Messages

376

General Software Discussion / Re: Review of File Renamers — let's make a list

« on: March 31, 2006, 10:36 PM »

I was looking for a file renamer about two years ago and one of those which I settled on was D-FileMU.

One of the key features that drew me to it (if my memory does not fail me) were the extensive command line arguments available. And this is very handy when you want to automate the process of file renaming.

Perhaps in the review, some coverage of the quality of command line arguments could be covered for automation freaks.

I did look at some of those in the list you started off with and do not remember coming across one with as extensive command line arguments as D-FileMU.

And don't be fooled by the plain looking website. It host a pretty capable file renamer than it appears. And it's Freeware.

Extract from very plain looking home page.
"D-FileMU
D-FilenameManipulationUtility is a utility that allows you to make changes to filenames of a number of files quickly and easily. It can perform changes such as adding strings to the beginning and end of the filenames, deleting specified number of characters from beginning or end of the filenames, adding numbers in sequence to the beginning or end of the filenames, changing to upper or lowercase, Adding or removing the read only(+r) or hidden(+h) or archive(+a) file attributes, replacing strings with specified string, changing the file extension of filenames and also capitalizing words. The program can also be used as a command line utility.

The program is easy to use, very quick in performing the changes and also allows the user to preview the changes before performing them."
http://www.dimbu.com...grams4free/d-filemu/

377

Found Deals and Discounts / Bits du Jour - One Software Title Each Day At A Big Discount

« on: March 30, 2006, 08:59 AM »

Extract from :
Pocket PC Thoughts - Daily News, Views, Rants and Raves
Bits du Jour - One Software Title Each Day At A Big Discount
http://bitsdujour.com/

Posted by Ed Hansberry @ 07:00 AM
"Bits du Jour will feature one downloadable product each day, at a big discount. The downloadable products will usually be software, including games, but we'll occasionally also have online memberships, or music or video downloads."

I've talked with one of the persons involved in setting this site up. Most of the time it will be desktop software, but having ties to the mobile device space, they are committed to having the occasional PDA title as well, so subscribe to the RSS feed and load up on bits at discount prices. :way to go: And if you happen to be a software developer, get in touch with them if you want to have your software appear one day. It is a great way to get mass exposure and a big buy in, albeit at discount prices, but that can turn into nice upgrade fees and other purchases that spread by word of mouth."
http://www.pocketpcthoughts.com/

378

General Software Discussion / Re: Searching a good Screenrecorder

« on: March 29, 2006, 09:03 AM »

Looks like Wink 2.0 is on the verge of being released

One of the key missing features of Wink 1.5, sound, will now be incorporated in Wink 2.0 

http://www.debugmode...viewtopic.php?t=2455

379

Found Deals and Discounts / Perfect Disk - 10% off Ends Mar 31, 2006

« on: March 29, 2006, 08:43 AM »

http://www.raxco.com...cts/currentpromo.cfm

380

General Software Discussion / Re: Free VMware Server software

« on: March 28, 2006, 08:39 AM »

Maybe this article will come in useful for some.
Altiris Software Virtualization Solution 2.0

http://www.pcmag.com...,1895,1941368,00.asp

http://www.gcn.com/blogs/tech/40201.html

Free download for client version at http://www.download....818.html?tag=lst-0-1

381

General Software Discussion / A Search and Replace Utility to increment range of numbers in a text file ?

« on: March 25, 2006, 08:06 AM »

I'm looking for a Search and Replace Utility that can process and increase or decrease numbers in a simple text file that contains text such as :

<target="2"/>
<target="12"/>
<target="13"/>
<target="14"/>
<target="15"/>
<target="16"/>
<target="17"/>
<target="3"/>
<target="4"/>


2</PARA>
3</PARA>
4</PARA>
12</PARA>
13</PARA>
14</PARA>
15</PARA>
16</PARA>
17</PARA>

2
3
4
12
13
17
15
16
17

What it needs to do is to search through the file and increase or decrease only the numbers that is
preceeded by
<target=
and greater than or equal to say 13 by a definable number of say 2

Likewise it should be able to search through the file and incease or decrease also the numbers that is followed by
</PARA>
and greater than or equal to say 13 by a definable number of say 2

It should leave any other numbers it encounters alone.

