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The LangaList
Standard Edition

2002-11-14

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) Printer TurnOff

In "No Simple Answer?" ( http://www.langa.com/newsletters/2002/2002-10-21.htm#7 ), a reader asked about determining the status of a printer, so a user automatically could be reminded to turn it off. I suggested a crude and simple way to do this, but--- as so often happens--- your fellow readers had a number of suggestions ranging from the ultra-simple to deep-geek. Here's a sampling:

Fred- This may help: PC Tools and Utilities Software for Windows, Linux, DOS < http://www.pc-tools.net/ >. THE PROGRAM: Printer Status v1.02 (PRINTER) Checks to see if any of the printers attached to your system are powered and idle, and if so, displays a message on screen. Can be used in a batch file (for example) that runs Windows, and when Windows is done makes sure you didn't leave your printer(s) on. Returns an errorlevel of 1 if a printer is on; 0 otherwise. See <
http://www.pc-tools.net/dos/freeware/ > ---Stephen Cerruti

Hey Fred,  a simple solution is to make a wav file ("Shut the darn printer off !") or similar and set this as the Exit windows sound file. Lacking a mic, then you could select an obnoxious attention getter sound file (like a fire siren or gunshot) instead, as the Exit windows sound file. --- frank benek

You could put the printer on a timer, like a christmas tree. If you know you NEVER use the printer between say Midnight and six am, or while you're at work, you could program it to be off those times. It's no big deal to turn it on if you happen to need it during those times, and ink jets boot pretty quickly.---Jeff Wagg

Regarding the "warn me if my printer is on" problem: Using Windows Management Instrumentation (wmi info: go to http://search.support.microsoft.com/search/default.asp and search for "wmi"), it can be done. Here's a simple WMI script that I tested with Windows 2000 Professional (but theoretically it should work on any Windows system where WMI has been installed):

On Error Resume Next
strComputer = "."
Set objWMIService = GetObject("winmgmts:\\" & strComputer & "\root\cimv2")
Set colItems = objWMIService.ExecQuery("Select * from Win32_Printer Where Name='HP Laserjet 4L' ",,48)
For Each objItem in colItems
Wscript.Echo "Name: " & objItem.Name
Wscript.Echo "PrinterStatus: " & objItem.PrinterStatus
If instr( "3=Idle, 4=Printing, 5=Warmup, 6=Stopped printing", objItem.PrinterStatus ) > 0 then
Wscript.Echo "*** PRINTER IS ON!! ***"
End if
Wscript.Echo " "
Next

It decides that the printer is on if the PrinterStatus property is 3, 4, 5, or 6. Here's the list of defined statuses, taken from
http://msdn.microsoft.com/library/en-us/wmisdk/wmi/win32_printer.asp?frame=true :

PrinterStatus
1 Other
2 Unknown
3 Idle
4 Printing
5 Warmup
6 Stopped printing
7 Offline

---Ross Presser

Fred  Below you will find a (tested and working on W2K) Auto-It script for " the forgotten Printer Power Problem." It gives an audio-signal and a warning message on screen . I suppose you remember the Auto-It program. ( you mentioned it several times in your newsletter: http://www.hiddensoft.com )  Auto-It has a very active and creative Auto-It -List: (AutoItList@yahoo.com). I joined them about a year ago and "it changed my computerlife" ) My last own Auto-It project is what i call "One-Click-ers" compiled Auto-It scripts which execute in ONE click. At the moment i have already more then 35 of those "One-clickers" , stored under a Winkey (see Winkey 2.8) And even this one-clicking can be reduced ! http://www.activeclick.com/  I tested it and it works fine Mouse-Moving does the job. The combination is very powerful. (Auto-It is freeware , Activeclick not) Power-Off Printer.aut can also be compiled to an exe file and then called by the Task Scheduler--- Theo Lockefeer

