SPAUG Newsletter March 2002
TABLE OF CONTENTS
Notes from the Prez
by Jim Dinkey
Triple Booting And How To Upgrade A Computer For Only $151
One Saturday morning the Clinic was bare, so a friend and I decided to work on a computer that was being evaluated for becoming either a useful computer for testbed use or consume a place in the recycle bin.
Because the computer was old enough that the hard disk could not recognize over 8 GB, and further problems were encountered with the motherboard, the decision was made to see what we could find at the local store.
To make a very long story short, we had an old ATX case (the motherboard with the keyboard and mouse with PS/2 connections, with the serial and parallel connectors in proximity, and the power supply connector having the twin rows of about 10 pins each).
So we looked for a non-pricey motherboard that met the ATX characteristics.
We found an Epox 8KTA3L motherboard at $60. It has a small footprint which means it fit into most boxes without interference problems.
Then we bought a $60 AMD Duron D950AUT1B CPU Chip that brought the speed from 233 to a snappy 950 MHz.
A CPU cooler and fan (DP5-6131A) for $20 was purchased to assure cool operation.
So for $151 (including tax) we had the structure of a brand new machine.
A stick of 256MB of PC-133 SDRAM is between $69-$75 each but we happened to have an extra around so that amount or a discount price should be added to the total cost but not reflected here.
Putting it into the case was trivial and took about 20 minutes.
Then the fun began as we decided to throw everything we had into the software bundle -- Win98 + Win2000 + WinXP in a Triple Boot machine!
First we discussed the options of the type of formatting. Because Win98 cannot recognize or deal with NTFS (desired), we opted to format all of the partitions with FAT32. This would allow each of the partitions to deal directly with the data which would be on just one of the partitions.
So we formatted the entire HDD with FAT 32 and then brought in Partition Magic to set up the partitions. We set up three equal partitions and then installed Win98 onto the first partition. When we tried to install Win98 onto the first partition but it would have none of the formatting left by Partition Magic so we let Win98 redo the partition to its own liking.
Then we installed Win2000, allowing it to have another third of the disk. We then installed WinXP onto the last partition.
How did we reboot among them? As each was installed, the OS made an entry into a small menu which, after booting, gives 30 seconds to make a selection.
While there are three different operating systems dealing, usually, with one set of data in one of the partitions, it is necessary to install the various application programs three times, one in each partition, to get the registry properly set up for each.
It was great fun and a fabulous learning experience -- and all for $151 invested in a machine that was heading for the recycle bin. We resurrected a machine that was one-fourth the speed and now can handle all of the computing needs for years to come.
Happy computing!
Belarc Advisor
If you are wondering what is inside of your machine, go to www.belarc.com and download the advisor. It probably would make sense to have a copy of this report on hand for when you need to make changes to the computer and to have a copy available inside the case.
Buy your computer from a vendor that provides for an easy backup/restore
For some time now, I have been unhappy when someone tells me that they have purchased a Compaq or Dell computer because I often find them very difficult to work on. I just got confirmation that the disks often are unique with special connectors. Further, lots of the other parts are unique to these vendors, forcing users to go back to Dell, Compaq, HP and IBM. Worse, all of them provide a CD that will restore the machine to the factory image, DESTROYING ALL OF THE DATA! I object to this policy, because there is no option of restoring only parts of a load such as the operating system or applications packages supplied by the vendors. It is for these reasons that I urge you to go to vendors such as Datawise that has the policy of providing all of the CDs associated with the applications packages at time of sale.
Submit suggestions for programs to be on SPAUG CD
The SPAUG Late 2001 CD is becoming a bit dated, but it is still quite effective as a support tool. Internet Explorer is still at version 6.0.2600. Netscape has moved on to 6.0.1. AdAware and Zone Alarm are both updated as I am sure are others not yet evaluated. Thus it is time to start thinking of the next CD. We will be dropping a rather large suite, so space will be available. Be sure to let me know what pet programs you feel would be worthwhile for us to include on the next CD. I already have one, the Belarc advisor mentioned above.
