Search results for 'app:weblogs' matching tags 'general tip' and 'XP'

Vista Capable?

mikehall — Sun, 24 Feb 2008 06:00:00 GMT

A judge has ok'ed the class action lawsuit against Microsoft regarding the 'marketing' stickers applied to the front of XP machines in the months leading up to the release of Vista.

We hear that some 'big noises' within the Microsoft empire had misgivings about rather vague 'meaning' of the sticker. One has to admit that it is a little vague, bearing in mind that there is more that just one Vista version.

Your Choice

OK. You are in the market to buy a PC during the last quarter of 2007 and you see the sticker on the front of a variety of machines. You also see a sticker which proclaims 'Vista Premium Ready' on the more expensive machines.

What does this tell you?

Do you not hear alarm bells? Do you not feel the desire to ask about the difference? Does the wording of the stickers not scream to you that the more expensive machines will run Vista better, and with more features evident?

What has happened to the concept of personal responsibility/accountability?

C'mon!!! What did you expect for $600 plus free keyboard, mouse, speakers and nasty, flimsy, re-badged, bottom of the line Lexmark printer!! That wasn't a deal. You gotten exactly what you paid to get, a collection of the cheapest parts and peripherals at a price you couldn't turn down, and now you complain?

It is the job of any marketing department to make the product look as good as it ever can, and you know that some of the claims will be a little wild. It is your job to cut through the marketing hype and see the actual reality of what you are getting.

A cheap lunch is a cheap lunch no matter how you dress it up. You put in decent ingredients and it isn't a cheap lunch anymore. This is NOT rocket science. It is common sense.

The only time you ever get a good deal is when being sold yesterdays model, and unless you get top of the line yesterdays model, it is not going to stand up to the rigours of today or tomorrow.

MSCONFIG is not an on/off switch..

mikehall — Wed, 23 Jan 2008 06:00:00 GMT

You don't believe me? So go take a look for yourself..

http://support.microsoft.com/kb/310560

It is a DIAGNOSTIC tool. It has never been officially designated an on/off switch, but it became common among Windows 9x users to use it as one. The problem stemmed from a small and finite block of resources in the Windows 9x family.

For instance, if a user changed the screen colours from the Windows default scheme, this took away from the resource block. If a user changed the background of the IE header, this took away from the resource block. If a user insisted upon having a screen full of icons, this took away from the resource block. If a user had multiple utilities starting up with Windows, this took away from the resource block. If a user insisted on having the MS Office floating toolbar at startup (or at all), this took away from the resource block. If the user had a firewall and/or an anti-virus solution running, this took away from the resource block. If a user had MSN Messenger or ICQ (particularly bad for grabbing resources) running, this took away from the resource block. Lotus Organizer, at the time the best selling Windows application of all time, placed an icon in startup.

The absolute worst items you could ever have in startup were programs like Nuts n Bolts. These programs had functions where the user could be warned about impending failure. All they did, in fact, was speed up impending failure by using the very resources being monitored. By now, you should be feeling sorry for the small resource block. It was being hit from all sides constantly.

Wipe away the tears, because the Windows NT family handles resources in a different way. While multiple startup items will slow a machine down, they won't or shouldn't make the machine crash out in the spectacular Windows 9x fashion.

OK. Ears akimbo, ecoutez bien, LISTEN dammit..

If you want to stop an application from starting up when Windows starts, go to the preferences/options of the application in question, and look for a checkbox relating to 'start with Windows' or some similar statement. You can right click on a startup item to find this sometimes.

The trouble with using MSCONFIG is that you may not know which entry relates to what you want to stop. In the past, some users stopped everything and, in doing so, stopped any protection the computer had. NOT SENSE!!!

And while I am on the subject of resources..

Think TWICE before going into Task Manager's resource list and hacking away like a lunatic lost in the jungle. When your computer was new, Windows was running well. Do you remember that? There were seventy or more entries in the list and all was well, so if your computer is slow, YOU DID IT. IT IS YOUR FAULT.

Stopping everything in that list will see a variety of functions fall over, and when you come to install something else which requires a resource that you stopped, it isn't going to work and then you will go into a Windows forum or newsgroup complaining that Windows/XP/Vista (delete as applicable) is crap. I will repeat again..

