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The LangaList
Standard Edition

2004-05-24

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) Monitor Color Weirdness

Fred: I have tried using Adobe's Gamma Monitor and NVIDIA's gamma tweaks to calibrate my monitor correctly without getting satisfactory results. When I setup to their recommendations I find the monitor to be too dark or pale for my eyes. Do you have any links or software recommendations to properly setup a CRT monitor to use with picture editing, and have the results print out, matching what I see on the monitor? ---George Boettcher Jr.

I usually just go by eyeball, using an image I'm familiar with--- one where I know how it should look. Usually, I'll use a picture I took, so I really and truly know what the scene originally looked like. I adjust the on-screen image until it's OK, and that's that: Everything pretty much works from there for routine desktop work and everyday computing and image manipulation.

One step up from this highly casual approach are some medium-level tools and even web sites with interactive calibration tools that might help:
http://www.google.com/search?q=monitor+color+calibration These tools can also help to get your monitor and printer in synch, so that what you see is more or less what you print.

Although these low- and medium-level tools use calibration-by-eyeball, they still can produce pretty good results, especially if you can control the signal to your monitor via system-installed software or by the video card's own software controls. In this case, you initially may be able to let the color-matching/calibration software controls do their thing automatically; in theory, the monitor and printer should then be in close agreement. You then can use the monitor's separate MANUAL controls to adjust the on-screen picture for your eyes. In many cases, the manual controls operate independently of the software controls, so your manual tweaks don't affect the balance that the color-matching software previously established. In other words, the calibration software ensures that the system is producing an accurate image signal; but you can independently tweak the final monitor image for eye-appeal without changing the original signal.

But if all the real setup is done with the monitor's own controls, or if the hardware controls feedback to and interact with the software controls, then the above won't work: Everything gets adjusted as a whole. In this case, lightening the on-screen image may also lighten the printed image. Getting acceptable results on both devices can be difficult.

And none of the casual, eyeball-oriented methods work if you need *really* precise color control and matching, such as for professional-quality image editing or for publishing. In those cases, the best option may be hardware--- a special photoeye that you mount on your screen while making adjustments. It reads the displayed hue, luminance and saturation, and compares them to known color signals, letting you adjust the monitor so that it is showing exactly (or as close as it can) to what it should. (Example: http://www.colorvision.com/ )

But note: For truly professional results, you should also be prepared to change your room lighting. Professional imaging gear often will be in dim rooms or rooms with special true-color lighting, and/or with heavy light-blocking shields surrounding the monitor; and/or with the room painted in a carefully neutral color so as neither to cast colored reflections nor to cause complementary-color optical illusions. You'll get accurate colors with a system set up this way, but you sure wouldn't want to go to all that hassle on a system used mainly for email and word processing. 8-)

It all depends on how important correct color is, and how far you want to go. For a system you're setting up mainly for yourself, eyeball adjustments are often fine: Just make the monitor images look the way you want, simple as that!

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2) NTFS Encryption (Built Into XP & Win2000)

Dear Fred, First, you still have the most informative news letter that lands in my inbox.
 
I was just reading on NTFS encryption. I use NTFS encryption because of documents on my computer that I don't want other users of this computer to open, copy or use.
 
My question is this. I am planning on wiping my computer clean after backing up everyone's documents. What do I need to do to regain access to my files? Do I need to decrypt them before I back them up or do I need to make sure my name and settings are identical to the previous install? Thanks Fred for all the help.---James J. Hutto

It depends on how you're saving the files. NTFS encryption only works on NTFS volumes. If you copy NTFS encrypted files to a non-NTFS medium, they will no longer be encrypted, and can be copied back to a newly cleaned hard drive without any extra steps.

But if you're storing them on another NTFS partition or hard drive, then the files may remain encrypted. In this case, you may wish to copy or "export" your system's security certificate so it can be used to access the files on another system, or when they're copied back.

