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The LangaList
Standard Edition

2004-11-04

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) Some Magic, After All (Part 1)

The item ""Magic Fix Sought" ( http://langa.com/newsletters/2004/2004-10-28.htm#9 ) brought a flood of reader replies with some great ideas on how to pull data off a PC made unbootable by a failed OS installation; and/or to work around the problems of the Recovery Console's limited interface. Here's a sampling, in random order:

Fred, Just got your latest Plus newsletter and read with interest the "Magic" Fix Sought entry. There is a way to utilize XP's System Restore through the Recovery Console, although it's cumbersome. It may just save someone's system, however. It's a detail-filled process, but will work. See here:  http://support.microsoft.com/default.aspx?scid=kb;en-us;Q307545 P.S. There's also a way to start System Restore from a command prompt. This is useful if you can't even boot to normal Safe Mode via the Safe Mode GUI. You can boot to Safe Mode with Command Prompt and run the System Restore command to start the application and follow the prompts: http://support.microsoft.com/default.aspx?kbid=304449  Regards, Rick Buser

Hi Fred, I work on quite a few computers, many of which are borderline hosed, if not totally so. The problems range from viruses and spyware to munged operating systems. One of my favorite tricks is to simply hook up one computer's hard drive to another computer. I have one computer, running Win2K and formatted in NTFS, with a 2 foot ide cable plugged into the secondary ide channel. I'll call this the host computer. The host is completely up to date with all patches and virus definitions, and this is the sole purpose of this computer. I don't use it for anything else. I open the cases of the 2 computers, unplug the ide cable from the munged computer's hard drive and plug in the 2 foot cable from the host. First hit the power button on the munged computer, then fire up the host and it detects the other's hard drive as a "D" drive. I can then run a virus scan, offload data, etc. Once you've done it a couple of times, this cable swapping trick only takes a minute or two and the results are almost always good. In a worst case scenario I can at least usually offload whatever data the friend or customer has. The host computer doesn't have to have lots of processing power or memory, so a machine that might be getting ready for a trip to the landfill can probably fill the bill. In my case, it's a fairly old PIII with 128MB of RAM. I formatted the drive, did a clean install of Win2K, loaded Norton anti virus and a few utilities, grabbed an image of it in this condition, and I don't worry at all about it getting hosed if I hook it up to a hard drive with some new super virus or spyware. BTW, this computer is never hooked up to my network until I've run a virus scan on the munged hard drive. In the case of  others who can't get a machine to boot, they should be able to retrieve their data this way before having to reload the OS. Thanks for the great newsletter.--- Dan B

Fred, Excellent Newsletter!  As an IT Pro, I read a few newsletters, but you always come up with something interesting to check out. As you stated in your answer to Langalist Plus! TEXT Edition 2004-10-28 - "Magic" Fix Sought, an OS install does not usually overwrite a person's data files.  Assuming the worst case, and none of your other solutions worked. I would suggest the user complete the install (or alternatively install XP Home), then move the data files to a safe location on a second HDD (or CD, DVD, etc.) using the GUI interface. Using the recovery console to recover the data is tedious, and won't easily allow the use of CD or DVD writers for data recovery.  So by installing the OS you come out of the situation a little less stressed by being able to use the GUI to recover the data to your desired medium. Of course he should then wipe the system clean (remembering to safe guard the second HDD if using that method), and reinstall XP Home and other required apps from source media. Regards, Dave Morse

