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Still *Another*
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2006-10-09
A Free Email Newsletter
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1) Still *More* Extra
Content!
Yes, it's yet another longer-than-usual expanded issue, as Mike
and I work to
backfill some of the content we couldn't send you while I was unavoidably
offline. (More info:
http://langa.com/newsletters/2006/2006-09-18.htm#1 and
http://langa.com/newsletters/2006/2006-09-21.htm#1 )
And don't forget the new daily Langa Blog (
http://langa.com/blog ) and RSS feed (
http://langa.com/blog/rss.xml ). If
you don't
know how to use these content-delivery technologies, see:
http://langa.com/newsletters/2006/2006-09-21.htm#6
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2) Mo' Betta Linuxes
Fred,
Noticed the discussion of Ubuntu in your newsletter (
http://langa.com/newsletters/2006/2006-09-28.htm#3 ). Thought I would
share my experiences with Linux. I have been shopping for a Linux
implementation that could be used by a computer layman. Many are usable
right off the boot/install live cd. My favorites used to be Knoppix and
Kanotix. However; the big hangup is installation of additional software. As
you know lots is available but after downloading you need to be a linux
terminal whiz to just find where you downloaded the software, then use the
correct commands (which you must scour the internet to find) to extract,
compile and then run the installation script. This is a nightmare for me,
and I started computers with HDOS and CPM working exclusively from the
command line.
So, I have found two promising versions of Linux which take care of the
installation of new programs and in one case keeping the OS up to date. Both
have live cds from which you can install the operating system.
Right now I have PCLinuxOS (
http://www.pclinuxos.com )
running on an Athlon 2gHz
processor system with 512mb ram and a 10gb hdd, connected to the internet
through a switch connected to my DSL router (This is a dedicated Linux
machine, not my primary PC). PCLinuxOS uses Synaptic Software to keep the OS
updated and to download and install new software. Just pick your software
from the list displayed and hit "apply". Bingo, it is downloaded and
installed! Granted, you are limited to the packages they have listed, but no
terminal wizard required!
Freespire (
http://freespire.org )
is the free version of Linspire which
promises the same simple installation through their CNR (click 'n run)
client. I did install it on the same machine where PCLinuxOS is now running,
but could not get the CNR to work at all. Granted it was the first version
of Freespire released. Maybe they have gotten some of the bugs out now.
Have fun experimenting!
Gordon Golden, longtime Plus subscriber
Thanks, Gordon! The Linux distros just get better and better,
don't they?
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3) Free Process Explorer Improved!
Hi Fred - In the
LangaList you mention how to find out what svchost is running. I have found a
program from Sysinternals ( http://www.sysinternals.com/ ),Process Explorer to
be very useful to determine ALL things that are running at any given timer in a
graphical and iconical format. CPU percentages, a description and the company
[usually] that is behind the process.
Process Explorer v10.2 is the name of the actual program. Under the 'Utilities:
Processes & Threads' tab on the left there are a number of tools. In my w2k
machines it has been invaluable to determine unneeded programs that are running
in the background. Or when the CPU is peaking at 100%, determining what may be
the cause. Side note: I use Winbar ( http://www.winbar.nl/ ) to track a number of
variables on the machine. I have it at the top of the screen. I used the search
function on langa.com and you have written about sysinternals and process
explorer in the past - but it may bear re-mentioning, as the last 2 issues of
LangaList have discussed Svchost.
Even though MS provides some limited tools - I always like 3rd party stuff, even
better if it is Freeware. Anyway my $.02 worth. ---Marc Aasland
Thanks, Marc!
Sysinternals' free Process Explorer (
http://www.sysinternals.com/utilities/processexplorer.html ) is in fact an
extremely useful utility, one covered briefly in previous LangaList issues:
http://langa.com/newsletters/2005/2005-06-13.htm#2
http://langa.com/newsletters/2006/2006-03-30.htm#9
Since the most recent LangaList mention, however, Microsoft acquired
Sysinternals, and the company shipped a new version (v10.2, which you mentioned
in your note), which adds additional support for Windows Vista. The acquisition
by Microsoft doesn't appear to have affected the look, feel or functioning of
the Sysinternals Web site or utilities, nor does it appear to have altered
Windows itself (no sign yet of any Sysinternals utilities being bundled with
Windows, for example).