All this can be confusing, but the XP help system actually has pretty good information on what's involved, and on NTFS encryption in general. Go to Start/Help and enter these terms in the Help system's search box:

Encryption ntfs (or see http://langa.com/u/4q.htm )
Encrypting and decrypting data (or see http://langa.com/u/4r.htm )
Importing and exporting certificates (or see http://langa.com/u/4s.htm )
Recovering encrypted data (or see http://langa.com/u/4t.htm )
Cipher command (or see http://langa.com/u/4u.htm )

Safest bet: Image the drive(s) first, so you can always get back to the exact, unmodified original setup if you need to. With a good image tucked away, your data is 100% safe, and you can then try anything--- encryption, decryption, reformatting, whatever--- without fear of data loss! See
http://search.atomz.com/search/?sp-q=bootit&sp-a=0008002a-sp00000000 .

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3) Free, Built-In Tool To Wipe Out Old Files

In the last issue, in "Surprise Benefit In Zero-ing Out Unused Space ( http://langa.com/newsletters/2004/2004-05-20.htm#2 ) we discussed using various third-party tools to overwrite old, deleted files so that they'd truly be unrecoverable by normal means.

I didn't know it until I was researching the previous item, above, but the "Cipher" command in Win2K and XP also can do this, and it's built right into the OS! See "HOW TO: Use Cipher.exe to Overwrite Deleted Data in Windows: at http://support.microsoft.com/default.aspx?scid=kb;en-us;q315672&sd=tech

Note that this technique probably would not yield the compression benefits we discussed earlier--- you need a very simple data pattern (all zeros or all ones) for that. But for secure erasures, using the built-in Cipher command may be just the ticket!

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4) Unrecoverable Hang At Boot?

Fred, I never had a problem like this. I have posted it on 2-3 boards but no solution has been offered.

Simply put- after using two different programs which create partitions (acronis- true image and partition magic) my brand new computer hangs with a flashing light on the upper left portion of the screen.

i am not sure which is causing this problem. i think this is a windows problem because two different software problems cause this effect of hanging- no other programs.

i am using a Satellie A45 S2502, that has winxp home installed.

after making a image of my entire hard drive, i reformatted my 60 gb hard drive which had 3 partitions.

after reformating installing some programs, i used partition magic v8 to make a new partition. it seemed okay. then i used 'true image' to restore a program/file. after doing that- i rebooted and then my system just hung.. with a flashing 'minus' sign on the upper left hand corner of the screen. i would try to reboot and nothing would happen.

any good solutions? or places to go? ---stephen crespo

I've seen the same problem; it's usually been caused by something trashing the master boot record, leading to a hang-on-boot: The system is alive (hence the flashing cursor) but the boot files are scrambled enough so that the system can't finish booting. The system is left in limbo: hung.

The fix is usually simple: Just refresh the master boot record. This takes only a few seconds, and is usually nondestructive to the drive, partitions, formatting and data.

In windows 9x/me, use "fdisk /mbr:"
http://search.atomz.com/search/?sp-q=%2Fmbr&sp-a=0008002a-sp00000000

In XP/2k, use the recovery console's "fixmbr:"
http://search.atomz.com/search/?sp-q=fixmbr&sp-a=0008002a-sp00000000

In Linux, use these:
http://www.google.com/search?q=mbr+linux

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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! <g>

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and contains even more content--- tips, tricks, advice, downloads....---
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5) FavIcon Buglet Still Unsquashed

Hi Fred, Many thanks for your service. None better.
 
I had an experience today that made me reflect back and realize I saw similar occurrences. It has to do with favicons and icons? I believe. Yesterday I created a shortcut to my Desktop for PCPitstop Internet Download Speed. It put a nice icon of racing flags for the shortcut. Today when I went to find it, it was gone and replaced with the IE icon. Thinking back, I now remember creating Favorites where a cute icon was displayed next to the folder only to disappear days later. Any idea what's happening. I thought maybe your subscribers might have experienced the same. Ed Burnett, Ellisville, MO

Yes, Ed, you remembered correctly: It's a long-standing buglet that makes it all but impossible to retain custom icons for more than a short time:
http://search.atomz.com/search/?sp-q=favicon&sp-a=0008002a-sp00000000

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6) Last Week To "Recommend And Win"

Next week, I'll choose three more monthly winners who each will get a FREE ONE YEAR SUBSCRIPTION to the LangaList Plus! edition. (If your name is drawn and you're already a Plus! subscriber, your current subscription will be extended by a full year.)

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 FREE ONE YEAR SUBSCRIPTION! (Full details also available via this link): http://www.langa.com/recommend.htm

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7) That PrtScrn/SysRq Key

Fred, What is the purpose of the key "Print Scrn/SysRq "? Can it be used to print just a portion of something instead of the whole works.  HOW?   Grady W Eaton

That key can do several things, depending on the OS.

