C C C C N E W S L E T T E R
CENTRAL COAST COMPUTER CLUB
Santa Maria, California
VOLUME XXII: NUMBER 1 JANUARY, 2007
Meetings are held on the third Tuesday of every month at the Knollwood
Village Clubhouse 4012 S. Bradley Dr., Santa Maria.
General meeting at 7:00PM. System Special Interest Group session is at
5:45PM. Guests are welcome.
Check out our web site: http://member.apcug.org/fourseas for the latest
program schedule information.
Membership is $15 for twelve months for individuals, $20 for families.
For this you receive: Monthly newsletters, EXTRA4C E-mail Messages,
Help-line support, Monthly presentations, Valuable door prizes, Question
and answer sessions.
NEXT MEETING: JANUARY 16, 2007 KNOLLWOOD VILLAGE 4012 S. BRADLEY
PRESENTATION: The January meeting will be a computer equipment swap meet.
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******** JANUARY COOKIE PROVIDER IS SPENCE STIMLER ********
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The January meeting is the deadline for the annual
membership dues. Make checks out to Treasurer:
Gerry Miller, 2741 Banyan Way, Santa Maria CA 93455
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| CONTENTS |
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(1) OFFICERS, HELPLINES, S.I.G.S
(2) PRESIDENT'S CORNER Ted Tucker
(3) EDITOR'S COMMENTS Dick Trissel
(4) WEB WANDERINGS
(5) SYSTEMS S.I.G. (NEW AND IMPROVED!) Dick Trissel
(6) TRIPLE CLICKING AND MORE Dick Trissel
(7) FIX MISSING .DLL Fred Langa
(8) XP PROCESSES Data Doctors
(9) HOW I LOST 33% OF MY HARD DRIVE Jacques Blum
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OFFICERS HELPLINES
President Juno
Ted Tucker 937-2374 Dick Trissel 937-7572
genmail@verizon.net rtrissel@juno.com
Vice President Windows 95/98/ME/XP & VoiceControl
Vic McLaughlin 937-8326 Amy Malicki 925-5780
vnmclaughlin2448@msn.com msamym5@verizon.net
Secretary Hardware and Windows XP
John McCurdy 925-1825 Ray Isenson 937-6938
jmmccurdy.1@verizon.net risenson@juno.com
Treasurer AOL
Gerry Miller 934-1396 Frank Maciel 922-2318
2741 Banyan Way frm8198@aol.com
Santa Maria CA 93455
gandamiller@verizon.net
Publicity Visual Basic and Genealogy
Bill Corning 934-0775 Gerald Miller 934-1396
foster95@impulse.net gandamiller@verizon.net
Newsletter Editor Help With Any Problem
Dick Trissel 937-7572 Ray Isenson 937-6938
rtrissel@juno.com risenson@juno.com
SPECIAL INTEREST GROUP (S.I.G.)
Systems (5:45pm)
Dick Trissel
rtrissel@juno.com
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CCCC Page 2 January 2007
PRESIDENT'S CORNER by Ted Tucker
Greetings to all the club members, and best wishes for a healthy and
prosperous New Year. I have been meeting with and otherwise
communicating with, the other club officers. They have been very helpful
and I thank them for their efforts. Their cooperation and tutoring on
details of routine for keeping club activities working, have enabled me
to start my planning for my tenure as club president. I want among other
things, to redistribute the workload of the current approach, and
involve a broader base of participants who can actively pursue their
personal interests within our club environment.
I will be happy to learn what your special interests are, and how you
feel they can mesh with our other club activities. Hopefully we will
find that some of our favorite things to do are enriched, and made more
enjoyable and successful by involvement of our computers, and
association and interaction, with the other club members. I look forward
to sharing ideas and activities with you.
I remind you now to be timely with submittal of club dues.
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CCCC Page 3 January 2007
EDITOR'S COMMENTS by Dick Trissel
In a few weeks (January 30) the new Windows Vista operating system will be
released to the home computer user. The pre-release versions have been out
for some time, and the business versions have been out since November 2006.
So, there are many reviews published in the technical newsletters--Komando,
Zdnet, Cnet, LangaList, LockerGnome, etc. They all say about the same
things, which are:
1) If you are happy with your present system, don't rush out and get Vista.