End result should be

<target="2"/>
<target="12"/>
<target="15"/>
<target="16"/>
<target="17"/>
<target="18"/>
<target="19"/>
<target="3"/>
<target="4"/>


2</PARA>
3</PARA>
4</PARA>
12</PARA>
15</PARA>
16</PARA>
17</PARA>
18</PARA>
19</PARA>

2
3
4
12
13
17
15
16
17

I tried Replacem http://www.orbit.org/replace/ but it does not have a facility to increase or decrease numbers found it a search string.

Why I would find such a utility useful is that I have to change many more numbers and the process would be quite tedious.

If no such utility is available, can such a utility be written with the Autohotkey that so many are raving about.

382

Post New Requests Here / Re: IDEA: Notes Snippet organizer

« on: March 23, 2006, 10:11 AM »

For those of you who's keen on Netsnippets, you can get a much cheaper price if you go to :

http://www.netsnippe....com/myie2/order.asp

383

General Software Discussion / Re: Must-have apps in the System tray?

« on: March 15, 2006, 09:27 PM »

Synergy (Love this!!!!)

-taichimaster (March 15, 2006, 12:31 PM)

What may I ask is this ?

384

General Software Discussion / Re: General brainstorming for Note-taking software

« on: March 15, 2006, 11:38 AM »

I have used PIMs for as long as I can remember, eg like Polaris Packrat, Ecco Pro.

They were very good during their time.

Ecco Pro is still an excellent Outliner and I still use it as such. Nothing I know can compare with it's flexibility and ease of use.

I no longer use it other than as an Outliner, although in my past life, I could safely say I lived in it, Contacts, Calendar, Tasks, Notes and all - All my information was in it.

Because of "modern expectations" I hate to say I have migrated PIM functions, I have to admit to Outlook (gulp !) and Pocket Informant www.pocketinformant.com

They make a great laptop/PDA combination because of the Synchronization ability.

I hardly open my Outlook other than to pick up my Gmail so that it would synch with my PDA ( ) as basically I can access my contacts, appointments and task and email etc on my PDA.

Basically it was the launch of free Outlook that killed the development of Ecco Pro.

So I would recommend that you invest some time to get used to the Outlining aspect of it.

It's really a great outliner for organising your thoughts because of its sheer flexibility and I find myself keep coming to it even after trying many so called alternatives mentioned in http://www.john.redm....com/organizers.html

See also http://www.prociainc...ccorefugee/alter.htm on why the search was so hard for many.

385

General Software Discussion / Re: Defragmentation programs doesn't co-exist that well with Norton Goback

« on: March 15, 2006, 08:46 AM »

How many times have you installed something and deeply regretted it, you deleted the important spreadsheet and only realised your mistake a few days later when your boss asked you for it and of course you just cleared your recycled bin and the os has also overwritten the area where it was last stored.

How you wished you could "Goback".

-patteo (February 09, 2006, 12:43 PM)

FOXNews.com - Technology News - Anti-Virus Software Runs Amok, Deleting Wrong Files
"FOXNEWS.COM HOME > TECHNOLOGY
Anti-Virus Software Runs Amok, Deleting Wrong Files
Tuesday, March 14, 2006
By Ryan Naraine

Anti-virus vendor McAfee is scrambling to contain the damage from a faulty definition update that incorrectly flagged hundreds of legitimate software programs as W95/CTX, a low-risk Windows 95 virus that was first detected in 2004.

The erroneous .DAT file (4715) was shipped late on March 10 with definitions for a wide range of new malware threats, but when the update was installed, it quarantined or deleted several widely deployed applications, including Microsoft Excel, Macromedia Flash Player, Adobe Update Manager and the Google Toolbar Installer.

Santa Clara, Calif.-based McAfee acknowledged the gaffe and quickly shipped a new virus pattern file (4716), but for some users the damage was already done."
http://www.foxnews.c...,2933,187702,00.html

Well, if you are one of those affected, Norton Goback would have had you smiling !

It's made for precisely that kind of situations and many others like it. Cannot tell you how many times I've had to Goback !

Maybe McAfee should package their AntiVirus with Norton Goback !!!

