The LangaList

Speaking Of Back Issues...

From time to time, I get emails asking for a back issue of the LangaList. All back issues are available, for free, and in fully searchable, indexed form, at http://www.langa.com . Just click the "Archives" or the "Search" link. 

This means you don't have to store your copies of the LangaList locally, and you never have to worry about finding a previously-discussed topic: it's all there for you, for free, 24 hours a day.

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More on System Passwords

Last week ( http://www.langa.com/newsletters/nov-11-99.htm#doh2 ) I told you one way to rid yourself of Windows passwords (or to recover from a forgotten password); and three ways to get around a forgotten system-level (bootup) password.

Many readers generously chimed in with additional information, tips and helpful advice. (I'm constantly amazed at what a helpful group this is--- at what good people you all are!)

In my "delete the Windows password" item, I suggested renaming the existing PWL file, and then creating a new one with a new password. Reader Paul Craft points out that if you merely eliminate the existing password file without creating a new one, your Dial-Up Networking dialog will lose the "save password" option: the computer has to know who you are (via your logon password) before it will let you save additional passwords. 

Note that it's OK to have an empty or "null" logon password---you can just hit Enter at the password prompt---but you have to have at least an empty logon password before Windows will be able to store sub-passwords (such as Dial-Up Networking passwords) for you. For more information, see http://support.microsoft.com/support/kb/articles/Q137/3/61.asp. Thanks Paul!

On changing the BIOS password, reader Alan Zisman writes:

In the current LangaList, you discuss removing the battery or shorting across the jumpers to erase the BIOS... here's another technique that's perhaps easier and more reliable-- many computers don't have an easily removable battery, and shorting across the jumper can also be iffy.

Get one of the relatively numerous DOS-level utilities for backing up and restoring the CMOS Bios... I found several very quickly at www.download.com by searching for 'BIOS'.

Use it to back up the BIOS of a password-less computer... then, from the DOS prompt of the affected computer, run it in Restore mode... this will overwrite the BIOS with all sorts of incorrect values-- but no password.

Immediately reboot, run the Setup program, and reset to one of the defaults-- for instance the Setup Defaults, then fine-tune... you'll find yourself password free, without even needing to open the case!

That's a great idea, Alan, provided you've made the BIOS data backup beforehand. (You can't restore what you haven't saved.)

There are other ways around the password even if you haven't previously saved it. For example, Peter Sbarski suggests this way to bypass the password, assuming you at least can get into the BIOS setup:

Thanx for your newsletter, it is always fun to read. Regarding the bios password removing technique that you wrote about in your letter, there is an easier way of doing it. For example if you have an award bios, go into it, at the password input screen hold shift and type "AWARD_SW" (without quotes). That will not only remove the password but disable it for good (unless you put it back in). Keep up the good work

If you can't get into the BIOS at all, then Tim Kington's tip may help. He says:

There is another way to get past the forgotten password problem for users with an AMI BIOS. There are two utilities that will let you view and change BIOS settings: AMISetup and CTCHIPZ. These programs will even let you change BIOS settings that are not exposed to the user through the setup screens. You can read more about them at http://www.sysopt.com/biosmod.html . AMISetup has solved this problem for me in the past -- it has an option "View setup password" that came in handy.

And I'll let consultant Dave Gallagher have the final (?) word on the subject of BIOS passwords:

Taking the BIOS issue a step further, you presented perhaps the most foolproof way to do it, and certainly the method that would always work.....However there is another way too -- but with a few caveats: As you know many BIOS's have two levels of passwords (AWARD and AMI BIOS do). One is the so-called user-level password which will not let the user boot at all until the password is entered to get past the BIOS boot-up.....in this case, clearing the CMOS through the jumper or removing the battery is the only way to clear this condition.

