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The LangaList
Standard Edition

2004-02-05

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) Tools To Transfer Files And Settings

In "Transferring Files To A New PC" ( http://www.langa.com/newsletters/2004/2004-01-29.htm#3 ) I discussed XP's built-in "Files and Settings Transfer Wizard," which can do a pretty good job of moving user-created files and personal settings (including email files and settings) from one PC to another. Plus, it's included inside XP--- there's no extra charge for it.

But there are other tools available, and your fellow readers were eager to share their favorites. This one got more references than any other by far. Here's a representative letter:

Saw your articles on moving images/user settings to a new computer.  I have been using a product called PC Relocator Ultra from www.alohabob.com for several months now, and it works great!  The only caveat is that you must be moving to the same or newer version of Windows.  The fastest method is over a network, but you can use USB and parallel cables too.  It gives you full control over what gets moved too.  It just works.  And no, I have no financial or other interest in Aloha Bob, I am just a happy user. ---Bruce Waldie

And on the subject of cables, here's an example letter:

Fred, In response to your latest article "Transferring Files To A New PC " I just bought a new computer and transferred my documents from my old computer to new one using a direct transfer cable http://shop.store.yahoo.com/meritline/direct-link-cable-usb-to-usb.html. I was very skeptical at first but the software and cable allowed me to actually see my old computer files and transfer them through an open window on my new computer. The transfer process was also very fast. I dreaded the fact of having to transfer everything to disk and then copy it from disk, and this system worked very well for me for small self contained programs, all my personal information, graphics, pictures, quicken files, you name it. Thanks for the great news letter. ---Mike McKeever

Any way you slice it, moving your files from PC to PC isn't the hassle it used to be. Either with built-in tools, or add-on products, it's faster and easier than ever.

Thanks to all who wrote in!

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2) Last (?) Word On Preserving CDs

We originally discussed CD longevity here ( http://www.informationweek.com/story/IWK20010719S0003 ) , and later revised that information when it came to light that some glue-on labels can ruin a CD in just months (see http://www.informationweek.com/story/showArticle.jhtml?articleID=15800263 ). Because CDs (and now DVDs) are often used for long-term data storage, this is a matter of great concern.

To date, the primary source of information on CD/DVD longevity has been the manufacturers themselves. Of course, they have a vested interest in minimizing the dangers and playing up the positives.

But now we have word from an independent source: the "Digital Preservation Program" sponsored by the US National Institute of Standards and Technology:

This is from slashdot... This is fairly exhaustive (and the potential pun actually applies).---Glenn Charles
 
Guide to Digital Preservation from NIST
posted by michael
http://slashdot.org/article.pl?sid=04/01/24/0054242

Little Hamster writes "The scientists working on the Digital Preservation Program at the National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST) has released an excellent 50 page guide ( http://www.itl.nist.gov/div895/carefordisc/CDandDVDCareandHandlingGuide.pdf ) on care and handling of CDs and DVDs for long term storage. It talks about the effects of light, moisture, radiation, scratches, marking, adhesive labels, and even playback on the discs. For those slashdotters not familiar with the physical make up of these optical discs, there is a very nice chapter explaining all the background. And if you only want to know how to care for your precious data, there is a one page summary ( http://www.itl.nist.gov/div895/carefordisc/onepage.pdf ). And yes, they agreed that glued-on labels are harmful."

Nice find, Glenn. At the very least, that one-page summary should be required reading for *anyone* trying to store important data on CDs and DVDs!

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3) Reg Cleaners

Hello Fred! As a Plus-subscriber for a couple of years now - love it! - I have a question for you (oh! I could send dozens ...):
 
In your letter Sept 20 2001 you wrote about a registry cleaning procedure of yours: First EasyCleaner, then RegClean and thirdly RegCleaner (a nice pick by the way: two programs out of three from Finland!).
 
Are those programs still your preferences? Maybe I've missed something, but I can't recall much writing about cleaning the registry lately. Your last mention of EasyCleaner was Sept 9 2002 and that program (v 1.7) is since quite a while upgraded (and more or less totally rewritten) as EasyCleaner 2.0 (.5.338):
 
http://www.toniarts.com/ecleane.htm
 
One reason for asking is that I some time ago read a warning against using EasyCleaner unless you really know what's happening. It appeared in "Support Alert" a newsletter from http://techsupportalert.com/issues/issue101.htm  ---Richard Noren

Any aggressive Registry-cleaning tool runs the risk of removing more than it should. Any and all Reg-cleaning tools should only be used in conjunction with a good backup regimen.

