed its buffers and caused disk corruption as a result. With the subsequent release of DOS 6.2x, Doublespace was and still is a great piece of software.
One point Mr Yang made was that Doublespace/Drvspace didn't work correctly with 32-bit disk access. This is not true. It works perfectly with 32-bit disk access, especially on Windows for Workgroups 3.11. One area where Doublespace does cause problems though, is with a Windows for Workgroups network. If the computer is sharing its compressed drive and heavy IO is done on that drive, the connected workstation will most likely get IO errors. It seems the server's multitasking can't prioritise the doublespace software and the server software properly.
Moving on to the DOSSHELL letter by Richard Swain. When DOSSHELL is installed, it detects the type of graphics card, mono, CGA, EGA, VGA, or Hercules and loads the appropriate files. What Mr Swain needs to do is expand off his install disks the following files: VGA.GR_ and VGA.VI_. After he has located the floppy disk(s) with the files, he needs to type the following commands.
EXPAND A:VGA.GR_ C:\DOS/DOSSHELL.GRB
EXPAND A:VGA.VI_ C:\DOS/DOSSHELL.VID
When these files are copied into the DOS directory, in place of the current ones, DOSSHELL will utilise the full potential of VGA, both graphics and text.
Regarding Ron Hume's letter and his Wang. I remember seeing a program years ago called PC Alien which allowed Wang disks to be read on a PC. The software was on a local bulletin board then, so I am sure it's around somewhere. As you said, reading the disks is one thing, being able to use the Wang WP files on them is another.
Now to the letter from Michael Arnott in my home town. He can't get his AWE card to work properly. I am sure the problem to this dilemma is a clash in upper memory. I believe the AWE32 uses dual-ported RAM, but I may be wrong here. Anyway, when EMM386 scans high memory for its UMBs, it sometimes tries to use areas which are already taken by hardware.
I believe this is the case here. Dual-port RAM cards, like some network cards, cause this error because EMM386 is started before the card is activated. When EMM386 scans the upper memory area, it sees a free space and maps RAM into that area for UMBs. Then the card's driver is started, the card starts up, dual-port RAM tries to connect to the address bus and bang! I am sure the mouse and modem are a hardware conflict also. Mr Arnott is welcome to contact me if he has no joy.
I must take you to task on your comments about the EISA bus. The EISA bus has a burst speed of 33Mb/sec. This is based on it being a 32-bit bus and sending 4 bytes in parallel, but it is really still an 8MHz bus. A 33MHz VESA local bus for instance has a burst speed of 132Mb/sec for the same reason and a 33MHz PCI bus has a burst speed of 132Mb/sec also. What makes the PCI so good is it can sustain a transfer rate of 120Mb/sec.
Recently, people have been mentioning different techniques for printing foreign characters in their word processors. My wife is Swedish and always wants to use the Swedish alphabet when corresponding with her family, so I had to find an easy way to switch between keyboards. The solution is actually very easy.
In Win3.1x, go into Control Panel/Inter-national and select the national keyboard of your choice. You will be prompted to load some of your Windows disks. From then on, you just go into the same place and switch between your keyboards. Windows 95 makes it even easier. You install as many keyboards as you want and you can change them right off the taskbar. Magic!
Finally, I have a macro for Word called FAXIT which you may like to put in your orange pages (see page 186). This macro uses DDE to talk to Winfax and tell it where the fax is meant to be sent. The part I think your readers might find interesting is the method of obtaining the current printer, so this can be stored and reset after a fax print.
There is no command in Word Basic (at least I haven't found one) which returns the current printer, so if you are using a common macro in a network environment to switch to a specific printer, print, then return to the default printer, you need to have a way of remembering the current printer as different users on the network will have different default printers.
The function in my macro, GetCurrentPrinter$ uses a Windows API function to get the DEVICE setting in the WINDOWS group of WIN.INI. This line has the current printer settings, but it needs to be massaged slightly to be in the format WordBasic can use.
I have this macro attached to a faxheader template I have designed. I also have a macro called AUTONEW which automatically prompts for all the fax header details and assigns the bookmarks that FAXIT needs to get its numbers. This macro is for Winfax only.
Unfortunately, Microsoft At Work Fax doesn't appear to have any DDE ability. The macro is for Word v2. I think some of the Word specific commands may be slightly different for v6.