Dear Fred, Depending on when the friend stopped the install process of WinXP Pro, the chances are that it had only completed the transfer of the files to the hard disk and had not yet started to "install". What has happened evidently is that boot.ini has been altered to direct the boot process to the install files. It is, of course, just a text file which can be altered in the Recovery Console. Removing the added entry, the machine should boot directly back to the main installation. Alternatively, he could do a repair installation which doesn't overwrite the registry, and thus preserves installed apps. Another trick is to boot from the "last known good configuration" by hitting F8 before the OS boots. This can be tricky on some fast systems, and especially ones which use F8 to access a boot menu (PC Chips and some Elite boards do this, for example). Both of these have saved my bacon more than once! Using a Linux CD (like Knoppix and now Mandrake) as you've pointed out before is another alternative for either editing the boot.ini file or copying over needed files. My final comment is that AimeWatts should ultimately install WinXP Pro and set his friend up with a user account anyway. WinXp Home is a royal pain in the butt with its restrictions--- things not there. I just finished doing that on a friend's brand new store bought computer. It now runs better, faster, leaner and meaner. Thank you for all your good effort in producing a great newsletter, and for your untiring positive attitude which seems to beam through! :o) Cheers, Stephen  

Fred: Firstly, after many moons of procrastination I have finally just subscribed to the plus edition. I look forward to seeing what additional gems I will be receiving from you :-) With respect to the article today " 9) "Magic" Fix Sought " I am surprised that you did not suggest one other solution. Buy a new hard drive - hardware is sometimes cheaper than time - make the new hard drive the master and the "damaged" disk a slave. Then install the appropriate OS on the new hard drive. Unless the old drive is completely corrupted you should be able to then extract all the data off the "slave". At that point you reformat the slave and use it for backing up as much material as you want either by imaging or by using a program like Handy Backup ( http://www.handybackup.com ). Thanks, Simon Lock

This item is getting way long, so, for legibility's sake, let's break it into a second chunk--- see next item.

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2) Some MORE Magic, After All (Part 2)

(continued from above)

Fred, If you don't mind spending the bucks for data files that you consider to be important, there are file recovery utilities available. Years ago I had a catastrophic hard drive failure  -- couldn't even get as far as trying fdisk /mbr. Light was on, drive spun up, and that's all. Even CMOS auto detect didn't see the drive. And I had files that I had not had a chance to back up that I very much needed. (long story short: Dad died, dog died, bought "our" house and had a wedding and honeymoon in less than 6 months. I was BUSY!) So I bought a new HDD and a copy of Ontrack's personal file recovery program (under $200 for the software). The program did a much better job at recovering my files than I had expected, and after several days of rebuilding the OS and re-installing my programs, I had all my essential data back where it belonged (and backed up too!). By the way, while I was sitting there with my Stack-o-CDs re-installing Windows 98, my husband gleefully unpacked his new Mac Powerbook G3 with OS 9, spent about twenty minutes rooting around for a cable to connect it to his old OS 7 desktop machine and had copied all his PROGRAMS and data to the new laptop and was up and running before I had finished the Windows installation. :-( He got me an OSX eMac for Christmas, so he's forgiven. ;-) ---Ann Schenk

Dear Fred, In your last issue (10/28/2004), a reader asked about recovering files from a corrupted install of Windows XP. I've used several methods which I don't believe were mentioned.... You can perform a repair/install as long as the file system and the bulk of the operating system are still intact. Simply boot from the Windows CD as if you were doing a clean install. Do not enter recovery console. Let the CD load into memory. After pressing F8 to accept the license agreement, the install program will search for any previous Windows installations. It should "Find" the corrupted install, and give you the option too perform a "New" installation, or "Repair" the existing install. I've used this method many times to recover a customers hosed Windows XP system. This method will of course require all previous updates and security patches to be re-installed. Hope this helps.Sincerely ---David H Shirly

I might suggest using a BartPE boot cd http://nu2.nu2.nu/pebuilder/ or KNOPPIX Linux Live CD http://www.knoppix.org/ . Using either of these tools, you should be able to grab your data and move it in a safe location. You may also be able to use the tools to 'poke around' in the registry ;) and find out if you can edit the run= key to see if you can stop the install. Just my $.02.  P.S. I have only just received my second newsletter, and have been thoroughly impressed. I am one of 9 techs that support our 4,500 staff and 30,000 students, and have found many useful articles already, in just these two editions! ---Paul Miller

Hi Fred. Totally agreed with your answer on the magic restore (or lack thereof), but there IS an option. ERD Commander 2003 would boot your system, allow you to restore your C drive to a previous state and then "Bingo", the "magic" fix has occurred. One of ERD's Key Features: "Provides access to XP Restore Points on unbootable Windows XP systems." Of course you know what this is, but for others, the website is: http://langa.com/u/6k.htm  Also, at $149, its absolutely not free, the gentleman will just have to decide if his data recovery is worth it. Cheers, Steve Butler

Thanks to all who wrote in!

