|
Please visit the LangaList Home Page Please note: Older issues may contain information that is now out of date How To
Subscribe and Unsubscribe is at the end of this
note. Mailing List Trouble? See
http://langa.com/help.htm Please recommend the LangaList to a friend! (And maybe win a prize!) An easier-to read formatted
HTML version of this newsletter is available The
LangaList 2006-04-13 Please visit our sponsors and help keep the LangaList S.E. free!
--- ( Your Clicks On Ad Links Help Keep The LangaList S.E. Free! ) --- Free Computer Performance
Scan! --------------( the above is an advertisement )--------------
1) Free Tool & Demo From Fred
We'll come back to a possible cause in a moment, but first let's look at the problem at hand: Automatic deleting of folders. It's a little tricky--- deliberately so, because it's a potentially dangerous thing. (Delete a folder, and the folder goes away, along with its contents, including the contents of any/all subfolders inside the deleted folder--- one command could wipe out an entire hard drive!) But there's a workaround that's not too hard to cobble together, especially if you know where the files are, and what the format of their names is. (as is the case here.) The first step is to gather the names of all the folders you want to target for deletion. This simple command will output a list of all the *.tmp folders and files in the current directory to a single, plain text file called "delme.txt:" dir /b *.tmp >delme.txt The "/b" switch tells the dir command to do a basic listing--- just the matching names, with no header, date, filesize or other info. In other words, delme.txt will contain just the names of folders (and files) with the tmp extension--- and that's just what we need. As Don says, the command to remove a directory is RD. To tell RD to include all subdirectories, and to do so in quiet mode (without stopping to ask for confirmation), you add the /s (for subdirectories) and /q (for quiet) switches. In Don's specific case, he knows the folders are empty, so the /s switch isn't really needed. But adding it ensures that the tmp folders will get whacked, even if they do contain something. So (bear with me, now) in manual mode, the full command to delete a folder called (say) "3g6w6.tmp" would be: rd /s /q "3g6w6.tmp" The quotation marks also aren't essential in this example, but they're good to include because they allow for names that might have spaces in them that otherwise might mess up the command. So, now that we know the format of the commands we need, all we need is a simple script or program that will take the names of the tmp folders listed in delme.txt and insert them into a series of properly-formatted RD commands. In other words, we need a tool that will prepend rd /s /q " before each name, and append a single close-quote (") after each name. It'd be nice if the tool could then either perform the newly-constructed commands directly, or output them in a new list, perhaps in batchfile form for automatic execution by the operating system. Here's a very quick and dirty demo, again using Don's examples. It has three parts: First, there's a batch file I've called "DeleteTempFolder.bat" that contains these core lines: c: The first two lines switch to the C: drive, and to the root (\) directory, where Don's tmp folders live. You could edit the batch file to work on *any* folder where tmp files live, however. The next line we've seen before, above: It simply outputs a basic listing of all the *.tmp files in the current directory. the listing is called "DELME.TXT" and is a generic text file; nothing special about it at all. The next line runs a crude little purpose-built demo tool I ginned up called DELTEMP.EXE. It's an unadorned program that runs with no interface at all--- it's hardwired to look for a file called DELME.TXT in the C:\ directory, and if it finds it, to take each name in DELME.TXT, wrap it with the RD commands as shown above, and output the processed names in a new batch file called DELME.BAT. The next line in DeleteTempFolder.bat then calls the newly-created DELME.BAT, which then performs the actual folder deletions. The only two files you need to make this work are DeleteTempFolder.bat and Deltemp.exe; the other two files--- delme.txt and delme.bat--- are automatically generated each time. To give you a starting place, DeleteTempFolder.bat and Deltemp.exe are available here, for