However, (and all BIOS's do not have this) if the BIOS has a dual password setup (as many of the ASUS, Tyan, and ABIT based motherboards do) and this second password, (which I think of as the "console" password, or the "system" password), the computer will boot -- the only thing the password will restrict is access to the BIOS/CMOS setup program. If this is the case, and the computer will boot, there is a very simple DOS-based utility that will clear CMOS......Actually there are several, but the one I use is called CLRCMOS.COM, and to the best of my knowledge it is freeware. Very easy to run...Just put it on a system/boot disk, boot from floppy and run the file. Then reboot, and the BIOS will be cleared fully. Or, start the computer in MS-DOS mode, and run the utility from the subdirectory (errr folder) on the hard drive........I am attaching the program this to message. I have scanned it and it is virus free. One other "little caveat".....depending on user level, it might be a good idea perhaps either tell them, or point them to a link that will tell them how to setup their BIOS again........Its not hard for you and I, but we do it all day <G>!

In closing Fred, thank you for producing and sharing an outstanding newsletter. I appreciate your efforts and have gotten a ton of help and pointers from you. Your efforts are not trivial and I just hope people appreciate them as much as I do.

My pleasure, Dave; and thanks to you and all the many who wrote in!

By the way, I tracked down some copies of CLRCMOS.COM for you all. One---on a BBS in Germany (see http://www.vobis.de/bbs/firmen/micronic/bios/ )--- is specifically for Micronics motherboards. 

There's a more generic version of CLRCMOS at http://unicore.com/UTILS/ , and it's supposed to work on any PC; it worked fine on mine. (That same page lists other useful utilities, too.)

The page at http://www.sysopt.com/cmospass.html lists a number of "hidden" universal passwords that will work on many systems; and it recaps other ways of clearing passwords, too.

Finally, in my quest for CMOS tools for you, I found an AOL user's site called the "CMOS Gallery." I went there with high hopes, but it appears to contain nothing but some slightly racy cheesecake photos, a few of which show a somewhat more skin than you'd normally see at, say, the beach. Maybe the site owner was trying to disguise his site with a techie title to get past the AOL censors? <g>

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New LangaList Feature: "Email This Item To A Friend"

You may have noticed that each item in this issue is followed by a "Click to email this item to a friend: http://www.langa.com/sendit.htm" link. It's designed to make it super-easy to pass along any information from any LangaList that you think would be useful or interesting to one or more of your friends.

There's no cutting and pasting needed, no editing or highlighting, and your friend won't get text with lots of those annoying little ">>>" arrows in front of every forwarded line. Instead, in less than a minute, you can send a clean, fresh, properly-formatted email copy of the newsletter to your friend: 

Clicking on the http://www.langa.com/sendit.htm link brings you to a simple web page that lets you enter your friend's name and email address. The page then automatically generates a simple plain-text email. The email is sent to your friend, from you. It contains the current issue of the LangaList and a brief note explaining that the current issue contains information you thought would be of interest to your friend. It's foolproof!

The form is also SPAM-PROOF. Your friend will NOT be subscribed to the LangaList (unless he or she specifically chooses to sign up); and neither of your names/addresses will be used for any other purpose whatsoever. You have my word on that!

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Shocking!

Ok, ok, it's a bad pun. Still, last week's CMOS battery-replacement item (where I described how to prevent static discharge from harming you or your computer if you have to work inside the case) brought various emails:

Tom Daugherty had an excellent follow-on suggestion:

I just finished reading your latest letter and again enjoyed it. But I do have one question (or suggestion). Since you are taking the battery out anyhow, would this not be a good time to install a fresh one? How many of us can truly say we know how old our battery is?

That's a great idea: These little batteries last anywhere from six months to several years. Because they cost just a couple bucks (you can get them at most Radio Shacks and electronics shops or departments), it's definitely worth replacing them if you have to be fooling with the battery: Sooner or later, it's gonna have to be replaced anyway! 

I also got several notes about my suggestion re: unplugging the PC before working on it. One (anonymous) writer asked:

It has been my understanding that if the case is unplugged, it's no longer grounded and will not dissipate the static electricity from the user who touches the case to do so. Have I been misinformed?