In Windows, it's generally just a screen capture key. If you press it, the current screen is saved to the Windows clipboard. (There's no external confirmation of this--- it happens invisibly.) But you then can paste the image into any graphics-capable application (even Word) and manipulate it as you wish, saving, printing, cropping, editing, etc.

Linux uses the key very differently: As a way to make a "System Request." See
http://www.google.com/search?q=SysRq+linux

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8) Code Load Success Story

After his site was listed in the last "Load The Code" section, code-loader "Graham" wrote:

Dear Fred, Heartfelt thanks! You mentioned our site in your 17th May newsletter:
http://www.walksydneystreets.bigpondhosting.com//links.htm

The site has unusual photos of Sydney Australia as my father in his 90th year aims to walk every street in 100 suburbs. I set up the site as a tribute to my father. My brother walks with him, takes the photos and writes the commentary.

The day after your newsletter appeared has been the most exciting day of his life for quite a while. He was staggered to see in real-time the number of people logging in from around the world (I had setup a Stats Counter that displayed time, country etc) and to realise that people from 27 countries around the world were seeing photos of his efforts.

Some of the emails he has received the last two days have been from people who have been inspired to become more active themselves after viewing the site - including one person who referred to himself as "only 65 years old".

For myself, the stats coming in from around the world reflected the patterns of many people getting out of bed early in the morning, going to work, coming home, going to bed etc in the different time zones as the earth rotated beneath the sun. It really brought home to me how we are all living on the same planet spinning its way through space and how interconnected we all are.

I hope that reading this gives you a warm feeling in your heart - I can't promise a lot of referrals through us as we only are a small site but we will keep giving you prominence (I am a Plus subscriber!).  Kind Regards Graham

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
http://www.langa.com/randomlink.htm

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

EziMenu (AU)
http://www.pcprofile.com/EziMenu.htm

Learning Mentors
http://www.andrewbardsley.co.uk/

Country Corner Rental (PA)
http://ccrci.com/

Dave's Mostly Mets Blog
http://www.golddave.com/blog/

AisKOOL
http://www.geocities.com/alisobree/

Practicalc
http://www.practicalc.com/

Original Geek (language warning)
http://www.originalgeek.org/

Dave Mittan
http://www.davemittan.com/

"Dollectables"
http://www.dollectables.com/info/links.htm

Dobson Photography
http://www.dobsoncentral.com/

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9) TweakHound Revised

Hi Fred, Thought you might be interested: "TweakHound's Super XP Tweaking Guide, Version 5.0 Released." It's the biggest revision I've done yet and contains lots of important changes.
http://www.tweakhound.com/xp/xptweaks/supertweaks1.htm

quote:
"This guide is all about optimizing XP. Version 5.0 has more changes than any previous version. The changes include: Tweaking levels added, Bad Tweaks section, Page file section improved, Services section completely revamped, Additions and subtractions to every section."

Thanks! Eric

Tons of good info there. Take a look!
 

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10) Just For Grins

Hi Fred: I figured you might get a charge out of this.

http://langa.com/u/4p.htm

I admit, I'm a Monty Python fan <g>. This site tells me that I'm the French Taunter from "Monty Python And The Holy Grail"...would like to see how *you* rate :)

Thanks, Doug Graham

Hmmm. It said I was King Arthur!

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11) Plus! Edition Highlights:

• Page/Swap File Settings In Detail (1)
• Page/Swap File Settings In Detail (2)
• Page/Swap File Settings In Detail (3)

It happens far more often than I ever would have guessed: A reader is inspired by a topic to write an amazingly complete letter that answers a question clearly, fully, and accurately. Reader Bob Dietz did it this time with swap files/paging files, in an outstanding letter in three parts. Rules of thumb are fine as far as they go, but Bob's approach may get you far better performance!

Plus! edition subscribers not only get much more content in every issue (like the above), but also have access to a private web site with over 100,000 words of special content and features not found in *any* issue of the newsletter; along with dozens of private downloads and much more--- all for just $1 per month!

Check out: 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, 2004-05-27!

Best,

Fred
( Editor@Langa.Com )

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

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