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The LangaList
Standard Edition

2003-09-08

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) A Closer Look

In the current InformationWeek.Com column, you'll get updates on three important and interesting technologies and trends: You'll see my new powerline networking recommendations, you'll read about a $400 PC I recently got that easily matches a box I paid almost $2000 for, just two years ago; and learn of a new GPS adventure involving (for real!) a shipwreck and a desert island! The last item was definitely one of the highlights of my recent vacation. <g>

So, if any of those topics interests you--- inexpensive PCs, networking over ordinary electrical wiring (no drilling, no new cables!), or GPS--- click on over to http://www.informationweek.com/story/showArticle.jhtml?articleID=14100041  for the updated info, and then join in the associated discussion to share info on those--- or any--- topics with your fellow readers. See you there!

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In "Serious Outlook Problem" ( http://www.langa.com/newsletters/2003/2003-08-28.htm#1 ) we discussed the various problems--- including loss of data--- that can happen if you let your Outlook folders get too big.

As usual, many of you had *great* additional information and suggestions. Here's a sampling:

Dear Fred, To follow up on your article about an unusable overlimit Outlook PST file, I found a way to fix the problem without resorting to expensive third party recovery programs. I found the answer here http://www.slipstick.com/problems/repair2gbpst.htm#shrink . Here is the relevant excerpt from the page: "If you want to attempt repairs yourself, use a tool called a hex editor to edit the data in the file directly. Every Windows shareware site has a selection of hex editors. [Examples: http://www.google.com/search?q=hex+edit ] Eugene McCarthy of FAO Headquarters in Rome recommends the free iHex editor, which loads only 64kb of the file at a time, making it ideal for tinkering with extremely large PST files. Make a backup copy of your PST or OST, then open the original file with the hex editor (available for download from any Windows shareware site). You'll want to remove a few characters from the middle of the file [trying to get the file below the 2GB limit], then save it and try to run the Inbox Repair Tool [Scanpst.exe--- see below] to repair the damage you did with the hex editor. If Scanpst can repair the file, you should be able to open it in Outlook again. If not, try removing some additional characters from the file. If this process works, with any luck, you'll lose only one or two items. You may be able to recover 100% of the data by repeating the process with a new copy of the file, but removing the data from a different area." I realize the average PC user would not want to use a hex editor, but the readers of this newsletter are a cut above and many of them should be able to handle the above repair. In any event with extra copies of the original OST or PST file they have nothing to lose by trying. Regards, Mike Feeley

And speaking of Scanpst ( http://www.langa.com/newsletters/2002/2002-03-11.htm#4  ):

Hello Fred, to answer your other reader's problem of a pst that is too large and corrupt I may have a solution. There is a tool in outlook called scanpst.exe, you will need to do a search for this tool but it is usually found in outlook system files. Tell the user that he/she needs to exit and log off outlook: this is one of the option in the file menu. Once you exit run the utility by double clicking on the exe. The utility then let's you put in the path of the pst file, does a scan and and at one point gives you the choice to backup the pst/ost file. It is a good idea to do that but make sure that you have enough HD space to do this. It may take a few hours for this tool to run and repair such a large file but it is usually successful. Once it finishes repairing the file you can create a new pst or several pst and split up such a huge file. I work for a large firm and have many users that encounter this problem. I believe this tool works something like the Lotus Organizer compact utility if you ever had to run that. I also think that whatever email program you use, such a large mail file can get corrupt. Regards, Julio C Mora

[more in the next item]

Several readers made preventative suggestions along similar lines--- clearly, there's a solid idea here, although the exact implementation details can vary:

Fred, The suggestion I give the people I support regarding avoiding huge personal folders is: At the beginning of every new year create a new additional personal folder. This keeps all data live and at your finger tips in several personal folders but no 1 folder is huge. Even my biggest e-mail savers rarely go over 400megs in just one year and yet they have the "peace of mind" knowing it is all still there and instantly available. Another issue with huge .pst files is backups. If you are in a networked backup environment I have seen systems backup everything but the huge .pst. It seems that for some backups, any change to the .pst and it backs up the whole huge file. On our system the backups are secondary priority on the network and when traffic is heavy they are paused or suspended. With the huge files they fail or time out after several stops and that particular file is not backed up. I have had 2 instances where the .pst was 1.2gig and 1.4gig and after a hard drive failure find out that all files except the .pst were backed up and the .pst were in fact never backed because of this. All the more reason to keep .pst files a manageable size. --- Larry Giust