; Power-Off Printer.aut
; dd 22/10/2002
; author Theo Lockefeer
; 1) First made beep.aut (forget the [ ] )
; [runwait,%comspec% /c type beep.txt, , Hide ]
; this scripts points to H:\beep.txt
; ( H is my main-drive not C )
; which produces through ^G the PC - start audio beep.
; 2) then compiled this script to beep.exe
; Now beep.exe is executed
RunWait,%comspec% /c H:\beep.exe,,hide
; 3) After you hear the beep you get
; 4) the message box with the Warning
; Do not forget to Power off your Printer !
MsgBox,48, Printer Power Status, Do not forget to Power off your Printer !
exit

Or: You may wish to leave the printer on:

Fred- I'm an engineer who has worked on printers, and I don't recall ever seeing an inkjet printer that didn't take care of itself. For example, the HP deskjet printer sitting next to me automatically slides a rubber cap over its printhead a few seconds after it finishes printing a page. This seals out air and keeps the ink from drying out. I have a Brother inkjet printer that automatically runs a "cleaning cycle" every 24 hours to keep its printheads clean. The printer doesn't even have a power switch -- probably so that it can stay alive to keep itself clean. Yanking the power plug (or turning off the power at a power strip) would prevent the cleaning cycle and cause the ink to dry out! Bottom line read the manual before deciding what's best for your printer. -jeff stearns

Thanks to all who wrote in!

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2) A Free Backup Tool From India...

Dear Fred, I have written a software in Java - for backing up files and folders on harddrive. This program backs up the data in a single zip archive and has facilities like adding newly added or modified folders or files to the current archive, mirror deletions etc. It also enables you to write a backup script so that your backup is automated. I want to distribute the software for free.

The software ("RestoreBack") is available for free from http://geocities.com/yogshastri/  And although the page states that software is free only till November...I am offering it for free forever.

Before I proceed any further let me tell you that since this program is written entirely in Java, you might need Java virtual machine from Sun Microsystems (available for free from http://java.sun.com/getjava/download.html ); and the path environment variable must be set to the bin subdirectory which is created when JRE is installed. For more details may I ask you refer to readmefirst file. Sincerly, Yogesh Shastri (Bhilai, India)

Thank you!

By the way, some Windows setup already will have a Java run-time environment set up: I suggest you simply download the "RestoreBack" tool and try it (follow the directions in the Readmefirst  file). If it runs for you, you're all set. If you get an error message, then the Sun link, above, can help you get a complete Java run-time environment you can install on your PC for free.

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3) ...And a Free Outlook Tool From Fiji

Dear Fred: I have been a reader of The LangaList for sometime now. I particularly like the articles referring to software downloads which has helped me find some great tools that I now use daily (e.g. The Google toolbar). Newsletters like your own have made it much easier to work from Fiji.

In the 2002-11-07 edition (Article 4 Outgrowing Your Email Software?) there was an e-mail from a reader who needed a solution to filing e-mails in Outlook.

I have developed a small add-in for Outlook 2000/2002 to solve this very problem (after struggling with it myself for a while). The add-in is called QuickFile and can be downloaded from http://www.addins4outlook.com/quickfile . We have recently updated QuickFile to work with Exchange as well as normal PST files.

QuickFile lets you:

1. Move e-mails to the correct folder at the click of a button .QuickFile manages a list of shortcuts to folders where you save e-mails. The shortcut list will remember where you save e-mails from each contact and you can assign as many shortcuts as you want for each contact's e-mail address.

2. Send & File in one step (moves e-mail to correct folder automatically after it is sent instead of saving it in the SentItems folder). QuickFile has greatly simplified my e-mail management within Outlook (totally unbiased view) and I know that it will be useful to your readers. Once again, thanks for a great newsletter. Regards Sanjay Singh

Excellent! Although I don't use Outlook for email, I can image that QuickFile will be a wonderful help to those who do. Thanks!

