Andromeda43

As far as mucking about with the Pagefile, I follow the old adage, "If in doubt....DON'T". MS designed it to work just fine on drive C: so I, like so many others, just leave it there. There are delays built into the startup routine, by Microsoft, that can be lessened to speed up the boot process. I found that this worked pretty well. Shorten the Boot Time in Vista & Windows 7 Go to the start button, choose run, then type msconfig and press Ok. On the system configuration window, choose Boot tab. Check No Gui Boot, then lower the timeout to a more manageable time. I choose 3 seconds. Next choose advanced options. This is where you can choose how many processors you have. Most modern PC's are duo core (2 processors) with some quad core (4 processors) then choose OK. Now choose apply and OK, reboot and you should see a marked decrease in boot time. Then to speed up shutdown I use a shortcut on my desktop encorporating this shutdown command. %windir%\System32\shutdown.exe -s -t 00 -f Just copy and paste the blue command into a Desktop shortcut and you'll have a very nice QUICK shutdown routine. Good Luck, B)

If a path statement does not follow the rules of DOS notation, like with spaces in it, then YES you need to put the entire path statement inside of Quotes. Just do it all the time and you won't ever write a line that won't work,,,at least NOT because of that problem. Good Luck, B)

There are several Time programs that will read the time from the National Time Server and download it into the system clock on your system, which is actually the clock on your motherboard. You can set that manually, by entering the BIOS during boot up. Windows reads that time when it first boots up. I've used two different programs, "Time Sync" and "Atom Time". Cheers Mates! B)

Partition Magic 8 (last version) was just fine for any OS up through Windows XP/32. But it's getting OLD and may cause all sorts of problems with Vista or Win-7/64. Easeus Partition Manager should be completely safe though. http://www.partition-tool.com/ Paragon Partition Manager is another one, that I've tried with good results. You can also just Google "Partition Manager" and get even more possibilities. The secret to resizing C:, which many users miss, is having the un-partitioned space to expand the C: drive into, before you start trying to make C: bigger. So if you have a second partition that you can first make smaller, then do that, before you try to make C: larger. Good Luck, Andromeda43 B)

Windows always uses all core unless you REDUCE the usage. You see the ReadyBoot effect: Not to dispute what's been said, but that's just not my own experience. On my main system, I'm running Windows 7 Ultimate 64 and I have an AMD 5200+ dual core CPU. I had to tell the stupid OS that there are two cores or it would have remained forever set to just 1 core. Windows is SO stupid. On my Acer Aspire ONE Netbook, the Atom processor comes up in the config page, (the one listed above) with two cores, but as usual only one was selected. I set it to 2. On my 8 yr old AMD 3000+ (single core) CPU, the config box showed ONLY ONE core, which is correct. It would seem, from all of this that if you (or somebody) doesn't tell Windows how many cores you actually have, it will run on just one, till the cows come home. Cheers Mates! B)

"Don't worry, Software Handles it!"

System Restore can of course be very helpful, but so can a complete backup of your entire C: drive, made every few days. I won't question the authenticity of your OS....that's not my place, but I do suggest that you look around for a FREE disk archiving program. For instance, if you have either a Seagate or Maxtor hard drive in your system, you can get a FREE copy of Acronis True Image, completely LEGAL, from either the Seatools package downloagable from Seagate's web site, or from Maxblast available from Maxtor. A Maxblast CD comes with every new Maxtor drive and is also available from their website. There are even trial copies of Norton's Ghost and Acronis True Image available from selected sites. You just have to look around. There are also some other backup programs with which I am not familiar. Let Google find them for you. Having a complete backup of your C: drive when you have a problem, goes much better than just a copy of your registry. Many a time, have I tried to use System Restore to fix a problem and it's failed to do so. I have and use both system restore and Ghost, so I know from which I speak. Good Luck, B) (The Old Guy)