2) If you think you need Vista, get a computer with it all ready installed,
but wait a few months for the problems to be discovered (there are already
security problems).
3) Don't attempt an update to your present computer, or even get a new
computer with the idea of updating it. There are hardware and software
incompatibilities that have to be solved by the third party manufacturers.
4) Don't settle for the Vista Home Basic version. Get either the Home
Premium or Home Ultimate.
My brief encounter with Vista Beta 2 installed in one of my computers
convinced me I will probably never invest in Vista. I'm too old to take on
learning a system that is so cosmetically and architecturally different from
what I already know. And my systems do everything I want to do.
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CCCC Page 4 January 2007
WEB WANDERINGS
EVOLUTION
Our society places a great deal of importance on beauty. And teenage girls
try so hard to live up to examples set by models.
But everything is not as it seems. First, there's the makeup and styling.
Models get professional help putting themselves together.
But there's more to it than that. After all the makeup and styling,
computers are used to enhance models' beauty.
Watch the short movie at today's Cool Site. It will blow your mind. Watch
the part at the end where the model is Photoshopped. Her neck and eyes are
enlarged, and her face narrowed.
Please, pass this along to anyone with a teenage daughter. It will help her
understand the difference between real and artificial beauty.
www.campaignforrealbeauty.com
AN OUNCE OF PREVENTION
We've made great strides in the prevention and treatment of disease. But
modern medicine still has a long way to go.
Heart disease, diabetes, cancer, osteoporosis and stroke afflict millions.
These diseases can affect any of us.
But you can act to lower your risk. Find out how at the Harvard School of
Public Health's Web site.
First, It is recommended you answer the questionnaires to assess your risk.
Then, you can learn to control the problem, if there is one.
www.yourdiseaserisk.com
WANT TO SAVE A BUCK OR TWO?
If you like paying full price, today's Cool Site isn't for you. But if you
like to save, you're in for a treat!
Many online stores use promo codes. These are similar to coupons. They
entitle you to a lower price or free shipping.
The codes are generally sent to preferred customers. But you don't have to
be a preferred customer to get one. You just need to know where to look!
One place is RetailMeNot. It lists promo codes for many popular online
stores. This site will come in handy for your holiday shopping…
www.retailmenot.com
MAPPING THE INTERNET
When you visit a Web site, you might think you have a direct connection. But
that's not the case. Small packets of data are bounced all around the
Internet – and world.
Data is routed from hub to hub until it reaches its destination. If a piece
of data hits a wall, it tries to find a new path. Sound complicated? It is!
So this might leave you wondering where your data has been. Well, you can
get a pretty good idea at today's Cool Site.
It features a map of the Internet. It will show you where the most active
Web hubs are. The map is difficult to understand at first, so take your
time. Then read the interesting facts about the Internet.
www.discover.com
DID YOU WITNESS SOMETHING?
There's no doubt that the Internet has changed the way we view news. We can
log on anytime and read up on the latest news events.
And blogs have helped people comment on news stories. Or bloggers can write
about events they feel are newsworthy.
Well, now mainstream news sources are enlisting the help of everyday people.
Yahoo! has opened a site that allows visitors to submit videos and photos of
news stories.
Yahoo! won't pay you for your photos or videos. But, your work could be
featured on Yahoo! News. So keep your eyes open and camera handy!
news.yahoo.com
UP-TO-DATE SATELLITE IMAGES
You will love Google Earth and online satellite-imaging services. It is
simply amazing that we can see what the world looks like from afar.
But there's only one problem with most satellite-imaging services: They're
slow to update the photos.
That is, with the exception of the European Space Agency's site. You can see
satellite images taken only two hours earlier!
There are limitations, of course. You won't see the same detail you get on
Google Earth. And you can only see places where there is currently daylight.
You'll need to use Internet Explorer for this site. You may be unable to
zoom in and out or pan using Firefox.
miravi.eo.esa.int
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CCCC Page 5 January 2007
SYSTEMS S.I.G. by Dick Trissel
Obviously, there was no Systems S.I.G. in December. So here's a system
article I found interesting.
WINDOWS--NEW AND IMPROVED!