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3) Two From Down Unda

It's rare for a single reader to have two items in the same newsletter, but Australian reader Peter Nolan sent in two separate items a few days apart, both worth noticing:

Hi Fred, I ran across this site in an Australian Forum http://www.processlibrary.com/ it is a simple way for Noobies & Intermediate users (myself included) to identify which process is running, what it's function is used for, and if it would safe to close down or remove. You can also insert .dll file names ie kernel32.dll to find out what role it plays on your PC if you don't happen to know.

The site also invites you to add any processes etc that you find would be valuable and they are added at the next update.
 
I am certain members of both your Newsletters would find the above site of some value at one time or another either now or in the future.
 
Thanks Fred. ---Peter Nolan

Nice, Peter, We've included other process lists and libraries before, but this one is very slick--- easy to search and navigate, and seemingly very up to date. Excellent resource!

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4) Free File Splitter

File Splitters can be simple tools that chop a large file into smaller pieces (eg to fit on separate floppies or CDs); and then can seamlessly stitch the pieces back to a coherent whole again. Sometimes, file splitting is built into other software, such as ZIP-file creators or backup tools.

But Aussie Peter Nolan (see previous item) found a tool that shows just how far file splitting software can go:

Hello Fred, I found a useful FREEWARE tool that could be of use to your members, it is called GSplit. The download file is 1273KB in size. I searched the Langa website but could find no reference to it and decided to share it with you and your members. http://www.gdgsoft.com/gsplit/

Here is a copy from the Homepage on its capabilities, saves me making any errors.

"What can GSplit do? In addition to the features of other standard file splitters, GSplit can:
Create two types of pieces: disk spanned and blocked (specific size).
Generate small full-featured Self-Uniting programs to restore your split files professionally. They provide your users with an intuitive Windows interface that you can also change the full appearance.
Store file properties and restore them: file's date, attributes are not lost contrary to batch files.
Perform checks to detect file corruption (size, CRC32...) and to give you the assurance that your files are successfully restored by your users.
Split large files (normally bigger than 2 GB).
Customize piece files according to your needs (size, filenames, pieces set title...) and leave additional space on disks.
Support splitting multiple files in one time, allow batch and command line options.
Integrate Windows Explorer to let you split your files directly from the context menu.
GSplit finally features an intuitive graphical user interface that makes operations easy and fast. It also provides you with advanced options for pieces and Self-Uniting executable files...
GSplit lets you split any file in a snap!"
---Peter Nolan

Another good find, Peter; thanks!

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

"Normally I make cynics look naive and I usually get paid for
finding internet information but here I am
actually paying money to get your Plus edition....
Actually, the reason for this is quite simple:
I figure your advice saved me considerably more
than the $12 cost of a year's subscription,
so I'm in for more. Thanks!" [name withheld for privacy]

$12 a year--- pennies per issue--- is all it takes!

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.

http://langa.com/plus.htm

--------------( the above is an advertisement )--------------

5) When To Do Routine Maintenance?

Dear Mr. Fred Langa, I am confused what is the proper way on daily basis with XPhomeSP2 for private home use I have one account of each- i.e. administrator in failsafe mode, owner, personal restricted account all with passwords. And Guest account from where I do my most work. But automatic updates require higher rights. With cable connection always on how do I start the day?
1-power on
2-logging in as...?
3-
4-
5-
--
?
 I would be glad if you got time to respond. Sincerely, Rainer van Dahl

I doubt there's any one answer for this that will serve all readers--- it's whatever works for you that's important. But here's what works for me:

I usually do my "admin" level maintenance at the end of the day: I normally run some basic cleanup tasks (eg CleanXP, from http://langa.com/cleanup_bat.htm ); make sure my antivirus and anti-malware is fully up to date; and check Windows Update to see if anything's come up. (In theory, my Update, AV and anti-malware tools are supposed to update themselves, but I manually check anyway, just in case.) On most nights, this whole thing is just a 2-3 minute task.

