Alexander: How to synchronize tablet PC with Outlook data

Q I'm having trouble trying to sync my calendar and contacts between my Asus tablet computer, model TF101, and Outlook 2007 on my PC, which uses the 64-bit version of Windows 7.

I have the Asus sync software on my PC. But instead of making the connection between the tablet and Outlook, the PC identifies the tablet as an external disk drive. Any ideas?

MIKE BOIKE, MINNEAPOLIS

A I think you have the wrong software drivers for your tablet computer.

In order to recognize any outside device at above its most basic level (in this case, seeing your tablet computer as a disk drive), your Windows PC needs software drivers. The drivers are typically available from the manufacturer of the device.

But these drivers need to be compatible with both the device and your version of Windows. I suspect you have the 32-bit version of the Asus tablet computer drivers, and they won't work on 64-bit Windows.

Why not? The 32-bit and 64-bit versions of Windows have some technical differences. One of the major ones is that the 64-bit version can use more memory, which will become increasingly important as PC programs become more complex.

In this case, the Asus software drivers are contained in the Asus synchronizing software. To find it, go to the Asus download page at tinyurl.com/3p9ogl5, select Windows 7 64-bit from the pull-down menu, select "utilities" and choose the second available download, called "Asus Sync V1.0.46."

Greg Grover of Inver Grove Heights correctly took issue with a recent column in which I told Larry Schoof of Tucson, Ariz., that he couldn't buy a replacement cooling fan for his VisionTek video circuit board, a device that rapidly reproduces the high-quality moving images used in computer games or multimedia. I said that because a fan wasn't available, Schoof should buy a replacement circuit board instead. Grover pointed out that replacement fans are available in some computer stores (see tinyurl.com/4pkck4.)

But my advice to Schoof wasn't entirely off base. For people who would rather use a computer than tinker with its tiniest parts, replacing a video circuit board with a new, updated one for $30 is probably more practical than installing a $10 replacement fan on the old board.