http://www.bootdisk.com/ 0028 February 2008
HouseCall
Welcome to the 28th Edition of HouseCall
INDEX
1) CD Disc Burning Problem
2) McAfee Removal Tool
3) Anti-Spyware Apps
4) Affiliate and/or ID links In The URL
5) The Windows Registry
########################################
1) CD Disc Burning Problem
JF wrote - My Father in law's computer has stopped burning discs. It can write about an hours worth of data and then it fails. Both drives are failing, both are different makes, so the chances of both failing at the same time are surely slim.
*** I agree. If both CDrom drives are on the same IDE channel, then one bad drive can also make the other fail. In addition, Any hard drive on the same channel as your CDrom may cause one, or both drives to fail to work correctly. That's why being on on-tech is not as easy at it may appear. Your PC may also be overheating.
For example, if your power supply fan has died, you may not even now it unless you check. Many modern PCs use the Power Supply fan to cool the CPU using a duct from the CPU to the PS. Many pcs use the power supply fan to cool the entire PC, including the CPU.
Also, its Wintertime in much of the world. Many people have their PCs on the floor next to baseboard heaters. One may be able to check your email with no problem, but if playing a game for 1/2 hour or so that takes 100% of CPU and/or Video card processor, your case/chips may be overheating. Check your fans. Check your video card fan. Check your case fan. Add a case fan. A case fan may not show an arrow to show what way the fan is blowing, so you have to test it first to make sure you install it correctly. All case fans should be put in back blowing out.
And many PCs only have one large fan with no room for a second one.
########################################
2) McAfee Removal Tool
*** Often using Add/Remove for a certain program fails to really get rid of it. To that end I recently added a McAfee removal tool here:
http://www.bootdisk.com/helpdesk.htm
I've had Norton removal tools on the above page for some time, but when Symantec changed their links, and/or got rid of the removal tools I simply offered a direct download from my site. You may want to archive the McAfee tool in case the URL changes. Here are some other sites that address the McAfee removal issue. In any case, if McAfee removes the tool I will offer it as a direct download from my website aka bootdisk.com.
http://www.pchell.com/virus/uninstallmcafee.shtml
http://www.howtofixcomputers.com/forums/421677-post5.html
########################################
3) Anti-Spyware Apps
*** I've just recently tested the most popular anti-spyware apps and here is my current list of what I currently, personally like. This is NOT an endorsement of such apps. You may like or use one that is much better.
http://www.superantispyware.com/
http://www.lavasoft.de/products/ad-aware_se_personal.php
Yes I am a fan of Spybot, but their recent release had a 1 minute lag to start, then, apparently, they fixed that but after a new test in XP, it seems to have a problem removing the spyware it finds. So for now, its gone. My guess is by next month they will work things out.
########################################
4) Affiliate and/or ID links In The URL
*** For starters I know I have many readers who are just learning the basics and may have recently subscribed to my newsletter. That's why I include both "beginner" and "advanced" articles. If you are a newer reader, then I should mention that any comment that is preceded by a *** is a comment by me, the Author. As you can see, most of my articles are gleaned from various sources and I often make comments or additions. As you can see, I always give credit to the original Author.
I have a pet peeve tho which I "have" to write about because many people are misled by articles/websites when dealing with technical issues. Specifically, if somebody/a webpage/an article recommends an app and/or has a graphic that links to a webpage, check out the URL. If it looks like this:
http://www.sillywebsite.com/xPC-~PD-44906154~NS-1~linkin_id-3067401
http://www.sillywebsite.com/?partner=ZJxdm035&&siteid=11399
http://www.sillywebsite.com/products/campaigns/affiliate/general/re
eg if you see an "ID" or "affiliate" in the URL you click on then you know that the Author of the article/webpage published it to either make money from any sales or has sold an ad. I am "not" anti making money on a webpage as it takes lots of time and effort to do/maintain them. I simply want my readers to know if the link is "genuine" or "paid for". Note that the www.sillywebsite.com above is just made up for this example. The point of this post is to help you make up your own mind, as many people install "crap" software on their PCs just because they see it advertised everywhere and then feel OK to download it/testit/install it.
As far as I know, I dont have any referral ID/Affiliate or paid for links on bootdisk.com and I have over 500 links to sites/downloads there. I do have ads by Google on one page but that's a long story which I wont get into now. Just so you know, I take great pride in my website and newsletter. Yes, sometimes I find links on bootdisk.com that have drastically changed. In that case if I feel the app may be a pain to use/install/uninstall then I remove it.