Install Internet Explorer version 6.0.2600 to cure problems
Networking and getting a modem working has always been a problem with Microsoft software. To help out on this problem, one trick you can use when installing Win98 (or reinstalling to fix problems), is to install Internet Explorer version 6.0.2600 which is on the SPAUG CD. Most of your DSL, DHCP and modem problems will go away.
Regards,
Jim
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6 March 2002 Planning Meeting Notes
by Stan Hutchings
- Attendees: Jim Dinkey, John Sleeman, Bev Altman, Nat Landes, Mildred Kohn, Susan Mueller, Stan Hutchings, Milt Kostner, Robert Mitchell, Dick Delp.
- Jim Dinky announced that USB plugs for the Club Laptop are now available. There is also an Epson 820 printer available for the DISIG or WebSIG. Milt expressed some concern about getting the necessary applications onto the laptop, especially the non-public domain software. The meeting location will be discussed at the next meeting at Coco's. Arrive at 5:45 for dinner, 7 for the meeting. Dick Delp will check in guests - make sure they get information, and are aware of the admission requirements. DISIG attendees should be a member of SPAUG or SVCS, or else pay a $3 premium over the member's price.
- Nat Landes announced we are a little bit ahead of last month - there were several membership renewals, and some CDs sold.
- Susan Mueller announced postage runs about $34 per month, and another $38 for printing at Lockheed, and maybe $8 for paper and supplies. This totals $80/month. Since we have 81 members, it costs about $12/year/member to provide PrintScreen. Should we have a class of membership at around $25/year that does not include a mailed PrintScreen? Some discussion ensued, and perhaps the matter should be discussed further. It would be good to get PrintScreen to press a little sooner, if possible.
- Bev Altman announced membership is at 81.
- The problem of spam was discussed. AT&T has a good spam eliminator, EarthLink has Spaminator. Spam Cop is a good place to report spam, and fraudulent offers should be reported to the Federal Trade Commission (FTC). Other programs, such as Ad Aware, Pop-up Killer, Ad Subtract, Zone Alarm, antivirus programs, complement spam reduction efforts. Perhaps some General Meeting should have a session on spam prevention and reduction, virus protection, cookie control, and ad elimination.
- Future General Meeting programs: Jan Altman in April, Google in May, (tentatively) Jim Dinkey on computer security and privacy issues in June, Jeff Hyman of V-Communications, manufacturer of "System Commander" in July.
- Jim Dinkey proposed we begin work on an updated club CD, perhaps ready for the May or June General Meeting. Stan Hutchings proposed we have the theme of computer security and privacy issues, to complement the June presentation.
- Discussion of the last General Meeting: the meeting lasted a long time, perhaps longer than most members wanted. Should we limit CrossTalk? Maybe encourage using the mail list to past Do we want to enforce a formal ending time, and perhaps allow "networking" afterwards by interested people? Also, the break could be shorter.
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General Meeting Notes for 27 Feb 2002
by Stan Hutchings
Random Access/CrossTalk
- Jim Dinky suggested an upgrade to a 900 MHz Athlon motherboard for $151 -- details in Notes from the Prez above
- In Word, if you see lots of strange marks, like·dots·between·words, backward P (¶), arrows, etc., your are in "Display Nonprinting Character" mode. There is a button with a ¶ symbol on it that will turn the mode off or on. If the button is not visible, use Ctrl-Shift-8 (shift-8 is the asterisk (*), which acts as an on/off toggle. This is a very useful mode if your formatting is "messed up" but you don't know why, because with it on, you can see where tabs, spaces, paragraphs, etc. actually are located. But if you are trying to read something, it is very distracting.
- There is a potential problem with files saved to CD, in that the Attribute is set to Read Only. Before they can be modified, they must be set to Read/Write in DOS by using the DOS command ATTRIB /s [filename.ext] -r. The /s processes matching files in the current and all subdirectories; -r clears the Read-only attribute. From a DOS prompt, type help attrib to get more information about the Attribute command. You can use *.* as [filename] to change all files, or *.ext to change all files with a certain extension.