- Mark Dutton, Como, WA
'Faxit 1995, by Mark Dutton, DATAMERGE Software.
'Get the fax number from the bookmark faxno
'and the company name from the bookmark company.
'Declare the Windows API function used to get strings from
the WIN.INI file.
'We use this to get the current default printer.
Declare Function GetProfileString Lib "Kernel"(lpApplicationsName$
As String, lpKeyName$ As String, lpDefault$ As String. lpReturnedString$
As String, nSize As Integer) As Integer
Sub main
Dim theNumber$, thePlace$
bookmarkExists = ExistingBookmark("faxno") + ExistingBookmark("company")
If bookmarkExists = 0 Then Goto nobookmark
theNumber$ = GetBookmark$("faxno")
thePlace$ = GetBookmark$("company")
Shell "g:\winfax\faxmng.exe", 0 'start faxmng
if it is not already running
channel = DDEIntiate("faxmng", "Transmit")
DDEPoke(channel, "receiver", theplace$)
DDEPoke(channel, "fax number", theNumber$)
'Fax the document
sendit
Goto done
NoBookmark:
sendit 'Send it the old fashion way. Enter name and number
through popup
done:
End Sub
Sub sendIt
Dim oldPrinter$
oldPrinter$ = GetCurrentPrinter$
FilePrintSetup "Winfax on Com2:"
FilePrint
FilePrintSetup oldPrinter$
End Sub
Function GetCurrentPrinter$
Dim profile$(255), printerName$, printerPort$, printerString$,
count
dummy = GetProfileString("Windows", "device",
"", profile$, 255)
printerString$ = Left$(profile$, InStr(profile$, Chr$(0)-1)
'We must now change the printer driver string to the same
notation as
'Windows uses in the printer selection dialogue box.
printerName$ = Left$(printerString$, InStr(printerString$, ",")-1)
For count = Len(printerString$) To 1 Step-1
IfMid$(printerString$, count, 1)="," Then
printerPort = Mid$(printerString$, count + 1)
count = 1
'Stop looping now
EndIf
Next
GetCurrentPrinter$ = printerName$ + "on" + printerPort$
End Function
A Thanks for your comments about the AWE32 problem. You don't mention specifically a method for curing it - but see the next letter. Thanks also for your tip about the keyboard switching. I'm inclined to use another method, myself, because the other-language keyboards have a number of keys omitted and rearranged (to accommodate their special letters) and the keytops give no inkling where they are; I find this confusing.
Since I never use non-English characters other than in word processing and never use the function keys other than in DOS operations, I've assigned WinWord macros for en and em dashes and the Swedish special letters to F9-F12. That leaves me both my normal US keyboard layout according to the keytops and instant access to ÅÄÖ.
Your fax macro is a fine piece of work; I particularly like the method of accessing the Windows API (application program interface) for switching from and to the normal printer. Having the fax number in bookmark "faxno" and company name in bookmark "company" opens interesting doors. You could for instance make up a document template with those bookmarks for each company you regularly fax, taking all the pain out of repeated faxing.
Q I have a new Pentium 75 (MSD says 486DX?) with a Creative CD Drive & AWE32 installed by the dealer. After close review of past issues of Help Screen, I have successfully repartitioned the hard disk and everything is working reasonably smoothly.
However, Windows seems to have a problem recognising the sound card. I have the system sounds set to chime on starting Windows and this is intermittent at best. At other times the screen will have the system sounds available but selecting test gives no result. I believe the card and drive are working OK as my copy of Dark Forces provides plenty of distractions from work. A Windows-based game (Hoyle Classic), however, has no sound available. Suggestions?
Quick second question: I would like to purchase Norton Utilities v8.0 but I am worried it will become outdated with the advent of Windows 95. If I still use "old" applications under Windows 95, will the utilities still provide value or should I wait for the new Norton product? I suppose the other side of the coin is will Norton 95 (for want of a better name) work with older applications?
- John Harmey, Pennant Hills, NSW
A As Mark Dutton pointed out above, it seems you're having upper memory contention. From your MSD report, it's not an IRQ conflict, anyway. Pinning down exactly what AWE is conflicting with is no small matter. Try running MEMMAKER and see if it complains about something or makes some unusual memory assignments. Check your Sound Blaster manual; it may mention upper memory allocation.