386

General Software Discussion / Re: Filenotes for Downloading Amnesiacs

« on: March 13, 2006, 04:46 AM »

There's a solution www.filenotes.com

But it does have some problems with a 3rd party file detection service it uses that conflicts with some software I use.

But it can still be used effectively without this file detection service although with some incovenience.

.....
As a result, I now use the program without the file detection service.

-patteo (March 09, 2006, 08:54 AM)

Just an update:

I have had some wonderful help from www.filenotes.com forum which provided me with a work around to the file detection service that I had to disable. TW (I think he must be the administrator) provided me with another working file detection system that did not conflict with my other programs.

Basically the file detection service prompts me to enter details into a dialog box when it detects that I have download or saved a file into a monitored directory. Works like a dream.

I must say their file annotation methodology with automatic prompting allows a lot more details (including hotlinks if a url is also included) to be captured and associated with any files, more so than the descript.ion method used by DOPUS or the ADS method used by xplorer2 which is quite restrictive (I think only 255 characters in the case of ADS)

For those who like to capture a url (I use Copy URL + firefox extension https://addons.mozil...;application=firefox) which makes the process very easy to capture web details plus the url.

By the way - there is another associated thread on file labelling in this forum at
https://www.donation...56.msg18616#msg18616

387

General Software Discussion / Re: Filenotes for Downloading Amnesiacs

« on: March 11, 2006, 07:03 AM »

Hi Patteo,
Here's a suggestion - use Surfulater. Grab whatever content from the page into a new Surfulater article, add some notes then download the file and use Article | Attach File... This stores the file in the Surfulater database so you can even delete it from your PC if you want.

What you finish up with is a link to the original site, detailed information on the product including the complete web page if you want and the download file, all neatly put together in one convenient place. Then just click on the file to open it.

-nevf (March 09, 2006, 01:58 PM)

An initial concern of mine was the Surfulator data file getting too big as some downloads can be massive.

However, most downloads are just a couple of megabytes and I think that should not pose a problem for most people.

In addition, Surfulater allows you to create multiple databases. So what I have done is just create another one called downloads.

Perhaps Neville could consider adding another command and an Toolbar Icon called Insert Link to File so that we have the option to not place the actual file within the Surfulater database itself.

I thought another neat way would have been to allow me to drag a file into Surfulater and it would then become part of the Surfulater data file or at least create a link to where the file was dragged from. But that did not work. It launch the file instead.

388

General Software Discussion / Re: Filenotes for Downloading Amnesiacs

« on: March 10, 2006, 04:02 AM »

Hi Patteo,
Here's a suggestion - use Surfulater. Grab whatever content from the page into a new Surfulater article, add some notes then download the file and use Article | Attach File... This stores the file in the Surfulater database so you can even delete it from your PC if you want.

What you finish up with is a link to the original site, detailed information on the product including the complete web page if you want and the download file, all neatly put together in one convenient place. Then just click on the file to open it.

Down the track we'll be adding Reminders which will enable Surfulater to prompt you in a week, a month on June 6th etc. to go and install that download you've been meaning to try.

-nevf (March 09, 2006, 01:58 PM)

This is certainly an idea worth considering.

I do wonder if it will make the database a bit too big since a download can sometimes be quite large.

Right now I have a download directory which is why I need to annotate the downloaded files.

After a while I tend to move the files into another directory & categorise them at the same time. When I move the files, the filenotes automatically move if I have the file detection service installed.

I will certainly give a bit more thought to using Surfulater for this purpose. Only thing is whether there is a way to associate a file without actually saving the file into Surfulater database and whether there
is a way to move a file (if not in Surfulater database) and still maintain the link with the details saved in Surfulater. (That may be a tall order)

In any case, I would say that Surfulater is a great application for those of you who have yet to try it. Certainly for those who surf the web regularly, this is one really useful application you should not be without. And I have only scratched the surface and not really taken enough trouble to explore it yet. But even then, it can be really useful "right out of the box" without you having to delve deeper into it.

I find it to be very stable and useful. And Neville has been very responsive in responding to posts in the forums.

Take note though that unless you are a registered user of Surfulater, you cannot access all sections of the forum.