As long as I'm on the link subject, being as I have so many links, I often use a link checker to see if both the link is still good or it has changed to a referral link. For years I've been happy using Xenu's Link Sleuth:
http://home.snafu.de/tilman/xenulink.html#Description
However, a webpage link checker will only check if a link is good/works. It wont tell you if the page has changed and may include content that you dont want to link to. For example, an Author may have come up with an excellent free application published on his/her personal free webpage. But sometimes a large company buys the app. and then the page changes to possibly all ads which may compete with your product/service. A link checker will still say the link is good as it doesn't check for content. So, if you run a website personally or for your company, you still have to check each link on your page manually to see if its really want you want to link to.
########################################
5) The Windows Registry
The Windows registry: How it works. By Gustav Cuschieri.
http://www.liutilities.com/
PreSales Questions Email Link On This Page:
http://www.liutilities.com/about/contact/
Simply adding or removing software and hardware, modifying operating system settings, and tweaking general preferences (eg, creating a shortcut to a document or renaming a folder) will cause your Windows registry to grow in size and complexity. In turn such regular PC use can cause your Windows registry to become fragmented and full of errors.
What is the Windows registry?
The registry is a centralized hierarchical database used by various versions of Windows (MS Windows 9x, CE, NT, 2000 XP and Vista) to store computer configuration information. It includes general settings, preferences, software applications, along with hardware drivers and devices.
This information is necessary for Windows to run your computer system, including all your installed applications and hardware devices. Not only does the registry save the path and location of these items, it also retains other details which help the processor to locate applications and hardware devices quickly and efficiently thereby reducing processing time.
Whenever you make any changes in your preferences or settings, installed operating system, other software or hardware, these changes are stored in the Windows registry. Modifications to your registry settings may also be made manually by using the Windows Registry Editor (regedit.exe) provided with Windows. However, as we will note later, this option is not recommended for inexpert PC users.
Registry entries include details on:
User profiles, settings, options and preferences
Applications installed on the computer
Property settings for folders and applications
Hardware devices installed on the system
Ports being used
System policies
File associations
As the registry continues to be updated so it accumulates modifications, becoming more complex: the chance of errors and missing, obsolete or corrupt entries increases greatly.
How is the Windows registry structured?
The registry database is stored in a hierarchical structure. It may be best to think of the registry as a tree divided into a number of areas, or branches. Depending on your Windows version, the registry comprises four to six sub-trees of keys called hives (also referred to as discrete files).
Each hive contains a registry sub-tree, which has a key that serves as the root (ie, starting point) of the tree. A registry hive is a group of keys, subkeys, and values in the registry that has a set of supporting files containing backups of its data. Subkeys, and their values, reside beneath the root. The values contain the actual information stored in the registry.
The majority of the information in the registry is placed there automatically, by Windows, when the operating system is installed. The rest comes from applications and hardware via installation routines.
It is also possible, but necessarily advisable, to edit registry data manually, allowing you to tweak, enable or fix certain settings.
Any changes you make to the registry, using the Registry Editor, are permanent since there is no "undo" button. Only edit the registry if you know what you are doing! The consequences of your mistakes could be rather extreme and could include requiring you to reinstall Windows from scratch. If you must edit the Windows registry, remember to make a backup.
When and why do registry problems occur?
If your system is new, you will not usually need to make any alterations to your registry. However, over time, your registry will be altered as you add and remove software or hardware to and from your computer. These changes can cause your Windows registry to become fragmented, corrupted or full of errors.
Common errors include:
Missing, orphaned, broken or bad application/Windows paths, shortcuts and links
Unwanted browser objects
Unused, obsolete Start Menu items
Missing or corrupt application IDs
Corrupt Active X/COM Objects
Residual and unused file and drivers
Unnecessary recent files list
When you remove software from your system, for example, it is highly probable that not all software files were removed from your hard drive, or that not all relevant entries were removed from your registry. Registry errors can also be caused when:
You install or uninstall applications including trial downloads
Some programs are never really completely uninstalled leaving hard-to-find traces in your Windows registry
You have embedded spyware, adware or other components (such as DLLs or programs that revive themselves on every start up)
You have unused but undeleted drivers within your system
Is my PC free of registry problems and if not how do I fix them?
Statistics show that about 94% of computers have corrupt and possibly harmful files. On average, almost every PC will have about 150+ errors on them due to corrupt or missing registry entries.
[*** Note that the 150+ errors may or may not be a "real" problem. The "errors" may simply be calls to files that are no longer on your computer. Yes of course this may cause a slower system startup as the registry has to look for files that are no longer there. Personally, I am pro registry cleaning, but it depends on what I do with the OS in question.]
