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The LangaList
Standard Edition

2005-04-07

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) "WormForts" Lockup?

Hi Fred, Keep up the outstanding work -- the only online mag. that I'm happy to pay for!
 
I've developed an interesting problem but can't yet find a solution.
 
Running XP Pro with the NTFS file system, I one day noticed that a .exe file on the desktop (C: drive) could not be deleted.  (With this exception, Windows seems to work just fine.)  
 
When I tried to delete the file, Windows said:
 
"Cannot delete WormsFortsSetup-dm.exe file: It is being used by another person or program.  Close any programs that might be using the file and try again."
 
Of course I was not (knowingly) running this file, so the next step was to try the deletion within Safe Mode -- but with the same results.  Using the SIW tool which you mentioned in the last newsletter I could not find any open file or process by that name (assuming there's no nefarious renaming going on) so my assumption is that it really was not open.
 
This led me to schedule a CHKDSK /F run for after the next reboot, which said it found and fixed some file system errors (unfortunately it apparently did not keep a log showing WHAT errors it fixed, and the info doesn't stay on-screen long enough to read before Windows continues its boot sequence.)
 
Being the careful type (I'm as fanatical about multiple types of backups as you are), I then re-ran CHKDSK from within Windows which still found problems, so I rescheduled another CHKDSK run at reboot.  I went through this process 3 times with similar results.
 
My major question, of course, is if you know about tools that are more robust than CHKDSK that have a better chance of fully fixing this NTFS file system?
 
But this is also a good opportunity to comment on "backups."  I daily do Acronis TrueImage incremental image backups to a separate hard disk, as well as an incremental file-based backup to another disk using Retrospect (which also backups all system info and so can restore a fully bootable and runable replacement disk).  And if you don't come up with a tool that successful in resolving the file system error, I'm going to be very glad that I use these two separate methods....
 
Hopefully you'll make this task unnecessary, but if I end up restoring, the concept of using two completely technologically different backups will prove its worth.
 
Sincerely, Jeffrey R. Harrow, "The Harrow Technology Report" http://www.TheHarrowGroup.com

My guess is that it's a failed install of the Worms Forts game.
http://www.google.com/search?hl=en&lr=&q=WormsFortsSetup 

I don't know the game; I found it by a search for the filename you mentioned. Google can help with all manner of strange error messages that way: Just search for unique or unusual numbers, phrases, words (and "wormforts" surely qualifies as that!), etc., in the error message, and odds are, you'll find that others have posted info about the same thing, often, with a solution to the problem.

In this specific case, because it's "WormsFortsSetup-dm.exe" that's in use, it appears that the game started to setup/install, but never completed. There may be another piece of the setup in a Temp file or in some setting that's trying to complete the install at every boot, leading to the "in use" condition.

Booting to the Recovery Console (not Safe Mode) might let you delete both the offending exe file and also to clean out the temp areas or any other pieces of the setup that may be in play. The Recovery Console starts with even fewer parts of Windows active than Safe Mode; Recovery Console  lets you get "deeper" into the system because the absolute minimum number of files are in use. (More info: http://langa.com/newsletters/2002/2002-04-18.htm#6 and  http://langa.com/u/8o.htm )

That might be all you need right there, but if not, the setup file may also be referenced in a startup or ini-type file or Registry setting; you may need to dig to find these. Fortunately "worms" and "fort" give you two pretty good search terms to work with. <g>.

My guess is a few minutes in the Recovery Console will get it done... and that you'll then find there's nothing wrong with your disk; or that it's just a "soft" error that Chkdsk will then be able to fix. (You can run that from within the Recovery Console, too.)

But if there's actual disk damage, Gibson's excellent "Spinrite" ( http://www.grc.com/sr/spinrite.htm ) can try to fix disks with "hard" errors that Chkdsk and similar tools can't repair. Spinrite is necessarily sloooooow on large disks, though; plan on an overnight run if you go this route.

Good luck!

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newsletter is great! I have recommended it to a few of my less computer
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issue. Please keep up the good work. --- Tom Sobieski"

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2) Malware Via The Back Door

Although scandisk and defrag problems are common in Win98, it was the last part of this note that made me go "Hmmmm." It highlights an issue that can extend to *all* versions of Windows:

Having a terrible time defragging one drive out of 6. Others scandisk and defrag just fine.  Only C drive won't. I do it is safe mode, nothing running, no screen saver, no background,  nada.. Windows says it can't scandisk because something is running still. Control-alt-del brings up nothing but explorer and the scandisk program. Any one having problems like this.  It worked just fine the last time.  Virus checker AVG says everything is okay. no worms, no virus, no trojans. ---JR

AVG is a fine tool; I use it myself (paid version) on one of my systems here. But antivirus tools are not do-all things; they're optimized towards one class of malware. Unfortunately, there are several different classes of malware, which means you must, *must*, have more than one kind of security tool in place to be safe.

