66
Problems Solved
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http://www.snipca.com/38164Q: Will my screen saver damage
my SSD?A: Issue 585, page 65 – find it on
our 2020 Back Issue CDF7 activates caret browsing (1). Flick the
‘Navigate pages with...’ switch to off (2)The RSHTech mains-
powered USB hub
should give enough
power for an external
DVD driveWhy won’t my laptop see my drive?
Q
My laptop lacks an optical drive,
so I bought an external USB
drive to play DVDs and install
older software. However, my laptop
doesn’t always recognise this external
drive. Weirdly, plugging the drive into
another PC and then into the laptop
sometimes overcomes the problem.
However, this is far from convenient. Do
you have any idea what might be causing
this? I have no problems with my laptop
recognising other USB devices.
Jim MorrisA
We suspect this comes down to
power – or rather the lack of it.
The bottom line is that not all
USB ports are equal. A USB 2.0 socket, for
example, should deliver up to 5V at 0.5A
current, for 2.5W output, while USB 3.0
and later ports increase this to at least
5V/0.9A for around 4.5W output. But
these are nominal outputs and, in reality,
the level can vary a little.
You didn’t give us details about your
laptop or USB drive. However, if the
former supplies a tad less power than the
ideal and (or) the latter requires too muchpower, it could lead to recognition
refusals – simply because the drive isn’t
receiving the power it needs to operate.
Evidently, your other computer has
sufficient power to allow the drive to
work. We’re not entirely sure why
plugging it in to the first computer
usually allows it to work in your laptop,
but we’re guessing some tiny residual
charge gives it the kick it needs.
So, is there a solution? Well, in the first
instance, make sure your laptop is
plugged in at and powered by the mains.
Alternatively, or as well, try connecting
the drive to different USB ports on your
laptop. As noted, a USB 3.0 or later port
should provide more power than the
older USB 2.0 type. USB 3.0 ports often
have blue plastic interiors, incidentally.
Finally, you could invest in a mains-
powered USB hub. We cannot guarantee
that this will fix the problem, but if lack
of charge to the drive is the root cause, it
should. The pictured RSHTech model
(around £24, http://www.snipca.com/41650),
for example, delivers 5V/2A, so will
provide 10W output: that should be
enough to power an external DVD drive.What is caret
browsing?
Q
This isn’t really a problem,
but the other day I did
something in Chrome that
popped a message up asking if I
wanted to enable caret browsing,
whatever that is – something about
browsing with a text cursor? In a
minor panic, I clicked the Cancel
button. All has been well since, so I
assume no damage has been done.
But what was this message, and what
does it mean?
Kerry RoperA
You inadvertently pressed
the F7 button on your
keyboard, as that’s what
activates caret browsing in Chrome
(see screenshot^1 ). It’s a little-known
accessibility feature that allows
websites to be navigated and links
followed using the cursor (arrow),
tab and Enter keys, among others. It’s
not necessary if you can use a mouse.
Interestingly, and annoyingly, had
you accidentally clicked the ‘Turn on’
button, then tapping F7 would have
no effect in turning if off. To do that
you’d need to open the Chrome
menu (three dots, top right) and then
click Advanced followed by
Accessibility. Now click to flip the
‘Navigate pages with a text cursor’^2
switch to its Off position.11 – 24 May 2022 • Issue 6311
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