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Please note: Older issues may contain information that is now out of date. How To Subscribe
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read formatted HTML version of this newsletter is available on line at The LangaList 2000-09-25 A Free Email
Newsletter from Fred
Langa 1) Bullet-Proof Your Windows SetupPlease take this simple 30-second quiz. If you answer "yes" to any of these four simple questions, then have I got a solution for you! <g>
If you're at all like most people, you answered "yes" to at least one of the above. And if you're like me, you answered "yes" to them all! The good news is that there's a fast, easy, inexpensive way to accomplish all the above. Not only does this technique deliver all four benefits mentioned above--- and more--- but the #1 benefit is so powerful it's worth restating: With this technique, you can zap your system back to a perfect state in no more time than it takes to grab a cup of coffee. Unlike "Go Back" and similar utilities, this technique doesn't just undo the last changes you made, but can restore your entire software setup--- OS, apps, and data, everything--- to like-new condition. This includes automatically eliminating all junk files, shedding Registry bloat, deleting all spyware, trashing unwanted Cookies--- *everything.* And also unlike the Go Back-type tools, this technique works no matter how badly hosed your system is. Even if you've totally scrambled your Windows installation, messed up important application software, or rendered your primary "boot partition" completely unusable and unbootable--- this technique lets you get your system back to a stable, perfect, working order in a few effortless minutes. It even gets at the those system files that normally are live, in use, and unavailable to standard Windows backup software. The full article covers a lot of ground (actually exploring three different technologies) and is much to long to reproduce here in an email. But it will be available, in full and for free, starting midday today (2000-09-25; UT-4) on the WinMag.Com site at http://content.techweb.com/winmag//columns/explorer/2000/20.htm . Check it out! (Note: If you get there early, you'll see "Scrub Your Hard Disk Clean, Part 2," which is the previous column. It's worth a read too, if I may say so.<g> But if you're looking for "Bullet-Proof Your Windows Setup," just try the link again, a little later.) Click to
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Last Monday (Sept 18th), I asked for
your input about whether to keep this newsletter supported by advertising, or
going to an ad-free, subscription model. Before even that first day was out, I'd
gotten over 5,000 replies. After the first few hundred replies
came in, I created an "autoresponder" to send back an acknowledgement
for each email vote I got; but a high percentage of those who voted also wanted
to make specific suggestions, offer support, or otherwise expand on the simple
yes/no voting process. So they wrote to me in a second deluge of email, with
this one going straight to my main mailbox. I was swamped! <g> But I read them all: After all, I
had *asked* for input, and you responded wonderfully. Thank you! The only downside was that the sheer
volume of emails threw me way off schedule; that's why there was no issue last
Thursday. So far, I'm still averaging 2,000
extra emails a day, on top of the normal 800 or so I usually get. It's a flood!
I'm mostly caught up now, even though
the replies are still coming in and the total response has topped 10,000! Thank you all for taking the time to
reply! I'm digesting the poll results and all the great suggestions, and will
keep you posted. And in the meantime, thank you for
your clicks on the ad links; they're what keep the LangaList funded and in the
black. Thanks again! Click to
email this item to a friend Several readers took issue with my
negative views of Windows Millennium Edition (see http://search.atomz.com/search/?sp-q=winme&sp-a=0008002a-sp00000000
), and my suggestion to avoid the "real mode DOS patch" for WinME
that's making the rounds. (See http://www.langa.com/newsletters/2000/2000-09-14.htm#4
) For example, reader Dave Freitas
wrote: Fred: Love the
Langalist newsletter. There is always something interesting in each issue. I
work at Sears and we just got in a computer running Windows ME. While there
isn't a MS-DOS icon either on the desktop or the programs menu I found that you
can run a DOS box by going to the run command from the start menu and typing
"Command" (as in command.com). This will open a DOS box just like the
MS-DOS icon does in WIN95/8. If there is a start in DOS mode I haven't found it
yet. That's true, and you can use the
same technique to open a DOS box--- er, "command window"--- in NT,