Excerpts from article by Stephen Manes--PCWorld
"This is the easiest-to-use version of Windows yet, and will help bring the
power of the PC to new users worldwide," Bill Gates announces. The press
release goes on to claim that the operating system "dramatically improves
the key areas that keep users waiting on their PC today, including opening
applications, accessing the Internet, and shutting down the PC. This
enhanced performance, along with powerful new self-maintenance and update
features, empowers users to spend more time enjoying their PCs and less time
managing their system."
Windows Vista? No, Windows 98.
--------------------
"Today we unveil the future of computing," trumpets Bill Gates. He cites a
reliability report from an independent laboratory: "According to the test,
with constant and intense use" in 90 workdays the operating system "never
failed."
Windows Vista? No, Windows 2000.
--------------------
"We are entering an exciting new era of personal computing," declares Bill
Gates. "This powerful new version of Windows offers so much to customers--it
unlocks the full power of the PC and enables them to enjoy the best of what
the digital world has to offer."
Windows honcho Jim Allchin adds that "customers will experience a much more
enhanced yet simplified computing experience. Customers can do things
they've never done before with a PC; likewise, business users can work
smarter and faster with more productive tools to meet the demands of any
size company."
Windows Vista? No, Windows XP.
--------------------
Beginning to see a pattern here? Microsoft introduces new operating system.
Microsoft promises great benefits. New operating system doesn't deliver.
Less time "shutting down the PC"? To this day my XP machines often hang
until I hold down the physical on/off switch awhile. A Windows that goes 90
days without a single crash? Yeah, right. Hey, XP won't go even a month
without a forced reboot to install security fixes!
When you switch to Windows Vista, you'll be figuring out how to cope with
questions as little as why 'My Documents' turned into just 'Documents' and
as big as where to get a new driver for your old printer--if you can get one
at all. Your old security software won't work, so you will have to find, pay
for, and install replacements. You'll be tearing your hair out every time
you encounter new features that work differently from the old familiar ones
for no apparent reason.
Vista promises a lot of potentially useful new stuff. But for now I can
think of only one reason to worry about the thing: It will come with your
next PC.
Unless that machine is a Mac, in which case you'll be offered a new OS every
year or two with a couple of modest features that pretend to change the
world and claim to be worth $130. But at least you'll waste less time in the
upgrade process.
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CCCC Page 6 January 2007
TRIPLE CLICKING AND MORE by Dick Trissel
Here's a handy feature you don't hear much about. In all Windows systems
when editing a text file, you can select (highlight) a word by single-
clicking it. You can select a group of characters between spaces by double-
clicking the word or group. Now, here's what's neat. You can select a
comlete paragraph by triple-clicking a word in the paragraph.
So far, this feature works in all applications that I've tried that display
text (Word, Wordpad, Internet Explorer, Editpad), but not Notepad.
What's more, this works whether you use the single- or double-click option
for your mouse button.
CLICK OPTION
For those people that want to choose between single-clicking or double-
clicking the mouse button, here is how you select the option (right out of
the system Help pages):
Windows XP
To change the number of mouse clicks required to open items:
Open Folder Options in Control Panel.
Click Start, and then click Control Panel.
Double-click Folder Options.
(Or, in Windows Explorer, go to Tools / Folder Options.)
On the General tab, under Click items as follows, click the option you want.
Note:
If you click Single-click to open an item (point to select), you can also
specify when icon titles are underlined.
To check your current browser settings for underlining links, open Internet
Options in Control Panel. To open Internet Options, click Start, click
Control Panel, and then double-click Internet Options. On the Advanced tab,
check the setting for Underline links.
---------------------------
Windows 98(SE)
To single-click in folders and on the desktop:
Single-clicking to open items lets you work on your desktop and in your
folders the same way you do on the Web. You can use single-clicking in two
ways: with or without underlining icons and titles.
In My Computer or Windows Explorer, click the View menu, and then click
Folder Options.
On the General tab, click Custom, based on settings you choose, click
Settings, and then click Single-click to open an item.
Do one of the following:
To see items underlined the way they are in your Web browser, click
Underline icon titles consistent with my browser settings.
To underline items only when you point at them with the mouse, click
Underline icon titles only when I point at them.
Note:
If you change to single-click mode, some of the procedures in Help will be
incorrect; where the Help text reads "double-click," you will only need to
click once.
For Help on an item, click at the top of the dialog box, and then click the
item.
--------------------
SNAP TO
Automatically move the mouse pointer to a default button in a dialog box.
