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The LangaList
Standard Edition

2005-11-21

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) A Complete PC Maintenance Checklist

Thwack! That was the sound of me slapping myself in the forehead.

It happened the other day, while I was working through the normal monthly maintenance on my primary PC. Everything was going smoothly because routine maintenance tends to prevent many problems from developing in the first place; and can catch any others when they're small and easy to correct.

I'll admit I'm a bit of a fanatic about maintenance because I depend on my PC to make a living; I probably go further than most people would need or want to. But odds are you depend on a PC at work or in a home office or recreationally, and the smooth, trouble-free operation of your PC is either essential to getting your work done, or is an important part of your after-hours life. Some level of routine PC preventative maintenance would be good for your PC, too. That's why we've covered many of the separate steps and techniques of PC maintenance at Informationweek.Com http://www.informationweek.com/LP/columnists/fredlanga.jhtml and here in the newsletter.

But the "thwack" moment came when I realized I'd never stitched all the pieces together into a comprehensive whole for you--- I'd never itemized the steps in checklist form to make it easy for you to select exactly which maintenance steps you want to follow, and when. Let me correct that oversight today:

In a new article posted now, and free, at
http://www.informationweek.com/story/showArticle.jhtml?articleID=174300458 , I'll tell you all the maintenance steps I take on a daily, weekly, monthly, semiannual and annual basis.

You may not need all the steps I take, and that's perfectly fine. You can "cherry-pick" the ideas, techniques, and tools that best fit your own preferences, to create your own PC maintenance checklist. Or, if you rely heavily on your PC, you may wish to adapt my full task list to your own unique situation--- or even expand upon it!.

In any case, with the right level of routine maintenance, maybe you'll be able to avoid a "thwack" moment of your own!

Click on over and check it out:
http://www.informationweek.com/story/showArticle.jhtml?articleID=174300458

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2) WinZip v10 Worth It?

Hi Fred. Was hoping to get your take on the release of Winzip V10.

I began with Winzip V6.3, and have taken advantage of the free upgrades to the current V9.1

I just received notice from Winzip that I'm entitled to half off upgrade to V10 or V10 Pro. Despite the hype it doesn't offer me much new, and there are other utilities (7-zip, winrar) that offer more

I can roll with paying for the upgrade, but then they're offering to sell me "upgrade assurance" for an additional cost. Methinks they're going to the well too often. Do you see something I'm missing? Thanks. ---Paul Millard

I also was disappointed to see that the free upgrades apparently have ended. The folks at WinZip sent me a review copy of version 10, and it's good; it adds some extra compression options that can squeeze files down even further than before; you can now burn direct to CD or DVD; and the (free) command-line add-on, wzzip, lets you control WinZip (including compression level, encryption level, etc)  with external scripts and batch files. Winzip has a free trial; the standard version is $30; the Pro is $50. A feature comparison is here: http://www.winzip.com/prodpagewz.htm (More Winzip info: http://www.winzip.com/ ; WZZip info: http://www.winzip.com/prodpagecl.htm?wzhcli )

I'm still mulling this one over--- I've been a user and fan of WinZip for years. But I'm having a hard time seeing what's worth $50 in this. Even the $30 version seems steep if the free upgrade policy is gone. I dunno; maybe it *is* time to switch to another Zip tool: http://www.google.com/search?q=free+zip+compress

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3) A Tip, And A Plea

Hello Fred, as much as I enjoy reading every issue of your newsletter, I didn't actually have a need to ask anything myself - until now. I have a problem with the Internet Explorer: once in a while (sometimes few times a day, depending on use) my pc reboots, when I click on a link in internet explorer. So far I could not notice any pattern, but it always happens on a link clicking. I tried some debugging, but to no effect. How would you recommend to approach this problem?

Also I can't resist an urge to share my excitement about the program I've found a few days ago (I tried to search in the LangaList archive and found no references). As probably everybody else, I need to save a lot of links to web pages. I need to do a lot of research on the web, so you can imagine how many  favorite managers I tried. And only now I've found the program that looks practically perfect - ContentSaver ( http://www.macropool.com )  Saving complete pages, editing before or after saving, saving pictures from a page, saving page area, organizing, explorer toolbar, great interface and search, categorizing, thumbnail view, ie and firefox interface, importing without program opening, drag and drop - and many, many more. The program is $40, but it has 30 days full version evaluation. I am on a day 6 of evaluation. But when I see ALL the pages related to the subject in research, instead of clicking on links in the favorites manager - I am sure my evaluation is over - I am buying it. Good bye, favorites managers ! ---Gennady Palitsky

Thanks for the software tip, Gennady.

