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The LangaList
Standard Edition

2003-09-11

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) OK, What About Outlook Express?

Our recent discussions about too-large mailbox files in Outlook (see http://www.langa.com/newsletters/2003/2003-09-08.htm#3 and http://www.langa.com/newsletters/2003/2003-09-08.htm#4 ) brought a lot of mail like this:

Hi, Fred. I'm using Outlook Express.... After reading the articles on the too large files on Outlook, I thought I'd check and see how large my .pst file is. Oops. No .pst file and no .ost file anywhere. Are they named something different in Outlook Express and could I have the same problem (file too large) sometime in the future? Thanks for your help. Tom Giezentanner

It's strange, but despite Microsoft's weird decision to give these two mail apps similar names, they share almost nothing in common. Outlook Express' mail folders use a "dbx" extension (e.g. "Inbox.dbx"). 

But don't let the vagaries of filenames obscure the real point of this entire discussion:  Mail clients are meant to read and send mail. They're not designed to be libraries or archives.

By analogy, think of your paper mailbox: You empty that out regularly and toss the junk. Any mail you want to keep, you move to someplace else--- your living room, your den, a coffee table, a filing cabinet, whatever. No one tries to keep years and years worth of paper mail actually inside their mailbox---it's not meant for that.

Likewise, your email client isn't meant to be a long-term archive. Export old mail you want to save to some other location on your hard drive, and store it there. The mail will probably be more compact, and will definitely be easier to backup and restore if you need to do system work later on. (Lost Outlook and Outlook Express messages are one of the most common problems in system restores.)

In short: No matter what email client you use, if ANY mailbox files get huge, you can have problems, even if they don't have a specific size limit like Outlook's.

The next item, below, has an additional tip about exporting Outlook Express messages.

Thanks, Michael. Almost all email clients have similar options, sometimes labeled as "export" and sometimes as "save as" or something similar. Sometimes you can export whole folders, other times specific messages or groups of messages. In any case, there's almost always a way to get messages out of the email client's special formats or areas and into the normal areas of your hard drive. (And, not to beat a defunct equine, but Eudora's mail folders are plain vanilla text files you can move, copy, and store as-is, with no fuss or hassle at all.)

Note also that it may make sense to use your email client's "compact" or "clean up" tools, if they're offered. (In OE, it's also on the Tools/Options/Maintenance dialog.) These tools often can reduce the size of your mail files, and make your email client run faster and more efficiently as well.

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3) Yes, Even *More* PC Setup Secrets

Thanks Mark. Combined, the above links will help you get the most out of just about *any* PC!

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4) Asked And Answered: Reverse Sorts

I send out about 1,500 personal emails a month--- mostly answers to questions sent in by readers. (This number doesn't include the actual newsletter mailings.) It's a lot of mail to write and send, but even so it represents answers to only a fraction of the requests for help I receive from among the 40,000 inbound emails I'm now averaging each month. (Yikes!) 

I save the questions of widest interest, and address them here in the newsletter so that one reader's question may help many others in similar situations. I answer as many of the rest as I can, but it's never as much as I wish I could. I'd love to answer them all, but it's just not humanly possible.

But you folks are nothing if not enterprising, as this and the next item show: While waiting for a reply from me, these readers did their own digging, and found excellent answers to their own questions:

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5) Asked And Answered: Search Companion "File Missing"

First note:

Hi Fred, I have a small but vexing problem with Windows Explorer on my otherwise perfectly functional XP Home system. When I try to open the search option, it gives me a message saying 'A file that is required to run Search Companion could not be found. You may need to run setup.' It doesn't tell me which file it can't find, or which setup to run. It does sometimes work if I have an active internet connection, but not every time, so it may just be coincidence. Any ideas? Felicitations, Derek Sutcliffe

Second note:

Fred, Having decided not to be a lazy (*&#$#@ any more, I found the search companion fix at http://support.microsoft.com/?kbid=319949  Felicitations, Derek

Thanks, Derek. Apparently, the search companion files can get stepped on pretty easily, and if they're either missing *or damaged,* you get a nonspecific "cannot be found" message.

But the fix is easy, and the Knowledgebase page, above, gives two options, including a compact and easy to install "HotFix" for the problem.

Nice work, Lance and Derek! Thanks for sharing your finds.

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6) Recommend This Newsletter And Win!

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) "Freeware Revolution"

Mr Langa, Just wanted to pass along a new movement/cause called the "Freeware Revolution." What is it?

