With Andrew Hardy. Owner of Worthing-based DoubleClick-IT

Q: I have three PCs networked together. Can I share an internet connection on one machine with the other PCs on the network?

A: In theory, this shouldn't be a problem. There are a number of packages on the market that can help you share an internet connection and these are usually called 'proxy servers'. Most, if not all, rely on you using TCP/IP as a network protocol. You may also have to make some changes to the network settings on each machine. The task is not difficult but can get a bit involved. There is a good online guide at: www.timhiggins.com/sharing/ sharing.htm. You may also want to look at some free software from Analogx (www.analogx.com) called 'Proxy'.

Q: When I try to close down Windows, it often locks up so I have to turn it off before the machine has shut down properly. Can you tell me how to stop this happening?

A: The most likely reason for this problem is a hardware conflict or a faulty or misconfigured driver. You should ask yourself what changes you made to the system before it started to 'hang'. Have you installed any new hardware or software? If so, try uninstalling and seeing if the problem stops. When installing a new card, always ensure you get the latest drivers from the manufacturers' web pages. Likewise with software, check the software publishers website to see if they have issued any update patches (we used to call them bug fixes in the old days!).

Q: I want to buy a new video card to play games on. Can you suggest a good card?

A:The card you buy largely depends on what type of games you will be playing and the sort of machine that you have. The first thing to decide is what type of interface you will use the card on. If your machine has an AGP slot you should try to buy an AGP version of the card as this tends to be faster than the equivalent PCI slot-based card. There are many cards on the market to choose from. My personal favourite is the GEForce card from nVidia but the Voodoo series from 3DFX are also very well-rated. For a rundown of popular graphics cards, see Toms Hardware Guide at www.tomshardware.com Q: I've heard a lot in the news recently about MP3 files. What exactly are they?

A: MP3 files are music files which employ a very efficient compression algorithm. Previously, CD-quality sound files were huge, making distribution by the web unfeasible. With MP3 compression it is entirely possible to download popular music tracks and, depending on your connection, whole albums from the internet. The record industry is very worried by the technology since it makes the illegal copying and distribution of music far easier.

Do you have any new media headaches that are in need of answers? Contact Net Solutions at evolution@argus-btn.co.uk