Lazy8

I feel most of the fixes you listed are useless to me as well. Hotfixes don't usually add the full size of the download to Windows, though. Many updates replace existing files, alter existing features, or remove them entirely for security and stability. Result is total size of Windows on disk is larger, but less than aggregate size of hotfixes. I have also used nLite, achieving total Windows footprint roughly equivalent to booogy's (even with OE & its patches). Advantage of nLite is true integration of updates, which does not leave additional catalog files or uninstall backups, plus optional removal of components which would otherwise require patching. Some annoyances have an adequate compensation to live with: WGA is a one-time validation encountered by authorized licencees, and gives full access to Windows Update & downloads from Microsoft. Don't think you're being singled out as piracy suspect. Others you can, and probably should, mark to hide in Windows Update. These preferences are then stored on your computer, eliminating annoying prompts to download fixes for disabled & removed services (OE, messenger, Smart Card, and the rest). If you ever perform an unattended install, take a close look at Deployment Kit component removal, explained in Ref.chm. There, you'll find a number of features you decide are unnecessary (some of which even nLite cannot yet remove).

A good joke never is never funnier when shouted...except maybe this one: Airport Security alerted an airline crew to keep an eye a blond passenger who appeared excessively nervous and shifty-eyed. Soon after takeoff, the blond man called a stewardess to his seat and said, "I have a live grenade in my pocket. I'll blow up the plane if you do not divert to Cairo." Perplexed, the stewardess said, "But, sir. This is United flight 1219 going to Cairo." "Then you better return now!" barked the hijacker, "Before I miss my flight!"

Made my computer fly! I'm glad it worked for you, Wolf. Initiating a scan had no effect on this machine--no indication of any process running. I certainly never got any results. Had to uninstall--Strike Three.

As long as you covered the basics (such as making hidden and system files viewable in Folder Properties) when you copied it, you should theoretically be able to boot it. I ran into problems with Nero setting boot options, and occasionally with nLite's ISO creation. Validate the integrity of your source, extract its boot sector (using ISOBuster or similar), and use CDIMAGE to make your ISO. When I used these measures, XP Home only failed to boot when I used poor quality CD media.

If used with nLited Windows, this will reduce its overall footprint to something that can fit on CD (NOD32 only adds ~10MB, after all).

1. Adopted (thanks for reminding him of it, ya heartless bastard!) 2. Actually born two days later. Momma was in labor an additional 56 hours trying to sqeeze out Moses--a fact she never let him live down 3. Red (after it breaks in, and spatters your blood all over during the mauling) Pretty fun...got any more of those teasers?

Do you know if another manufacturer has assumed support? Also, perhaps you could search here.

Don't worry, you are the only one seen it. Yeah...right! I happen to know his ISP is rainierconnect.com. You can get the signs from danasoft.com. Others will see only their own IP, if you add one to your sig. @ piedus - Shark's switchless installer is edited only to remove yahoo toolbar (default installation component of latest Shockwave player). You may download .msi installers from Macromedia. Silent switches are /qb or /qn--they worked so smoothly, I never bothered to try the .exe package (so I don't know their switches).

Can't help you...MU & OU detect missing patches and defs, even with Outlook missing. Updates won't stick, either. Install Outlook or hide updates in MU--performance of Office will not suffer with either action.

Here is your textbook. Is it due very soon? For a little extra effort, you can fit it on CD instead.

Socket Creep = removable chips loosening, caused by thermal cycles over a period of time Peripherals = any hardware not installed inside the case Your old hard drive may be plugged into another computer. If you do this, rt-click My Computer, select 'Manage', and open Disk Management. Don't add or delete partitions, or format--just make sure the drive is recognized and is assigned a letter. Don't add, delete or open files--scan for virus & spyware (give it the works, with updated defs). If malfunction is hardware instead of OS, You may be able to reuse it without reinstalling Windows. For diagnostic purposes, remove all components except PSU, motherboard, video card, primary HDD (you can use the old one if you're sure it's bug free). Pull LAN, modem, other PCI cards(if installed), and all but one memory stick (if that leaves you enough for Windows to run). Make sure power and data connections are firmly seated on all components. If it boots without any of those errors (no matter how slowly), it's bound to be one of the removed pieces. Begin reinstalling them and running the PC, one at a time. Defective RAM is a common cause of bizarre & seemingly unrelated faults. Download one of these, burn to disk, and run on your bad computer. They are self-booting, so you may be able to do this before all previous steps. Original disk matters! You can install using another's CD, but never activate with Microsoft (30-day maximum use). If your PC came with factory restore disk (labeled with PC manufacturer), you may send for a replacement--sometimes for a small charge. If it's home built, you'll have to find your original licensed CD, or buy a new copy of Windows.