Dear Fred, I do something which may help Carl Lorenzetti with his too-large Outlook .pst file in the future (unfortunately, I have no "magic bullet" to repair the damage already done - sorry).  When my own .pst file grew to well over a gigabyte and things were slowing down I created several other .pst files. The procedure - Control Panel; Mail; Add Services; Personal Folders - only took a minute, and the new .pst files showed up in Outlook's folder list below my old folders. Then I moved a lot of my mail folders out of the old file and into the new one from within Outlook. I now have several .pst files, each well under a gig in size, and still have access to all my old e-mail (I plead guilty to being an e-mail packrat--- I may have every e-mail, minus the junk stuff - I've gotten since I've been in this job.)  Bruce Miller

Dear Mr. Langa, Love the Newsletter. I actually get both versions, one at work and one at home. Here is my solution to the 2 gigabyte (GB) size limit for Outlook: One of my net. users let his pst file get too large and became unusable. Instead of finding some third party software that might not work properly, and that I would probably have to do myself, I made the user do the work himself. I setup a new pst file for the user. I then had him import each subcategory separately from his original pst file and then export that subcategory to a separate pst file. After each, I had him delete from Outlook what was not essential to his current projects. If he ever needs to find them, he just reconnects to that pst file. When he finished I burned a CD of all subcategory pst files and deleted the original pst and the subcategory pst files from the network. This way he can keep all of his project-related e-mail, complete with attachments, in named archives. His pst file size is still large, but 300 MB is easier to maintain. After he spent the day working through all 37 subcategories, not only does he now understand why and how to archive, he does so regularly. I consider it a lesson well learned. Thanks for the great Newsletter, Andrew C. Wisdom

Thanks to all who wrote in!

5) Mozilla Thunderbird

6) Is This Newsletter Interesting? Useful?

If you think the LangaList is a worthwhile read, maybe a friend would find it useful too! Just use the following link to recommend the LangaList---your friend may find a new source of useful information and you just may win one of three FREE ONE YEAR SUBSCRIPTIONS to the LangaList Plus! edition given each month. (If your name is drawn and you're already a Plus! subscriber, your current subscription will be extended by a full year.)

Check out the details at http://www.langa.com/recommend.htm . Thanks for recommending the LangaList--- and good luck!

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7) WinME/XP System Restore Question

Reader Mick Combs writes:

First, turning off System Restore on all drives/partitions in your system should automatically delete all stored "restore points" on your system, and free up a lot of space--- at least 200 MB, and usually much more (like the 1GB+ on Mick's system). But after System Restore is disabled, you also can manually remove any "_Restore" folders if you need to.

See this page for combined information on enabling/disabling System Restore in ME and XP: http://www.pchell.com/virus/systemrestore.shtml

Second, any "bak" file should be able to be removed without causing trouble; same as with "tmp" or "temp" files. Plus, if you have good backups, you can freely delete ANY file you suspect is bogus or unneeded, because if it turns out that you do need the file, you can simply restore it from the backup.

So, if I were you, because bak files are usually expendable anyway, and because you do have backups in the event that this one turns out to be needed, I'd whack the bak file without qualms.

But if you want to dig deeper, there's lots more available on propstor:
http://www.google.com/search?q=propstor
http://groups.google.com/groups?q=propstor

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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

Paint Shop Pro Help and Hints
http://www.psphelp.com/index.html

PC HomeWerks
http://www.pchomewerks.com/index.html

Zen Webs
http://www.zenwebs.com/

Angelcat
http://web.netyp.com/furandscales/angelcat/

"Richard"
http://home.thirdage.com/Caregiving/pohsibkcir/

didymus7
http://www.didymus7.com/

Multimedia Freeware
http://www.artzend.com/

Bill Perry Home Page
http://wmperry.net/index.html

True Stories on Spoof News Page
http://www.crystalair.com/

Aussie Football In North America
http://www.afana.com/

Miles PC
http://www.miles-pc.com/

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9) "In Situ" Reinstalls

I would love to see a discussion in your newsletter of how best to reinstall one's operating system (WinXP home in my case) so that the data, program settings etc are not lost; and how to do it in the quickest, most efficient and orderly way. ---Maurice Read

Usually, this is simply a matter of popping in the setup CD and laying in a new install right on top of the old one, using exactly the same setup location, parameters, etc. In some cases, you may be asked if you want to "repair" the current installation; that may be worth a try, as a first step. But even a full reinstall on top of an existing setup usually will retain your data files, and--- depending on the exact circumstances--- may also leave alone your user preferences, installed apps, etc.