There's not quite enough info in your note  to give a definitive answer to your reboot problem. I'm guessing you're running Win98 or ME, as crashes in various subsystems can destabilize those entire OSes. In XP and 2K, the subsystem may crash, but it's actually fairly rare for the whole OS to go down.

As to what's broken, I'd guess the top three places to look would be: the graphics (video) subsystem (eg a driver problem); the network/communications software or drivers; or the HTML interpretation and rendering system built into the OS.

Simplest fix would be to try to back up your user files, then restore the system to a known-good state, using a disk image, then restore the user files to bring the PC up to date. But I'm guessing that's not a possibility, or you wouldn't be writing to me. <g>

You may be able to fix the first two items by uninstalling and then reinstalling. For example, uninstall the software that came with your graphics card, and also install all the drivers for the card by removing the card from the list in Device Manager. Do the same for your Network card. (You may even want to physically remove and replace the cards, if possible.)

If that doesn't work, and the problem seem to be in the OS itself, you might try a tool like Dr Watson to see if you can determine exactly what's breaking. ( http://search.atomz.com/search/?sp-q=Dr+Watson&sp-a=0008002a-sp00000000 ) If the problem is confined to a single DLL, then you may be able to replace just that DLL with a fresh copy.

If you were running an OS that offers a repair mode (like XP), you could try that; with earlier OSes, your final option short of a full reinstall might be an "in situ" restore of the OS; reinstalling right over the existing copy. This should leave your installed software and user files alone, while replacing the OS itself.

Whatever you do, once things are working again, make a complete image of the hard drive. That way, when something like this happens again in the future, you can restore the PC to that known-good condition in a jiffy!

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4) More On Waterlogged PCs

Our discussion on resurrecting water-soaked PCs brought a (pardon the expression) flood of email. A sampling:

Say, Fred, as a retired electronic tech I am writing u to tell u about the best way to recover computers and other electronic equipment from water damage. all u said was correct but one thing I can tell u is just water does little or no damage to components unless it is powered on at the time of getting wet. the other stuff in the water does however do a lot of damage to the equipment is left un treated. I always use clear cold water to wash the boards at first. that removes 90% of the harmful stuff on the board the a good cleaner like windex or 409 with another wash down of cold water and a scrub with a tooth brush can do wonders for I. but this is the most important part, always leave the components out over night (in a warm room or under some lights) for at least 16 hours. this will dry even the hidden components out and keep some small shorts from causing u some problems. hope this helps as it has for over 45 years for me. ---Lee

Hi Fred, I just happen to live on my sailboat in San Francisco, so I'm very familiar with water and electronics combining together.  One technique I learned long ago is that after you let the item/pc dry out, be sure you set it standing at different angles and change angle every hour or so to make sure you get all the water, take a full strength (1000-1500 watt) hair dryer, set on medium, and blow it into the case. Be sure you aim into all those hard-to-get-to places, from all angles. Note - at 1500 high setting can actually cause more damage! Thanks for all the helpful hints and tips! ---Marcus

Fred, Really liked your story about the wet PC - sound advice as usual. Two things I would add. Often the CMOS backup "battery" will have been shorted out and thus "died". If it is a rechargeable battery or large value capacitor (supercap) then it will probably recover OK after a little time. If it is a couple of button cells or other non-rechargeable source they are probably really dead and need to be replaced - otherwise a lot of strange behaviour will probably occur each time you power up the machine  (even after only a short power off). Either way your CMOS settings may will have been scrambled (as the voltages will not be in the normal operating area as they recover) and would be well worth a check over once the machine has settled into life. I would suggest default settings first; if that causes grief try fail-safe, conversely if it runs Ok try performance or similar. It would also be worth doing the ESCD bit you mentioned: http://search.atomz.com/search/?sp-q=escd&sp-a=0008002a-sp00000000 . Regards and thanks for your great work. ---Jon (almost long time plus subscriber)

