SPAUG Newsletter August 2005

SPAUG Editor: John Buck
SPAUG Publisher/Business Manager: Susan Mueller
SPAUG Co-Webmasters: Stan Hutchings & John Sleeman

TABLE OF CONTENTS

• Notes from the Prez by Jim Dinkey
  
  
• General Meeting Notes by Stan Hutchings
  
  
• Planning Meeting Notes by Stan Hutchings
  
  
• A Virus Encounter and Screen Burn-in Scare  by Robert Mitchell
  
  

Notes from the Prez

by Jim Dinkey

All of a sudden I received a small message from the computer stating that “Windows was shutting down”. And it did. The whole process took less than a second. And there I was – staring at a blank screen when I had been typing a message the second before.

Attempting to restart caused a message the both SYSTEM and NTLDR were missing.

I had been had by a virus. I never found out what or where. My computer was protected 10 ways to Sunday.

So how did I recover? Verrry carrrrefully!

First I broke the RAID mirror and restored the last full backup, which was three days old, to one of the mirror drives. This restoration preceded whatever got to my computer so all was well.

The only catch was that the data was obsolete by three days and several key emails had been received in the interim and some other files. I needed the files and was willing to spend the time to get them.

Since I had a mirror, two copies of all of my current data had been created simultaneously and one of them had not been used in the restore. The current data was still present along with the virus.

So the remaining hard drive was mounted as an extra drive and the Microsoft SEARCH routine was used to scan the drive for files that were created or modified in the period from the creation of the backup and the crash. About 150 files showed up – mostly log files. But included in these files were the INBOX and OUTBOX of Eudora containing the desired information. These two files were restored thus bringing the computer to the full data state that existed just before the crash. With the moving of the two files into the proper place in Eudora, the data was complete.

Then the data drive was reallocated to mirror position, and the finished hard drive data was copied to the mirror. No data was lost – only the virus. For various reasons, doing a forensic search was not undertaken. And then another backup was accomplished to incorporate the results of the work.

What if you don't have a mirror? No problem. If you run into the same situation, purchase an extra hard drive onto which you can restore the last backup and then run through the existing original data for files of significance to you.

Then you will have an extra hard drive for more backups.

And finally, if you have truly and thoroughly crashed your hard drive such that the contents thereof are totally unavailable to a Windows computer, you might opt of some forensic data recovery by professionals that specialize in getting critical data off of a crashed hard drive by special programs and by taking the drive apart and recovering the data for you (for a fee). For your library for when the Clinic cannot do enough for you, listed below are a number of Data Recovery Specialists—information you might like to have in the future.

I hope you never need to use any of them.

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10 August General Meeting Notes

by Stan Hutchings

Administrivia

• Several guests attended, they found out about SPAUG from a variety of sources. Tonight's meeting about Excel was a good draw.
• DISIG meets the third Monday of the month from 7 to 9 at the Micro Center store. Go to the Digital Imaging SIG to confirm the date and for more information. Admission is free.
• Lamont Shadowens has a part in the re-release of "The High and the Mighty" being released now. He was interviewed as one of the pilots the movie was about.