YOU DID IT. IT IS YOUR FAULT.

QuickTime is an example of what I consider to be a bad program, and not because of its origin. I have yet to find a way to prevent it entering startup. It always comes down the line with iTunes, and I do not like either of them. In fact, I do not like ANY program other than for security purposes which sets itself up in startup and does not give me the option to change it. For this reason, I will not entertain QuickTime on my system. I prefer and use Windows Media Player Classic 6.4.

There are, generally, alternatives available which are way more user friendly. Use your preferred search engine to locate them.

Clean and learn..

mikehall — Wed, 26 Dec 2007 06:00:00 GMT

Remember 'First Aid', 'RegClean', or 'CleanSweep', 'Norton System Doctor', or 'Nuts n Bolts'? If you were a Windows 9x tinkerer, you might. The idea behind them was to aid the computer user in case of problems, and boy did some people have problems!!

First Aid promised to fix lots of things, and it did as long as it knew about everything. Unfortunately, anything it didn't know was flagged as a fault, and countless hours could be spent tracking down a fault that 'wasn't!!

CleanSweep promised a great deal too. As long as it was installed, it could track installation files as something was loaded, and could then remove all tracked files in the event that the user wanted to uninstall a program or two. That part worked. The removal of duplicate files didn't always work so well, especially in the case of 'CTL3.DLL'.

CTL3.DLL came in many guises and was installed numerous times on a computer which had more than just Windows running. Removal of duplicate CTL3 files spelled disaster. It appeared numerous times because it was needed, but CleanSweep didn't know that and neither did many computer users.

Norton System Doctor and Nuts n Bolts watched over systems on the fly, all of which sounded good in principle, but anything that ran in the Windows 9x background also ate resources. Nuts N Bolts had gauges displayed in a 'flyout' bar, and one could successfully predict when Windows would crash through a lack of resources. Great stuff eh, but if one shut down or uninstalled Norton SD or Nuts, the system would keep running way longer.

Windows 9x was ok as long as it wasn't connected to the Internet. It didn't matter how many icons were on the desktop or even if Norton SD and Nuts were running, but as soon as a firewall, anti-virus, Messenger and IE were started up, down went the resources. The solution for many was to turn off the firewall and A-V, the only protection that they had, and leave the real culprits running!!

Regclean worked because it didn't clean in the true sense. It removed only what was absolutely safe to remove. This wasn't a bad thing because registry bloat could bring Windows 9x to its knees, but it never cleaned like some thought it did. A quick foray and search in Regedit often showed bits and pieces left over.

If any of the above utilities had been as good as claimed, I would not have called this piece 'Clean and learn', but that is how it was: 'Clean' your system and 'Learn' how to re-install all of it.

It was akin to tending an ornamental garden with a 17 HP brush and field mower.

It still is!!

Forget about snake oil. Forget the old ways. Forget about registry cleaners. And quit using Isopropryl Alcohol to clean the case, because when you pass a cloth soaked in this stuff over your Windows COA sticker, it removes the key code.

If you don't want a messed up computer, quit loading crap onto it and using it as a drinks and TV dinner tray.

Page File Placement..

mikehall — Tue, 11 Dec 2007 06:00:00 GMT

Page files do not exist purely to use up valuable hard drive real estate. Windows is not the only OS to use a page file. The page file is not part of some underhand Microsoft scheme to force you to go out and buy a larger hard drive.

The page file exists to help you, to extend your system beyond the set boundary of installed RAM. Data is placed in the page file if it is likely to be used again quickly but where storage in RAM would be a waste.

You should let Windows look after your page file, and not try to squash it into a tiny corner. Say after me "System Managed is good.. system managed is good.. system managed is good".

OK, now remember that.

Traditionally, Windows will install the page file in with itself and it does this for good reason. C drive is where all of the action is, and the hard drive heads will not have to move far in order to access the page file. Accessing the page file will incur a time penalty, but it will be small.

If you place the page file in a separate partition on the same drive, the heads will now have to move further each time the page file is accessed, thus incurring a greater time penalty. OK so far?

I saw this suggested recently. The theory was that the page file, being the centre partition, would be accessed really fast, but life is not like that.