Apart from that, your start-up menu needs re-organising in AUTOEXEC.BAT; mainly because SmartDrive should always run but also for tidiness - not for its own sweet sake but because a tidy file is easier to troubleshoot and modify. Try this:
@ECHO OFF
LH C:\DOS\SMARTDRV.EXE 2048 128 F
LH C:\SBCD\DRV\MSCDEX.EXE /D:MSCD001 /M:8 /L:F /V
SET SOUND=C:\SB16
SET BLASTER=A220 I5 D1 H5 P330 E620 T6
SET MIDI=SYNTH:1 MAP:E MODE:0
SET MSINPUT=C:\MSINPUT
C:\SB16\DIAGNOSE /S
C:\SB16\AWEUTIL /S
C:\SB16\SB16SET /P /Q
C:\MSINPUT\MOUSE\MOUSE.EXE /Q
PATH C:\WINDOWS;C:\DOS;C:\
PROMPT $P$G
GOTO %CONFIG%
:WINDOWS
WIN
GOTO END
:GAME1
D:
GOTO END
:GAME2
D:
GO TO END
:END
As for Norton Utilities, if you'll be upgrading to Windows 95, I'd suggest getting the Windows 95 version (which at the moment seems to be version 4.0, but that's likely to change). That version does have full compatibility with older programs and also has the main old DOS utilities, such as the invaluable DISKEDIT. Win95 runs those just fine.
Enclosed is a fix for George Sclauzero (GPF: The Next Generation in Help Screen June, 1995). I have the same computer and had the same problem when I first installed the program.
The helpful people at The Star Trek Fan Club of Australia faxed over to Simon & Schuster in America for the solution to my problem. The enclosed pages have solutions to the above problem and similar ones for other video cards. I thought that you may be interested in case you get more enquiries.
- I. Bird, Currumbin, Qld
A Yet again we see that it's the readers who have the knowhow here. Thanks; I've passed a copy on to George (it's much too long to print here) and added your original to the Wikström Papers . . .
Q I have some queries that I hope you may choose to answer in your excellent pages in PC World.
1. Most motherboards now have sockets for up to 256K of cache memory. There may be eight chips for data RAM and one chip for a TAG RAM. What is the significance of the name "TAG"?
2. Re VLB motherboards, the normal three VLB sockets are usually marked Master and Slave, either with two masters and one slave or one master and two slaves. What is the real significance of Master and Slave?
3. I had a Tseng Labs video controller card (the VESA version with the ET4000AX chip). Using Checkit to make comparative performance checks and expecting to find that the VESA card would be at least marginally faster than the previous ISA card, I found that it was slower! However, the system-tuning program WINTUNE did indicate the VESA card was certainly quicker. Why should there be a difference? Are there differences in the nature of data being sent to a video card, perhaps text or graphics, that would derive different conclusions?
4. With the later re-replacement of this video card with a Tseng Lab accelerator card (ET4000W32I) performance was certainly again improved. I note that the old card has a 256-bit PROM, but this one has a 512-bit EPROM. This prompts two questions:
(a) because the PROM had a 120mS access time and the current EPROM is 150mS, is this significant in the firing-up process?
(b) The motherboard's AMI BIOS provides 32K shadowing for the video BIOS, which is adequate for the AX card BIOS. But the W32I card has a 64K BIOS. Is it necessary to shadow an accelerator card BIOS at all, and if so, how is 64K accommodated?
5. Operating systems are becoming bigger and better with ever-increasing bells and whistles. At the moment we have OS/2 WARP which is claimed to operate in a basic 4Mb environment even though its does rely on much disk-accessing for file-swapping. Windows 95 is also on the horizon with promises of everything that opens and shuts.
The concept seems to be "the bigger the better", that we all are power users and must have the extra grunt that these systems offer. Of course they do have their merits, the most meaningful of which could be the straight line memory without the difficulties of the reserved area in the middle.
Wouldn't it be possible to have a key operating system that embraces most of the benefits and facilities of the existing DOS 6.22, WFWG 3.11, (a combination that maybe most of us have learned to appreciate) but with a straight line memory and no reserved area?
Plainly we are controlled by the marketing strategies of the major producers of computer software. But I would propose that there are many home users who enjoy the benefits of an advanced operating system, but do not need the huge overheads with their extra facilities which make more memory, a larger capacity hard disk, a fast CPU and other enhancements, almost mandatory.
