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The LangaList
Standard Edition

2003-10-13

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) Cleaning Up Digital Dust Bunnies

Hi Fred, I've been on the LangaList since 1999 (in computer years, that's a long time) and I'm always amazed at the wealth of information that you and your readers pass along.

My home computer (HP Pavilion 6350 c/w AMD K62 3Dnow, 333mhz, Windows 98) cannot support an OS upgrade without taking a huge hit in performance. My quest is to strip the OS of all the unnecessary junk (ie themes, Help avi's, Outlook Express, IE, etc) right down to the bare necessities.

Can you please suggest how to do this, or recommend a website to help me? I plan to give this computer to my kids when I upgrade to something new. Much thanks, Fred. ---cmcp

A PC that's been in service a long time probably has accumulated a ton of superfluous, um, stuff. Even with regular and rigorous computer housekeeping, binary bloat and digital dust bunnies can creep in. They can be very hard to remove, especially in older versions of Windows, like Win98.

So, to pare things "right down to the bare necessities" on a PC that's been in use for many years, your simplest and best bet is probably to wipe out the old installation and start over fresh, selecting a "custom" or "minimal" install when you're given the choice at startup. I personally prefer the "custom" option because it makes fewer assumptions, and lets you choose exactly what you do and don't want included in the setup.

Another factor in favor of a clean start: Win98 is far from perfect in uninstalling things, so trying to pare back an existing setup runs the risk of introducing new instabilities from an incomplete or otherwise munged uninstall. A fresh start avoids this.

There's also the possibility of some personal data (passwords, sites visited, etc.) remaining behind on the PC, too, if all you do is try to clean up the old setup. A fresh install (starting with a reformat) helps ensure that nothing's left over from your use of the machine, preserving your privacy and also giving the new users a truly clean start.

And finally, although you don't mention it, I'll bet that your PC has developed a few quirks or odd behaviors over the years that you've perhaps learned to work around. (It's extremely common, especially with older hardware and software, like Win98.) A fresh start will let you get everything working perfectly again, so the new users won't be saddled with old problems right from the start.

So: I'd suggest you back up your data, make a boot disk to let you reformat the hard drive, and then reinstall Win98 using the "minimal" or "custom" option. Then, you can treat the system as if it were new, and get it set up as best it can be:

Backups:
http://www.langa.com/backups/backups.htm

Win98 Boot Disks:
http://content.techweb.com/winmag/columns/explorer/1999/1025.htm

Setting up a Win98 System:
http://content.techweb.com/winmag/columns/explorer/1999/0831.htm

Perfecting A Win98 System:
http://content.techweb.com/winmag/windows/features/98runbetter/default.htm

If you don't want to do a full reformat, you can try this no-reformat option for reinstalling Windows98 cleanly:
http://content.techweb.com/winmag/library/1997/0301/analy026.htm

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2) Free Courses From MIT, Online!

Hi Fred, This is the best thing that has happened in the web in years! Pass it on. http://ocw.mit.edu/index.html  ---Bill

Wow, that is *very* cool! MIT--- one of the premier tech schools in the world--- is publishing its course materials, for free, online: they call it "OpenCourseWare" (OCW) and there are currently 500 courses in over 30 fields of study. ( http://ocw.mit.edu/OcwWeb/Global/all-courses.htm )

The site itself explains what's going on:

Welcome to MIT's OpenCourseWare:
a free and open educational resource for faculty, students, and self-learners around the world. OCW supports MIT's mission to advance knowledge and education, and serve the world in the 21st century. It is true to MIT's values of excellence, innovation, and leadership.

MIT OCW's goals are to:
Provide free, searchable, access to MIT's course materials for educators, students, and self-learners around the world.
Create an efficient, standards-based model that other institutions may emulate to openly share and publish their own course materials.