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4) Another Tip Re: Moving Old Floppies To CD

We recently covered some of the ways you can move information--- such as setup programs from older software--- from floppies to CD for long-term safe storage. (See the original item at http://www.langa.com/newsletters/2002/2002-10-24.htm#7 and a follow-on item in the Plus! edition at http://www.langalist.com/Plus/newsletters/2002/2002-10-31plus.asp#12 ).

Reader "Mike" mentions a pitfall--- and workaround--- that can impede your work with some older software that shipped on nonstandard floppies:

Fred--I had a helping  hand from someone in Usenet when I tried [moving old software from floppies to CD] and thought I would pass it along. MS Office 4.3 on floppies used a format with 1.7mb per diskette rather than 1.44 and just putting the diskette in the drive will not allow you to copy the files. A tip from a Usenet reader gave me this:

A DMF (Distribution Media Format) disk has several differences in the format from what should be used on an HD disk, not the least of which is the presence of 21 sectors per track instead of the usual 18. Although DMF disks can be read by programs designed especially for that purpose (such as EXTRACT) you can read them using normal DOS commands by putting the DRIVPARM statement in CONFIG.SYS. This allows *reading* but not *writing* of a DMF disk. A system booted with this statement present will be UNABLE to read normal disks until the statement is removed and the system rebooted.

If you need to write a DMF diskette there are some freeware/shareware programs floating around. Try looking for them in the SIMTEL archives.

Here's the line you need to use for the A drive

DRIVPARM=/D0 /S21

Substitute /D1 if you're using the B disk instead.

This worked fine for me. I did have to edit the setup.inf file (on Office 4.3, it was a text file) to remove references to A drive so it would look in the current directory instead of a non-existent floppy. I put all the files into one directory although this could be changed. It can install either from cd or  from the hard drive now.

Thanks! For lots more info, see http://www.google.com/search?q=DRIVPARM

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-------

5) Admin Password Expiration

I have a question that maybe you or other readers could help me with I have xp pro on one of my machines I had two user accounts one for myself also as administrator and a guest account. Well about a month ago on login my account was telling me my password was about to expire in [some number of] days. I ignored it, went on vacation, when i returned the only account available was the guest account. with very limited access, I can't even start a new internet account I'm at my wits end trying to get another user account with administrative privileges, and help with greatly be appreciated thanks Tony Golla

It's a surprisingly common problem, Tony, with close to 7000 pages posted on the subject (according to Google). Fortunately, you'll also find the answers on many of those pages, too:  http://www.google.com/search?q=expired+xp+password

In particular, see the info on creating a "password reset disk" posted here:
http://support.microsoft.com/default.aspx?scid=kb;en-us;305478 and here
http://support.microsoft.com/default.aspx?scid=kb;en-us;306214

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6) "Jinx" Got A $30 Gift Certificate. Want One?

Reader M.W.Martinovitch--- who goes by the nom de email "jinx"---  just got a no-strings $30 Gift Certificate for any item at Amazon.Com--- books, software, hardware, kitchenware, toys, and more. Jinx got it by using the "Recommend" link at http://www.langa.com/recommend.htm .

If you use that link to recommend the LangaList to a friend, your friend may find a new source of useful information, I may gain a new subscriber; and you just may win a gift certificate, just as M.W.Martinovitch did. (Full details are available via that link.) 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 (really!), 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) "Best" Anti-Virus/Trojan Software?

Fred--- Re: anti-trojan software, which is better or...eh..."best"... who should we believe? See the following thread w/ links:
http://www.agnitum.com/forum/showthread.php?s=3a87fd48f721a7c12c25b5f43d82c76e&threadid=5217
[shortened version of URL: http://tinyurl.com/2lte ] ---All the best, Bjorn Simonsen

There's no one "best" of any software, of course. It depends on your hardware, your software, your usage patterns, and your preferences.