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4) MFT Needs Its Space
Fred: I run Diskeeper 10 to defrag my hard
disks and upon completion get the following message: "Due to the high MFT usage,
it is recommended that you expand the MFT on this volume. Use the Frag Shield
option in the Diskeeper configuration properties to configure this volume to a
larger size." I've read a few items about changing the MFT and quite frankly it
scares me to make changes. Have you had any experience or reports about using
the Diskeeper option to modify the MFT? Thanks. ---Bob
The Master File Table (MFT) is a database where file
and folder metadata--- information on size, time and date stamps, permissions
and so on--- is maintained on NTFS-formatted drives. Every single file on your
system has at least one entry. The more files and folders you add to your drive,
the larger your MFT becomes. When you delete files, space is made available for
re-use in the MFT, but the MFT itself never shrinks.
Because a fragmented MFT is slower than an unfragmented one, some percentage of
the drive (12.5% by default) is reserved for the MFT to avoid fragmentation.
Each volume of an NTFS drive has two separate areas: a space set aside for the
MFT (as well as very small files) and another space for all other files and
folders.
If the MFT fills up its own space, the file system will grab more of the
"regular" space and assign it to the MFT. Because it's very unlikely that
adjacent space is available, randomly located space will be used for the
spill-over MFT, while some part of the MFT remains in the originally allotted
space. In other words, the MFT will be divided into more than one piece--- it
will be fragmented--- and your system's disk access will become slower.
If, on the other hand, the "regular" space fills up with data and applications,
the file system will start writing files to the MFT area. As the MFT grows over
time, it will have to position itself around these "regular" files---
and the result again is that it fragments itself.
Note that a fragmented drive also increases the size of the MFT because a drive
in that condition needs additional records to keep track of all those file
fragments--- a kind of software feedback loop, with more disk space consumed at
each turn.
You can see how MFT size, MFT space size, and defragmentation of both the MFT
and the disk in general are all connected--- and all affect disk performance. If
you want maximum performance, you'll want everything defragmented--- including
the MFT--- and that requires plenty of elbow room in both parts of the disk.
Making space for--- and defragmenting --- your MFT and your hard disk are highly
desirable and recommended.
Any utility that messes around with the MFT while Windows is running would
likely cause serious problems. That's the benefit of utilities like Diskeeper.
Version 10 features a boot-time utility that safely defragments the MFT and
paging file (a.k.a. "swap file").
Diskeeper 10 has a tool for configuring the MFT that gives you the option of
preemptively increasing the size of the MFT space (note that once you've
increased the size, you can't decrease it without reformatting). It also uses a
variety of metrics (including available disk space) to estimate a good MFT space
size.
Are there risks associated with defragmenting your MFT and increasing MFT space?
There is always at least a small chance that something could go wrong whenever
you make changes to system files. But the risk of not doing anything about
fragmentation is probably higher. And, as always, you should give yourself
insurance in the form of quality backups.
Here's a bonus tip for optimizing the MFT: Never "convert" a drive full of files
from FAT to NTFS. When you do this, the MFT will almost certainly be placed at
some random location on the disk, and possibly in a fragmented state. It's
better to reformat the drive using NTFS, because the reformatting process assure
the MFT will be placed by default on the faster part of the drive. Once it's
formatted, you can copy the files to drive, and you'll end up with minimal
initial fragmentation.
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5) More Re: Virtually Running Vista
Our recent piece on running Vista inside Microsoft
Virtual PC (VPC) ("Virtual PC Virtually Doesn't Work With Vista"
http://langa.com/newsletters/2006/2006-10-05.htm#5 ) generated some
useful--- and unexpected--- information from readers about running Vista in
virtual environments.
For example, we wrote that "Some users try to install VPC with Windows XP Home
Edition, which is incompatible. To run VPC, you'll need Windows XP Pro or 2000
Pro." But one reader ignored warnings that VPC doesn't support XP Home,
installed the software and is now running Vista just fine.
Hi Fred, Just wanted to let you know
that I am running Vista in Virtual PC 2004 installed in Windows XP Home Edition
(SP2) and it works quite well, except for the fact that there is no sound. I'm
sure you know that Virtual PC 2004 uses a virtualized Sound Blaster 16 ISA card,
which Vista does not support. The lack of sound with Vista running in VPC 2004
is well known and there is no solution as far as I know.