I'm a bit confused as to exactly what you're trying to do, but if Win-7 is already installed and you don't want to be bedeviled by UAC, simply turn it OFF. That's the first thing I do when setting up a new PC with Windows 7 on it. (likewise Vista) There is a neat little script to do that with no muss, no fuss. When you're job is done, you can always turn UAC back on, if that's your thing. The companion script to "Disable UAC" is "Enable UAC". The "Disable UAC" script is easy to find on the internet. I found it here. http://www.box.net/shared/8d0155pk7y Another script that I consider a must, is "Take Ownership" which allows you to become the "OWNER" of any folder or file, from the Right-Click context menu. "Take Ownership" is the second thing I run on a new Win-7 setup. I actually do a lot more, but those are the things that I think would help you the most in your Query. good luck, B)

For a couple of years now, I've been using a FREE program called "Photo Filtre" to do screen shots, edit camera photos, and even add captions to some of my photos. Putting a shortcut to it in my Quick Launch Toolbar makes it VERY convenient, for things like doing screen shots. I can even use Photo Filtre to access my scanner to scan an image and allow me to edit it. One day I even scanned in a bunch of 50 year old color slides, with my Epson Scanner, which needed additional contrast and some cropping. There's NO WAY I could possibly tell you all the features of Photo Filtre, so it's something you'll have to try out yourself. Please do! (Yes, I spelled it correctly.....it's from France, thus the spelling) Good Luck, Doc B)

Your question becomes null and void if you will only set up a second hard drive on your computer. Then you never need to worry about one OS interacting with the another. Hard drives are so cheap any more that trying to cram two OS's into one HD is foolish. With two HD's, each OS has its own private drive and you even have space for a second partition to store misc. stuff, related to each OS. I currently have two versions of XP, Vista, and Windows 7 Ultimate all on the same computer, but on different HD's. The boot menu provided by my MSI motherboard allows me to select which drive I want to boot to. Just a thought! Doc B)

It seems like windows can easily get hung up during the shutdown process. There are several registry tweaks that can speed up the process, but on that "500" previously mentioned, that's a half second. It's been reported on other forums that windows cannot and will not allow any number below 1000 (one second) So when doing those registry tweaks, I set all those things to '1000'. There is also a Quick Shutdown shortcut that I've put on my desktop, for years, that will also speed up the Windows XP shutdown process. It's a version of the one I used for many years in Windows 98. Copy and paste this line into a New Shortcut on your desktop. %windir%\System32\shutdown.exe -s -t 00 -f I say "copy and paste" because all the spaces in that line are important. To turn that shortcut into a "Reboot" command, just change the -s to a -r. For consistency with the normal shutdown procedure, I put my Quick Shutdown icon right above my START button. My XP shuts down in 5 to 8 seconds, depending on what I've left open. Cheers Mates! B)

I've been using M$ operating systems since DOS 2.0 and it's hard to say which one I liked the most or the least. Every new OS had something that was better than the OS that preceded it. Even Windows ME had attributes that were better than 98SE. Better USB support and better printer support were just two attributes for ME, that come to mind. I personally had no problems with it. And when trying to load a specific driver from a CD, ME would scan the entire CD till it found the proper driver and you didn't have to tell the OS exactly where the driver was located. XP, right out of the box was horrible. It didn't look like or act like anything we'd ever seen before. But, after SP2 and then SP3, XP is a pretty stable and useful OS. Vista, was just too alien and most old time users didn't want any part of it. I tested both the 32 bit and 64 bit versions, but never really warmed up to it. It's just a bad memory now, for me. I could tweak it and tune it to look and act somewhat like XP, which made it more acceptable to my customers, but that was time consuming. What ever prompted them to screw up Solitaire? Us old Sol players, hate the new look and feel. Win-7, = Vista on Steroids! MS added nothing that most people really want or need and they did away with things like the "Classic Look" which made Vista more acceptable. I've been testing Win-7, Ultimate, both 32 bit and 64 bit, since the early Beta days and I still don't like it. I've never been able to get Windows Mail to work on the 64 bit version. I CAN get it to work ok on the 32 bit version, but even that requires some serious Hacking and you must have access to a Vista install, to get the Windows Mail files that will work. Really want an exercise to try your patience? Try, setting up a dial-up connection on Win-7 and put the shortcut to it on your desktop. I'm still running XP-Pro-SP3 as my main OS and I'm sure I will be for quite some time to come. It's just so much more docile and user friendly. Cheers Mates, and Happy Holidays! Andromeda B)