Bought a new HDD? Dewd...you're gonna be so PO'd if socket creep was your problem! Start with the basics: Disconnect all peripherals Remove all hardware not essential for starting Windows (CD drives, extra HDDs, PCI cards, reduce memory banks to minimum number) Ensure installed devices are undamaged, and have full contact with their sockets (check removable chips on cards & Mobo too) Power on, enter BIOS setup first, and make sure settings are appropriate for the hardware you expect to install Use your original Windows installation disc for full install...it already worked once, and is licensed for your machine If you get to this point, plug in your extra data hard drives later, retrieve and back up (only) your vital data, wipe & format (just in case a virus took you down). Don't click on anything that hasn't had a full scan Install remaining components one at a time, put 'em through their paces, check DevMgr & Event Log for alerts Don't install Diablo (Quake, Doom...or whatever) before services hotfixes, and latest drivers Give us a followup post if you found a solution or more questions

HOW TO OPERATE A HELICOPTER MECHANIC By William C. Dykes A long, long time ago, back in the days of iron men and wooden rotor blades, a ritual began. It takes place when a helicopter pilot approaches a mechanic to report some difficulty with his aircraft. All mechanics seem to be aware of it, which leads to the conclusion that it's included somewhere in their training, and most are diligent in practicing it. New pilots are largely ignorant of the ritual because it's neither included in their training, nor handed down to them by older drivers. Older drivers feel that the pain of learning everything the hard way was so exquisite, that they shouldn't deny anyone the pleasure. There are pilots who refuse to recognize it as a serious professional amenity, no matter how many times they perform it, and are driven to distraction by it. Some take it personally. They get red in the face, fume and boil, and do foolish dances. Some try to take it as a joke, but it's always dead serious. Most pilots find they can't change it, and so accept it and try to practice it with some grace. The ritual is accomplished before any work is actually done on the aircraft. It has four parts, and goes something like this: 1. The pilot reports the problem. The mechanic says, There's nothing wrong with it." 2. The pilot repeats the complaint. The mechanic replies, "It's the gauge." 3. The pilot persists, plaintively. The mechanic Maintains, "They're all like that." 4.The pilot, heatedly now, explains the problem carefully, enunciating carefully. The mechanic states, "I can't fix it." After the ritual has been played through in it's entirety, serious discussion begins, and the problem is usually solved forthwith. Like most rituals, this one has it's roots in antiquity and a basis in experience and common sense. It started back when mechanics first learned to operate pilots, and still serves a number of purposes. Its most important function is that it is a good basic diagnostic technique. Causing the pilot to explain the symptoms of the problem several times in increasing detail not only saves troubleshooting time, but gives the mechanic insight into the pilot's knowledge of how the machine works, and his state of mind. Every mechanic knows that if the if the last flight was performed at night or in bad weather, some of the problems reported are imagined, some exaggerated, and some are real. Likewise, a personal problem, especially romantic or financial, but including simple fatigue, affects a pilot's perception of every little rattle and thump. There are also chronic whiners complainers to be weeded out and dealt with. While performing the ritual, an unscrupulous mechanic can find out if the pilot can be easily intimidated. If the driver has an obvious personality disorder like prejudices, pet peeves, tender spots, or other manias, they will stick out like handles, with which he can be steered around. There is a proper way to operate a mechanic as well. Don't confuse "operating" a mechanic with "putting one in his place." The worst and most often repeated mistake is to try to establish an "I'm the pilot and you're just the mechanic" hierarchy. Although a lot of mechanics can and do fly recreationally, they give a **** about doing it for a living. Their satisfaction comes from working on complex and expensive machinery. As a pilot, you are neither feared nor envied, but merely tolerated, for until they actually train monkeys to fly those things, he needs a pilot to put the parts in motion so he can tell if everything is working properly. The driver who tries to put a mech in his "place" is headed for a fall. Sooner or later, he'll try to crank with the blade tied down. After he has snatched the tailboom around to the cabin door and completely burnt out the engine, he'll see the mech there sporting a funny little smirk. Helicopter mechanics are indifferent to attempts at discipline or regimentation other than the discipline of their craft. It's accepted that a good mechanic's personality should contain unpredictable mixtures of irascibility and nonchalance, and should exhibit at least some bizarre behavior. The basic operation of a mechanic involves four steps: 1. Clean an aircraft. Get out a hose or bucket, a broom, and some rags, and at some strange time of day, like early morning, or when you would normally take your afternoon nap) start cleaning that bird from top to bottom, inside and out. This is guaranteed to knock even the sourest old wrench off balance. He'll be suspicious, but he'll be attracted to this strange behavior like a passing motorist to a roadside accident. He may even join in to make sure you don't break anything. Before you know it , you'll be talking to each other about the aircraft while you're getting a more intimate knowledge of it. Maybe while you're mucking out the pilot's station, you'll see how rude it is to leave coffee cups, candy wrappers, cigarette butts, and other trash behind to be cleaned up. 2. Do a thorough pre-flight. Most mechanics are willing to admit to themselves that they might make a mistake, and since a lot of his work must be done at night or in a hurry, a good one likes to have his work checked. Of course he'd rather have another mech do the checking, but a driver is better than nothing. Although they cultivate a deadpan, don't-give-a-**** attitude, mechanics have nightmares about forgetting to torque a nut or leaving tools in inlets and drive shaft tunnels. A mech will let little gigs slide on a machine that is never pre-flighted, not because they won't be noticed, but because he figures the driver will overlook something big someday, and the whole thing will end up in a smoking pile of rubble anyway. 3. Don't abuse the machinery. Mechanics see drivers come and go, so you won't impress one in a thousand with what you can make the aircraft do. They all know she'll lift more than max gross, and will do a hammerhead with half roll. While the driver is confident that the blades and engine and massive frame members will take it, the mech knows that it's the seals and bearings and rivets deep in the guts of the machine that fail from abuse. In a driver mechanics aren't looking for fancy expensive clothes, flashy girlfriends, tricky maneuvers, and lots of juicy stories about Viet Nam. They're looking for one who'll fly the thing so that all the components make their full service life. They also know that high maintenance costs are a good excuse to keep salaries low. 4. Do a post-flight inspection. Nothing feels more deliciously dashing than to end the day by stepping down from the bird and walking off into the sunset while the blade slowly turns down. It's the stuff that beer commercials are made of. The trouble is, it leaves the pilot ignorant of how the aircraft has fared after a hard days work, and leaves the wrench doing a slow burn. The mechanic is an engineer, not a groom, and needs some fresh, first hand information on the aircraft's performance if he is to have it ready to go the next day. A little end-of-the-day conference also gives you one more chance to get him in the short ribs. Tell him the thing flew good. It's been known to make them faint dead away. As you can see, operating a helicopter mechanic is simple, but it is not easy. What it boils down to is that if a pilot performs his pilot rituals religiously in no time at all he will find the mechanic operating smoothly. (I have not attempted to explain how to make friends with a mechanic, for that is not known.) Helicopter pilots and mechanics have a strange relationship. It's a symbiotic partnership because one's job depends on the other, but it's an adversarial situation too, since one's job is to provide the helicopter with loving care, and the other's is to provide wear and tear. Pilots will probably always regard mechanics as lazy, lecherous, intemperate swine who couldn't make it through flight school, and mechanics will always be convinced that pilots are petulant children with pathological ego problems, a big watch, and a little whatchamacallit. Both points of view are viciously slanderous, of course, and only partly true.