That said, EasyCleaner is a much slicker tool than it was a couple years ago; it's also commercial, requiring a $15 (Canadian) annual subscription. Another long-time favorite cleaning tool, JV16, also has gone commercial. It's $30 for the full tool, or $13 for a stripped-down version. ( http://www.jv16.org/ ) Many users are unhappy with JV16, though, because the last free versions of the tool contained an unannounced timebomb that disabled the software after a while. Time-limiting software is OK, if it's announced as such up front; but many users felt that JV16 was quietly crippling the older free versions solely to force users to upgrade to the new commercial version.

Be that as it may, there are many other tools--- free and commercial. A sampling: http://www.pchardware.ro/Download/index.php?catid=11

If you want high safety, a less aggressive tool like Norton's WinDoctor will work pretty well. I use Norton's Windoctor mostly because I have it at hand, and it does get rid of the worst kinds of Registry clutter. I've tried other tools over the years (the article you reference from 2001 was mostly about Win98 Reg cleaners). In the past, paring down the Registry seemed to improve stability, although I did sometimes run into trouble when an aggressive tool went too far. I could always restore my system in cases like that (using my backups); and for a long time, the trade off seemed worthwhile,

But now, on my XP system, I no longer notice any particular benefit from aggressive Registry cleaning. So, some months ago, I asked myself: If aggressive cleaning offers no discernable benefit, and may  cause occasional trouble, why am I doing it?

So I stopped using aggressive cleaners, and now use only the limited, but virtually bulletproof cleaning of WinDoctor. If I didn't have WinDoctor, I probably would use another cleaning tool but not in an aggressive way, letting it clean only the most obvious, common Registry clutter.

I still clean my Win98 systems more rigorously, but XP simply doesn't seem to need highly aggressive routine Registry maintenance.

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--- ( Your Clicks On Ad Links Help Keep The LangaList S.E. Free! ) ---

$12 For A Full YEAR!

"Fred, I can't tell you the number of ways I have spent twelve bucks - but I can tell you the best twelve bucks I've spent in a long time was to upgrade to the Plus Edition of the LangaList. And so darn organized too, your operation that is. I've already got another twelve just waiting for next year! ---John"

Thanks, John!

The LangaList Plus! Edition is ad-free, spam-proof, and contains even more content--- tips, tricks, advice, downloads--- than the Standard Edition you're now reading.

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4) Another Free Startup Tool

In "10 More Ways To Make XP Run Better" ( http://www.informationweek.com/story/showArticle.jhtml?articleID=17500569 ) one of the items I mentioned was a "startup monitor," a tool that lets you see--- and manage--- any items that insinuate themselves into your PC's startup sequence. Sometimes, there's a good reason for software to run at startup; but other times, there's no particular benefit. Preventing needless startup items makes your PC start faster, and with fewer tasks bubbling in the background, saving memory and cpu cycles for your main tasks

I mentioned Mike Lin's free startup tool at http://www.mlin.net/StartupMonitor.shtml , but there are many others, including this:

Hi Fred. I been reading and using your info for years. I can't count the number of times you saved my butt. Here is a free program that I have found very useful. It makes turning off startup items very simple and even found a phony icon that had been added by a virus. www.startupmechanic.com Thanks, Wayne

Thanks, Wayne!

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5) "Buying a Laptop? Not so easy!"

The above was the subject of an email from a Canadian reader, who was struggling with the limits of laptop configurations:

Hi Fred, I'm looking to buy my first laptop ever and I can't find what I need. You see, I'm a software developer and I want to develop in Java on the laptop. I'm using Eclipse as a development tool and it's quite hungry on the memory. I also need to run a database at the same time so I need a machine with a lot of memory. It's even more important when you consider that the laptop hard drives are very slow and that most of the time, the video memory is shared with the system RAM.

I want to get a laptop with 1GB of RAM and a lot of the machines out there come with 512MB and can be upgraded to 1GB or 2GB, which is fine. The problem lies in the fact that all these machines have only two slots for RAM and they're both filled with 256MB DIMM packages and it seems impossible to order a machine filled with 2 512MB DIMM. Is there any reason for that? I mean they are forcing me to pay for 1.5 GB in order to get 1GB. This is sheer robbery!

Do you have any idea why it's like that? Any advice you could give me? Thank you  very much, ---Jean Lavoie

There is a tradeoff between configurability and price. Usually, the lowest-priced laptops are the models that are churned out en masse on an assembly line. If one of those preconfigured units fits your needs, great. But you may indeed end up with stuff you don't want or need on the system.

A customized PC usually costs a little more, but gives you more flexibility in selecting many options, including RAM quantity and configuration. Some of the larger vendors offer a fairly wide array of choices; and local "build to order" computer shops can get you *exactly* what you want; albeit sometimes at a high cost than the mass-produced units.

I've found a middle ground to be both cost-effective and simple: I usually order my factory-built PCs--- including laptops--- with a minimal amount of RAM, and plan on upgrading the RAM on my own using inexpensive third-party RAM modules.