CrossTalk/Random Access

• A member loaded Spybot's Tea Timer, but now there is a problem with it popping up.
  - Jim recommends clean up the registry, which is what Tea Timer is protecting from change.
• CCleaner should not be run in default condition, it is much too aggressive. You need to choose just several options and test it. If you like the results, then tell it to go ahead. Add just one or two options at a time. Do backups before starting, and be prepared to roll back.
• A member is having problems being involuntarily disconnected from SBC DSL. It may be a side effect of the static on the phone line, but the repair people have never been able to fix it.
  - One suggestion was to change to Cable (Comcast).
  - Or, ask for "a clean data line" from the phone company; that should find the source of static. You have to keep entering complaints to the system.
  - Another tack is ask for C2 conditioning (it may not be available any more); then cancel it after the phone company has implemented it. Notify the phone company in writing that you will ask the PUC to investigate your complaints.
  - "Tree rub" could be a source of static and noise. Make sure none of your wires are contacting branches
  - Some Routers can be set up to keep your connection live by pinging the ISP periodically. This also keeps your IP address the same.
  - If you are testing your phone connection, start from the CSI (customer service interface) to insure the noise is outside your house, and is their responsibility (if the outside connection is quiet and the noise is from your home wiring, you'll have to pay to replace it).
  - Internet connections vary in quality and reliability; different people have different results. Some people have good results with one company but bad results with another, but others have the opposite experience. If you're having problems with your internet connection and your ISP isn't helping, do like Ginny and investigate another one (she found SBC unresponsive): Comcast, EarthLink, SBC.
  More DSL problem investigation advice: check to make sure that you have DSL filters on all phone jacks (whether in use or not) that connect to your DSL line. The next time this happens and it's someone you know calling, ask them to be silent for a few seconds. Listen for white noise, static or faint voices on the line. If you hear anything at all, this is a sign of a problem with the line, perhaps a cross with another circuit electrically or digitally. Or if there have been heavy rains, moisture in the cable itself. Try this with other calls that make the DSL fail as well. See if you can determine a pattern of a quiet line versus a noisy or static line for each call.
  Try to note when it happens and from where the incoming call originated. Is the call inside or outside of your calling area? This can help your provider determine if the problem is with your line or a bad incoming trunk line. If they don't want to isolate the problem, then inform them that you'll take your case to the PUC (Public Utilities Commission). Ask (demand) that they move your DSL circuit to another DSLAM channel and to change your local cable pair. They won't want to do that and the threat of the PUC should change their attitude about your problem. It's best to keep as much as possible in writing, or "notes for the record" in case you have to pursue the matter legally.
• A user sends an email, but it doesn't get received or returned with an error. What happens to it, and how can it be fixed?
  - First, try sending an email with Return Receipt Request (different email applications have different ways to do this, read the help).
  - Do a Telnet /reply and Telnet /trace on their email address to see where it's going.
  - The email may be getting blocked. Your recipient should check their spam filter and "blocked addresses" (check with your email application for instructions).
• A problem trying to put computer in Standby. After numerous trys, it sometimes works. This is on a Win98 SP operating system. It used to work fine, but recently has developed this problem. It's not connected to the Internet, so it wasn't due to an update.
  - There may be a problem with a driver (maybe a graphics) not being shut down properly.
  - On Saturday morning there is a program featuring Chris Adano at 12:50 am, on radio 560 KSFO AM. There is also a website everythingtechnology.com that has archives of past programs; this problem has been discussed in the past.
• In WinXP, I'm running out of room on the C: drive. Is there a way to expand the C drive?
  - Since you have several virtual partitions on the same physical drive, one way is Drive Image or Partition Magic (or similar partitioning software). You could move one partition to a new drive, then expand the C: drive. Use caution, and backup everything before you start. You could also move the swap (paging) file to the new drive; this will open up lots of room, and once defragmented on the other drive, will not become defragmented again.
  - If you use a USB external drive, it will be much slower than an internal drive.
• What is the symptom of an underpowered power supply?
  - The "crowbar" will shut down the computer; only after removing some power drain will it come back.
  - A Gateway computer had a marginal power supply, and didn't have enough power to drive the USB port; the external drive had to run off a powered USB hub.
• Anyone know about Netscape 8.0? I know and like the many functions and features of the previous email application in Netscape, but in NS 8.0 the email composer function seems to be gone.
  - Advice: use Thunderbird instead. You could also use Firefox as browser instead of NS. There are other third party email applications available, besides MS Outlook and Outlook Express.
• What's up with the MS Antispyware? I was using the beta, but it expired 31 July and I haven't been able to renew it.
  - Advice: download the resident MS Antispyware, not the "run-once". You might need to go to the Microsoft antispyware site and download it again. Microsoft has modified the updates to require an "authentic genuine installer" to be installed. It won't download some updates (usually the "goodies", not the security upgrades) without it.
  - Remember, this is still a beta product, and may have incompatibilities and idiosyncrasies for a while. See How to check the expiration date and version of Microsoft Windows AntiSpyware (Beta) on the MS site. Users who are running a version earlier than 1.0.615 should upgrade to the most recent version of Windows AntiSpyware (Beta). See also How to install and set up Microsoft Windows AntiSpyware (Beta)
• Jim has begun to appreciate a drive “mirror” after having Windows suddenly shut down in the middle of a job. His experience will be the basis of his column this month. Hank Skawinski doesn't like mirrors; but will install them in computers he builds for a small additional cost. RAID can be a hassle; but a mirror is often more useful than RAID. Hank may have more to say next month when he is featured speaker.