389

General Software Discussion / Re: Filenotes for Downloading Amnesiacs

« on: March 09, 2006, 12:07 PM »

That's why I'm always renaming downloads to have the file name display exactly what's in it! 

Makes keeping track of versions far more easy too, my installer files are named like this:

FastStone Image Viewer 2.4 Beta 3
MediaMonkey 2.5.2.948 RC2
AutoHotkey 1.0.42.03
CCleaner (Crap Cleaner) 1.27.260

-brotherS (March 09, 2006, 11:09 AM)

The only problem is you cannot associate one or more urls with a file and you will have to Google for it. Over time, you may not be able to find the exact site you downloaded it from together with the associated description or review etc or put in information about a site that referred you to this file.

These are all useful information I would like to retain that renaming cannot achieve.

390

General Software Discussion / Filenotes for Downloading Amnesiacs

« on: March 09, 2006, 08:54 AM »

Do you have this problem with download amnesia ?

You are busily surfing download sites, you see an interesting download at www.lifehacker.com or wherever, and you download them over a period of weeks/months.

And you told yourself that one of these days you are going to install and try them.

But now the "That" day of reckoning has arrived. You see all the .exe and zip files with cryptic names, you cannot for the life of you remember why you downloaded them in the first place or even where you got them from.

There's a solution www.filenotes.com

But it does have some problems with a 3rd party file detection service it uses that conflicts with some software I use.

But it can still be used effectively without this file detection service although with some incovenience.

Some have claimed that the 3rd party file detection service multiappnt.exe contributes to system instability leading to BSOD Bad_Pool_Header. You can read about this in their forum. I have experiend the BSOD problems although I cannot say for certain it's due to this.

As a result, I now use the program without the file detection service.

I'm also wondering if anyone knows of another way to annotate files with filenotes easliy besides those below:

Xplorer2 Professional  www.zabkat.com

xplorer2 allows you to annotate files although the annotation:
"add comments to any file, providing it's on an NTFS partition. These comments are different from file-internal comment/preview features of some files like Word or Excel. They are strored in an alternate data stream (ADS), and can be added/edited from x2 with Alt+Z.
Yes they are limited; but 257 characters seems like a lot to me. "


Filenotes Professional Edition (I have not tried this)
http://home.flash.ne.../FileNotes/index.htm

391

General Software Discussion / Don't Buy Anything with a load of CRAP

« on: March 02, 2006, 09:15 AM »

If you are thinking whether you should be buying one of the cool devices, the articles below will give you some food for thought.


Transcript - A load of C.R.A.P. - At The Whiteboard - ZDNet.com
"ZDNet Executive Editor David Berlind suggests that CRAP or Content, Restriction, Annulment, and Protection, is a catchier phrase than DRM - Digital Rights Management. Why does he think this technology is crap? Once you've bought music or other content to play on one device, it won't play on any other device because of the proprietary layer of CRAP"

http://news.zdnet.co...ml/z/wb/6035707.html

You can also watch an interesting video on the same subject by clicking the link at the bottom of the above article.

A related article :
» Jobs iPod Hi-Fi: Home stereo reinvented? Or load of HorseCRAP? | Between the Lines | ZDNet.com

"Cancellation, Restriction, and Punishment"
http://blogs.zdnet.com/BTL/?p=2642

392

Found Deals and Discounts / Re: miscellaneous cd labels for inkjet printers

« on: February 27, 2006, 09:58 PM »

For those who must label their CDs and want to know what are the safer alternatives than stick-ons, here's a round-up of what's on offer nowadays.

http://www.pcmag.com...,1895,1923243,00.asp

393

Living Room / To All Hot Blooded Meat eaters out there - Look carefully before you bite

« on: February 20, 2006, 11:00 AM »

FDA Is Urged to Ban Carbon-Monoxide-Treated Meat
"Picture two steaks on a grocer's shelf, each hermetically sealed in clear plastic wrap. One is bright pink, rimmed with a crescent of pearly white fat. The other is brown, its fat the color of a smoker's teeth.

Which do you reach for?
   
The meat industry knows the answer, which is why it has quietly begun to spike meat packages with carbon monoxide."
http://www.washingto...AR2006021901101.html

What can you trust anymore ?