free: http://langa.com/extras/deltemp/deltemp.zip (If clicking doesn't work, right click and "save as.") Download the Zip file and uncompress the two files inside it to C:\ . Run DeleteTempFolder.bat, either manually or via Task Scheduler: It will gather the names of the all tmp folders in C:\ and delete them as above. (If your C:| doesn't have any tmp folders in it, you can create some fake ones first to see the demo in action.) Again, this is a quick and dirty approach--- inelegant, but effective, and intended AS AN EXAMPLE of what you can do. As such, it's a "use at your own risk" thing and is NOT intended as a finished, production-quality tool--- it's a long, long way from that! <g> Your tools and preferences may differ; with more time and effort, and better tools, you can come up with a far slicker final product. But the above should give you a running start, and (hopefully) spark further ideas you can use to make whatever tool you need for your exact circumstances. Click to email this item to a
friend --- ( Your Clicks On Ad Links Help Keep The LangaList Free! ) ---
--------------( the above is an advertisement )------------- 2) Other Deletion ToolsThe custom process described in #1, above, is sometimes needed because many of the free and commercial file-deletion tools shy away from working in the root directory, where a mis-deletion might whack a whole chunk of the hard drive's contents. But for directories below the root, many tools will work: For example, the simple, free program called "Sweep" and found at
http://www.csc.calpoly.edu/~bfriesen/software/console.shtml will recursively
perform the same command on all directories below the current one. Thus this
simple three-line batch file would delete all tmp folders on the hard drive in
any location below the root: And there are many other tools to do the same, or similar, things. A collection of old DOS utilities at http://ftp.at.gnucash.org/pc/dos/msdos/dosutils/ contains "tsbat82.zip," which in turn contains a free batchfile "sweep" tool you can modify as you wish. And http://dirsweeper.toolazy.me.uk/ has a native Windows tool called "DIRsweeper," also free; but which requires that the beefy .NET framework be installed in all the PCs that will run DIRsweeper. Similar functions can be found inside other tools, as well. For example, jv16 Powertools, Easycleaner, and many other third-party tools have built-in facilities to find and delete tmp and other temporary files. ( http://www.google.com/search?q=delete+temporary+files ) So, you see you have many options--- custom, free and commercial--- for file deletions. No matter what you're trying to delete, there's almost surely a tool for the job. <g> Click to email this item to a
friend 3) Who You Gonna Call?
Assuming that an Exorcism isn't really necessary, and that it's not dear departed Aunt Midge trying to contact you from the Beyond, my guess is that you're hearing Instant Messenger-type sounds. Many of them use door knocks and slams to indicate people entering a "room" or conversation or leaving. But with AIM, Yahoo messenger, MSN Messenger, and a host of alternatives, there's no way I can tell you exactly what to look for or where--- it depends on what's on your PC. You might try running Task Manager (Ctrl-Alt-Del in XP) to see what's running: anything in the Applications of Processes tabs with "messenger" in it's name would be a likely first suspect. You can also try Control Panel's "Add or remove programs" to see what's installed. Once you know what's running, you can uninstall it, or at least explore its interface to better control it. IM toys running unattended are also a security problem; ideally, you only want such software running when you need it, and can monitor it. Of course, it's also possible that an IM utility isn't the cause: Some forms of intrusive ads (often Flash animations, but sometimes Java applets) also can trigger odd sounds at seemingly-random times. If the ad has scrolled off-screen, you might not see the visual effects that the sound is meant to accompany. When you hear the sounds, you might scroll around to see of some ad is trying to get your attention. And if *that* isn't it, try this: http://langa.com/u/ak.htm Click to email this item to a
friend --- ( Your Clicks On Ad Links Help Keep The LangaList Free! ) ---
--------------( the above is an advertisement )------------- 4) Gone Like A... Flash Drive?
