http://www.bootdisk.com/ 0022 October 2007
HouseCall
Welcome to the 22nd Edition of HouseCall
INDEX
1) Additional Info On PS's
2) XP Boot Log Analyzer
3) Lost Lots Of Files
4) Downgrade To XP From Vista
5) Get Rid Of *.tmp Files
6) Use A Registry Cleaner?
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1) Additional Info On PS's
I received several letters to remind me that you need to test the voltages from your power supply when it has a load, ie connected to your PC and motherboard. Then you just need to test a standard 4 pin lead that's either empty or connected to a drive. In other words, dont test the voltages on a PS that is just by itself.
In reference to article:
http://www.bootdisk.com/housecall/0021.htm#5
In addition, just plugging in power to a PS on an ATX PS and running it by itself with no load can damage the PS and/or result in incorrect voltage readings.
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2) XP Boot Log Analyzer
DC Gringo asked - I used the bootvis utility to troubleshoot long startups some time ago and loved it. While it's optimization technique is apparently built into Windows XP, it gave me a clear and visible graph of what was taking so long so I could disable it if not needed. Microsoft discontinued it but I still have a copy. Unfortunately, it doesn't seem to work any more. I get an error: "file is not in recognizable format" when I try to open the .bin file it creates.
Does anyone know how to get it to run right or have a replacement product that does the same thing?
Leonard G. replied:
Try BootLog XP:
http://greatis.com/utilities/bootlogxp/
*** Note that many files load at the same time when Windows boots up and are put into memory and/or page/swap file. For example, lets say you only had 2 files to lood on bootup, each may say it takes 20 seconds to load. Your total boot time may still be 20 seconds.
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3) Lost Lots Of Files
ryvitasue wrote - I seem to have lost a lot of files and I don't have a clue how! I went out for a couple of hours and when I got back they were gone although my daughter did try to ring me on Skype and now I have no skype either. I am devastated as I have lost all my photos in My Pictures folder and videos of all my kid's birthdays. I have lost all my documents. All our email addresses have disappeared from the MSN start page and we now have to input each one. I seem to be missing folders too. I have gone to search and support center and done everything they said and also done a system restore from last Sunday. Please help me!!
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Everybody learns that lesson the hard way. In the future, keep a copy of your most important data on write once CDs and do it every month. Whether you need to or not. Keep multiple CDs, one for each most important folder if possible. Also, you may want to spend another $100 for an external USB HDD and copy "everything" there of value as a "second backup", or just buy a thumb drive for $40 and for a second reserve. Personally, I even keep backups in two different houses just in case one burns down. Yes, I've had a house burn down once.
It's like taxes. You'll sleep better at night knowing you have all things in order.
I've thought about keeping this reminder/article in for several weeks. After a few weeks of thinking about it I want to keep this reminder/article in. As from experience I "know" that many people perhaps including my readers dont bother to take the time to back up their most important data. It's one of those things you "have" to take the time to do no matter how busy you are.
In other words, even if you use some type of backup program to back up your entire OS, you still need to have separate, non compressed, nonproprietary standard backups of your most important data to write once standard CD-Rs. You want to go low tech to backup important folders so one can get them back on any other PC.
Lets try another real life example. My daughter saved all her pictures she took in high school to the hard drive from her digital camera. Now her PC is toast and she wants to know if I can get back all her pictures. The drive she saved all her pictures to is extremely virus damaged eg the file names have been changed to characters that aren't recognized now by the CD burning program. It would probably cost between $500 and $2,500 to get the data back from a service. Or, I can take one or two to three days off from work, which I wont get paid for, to try to get her pictures back. It'd be much easier if we had CDs with the data on them.
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4) Downgrade To XP From Vista
Rickb54 posted - If I buy a new machine with Vista, can I downgrade to XP using an XP upgrade disk, or do I need a full copy of XP?
Ken B. responded:
You can never do any kind of downgrade of Microsoft operating systems. Downgrades are never supported.
So you can *not* downgrade from Vista to XP. However, if you own a copy of a qualifying operating system (such as Windows 98) for an upgrade to XP, you can use that with an XP Upgrade CD. Just do a clean installation of XP by booting from the CD and deleting the existing partition by pressing "D" when prompted, then creating a new one. You will be prompted to insert the previous operating system's CD as proof of ownership.
Two additional points however:
1. If the machine comes with Vista, you may have trouble getting the XP drivers you need for all its hardware.
2. The manufacturer may consider your warranty void if you change operating system.
I recommend that you stick with Vista, but if you want XP, it's much better to buy a machine that comes with XP.
Shenan S. said:
In order to 'downgrade' - you must format and install Windows XP anew. Since Windows Vista | Windows XP is not an accepted upgrade path, unless you have a Windows 9x, Windows MW, Windows 2000 CD laying around you can use as qualifying media - you must have a full version of Windows XP to do a
clean install.
smlunatick adds:
Please read the 'fine print" in the warranty of the new machine, when you purchase it. I have seen several "other" pre-installed Windows where the warranty would not be "honored" if Windows Vista is removed.
*** Essentially, in summary, note that if you buy a new PC from a major maker with Vista installed, there may NOT be drivers for that system for previous versions of Windows.
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5) Get Rid Of *.tmp Files
GusGus said - I searched *.tmp files and found I have 270 of them worth 371MBs. Can I safely get rid of all of these without any repercussions?
Ken B. replied: Yes, they can, and should be, deleted periodically.
The temp folder provides workspace for programs. Programs can create temporary files there for their own temporary use. Each program should delete all its temporary files when it closes, but for various reasons it doesn't always happen (for example, if the program crashes, it never gets to do this). That's why it's a good idea to periodically clean out anything left there.
Also note that there are some program installations which work in two steps. The first step concludes by writing temporary files and rebooting. The second step starts automatically after rebooting and needs to find those files there (and then deletes them when it's done).
Other than doing it automatically when rebooting (that would interfere with installations like the kind I described), it's always safe to delete the contents of the temp folder. Because it's safe to delete any temp files that aren't open and in use by an application, and since Windows wont let you delete open files, it's safe to (try to) delete them at any time. If any fail to delete because they're open, they'll either be deleted automatically when the app using them closes, or you'll get them the next time you delete manually.
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6) Use A Registry Cleaner?
chicken989 asked - I just installed Abexo Registry Cleaner Free, and cleaned up my registry. My computer is faster (very faster), however, it just chewed up IE's a... I'd better not say it.
I just reset my browser and it is so annoying. It thinks I'm with AAPT when we are with a different ISP. It still connects to the internet (thank god), but I want to make sure that it didn't mess about with my computer. Is there anyone who had this before?
Jupiter Jones responded:
That is a potential problem with registry cleaners and why I suggest they not be used. If it is a decent registry cleaner, there is a way to restore the deleted data.
Otherwise System Restore to Date/Time before this all started.
If you are going to use a registry cleaner, there are a few things you should know:
1. Understand how the registry cleaner works and how it restore back if you encounter problems. If restoring back is not an option with your cleaner, do not use that cleaner.
2. Know enough about the registry to recognize if what the cleaner marks as bad truly is. If you are unsure and can not make a positive determination, leave it alone.
*** Personally, while I have no problems at all using a registry cleaner like EasyCleaner on Win98 systems, I have yet to even need, or consider using one one on my XP laptop which I totally depend on when on the road.
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