Some use MS Word, but it saves a lot of code that bloats the size of your page. "Front Page", from MS is specifically designed to do web pages and works just great, giving you a true WYSIWYG. (what you see is what you get) And, does not load down your page with lots of unneeded code. I have two web pages and I've used "Front Page" to create both of them. I'm not an HTML programmer, so I needed something basic and easy. Good Luck, and Happy Holidays! Andromeda B)

An electronics engineering degree from an accredited University (4 year) would be the very minimum, just to get started. The guys designing IC's and other hardware, today, are not kids right out of school. They have years and years of hands-on lab experience, maybe even serving several years as an apprentice. And most of those guys have multiple doctorates. You'll make more money, quicker, with less schooling, by becoming a PC Service tech, or IT specialist. But, to be a good tech, you must be very 'detail oriented'. As with most electronics, "the devil is in the details". Good Luck and Happy Holidays! Andromeda B)

For years I've used only APC brand of UPS, till I got a real deal on a 500VA Cyber Power UPS at my local Staples store. It kept telling me that "battery capacity is critical" whenever I'd do a Self Test. My PC and Monitor only applies a 157 watt load, to the UPS, so I couldn't figure out why the battery capacity would be critical. Jeff, at Cyber Power couldn't figure it out either, so he sent me a brand new UPS. The new one did the same thing. He finally told me that I'd need a larger UPS for my system. Hmmmm! A 500VA unit is not big enough to supply power to a 157 watt load? I won't be buying any more Cyber Power UPS's. It's back to APC brand, for me. Set your timer on the UPS to five minutes, not one minute, and when the UPS starts beeping close any open programs and shut down your PC till the line power comes back up and is stable for at lease five minutes. YOU control your UPS, don't let it control YOU. The voice of experience Andromeda B)

With the idea of buying a laptop without an OS, I have one serious problem. laptops are very proprietary little pieces of hardware, requiring very specific drivers for their motherboard, video, sound, LAN, touchpad and so on. When you buy a laptop with an OS pre-installed, the drivers for that specific OS are also pre-installed, by the manufacturer. So, if you bought a laptop computer, with NO OS on it, and basically a blank HD, where are you going to get the needed drivers to complement whatever OS you decide to install ? That could turn out to be a real hassle! For those who just can't stand Vista or (shuddering) Windows 7, there are still some computers available with Windows XP installed. Happy Holidays Everyone! Andromeda B)

In the grade school I attended, we called it "Writing" (cursive) and "Printing" (clear) We spent several years, learning the "Palmer Method" of Writing, with all the swoops and swirls. I can do either very well, even at my advanced age, but I prefer Writing over Printing, because it's much faster. A few years back my handwriting got really shaky. I was still writing letters to people at the time and wanted them to be readable, so I dug out a Calligraphy Set that I'd received as a Christmas present a few years before. Then for several months, every letter I wrote was with the Calligraphy pen. I must admit, those were fairly Short letters. But that exercise helped me to get my handwriting back under control. There are times, when printing something is better than trying to write it. I thank God and my grade school teachers, that I can do both. I checked "Cursive" in the poll. B)

But, WD probably has the highest failure rate of any of the major brands. Hitachi, is the company that made the IBM Deskstar drives, known to most techs as the "deathstar". I'd not want one of those either. I find, as a service tech and PC builder, that I get the most bang for my bucks from Seagate or Maxtor. with minimal RMA's. And if there IS an RMA, the service is quick and simple with zero BS. I'm not talking about one or two drives, but tens of drives per year. So I have to deal with the averages. And, the averages favor Seagate/Maxtor. (Now the same corp.) Just a friendly tip. Andromeda B)

If your hard drive crashes, NO recovery partition is going to help you. Your hard drive WILL crash, not IF but WHEN. So having your restore files on that drive is pure suicide. You will still need a good backup on DVD or Flash Drive to recover to a new HD. And your restore program should be on some Bootable Media..... CD, DVD, Flash Drive, etc. To be safe, you should be making new backup DVD's on a weekly basis. (at least) Or, possibly making your backup to a removable USB drive. There are many programs that you can use to do this. I personally prefer Ghost, but Acronis True Image is another good program to make full drive (partition) backups. Good Luck, B)

