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LangaList SPECIAL ISSUE! 2005-10-06 Please visit our sponsors and help keep the LangaList S.E. free!
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--------------( the above is an advertisement )------------- 1) House Call: SPECIAL ISSUE!Remember "House Call?"From time to time, I'll select one reader and personally visit, at my own expense, that reader's home or place of business (their choice) and perform a complete one-day tune up and maintenance of their PC, doing whatever I can in that time to make that reader's existing hardware and software run as well as it can; and/or to try to solve any problems that reader is having with their hardware or software. (Full explanation: http://langa.com/newsletters/2005/2005-03-21.htm#5 ) Well, it took a while, but we're finally rolling. <g> This Special Issue details our first House Call visit, showing you how we diagnosed and solved one reader's real-life PC problems. Along the way, I'll try to provide the Hows and Whys of what we did, and also provide you with links to the software tools we used, so you can perform similar tasks on your own system. Next Monday's issue will return to the normal format and content. Now, on to the House Call: Click to email this item to a
friend 2) Curing A Five-Minute Boot TimeLast month, I visited the home office of reader "JS" (he requested anonymity) in southern Vermont. He had written:
The boot time problem he mentioned turned out to be severe--- the system was taking between 4 and 5 minutes to start fully. Part of the boot time issue was related to system speed: A 450MHz system isn't going set any speed records. But it still should be more than adequate for running XP, and shouldn't be taking 4-5 minutes for a full boot. That's way too long. Clearly, something was amiss. But it wasn't from a lack of effort on JS' part: Like many of the readers of this newsletter, JS has above-average PC skills and interests. He had been using the free ToniArt's EasyCleaner ( http://personal.inet.fi/business/toniarts/ecleane.htm ) and the aforementioned Norton System Works---especially WinDoctor--- to try to keep the system tuned and healthy. He defragged ( http://www.google.com/search?q=defrag+xp ) regularly, and ran Chkdsk ( http://www.google.com/search?q=chkdsk+xp ) from time to time. He'd used various one-click tools (like those in the "test+tips" section of http://www.broadbandreports.com/ ) to tune his cable connection. He also did regular backups to CDR using Karen Kenworthy's free Replicator ( http://www.karenware.com/powertools/ptreplicator.asp ); and generally did what he could to keep the system in good shape. He'd experimented some with various Startup settings, but hadn't found anything that made a substantial difference in his startup times. So, when I arrived, we discussed where to begin. Normally, I'd make a full "image" backup of a system about to be worked on, but JS was already making backups regularly by his own method, and was confident in them. Plus, as we looked at the options, we realized that an image backup of his setup would have taken at least half of my time there in itself: It would have required a lot of prep work to make room on his nearly-maxed out C partition; and his CD burner was a relatively slow 4x model. Combined, these two factors meant the backup would have been quite time-consuming, and yet wouldn't have gained him all that much anyway, as he already had good backups in hand. So, JS opted to bypass the additional backup and instead to spend the time on diagnostics and repair, starting with a basic physical cleaning of the PC (always a good practice in any case). After that, we'd then try to solve the slow boot problem, which he identified as his #1 issue. Time permitting, we'd also look at the winmodem issue. JS also reported an intermittent problem with some USB gear, which we'd also get to if we could. (Related photos: http://www.pbase.com/flanga/housecall_vt ) Click to email this item to a
friend 3) First, A Physical CleanupWe used the physical cleaning techniques described in http://www.informationweek.com/story/showArticle.jhtml;?articleID=60403472 . By sheer coincidence, JS' system was nearly identical to the system we'd used as a guinea pig in that article. Compare these two photos: JS's system:
http://www.pbase.com/flanga/image/50267364 Here too, you can see that JS's setup was pretty well maintained; so cleanup was a snap. We used towels, an "air-in-a-can" dust-blower and some cotton swabs to get the crud out of his PC; and then used a hand vacuum to catch the dust bunnies threatening to escape the cleanup area. The whole process took maybe 20 minutes. Click to email this item to a
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--------------( the above is an advertisement )------------- 4) Recovering Over 1GB Of Wasted Disk SpaceSolving the boot issues took a lot longer. <g> First, we
quickly re-stepped through some of the more obvious areas that JS had already
looked at, just to make sure that nothing had been overlooked there. But his
Norton SystemWorks, EasyCleaner and similar tools had indeed done all they
could; and we found nothing obviously amiss in his startup files when we
examined them with MSCONFIG, accessed via Start/Run/MSconfig . (More info:
http://www.google.com/search?q=msconfig ) We also found only a minor item to remove from