- Eric Eulenstein, Wodonga, Vic
A I haven't heard the name TAG before, but from the geometry, I'd say it's jargon for "parity". Parity memory checks the functioning of the working memory; in principle a parity bit is set or reset depending on whether the corresponding byte has an even or odd binary sum. The idea is that if there's been an unauthorised change to a byte content, the parity bit will no longer agree with the sum. This causes the computer to come to an abrupt halt, simply because the result of corrupted RAM is unpredictable and you don't want to risk disaster.
Again, the Master and Slave business is something I haven't come across myself. I know that a bus master card is one that can take over the processor's role in some applications, especially communications and networking, but that's as far as my knowledge stretches. Sorry!
The speed rating of video cards is a tricky business. The simpler benchmark programs are valueless because many card manufacturers write specific drivers to fool them and inflate the speed readings. I have found WinTach (freeware and available from most bulletin boards and PC User Groups) very reliable as it simulates real applications and is nearly impossible to fool.
The access time of the EPROM shouldn't matter; keep in mind that there are 1,000,000,000nS (not mS) in a second; disk access takes around a thousand times as long as RAM/ROM access and consumes most of the start-up time. The shadowing isn't a worry, either, as most display adaptors I've seen provide their own shadowing.
As for the bigger and better operating systems, there is one very large problem: backward compatibility. It's relatively simple to create a new operating system that runs a GUI interface in flat memory and does it in little space and with great speed. Unfortunately, it won't run DOS applications or Windows applications or indeed anything else that already exists. Personally, I think it would still be a great idea, and instead of backward compatibility, I think we should simply have a conversion utility that takes any existing application and converts it to a native SUPEROS application. But I've never had an answer from either Microsoft or IBM on that one, so maybe it would tread on too many toes.
Actually, most of the hardware development is not driven so much by the operating system as by the monstrous, "I'll see your 250 features and raise you 20" applications. It's a sort of dog-chasing-its-tail situation; the hardware people develop bigger machines to cope with the software load and the software authors see the super PCs and add more stuff to their software. Just think of multimedia games . . .
Q I recently upgraded to a new computer and moved from DOS 5.0 to DOS 6.22 at the same time. Unfortunately, I have a game that refuses to run and tells me it requires DOS 5.0. How can I work around this?
- Josh Alvies, PC World Online
A Many programs check to see what version of DOS is running before they load, usually because they require a feature available only in a particular DOS version or versions. New DOS versions don't appear in your program's approved list. Fortunately, DOS's SETVER utility lets you fool programs into thinking a different DOS version is running. It works by intercepting a program's request to DOS for the version number, and supplying the program whatever lie you want it to tell.
To make your game run under DOS 6.22, you need to first issue the command SETVER FILENAME.EXT 5.00 at the DOS prompt, where FILENAME.EXT is your game's executable file name and extension. This adds an entry to the Setver program's internal table, which Setver can reference for the game's version number. (If you want to see the current contents of the table, enter SETVER at the DOS prompt.)
Next, you have to load the new table into memory: Make sure CONFIG.SYS contains the line DEVICE=C:\DOS\SETVER.EXE, then re-boot your PC. Now your game should run without a hitch.
Q Before I start, I would like to inform you that all of my friends in UNSW Commerce have always regarded you as the "Guru Of Computer Help!" We feel, and I'm sure everyone will agree, that your Help Screen is certainly the most useful and comprehensive than the other mags.
I bought a Pentium 90 clone earlier in the year. Being a uni student, I worked all summer, borrowed money from my friends, and finally bought the system. Unfortunately, problems occurred that have been bugging me for months. The people in the shop insisted nothing was wrong, so I hope you can provide me with an answer. My system includes 8Mb of RAM, 1Mb SVGA card and monitor, and a 4X CD-ROM and sound card.
1. My CD-ROM drive is a 4X Teac CD-55A with a Vibra16 sound card. However, when I use it, it runs at 3X instead of 4X. The program I use are up to date and some have programs that test the speed of the drive, and all say it is running at triple speed. The configuration is okay (check the config file please!) so I see no reason why it works in that way. Could it be the sound card? Please advise me of what to do and how should I go about doing it.