Win2K and Win9x. But these command windows are not "pure" DOS---
Windows itself is still running, is still controlling the show, and is still
keeping a number of files in use and alive, making low-level system maintenance
either difficult or impossible. The real-mode DOS patch tries to
restore true DOS access to WinME, but--- well, see what happened to reader
"Myk." He's an early adopter of WinME who tried the DOS patch and ran
afoul of exactly was I was trying to warn people about: I am running WinMe ver
4.90.3000... I downloaded and installed this patch [the real-mode DOS
patch] exactly as instructed (4 Times). Well it was great as far as
getting to dos...worked perfect...PROBLEM...no way to restart in windows. If I'm
at the c prompt and type win or if I just reboot and let it try to run win.com
from the autoexec I get the exact same blue screen error, as follows WHILE
INITIALIZING DEVICE IFSMGR (this is in a white box) And that's it. I'm stuck
there,ctrl+alt+del doesn't work so I reboot which brings me eventually right
back to this blue screen. Fortunately I have Ghost [a drive-imaging utility] and
can get windows reinstalled and be back up and running in 15 minutes but I
really am exasperated trying to figure out what the heck is going on??? PS The reason I really need
dos is that if I reboot with a WinME start disc all my drives display improperly
ie c=e ..no idea why that happens either but with this patch I had perfect
proper drive reads...arghhh... The drive-letter shuffling, as was
explained in previous columns and newsletters, is a result of WinME's start disk
installing a "RAM Disk" which occupies a drive letter: When the RAM
Disk installs itself, all your normal drives are bumped down the alphabet by one
letter to make room for the RAM Disk. Worse, if the start disk loads your other
partitions or drives in an unfamiliar order, the drive-letter assignments may
change even further. Thus, your C: drive can become your D: drive (or even E:,
or F:, or G:, etc). Nothing's lost when this happens--- all your files are still
there. But if you or a shortcut or batch file or application looks for a file,
it may not be where you expect it. For example, what was, say, C:\filename.ext
might now be D:(or E:...)\filename.ext. OK, you might say: Let's can the RAM
Disk. Alas, you also can't make a normal, clean boot floppy in ME: There's no
"copy system files" or "make disk bootable" option in the
WinME floppy format menu. And there is no SYS command in windows\command. If you
try modifying the autoexec or config files, WinME will delete your changes on
restart. If WinME is installed on a
single-boot machine (that is, where ME is the only operating system), you can do
a "minimal boot" to DOS (hit F8 when the system beeps during a cold
boot), but this option goes away if you dual-boot with, say, Win2K. You see, Microsoft *really* doesn't
want you to get to DOS or work on the system at a low level: WinME is for
newbies and those who want to just run the OS as-is, and never do anything
except what the OS wants them to do in just the way the OS wants them to do it.
(Dare I say it? This sounds positively Mac-like!) That'd be fine if Windows were
perfect. But you know it's not. In fact, I've never found *any* OS in 25 years
of working with PCs that couldn't use some tweaking or fine-tuning to adapt its
generic settings to be what works best for me, personally. WinME (like the Mac)
makes deep customizations and personalizations very difficult. And that's why I
don't like WinME--- nor the Mac. I want my PC to do things the way I want--- not
the other way around. In any case, as Myk found, the
unauthorized patches that try to restore real-mode DOS to WinME may make things
worse, not better. And what's more, patching the OS at that level may invalidate
any claim you have to tech support. The best way to try to undo the
changes made by applying the real-mode patch is to make a backup of important
files (your personal stuff) and then reinstall WinME from the original CD. With
luck, you shouldn't lose anything--- it will install "on top" of your
applications and settings and correct what's wrong, and also restore your setup
to legal status. But on balance, I think it's unwise
to try to beat WinME into a shape for which it was never designed. Still, if
you're determined to try to add DOS mode to WinME, see the next item. Click to
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Please allow me to repeat from the
previous item, for emphasis: On balance, I think it's unwise to
try to beat WinME into a shape for which it was never designed. If you need
real-mode DOS, you're NOT the kind of user for whom WinME was intended. But I can imagine a situation where
someone might be stuck: Say, you buy a new system, and it comes with WinME.