his startup folder at: We did find that his various Temp, cache, and trash folders were much larger than they needed to be. (Keeping needlessly large Temp, cache, and trash folders not only wastes space, but also gives Windows more to juggle, which eats CPU time.) So, we reduced the size of his Recycle Bin to 2% of disk space, down from the default 10%. (Right click on Recycle Bin, select Properties, and adjust the slider.) Because JS was a Norton user, it was also making a safety copy of each deleted file as part of its Unerase functions. We similarly shrunk the space allotted for Unerase, and also adjust the Norton setting so that it would keep deleted files for only two days, down from the default 14 days it had been set at. Next, we shrunk the cache for Internet Explorer to 10MB, down from the 284MB it had been using. By default, IE takes 10% of disk space for its cache, which (IMHO) is slightly nuts. Usually, 5MB or 10MB is fine for most connections; 25MB might be better in some rare cases with very slow connections. I've never seen a case where having hundreds and hundreds of megs of old data in the IE cache makes things better, and yet that's what IE takes, by default. You can access IE's cache settings via Tools/Internet Options/Temporary Internet Files/Settings. Similarly, System Restore will consume huge amounts of disk space, if you let
it. The space might be worthwhile if System Restore were a truly complete and
foolproof form of backup, but it's not. At best, System Restore can and will get
the core operating system running again after a bad crash, but it doesn't return
all files to the pre-trouble state, and it can't remove all traces of a program
that went bad. As a result, System Restore's usefulness is limited, and so
should be its appetite for disk space: Right click on My Computer, select
Properties, and select the System Restore tab. Select your main drive (usually
C:), click Settings, and move the slider to reserve a reasonable amount of disk
space. With a good regimen of daily backups, you can even move the slider all
the way to the left. (I do.) We also found that, although JS had been using Windows' built-in "Disk Cleanup Wizard," he'd been using its default settings, which are quite relaxed. I showed JS how to access and set the Wizard for a much more thorough cleaning, and then built him a small batch file so he could run the more-powerful version of the Wizard whenever he wanted. (Full instructions on adjusting the Wizard and building the simple batch file/script: http://langa.com/newsletters/2002/2002-04-04.htm#2 and http://langa.com/cleanup_bat.htm ) We then ran the Wizard, and rebooted, running Chkdsk ( http://www.google.com/search?q=chkdsk+xp ) at boot to ensure that the large amount of deletions we'd just done had happened correctly, with no disk errors introduced. The disk was fine, as we expected it to be, and it turned out we'd regained a hefty 1.16GB of space on JS's system! That's how much space had been wasted in needless Temp, cache, and trash files. Surprisingly, it's not at all uncommon for a PC to have that much space clogged with unnecessary files; but the above also shows how easy it is--- just a few click in the right places--- to regain much of that space. While this is a worthwhile result in its own right, it did not, alas, do much to resolve JS's boot time issue. We went on to the next step. Click to email this item to a
friend 5) Upgrade LeftoversRecall that JS wrote, "I recently upgraded from Win98 to WinXP...." That was the next place we looked for improvements. You see, in an effort to ensure compatibility, and to smooth the transition from older Windows to newer, Microsoft is very conservative: A normal upgrade will carry over a ton of stuff from the older setup to the newer, just in case it might be needed. Although this works, it usually means that an upgraded version of Windows ends up with a lot of unnecessary baggage left over from the old version. This is one of the reasons why many advanced users opt for a fresh, clean install of Windows when they move to a new version: A clean install starts with the proverbial blank slate, and adds only what's currently needed. But tens of millions of users do "in place" upgrades, replacing a live, older version of Windows with a new one, and carrying over much of the old setup. It's not exactly wrong to do that--- and it certainly is much easier than starting over--- but it can lead to less-than-optimal conditions in the new setup. That's what we went looking for next. Click to email this item to a
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--------------( the above is an advertisement )------------- 6) Bogus Registry EntriesThe Windows Registry is perhaps the most vulnerable part of Windows when it comes to collecting digital dust bunnies. The Registry is, of course, "the configuration database in all 32-bit versions of Windows that contains settings for the hardware and software in the PC it is installed in," according to the TechEncyclopedia http://www.techweb.com/encyclopedia/defineterm.jhtml;?term=registry . In all versions of Windows, the Registry can accumulate obsolete and nonfunctioning entries. Older versions of Windows, in particular, were notorious for this, often ending up with Registries containing huge numbers of erroneous entries. This slowed computer operations; and could even lead to crashes. JS' PC had been running Win98--- infamous for Registry bloat--- and had moved to XP. Although XP is better than Win9X was in terms of Registry bloat, it, too can end up with bogus Registry entries as software is added and removed, and hardware is connected and disconnected. JS and I both suspected that his