Presentation - Excel on Steroids by Jan Altman

Jim and Maury did a takeoff on the classic “Who's on First?” by Abbot and Costello, a conversation between a computer salesman and a novice buyer (click here to read it, starring Microsoft Windows and Office as the source of confusion. It was funny, and an intro to our presenter, Jan Altman and her subject, Microsoft Excel on Steroids.

Jan is working with a start-up program to find and recover missing children “Drive to Find the Kids” - to help with the effort, Jan is looking for co-sponsors to fund the program. They will put large, see-through decal on the back window of cars with a photo of the missing child (such as are on milk containers), with an 800 number to call. Call Jan if you know of a company that would be a sponsor.

Jan passed out two hand-outs. Following is the big sheet with Jan's explanations. The smaller card (which Jan says is not as useful) is available if you really want one, contact Bev Altman.

Selecting and Moving Around

• “Make a run for the edge” of a block of data (point at the edge of a cell and double-click; you in the direction of the edge; also works to Select with Shift key pressed)
• Select the current block of cells (press Ctrl-*, which is Ctrl-Shift-8)
• Use Click [move cursor and scroll to where desired] and Shift-Click to select a range
• Select any region (add the Shift key when moving somewhere)
• Use with arrow keys, Go To box, name box, or even a simple click
• Jump to any worksheet (right-click the tab scrolling buttons)
• Ctrl-Arrow will move to the next empty cell in the Arrow's direction (up, down, left, right); combine with Shift-Ctrl-Arrow to select to the next empty cell.

Entering Data

• Copy from neighboring cells (Ctrl-D to copy from above; Ctrl-R to copy from left to right, etc.)
• Typing repetitive entries in a column? Let AutoComplete help (use Alt-DownArrow to choose from a list)
• The magic of AutoFilling (drag the AutoFill button at the right bottom corner of the selection)
  • Fill formatting or values only; inhibit AutoFill by pressing Ctrl while dragging.
  • Create links
  • Fill to the same length as the column to the left (double-click the AutoFill button)
  • Select two cells with numbers or dates and auto fill to create a linear trend
  • AutoFill knows many series, such as months, dates, quarters, etc. Try it.
  • AutoFill using the mouse right button - many more options are presented with dates and other series, formatting, etc.
  • AutoFill uses relative cell references in formulas; if you need an absolute reference, edit the formula before AutoFilling.
  • You can use Excel Help to get more information on AutoFill. Type the search term autofill in the Index tab.
• Design custom lists for AutoFilling and sorting (go to Tools-Options-Custom Lists)
  • Names of people in your group
  • Product part-numbers
  • Sales regions
• Enter special characters in a cell (hold down Alt and enter the four-digit numeric code on the numeric keypad):
  • ™ – Alt/0153
  • © – Alt/0169
  • ® – Alt/0174
  • ¢ – Alt/0162
  • £ – Alt/0163
  • ¥ – Alt/0165

There is a document with the full ASCII Table in the SPAUG WebSIG area.
There is also an extensive tutorial that would be of background interest. This document tries to clarify the concepts of character repertoire, character code, and character encoding especially in the Internet context. It specifically avoids the term character set, which is confusingly used to denote repertoire or code or encoding. ASCII, ISO 646, ISO 8859 (ISO Latin, especially ISO Latin 1), Windows character set, ISO 10646, UCS, and Unicode, UTF-8, UTF-7, MIME, and QP are used as examples.
Microsoft has an article with a sample a VBA application that will generate a list of the ANSI characters 128-255. Note: the ANSI characters, not the ASCII characters, are the characters returned by pressing ALT+0 and typing the ANSI table number for the character on the numeric keypad, or when using the CHR() macro function.