It is a movement comprised of freeware site operators, freeware others and computer users united in the cause of preserving, protecting and promoting freeware.

It seeks to educate computer users of all levels in information regarding freeware (what it is and what it isn't).

It is a meeting place for like minded individuals to exchange ideas and to work as a 'community' to work in collective as well as individual efforts that are for the betterment of freely available technologies online.

Education is a priority of this movement.

It is and will always strive to work in a fair and organized group method in decision making. To interact and submit ideas and methods that can be agreed upon that will best facilitate the movement to protect freeware.

It is not anti-shareware, but merely a cause to educate people and to inform people, for freeware can assist and enable those who otherwise would be 'left out' due to financial hardships. I for one am one of those, having suffered a very serious disabling accident in 1997.

http://freewarearena.org/forum/

Best Regards,

Scott Williams
(Chairman of The Freeware Revolution)

Thanks, Scott!

The link above takes you to a discussion area focused on the "freeware revolution,": and the idea of keeping true freeware alive and available (as opposed to commercial trialware, adware, "crippleware," and other forms of "free" software that actually come with strings attached).

The home site, http://freewarearena.org , is where you'll find their listings.

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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 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 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

mcleaf
http://mcleaf.com/

California-Travels
http://www.california-travels.com/

LoveMyTruck
http://www.lovemytruck.com/

Windows Tricks
http://jimdale.proboards21.com/

Button Specialties
http://www.buttonspecialties.com/

Lake Fork
http://www.lakeforktrophybass.com/

goodallboy
http://www.goodallboy.com/

Edwin Rucker
http://www.edwinrucker.com/

Pacific Northwest
http://cybersully.htmlplanet.com/

The Network Center
http://www.tnetcenter.com/

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"Dear Fred, first let me say that originally a friend introduced me to the Langa List. At that time I was a Standard Edition subscriber, I thought I was being thrifty by not spending any money. Eventually my friend went to the Plus and he kept telling me about all the great stuff he was finding there. So I went for it. If I had known how much extra information, downloads and other tidbits I was missing out on I would have subscribed to the Plus a long, long time ago! The money was well worth it. Keep up the good work!"
---Mike Styczinski

Thank you, Mike!

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9) Sudden Drop In Disk Space

Hi Fred,  I am a self-employed financial advisor with a keen interest using technology to run my business efficiently.

The other day, I was getting the LOW Disk Space warning and didn't know what was going on. So I started deleting stuff and doing some clean out but the warning would not go away and my hard disk would not stop chugging along.

I did a google search and this is what I came up with.

http://www.computing.net/security/wwwboard/forum/6248.html

I think a lot of people are experiencing this problem.--- Rick Shrier

Thanks, Rick.

Other readers have reported similar issues, including nearly constant CPU use--- something eating their CPU cycles *and* disk space at a prodigious rate.

But as the above and following links indicate, the common thread seems to be an out-of-control process inside McAfee that is supposed to stop Worms:

http://www.google.com/search?q=mcvsescn%2Eexe

http://groups.google.com/groups?hl=en&lr=&ie=ISO-8859-1&q=mcvsescn.exe&sa=N&tab=wg

Amazingly, the McAfee site has no search function--- only canned FAQs--- so I have no way to search this further. The user reports, above, which include paraphrasing of conversations with McAfee tech support, are probably the best-available information so far.

If you're using McAfee, it might be a good idea to check the above, and watch for this problem, to ensure you don't end up with disk-space or performance issues, too.

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10) Just For Grins

Open Source Community
Developing Their Own Viruses
By Brian Briggs

Helsinki, Finland - Open source developers plan to challenge Microsoft's dominance in the world of viruses by developing their own through the Open Virus Project (OVP), and unlike proprietary Microsoft viruses, the open source versions will infect across all platforms.

Heading the development of the OVP is Jukka Koskelin. He explained, "We took a look at the virus marketspace and realized that Microsoft has over a 95% share of all viruses developed. I don't think the Linux community can be taken seriously if we don't increase our share in that area...."

See the original item in all its tongue-in-cheek glory at http://www.bbspot.com/News/2003/08/open_source_virus.html

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11) Plus! Edition Highlights:

• Outstanding Image Tool Upgraded
     (a perennial favorite gets even better)

• Free, Instant, Disposable Email
     (spamproof, safe, free...)

• One-Click Net Disconnect & Sharing
     (solving connection sharing problems)

The Plus! edition is only pennies per issue, and comes with a MONEY BACK
GUARANTEE from Fred. How can you lose? Check out the details:
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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 prize!)

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