I was just helping my dad understand all the new fangled electronics and buttons in his car today and I suddenly remembered reading somewhere that the "new car" smells are a probably a toxic mixture of fumes being emitted by a whole ranges of plastics, synthetic materials or chemically treated leather used for making the car.  Boy I have to hold my breath longer when I'm his new car or have the windows down.

394

General Software Discussion / Re: video editing software

« on: February 20, 2006, 12:15 AM »

-jroad (February 18, 2006, 06:18 PM)

That's why I ended up going for TMPGEnc MPEG Editor - it edits without the need for a complete recode and is frame accurate but only costs $48 compared to $99 for Womble. See http://www.pegasys-i.../en/product/tme.html

-Carol Haynes (February 19, 2006, 04:08 AM)

Actually MPEG-VCR is $49
http://www.shareit.c...8&currencies=USD

Womble MPEG-VCR was the software I tried and it would have been good enough for me.
Womble mpeg video wizard is the more expensive cousin.

The other thing I noticed about TMPGEnc what that the software required PERIODIC validation, even after you validated.

I have bought software that have been softwrapped before. The problem starts when you have to re-install Windows even on my same laptop. You know how sometimes you get one of these wonderful presents from Bill G, like a BSOD and your computer refuses to boot no matter what you try and the recovery instructions are kind of written for Martians. Or your system just kind of runs slowly for no good reason other than downloading and trying trialware.

So there you go re-installing your system - what an agonising thing to do even when you have ghosted an image which is not entirely up to date and with the added hassles of software activation which sometimes doesn't work as promised.

In my specific instance, although I did not really use the softwarp software on a day to day basis, one of the times I had to re-install on a new harddisk, the activation somehow gave up on me (I think it limited the number of times I could re-install even on the same hardware - kind of stupid - they have too much faith in Bill G's programmers). So that was that. I dropped it. I did not even bother to write to the author.

And this is the 1st time I see a software with Periodic Activation after you have activated.

Man, the author is human like me. He or she has got to go sometime just like me and you. What if he goes before me and I still need the software desperately and there's no one to activate or what if his system crashes ! And the worse part is you have already PAID.

So on principle, I would avoid such PERIODIC Activation software unless he's the only such author on planet earth.

395

General Software Discussion / Re: Are There No Decent Mailing List Programs? - short article

« on: February 19, 2006, 11:41 PM »

I came across this comparison chart some time ago. It's a little dated. But it does give a flavor of what's available.

http://www.wilsonweb...sktop_comparison.htm

I doubt it's comprehensive and the scenario may have changed significantly since then.
One example is I think the chap who was marketing Mailloop, Cory Rudyl, apparently died in a car accident and someone else has now taken over. How does that change the equation ? Well, I don't know.

I came across and tested a List Management software quite a while back out of interest and it looked like it was one of those more capable I have come across and fiddled around with.

I cannot remember if it has a sending module. But it was very good at managing list if my memory does not fail me. Back then it was version 1.2. But it's Listmotor 2.0 now. But yikes, it's $149. But if you have big and dynamic list, and do it regularly, it may be worth it and it would keep the list neat and tidy for you.

http://www.listmotor.biz/index.htm

But I'm no expert on such programs and all the inter-connected intricacies so this is just my 2 cents worth.

396

General Software Discussion / Re: video editing software

« on: February 18, 2006, 09:31 AM »

You might want to look at www.womble.com

The only one I tried was MPEG2VCR. But it has a more advanced version called MPEG Video Wizard
-----------------
Welcome to Womble Multimedia, home of the incredible video editing software package MPEG Video Wizard DVD,  MPEG Video Wizard and MPEG2VCR! Our MPEG editing software is some of the fastest available. No other software offers no-delay scrubbing - that's right, imagine sliding the timeline bar and having no lag in video, even when editing a file over a network connection! (Hardware requirements apply.) Additionally, you can edit in native MPEG format and save without re-encoding. That is an incredible time saver! Other features include:

    * Frame-accurate for all editing operations for MPEG-2 Program and Transport
    * MPEG-2 variable bit rate and 3:2 pull down, and MPEG-2 DVD to VCD or SVCD conversion
    * Video frame rate conversion and temporal noise reduction.
    * MPEG audio editor supports sample rate conversion and mixing
---------------------

I find that it's most distinguishing features are the speed and saving without encoding which is an incredible time saver as he says.

