Dave "Bytes"

Please remember to use your thinker, before you tinker!

September 24, 2006

A Periodic Newsletter for the Members of the Sarasota PC User Group and the World!!

Click here to subscribe to Dave "Bytes"
(Please provide your full name and email address)

Support SPCUG

Click Above To Order Your 2007 Entertainment Book for all Major Cities in the US
They will also be available at each SPCUG General Meeting through December

Get Yours Today !!!

Let's Start With A Windows Tip

Face it — you can do quite a bit to clean the average Windows XP system. Files proliferate, programs fall out of favor, viruses reproduce, e-mail clusters, and pop-ups populate. Throw in a little system neglect and before you know it, you have a messed-up system that badly needs cleaning.

Cleaning a Windows system is more about behavior than it is about one or two tasks. Granted, you need to do some remedial work to get your system back in peak condition, but once you do, keeping your system clean on an ongoing basis is much easier than doing the remedial work in the first place.

Essential tasks

In general, you should work on the most accessible parts of the system first and then move on to the rest. Following is a list of essential tasks to do even if you're really pressed for time.

If you have only limited time available, get rid of unused and unneeded files. Archive your old-but-still-valuable files to get them off your system. When you have more time, you can go back and deal with your programs and your system as a whole. (Generally you should get your programs under control before worrying about your data, but the key here is time restriction. Working on programs simply takes longer than does taming your data.)

If you have more time available, do a program inventory and remove the programs you no longer need. You'd be amazed at how much clutter this can remove from your system. Then go back and clean up your data and archive your older information.

Get rid of spyware and spam and get your Internet environment under control. If you do this, you find that using the Internet can again become productive, rather than frustrating.

Closely examine what your computer loads without your knowledge. This is one of the key places many people overlook (even when suggesting ways to clean your computer), but Windows encounters instructions to automatically load different programs from a myriad of places (most on the Web). These programs can hog resources and slow down your system's overall performance.

Of course, tracking down such unseen scoundrels can take a bit of time. When you have that time (and after you've done the other things in this list), jump in and try to figure out what's going on. Windows provides some utilities that can help, such as the System Configuration Utility (msconfig).

If you really have some extra time, you can wade into the murky waters of the Windows Registry. The Registry is the centralized database that controls virtually everything that happens in the operating system. It is mind-numbingly complex and staggeringly obtuse for normal humans to deal with. However, you can do things in the Registry that you cannot do in any other way.

Working in the Registry is not for the faint of heart. Make sure you double-check every action before you take it. One wrong step and you can bring your system to its knees.

Precautions for safety's sake

Cleaning a Windows system necessarily involves moving things, adding things, deleting things, and sometimes renaming things. Any of these tasks, while necessary, can have unintended consequences. Heaven forbid you should delete a critical system file or wipe out the wrong data key in the Registry.

These precautions help you avoid the bad things:

Don't delete files without knowing what you are deleting. If you're in doubt, simply move the file to a different directory or rename it. Then, if you restart your system (or the program) and find out you made a mistake, you can always move the file back or restore its original name.

Make periodic backups of your system. If you're getting ready to do a huge cleaning session, you might want to make a backup right before you start. If you want to rely on an older backup, you might want to have it close by, in case you need it when you start your cleaning session.

Be careful how you delete programs. In the wonderful days of DOS, in the misty past, programs usually consisted of a couple of files or all the files in a given directory. Not so in Windows. When you install a program, the installation program can move pieces and parts all over the place. When you run the program, it can move more of itself to still other places. Because of that, the best way to delete a program is to use either the uninstaller provided with the software or the Add/Remove Programs applet in the Control Panel. Don't just delete the main folder for the program — pieces and parts will remain scattered everywhere.)

Know what you are doing with the Registry. The Registry is a largely incomprehensible place. Be careful when you are changing or deleting things in the Registry. In fact, you should create a backup of the Registry before you do any big changes, or simply export a data key when you are getting ready to make more minor changes. (A data key is geekspeak for a branch in the Registry.) Windows does not have a Recycle Bin for the Registry — if you delete something by mistake, you will be glad you made a copy ahead of time.

If a new icon shows up on your desktop one day, don't double-click it. If you don't know why it's there, someone (or some program) has possibly deposited it there. If you don't know what it does, why double-click it and run it? A safer course of action is to right-click the icon, choose Properties, and then examine what programs the icon runs.

Keep your original program discs accessible. If you change the a program's installation, you probably need the discs. If you delete a part of the program you shouldn't, you probably need the discs. If you want to reinstall the program, you probably need the discs. Just keep them close. And it wouldn't hurt to have any necessary software keys (those pesky ten-character — or longer — codes required to install or unlock your software) for the discs, either.

Use only programs from reputable sources. There are lots of programs you can use to help with your system cleaning. You can download most of these programs from the Internet. However, some of the software you find on the Internet may not have been tested and can be reliable. If you download and run a program from a disreputable source, you could possibly infect your system with a virus or do some other system-crashing function.

The preceding precautions aren't in any particular order. They simply give you some guidance as you start on your cleaning quest. Rest assured, however, that you already possess the best safeguard you can have: common sense. Trust your common sense and it'll help you through a large number of the problems you may face.