MIT OCW:
Is a publication of MIT course materials
Does not require any registration
Is not a degree-granting or certificate-granting activity
Does not provide access to MIT faculty

In other words, all the course material is there for your self-study and intellectual enrichment; but you don't get formal academic credit for your work, nor can you get personal help or coaching from the instructors.

For adult-learners and others who don't need a diploma at the end of the process (the simple gaining of knowledge is a worthy goal in itself), MIT's OCW might be great: Work at your own time and pace, as deeply or shallowly as you desire.

Nice find, Bill!

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3) Open Office And File Associations

Every time we discuss a tool designed to act on a whole range of file types, I get mail from readers for whom this is a problem: It can happen with graphics and image editing suites, streaming video tools, audio tools, HTML editing tools---- and office suites.

For example, if you install almost any graphics program, it will want to take over all your graphics file types. If you install a new browser, it will want to take over all your web-related file types, etc. This is normal behavior--- the software assumes you're installing it to do the job for which it's intended.

Likewise, if you install almost ANY office suite, it will want to take over office-type file extensions. Again, the software assumes that because you are installing it, you want it to be your office suite and to do all the normal things that office suites do.

But most of these tools offer a way to preserve all or some existing file associations, if you want to. With simpler tools, like browsers, you may automatically get a dialog that says something like "Do you want [name of tool] to be your default browser?" With more complex tools, where the choices may affect dozens or even hundreds of file types, there's usually a "custom" or "advanced" install option that lets you tell the software which files it can take over and which it should leave alone. But once you say "yes" to any of these changes, with any of these tools, it can be a hassle to try to go back.

The Open Office documentation even warns you on the very first page (see http://www.openoffice.org/dev_docs/instructions.html ): "Depending on your install set you may be asked if you want OpenOffice to be your default Office suite. If you answer 'yes' and then change your mind, returning to the prior state is tedious. You need to reassociate all Office files."

That's the step that's been a problem for some readers: They installed OpenOffice alongside another office suite, but let OO take over. Then, they discovered that their old office suite no longer was the default for opening their previously-created office-type files; they felt forced to use OO, and became unhappy. Yikes!

Open Office does offer several ways to make it easier to assign or reassign several major file types, and these are covered in the installation guide. For example, as suggested above, there's a basic dialog that normally appears if OO detects that MS-Office file types are already in use; you can say which of several broad file types you want OO to "own."

You also can re-run the main Setup at any time, and select "Modify" to alter these assignments later. You also can change file types in a case-by-case basis, using Import/Export or Save As... to put files recognized by one suite into a format preferred by another.

(As an aside: I tend to use RTF for all my standard word processing documents created in any office suite or word processor, because RTF is compact, avoids a number of security issues common to the DOC file type, and is essentially universal. With RTF, it doesn't matter what office suite I use because they all can work with that file type. See http://www.langa.com/newsletters/2001/2001-06-11.htm#2  )

But getting back to suites: All office suites, by design, want to "own" many, many file types; and even a custom install of most any suite may still affect many file associations. And, of course, if you say "yes" when the software asks if you *want* it to take over everything, then it will do just that. Trying to back out of these changes--- whether it's Microsoft Office, Open Office, or any other suite--- can be a hassle.

But it can be done. You may be able to re-associate file types simply by re-running the setup of whichever tool you want to revert to. For example, if you have MS Office, and then install and let OO take over your Office files, but then decide against it; you can UNinstall OO and then REinstall MS Office. The latter should then take back any file types that got assigned to OO. (Note than many suites also offer a "Repair" or "Modify" Setup option that may help, too.)

There's more you can do, too, and we've actually covered this in some detail before--- ironically, the last time we had a major discussion of Open Office! One or more of the following may be of interest:

For more info on backing out of changes cause by testing ANY software, see "Open Office, And Software Testing In General" ( http://www.langa.com/newsletters/2002/2002-06-03.htm#4 ) That article tells you how you can safely test any software at all, no matter how complex, without risk to your system or data.