Go to Start / (Settings in 98X) Control Panel / Mouse / Pointer Options. In
the Snap To section, check the box--
Automatically move pointer to the default button in a dialog box
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CCCC Page 7 January 2007
FIX MISSING .DLL
from LangaList newsletter
Q. "I have a problem that may be common and yet the cure eludes me. When I
attempt to install software in my XP Pro SP2 machine, I get the dialog box
'Missing SHELL.DLL.' How do I find and reinstall the SHELL.DLL with minimum
disruption to my system?"
A. The fix is easy, but first — it'd be best if you could find out why
Shell.dll disappeared.
For example, there's a fairly common browser hijacker that can cause this
problem. You didn't mention any other symptoms, but the hijacker usually
adds "Home Search Assistant," "Shopping Wizard," and "Search Extender" to
your system, and may also reset your browser's home page so that a popup
appears at every start.
If malware such as this is working on your system, then it will do no good
to repair Shell.dll because the malware will simply corrupt the new copy.
I suggest you begin by using your favorite antimalware tools to make sure
your system is squeaky clean and free of all malware. Major test labs
currently rate Webroot's Spy Sweeper and PC Tools' Spyware Doctor as the
best antispyware products. For more information, see the Security Baseline
page at WindowsSecrets.com.
If "Home Search Assistance" and its related friends are, in fact, causing
your problem, the free AboutBuster utility can remove them.
Once you're sure your system is clean, you can download a fresh copy of
Shell.dll from any number of online sources. DLL-files.com, for example, has
a good Shell.dll page. Copy the DLL file into your DLLcache folder (usually
found at C:\Windows\System32\DLLcache). Then re-register the DLL this way:
Step 1. Click Start, Run.
Step 2. In the Run dialog box, enter (change C:\Windows to the correct
location on your system):
regsvr32 C:\Windows\System32\DLLcache\Shell.dll
Step 3. Click OK.
Step 4. Reboot, and your Shell.dll problems should be fixed!
By the way, the above steps can resolve a huge number of problems with other
missing/corrupted DLLs. Just use the example above as a template,
downloading whatever DLL you need and substituting its name in the regsvr32
command.
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CCCC Page 8 January 2007
XP PROCESSES
From Data Doctors newsletter
QUESTION: When I go to my Windows XP "Task Manager" screen and look at the
processes, there are usually 60 of them running. What really NEEDS to be
running, how do I know what ones I should end process, and how do I find out
what some of these things are?
ANSWER: This question was answered on December 6, 2006. Much of the
information contained herein may have changed since posting.
No matter how powerful your computer is, having too many "processes" running
in the background will dramatically reduce the performance of any system.
The fewer processes you have running in the background, the more power your
computer can devote to the programs that you are attempting to run.
If your computer takes forever to start up or it seems lethargic when you
ask it to do something, there is a good chance that your system is being
asked to do too much.
The best way to see if your system is being swamped with extra processes is
to restart your computer and bring up the Task Manager to see what it looks
like after a fresh start. In Windows XP, you can give your computer the
"three-fingered salute" (Ctrl-Alt-Del) to open the Task Manager (Pro users
will have to click on the Task Manager button when the Windows Security box
comes up). At the bottom left corner of the Task Manager window will be the
number of running processes. We generally like to see less than 35 processes
running on a desktop and less than 40 for most laptops.
If your computer is brand new and it has lots of extra processes running,
you can thank the vendor of your computer for "giving" you lots of extra
"trial-ware" programs that came pre-installed. Since computer hardware
margins are so thin, many national brands have resorted to "selling real
estate" on your new computer so that software companies could pitch there
programs to you through the practice of installing trial versions that are
installed as "added bonus software" when you bought your computer. This
practice has gotten so bad that most folks need their brand new computers to
be cleaned up right out of the box just to get rid of all of the needless
software that is being forced on them.
The question about which processes are needed is virtually impossible to
answer in general because every computer system is unique. There are
thousand of optional processes that your machine could be running, but
anything that is being loaded by "System" should be left alone (unless you
really know your way around the Windows Registry). If you are somewhat
technical, you can lookup any process listed through a Google search and get
lots of information about what the process is for and if it is really
needed.
Clicking the "End Process" button will only stop the process as long as you
don't turn off the machine. The next time you start your computer, it will
reload the process, so getting it out permanently takes more steps.