- AOL offers an upgrade to broadband for $31/mo plus subscription to AOL. You can drop a second line if you had a second line for modem, because the broadband will work simultaneously with voice -- you can talk on the phone and surf at the same time. AOL 7.0 may cause slowdown in Internet access, but 6.0 does not seem to cause slowdown. One other suggestion for broadband users is to have an alternate route to the Internet, in case your primary is offlin. Something like the cheapest AOL account, or the free NetZero, are good backups.
By the way, there is voice-over-modem software at Fry's for about $50 -- this lets you simultaneously talk and surf with a modem connection. You do need Caller ID for the phone line, however.
- The club CD is updated with the current revisions of the programs it contains. This is important, especially for browsers that are updated to plug security holes, and ad reduction software that needs the latest definition files.
- If RegClean hangs part way through, that indicates a problem. You'll need to reinstall something.
- In Excel, if you want to copy text down a column or across a row, there are several ways. You need to select the data cell and the cells you want copied to first, then use Edit - Fill - Down/Right/Up/Left. To select a large area, click the first cell, then using slider bars to move, and Shift-click the last cell in the range. All cells between are selected. To fill in a Series, use the Edit - Fill - Series command, or use the handle at the lower right corner of a cell. For more suggestions, use Excel's Help Index, and type in copy.
- CD Creator doesn't seem to copy files being converted to MP3 sequentially or completely. For complete information on Adaptec/Roxio products, visit the Roxio web site. The article Getting Started with SoundStream in Easy CD Creator 5 looks promising. There are discussion groups, Knowledge Base, and FAQs if that doesn't answer your questions.
- When Start - Shutdown doesn't shut your computer down, go here for Win Me; for Win98 here.
- Jim Dinkey reported that his upgrade machine is configured to triple boot: to Win98, Win2000 and WinXP. He used the native Microsoft options, and was careful to use only FAT32 (not NTFS) in all partitions.
- Milt Kostner commented that WinXP wants to store data and programs on the C: drive. This is not recommended, and special effort is required to store the OS, Programs, and Data in separate partitions. A nice option would be to have a portable or removable hard drive with all your data files, htat you could move from one computer to another.
Presentation: Storactive Real-Time Data Protection: LiveBackup
Mike Milley, Robert Van Leer and Hermilio Isla of Storactive gave a presentation of LiveBackup, a real-time backup for distributed PCs on a network. It would cost $129 per work station, plus Microsoft SQL server licens $1800, plus server and network hardware. The server proides a Disaster Recovery CD, Archive tape Library, and Disk Arrays. Laptops are protected even when off the network by a versioning application installed on the laptop.
Club CD Demo
Stan Hutchings discussed the Club CD, pointing out three very useful programs: AdAware, Adobe Acrobat Reader 5.0, and Cookie Pal. AdAware finds "spyware", put on your hard drive by applications, that send data about you and what you're doing back to the "spyware" owner. Adobe Acrobat Reader 5.0 is the most recent upgrade to the reader for PDF files, and works more seamlessly with Netscape and Internet Explorer. It has enhanced functions, too. Cookie Pal allows you to selectively allow or disallow cookies to be put on your computer. Some cookies are beneficial, and greatly enhance you browsing experience; but some cookies are just for the benefit of the sites that set them. For Netscape users, you can view your cookies in Netscape\Users\AllUsers\cookies.txt, or use Start - Find - Files or Folders (with the Include subfolders box checked) - Named: cookies.txt.
Stan and Jim Dinkey recommend SpamCop (www.spamcop.net to report spam. It is true, you can set up filters in Eudora, Outlook Express, and other email programs to re-route spam to the wastebasket, but SpamCop tries to stop spam at the source, so it never uses the Internet or your resources to start with. Any suspected fraudulent spam should also be sent to the FTC at uce@ftc.gov.
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