Formulas and Functions

• Get a roadmap to your formula (press F2 to use the Range Finder)
  - Drag colored borders to change references
• Write formulas in English (use automatic labels)
  - Check Tools-Options-Calculation. Make sure that "Accept Labels in Formulas" is on
  - Available to that worksheet only (use the name box or Insert-Name-Define for workbook-wide names)

Editing

• Copy and paste special characteristics (use Edit-Paste Special). By default, paste copies values (or formula) and format; use Paste Special to copy just the text, or number, or format.

- Paste formatting only
- Paste values only
- Do arithmetic on several cells at once
• Be sloppy (thanks to AutoCorrect)
• Move or copy with a single drag (drag from any border of the selection)
  - As a bonus, a tooltip shows you the new address
  - Alert before overwriting cells? Control with Tools-Options-Edit.
  - Add Shift to insert into a column (cells are shifted down) or into a row (cells are shifted to the right)
• Move or copy to another sheet (use the Alt key)

Formatting

• Find the "best fit" for columns (double-click the right boundary of a column heading)
• Align dollar signs along the left (use the Accounting format)
• Entering fractions as fractions (precede them with a zero)
• Create a custom number format (use the Custom category in Format-Cells-Number)
  - The four parts of a custom number format: positive; negative; zero; text
  - Hide a cell from view with all semicolons
  - Use <asterisk><character> to fill the entire width of a cell with the character
• Conditional formatting dynamically applies specific formatting to cells falling inside or outside preset limits. Use Format-Conditional formatting... to set criteria for a range. [N.B.- this is especially useful if you'd like visual indication of a value outside or inside a certain range; like a stock price above or below a certain value, or a check book balance that is getting uncomfortably low]

You can turn off the number row headers and alpha column headers, but it's not generally a good idea. If necessary, move the spreadsheet so the row headers are hidden by the edge of the screen. Tools - Options - View tab - Window Options - uncheck Row & column headers.

To turn on or off the gridlines, use Tools - Options - View tab - Window Options - uncheck Gridlines. This doesn't affect the printout; to turn on or off printing the gridlines, File - Page setup - Sheet tab - check or uncheck Gridlines. There are several other print options here, too. To make print/not-print gridlines default, edit Sheet1 in the Excel startup folder. (in Help, use keyword Sheet and click Customize the defaults for a workbook or worksheet by using a template).

Edit - Clear - All clears data and formats. Delete just clears data.

The Format Painter (looks like a little paintbrush) is used to copy the format from one cell to another. Double-click the icon to use multiple times. The format will be copied to the selected area.

Comments attached to a cell are copied; use Paste Special to not copy the comment.

To print a sheet with just gridlines, open Excel and display gridlines; adjust the column width and row heights as desired. Then turn on page setup, adjust margins and any other features, turn on print gridlines (see above), and use File - Print and either a Selection, or Pages 1-1 for a single page.