As you're cleaning your system, keep a notepad and pen nearby. Jot down each cleaning step you take, along with any oddities you observe. This could be helpful if you later need to track down a problem that crops up.

BITS

BYTES

Join
Dave, Forrest & Vinny
Every Sunday Now From
9:00 - 11:00am
WIBQ Sunny 1220am

Digital Dirt 'O the Week

Industry Guests

Computer Tips

"Too Dumb" Stuff

Oh yeah ..

Prizes too !!!

Clicking on Dave will take you to

"Bits & Bytes"

Click to
Listen "LIVE" on the Internet
Every Sunday at 9:00 am eastern

The Bits and Bytes Radio Show has a new feature, an Internet Bulletin Board!

It has a section devoted to the radio program, another for Questions and Answers regarding your computer problems, and a section for the User Group.

You do not have to register to visit the board. However, registering will allow you to join the fun and post comments, questions, and opinions with the rest of the listeners and group members. Registering is easy – just click on the word “register” in the upper left-hand portion of the main page of the board, and enter your email address, a user name for the board, and create a password. Shortly thereafter, you will get an email verifying your registration. There is a link to the board on the Bits and Bytes Radio Show website, or you can get to it directly by clicking on this link – Bits and Bytes Bulletin Board

You’ll be able to keep the show alive during the week by continuing discussions on the board, as well as commenting on PC Tips mentioned by Dave, Forrest, and Vinny. In this same manner, we can have topics discussing items mentioned at SPCUG meetings or at SIGS.

If you’ve never been to one of these Web-based Bulletin Boards then part of the fun will be discovering how to move around on the board, opening topics, and posting replies. We even have a section where you can ask questions about “How to do” stuff on the board.

Dave's Cool Downloads

ERUNT - The Emergency Recovery Utility NT
(with thanks to ComputerEnthusiast)

Features

- Backup the Windows NT/2000/2003/XP registry to a folder of your choice
- System and current user registries selectable
- Command line switches for automated registry backup and restoration
- Restore the registry in Windows 9x/Me/NT/2000/2003/XP and MS-DOS (all-in-one restore program) or the Windows Recovery Console
- Included in this package: NTREGOPT program for optimizing the registry
- All programs in this package are completely localizable (translate them into your language), German version included

Supported operating systems
- Windows NT 3.51
- Windows NT 4.0
- Windows 2000
- Windows 2003
- Windows XP
- most likely, all future Windows versions based on the NT kernel

Additionally supported by the ERDNT restore program:
- MS-DOS
- Windows 95
- Windows 98
- Windows Me

Click The Banner To Visit

Got something "computer related" to sell? Looking for that rare peripheral? If it's computer related you can submit a short classified ad for exposure in Dave "Bytes". Be sure to include your name and e-mail address in the ad. You can also include a picture of the item. Now some would suggest that there be a charge for this feature but alas, since my bookkeeping skills leave much to be desired I've determined that this will be a free service to all SPCUG members in good standing. "Bytes" is currently sent to almost 1500 homes in the area. Ad requests will be included as soon as possible. I assume absolutely no responsibility as to the accuracy or completeness of supplied info. All transactions are between consulting adults which leaves me entirely off the hook.

Please let me know by clicking HERE when your merchandise is sold so that I can remove it from the listing.

Click Here To Submit Your Ad

Here's A Special Offer

NTI Offers One Day Free Download of New USB Storage Partitioning Encryption Software
(12:00 a.m. September 26, 2006 - 11:59 p.m. September 26, 2006, Pacific Time)

Starting Monday at midnight, NewTech Infosystems (NTI) will be making their new Ninja software - a USB data storage and protection software
solution - available free on their web site, www.ntius.com. Unlike most fixed partition USB software, NTI Ninja allows users to adjust the size of
their public and private partitions on their portable storage device. In addition, the software provides users with complete storage area anti- tamper encryption and password protection.

The new software was developed to meet the dramatic increase in today's mobile workforce, the increased use of USB storage devices and the need to protect content and data from being stolen or compromised on the small, portable devices.

To kickoff Ninja protection, the company will make the software available free at the firm's website tomorrow (September 26). After that -- the
software that works with Windows 98SE, ME, 2000, XP operating systems - will have a suggested retail price of $24.95.

NTI Ninja allows users to adjust the size of their private and public workspaces on virtually any USB flash or hard drive device to meet their
specific storage requirements.

To ensure private and sensitive information is not compromised even if the device is lost or stolen, NTI Ninja includes core encryption and
password protection.

The password protection and encryption application complies with the Advanced Encryption Standard (AES), the government- and corporate-grade
encryption standard. The 128-bit AES encryption prevents brute force password protection of the user's private storage areas while providing
free, easy access to the public storage space on the USB device.
Individuals can use the software on USB flash and hard drives as well as SD cards, cell and smartphones, iPods and MP3 Players.

Users can reformat the storage device at any time to meet changing requirements.

For your free copy of NTI Ninja download it on September 26 at www.ntius.com.
After that.$24.95!