Unfortunately it's not open source. At one point in time when I was trying it, sometime last year, after you have downloaded a trial and given your email, the author sent an email with a coupon code. If I remember it was something like 35% off. Not sure if he still does it.

He then had a rather active forum but there was this visitor claiming to be a customer who constantly flamed him and telling others to buy a competitive product. Personally I and others on the forum got quite upset with the flamer.

When I last visited his site I noticed that he has shut down his forum and has only an email address for support. He does reply when you email him.

I believe it's a very capable software and if you are looking for something fast, this may be it.

It's a pity about the user forum having to be shut down, but give it a try as I believe it is very capable based on what I tried.

397

Finished Programs / Re: Backup My TXT Files Everytime I Save - AKA incremental saves / wiki(-like)

« on: February 15, 2006, 07:01 AM »

A possible freeware is Logmon which I used for a small experimental project and found it very capable for "real time" monitoring.

It has lots of options which allow you to specify all sorts of actions when files change.

Ur I.T. Mate Group Freeware Library - 100% freeware. no nags, no trials, no spyware, no registrations
"Log Monitor - Vadim Dumbravanu
v1.4.2     Size: 595K     Windows (All)    Editors Choice   
Log Monitor is a files and directories monitoring tool. The program periodically checks selected file s modification time and can execute external programs if file s time was changed or not changed. In addition to executing applications, you can also specify other actions which included pop-up notices, sounds, file operations like copy, move etc. and more. You can also combine multiple actions and pass on execution parameters for a more complex action. For directories it handles events as files change, addition or removal. The program is easy to use and makes a very powerful tool for a variety of monitoring and automation tasks."
http://freeware.it-m...te.co.uk/?Cat=System

Or you can find it http://www.freeware-guide.com/download/

Please note that the Author disappeared. But it's a pretty capable software and there was an active forum which you perhaps have to look for it on the
WaybackMachine
http://web.archive.o...gmon/eng/default.asp

398

General Software Discussion / Re: Defragmentation programs doesn't co-exist that well with Norton Goback

« on: February 09, 2006, 10:39 PM »

Just schedule Diskeeper to defrag your HD daily for a limited period when you are sleeping or not at the PC. Would that work for you?

-brotherS (February 09, 2006, 12:55 PM)

Ideally that would be the case, but the way Diskeeper was designed is to get the defrag job done - it does not have an option to defrag for a limited period.

I know some people swear by GoBack but I have to sound a note of caution ...

The way GoBack works can seriously screw up your system and make the recovery of partitions very difficult. This has happened to me once and because GoBack rewrites the partition data on your disc it is non-trivial to recover your system. I ended up using the drive manufacturers utilities to low level format the disc again and had to reinstall everything. (For this reason Fred Langa in his newsletters regularly advises users to avoid utilities like GoBack.)

My 2p would be to use a good incremental imaging software regularly using a separate partition for your backups. After the initial backup it only takes a couple of minutes to do an incremental backup - though it isn't as quick to do a restore if you want to step back.

If you like testing dodgy downloads (and who doesn't on this site) use TotalUninstall or simialr to install programs and log system changes so that you can instantly step back at registry and file level. There is no danger with this approach of your whole system suddenly becoming unuseable.

-Carol Haynes (February 09, 2006, 06:48 PM)

My experience with Goback all these years yes Goback is not the be all and end all of keeping your system running smoothly since if you accidentally dropped your laptop or your harddisk experience a mechanical failure, or someone stole yor laptop - you are basically in deep trouble.

Learning from all the gurus (Langa included)
1. I partition my hardisk into a C Drive and a E Drive
2. C drive basically contains all the programs, E Drive the Data files
3. Install and setup everything I need (which seems to take forever), then use Ghost to image C Drive onto another harddisk as a standby. Likewise I ghost E Drive to another physical drive or partition.
4. Enable Goback and use the computer
5. Periodically Disable Goback (see note below) and use Ghost to image both C and E (how many versions of the backup you use is up to you - like paying premiums on insurance. Like they say, no one ever complains that he bought too much insurance when they need to claim.)