I have tested both Vista RC1 (build 5600) and the later build 5728. Both were
unacceptably slow until I installed the Virtual Machine Additions for Vista Beta
2. After installing the Beta 2 additions, Vista runs very well within VPC.
When you first install Virtual PC 2004 on XP Home, a warning message informs you
that Home Edition is not supported, but allows you to go ahead with the install.
As mentioned it works just fine for me. Regards, ---Dave Anderson
Another is running Vista in VMware's Virtual Server.
Hi Fred / Mike, Glad to see you're back,
excellent mag. I've been a MS VPC user for few years now but have now moved over
to VMware's free Virtual Server (
http://www.vmware.com/products/server/ ) which, despite the name, can work
as stand-a-lone virtual PC. I've found it faster the MS's, has imported all my
MS VPC "computers" and, best of all, run Vista. ---Dennis
And yet another points out one reason why VMWare
isn't for everyone.
VMWare doesn't support SATA drives at all.
People should know these things, they are both show-stoppers for me. ---Doug
Thanks to all who wrote in!
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subscribed to the plus edition with a few reservations. After a few
weeks however, I think it would be cheap at twice the price. The Plus!
newsletter is great! I have recommended it to a few of my less computer
literate friends and they have told me that they are learning things at
a prodigious rate. I find your hints and links invaluable and await each
issue. Please keep up the good work.--- Tom Sobieski"
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6) Covering Your LCD Assets
Fred: My long-serving CRT monitor
recently got tired, so I got a nice big LCD monitor on sale at Staples. It's
great. But reading its literature, I got nervous about all the warnings about
the fragility of the LCD display and that impact damage is not covered by its
warranty. That made me search catalogs and on-line for protective screens--- and
I was shocked at their cost, over $100, more than half of the cost of the
monitor itself ! But I found a great and reasonably-priced alternative: 1/8"
thick clear Lucite Acrylic Plastic. A local plastics store's scrap bin contained
several pieces that were just a little bigger than what I needed (16 3/4" x 13
1/4"). Including cutting it to size, it set me back just $3.00 It was easy to
attach to the monitor with a few little pieces of Duct Tape, and it provides
complete protection for the screen. If there's no Plastics Store locally (check
the Yellow Pages), try your local hardware store. Many sell the same thing, cut
to size, for storm doors etc. ---Eric
Great idea, Eric. Your idea sounds like a perfectly
reasonable and inexpensive way to cover your asset. ; )
Mobile electronics LCD screens are even more prone to damage--- those found on
digital cameras, PDAs and cell phones, for example--- although in the case of
smaller electronics, you might be better of either finding thinner plastic cover
material, or buying one of the commercial products designed for that very
purpose ( http://tinyurl.com/jpn5n ).
And, BTW, if the final appearance of the installation is
important, there are other mounting options that would give a more finished look
than classic duct tape <g>: e.g.
http://tinyurl.com/g8kor
, http://tinyurl.com/jbore,
etc.
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7) Still Not Getting The Messages
Can you help me? I lost my entire
INBOX at Outlook Express - 650 folders. I have been trying to use DBXtract. I
have been successful with recovering some of the files. Others give me an
'extracted' comment but nothing is transferred. I have to do this
manually. Sandy Hart
The $5 shareware DBXtract is designed primarily to
extract e-mail from known-good Outlook Express database files (DBX files) and
save them as *.EML files in order to prevent corruption and for easier
archiving. It also recovers deleted messages. It can *prevent* the problem
you're having by moving your e-mail out of the error-prone DBX format--- and
sometimes it can recover e-mail from corrupted DBX files (
http://langa.com/newsletters/2002/2002-01-28.htm#4 ). But that's not the
program's primary function.
Fortunately, there are other steps you can take to fix broken DBX files.
Compacting your Outlook Express folders can either fix mildly corrupted DBX
files or further damage more severely corrupted ones. So the first step is to
make backup copies, then compact your folders to see if that does the trick.
