http://www.bootdisk.com/ 192 October 2004
The BootLIST Welcome to the 192nd Edition of The BootLIST
INDEX
1) Fastest Way To Defrag A Win98 PC
2) Winsock And TCP/IP Repair Utility For XP
3) Free Disk Cloning Utility
4) Problem Getting USB2 Working On XP
5) RAM Tester And New Stick
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1) Fastest Way To Defrag A Win98 PCGruber asked - What's the fastest way to defrag a windows 98 computer. I heard it was in safe mode but it still seems slow and I still get Drive Contents Changed - Restarting.
*** While safe mode often works better oddly yes, you still may get the drive contents changed which will slow the process down. Safe mode will be slower anyway as not all the hard drive drivers are loading up.The fastest way I've found is to use EndItAll on a regular bootup and use the winme defrag commonly called newdefrag. EndItAll closes down all your background apps and interestingly it will close down apps that dont show up with a three finger salute aka Alt-Ctrl-Del.
Note that these days people are creating very large audio/video files which take LOTS of time to move around during a defrag. It's a REAL good reason for making a partition for just such large files when you first setup your disk.
EndItAll:
http://safsquad.com/Files/EndItAll2.zipNewdefrag:
http://www.wilders.org/HTMLobj-1636/newdefrag.zipJust another reminder to also delete your temporary internet cache files before you defrag as well as they can amount to half the total number of files on your computer. No sense in taking hours moving temp files around.
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2) Winsock And TCP/IP Repair Utility For XPDr. Fein telephoned - After I removed some spyware I can no longer browse the Internet with either IE or Netscape. I'd hate to have to install Windows XP again but I tried everything is there any hope?
*** Spyware and even many viruses can mess up your default TCP registry settings. However, 50% to 66% of the time this can be fixed by using the utility below.http://www.iup.edu/house/resnet/WinsockXPFix.exe
http://www.rcrnet.net/downloads/WinsockXPFix.exeDirections:
http://www.iup.edu/house/resnet/winfix.shtmIf IE has also been toasted by spyware or virus removal then you might want to try a different browser in the meantime. OK you're thinking, how can I download another browser if IE isn't working. Well, as I often recommend, one should ALWAYS have at least 2 browsers installed on ANY pc just in case one fails.
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3) Free Disk Cloning UtilityELVIS wrote - Is there such a thing as a free disk cloning utility that also fits on a floppy?
Cant hurt to give this a spin:
http://www.pcinspector.de/download.htm#clone_maxx
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4) Problem Getting USB2 Working On XPRandy emailed - Lately I have been plugging in my 512M flash drive into USB ports on boxes with XP and SP1 and SP2 installed only to be told that the port is running on USB1 drivers and that one should use a HighSpeed USB2 port. I thought USB2 was installed by default on the XPSP1, these boxes already had SP2 installed and still no USB2. IS there a lightweight utility to check these USB ports?
Sharon F. replies:
If the hardware - the actual USB ports - are USB 2, they will use the USB 2 drivers in XP and fully support USB 2 devices. Most USB 2 devices plugged into a regular USB port will still work. Not at optimal speeds but they will be usable.A message will appear notifying the user about the higher speed USB 2 device being plugged into the slower port. This is all normal behavior and I believe that this is the message that your friend is seeing.
*** In other words, the pcs Randy is using _may_ only have USB1 hardware. Some other possible solutions follow however for new PCs that DO come with USB2. Perhaps Randy's PCs are new tho he didn't originally say so.Kenny suggests:
Look in Device Manager for enhanced USB controller. it's the "enhanced" which tells you it's USB2. If not there and you know the m/b supports USB2 re-install chipset drivers. Also check [that] USB2 is enabled in [the] BIOS [assuming your bios has that option].
*** Good point. My son's motherboard is new and says it supports USB2 on the box, but it wont unless I install the motherboard drivers that came on the disk with the board.Alex N. adds:
USB 2.0 also requires USB 2.0 hardware controllers. Probably this machine does not have them - they are fairly recent - hence need for at least SP1 of XP - and while plug in cards have been around some time it is comparatively recently that they have made their way onto motherboards. So check [the] motherboard specs.There was also a catch 22 in installing SP1 (and possibly SP2) by the express Update method. If there were originally only 1.1 drivers, from pre SP1, the process missed the need to install 2.0 drivers for what seemed to be a 1.0 device.
Art says:
Presumably SP1 (and I guess, SP2) will automatically install the USB 2.0 drivers, but I've run into a number of situations where it just didn't do so, at least where SP1 was concerned.I'm not certain the following is relevant in your case, but give it a look.
Check in Device Manager to see if yellow question marks appears at the "Other devices" section and next to the "Universal Serial Bus (USB) Controller" listing that section. If they do, check the Properties | General tab, which will probably indicate "The drivers for this device are not installed. To reinstall the drivers for this device, click Reinstall Driver." Click the Reinstall Driver button and the Hardware Update Wizard opens. Accept the default option, "Install the software automatically..." and click Next. The Wizard will indicate that it has installed the software for the "Standard Enhanced PCI to USB Host Controller". Click Finish.
The USB 2.0 controller will now be listed in the "Universal Serial Bus controllers" section of Device Manager and the OS should now support USB 2.0 capability.
Also, see:
http://support.microsoft.com/?kbid=822603
It probably would be a good idea to install this update, even if there are no suspend/hibernation problems affecting USB 2.0 devices. On the other hand, if SP2 has been installed, this update may have been included in that Service Pack.
An addendum. In re:reading the OP's original posting I now find that I may have mistakenly assumed that his motherboard supported USB 2.0 capability.. Obviously if it doesn't (and he has not installed a USB PCI card) the mere addition of SP1/SP2 to the OS will not give him USB 2.0 support.
Darrell S. suggests:
Have him send you the exact message he is receiving. Perhaps it is a USB 1 device plugged into a USB 2 port. It will only operate at USB 1 speed. Also if you have a USB 1 Hub plugged into a USB 2 port it will operate only at USB 1 speeds. Some computers came with USB 1 and have been upgraded with a card to USB 2. But only those ports leading from the card will be USB 2.
*** How to check for USB2 support assuming XP has properly loaded the drivers:http://www.usbman.com/Guides/checking_for_usb_2.htm
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5) RAM Tester And New StickJess F. asks - [I'm going to add a second memory stick. Should I run] memtest86 v3.1 to catch any issues if I boot to that first? Both chips have tested OK alone, but don't want to waste [more] hours testing while both are installed if I don't need to.
*** Ram testers test ram chips one at a time. They dont test if one stick can sleep nicely with another stick. In other words, both boards may test OK by themselves or together, but it doesn't mean that they will get along nicely when using windows or your applications. Sadly, the only way to tell is to install them both and see how things go.So lets say you have 256 and want to go to 512. You can buy a new 256 and it may, or may not get along with your old stick. Often it's best just to get a new 512 and use it by itself. And if all goes well add the old 256 and see how that goes or use the old 256 in another pc.
Another option if you have a national big brand pc is to get your ram upgrade from a dealer that specializes in ram upgrades such as 18004memory.com as they know what brands of ram will work with your existing OEM ram. I'd phone them and order rather than order online so you can explain what type of major brand pc you have.
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