Claim time :
6. Even with Goback I do find that now and then, I need to restore my C Partition, because I may have tried too many dodgy downloads, plugins etc and the system becomes unstable and you cannot identify the cause.

So I look for the most recent stable Ghosted backup disk and just Ghost it back over my C Drive and presto, maybe a 20 minute job and I'm back in business.

Do note that you have to disable Goback in order for another PC to recognise the harddisk for the purpose of Ghosting.

Speaking of the devil, like this morning, when I started the laptop, I experienced a BSOD: PFN_LST_CORRUPT. I thought about what I may have done wrong last night and Goback two hours and I was back in business quite quickly - stress free. To me, it works like a dream.

Yes, true I do do a periodic rebuild or should I say recovery from a Ghosted image. But in between Goback makes my life more stress free.

399

General Software Discussion / Defragmentation programs doesn't co-exist that well with Norton Goback

« on: February 09, 2006, 12:43 PM »

How many times have you installed something and deeply regretted it, you deleted the important spreadsheet and only realised your mistake a few days later when your boss asked you for it and of course you just cleared your recycled bin and the os has also overwritten the area where it was last stored.

How you wished you could "Goback".

Well, I've been doing that for years with Goback which maintains a large history file of all activity on your PC and once the file is full, it drops off the oldest history and depending on how large this file is (goback.bin) your history can run into many days, ie you can goback several days.

I was kind of surprised that there's only one other mention of Goback in this forum at
https://www.donation...index.php?topic=84.0

Some mentioned was made in that post about strain to the system.

But frankly, even when I was using it years ago, the strain if any wasn't visible and certainly not in today's speedy system.

But I can say that it certainly has save my "life" countless times, whether due to a virus, a malware when I installed something a new download or messed up some settings etc or even a dreaded BSOD.

And if you are a download junkie who likes to try new software, Goback can really keep your system clean, just like VMware, but in a different way by allowing you to Goback if you have problems.

I can say that looking at some of the posts here of people who have experienced crashes etc due to addition of a new hardware driver, software etc, Goback would have saved them endless gnashing of teeth or even a complete reinstall.

Now a proviso and a request for any ideas.

I also use defragmenters, in this case Diskeeper 9.

The only problem is that Defragmenters create lots of file activity when they are defragmenting and this kind of fills up the goback.bin and if it proceeds for too long, Goback stops recording and gives you a warning that it has "Suspended because of massive file activity"to give Goback time to catch up.

It then resumes maybe like 5 - 8 hours later (don't know why it needs so long to catch up) which can be an eternity if you happen to have installed something that messes up your system during this intervening period. The problem is that you may not even know that Goback has been suspended until you need it.

So my strategy to overcome this is to initially fully defragment the disk and then use the "Set it and forget it scheduler" in diskeeper for it to do bits and pieces of defragmenting every now and then.

So this kind of keeps Diskeeper and Goback working together happily.

Unfortunately, periodically when I'm doing a lot more work deleting and doing file maintenance, Diskeeper tend to work harder at too long a stretch creating too much activity at one go - resulting in "Goback Suspended because of massive file activity"

Ideally Diskeeper should have a setting that limits it to 10 minutes, wait say 30 minutes before it restarts.

Does anybody out there know of a defragmenter like Perfect Disk which can do this work 10 minutes, wait 30 minutes before it restarts.

I kind of read somewhere that PerfectDisk has a full commandline interface too - so I guess it can be combined with some scheduling software to achieve this Work Stop Wait functionality.

Any additional ideas will be appreciated.

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Mini-Reviews by Members / Re: Startup Delayer

« on: January 19, 2006, 10:20 AM »

There are quite a few programs that get listed twice in the Startup Delay dialog, and even if I remove one of them, the program gets run twice when Windows starts up.  Also, i think I have one or two or programs that get started twice even though it's only listed once.  It's almost as if Startup Delay can't accurately detect or control all of the startup instances of the programs.  Anyone else experiencing this?

-superboyac (January 19, 2006, 10:08 AM)

You will be happy to know that you are not alone. I have the same problem. So it's not your system.

The only way to solve the problem is not to let Startup Delay control that it is unable to control.