If you can determine that you don't need a process, you can either uninstall
the program that is associated with it or change the setting in the program
that tells it to start automatically when Windows starts (which is another
variable in every program).
Too many people are buying new computers because they assume that their old
computer is too slow, when in fact it is simply being overworked. Before you
decide to put an old computer out to pasture, make sure it isn't just being
asked to carry too big of a load!
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CCCC Page 9 January 2007
HOW I LOST 33% OF MY HARD DRIVE
And How I Recovered It
by Jacques Blum, LACS
Until very recently, my only computer was a Sony Vaio notebook purchased in
1999. It works with a Pentium II at the dizzying speed of 333 KHZ, came with
64 MB of RAM that, in a short time, I cranked up to the max of 192 MB. The
hard drive has a sinfully-wasting capacity of 6.4 GB. Sony had the
generosity of also installing a floppy drive and a CD-DVD ROM drive on it,
and everything running more or less happily under Windows 98. Shortly after
I had adopted the machine - for a king's ransom - I upgraded to Windows 98
SE. Tempus fugit and so does the available free space on the hard drive
after a few years of accumulating very important (so it seemed) information
that I seldom look at. If ever.
In April 2005, I noticed that the Hard Drive contained about 4+ GB of
programs and data and approximately 2 GB of free space. I quickly figured
that my notebook had already passed its half-life and that in another 5
years or so it would require major surgery - like a new and perhaps somewhat
larger Hard Drive - if it ever survives the intervention...
I quickly moved some of my files to CDs, followed by a defrag, all of which
relieved the pressure, and the C:\ properties revealed that the Hard Drive
was more in balance with about 3+_ GB of stuff and 3 GB of free space.
Before doing anything further, I decided to save my whole Hard Drive, I.E.
to image it; and after reading some of Fred Langa's advice I purchased
Acronis True Image 8.0. All of this happening about a year and a half ago,
way before I knew that, some day, Sheldon Shallon and Paula Van Berkom would
do an in-depth presentation on Acronis True Image. Obviously, I ran into
trouble.
My goal was to image the hard drive on 6 or perhaps 7 CDs. I do not know
what I did but after letting Acronis do it's thing for awhile, before any CD
burning even started, a message popped up on the screen telling me that
Acronis was aborting the operation. I probably did some stupid thing, and I
suppose that it may be due to the fact that I had approached the whole
operation with a lot of aplomb and even more assumptions. Lesson: do not
assume, even if you are sure that you know what the program does, just
follow the instructions!
In any case, my whole system was in a mess; even the MBR had been changed.
Who done it? I immediately accused Acronis, and even had a few unkind words
for myself.
It took me a long time to get the system up again. And when I checked the
C:\properties, I had the unpleasant surprise to find that the hard drive now
had about 3+ GB of stuff and only 1 GB of free space, for a total of 4 GB.
No trace of the other 2 GB. I had no clue where to find the missing 2 GB. I
ended up moving some more files to CDs until my 4 GB were about evenly split
between my stuff and free space. Needless to say, I was pretty miserable
about this situation. Then, back to Fred Langa. I read, or rather re-read,
Langa's unbound enthusiasm for a program called Bootit. In his words,
First, Bootit NG is a boot manager. It allows you to install a mix of
operating systems...and then boot whichever you want. Second, Bootit NG is a
partition manager. You can create, format, move, resize (nondestructively),
and delete partitions at will, without disturbing the surrounding ones.
Third, Bootit NG is a disk imager; you can create compact, compressed images
of any or all partitions on your hard drive, regardless of which OS they are
holding, and place the image files where you want. Bootit NG supports direct
writing to many common CD/ DVD+R/+RW/-R/-RW drives..."
Last July, I finally made up my mind to give Bootit NG a try. I had paid
$40.00 for Acronis, with no luck. I plunked down another $35.00 for BING, as
Bootit NG is affectionately called by its fans. Lo and behold! This thing
works. I saw the missing 2 GB, just called partition. Here were the 2
missing GB that Acronis had spirited away and BING let me slide them to join
my own free space. My hard drive is back to 6 GB.
I have not yet tried BING in its other functions, but as a partition
manager, hats off! One of these days, I will try its imaging capabilities,
that which I messed up with Acronis.
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