Alas, flash drives are quite finite, although their life depends very much on how heavily they're used. We discussed some lifetime estimates in "Life Expectancy Of Flash Drives?" http://langa.com/newsletters/2005/2005-12-08.htm#4 Besides electrical life, there also can be issues with the plug itself; it's a natural stress point, and any repeated flexing of the joint between the mechanical plug and its electrical connections can lead to failure of the connections. Many people who routinely use flash drives use a flexible USB extension cable that allows for easier, better alignments of the plugs and sockets; and/or to let the (relatively) disposable cable take the brunt of the mechanical abuse, rather than the flash device itself. And here's something curious: Microsoft is headed in exactly the opposite direction. Vista will be able to use a flash drive as temporary RAM. The idea, which probably seemed good at the time, was that you could plug a flash drive to any Vista PC, and add any unused memory in the flash device to the RAM pool available to the PC: Need more RAM to handle a giant spreadsheet or presentation? No problem: Stick a flash drive in a socket, and tell Vista to use it as RAM. But in other than emergency use, this seems like maybe not such a great idea to me: RAM can get written to *a lot*, and using a flash drive as vanilla RAM seems like a great way to use up its finite number of write cycles in a hurry. And anyway, Flash RAM is much, much slower than standard RAM. But hey: Microsoft didn't ask for my opinion. <g> Click to email this item to a
friend 5) ID That USBIn "How To Tell USB 1 from 2" (#10 in http://langalist.com/plus/newsletters/2006/2006-03-27plus.asp ) we discussed several free ways to tell USB 1.x from USB 2.0 devices and sockets, when they have no exterior labels. Here's a not-too-expensive commercial method:
Thanks, Peter. For someone with many ports to identify or a pressing need to learn as much about a USB setup as possible, the $20 fee for this software would no doubt be very reasonable. Click to email this item to a
friend 6) Is This Information Useful?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.) Click to email this item to a
friend 7) Free .PST Backup ToolConcluding our recent discussion of Outlook's PST files, here's a free tool from Microsoft:
Thanks, Ken. The tool is available for free download at http://tinyurl.com/oh4l . Microsoft says the tool will work with outlook 2000, 2002 and 2003. Well worth grabbing, if you have any of those versions! Click to email this item to a
friend 8) More Reader Sites!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 hundreds and hundreds
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
) Manually Browse All Posted-to-Date Sites
Starting At Cassette Land donnie's collection "stopwalmartnj" Appalachian Hand-crafted Shepherds crooks Irish
Shillelaghs... sales and marketing consultantgs Pioneer Aviator "Eielson" Museum Stanford-Palo Alto Users Group for PC silk boutonnieres and corsages Veritas Rei Publicae The Outernet Click to email this item to a
friend --- ( Your Clicks On Ad Links Help Keep The LangaList Free! ) ---
--------------( the above is an advertisement )------------- 9) Lost Digital Pix: Found!
Glad it worked for you Peter. Indeed, it's worth remembering that most digital camera memories are treated as virtual hard drives (OK: flash drives) using the utterly normal FAT file system. While some tools are especially configured for digging photos out of the digital wreckage of a scrambled drive, almost *any* normal file recovery tool at least has a shot at recovering lost pictures from camera memory. See: Click to email this item to a
friend 10, 11, 12, 13, 14) Plus! Edition Only:Today's LangaList Plus! Edition contains about 40% more content including:
DID YOU KNOW that Plus! subscribers have access to over
100,000 additional words in special features, extra content and private links,
all on a private web site? All that, plus 40% more content in every issue, for
around a dollar a month! Click to email this item to a
friend --- ( Your Clicks On Ad Links Help Keep The LangaList Free! ) ---
--------------( the above is an advertisement )------------- 15) Just For GrinsAfter V-8 powered Canadian snowblowers ( http://langa.com/newsletters/2006/2006-04-03.htm#14 ) and jetwash-powered Swedish snowblowers ( http://langa.com/newsletters/2006/2006-04-06.htm#15 ), we now have this: Fred: In your just for grins section of the latest LangaList, you sent a challenge (informally) concerning snow clearing equipment. Here is an excerpt about a snowblower developed by the Canadian Pacific Railroad to clear the tracks in the Canadian Rockies. I remain awed by the cumulative knowledge of LangaList subscribers. There's no subject too far afield--- some readers, somewhere, are experts in it! <g> Click to email this item to a
friend (Give a gift subscription to
the LangaList Plus edition! The LangaList is published about 72 times a year, or about 6 times a month. See you next issue, 2006-04-17! Best, An easier-to read formatted HTML version is available in the "Current Issue" section of http://langa.com. (The HTML version of each issue normally is available by 9AM EST [UT-5] of the issue date.) All past LangaList issues are also available at the Langa.Com site. UNSUBSCRIBE (instant removal!):
http://langa.com/leave_langalist.htm CHANGE ADDRESS? LIST TROUBLE? HAVE QUESTIONS? OTHER PROBLEM? NEED HELP? See http://langa.com/help.htm This newsletter is SPAM PROOF and requires two levels of subscriber confirmation
before delivery begins: See
http://langa.com/info.htm |
|
|
Please visit the LangaList Home Page |