Fred, Back in the days when I did photography one concern was dunking ones film
camera in the 'drink'. The cure then was to immediately dunk it into the purest water available and let it soak out any dissolved contaminants (like salt) then thoroughly dry out... ...In the Navy we had low temperature ovens (about 105F/40C) to 'cook' 'cleaned' electronics. It's amazing how many items 'miraculously' started working after being properly cleaned... Mike

Hi Fred, You gave great advice to Dave and the rest of concerning restarting a wet PC.  However, the recent floods in the south add another wrinkle to the mix about which folks need to be aware. Those floods were mostly salt water which is highly corrosive and which will in all probability mean the PC is destroyed.  I would suggest to recover the data from the hard disk in a known good PC as soon as possible since time is against the recovery in those cases. As always, thank you for the great newsletter! ---Syd

Thanks to all who wrote in!

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5) Spreading Out Software Across Different Partitions

Dear Fred, I was wondering what would be a good strategy for allocating hard disk space in terms of OS/Programs/Data.
 
On my system, while currently data is assigned to a different partition, what would be the implications of separating the OS and Programs into different partitions as well (e.g., keep only Windows on the C partition, and install all programs only on the D partition)?
 
On the face of it, it would appear that this would have a major advantage in making backup images for restoration in case of Windows going belly up due to malware or spontaneous combustion (as Windows is sometimes wont to do!). Backups would be small and fast (of course, data and program backups would require to be made separately, but the most important backup -- the OS itself -- would be much faster).
 
I recall that in the days of Win9x, all the tech gurus would gravely advise against ever installing programs anywhere else but the OS partition, or bad things would happen. Does this still hold?
 
Would much appreciate your comments...can't wait for the next issue!
 
Thanks ---Rajeev Rohatgi

I and many others do consider it good practice to keep the OS itself on the main partition. This lets you back up or image that partition as a monolithic, self-contained whole. If or when you have to restore the backup or image to either the original location *or to a different system,* all the necessary pieces will be there.

But, by the same reasoning, I also suggest keeping your most-important and most-frequently-accessed applications, utilities and user files on that same partition: Again, if or when you have to restore the backup or image to either the original location *or to a different system,* all the necessary pieces will be there in one place for easy restoration.

Putting all the most-important stuff in one place also avoids the potential "speed bump" effects of having your hard drive to seek data in completely different locations. (There can be instances where splitting files across partitions and drives can actually speed accesses, but *in most routine cases* is slows things down a bit.)

With nonessential or less-used software and files, however, I see no major reason not to install them on another drive or partition, if you want to. (I do!) That software and those files won't be included automatically in backups or images of the main partition, but because it's nonessential stuff, that shouldn't matter a lot. (And it can always be backed up separately, anyway.) And if there's a little speed loss in accessing that stuff, so what? You don't use it very often, right?

So, the rule of thumb I use is this: If it's something I'd need or want in my main backups, I put it in my main partition--- the one that gets backed up/imaged the most. If it's something that might be nice to have, but isn't essential; or is something I could easily recreate or get from another source; I put it on a different partition--- one that gets backed up only now and then.

The above keeps the main backups/images smaller than otherwise, but still ensure that a total rebuild, using just what's in the backups, still would have *everything* I really want and need to get going again.

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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://langa.com/recommend.htm . Thanks for recommending the LangaList--- and good luck!

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7) Online Resource For Free Textbooks

Hi Fred-About a year ago, I got frustrated at the outrageous costs of textbooks at my school.  I started searching for alternatives and found that there are tons of FREE textbooks online. The problem was, there was no way to find them without spending hours on google. 

So I started a website to catalogue all the free textbooks and educational websites I could find.  I'm happy to say I've just launched it, (with a couple of small bugs), and I'd be honored if you could help me tell the world.  The main site is http://textbookrevolution.org/ ... I'm also on the lookout for more FREE textbooks, especially computer/tech books.  I only have a couple of tech books online now, but I know there are more available.  Please let me know [on the site] if you know of any. Best, Jason Turgeon

Nice idea, Jason. Textbook costs are indeed outrageous. In fields where the information isn't in high flux, even slightly older volumes may be perfectly adequate. In any case, it's certainly worth a look to see what's out there before spring for some $150 tome....