Another article, "More On Open Office And File Associations" in http://www.langa.com/newsletters/2002/2002-06-10.htm#5 covered some alternate methods on undoing changes caused by installing complex software, including ways to change file associations one at a time.

And while the above mostly deals with complex suites of software, "Another Way To Revert To An Old Version" in http://www.langa.com/newsletters/2002/2002-06-03.htm#5 covers simpler, non-suite reversions.

But please note that none of these file-association issues is unique to Open Office: Almost all major suites of software behave exactly the same way--- especially if you answer "yes" when they ask if you want then to take over.

And this, in turn, points out why it's always, always, always a good idea to choose the "custom" or "advanced" setup when installing any software. It's easy: Just click the appropriate button, and follow the on-screen prompts to walk through all the setup/install choices that are available. Even if you end up accepting all the default settings, at least you'll know what those settings are, and what's going on. More importantly, if you see something in the new setup that's going to interfere with software you already have installed, you can bail out or alter the options before any harm is done. (See "Always Check The Custom Install Options" in http://www.langa.com/newsletters/2002/2002-02-28.htm#7 )

Testing new software can be great--- as long as you're careful!

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4) Another "Search" Alternative (Not Just For XP)

Hi Fred. As always, many thanks for your informative and supportive site.

I've noticed that others have commented on Windows XP's somewhat unpredictable (and often feeble) Search function [see http://www.langa.com/newsletters/2003/2003-10-02.htm#3 ]. A great alternative is to download the free PowerDesk 5 Express utility from http://www.v-com.com  and just use its Filefinder program. (Of course, Powerdesk is a solid Explorer replacement, too.) I did a test using a string of characters that appear in a bunch of file names on my system. Windows found 9 instances; Filefinder found 19.

I know there are supposed to be some tricks to using XP's Search function to better effect. But frankly, it seems silly to have to jump through hoops to do something that previous versions of Windows did just fine.

Regards from British Columbia, Canada.--- Jonathan Bocknek

Thanks, Jonathan.

PowerDesk 5 Express runs on all Windows from 95B onward, and is located on the "download" page at http://www.v-com.com/download/index.html ; there are other utilities there too, some free, others free but time limited. (PowerDesk 5 Express is just plain free.) Check 'em out!

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5) Free Boot CD Alternatives (1/2)

Our recent coverage of various bootable CD options ( http://www.google.com/search?as_q=boot+cd&as_sitesearch=langa.com ) is still generating reader replies from all over the world, like this and the next item:

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6) Free Boot CD Alternatives (2/2)

Fred, From some months, since I discovered your "incomparable" List, I'm reading every issue you bring us and expecting the new one.

I don't know if I missed it or you published about it before I started to receive your Newsletters, but in the issue of "Boot CD" I reached a fantastic site

http://www.bootscriptor.org/

Thank for your work, Herman Weksler, from Brasil

Boot Scriptor is a little different from other boot tools we've covered. Rather than being a self-contained, ready-to-run thing, it's a tool that lets you create an interactive boot process so you can pick and choose exactly how your system boots (from hard drive or CD/DVD) and exactly what loads:

Boot Scriptor is a program that allows a high degree of interactivity when booting from a Compact Disc or DVD drive. It provides a set of commands designed to enable users to boot a system in a number of ways, as well as provide interactive menus to choose boot options from. It is based heavily on concepts pioneered by Bart Lagerweij in his great program Diskem1x. Boot Scriptor provides similar functionality to Diskem1x, as well as new original features, and interfaces to other great programs such as Isolinux/Memdisk and Ranish Partition Manager. All of these features can be commanded through a console interface or by constructing simple script files.

Boot Scriptor is free for non-commercial use, and the site (above) lists the full capabilities of the tool. It's not for newbies, but could be great for intermediate and advanced users wanting to create a custom boot tool or process that does exactly what they want--- no more, no less.

Thanks, Herman!

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7) Don't Make Me Beg! :-)

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

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8) More Reader Sites!

