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LangaList 2005-02-17 Please visit our sponsors and help keep the LangaList S.E. free!
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1) Curing and *Preventing* Laptop OverheatingOur photo-illustrated step-by-step article showing how to
clean dirt and dust from a laptop's cooling system without having to open the
case is generating some good reader mail. (See the article--- it's free!--- at For example:
Right you are. But there are solutions:
That's right--- there are many lapdesks out there, in all price ranges, and some even include their own built-in fans, although that's always seemed like overkill to me. (See http://www.google.com/search?q=lapdesk) Like Buck, I'm still using the "EZ-Lap" desk; a simple, clear plastic $10 lapdesk from Cyberguys (full disclosure: a LangaList advertiser). It has plastic ridges that lift the laptop a small distance off the surface of the lapdesk, so air can circulate freely beneath the laptop. This not only keeps your portable PC cooler, but keeps your thighs from cooking, too! <g> Want a look? Go here http://tinyurl.com/59gs3 and then use the search tool to call up item number 1410367.
There also are software options worth considering. For
example, I use the free
"SpeedFan" utility http://www.almico.com/speedfan.php
on my laptop, which monitors
the temperatures, fan speeds, and voltages. (Not all SpeedFan features work on all systems, but the temperature monitoring--- which
is the most important function--- works on the majority of systems equipped with
thermal sensors.) A tool like this can help you understand your system's thermal
performance; and give you early warning to impending problems in the future.
Click to email this item to a
friend --- ( Your Clicks On Ad Links Help Keep The LangaList S.E. Free! ) --- "Dear Fred, Just wanted to let you know why
I (finally) subscribed to --------------( the above is an advertisement )-------------- 2) Weird CPU Speed Problem W/ SP2
Fortunately, it's not a common issue, but does crop up enough so that the problem has become known; and a number of vendors have posted fixes and workarounds. For example check out this thread: http://langa.com/u/7t.htm My guess is that the fix posted there will probably work for you too. You may find additional info by searching within these
general results: Click to email this item to a
friend 3) Re-sort Favorites, All In One Go
Thanks, Dag; a nice, simple edit. For users unfamiliar with Registry edits, the first few sites in this search will tell you everything you need to know: http://langa.com/u/7q.htm Click to email this item to a
friend 4) New Google Maps BetaThere are many mapping services available--- Yahoo, Expedia, Mapquest, and many others. So you may wonder what anyone could offer that would be new. But Google's done just that. They use the same Navteq data as used by many other mapping services, but with a *much* nicer interface: You can grab the map and scroll within the display window without having to click-to-redraw the whole map; and the look is clean, uncluttered, and easy to assimilate. Plus, searching is a snap: You simply enter the whole address as a search term--- no need to break it into separate fields such as number, street, town, zip, etc. You also can search for some place names, such as "White House," without having to know the address at all. It's not finished yet; there are bugs. For example, in some searches you have to back all the way out to the top level to enter a new search (the default setting seems to be a kind of "search within results," except it's within the displayed area of the map.) Take a look at the output for this rather famous street address: http://langa.com/u/7u.htm Of course, it provides turn-by-turn driving directions, too. Man, those Google people are good! <g> Click to email this item to a
friend 5) Win98's Backup Applet
If the backup applet wasn't installed at setup (and it sounds like it wasn't in your case), go to Start/Settings/Control Panel/Add Remove Programs, and click the "Windows Setup" tab. Scroll down the list and click on "System Tools" and check the "Backup" box. Click OK, and feed in your original setup CD or floppies when asked; the system will then read in and install the backup tool for you. But note that the Win98/ME backup tool is very limited, and is not compatible with XP/2K's backup tool (that tool is actually pretty good). In contrast, the only thing that the Win98 backup tool is better than is: nothing. Lots more info on the backup tools in all versions of Windows, and a number of alternatives: http://langa.com/backups/backups.htm BTW: Win98 was supposed to go out of support a *loooong* time ago, but to their credit, Microsoft has kept much of the support alive; and will continue to do so through June 2007: You can still access Win98 online self-support via http://support.microsoft.com/ph/1139 . Microsoft is hardly a model of corporate magnanimity, but they haven't made any money on Win98 in ages, and are still providing free self-support. That's a good thing, and should help offset at least a small bit of the company's otherwise often well-deserved reputation for rapaciousness. <g> Sometimes, Microsoft really does do the right thing. Click to email this item to a
friend 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.) Click to email this item to a
friend 7) Too-Long Filenames; Too-Deep Folders), they make searching and viewing past LangaLists very simple and quick! I've run into a problem trying to delete a folder tree that was created by a malformed loop in a program. The program created a folder structure with dozens of nested folders with a couple of files stored in the lowest level. I searched your archives and found a lot of good tips for deleting hard to delete files along with a great tool called "delinvfile.exe" ( http://www.purgeie.com/delinv.htm ) which essentially takes all of the tips and consolidates them into an easy to use tool. Unfortunately, none of the methods I found worked, but the information in your archives pointed me to the solution. While I could see all of the folders and files both in Windows Explorer and at the command prompt, trying to delete them just resulted in either a "could not find the file specified" or a "File System Error 1148" error. From your archives I knew that the problem was that the pathname was too long, so I renamed all of the folders using a single character (e.g. from "Data" to simply "a") hoping this would reduce the overall length of the pathname and let me delete the folder tree. It worked! ---Tom Phelan Good tip, Tom, thanks. Generally, filenames can be up to 255 characters long without getting into trouble (things like special characters aside); but the total filename length also includes the "path" to the file (e.g. c:\folder1\folder2\folder3\...), so some very deep folder structures can indeed cause trouble. And sometimes, the filenames themselves are a problem, even in top-level folders: Some web-site shortcuts end up ridiculously long, for example; and some software can likewise be sloppy in naming files. (iTunes had an issue with this, for a while.) If you're having trouble managing a very deeply-buried file, or a file with a very long name, by all means try a shorter name or a shorter path as a simple remedy; and check out http://www.purgeie.com/delinv.htm for additional help. Click to email this item to a
friend 8) Code-Load Success StoryCode-loader Adrian State writes:
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 ) Manually Browse All Posted-to-Date Sites Starting At "Deep Something" Arizona Desert Gardening Guide Real Estate Shareware sharewareoutlet "home business oz" texas realtor Concerned Citizens Of Deptford The Practical Idealist "Really Cheap Software" "Weendoggy's Site" Click to email this item to a
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--------------( the above is an advertisement )------------- 9) Windows Update ReminderWith Microsoft's move to push everyone towards automatic updates, there's less need for me to go into detail about individual releases as they roll out. So, suffice it to say that MS unleashed a raft of new security updates in the last week via Windows Update, and if you haven't yet grabbed 'em, you probably should: They seem worth having. http://www.windowsupdate.com There also have been several MS Office updates dribbled out recently. If you're using MS Office software, that separate update site is worth a look too: http://office.microsoft.com/ Click to email this item to a
friend 10) Just For Grins
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--------------( the above is an advertisement )------------- 11) Plus! Edition Highlights:
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: http://langa.com/plus.htm Click to email this item to a
friend (Give a gift subscription to
the LangaList Plus edition! See you next issue, 2005-02-24! 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!):
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