1. Hand the keys to your buddy. 2. Ask him to give nice old lady a lift. 3. Escort pretty girl home on the bus. Result: everybody gets home safe & sound, you look like a real hero, and you get immediate quality time with dreamgirl.

Esoteric humor...best appreciated if you lived in either one.

What a coincidence--when I enter my age into the workout machine, 92 is the heart rate that trips the safety cutoff.

I haven't installed Realplayer for years, primarily for this reason. Their software is notorious for taking a broad selection of audio and image file associations. This used to happen only upon installation, and it was possible to reassign them manually. Looks like they're grabbed anew each time the program runs. Real is simply too annoying to live with.

Set up your billboard using these instructions, in the Unattended Guide.

Command box, eh...are you using the CMDOW utility in your instructions?

I guess that nearly rules out malware installers... Can you be any more specific about it (functions, features, appearance or brand)? We're shooting in the dark.

Probably nothing, although the Navy spokesman's name in the article gave me the brief impression of satire. Okay to move this to 'General'?

Similar problems have plagued me lately, using IE6 with identical cookie handling options. Often, messages I mark as spam are never moved from the inbox. Refreshing the page doesn't help--I actually have to log out and back in for the move to complete. Also, the session expiration time appears to vary randomly (<1min-1hour+). I even tried it with neither firewall running, with no improvement. I've been working around the problem by using Outlook Express as client, but that option is open only when I access it from home. Also, synchronization stalling doesn't make this a much more attractive alternative.

Just a guess, but this should do, unless you'll be asking how to install it. nice2meet_(you)sunny. Welcome to MSFN.

Navy ripped off the Seminole's signature play with that Tomahawk pass. Purely for show, it seems, since the Pirates didn't even bother to show up with a full team (automatic game forfeit). Such obviously sloppy conduct on team and officials' part makes the entire sport look bad, even for an exhibition game.

Many programs store their settings in this registry key: [HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SOFTWARE\<application>] This placement is far from universal, though. If you can't find it here, or regedit's own search function doesn't locate it, use a monitoring tool (such as Regshot) during activation.