I also have my system set to perform a more thorough automatic cleanup, defrag and a complete backup every night, in the middle of the night; I assigned an admin password to these tasks so that Task Scheduler can run them unattended.

At least once a week, I also burn a new full disk image; and let my AV and anti-malware tools scan the full hard drive; (although, with AV and anti-malware tools running all the time, the need for full-disks sweeps is minimal).

You certainly could make a case for doing this kind of stuff at the start of the day, but I find the tasks are pretty routine and don't require a lot of brainpower, so I can do them even when I'm tired. <g> And if there's a problem with any task, I can fix it without the pressure of a day's work being put on immediate hold--- I have the evening to sort out any trouble that arises.

But morning, lunchtime, coffee breaks--- whatever works is fine!

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6) New Month, New Chances

It's a new month, and right now your chances are the best they'll ever be!

To have a shot at winning one of three FREE ONE YEAR SUBSCRIPTIONS to the LangaList Plus! edition I give away each month, just use the following link to recommend the LangaList. (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://langa.com/recommend.htm . Thanks for recommending the LangaList--- and good luck!

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7) Can't Get To Windows "Update Catalog?"

Your discussion of this topic in the 2004-10-28 issue was helpful, but I couldn't find  "Personalize Windows Update" available for XP home users. One can get to a link about the update catalog under "Administrator Options", which apparently assumes that one is *not* logged on as an Administrator and directs you to do so via a right click on the Windows Update program entry. That simply leads (perhaps since XP2?) to a dialog as to "which user account do you want to use to run this program". Since I'm the only user, and also always logged on as administrator, and not on a network, I chose "current user". This leads promptly to an error screen which says "To install items from Windows Update, you must be logged on as an administrator or a member of the Administrators group.  Rather a dead end. - Any work arounds? Thanks, Justine Roberts

Sounds like you were almost there, Justine. I'm not exactly sure what went awry, but my guess is that your Update problem was caused by a security setting or add-on. Let's try it again, step by step:

Go to the Windows Update page and click on the "Administrator options" in the left nav bar. The right pane of the page will them display "Administrator options," the first being:

"Update multiple operating systems. To select from updates issued for all Windows operating systems, including software updates for servers and driver (hardware) updates, search the Windows Update Catalog."

The phrase "Windows Update Catalog" is a link--- it's normally in blue. Click the link.

Here's the catch that trips up a lot of people: At this point, you're being brought to a separate page that requires a special ActiveX control to work. If you have a Script/ActiveX blocker, or some other kinds of security tools, the ActiveX control may not be able to install. Instead of getting to the Catalog, you'll get that "Administrator's Only" error page with lots of text trying to help you get things set up OK.

So, before you click the "Windows Update Catalog" link, temporarily relax your browser/system security so that the necessary ActiveX control can install. You'll then see a "Checking for the latest version of the Windows Update software..." notice, followed by "Welcome to Windows Update Catalog." And then (finally!) you can find and download the Updates you need.

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8) Code Load Success Story

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

Fred, In August you listed my site ( http://www.toddsplace.ca ) in the "Load The Code" section of your newsletter. I noticed a strange increase in the number of support requests that day but it wasn't until I saw the newsletter in my inbox that I put two and two together. My eyes bulged as I watched the visitor number increase over the next few days. I was going to write and thank you when things returned to normal but after a month and a half I figured why wait! Your site is still one of my top referrers. Thanks, Todd...