2. What do you think of upgrading to a Gravis Ultrasound Max? Is its compatibility to Windows application fine?
3. Whenever I run Memmaker, the computer halts with this message: "Interrupt Stacks Overflow, System Halted". What does this mean?
I'm sorry for troubling you, but it's just that I worked my butt off to get this system, and these problems just make me regret ever entering the PC world.
- Belinda Smith
A Did you have to come along and ruin my carefully projected modesty image like that? Now I'll have to start crawling all over again . . .
Your CD speed has a couple of question marks still, but I suspect the unit is supposed to obey software controls. There's an override mode; if you add /S:4 to the end of the CONFIG.SYS line DEVICE = C:\TEAC\TEAC_CDA.SYS /D:MSCD001 /P:220 /T:0 the unit will be forced to run at full speed. Interestingly, the available options are 1, 2 and 4 - no 3 as far as the eye can see.
As for your second question, I'm sorry but I have no knowledge of the product. If you're not sure, buy it only with a "satisfaction or money back" guarantee. The Memmaker matter is simple: Memmaker is a sensitive program that objects when a program shows its ruder parts.
Or looking at it in a more factual way, it fails to handle drivers that are not totally compatible. The way to deal with this is to exempt one program after the other from its ministrations until you find the culprit. Just put a REM in front of one command line at a time; it's tedious, but it works.
I noticed another point in your CONFIG.SYS: you have a SMARTDRV line there; make sure it's needed (rarely, with certain older EDI and SCSI hard drives) and if it isn't, get rid of it (it interferes with the proper SMARTDRV in AUTOEXEC.BAT).
Q I've amassed quite a few CD-ROM discs and find their jewel cases bulky. To save space, I'd like to store discs in 51/4in floppy disk sleeves. Is there a safe way to label the loose CD-ROMs with an ID number?
- Jerry Ramesbottom, CompuServe
A Go ahead. In fact, CD-ROM storage wallets, which you can find in computer catalogues and record stores, let you do the same thing. But why pay good money for those when you have so many perfectly good 51/4in floppy disk sleeves lying around? The key thing is to prevent scratches to the CD-ROM's underside, which you can pretty much ensure by removing the disc from the drive or caddy and returning it immediately to the sleeve.
As for labelling CD-ROMs, I'd recommend writing directly on the top surface with a felt pen or laundry marker. The worrywart in me says don't put a paper label on the disc. Labels don't damage discs or pose a direct threat to the CD-ROM drive, but they do add weight to one side of the disc, which could theoretically wear out your drive's bearings faster. Your drive will probably become obsolete first, but label me cautious.
Q I recently picked up a shareware program, Spacemaker for Windows, that has been a great help in finding duplicate files on my hard drive. I've deleted at least 10Mb of useless files, but there are plenty of others I hesitate to delete, particularly a number with these extensions: .cgm, .dll, .fon, .reg, and .wmf. How can I tell which mystery files I can safely get rid of?
- Chuck Leazott, Zephyrhills, Florida
A Windows uninstall utilities are increasingly popular, for good reason. If you occasionally install, then remove, a Windows application, you'll find your free hard disk space gradually dwindling for no apparent reason. Uninstall utilities are helpful, but not perfect: most are of limited help in removing programs you installed before you decided to use an uninstaller, and they don't get rid of files left behind when you upgrade existing programs. What makes this problem really tough is that just deleting the directories created by the program's installation utility isn't enough; most such utilities place program modules and drivers in the \WINDOWS or \WINDOWS\SYSTEM directories as well. Since these files generally have obscure names, figuring out which are superfluous requires a little deductive reasoning.
As for your mystery files, the .cgm and .wmf extensions denote graphics files - clip art, most likely. The .fon file is a Windows plotter font, and the .reg file is a data file used to configure Windows' registration database. You can probably get rid of all of these without causing havoc. The .dll file is a Dynamic Link Library file - a program module a Windows program or Windows itself loads when necessary. If you can determine that it's part of a program you've deleted, go ahead and delete it too. Be careful, though - many DLLs are used by several programs.
If you still can't figure out where a particular file came from, and you don't feel like taking risks, move it to a temporary directory. If some program needs it later, an error will say the program can't find the file; you can then move it back where it belongs. After a few months, if the file hasn't been missed you can delete it from the temporary directory.