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The LangaList
Standard Edition

2002-08-26

A Free Email Newsletter from Fred Langa
That Helps You Get More From Your Hardware, 
Software, and Time Online

Please visit our sponsors and help keep the LangaList S.E. free!

1) Protect Yourself Against Unwanted Software Changes

There are at least three easy ways by which you can ensure that no one--- including Microsoft--- can change your software without your knowledge or consent. What's more, even if an unwanted software change does somehow slip past your defenses, it's not hard to undo the damage. I'll show you how in the article currently running over at http://www.informationweek.com/story/IWK20020816S0001 .

The thing that prompted that article is a change in Microsoft's "EULA," or "End User License Agreement." Some people have interpreted the new EULA to mean that Microsoft is granting itself unlimited license to snoop inside your PC and kill off software it might not like. In that same article at http://www.informationweek.com/story/IWK20020816S0001 I'll show you the actual, verbatim EULA text, and also tell you what I think it means.

But regardless of Microsoft's intentions, there's no reason for you *ever* to suffer from having your software covertly changed by any outside source: The above article also shows you how to protect yourself from such changes.

BTW: "The Register," the spotty British tech tabloid that helped to publicize the new EULA, has added a third rant--- mostly against me! <g> But when you strip away the insults and paranoia, they still don't explain how Microsoft software will surreptitiously self-install (you'd have to let it); or how it will phone home to Microsoft for new secret updates (you'd have to let it), or how it will somehow reach back in time and retroactively alter all your previous backups, rendering you unable to roll back any unwanted updates that make it past your defenses (that simply cannot happen in this universe). As usual, and like most tabloids, The Register is fun to read, but silly. It sacrifices boring rationality for shrill (but admittedly amusing) cheekiness.

Call me boringly rational: Again, even if the paranoiacs are right, and EVEN IF MICROSOFT'S INTENTIONS ARE WHOLLY EVIL, you still don't have to fall victim to any unwanted updates. Despite the Register's shrill alarms, the InformationWeek article shows you how you can remain safe.

Please check out the tips, and the article, and then join in the discussion: What's your take? Am I too sanguine about the new EULA terms? Do you agree that the steps I outline can provide enough protection against covert phone-home behavior? Do you think the new EULA does indeed grant Microsoft the right to override your update settings or to take control of your PC, flushing out software it doesn't like? Do you see the new EULA as a threat? Join in at http://www.informationweek.com/story/IWK20020816S0001 .

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2) Free Reg Cleaning For All Windows, Including XP

Hi Fred, I recently got a new desktop machine at work with WinXP, I had Win98 before and was used to maintaining the system with regular runs of RegClean and Defrag etc. but there doesn't seem to be anything built into XP for registry maintenance (apart from RegEdit). Whilst searching for information about whether MS RegClean would work with XP or not I came across this site http://members.cox.net/scotterpops/downloads/downloads.html  which has links to downloads of a whole range of utilities along with short explanations and which version of Windows they work on. I did a quick search on your site but found no mention of this site. A lot of the utilities listed here have probably been discussed in your newsletter at some time or another, but to have all these links together is very helpful. I found a whole bunch of great utilities on the system utilities page ( http://members.cox.net/scotterpops/downloads/system.html ). Turns out that MS RegClean 4.1-a does work with XP. I am going to use RegCleaner and NT Reg Optimiser. Another bonus about this site is that all the downloads appear to be freeware. --- George MacLeod

There's some good stuff there, George, thanks!

I routinely use one of the tools that site mentions: RegCleaner from http://www.vtoy.fi/jv16/index.shtm . I also have a copy of the "JV16 Power Tools" (which includes registry tools) from the same JV16 site, but the Power Tools are usually more than I actually need. In any case, both these excellent tools are free for personal use, and they work on all versions of Windows.

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3) Inexpensive Data Recovery Tool

Fred: My turn to write and to tell you about a wonderful tool that I ran across.

About 2 years ago, I was working on my master's thesis and was about 90% complete when I lost all my work due to a corrupted master file table on my main hard drive (Windows 2000, NTFS). It was so far gone that I could not even get it to boot or to read the drive when booting from another known good drive. To be fair to Win2K, this failure was a self-inflicted wound and I spent many hours cursing myself for - I had done a defrag using a tool called PerfectDisk (I would not recommend that software package) without a recent backup. Not wanting to redo all my work, I went on a hunt for companies or software that would repair a damaged hard drive.