Example: I recently worked on a system for a friend who complained it was running very slowly and that it froze up from time to time. He also couldn't run defrag or scandisk. He was, however, running a well-known antivirus tool, so he figured that security issues weren't the problem.

But I found 509 potential malware items on his system, and four active infections. (He also hadn't installed the last 22 "critical updates," but that's another story.) The active infections were what was blocking his defrags and scandisks; they, and who knows what else of the malware, were also what was causing his system to bog down. Bad stuff was trying to launch, phone home, etc., all the time; his system was like a three-ring malware circus, despite his use of a respected antivirus tool: the malware had simply done an end-run around that tool.

So, before anything else, and for all versions of Windows, make sure you have one of each of the major types of security tools installed and running. You can get free versions of everything you need--- there's no excuse to run unprotected! <g> See the recommended-software list in the answer posted here: http://langa.com/newsletters/2005/2005-03-17.htm#2

Once that's done and you know the system is truly clean (not just one tool reporting it clean), you can deal with the Win98 scandisk/defrag issues. See:

http://langa.com/newsletters/2004/2004-11-22.htm#9
http://langa.com/newsletters/2002/2002-09-05.htm#3
http://www.google.com/search?q=can't+scandisk
http://www.google.com/search?q=can't+defrag

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3) Bad To Clean "Prefetch?"

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4) Unhappy With Email Host

I have been using GoDaddy as my email box host/provider.  Since last September, I have had lots of trouble with GoDaddy rejecting many email addresses of people trying to send me messages - ones that I have received mail from for a long time, that is not Spam, that I listed as Whitelist. With more than one email address.  These email messages have been getting through on my yahoo.com address just fine.  Only my email address with GoDaddy.  They have been very very difficult to work with.  They require constant messages from me and irate phone calls before they do anything to release these addresses as not-Spam.  Now, they do not even respond at all and do nothing and make no changes no matter how many times I email them or call them.   Many of these email messages are very important for billings and for work.  I cannot continue with a provider that refuses to work with me.  I am very disappointed because they were great the first year or two. I am now at a loss as to where to look for a new provider.  Do you have any suggestions?  Who is dependable, reliable, reasonable?  I really need to make a change soon.  Thank you so much.  As a Plus! Subscriber, I have learned a lot of tricks and preventatives. ---Connie S. Linhart

I have no first-hand knowledge of GoDaddy. But my own mail (and the Langa.Com) comes via http://TRKhosting.Com (see http://langa.com/newsletters/2005/2005-01-27.htm#3 ). Like most web hosts, TRK offers email as part of the basic hosting plan; there's no need to buy email services separately.

There also are many, many other web hosts; sites like these try to rate them:
http://reviews.cnet.com/Web_hosting/2001-6540_7-0.html?tag=cnetfd.dir
http://www.webhostinginspector.com/index.php
http://www.thehostingchart.com/
http://www.ratemyhost.com/
http://www.webhostdir.com/spotlight/unix.asp
http://www.top10webhosting.com/

The trouble with those is you can't be completely sure exactly who's doing the rating, and whether or not it's really an unbiased list.

But either way--- via a recommendation from me or someone else you know, or from a third-party rating resource--- you can find literally thousands of web hosting options that include email as part of the basic package. There's no need to put up with poor service: If you're unhappy with your web or email host, just take your business elsewhere.

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5) "Awesome" Encryption

Fred, For an awesome encryption/decryption check out MySecret, it requires no installation, is small enough to fit on a floppy disk and good luck to breaking the Blowfish algorithm. The basic version is free, the creators recently created a GUI shareware version. The basic version is easy to use; I use it mainly for Excel, without any loss of formatting. Check it out at
http://www.di-mgt.com.au/cryptoMySecret.html . ---Derrick

Thanks, Derrick!

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6) Three More Winners!

"Paulusmc" "michaeldbland" and "keckman77" each won a FREE full one-year subscription to the LangaList Plus! edition by using the "Recommend To A Friend" form at http://langa.com/recommend.htm .

You see, each month I choose three winners of a new FREE ONE YEAR SUBSCRIPTION to the LangaList Plus! edition. (Existing Plus! subscribers get their current subscription extended by a full year.) To have a shot at winning, just use the following link to recommend the LangaList to a friend. Your friend just may find a new source of useful information; I just may gain a new subscriber; and you just may win! (Full details also available via this link): http://langa.com/recommend.htm

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7) Feel The Burn

Dear Fred, A while back in one of your articles about cooling you gave a site that would allow me to run my computer at some sort of max so I could find out how effective my cooling system is. This is a fairly modern computer with all the features you can connect to an Intel D865PERL motherboard so I'm able to see the operating temperature. I was horsing around when I assembled the computer and loaded it with fans. It would run at about 87F/31C. However, the noise simulated a 747 taking off so I've been disconnecting fans. The loudest was the tray type fan for the hard drive.