The data file in use will be processed in the orange area until it is no longer required by the computer user. In normal use, the hard drive head will not be traversing constantly across from orange to blue, picking up and dropping stuff into the page file as it goes. There is no benefit in partitioning a hard drive as per the diagram above.

Where a single hard drive is installed, the page file should be left where Windows placed it originally.

If the diagram represented three separate physical drives, would that be any better? No, it wouldn't because unless the page file drive was a small 4-6gb unit, there would be a tremendous waste of hard drive space, and if it was only that size, it would have to be an old unit with way slower access times than the boot drive. Any speed advantage in having separate heads reading and writing to the page file would be negated by the speed of the heads in the old drive.

Assuming a three partition per drive set up which aids organization and cuts down on format times in the event that a partition has to be rebuilt, a single drive installation would look like this..

and a dual drive installation would look like this..

EMERGENCY, EMERGENCY.. MACHINE DOWN!!!.. BREAK OUT THE BACKUPS..

mikehall — Sat, 24 Nov 2007 06:00:00 GMT

Prologue

Wait up. I hear voices in the wind.

".... I didn't know how to work the program... nobody told me I had to do it... I didn't have any blank CD/DVDs... my friend who is a computer expert told me that it was unnecessary.. I never read all of that crap which pops up when the computer starts... "

What this means to you..

Great answers, but none will get back the photographs of your 'once in a lifetime world tour', or the poetry you painstakingly typed out as it came into your head. They are all gone, my friend, unless you are willing to pay $$$$$ to get them back. Will $$$$$ ensure their safe return? Probably not..

Info section #1

'Backing up' is a term used for the procedure whereby important data is saved to an external device or a device where the media can be removed and stored safely away from the computer. Backup programs are specialized and will save whatever is being backed up in compressed and proprietary formats.

What this means to you..

If you are going to take the trouble to learn how to use a specialized backup program, bear in mind one very important factor. You will ONLY be able to restore the backup file using the SAME backup program, and I do mean the 'SAME'. Same program, same version, same operating system, same configuration, same everything.

Please note that we are talking about backups here, NOT operating system images. There is a difference.

Info section #2

Backups = saves. OK, so rather than 'backup' which infers the use of a 'backup' program, think 'save'. You most likely have a program installed which is well able to save to a medium that can be stored away safely. Do you have any one of the following commercial suites/programs installed on your computer?

Ahead Nero
Roxio
CyberLink
Ashampoo
Any other brand of CD 'burning' software

What this means to you..

If you do, then you have the capability to produce useful 'backups'. In all instances, they are as simple as 'drag n drop'. The results can be used in conjunction with almost any computer. What you drag n drop onto a CD/DVD can be as easily dragged n dropped back onto a hard drive.

There are video tutorials available on the installation media or Internet which take you step by step through the process. Look and learn..

Info section #3

If you are going to get into full system backups, purchase an external backup device, or get a second hard drive installed internally. There are 'One Touch' external backup devices which are supplied with software enabling you to do backups of both data and OS images. If you just go for a plain external USB hard drive, you will need to invest in a program like Acronis' TrueImage.

What this means to you..

Never again will you be left stuttering when the computer repair department tells you that all data was lost

Epilogue

Run backup tests to ensure that you know how to backup and restore from backups. Always make more than one backup. This applies to saving to CD/DVD too. Never rely on just one backup.

Also remember that backing up is an ongoing process, as is saving to CD/DVD. Get into the habit of doing regular backups.

Virus/Trojan or Hardware? A Few Tips...

mikehall — Tue, 16 Oct 2007 05:00:00 GMT

Your computer is acting up, and it's not always easy to tell. Some of the symptoms of a virus and/or Trojan are similar to what is seen as a hard drive sings its swan song.

Question #1.. Was it always that way? Most computers when first supplied work very well straight out of the box. If, for some reason, yours did not, then you would have taken it back, right?

If it worked well out of the box, this tells you that the OS and hardware were intrinsically ok. Unfortunately, problems occur in manufacturing of both elements, and both can fail for no obvious reason at all. When new, possible but not likely, hardware the most likely candidate.

When I ask you what you did or were doing at the point of failure, please do not throw your arms up in the air and say "IT WASN'T ME". I have seen and heard it all before.