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8) Still Another Code-Load Success

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

Fred - I just wanted to thank you for putting my site ( http://www.amazingmultimedia.net ) in They Loaded the Code last week. More than 7,000 new visitors came through the door in a 3 day period. For small, boutique operations like ours, this is godsend to introduce ourselves to the world at large. We spent a lot of time on the site, putting in audio restoration information that we hope is helpful to people who want to do it themselves. There's a great feeling to look at the logs and see how many stuck around to read over the material we prepared. As a long-time Plus subscriber and fan of your work, our deepest appreciation for sharing your readers with those of us that Load the Code! Aloha from Hawaii, Courtney Harrington

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

Free and Safe PC Security
http://freeandsafe.blogspot.com/

UK Driving Instructor Lesson Plans And Diagrams
http://www.d-a-d-s.co.uk/

website for the blind
http://www.marrie.org/

ShaneD
http://shaned.net/

Corrao's Funeral Consulting
http://www.patcorrao.com/funeral/index.htm

Tempest Tires
http://tempesttire.com/index.htm

The Hobby Kat
http://hobbykat.com/

Gary Ansell, photographer
http://www.bcimage.com/

handmade jewelry and household items
http://www.treasures-to-trivia.com/

Robert Calin - photographer
http://www.robertcalin.blogspot.com/

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

"Couldn't surf the net without you. Security, software, new items,
and a little bit of everything. Thanks Fred for a great Plus! newsletter
and informative work."---Roger Fairres

Thanks, Roger!

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.

It's only around $1 a month!

http://langa.com/plus.htm

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

9) Data In Hand, But Inaccessible

Dear Fred: I wonder if you have any comments on why win2000 will read some of my old win98 cdrw disks, and not others? Almost all were written with one or another version of Nero or Roxio several years ago. Is there any magic solution? Thanks,
Martin Hack

Magic? No, sorry. I'm a thoroughgoing muggle, I'm afraid.<g>

My guess is it's more of a hardware issue. First, if the old CD/CDRWs were not "closed" when written, a regular CD drive won't be able to see their contents: "Closing" a CD writes the table of contents and allows the CD to be read on almost any other CD. If the old discs weren't closed, then they'll only be readable on a PC with a CD burner and CD-burning software installed. (Maybe you're already doing this--- your note didn't say.)

It's also possible that the CDs themselves have gone bad, especially if they've been written on, or have glue-on labels. Solvent-based inks and glues can completely destroy a CD in a very short time, as can various other mechanical, thermal, and chemical issues. See "Time To Check Your CDRs" at
http://www.informationweek.com/showArticle.jhtml;?articleID=15800263

Further, with CDRs and RWs that were created with early-vintage CD burners, there can be simple problems with mechanical alignment of tracks, and such. "Simple" in concept, but hard to do anything about without specialized hardware than can find and read out-of-position data.

I'd suggest you try the balky discs on as many different CD burners as you can get your hands on. (You might even pick a slack time at a local computer store, and try reading the discs on all their demo machines.) If nothing works, your only option may be a data-recovery service. But if the problem is that the CDRWs have simply gone bad, then the data's gone, and not even a recovery service will be able to help.

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10) Just For Grins

Hi, Fred. This guy has quite the sense of humor.  I wouldn't be surprised if this was already a HotSpot and I just missed it... http://www.patentlysilly.com/ ---Len

Some of that stuff is fun to read.

Alas, some people in the US Patent Office seem to have only a weak hold on reality, or an education that maybe stopped sooner than it should have. For example, it recently issued a patent for what can only be described as a warp drive: http://www.pat2pdf.org/patents/pat6960975.pdf

Time was, inventors had to build a working model or prototype. While that may not be possible anymore, you'd think that getting a patent would take something more than some cartoon sketches and vague verbiage studded with conditional "ifs" and "mays...".

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11) Plus! Edition Highlights:

Today's LangaList Plus! Edition contains all ten items above, plus about 40% more content including:

• RSS Tutorial
     (easy ways to start your own "feed")
• Stickykeys
     (keep typing despite arm/hand/coordination problems)
• Has License, But No Setup CD
     (but there still ware ways to reinstall Windows)
• Laptop Buying Hints
     (overview, plus ways to save $300 or more)

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:

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

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(Give a gift subscription to the LangaList Plus edition!
Click <a href= " http://langa.com/plus_gift.htm ">here</a>)

The LangaList is published about 72 times a year, or about 6 times a month. See you next issue, 2005-11-28!

Best,

Fred
( Editor@Langa.Com )

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

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