But consider this: I'm online 24/7 and get close to 1000 emails a day, but I have NEVER lost a file, or had a data "leak," from any virus, worm, or Trojan. I use:

Antivirus:
Symantec/Norton's http://www.symantec.com or NOD32 http://www.nod32.com/home/home.htm (I use one or the other on all my PCs and laptops)

Firewall:
Zone Alarm http://www.zonelabs.com or Sygate http://www.sygate.com (I use one or the other on all my PCs and laptops)

Anti-Trojan/Anti-Malware:
Ad-Aware http://www.lavasoftusa.com/, Pest Patrol http://www.digitalriver.com/pestpatrol/63171, Spybot S&D http://security.kolla.de/  (all three on each computer, as described in http://www.langa.com/newsletters/2002/2002-10-31.htm#1 )

There are other good tools out there--- and we've covered many, as a search of our back issues will show. But as the above have kept me safe, it's hard to argue that they're not awfully good programs. 8-)

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8) They Loaded The Code

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:

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

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

Electric Scooters and Parts
http://escooterparts.tripod.com/radacc.htm

Nursery Rhymes and Silly Stuff
http://www.smart-central.com/

McCard Computers
http://www.surfsouth.com/~smccard/HLM/11.htm

Fitness and Freebies
http://www.fitnessandfreebies.com/

Barry Fielding's AUSTRALIA
http://au.geocities.com/barryfielding/maincss.html

eastmaen web design
http://www.eastmaen.com/e/home_english.htm

Unsigned Nashville Artists
http://www.unsignednashvilleartists.com/

The Mountain Meadows Massacre
http://www.geraldgrimmett.com/

thegreniers.net
http://thegreniers.net/index.htm

Earth Focus
http://www.earth-focus.org.uk/

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9) Housekeeping Notes

Recently, my mailing list host upgraded its servers to a new version of Lyris, which is arguably the best mailing list software there is. Unfortunately, this most recent version seems to be a step backwards in some ways: For example, the Lyris interface has been redesigned in a way that places visual appeal over functionality. The menu pages look nicer now, but it takes more clicks--- sometimes many more clicks--- to accomplish a given task. And some features are now so buried that, unless you already know they're there, you may never find them.

OK, that's a hassle for me, not for you. But here's something that did affect many readers: Lyris changed the defaults for the way mailings are processed through its web interface, and that caused the headers and footers on recent issues to disappear, including the headers that some email clients require for the proper display of HTML email. Thus, ALL readers lost the top- and bottommost information that normally surrounds the text of this newsletter; and some Plus! readers who get the HTML version of the newsletter got what looked like plain text: It wasn't plain text, but their mail readers couldn't figure out how to handle the headerless HTML, and so displayed it as text.

The first time this happened, I thought it was a fluke, but after the second time, I went digging and found that it was indeed a quiet change within Lyris: Although I had the header and footer text in place and in the correct format, it didn't matter: Lyris now is set up so these headers and footers cannot and will not ever be used for messages--- like this newsletter--- that are entered directly on the server by a list-owner. Duh.

My apologies if your recent issues were messed up. With luck, this issue will be OK, and the headers and footer I've now manually entered will show up as they should.

The guts of Lyris are still world-class, but the interface and defaults seem to be chosen by an art department, instead of on the basis of maximum usability. Sigh.

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10) Just For Grins

James V Conroy sends along these "Nursery Rhymes... As they should have been." I can't tell where it started--- Google gives well over 100 sites with the same verses--- but they're worth a grin, in a very un-politically-correct kind of way. <g>

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11) Plus! Edition Highlights:

• Very Up-To-Date Networking Help
• Mangled Partitions, Fast Transfers
• Free Tool Recovers Windows Product Key

Today's LangaList Plus! Edition contains all ten items above, plus about 30% more content including: A new addition to the roster of great, free sites that offer advice and how-to info on networking; a two-part reader note involving a free tool to recover from a mangled partition table (and an unreadable hard drive) and a fast, inexpensive way to transfer huge amounts of data between two PCs; and a simple, free tool that lets you instantly recover the looooong product key for any installed version of Windows.

A Plus! Edition costs literally only *pennies* per issue. Check out all the info: 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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