Although a closer analysis is needed, it is highly probable that even though your computer system is new, or you are not encountering any obvious issues, your computer already has some problems in the registry. The more frequent symptoms of registry problems include:
Frequent error messages
Slow start-ups
Sluggishness
Declining performance
System stalls
Severe degradation in operating speed
Unstable and frequent application errors and crashes
At times, even an inability to start Windows
[*** HouseCall Editors Note On The Above List. Yes Gustav is 100% correct with his list regarding "frequent symptoms of registry problems". However, the exact same list of problems is also applicable to spyware and/or virus infections etc. So, before you mess with the registry, be sure your system is clean of any "infections". Note that while anti-virus or anti-malware applications may remove the "bad files" from your hard drive, they generally dont get rid of the calls to such files in the registry. That's where a registry cleaner may really come in handy. A registry cleaner has no clue to what a good or bad file is. So get rid of any "bad" files first, if any. Then consider using a registry cleaner if the PC is still having problems. Also, many anti-virus Authors have special removal tools for hard to get rid of viruses/trojans which may, in fact, also remove calls in the registy. End Editors Note]
If you are experiencing system crashes, or if some of your installed applications are freezing or seizing for no obvious reason, your best option is to defragment, clean and repair your registry.
[*** I'd like to comment to the above sentence. "defragment" may, or may not help with the above list. Yes, many PCs I see have "never" been defraggmented. So yes, do it. But be sure to delete all your IE or other browser cache files first, and also all your temp/tmp files. Yes, bad files in temp internet and/or temp/tmp folders may cause all sorts of niggles. Also, too many files in temp/tmp/internet cache may cause the same problems. End Editors Note]
Keeping your registry in a good state of repair, and conducting regular maintenance, is imperative because the registry contains important data that is essential for system operation, and which directly affects the performance of the machine.
However this is difficult even for the most experienced users. The task is daunting and rather confusing simply because there are so many registry entries and detailed knowledge is required to effect any changes without causing damage. And there are different responses to the issue of registry maintenance.
You have some people who (for various reasons) simply live with compromised performance; there are other courageous souls modify their registry manually; there are some hardcore types who reformat their hard-drive every month or so and then reinstall all software; and then there are those who simply use one of the broad range of registry maintenance applications available on the market. There are pros and cons for each of these options, and the one that you choose is, I suppose, a judgment call for you to make. However, I know which one I'd choose.!
*** Thanks to Gustav Cuschieri for kindly writing this article for HouseCall. Gustav runs a website called Uniblue, home of RegistryBooster:
Uniblue:
http://www.liutilities.com/
*** Please note that there are other registry cleaners as well. Here are a few of them so you can check them out for yourself and see if you prefer to use any of them:
Easy Cleaner:
http://personal.inet.fi/business/toniarts/ecleane.htm
RegSeeker:
http://www.hoverdesk.net/freeware.htm
jv16:
http://www.macecraft.com/jv16powertools2007/
*** The below is not a cleaner, but a replacement for regedit:
RegScanner:
http://www.nirsoft.net/utils/regscanner.html
Registry Compression and Registry Backup/Restore:
NTREGOPT and ERUNT:
http://www.larshederer.homepage.t-online.de/erunt/
If you use Win95X/Win98X or have friends or customers who do, then this app I made back in 1995 still works perfectly. I still use it today for my win98SE PC and customers PCs to backup/restore the registry and important system files before I install new software or fix their problem. Use the directional keys for the menu, NOT your mouse. If you're a geek and want to see how it works, then just open up copper.bat with a text editor in the c:\cop\program folder to see my 750 line batch file :)
http://www.bootdisk.com/cop.htm
*** IMPORTANT NOTE: From my experience, there are an equal number of "experts" on both sides of the registry cleaning issue. Half say it's a good thing, the other half say leave it alone. For me, depending on what I do with an OS on a PC, [yes I use many OS's on many different PCs], sometimes I prefer to leave the registry alone, but sometimes I clean it every 2 weeks or so, depending on the PC and OS and what I do with the computer.
Do your research before you use a registry cleaner. And be sure you know how to back it up and restore it before you do. Also, as you probably know, XP+ system restore is primarily a registry backup program but is not perfected.
http://www.bootdisk.com/xptop20.htm#15
+++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++
+++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++
+++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++
Like this issue of HouseCall?
One can, if you wish, return the favor and treat the Newsletter Author to Lunch by clicking on this link:
As a BONUS, you will also be sent a link to download every issue of The BootLIST, all 282 issues and the past 28+ issues of HouseCall complete with a really nice search utility that highlights and brings up your search terms in a very easy to use interface. Included in the download are all the previous editions of HouseCall.
If you prefer real mail send a letter to Ed Jablonowski
20A Red Oak Lane, Old Bridge, New Jersey 08857-1996 USA
NOTICE: Please dont reply to this email as the return address is just for catching autoreplies and spam. If you want to comment on an issue or have a question regarding logistics please see the FAQ:
http://www.bootdisk.com/housecall/faq.htm
Kindest regards, Ed
+++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++
To Subscribe to this techletter please enter your Email address below:
+++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++