But there are three potential problems: First, depending on what was wrong with the setup you're trying to fix, an in-place reinstall may simply inherit the same problem--- there's no guarantee that the reinstall will fix what's wrong. This kind of reinstall can even create new problems by undoing or rolling back patches and updates you've installed, which may or may not be what you want to happen.

Second, especially with Win2K and XP, there's a nontrivial chance that you will lose some data. The full explanation, and workarounds, are contained in these detailed Knowledgebase articles:

How to Perform an In-Place Upgrade (Reinstallation) of Windows XP:
http://support.microsoft.com/default.aspx?scid=kb;EN-US;315341

You May Lose Data or Program Settings After Reinstalling, Repairing, or Upgrading Windows XP:
http://support.microsoft.com/default.aspx?scid=kb;EN-US;312369

Third, note that a reinstall from a normal setup CD is not the same as a restore from a factory "recovery" or "image" CD: A reinstall works from a normal setup disk, and rebuilds the OS piece by piece. Files outside the OS often aren't touched at all. In contrast, a restore from a recovery disk may put everything on the hard drive back the way it was when you first got the system, totally wiping out your entire current setup, including user files. That's NOT what you want if you're trying to preserve things.

There's another option for older versions of Windows--- an easy way to do a total reinstall *without* reformatting and without touching your data files. It's explained in "Fred's Super-Fast, No-Reformat Fix for Broken Win9x Installations" here: http://www.browsertune.com/bt2kfast/recovery2.htm

But in all cases, MAKE A BACKUP FIRST so you'll be protected, just in case!

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10) Just For Grins

I suppose it's human nature to try to find something to smile about in the mess in Iraq. In any case, several readers sent along various incarnations of this item:

Now that Uday & Qusay have been eliminated, a lot of the lesser-known Hussein family members are coming to the attention of American authorities.

Among the brothers:

Sooflay ............the restaurateur
Guday................the half-Australian brother
Huray...............the sports fanatic
Sashay..............the gay brother
Kuntay & Kintay....the twins from the African mother
Sayhay...................the baseball player
Ojay........................the stalker/murderer
Gulay......................the singer/entertainer
Ebay.......................the internet czar
Biliray......................the country music star
Ecksray..................the radiologist
Puray......................the blender factory owner
Regay.....................the half-Jamaican brother
Tupay......................the one with bad hair

Among the sisters:

Lattay.....................the coffee shop owner
Bufay......................the 300-pound sister
Dushay...................the clean sister
Phayray..................the zoo worker in the gorilla house
Sapheway..............the grocery store owner
Ollay........................the half-mexican sister
Gudlay....................the prostitute

Finally, there is Oyvey, but the family doesn't like to talk about him.

Thanks to those who wrote in!

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11) Plus! Edition Highlights:

• Professional Feedback On Surge Protection, Pt 1
     (an electrical engineer shares his expertise...)

• Professional Feedback On Surge Protection, Pt 2
     (... and tells you how to best protect your home)

• "Unrelated Inventions"
     (nice, eclectic group of free- and shareware)

You can't lose! The Plus! edition is only pennies per issue, and comes
with a MONEY BACK GUARANTEE from Fred. Check out the details:
http://www.langa.com/plus.htm

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(Want to give a gift subscription to the LangaList Plus edition?
Click <a href= " http://www.langa.com/plus_gift.htm ">here</a>)

See you next issue!

Best,

Fred
( Editor@Langa.Com )

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

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This newsletter is a service of Langa Consulting LLC and is Copyright © 2003 Fred Langa / Langa Consulting LLC. All worldwide rights reserved. LangaList: ISSN 1533-1156

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