I thoroughly understand the "I wanna be in control" syndrome. I suffer from that malady myself. :lol: But, having said that, I also want to know that if my hard drive (heaven forbid) squalls, balls and smokes, that I have all my important stuff (everything) is sufficiently backed up. I save so many things on a daily basis, that my weekly Ghost backup falls way short of assuring that ALL my stuff will be restoreable, in case of a general hard drive failure. As I do so often, I went back to my roots (MS Dos) for a solution to the problem. To keep this short, I will tell you that I found the solution to my daily backup of all my stuff in the old Dos XCOPY command. I wrote a rather simple batch file to back up any new files or files that have been edited or changed, to my secondary hard drive. I incorporated this batch file into my Shutdown routine for a seamless daily backup. If I edit a file, like one of my Excel spreadsheets, I want that new version saved and to overwrite the old (out of date) version. To this batch file I've added lines to backup all my email and even my address book. Here is a sample of an XCOPY command line to backup everything that falls under "My Documents", including all sub folders. xcopy "C:\Documents and Settings\Alex\My Documents\*.*" "D:\My Documents\" /s /y /H /R /D I hope this humble offering will help someone wanting to set up their own backup scheme. Cheers Mates, B)

For some weird reason, I'd never trust Windows to back up Windows. Yes, go with the third party backup program like Acronis True Image, run from a bootable CD. I have also used Ghost 11.5, booted from a bootable flash drive. Both programs work like a champ, to backup Vista or Win-7. I'm just curious though............ how are you going to boot up your PC after the hard drive has totally crashed and restore the image that Windows made? You MUST have your backup/restore program on some bootable media. Also, the Backup Image File itself must be somewhere other than on your HD. Just a thought, B)

Duh...........................! Could you be a little more specific as to exactly what you're trying to do? Any flash media, whether stick or camera card, can be made to boot up a PC, but only into the DOS environment. All such media are formatted in the FAT or FAT-32 mode. I have created bootable flash sticks that will boot up most any PC and run, Ghost, Partition Magic 8, CheckItPro, Spinrite and many other utilities. All you need is the HP program to format a flash drive and a suitable source for the 3 DOS boot files. I don't know if I'm allowed to post the links to those things here. So I won't..... at the risk of being politically incorrect.

I'm just wondering, how MS is going to get their updates to you, without any way to connect to their internet web site. ??? On Windows 7 Install DVD's, there should be an option, to install I.E. 8 or NOT to install it. If you already had Firefox, for instance, on a CD or flash drive, it wouldn't make a lot of difference whether the OS had a browser in it or not. Then there's the problem of FF not having ActiveX in it, to read that stupid MS web page. But if you install I.E. Tab into Firefox, you don't need I.E. anyway. I guess time will tell how that will all work out. I'm running Windows 7, RC1 and I'm also using Windows Mail. I just copied the files over from Vista. It works great! Time will answer all our questions.

Y'all should be reading the Windows7forum. I found a neat little script there, called "Take Ownership" which I now run on every Vista or Win-7 install that I have to set up. Run it on any folder like "Program Files" and it gives you total ownership of every file in that folder. I now run it on all personal folders, all Program Files folders and even the Windows folder. No more access denied messages. Download the script here: http://www.box.net/shared/l1b7hmpyh6 Then shut off that obnoxious UAC!!!! Get that script here: http://www.box.net/shared/8d0155pk7y Just run these two scripts when you start a setup with either Vista or 7, for a much nicer working PC. The Take Ownership script puts that comment in the right click context menu. Just right click on any folder or file and "Take Ownership" of it. Just a few simple scripts can tame the savage beast! Cheers Mates! B)

Ghost 11.5, the DOS version, run from any DOS boot disk, will back up any version of Vista or Windows 7. It's the oldest version of ghost that will do that. Ghost 2003 will not and Ghost 8.x will not. Any version of Ghost that must be run from within Windows, totally wets the bed. I have Ghost 11.5 on a boot CD that will back up almost anything, including linux. B)