If the case is ungrounded, then, obviously, touching it won't ground you. But touching it *will* equalize any charge differential between you and the PC. You and the PC may not have a charge of zero, but as long as you both have the *same* or equipotential charge, no current can flow and no static discharge can occur.

Other writers suggested that the voltages and amperages inside the case are so low that the risk of bodily harm is minimal. This may be true, but the risk of damage to the PC is not: It doesn't take a lot of either voltage or current to fry a sensitive electrical component.

For heavy-duty system work, I use a grounding clip and a wrist strap to protect the system and myself; but for quick jobs like battery replacement, I still suggest the simplest, safest course of action is to unplug the unit to ensure the system is inert, and then touch the power supply housing before reaching into the case to equalize any electrical potential between you and the PC. That way, you and the PC are safe.

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NOT The "Publishers' Clearinghouse Sweepstakes...."

...And I'm not Ed MacMahon! But you still can win a Palm III by using the following link to recommend the LangaList to a friend. Your friend just may find a new source of useful information; I just may gain a new subscriber; and you just may win a nifty handheld tool (full details also available via this link):

http://www.langa.com/recommend.htm#1

Or, win a copy of a $30 book (Full details also available via this link):

http://www.langa.com/recommend.htm#2 

Either way, thank you, and good luck!

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Just For Grins

My friend and fellow newsletter guy, Dan Rosenbaum (he's now editing the WinLetter from WinMag.Com), sends along these "Rules for Writerers:"

1. Verbs HAS to agree with their subjects.
2. Prepositions are not words to end sentences with.
3. And don't start a sentence with a conjunction.
4. It is wrong to ever split an infinitive.
5. Avoid cliches like the plague. (They're old hat.)
6. Also, always avoid annoying alliteration.
7. Be more or less specific.
8. Parenthetical remarks (however relevant) are (usually) unnecessary.
9. Also too, never, ever use repetitive redundancies.
10. No sentence fragments.
11. Contractions aren't necessary and shouldn't be used.
12. Foreign words and phrases are not apropos.
13. Do not be redundant; do not use more words than necessary; it's highly superfluous.
14. One should NEVER generalize.
15. Comparisons are as bad as cliches.
16. Don't use no double negatives.
17. Eschew ampersands & abbreviations, etc.
18. One-word sentences? Eliminate.
19. Analogies in writing are like feathers on a snake.
20. The passive voice is to be ignored.
21. Eliminate commas, that are, not necessary. Parenthetical words however should be enclosed in commas.
22. Never use a big word when substituting a diminutive one would suffice.
23. Kill all exclamation points!!!
24. Use words correctly, irregardless of how others use them.
25. Understatement is always the absolute best way to put forth earth-shaking ideas.
26. Use the apostrophe in it's proper place and omit it when its not needed.
27. Eliminate quotations. As Ralph Waldo Emerson said, "I hate quotations. Tell me what you know."
28. If you've heard it once, you've heard it a thousand times: Resist hyperbole; not one writer in a million can use it correctly.
29. Puns are for children, not groan readers.
30. Go around the barn at high noon to avoid colloquialisms.
31. Even IF a mixed metaphor sings, it should be derailed.
32. Who needs rhetorical questions?
33. Exaggeration is a billion times worse than understatement.
34. Avoid "buzz-words"; such integrated transitional scenarios complicate simplistic matters.

And finally...

35. Proofread carefully to see if you any words out.

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See you next issue!

Best,

Fred

(fred@langa.com)

(Please recommend the LangaList to a friend! (And maybe win a Palm III)

An easier-to read formatted HTML version is available in the "what's new" section of http://www.langa.com.  (The HTML version of each issue normally is available by 9AM EST [GMT-5] of the issue date.) All past LangaList issues are also available via the same link.

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Disclaimer: The tips and other information given in the newsletter are researched and are believed to be accurate, but we cannot and do not guarantee that all the information here will work on all systems, for all users, all the time. All information herein is offered as-is and without warranty of any kind. Neither Langa Consulting LLC, nor its employees nor contributors are responsible for any loss, injury, or damage, direct or consequential, resulting from application of any information presented here.

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