Registry probably contained a lot of needless stuff from his original Win98 setup--- some of it perhaps dating back to the original, factory installation--- plus whatever was left over from years of software and hardware additions and removals, plus whatever XP has generated on its own since JS installed it. In fact, JS's suspicions had led him to use Norton's "WinDoctor" and ToniArt's Easycleaner ( http://personal.inet.fi/business/toniarts/ecleane.htm ) to try to find and clean out some of the Registry's junk. But both tools have a reputation for being conservative, in the name of safety--- normally, a good thing. But in JS's case, we came to suspect that his conservative Registry cleanings simply weren't digging out enough of the likely bogus entries. One widely-acknowledged leader in Registry Cleaning tools is JV16's PowerTools; the last free version of that utility (v 1.3.0.195, from 2003) was thought by many to be the best-ever Registry-cleaning tool of its day. Although the tool went commercial after that last free version, the new version--- currently dubbed JV PowerTools 2005--- offers a free one-month test drive. The trial version is fully functional; not crippleware or demoware. We downloaded a copy and ran it on JS's machine.( http://www.macecraft.com/ ) It has two settings, normal and aggressive. We ran them both, cautiously at first, in case the tool might strip out something necessary. But the utility makes a backup of any Registry settings it changes, so you can undo any changes that don't work out; and in fact, we didn't see anything particularly alarming in the deletions it recommended. We ultimately ended up just letting PowerTools 2005 do what it wanted to do, in its most aggressive cleaning mode. By the time we were done Registry cleaning, over several runs, we'd found and deleted some 3,000 (!) Registry settings that neither WinDoctor nor EasyCleaner had tried to remove: a huge amount. Getting rid of these bogus entries should make the system faster in operation (such as when launching programs) and more stable, too. We suspected we'd also see an improvement in boot times. On restart, the system did indeed boot a little faster... but was still slow! We were making headway, and good things were happening with JS's system, but we clearly hadn't found the root problem yet. We moved on to the next step. Around this time, I also made a note to myself: Clearly, there's huge variability in what different Registry cleaners do. Later, after leaving JS's PC, I ran a series of controlled tests on one of my own real-life, normal-use PCs here, letting 10 different Registry-cleaning tools take their best shot. Some of the tools were free, others commercial. The results: Some tools found as few as 39 Registry errors, while others, looking at *exactly the same setup*, found 800! What's more, some "cleaning" tools actually *added* errors to the Registry--- the more I ran the tool, the more errors it introduced! That's nuts! Clearly, not all Registry cleaners are created equal; and there's some real junk software out there--- which some users are paying good money for! But don't worry: I'll name names, and tell you the good, the bad, and the mediocre among the 10 Registry cleaners I tested. I'm finishing the writeup now, and will bring it to you next week! Click to email this item to a
friend 7) The "Aha" MomentBy this point in the day, I'd seen JS's PC reboot enough times to have a feel for where the delay was occurring. It mostly wasn't right away at boot: Delays there often indicate a hardware issue or a BIOS problem. (I say "mostly" because there was an intermittent problem with JS's USB peripherals, connected through a USB hub. But this seemed very specific to the USB setup, and was indeed intermittent. The overall boot delay happened every single time.) Delays at the end of the boot process often indicate a problem within Windows itself, or with the Startup programs that are loading and running. JS's boot delay seemed to come in-between--- after Windows had started to load, but before much had happened. I knew that JS had both Norton Antivirus (part of SystemWorks) and ZoneAlarm on his system, and they both wake up and start running quite early in the boot process. Earlier in the day (I didn't mention it previously because it was a minor, side issue) we'd been tuning JS's ZoneAlarm settings, and had run his PC with ZA temporarily deactivated. There had been no meaningful change in boot time. That left Norton SystemWorks as an unexplored factor in the boot time issue. JS's annual subscription to Symantec/Norton was still active, so we made sure he had his serial numbers/unlock keys; and that he also had his original SystemWorks setup CD. Then we uninstalled SystemWorks; manually deleted some leftover Symantec and Norton files in the C:\Program Files\ folders (Symantec/Norton uninstalls are, alas, notorious for leaving stuff behind); and then re-ran Easycleaner and JV16 PowerTools 2005 to delete whatever was left behind in the Registry. When we were 100% sure we had *everything* from Symantec/Norton off the system, we rebooted. Presto! The remaining boot delay vanished: The system was now booting in about half the time it had been taking at the start of the day. I knew it was good: JS's face broke into a wide grin. <g> At this point, we could have used JS's SystemWorks setup CD and his saved purchase info to reinstall SystemWorks afresh, but he was reluctant to do so, given the problems it had caused. We discussed alternatives. XP's own Defrag is OK; not as fast