I'm relegating the computer for use as a back up with a separate TV Tuner such as a Viewsonic or Avermedia. The ATI 9600 Graphics card with remote has been hopeless. It seems I'm not the only one who thinks so as the Seattle Times had an article in their technology section in which they stated that most people seem to be unhappy with the use of their computers as a media center. However, I'll still run the computer to the TV tuner so I can keep the computer as a backup.

Anyway, I've digressed. How can I find something on line that will cause the computer to make all sorts of complex calculations so I can watch the temperature gauge? Thanks. Gary Bloomquist.

I've used "Burnmax" ( http://www.benchmarkhq.ru/english.html?/be_cpu.html ), a little free tool that eats 100% of a CPU's cycles for as long as you specify. generally, running a PC for 20-30 minutes at full power will give you "worst case" results--- after that amount of time, the temperatures usually will have stabilized as high as they're going to go.

You also can use just about any compression tool: Give a tool like WinZip several GB of data to squeeze, at maximum compression, and you'll spike the CPU to 100% use for at least a while. <g> 

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8) They Just Keep Coming And Coming...

Well over three thousand of your fellow readers have "Loaded the code." Please click over to http://langa.com/code.htm , and maybe you can join them! (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

Mysteryware
http://www.mysteryware.com/

paylessbooksandcds
http://www.paylessbooksandcds.com/

Tadej's homepage
http://users.volja.net/tayiper/

sf adult daycare
http://groups.msn.com/SFAdultdaycare

giveawaynetworkguide
http://www.giveawaynetworkguide.tk/

From the desk of Synquest...
http://propellerhat.us/

Fine Art Shack
http://www.fineartshack.com/links8.shtml

Genealogie familie Waterreus
http://home.wanadoo.nl/jjw/

Rare, Used and Out-of-Print Books
http://bookjourneys.com/

Kinrara - Bed and Breakfast
http://www.kinrara-bedandbreakfast.co.uk/

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9) "Forced" XP Upgrades Next Week?

Hi Fred, Not to have you second guess other pundits opinions, but this person alleges that on April 12th, Microsoft will "force feed" all XP SP1 users who have not migrated to SP2 to receive SP2,  if it was blocked using some "existing blocking software."

Are you aware if this is actually possible? ---Bob

Yes, they can do that, sort of, but there's nothing new going on, and it's nowhere near as bad as some would have you believe. The plan, which has been in the works for a long time, is posted here: http://langa.com/u/8p.htm

Here's what's going on: Microsoft has been pilloried for years for producing software riddled with security flaws, to the detriment of the entire online world. Microsoft eventually corrects its software's flaws in service packs and updates. But if people don't install the service packs and updates, then the flaws persist, the entire online world suffers, and Microsoft remains the bad guy because its software is still causing problems.

So, Microsoft is trying to nudge its customers to install the necessary service packs and updates. But then they're pilloried as the Big Bad Bully who's making people do things they don't want to....

It's not easy to feel sympathy for Microsoft, but I actually do in this case: They can't win, either way.

That said, Microsoft still won't "force" anyone to upgrade on or after April 12th: If you don't want the SP2 upgrade, just don't go to WindowsUpdate, and don't let your PC update automatically.

Of course, by avoiding WindowsUpdate, you also won't get any other patches and updates; and that's the "carrot" that MS can offer: If you want to stay with XP SP1, that's fine, but you're on your own. If you want access to any of the WindowsUpdate services with XP, you'll have to upgrade to SP2. It's your choice.

It seems a reasonable position to me. You don't *have* to upgrade--- but it'd be smart to do so. SP2 is actually pretty good, and does fix many security problems. See our past coverage of SP2 at http://langa.com/u/8m.htm

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10) Just For Grins

Fred: thought this might be a good one: 
http://www.backuptrauma.com/video/default2.aspx  ---John

Wow, ex-Python John Cleese in one of the most elaborate web-ads ever!

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11) Plus! Edition Highlights:

• Definitive Word On ESD?
    (aerospace manager writes of "electrostatic discharge" in PCs)
• Free "Data Execution Prevention"
    (extra, free protection for XP users)
• More On PNGs, GIFs, and Patents
    (a tangled bit of tech history, unraveled)

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

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

See you next issue, 2005-04-11!

Best,

Fred
( Editor@Langa.Com )

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