WinME may not have been your choice, and if you need real-mode DOS, what then? The patch mentioned above is one
imperfect answer, but there may be a better one, as described by reader Jerry
Rosen: Fred, I have been
reading/saving all of the excellent information you have been providing in your
"Save Your Butt With DOS" series (along with your invaluable DOS
mini-reference links). [See http://content.techweb.com/winmag//columns/explorer/2000/17.htm
] I bumped into a website
that has a procedure on "How to restart from Windows ME into Windows 98 DOS
mode"; the URL is http://www.sgmvp.freewebsites.com/WinME.htm I'm very aware of the
potential benefits from maintaining a DOS 'toolkit', but I'm also very
inexperienced re using DOS. So I just wanted to let you know about the procedure
I bumped into so that maybe you could check it out and provide some feedback in
one of your upcoming newsletters. I have introduced many
people to the LangaList, including quite a few from overseas, and will continue
to do so. Thanks, Jerry! This way of patching WinME looks
better than the one mentioned before: It's a little more complicated, but seems
to cover more bases, and has much better documentation. Of course, *any* such patch will
still invalidate your warranty, so use with caution. But if you *must* add
real-mode DOS to WinME, now you have a couple of options. Click to
email this item to a friend I've written about ZoneAlarm--- the
outstanding, free-for-personal-use firewall that can help protect you from
Internet hackers--- many times before. (See http://search.atomz.com/search/?sp-q=zonealarm&sp-a=0008002a-sp00000000
) Last week, for a brief time, a new
beta version was posted: It's version 2.1.42. I was able to grab a copy in the
short time it was available. So far, it seems OK; it's a minor
upgrade from the current, shipping version (2.1.25). The main visible difference
is a mini-nag screen on launch that reminds you that you can upgrade to the
not-free ZoneAlarm Pro. But under the covers, where you
can't see it, the 2.1.42 beta is also supposed to offer: - Full support for Windows 2000 SP1 If you want to see if a later beta
is available again, the page is at: http://www.zonelabs.com/beta_download.htm I'll keep checking too, and will let
you know what I find. The Pro version may also be worth a
look. It's at In any case, some version of
ZoneAlarm is a "must have" security enhancement; if you haven't
already, grab yourself one of the versions today! Click to
email this item to a friend For a variety of reasons (mostly
having to do with international legal issues), the last several winners of our
monthly book give-away haven't been able to accept their prize. So on September
30, I'll choose THREE winners of a copy of "Poor Richard's E-Mail
Publishing: Creating Newsletters, Bulletins, Discussion Groups and Other
Powerful Communications Tools." This book has been described as "An
excellent, straightforward manual on email publishing, banner ads, driving
traffic and especially ethics." It normally sells for $30. To have a shot at winning, just use
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 book! (Full details also available via this link): http://www.langa.com/recommend.htm#2 The more times you make a
recommendation, the greater your chances are of winning! Or, if you'd like to try to win
$10,000(!), try this link (full details also available here): http://www.langa.com/recommend.htm#1 Either way, thank you, and good
luck! Click to
email this item to a friend Do you have a home page or website?
(It doesn't matter what size.) Please click over to http://www.langa.com/code.htm,
and maybe you can join the hundreds and hundreds of LangaList readers who have
"Loaded the Code!" (If you've already "Loaded The Code" and
are wondering if your site will appear here or on the Langa.Com web site, please
see http://www.langa.com/link.txt
) Speaking of which: Here's another
eclectic sample of reader sites--- some professional, some very personal: Click to
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the LangaList's explosive growth Order now
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Reader "Prak" sends along
this suggestion for blocking ads in your browser: Fred: Great newsletter! I
just wanted to pass on a couple more ad-busting ideas. Sure, you can use
software like Junkbuster if you want, but here are two solutions that result in
little or no processor overhead, since they both exploit functionality already
built into IE/Netscape http://www.21stcentury.net/~flan/hosts.html http://www.schooner.com/~loverso/no-ads/ I think they're brilliant.
Just like the Langalist -) Thanks, Prak! Two cautions: Proxies (the first
method) can slow things down and may conflict with apps like ZoneAlarm. Playing
with your "hosts" file (the second method) can leave you unable to
connect to a site with no clear reason why. (See http://search.atomz.com/search/?sp-q=hosts+file&sp-a=0008002a-sp00000000 But both methods can work, and
they're free. Click to
email this item to a friend Ah, New Hampshire. 8-) Fall Foliage Season has begun here;
New Hampshire has some of the brightest and most spectacular foliage anywhere,
due to the high hills, large numbers of Sugar Maples (the trees with the
brightest reds and oranges) and soil and climate conditions that are optimal for
producing technicolor trees. This year, following a cool, wet
summer, the professional leaf-peepers are claiming the foliage will be the best
in a decade. (See http://www.visitnh.gov/foliageframe.html
) But there's more to local color than
what's on the trees, as exemplified by these two stories from the local
newspaper. Although the second story contains a word not normally found in this
newsletter, it's exactly as the Associated Press reported it, and as the local
paper ran it. First there's this: "Leif Ericson parade
set in Durham: The bellow of the leather horn that once led Vikings into
adventure will fill the air Oct. 8, signaling the start of the 24th annual Leif
Ericson celebration Parade." That sounds fine, until you
read further into the article to learn that the parade route stretches all of 25
feet (that's a little less than 8 meters) from the Durham LaunderCenter to the
pub next door. The parade was started in 1977 when two University of NH
professors--- one a Swede, the other a Dane--- met while doing laundry, and
decided to celebrate Ericson's voyage to North America by having a few drinks at
the tavern next door. Their march, er, short walk became an annual event worthy
of coverage in the newspaper, although today participation in the
"march" is limited to the number of seats in the bar. Then there's this: "Man in penis costume
exonerated: Manchester--- a judge has ruled that a Massachusetts man who
promoted his presidential campaign last January by walking down main street in
Manchester in a penis costume did not break the law...." The judge agreed
that candidate's "First Amendment right to freedom of speech and expression
should trump the lewdness charge." Ah, New Hampshire. 8-) Click to
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