Do you have a home page or website? (It doesn't matter what size.) Please click over to http://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://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://langa.com/randomlink.htm

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

Falcon21 Security Website
http://falcon21.h3nt.com/index.htm

Mark I. Berger & Associates
http://www.mibaa.com/Index.htm

Geoff & Linda Penn Family
http://www.geoffpenn.com/

Jewelry and More
http://www.jewelryandmore.org/

SmugMug
https://www.smugmug.com/gallery/170346

iMarketing
http://www.imarketingcenter.com/

Rocky Fithian
http://web.sccoast.net/users/rockyfit/WebPageLinks.htm

Raz Goren
http://www.geocities.com/raz_goren/

Aquadiamonds
http://www.aquadiamonds.com/

Useful Resources On Various Topics
http://www.geocities.com/raz_goren/

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9) Can't View Quicktime

Hi Fred- Long time subscriber really enjoy this newsletter- I have a question. I have just changed from dialup to broadband with my local cable company and went right to MS for the SP2 updates- after that I started getting dropped from the net and the only fix was to reboot my system and the cable modem each time. I removed the SP2 patches and haven't had the problem again.
 
The question is this -I purchased used the multi disc National Geographic magazine collection and the viewer is an early version of Quicktime. I have a dual boot system with Win 98se and Win XP home and It won't install in either OS - I've asked for help from NG and the manufacturer with no response. Local computer friends suggested installing Win 95 and I have a open partition to do that but can't get it to install -so I thought I would take a separate hard drive and install 95 and the NG viewer then make it a slave to the main drive. Do you have any ideas or tips for this problem? Thanks. ---Bill Alldredge

I'll  answer your question, Bill, but let me also suggest a different tack: You have an OS that suffered a bad SP2 install and that had connectivity problems. You have software that won't install. You have a third OS that won't install on a system that's already dual-booting.

It may be that your system has some serious problems on its own that are underlying all these seemingly-separate issues. Perhaps getting your main OS rock-solid--- a thorough housecleaning or even a reinstall--- plus full defrag, anti-virus/anti-malware sweep, etc. would help resolve all or most of these issues at a stroke.

Once you're sure your main OS is OK, and if you still can't get the National Geographic software to work, then installing a boot manager (like BootIt) will let you add a second and third (or more) operating system (eg Win98 and Win95) to your existing hard drive. When you boot your system, the boot manager will wake up first: It will let you choose which OS to boot to; and will help prevent the two or three OSes from stepping on each others' toes.

There are other alternatives--- virtual machines, second drives, etc--- but I bet the above will get you going with what you already have at hand.

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10) Just For Grins

Hi Fred, I know this has been around for a long time, but it's still enjoyable.--- jpChris
********************

Computer Advertising Terms Defined

NEW - Different color from previous design.
ALL NEW - Parts are not interchangeable with previous design.
EXCLUSIVE - Imported product.
UNMATCHED - Almost as good as the competition.
FOOLPROOF OPERATION - No provision for adjustments.
ADVANCED DESIGN - The advertising agency doesn't understand it.
IT'S HERE AT LAST - Rush job. Nobody knew it was coming.
FIELD TESTED - Manufacturer lacks test equipment.
HIGH ACCURACY - Unit on which all parts fit.
FUTURISTIC - No other reason why it looks the way it does.
REDESIGNED - Previous flaws fixed - we hope.
DIRECT SALES ONLY - Factory had a big argument with distributor.
YEARS OF DEVELOPMENT - We finally got one to work.
BREAKTHROUGH - We finally figured out a use for it.
MAINTENANCE FREE - Impossible to fix.
MEETS ALL STANDARDS - Ours, not yours.
SOLID-STATE - Heavy as anything!
HIGH RELIABILITY - We made it work long enough to ship it.

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11) Plus! Edition Highlights:

• Power/File Info
    (reader offers two good tips on hardware, software)
• Free Optical Character Reader (OCR) Software
    (maybe better than what came with your scanner!)
• PC Messes Up TV
    (tracking down and stopping interference)

You can't lose! The Plus! edition is only pennies per issue, and comes with a MONEY BACK GUARANTEE from Fred.

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

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