GeneralMandible

FYI 0.6.3 was released today.

I'm looking at making some changes to this: Emptying temp files for all user profiles Defragging all local fixed disks Chkdsk on all local fixed disks I also want to try to move it all to VBscript (no more REG, BAT, CMD files). I'll post again when I have these three features added.

This is a powerful method under 9x systems, but AFAICT, under NT, drivers can be ran at a lower level (like file system filters) and then fool Winpooch. My advice : do not trust Winpooch if you're not planning to use it on a 100% clean system. edit: my advice was about installing it on a clean system. sorry. The latest version (0.6.2) uses kernel mode hooking. It appears to hook all the processes now. http://sourceforge.net/forum/forum.php?forum_id=611545

Here is some info that I put together on repairing IE: http://www.pebcac.net/community/viewtopic.php?t=9 Hope it helps.

Has anyone tried the 0.6 version? I get an error when installing it. This works nice for blocking sites. It would be nice if there was some documentation that came with it.

It appears that this model doesn't offer USB legacy support. This is needed to use the keyboard in DOS modes, which includes chkdsk at startup aka autochk. Here is a link from MS: http://www.microsoft.com/whdc/archive/usbc...x?pf=true#EZAAC

FYI You shouldn't have to go into safe mode. All you need to do is stop the Automatic Update service. DataStore.edb should only be in use by Windows update services (web or AU).

If this is the case, it really sucks. I don't see a real benefit in going from a PS2 keyboard to a USB. (the mouse is a different story) On current systems, you don't have the option of plugging in a PS2 since they no longer put the ports on the MB. The only solution to this would be for MS to load the driver before the chkdsk runs or to not unload the BIOS info from memory until after the ckdsk runs (aside from getting a system with PS2 support or installing Linux). Is this correct?

I doubt that is the case. This occurs on other GX620's we have. I think it is a Dell issue...another reason for building my own.

This is a weird one. I have a Dell GX620 with a USB keyboard and mouse. When a chkdsk runs at startup and prompts you with a countdown to press any key to cancel, it won't let me. It is weird because I can tap F2 and get into BIOS or F8 to get into Safe Mode. The keyboard is being detected before Windows loads. Has anyone seen this before? I'll continue to pound my head on the desk until I figure it out. Thanks for any help!

I use an account with admin priveleges on all the machines I utilize. User education is the best security tool out there. For regular, everyday office users, I would recommend just an account with user priveleges.

I've made some changes to where it now has a prompt after extraction that asks if you want to install, view the ReadMe file, or cancel. It also deletes the profile (fixed path, but will change later) after the user logs back in. I would like to move this to a VB app, but it might be awhile.

Defragging your HD optimizes your filesystem for optimal performance, therefore...

In Windows Explorer, click on Tools->Disconnect Network Drive See if that drive is mapped there. Sometimes you don't see the mapping in your directory tree.

PageDefrag by SysInternals for the win. Mark says that memory optimizers are a hoax and Windows does just fine at managing the memory. Doesn't PageDefrag optimize the virtual memory? This would mean that Windows does have (minor) issues with memory management and you need something to optimize it. That is somewhat contradictory from what I've read. Just an observation.

There wasn't an option for "When the $#!t hits the fan" I installed XP on my current system in January of 04. It's still running fine. With 98 I reinstalled every year, because it would eventually start wiggin out. I have a seperate dirve with a Ghost image as a backup. I run periodic incramentals for the data. Hopefully if, god forbid, my RAID fails, I should be able to boot to the backup drive & install updates. I feel that XP is a solid OS as long as you saty on top of the maintenance. I plan to reformat when I build a new machine next spring. Shooting for 3 years, Woohoo!!

I voted No since I rarely use it on VM's. On my main machines I use a combination of Picasa & PSP8/Gimp.

I take it you can browse the web just fine? I don't think it's Sygate. I've installed it on a lot of machines and still use it at home. You could try uninstalling it and see if you still have the problem (reboot after uninstalling). If the problem is still there, you can reinstall it.

I may look into using just vbscript or maybe even a VB app. Thanks for the offer & I might take you up on it.

I've added "BETA" and a disclaimer to the original post. @Zxian Thanks for the constructive criticism. That's the kind that can be appreciated.

What versions of Windows does this run on? Does it use MS' defrag utility?

My main goal with deleting temp files is not to save space, but to clean out the garbage that slows things down more than anything. I can have it delete the profile when the user logs in again. I've worked on machines that have over a GB of temporary internet files. If people like the premise of automating these tasks, it would be worthwhile to add options for this. As of my initial posting, I was presenting the idea for people to customize as they see fit. The whole purpose of this is automation. It says in the install that it scheduled the task & that it can be changed. Don't worry, this is impossible. No script can stop something that doesn't exist. If it starts a service that's already started, it's still running. It has no effect on the service. This I agree with...there is no error trapping...yet. You are assuming this to be a finished piece of software. They are just a set of scripts to automate some monotonous tasks. I agree that error checks need to be added to this. If this was scripted in VB with error trapping, asked the user lots of questions, & was highly configurable, would it be of use to a lot of people?

Clearing the pagefile means writing 0's to all inactive pages. The file can still be fragmented, meaning it is broken into to different parts on the disk. They work pretty well on all my XP Pro machines for needing a re-write. I'm guessing you are saying "yes" to putting it into an app. As long as it is completely customizable: install path, cleanup mgr options, pagefile options, etc. It would just be an interface for some of the features built into XP, but more user friendly. Any other constructive ideas of things it should have?

Adding a prompt wouldn't be hard...but is it worthwhile for me to spend a bunch of time making it universal to all systems? making it really pretty like Vista? Not really. I posted these because I figured someone could find them useful. The process/service names were not guessed. They were ones on my systems. People can go in and modify them as they see fit. Stopping them lets things run more smoothly. This is by no means a "finished product." It's just a tool that people can tweak and use as they see fit. I guess I should put a better explaination and disclaimer on it. It doesn't delete the pagefile, it "clears" & disables it (allowing it to be defragged), then reactivates it. As for the mix of files, it was the simplest way to get things done. Eventually I may move it all to vbscript. If a lot of people would like for this to be put into a Maintenenace interface for XP, I may find it worthwhile to put it into a customizable app as opposed to multiple scripts.

If you want to look at the code, the easiest way would be to download the .exe and extract the files using WinRAR. I think that might be easier than posting all the scripts in here.