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 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://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 From Among All Listed
http://www.langa.com/randomlink.htm

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

The File Extension Source
http://filext.com/

2DGraphics
http://www.2dgraphics.biz/

The photography of Steve Taylor
http://www.sparkmeister.com/

Church Page
http://flemingchurchofgod.org/flemingchurchofgod/

Cain pages
http://www.blcain.com/

Clock Service
http://www.alltimeclockservice.com/

The Lopsided Poopdeck
http://radio.weblogs.com/0127719/

SashaSoft
http://www.sashasoft.com/index.htm

foofoobunnies
http://www.foofoobunnies.com/

PcKiller's PC Game & Hardware Reviews
http://pckiller.net/phpnuke/index.php

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9) Simple Layout, Deep Help

Fred, I was looking for help with an Outlook Express problem when I found the answer in this site: http://www.springfieldtech.com/Support/

When I browsed around in all the other listings there and saw the wealth of knowledge available, I wondered if you had ever seen it.  ---Tom Crabtree

Another good find! The site is graphically very simple but rich in content, especially for common, older software. It's divided into these major sections:

Programs and Shareware to Download
All of our Windows Error Messages
Drivers for our Systems (and others)
Create your own boot disk
Quick help
Windows 95 Help
Windows 98 Help
Windows NT Help
IE 4.x Help
IE 5 Help
MS Office Help
MS Office 2000 Help
Hardware Trouble Shooting
Boot Problem Trouble Shooting
Our How do I Help Section

Lots of good stuff there. Thanks, Tom!

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10) Just For Grins

Arr! Many of you shared your "Pirate Names" with me, and what a fine lot of scurvy dogs you all are! (See http://www.langa.com/newsletters/2003/2003-10-09.htm#10 )

But this reader wanted to share something else:

Fred: Great 'List, as always! I always look forward to the Wednesday evening e-mail, as well as the Sunday e-mail (I'm 3 hours behind you, so I get my LangaList around 9 pm Pacific Time).

Loved the "What's Your Pirate Name" link in the Just For Grins section of the 10/9 LangaList, which put me in mind of this website that, I hope, is worth at least a look:

http://www.tk421.net/character/

Keep up the great work, as always! ---Doug Graham

Thanks, Doug. That site also features a personality test, but is supposed to answer the question: "Which Fantasy/SciFi Character Are You?"

"To take the test, select an answer for each of the questions... then click Score Results. There are no right or wrong answers, merely virtues and traits you most adhere to. You will then be matched with the fantasy or science fiction character that you have the most in common with."

I took the test. Supposedly, I most closely match Jean-Luc Picard from Star Trek. Hmmm.

Beam me up... please!

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11) Plus! Edition Highlights:

• LangaList Complete Archives Updated!

• How To Update Your Current Copy Of The Archives...

• Or Get A Full, Fresh Copy Of The Archives...

• Alternate Way To Get A Full Copy Of The Archives

All the LangaLists ever published (from 1997 through 2003-09-29) are now available for you right at your fingertips, packaged as a space-saving highly-compressed Windows Help File that can be self-searched using the Windows Help Engine's standard (and familiar) interface. No more going online for partial searches of the LangaList's past content: Instead, with the Archives right on your hard drive, it'll take only seconds to find whatever you're looking for, no matter how long ago it was published in any version of  the LangaList!

And again, unlike the online search tools at Langa.Com, the Helpfile Archives contains both the standard and Plus content--- everything--- all in one place!

These archives are available FREE to Plus! edition subscribers, and are updated every 90 days or so--- just one of the many benefits of subscribing.

It's not too late to get your own copy of the archives. And it costs only pennies per issue to join! Sign up today! http://www.langa.com/plus.htm

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(Want to 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!

Warp nine. Engage!

Fred
( Editor@Langa.Com )

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

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This newsletter is a service of Langa Consulting LLC and is Copyright © 2003 Fred Langa / Langa Consulting LLC. All worldwide rights reserved. LangaList: ISSN 1533-1156

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