If the original vendor charges a lot for RAM (and many do), I'll order the absolute least amount of  RAM possible, and upgrade from there. Sometimes, this does mean setting aside a small bank of OEM RAM to free up a memory slot for a high-capacity RAM module from a third-party source, but this--- even with the wastage--- still often costs less than filling up with OEM RAM from the start.

If the original vendor's prices aren't usurious, I may order the PC or laptop with one slot filled with a high-capacity RAM module. I then fill the remaining slot(s) with inexpensive third-party RAM.

I did this with my last laptop purchase, in 2001: the unit had two RAM slots, and I bought it with one slot filled with a 256MB module--- the largest size then available for that model laptop. I added a second 256MB module on my own, at about half the cost of what that much memory would have been if I'd ordered it from the factory.

My most recent PC came with one of four slots filled with a reasonably-priced 512MB module; I then added a second 512MB on my own.

Bottom line: Don't limit yourself to buying RAM from the original vendor. With some careful shopping from third-party sources, you can add RAM at a fraction of the cost of what you'd otherwise pay, and thus free yourself to get exactly the configuration you want.

More info: See
http://www.langa.com/newsletters/2001/2001-11-29.htm#4   and
http://www.langa.com/newsletters/2003/2003-02-20.htm#6

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6) Three Winners!

"Conmar," "Kenwaite" and "Dthurston" each won a FREE full one-year subscription to the LangaList Plus! edition by using the "Recommend To A Friend" form at http://www.langa.com/recommend.htm .

You see, each month I choose three winners of a FREE ONE YEAR SUBSCRIPTION to the LangaList Plus! edition. 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! (Full details also available via this link): http://www.langa.com/recommend.htm

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7) Great Info, Great Presentation

Most people with an interest in the current Mars missions know about the main NASA "Rovers" page at http://marsrovers.jpl.nasa.gov/home/

But there are some amazing subsites buried elsewhere on the NASA site. Even if you don't care a whit about Mars, the way these pages present information and blend text, audio, and video animation is something to see. Check out: http://www.marsquestonline.org , and also see the 'M2K4" (Mars 2004) link in the upper right corner of this page: http://www.nasa.gov/vision/universe/solarsystem/mer_main.html

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8) They Just Keep Coming And Coming...

Almost three thousand of your fellow readers have "Loaded the code." Please click over to http://www.langa.com/code.htm , and maybe you can join them! (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

Mike's World
http://home.earthlink.net/~mikes-world/

Woodside manor
http://www.woodsidemanor.net/index.html

Sierra Innovations (computer/office supplies)
http://sierrainnovations.com/

Right Wing Blog
http://www.rightonblog.com/

Colorado Scouts
http://www.troop358.org/

Ask Leo
http://ask-leo.com/

Knife Sharpening
http://www.ameritech.net/users/knives/index.htm

Video Timecode Calculator
http://gdwsoft.com/links.html

Davenport family
http://www.thedavenports.ca/

Cajun Country
http://www.chefbillskitchen.net/index.html

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9) Popup Test

I know I'm swimming against the tide on this one, because I don't like popup blockers. It's not that I enjoy intrusive ads--- I don't; and never, ever put them on my sites--- but popup blockers often block far more than just over-aggressive popups.

Be that as it may, frequent contributor CptSiskoX suggests this (harmless) test site to see how well your popup stopper works:

http://www.kephyr.com/popupkillertest/index.html

But after that, I'd also suggest you test your popup blocker to see if it blocks valid, non-ad windows. For example, go to the Windows Update site. Select a "more info" link from any listed update, and see if your popup stopper mistakes the info box for an ad. (Many do.) If your popup stopper blocks valid info boxes, I think it's time to get a new popup blocker. 8-)

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10) Just For Grins

Maybe a bit too risque for the newsletter, but thought you might enjoy it:   http://www.thespeciousreport.com/03031216nospam.html  ---leor

Thanks, Leor! Indeed, the page isn't suitable for the *very* easily offended, but actually is quite funny. Call it a "PG" rating, at most.

And just to be clear: It's a joke! Don't actually fill out the page! <g>

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11) Plus! Edition Highlights:

• Free 4-Part Java Diagnostic
      (easier/better than previous tools!)

• XP's Five User Levels
      (lots more than just "admin" and "guest")

• Very Nice Freeware Keyboard Remapper
      (easy to use, polished interface)

Access to over 100,000 additional words in special features, extra content and private links, all on a private web site--- plus 30% more content in every issue, for just a dollar a month!

Full Plus! Edition info: http://www.langa.com/plus.htm 

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(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 )

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This newsletter is a service of Langa Consulting LLC and is Copyright © 2004 Fred Langa / Langa Consulting LLC. All worldwide rights reserved. LangaList: ISSN 1533-1156

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