Find the folder that holds all your DBX files, and make copies of all them into
a second folder. (Here's how to find them: From any open folder in Windows,
choose Folder Options from the Tools menu, click on the View tab, select the
"Show hidden files and folders" radio button, then click OK. Run a search from
the start menu and look for files with the filename *.dbx. Once it finds them,
right-click on one of the DBX files and choose Open Containing Folder from the
context menu.) Now that you have two copies of every DBX file, go ahead and
attempt to compact.
To compact your folders, choose Options from the Outlook Express Tools menu.
Choose the Maintenance tab and click the Clean Up Now button. Click the Compact
button. When it's done, click Close, then OK, and see if all e-mail is viewable.
If this doesn't work, return the DBX copies to the original folder and overwrite
the now compacted originals.
If the free approach didn't work, you may have to buy one of the many Outlook
Express repair and recovery programs, many of which have free trial periods.
Here's a list of some of the available tools in random order:
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8) Is This Newsletter
Interesting? 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.)
Check out the details at
http://langa.com/recommend.htm . Thanks for recommending the LangaList---
and good luck!
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9) Well Documented Document Error
I hate to bother you with such a
trivial thing as this, but perhaps others have the same problem. Some time ago,
my email program (Mozilla) and my Google program began something strange. On
occasion, clicking a link in one of them will not result in opening the
indicated link, but rather in an error message that states that a "related" file
could not be "saved" because "the source file could not be found".
Here's an example that resulted when I tried to click on:
http://arxiv.org/pdf/astro-ph/0609509
What's going on? When I use the indicated http line in Internet Explorer,
everything works fine. ---Ron Glass
The file is an Adobe PDF document, which is displayed
with the Adobe Reader. A likely fix is to uninstall any Adobe Reader software
from your system (old versions and any special "fonts" packages) using Control
Panel's Add or Remove Programs utility (Start/Settings/Control Panel/Add or
Remove Programs). Reboot, then re-install the current version of the free Adobe
Reader (
http://www.adobe.com/products/acrobat/readstep2.html ).
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10) They Loaded The Code
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
)
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
YesterPC
http://www.yesterpc.com/index.htm
WallAroundTheWorld
http://wallaroundtheworld.com/
BidOnLand
http://bidonland.com/
Kauffman's Home Page
http://mysite.verizon.net/brucek7/
Free Files For All
http://www.freefilesforall.com/home/
Jeber's Blog
http://www.jebersblog.com/
Victorian Hostory
http://www.vichist.blogspot.com/
WKS Images
http://wksimages.com/rocks.aspx
"My Last Nerve"
http://my-last-nerve.blogspot.com/
Service Computers
http://www.servicecomputers.net/index.shtml
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shipping!
Limited lifetime warranty! Compatibility guarantee!
"Dear Fred: As a subscriber of yours I have to say that your comments
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and they are just the greatest company and the very best place to
purchase memory. Their tech dept. even clued me in to a go around to
install 768 MB RAM in Win 98 SE which normally does not like over 512,
but the go-around works. They are the greatest!--- Marsh Pomroy"
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11, 12, 13, 14, 15, 16) Plus! Edition Highlights:
Today's LangaList Plus! Edition contains about 40% more content including:
- A Wi-Fi/Cordless Phone Disconnect
(more ways to avoid
interference)
- "Media Direct" Disaster
(Dell owners, beware)
- Sharing a Connection
Without Router
(clever--- even
free!--- ways)
- Friendly Ghost Indeed
(reader's hybrid
backup solution)
- How To Get A Detailed
View
(make "details" the
default)
Plus! Edition info:
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17) Just For Grins
If you have kids raised on broadband who can't
imagine a slow dial-up connection to the Internet, the 56k Modem Emulator Web
site (
http://www.lazylaces.com/56Kmodem/ ) will help them do so with the sights
and sounds of going online circa 1996. It's not a real 56k modem, but an
incredible simulation.
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(Give a gift subscription to
the LangaList Plus edition!
Click <a href= "
http://langa.com/plus_gift.htm ">here</a>)
Most months, the LangaList is is published about 6 times. See you next issue, 2006-10-16!
Best,
Fred & Mike
( FredPlus@Langa.Com )
( Mike@Elgan.Com )
( Editor@Langa.Com )
Please
recommend
the LangaList to a friend! (And maybe win a prize!)
An easier-to read formatted HTML version is
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(The HTML version of each issue normally is available by 9AM EST [UT-5] of the
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