I found many companies that advertised that they would do a recover on my drive, but that I had to ship the drive to them and they could not guarantee a recover. Also, they billed at $80 per hour and estimated that on a 20 GB hard drive, it would take about 6 hours to restore. I also ran across a number of tools in the $300 - $500 range that advertised the ability to recover the drive. A number of these had free demos which I tried - most were unable to get past the corrupted MFT. I did not want to shell out many hundreds of dollars on a utility that could not demonstrate value.

Then I ran across a tool called Restorer2000. They had a free demo, so I tried it. Wow. It bypassed the MFT and went directly to a sector scan of the drive. After about 20 minutes, I had a display of the entire contents of my harddrive. Of course, the demo version did not give you the ability to do a restore, but the ability to actually read the drive was encouraging. And the price - $49 for the "pro" version. I figured it was a good bet for $49, so I bought it.

Best $49 I ever spent on utility software. Inside of an hour, I was back up and running with all my data restored. I have since had the opportunity to use the software on other "dead" drives and it was always able to recover some level of data, even after a format. The downside is that this utility only works on NTFS partitions. If they came up with a version that worked on FAT partitions, they would have the market cornered.

Just wanted to drop you a note to tell you about this wonderful utility at a bargain price. The web link is http://www.restorer2000.com .

Regards, Darrel Damon

Thanks, Darrel. This is one of those utilities you hope you'll never need, but that can be a lifesaver if you really *do* need it!

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4) Drowning In The "DMI Pool"

Reader Karen Larson writes:

My computer takes *forever* to boot up. It is a Pentium III 450 with Windows 98 SE and 256 megs of RAM On boot up, it gets stuck on the black and white screen where it says: "Verifying DMI Pool Data"

What is the DMI Pool Data? Is this related to the Shuttle motherboard, the BIOS, or is it related to Windoze?

I belong to a Computer User Group and the people there tell me this message "flashes" by on their computer just barely long enough to read. On my computer, it sits there for more than a minute! Thanks, Karen

Microsoft lightly covers this issue in http://support.microsoft.com/default.aspx?scid=KB;EN-US;Q287553

It explains that the "Desktop Management Interface (DMI) is a method for managing computers in an organization. The main component, Management Information Format Database (MIFD), is a database that contains all the information about the local computer and its components."

But all Microsoft says about DMI trouble is that "it's a hardware problem."

A more thorough article at http://www.computerhope.com/issues/ch000474.htm lists six specific reasons for a DMI problem:

1. Corrupt boot files on the computer.
2. Settings for hard disk drive are not correct.
3. Boot devices not set properly.
4. BIOS corrupt or misc. setting not set properly.
5. Connections loose or disconnected.
6. Bad Hard disk drive or other bad hardware.

The above article also goes on to suggest fixes for DMI Pool problems; it's a good read.

Lots more info here, too:
http://www.google.com/search?q=DMI+Pool+Data

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5) Is A Router Enough Protection?

Hi Fred, I'm loving the feedback about firewalls. I'm wondering if we might have some discussion about routers and firewalls. I just installed a Linksys router so my partner and I can both have access to the Internet via our cable connection. The router comes with a built in firewall. Is it enough? Or should we install firewalls on each of the two computers as well? Thanks, Michael Kealy

It's been almost a year since we last covered this, so many readers--- especially newer ones--- may have missed it. But the article at http://www.informationweek.com/840/langa.htm tries to address this exact issue, in "How Much Protection Is Enough?" Check it out. 8-)

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6) Last Week To Enter August's FREE Drawing

On August 31, I'll choose another monthly winner of a no-strings $30 Gift Certificate for any item at Amazon.Com--- books, software, hardware, kitchenware, toys... 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 $30 shopping spree! (Full details also available via this link): http://www.langa.com/recommend.htm

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.recommend-it.com/l.z.e?s=143182

Either way, thank you, and good luck!

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7) Multiboot Answers

It's becoming increasingly common for people to "multiboot;"--- to have more than one OS on their PC. Perhaps you want to keep Win98 around while you experiment with XP, for example; or you want to run Windows and Linux on the same box.

Because of this, I get a lot of mail asking how to set up multibooting. But the answer depends on your starting point: Some OSes have multibooting built in, and others require the addition of a piece of software called a "boot manager."