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Planning Meeting Notes

by Stan Hutchings

• The meeting was held at Bev Altman's house; attendees: Jim Dinkey, Dick Delp, John Sleeman, Bev Altman, John Buck, Stan Hutchings, Ron Nicholas, Nat Landes, Richard Sweet, Arlan Kertz. The attendees enjoyed the refreshments served.
• Review of finances - Nat reported $8600, $9200 after Bev gave him the amount she collected.
• Membership - 14 renewals, 3 new members.
• Mail - John Sleeman brought the few letters we received.
• Review of topic vs. attendance - Jan's presentation on Excel was very well attended, and kept the group's interest.
  interesting topics result in better attendance. We'll continue to schedule speakers with good draw.
• WebSIG activities and schedules - next Tuesday 7:30 at Stan's
  – Linux interest - there will not be a demonstration at the September meeting, we expect Hank to fill the time alloted.
• Status of SPAUG CD - Ron Nicholas was appointed by unanimous vote of the attendees to be the leader of the CD SIG. He will do whatever he thinks necessary to generate an updated CD.
• Future speakers
  14 Sep - Hank Skawinski, pre-meeting dinner at Cibo
  12 Oct - Les Laky, pre-meeting dinner at Armadillo Willy's
  9 Nov - Seth Shostak of SETI, pre-meeting dinner at Frankie Johnnie and Luigi Too, 939 El Camino Real, Mountain View (650/967-5384)
  14 Dec - Paula Simpson, Palo Alto Library Director has been invited to speak, pre-meeting dinner at Peking Duck.
  11 Jan 06 - Gene Barlow of User Group Relations. The pre-meeting dinner will be at (TBD).
  8 Feb 06 - George Sidman of MNC Net (our host for the website). The pre-meeting dinner will be at (TBD).
  Possibilities for next year - Acronis, Dan Gillmor, Mike Langberg, Electronic Freedom Foundation, voice recognition software, history of the Internet [J. Sleeman]. Suggestions are welcome - contact Jim Dinkey.
• Clinic activities and changes - the Saturday Clinic will be offered the second and fourth Saturday. Next Clinic dates are 27 August and 10 September. These clinics are not only a chance for members to get help with their computers, but also a valuable learning opportunity for both the helpers and the helped. This is in harmony with our 501(c)(3) status.
• Richard Sweet and Publicity - we were in the Mercury News twice, finally in the Los Altos Town Crier, and on the Palo Alto Weekly website.
• Individual reports and suggestions -
  
• Other items that came before the Committee -
   • Arlan Kertz brought some legal forms to be filled out. He will submit them.
   • Les Laky found out the the goals of MNC, who host our website and list server, are changing and they may no longer provide free hosting. We may have to get another host and list server. The consensus was, we don't want to run our own server. In the short term, we'll spread the website around among several members' accounts (J. Sleeman and J. Dinkey volunteered) and investigate Yahoo! and other list server providers for email to the group. If necessary, we can be hosted by one of the commercial providers, such as GoDaddy or 1AND1, who have reasonable rates and all the service we need. Perhaps APCUG has some hosting service.
   • Arlen recommended, and Jim Dinkey agreed, that Nat Landes is the club's Recording Secretary as well as Treasurer for legal purposes (per Bylaws Article VI C. and D.).

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A Virus Encounter and Screen Burn-in Scare

by Robert Mitchell

Yesterday, I did a stupid thing: I clicked on an attachment that I didn't recognize on an email from my own account. Somehow my email address was spoofed and was sent an attachment: Taxes.rar file. I opened it and after that, the machine would freeze on the “Blue Screen of Death” Windows screen. I already figured it was a Virus and I had to go to Safe Mode and then reboot back to normal mode to get machine to boot up. When in normal mode the Anti-Virus program would freeze and also it took longer to get to Windows. Also, AVG wouldn't detect the virus, which is a new version of I-Worm/bagel. I went to Internet and updated AVG, then it would detect and quarantine the affected files. After that, the same email I got with the attachment that started it in the first place, popped up again. This time, AVG detected and killed it. I have run the Virus scan again since then, and the virus is gone. Good News! I was just complacent at the time. The machine is now fine. I just thought that some computer novice would go into hysterics with that experience.

Also, another problem I encountered was screen burn in. I noticed some icons in the upper left hand corner looked like they were burned in on my new Sony screen. At the time, I was upset, thinking that I had ruined my new monitor; but later on I found out that for LCD panels, it is now called “Image Persistence” and that the good news is, that it isn't permanent and that it will go away in a few days. The monitor is fine.

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