A quick look in the ADD/REMOVE PROGRAMS can say a great deal about one's computing habits. Appearances by Limewire, WinMX, Zango, MyWebSearch and others will help in the initial diagnosis, and also help squash protestations along the lines of 'it wasn't me' and 'I don't know how that got there'.

Virus and Trojans will attempt to stop any removal process or the seeking of help, so when one clicks on 'Help and Support' and nothing happens, suspect that something in there is doing its best to stop you. If it proves impossible to browse without being directed to some useless search engine, or one can no longer change the desktop scene, somebody is trying to spoil your fun. If your computer also slows way down, it is because it has become a reporting tool for your general computing, web surfing and online buying habits.

So what price now the desire for stupid animations in IM chat which made you agree to sponsorware, or believing that the web page managed to detect five trillion viruses in the space of two seconds, and unless you scan now with 'SupaDupaAntiSpyware', your computer will be compromised forever? Your mother doesn't have a computer, and your friend has neither web cam or video camera, so what made you click on the link in the e-mail that suggested either or both parties had uploaded compromising videos to a web site?

There are well known programs that can help you avoid the pitfalls, and when run alongside equally well known and respected anti-virus programs, will protect you. However, the responsibility to ensure that they work for you is entirely YOURS. Use of free versions will entail manual updates in most cases. Paid versions will almost always have some auto update feature. No anti spyware program ever seems to be a cure-all on it's own regardless of being free or not, so you will have to run more than one.

A personal note on Anti virus solutions.

I will admit to never having been a fan of Norton products, and nothing has changed in that respect. I did use McAfee in its early years, but both Norton and McAfee products have become as invasive as the stuff they seek to destroy. In what I see as an attempt to justify the cost, they both now supply a suite of applications which promise the world, and root like weeds, choking the system to death while delivering no better protection than anything else.

I have a shortlist of programs I think are ok, and it is exactly that.

Adaware
Spybot S&D
SpywareBlaster
WinPatrol
AVG
Avast
NOD32
Windows Defender
Hostsman

Bear in mind that hardware failures are not vindictive. Like anything else electrical, electronic and mechanical, breakdowns are inevitable either through deficient manufacturing, inept handling or age.

Assuming that you have covered yourself well with software protection, kept it all up to date et al, and your computer is starting to act up, maybe slow or intransigent at times, you should be looking towards hardware failure.

RAM has two problems. #1.. It can partially fail, rendering some memory addresses/locations out of reach of the computer. For the most part, the computer will seem to be ok, but as soon as something calls for a memory address that is no longer operable, strange behaviour may follow. This can be seen when installing an operating system, where the installation goes so far and then throws up that a file can't be read off of the installation media.

When this happens, there is a tendency to blame either the installation media itself or the optical drive reading it. Older optical drives can fail in this way, but if it was working ok before you decided to re-install the OS, there is a very good chance that it is still working. So why didn't the bad RAM show up before? Simply because the processes and programs you were running did not access the bad memory locations.

Installation of additional memory is #2. It has to be the right specification for your computer, that is it has to match the motherboard. In almost all cases, it should also match any memory already installed. Some mismatched configurations will not work at all, resulting in wild beeping sounds, and in other cases it will work but at reduced performance levels. If, after having installed additional memory of the correct matched type, you have strange things happening, run a memory test on both installed, and then one at a time, and in all memory slot positions. Two very good memory tests are:

Memtest86
Windows Memory Diagnostic Tool

Either need to be run more than once unless memory problems are found during the first pass, which says it all really.

Some notes on the installation of anything inside a desktop case.

The integrity of most desktop cases is compromised as soon as you remove a side panel. Moving the unit around in this state can lead to twisting actions which may loosen cards in PCI, AGP and PCI-e slots and also memory, so before replacing side covers, always ensure that everything is seated properly. While you are reseating cards, you might also check to ensure that you have not loosened data or power cables. Do not ever apply excessive pressure while seating anything. If it doesn't fit easily, it is either the wrong part, slot, or the mode you are using. And one other thing.. always fix the side back properly!!