If you're new to multibooting, here are some great starting points to learn *everything* you need to know on the subject, depending on which OS you're starting from:

Multibooting with XP:
http://www.microsoft.com/windowsxp/pro/using/howto/gettingstarted/multiboot.asp

With Win98:
http://www.google.com/search?q=multiboot+98

With WinME:
http://www.google.com/search?q=multiboot+winme

With Win2K:
http://www.google.com/search?q=multiboot+windows+2000

With Linux:
http://www.google.com/search?q=multiboot+linux

Free Boot Managers:
http://www.google.com/search?q=free+boot+manager

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8) More Reader Sites!

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 thousands 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:

View A Randomly-Chosen Reader Site From Among All Listed
http://www.langa.com/randomlink.htm

Manually Browse All Posted-to-Date Sites Starting At
http://www.langa.com/readersites.htm

Free Download Performance Tests
http://www.toast.net/performance/

Orbital Garden
http://www.angelfire.com/space/flight/

Digital Photography
http://www.photograffix.com/

Wolf's Den
http://www.xanga.com/home.asp?user=wolfwalker

Sandy's Home Page
http://flowergirl420.friendpages.com/

Virtual Space Computers (Australia)
http://www.vscomputers.com.au/

Mel's Page (Illinois)
http://www.soltec.net/~cybermel/

Opseu Local 521's Official Website (Canada)
http://opseulocal521.tripod.com/

Sandi's Oddities
http://pages.ivillage.com/sandilee33/

Walk to Cure Diabetes
http://www.geocities.com/lindatimsam/

PerfectDrivers (printer, video, modem drivers, etc)
http://www.perfectdrivers.com/

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9) Free "DeskSweeper"

Fred: One of your newsletters addressed Desktop Icons and how to remove them. I no longer bother with such.

I tend to place icons on the desktop as shortcuts or as reminders of that I must do (or, all to often, simply wishful things I want to do). My desktop gets quite cluttered after awhile, necessitating some house cleaning. By the time of the needed desktop cleaning, I usually just recall a drive image for overall cleaning

But meanwhile to have a nice looking desktop, I simply use DeskSweeper from http://no-nonsense-software.com/freeware/  I have been using DeskSweeper for several years now. It is free. It is simple, easy to use. Simply click or second-click the DeskSweeper icon in the right tray to hide or unhide the desktop icons. I find DeskSweeper very handy when doing screen captures . The popup menu from the right tray DeskSweeper icon has other functions also, as shown below

The DeskSweeper.Exe file is about 231 Kb. One makes a shortcut and places it in the Start-Programs-Startup folder, or simply wherever it is handy to get to.---- Chet Kolar

Thanks, Chet!

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10) Just For Grins

Reader Leor Zolman sends along these "Newspaper Headlines in the Year 2035:"

Ozone created by electric cars now killing millions in the seventh largest country in the world, California.

Baby conceived naturally.... Scientists stumped.

Authentic year 2000 "chad" sells at Sotheby's for $4.6 million.

Upcoming NFL draft likely to focus on use of mutants.

Iraq still closed off; physicists estimate ten more years before radioactivity decreases to safe levels.

Castro dies at age 112; Cuban cigars can now imported legally, but President Chelsea Clinton bans all smoking.

35 year study: Diet and exercise is the key to weight loss!

George Z. Bush says he will run for President in 2036.

Texas executes last remaining citizen.

Average height of NBA players now nine feet, seven inches.

Microsoft announces it has perfected its newest version of Windows so it crashes BEFORE installation is completed.

New federal law requires that all nail clippers, screw-drivers and baseball bats be registered by January 2036.

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11) Plus! Edition Highlights:

• Powerful, Free Backup Automation Tool
• Synchronizing Outlook Calendars
• Tons Of Print-Head Cleaning Info

Today's LangaList Plus! Edition contains all ten items above, plus about 30% more content including: A reader-crafted free tool that can totally automate your backups; several different ways to synchronize Outlooks' Calendar with one or many others; and a flood of great info on many ways to clean and unclog inkjet print heads!

For FULL INFO on all the Plus! Edition offers, see: http://www.langa.com/plus.htm 

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See you next issue!

Best,

Fred
( Editor@Langa.Com )

Please recommend the LangaList to a friend! (And maybe win $10,000!I)

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This newsletter is a service of Langa Consulting and is Copyright © 1997-2005 Fred Langa/ Langa Consulting. All worldwide rights reserved. LangaList: ISSN 1533-1156

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