as Norton's, but adequate. Tools like EasyCleaner and JV16 PowerTools 2005 actually do more than WinDoctor.... By the time we finished, it was clear that all JS really needed was a high-quality antivirus tool. Here too, we could have installed just the AV portion of SystemWorks, but JS wanted to try an entirely different brand. So we downloaded a 30-day free trial copy of NOD32, an outstanding stand-alone AV tool ( http://www.nod32.com/home/home.htm ). It's updated every day, and uses a very unobtrusive way of monitoring everything that comes in via the internet connection. (For example: Rather than setting up a local POP-server alias and rerouting all mail through it, NOD32 inserts itself as a layer in the communications stack and thus automatically sees everything going in or out of the PC. See their web site for more info.) It also has a smaller footprint than Norton and many other AV tools. We rebooted the system with NOD32, and the boot time remained low. Success! Click to email this item to a
friend --- ( Your Clicks On Ad Links Help Keep The LangaList S.E. Free! ) --- "Mr. Langa, your 'Plus' edition is the ONLY newsletter --------------( the above is an advertisement )-------------- 8) USB and Winmodem IssuesIt was getting late in the day, so we couldn't do a lot more. A quick look at JS's USB problems suggested a conflict between the very old version 1 USB on his PC with a newer 2.0 hub and peripherals; and possibly a USB power supply issue as well. But lacking alternate hardware to try on his system we weren't able to chase that problem all the way to a solution. I suggested that JS get a USB 2.0 plug-in card for his PC, and try connecting his hub and/or peripherals via that, bypassing the older 1.0 hardware built into the PC. The winmodem issue turned out to be a driver problem, which is so often the case. His hardware is old enough that it's more or less fallen off the support curve by the modem maker; even downloading the latest-available drivers for his hardware didn't help. If the hardware were newer, it might be worthwhile working the problem more aggressively, but JS is mostly on cable anyway, so the dial-up isn't essential; and a brand-new high-speed modem, with current drivers, can be had for around $10 or even less ( http://froogle.google.com/froogle?q=modem+56k&tab=wf&scoring=p ); so it simply wasn't worth a lot of time or effort to resurrect the old hardware. With the sun setting, we called it a day, and I took my leave of JS and his newly tuned PC--- faster-booting, with lots more space on the disk, a leaner, inherently more-stable Registry, and newly-cleaned hardware. Click to email this item to a
friend 9) CodaA day or so later, I got this email:
The work on JS's system took some time, but there was nothing there that you couldn't do on your own system, especially if (like JS) you have good backups in hand, so you can undo any attempted repair that goes awry. Just take a logical, step-by-step approach, and chip away at the problem, isolating one variable at a time, as much as possible. Odds are, an investment of a few hours of work will pay off in huge improvements to your system, too! Click to email this item to a
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--------------( the above is an advertisement )------------- 10) Want Your PC To Be Next?Would you like me to visit your home or place of business, and perform a free diagnosis/tune-up on your PC?Here's the idea: From time to time. I'll select one reader and personally visit, at my own expense, that reader's home or place of business (their choice) and perform a complete one-day tune up and maintenance of their PC, doing whatever I can in that time to make that reader's existing hardware and software run as well as it can; and/or to try to solve any problems that reader is having with the hardware or software. If your name is drawn, your PC will get a thorough professional cleaning; the software setup will be backed up, checked, cleaned-up, scanned and defragged. If we discover any problems with your system or its settings, I'll do whatever I can to correct or improve things. In short, we'll get your system as near perfect as we can in one visit; and I'll do my best to leave you with a lean, clean, fully-backed-up machine. Of course, while I can't guarantee any specific result, I can and do guarantee that I'll use my very best efforts to make things as good as they can be. This isn't a contest, and my work on the PC isn't meant as a prize. Rather, it's an editorial collaboration to learn all we can about analyzing, maintaining, and improving *real-life* business and home PC setups. To that end, and as you saw in today's Special Issue, I'll document the whole process of working on the PC in question, and use items of interest in a writeup in the newsletter so all readers can benefit from what we find. (If the participating readers desire anonymity, as did "JS," I won't use their names or any personally identifying information in the writeup.) I'll draw a reader's name in a semi-random way from the pool of all Plus! Every Plus! subscriber has a shot of being chosen, no matter where they live. I'll include readers who live in areas very distant from me when I have travel scheduled to that region. Plus Edition readers, sign up here: http://www.langalist.com/plus/housecall.asp Standard Edition subscribers: If you wish to be included in House Call pool, please click here http://langa.com/plus.htm to join! Click to email this item to a
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