Hard drives can fail at any time and need not necessarily be old. Backup Backup Backup or risk losing it all. Bad performance can be down to cluster failure, improper handling (i.e. being dropped maybe or placed close by a strong magnetic force), excessive ambient heat inside the case, bad heat dispersion from the drive itself, a manufacturing fault, or misuse on the part of the computer user.

Programs and data will not forgive you for squeezing them into a tight space. Some of the utilities used to manipulate data and code will not only not forgive, they will sometimes give you a solid kick. Leave ample free space. A good rule of thumb is to have at least 15% free (this used to be the accepted limit for Windows Defragmenter to strut its stuff) , and more if at all possible. When my drives have only 25% left, I look to either dumping stuff I no longer use or getting a larger hard drive. Squeezing the use out of the very last cluster on the drive is a false economy

Before resorting to repair installs, changing random settings et al, run the less stressful tests as found on the hard drive manufacturer web sites. Do not run the really tough tests on a drive containing valuable data. Back anything important up first. If the hard drive tests come up with zero faults after extended running, just keep a watchful eye, and start software diagnosis procedures.

Optical drives have limited lives. A cleaner disc can be used much as one might on a domestic stereo unit, and can be purchased from stores selling computers and/or stereo. If the drive will not read properly after cleaning, replace the drive.

Power supplies are tough units, but here is a tip. If the computer starts up ok, but struggles to remain up and running when under a bit of pressure, take a look at the power light on the front of the case. Is it shining brightly, and maintaining its brilliance while the computer is working away. If it is not, replace the unit.

Computer hardware is quite resilient, and if given due consideration like cleaning the dust out, especially from the CPU heat sink and fans, will last a good few years.

Why are there no URLs in this article? Well, the way I see it is this. I have given you names of stuff that will help you. Use the same technique to find and download them as you did when looking for a P2P client and those annoying animated things.

Compatibility and Updates..

mikehall — Thu, 20 Sep 2007 05:00:00 GMT

Microsoft Office 2003 SP3 update has been released recently so, if you are running this version of Office, now is a good time to get it. The easiest way is to open Word 2003, click on HELP and then select 'Check for Updates'. Having arrived at the Microsoft Office Online web page, close down Word 2003 as the updates will not run with any Office application still open.

With the advent of Office 2007, no more development is being done with Office 2003, so this is purely a catch up service pack to date. You will also require the original installation media as the update process asks for it.

OK. That aside, we will take a look at the general scene. A problem that arises for many is the installation of newly purchased hardware onto the latest operating system. Although Vista looks like a cosmetically reworked XP, and this is indeed part of the change, there is a considerable amount of code within Vista that is very different from its predecessor. The code changes affect ease of use and security, and in some cases have rendered older utilities useless and/or dangerous.

Note that there is a distinct difference between NEW hardware, and NEWLY PURCHASED hardware. Just because you bought a new printer, scanner webcam or keyboard from a store recently does not mean that it will be compatible with Vista. The product purchased may have been on the shelf of the store/warehouse for some considerable time so, unless it specifically states on the box that it is Vista compatible, assume that it isn't for now.

What I have done in the past is ask a staff member to find out on the internet if drivers for the operating system in use are available for the product I wish to purchase. If a store will not do this for you, go find another store that will, or go home and check it out for yourself. Do not rely purely on the word of a staff member, and follow him to the computer where the information will be checked if only to ensure that you are not fobbed off with a 'yes, it will work' when the store staff member has not checked it out at all.

Having purchased your new hardware, before attempting an installation, go to the hardware manufacturer web site and download the latest drivers available. If there is the full software package available, all the better. With some older products, you may have to initially use the installation CD provided to get the hardware 'control panel' because drivers only may be provided.

Video cards deserve a separate mention here. When updating drivers, you should visit the web site of the 'chipset' manufacturer, and NOT the name of the manufacturer which packaged and sold the product. The two major chipset suppliers are ATI and nVidia. The exception to this rule is integrated laptop video adapters, and maybe even integrated video found in desktops. For these, you visit the laptop or motherboard manufacturer.

It is a good idea to check for new drivers and program updates regularly in the early days of a new operating system. Regardless of the time that products are tested, there is nothing like a period out in the wild to bring other problems to the fore. If you think about the different configurations possible in the world of the IBM compatible PC, it is hardly surprising.

There is no time like the present, by the way.