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2201

General Software Discussion / Re: Win7: Anyone else getting excited?

« Last post by Carol Haynes on October 18, 2009, 05:12 AM »

I have read most (but not all) of this thread so excuse me if this has already been mentioned ...

I just spotted this on Amazon UK:

Important--changes to EU release of Microsoft Windows 7

Please note that Microsoft have recently made a number of changes to the European release of Microsoft Windows 7. Please be aware that while this is subject to change, the latest information that Amazon has is:

    * This version of Windows 7 ships as a full edition, suitable for both new Windows users and Windows Vista users looking to upgrade. Although a ‘clean install’ is not essential for existing Windows Vista users, this is recommended by Microsoft UK.
    * All editions of Windows 7 will now include the Internet Explorer 8 web browser as standard.

Amazon.co.uk will continue to update this page as and when further information becomes available.

So it appears that MS or the EU has backtracked on the original decision not to include Internet Explorer. Presumably the EU and US versions are now identical again or where there other differences I have forgotten about?

2202

General Software Discussion / Re: Firefox Extensions: Your favorite or most useful

« Last post by Carol Haynes on October 18, 2009, 04:58 AM »

In Firefox 3.5.3 yesterday I got the automatic disabling MS .Net Framework Assistant yesterday and it is listed in my Add-on as "Disabled for your protection" and there is a link to an explanation.

Ironically clicking the link brought a bad certificate error and I had to add a security exception in Firefox before I was allowed to view the page. The page lists all add-ons that will be forcibly killed of in Firefox without user intervention and links to an explanation page.

The two pages are:

https://www.mozilla.com/en-US/blocklist/

and

https://bugzilla.moz...ow_bug.cgi?id=522777

The other thing that was disabled was "Windows Presentation Foundation" but I can't see any reference to that now in my Add-ons list.

Was this a plugin to the MS .NET framework assistant or a visible plugin to Firefox? The last link seems to suggest it was a plugin for the ,Net assistant ???

Out of curiosity what happens now if you visit websites that depend on .Net and what happens when MS issue a fix for the possible remote control exploit Mozilla are trying to remove?

Does anyone find ironic that having systematically screwed up Internet Explorer security for years, opening up computers to massive numbers of exploits, MS are now installing add-ons into 3rd party applications unbidden and introducing the same security issues in other people's software. Call me a conspiracy theorist but does this sound a little planned to make sure any security issues in IE also affect Firefox so that MS isn't disadvantaged in the browser wars!

2203

Living Room / Re: Man names son 2.0

« Last post by Carol Haynes on October 13, 2009, 02:36 AM »

What happens when the next child comes along? Presumably a new version will be an upgrade and therefore they lose the right to the original version!

Presumably the poor kid will be relagated to a dusty cupboard where old software goes to be out of site (until the tidy up and throw out).

Seriously though how many parents actually think about the consequences when they inflict names on their offspring!

I once new a teacher called Rhoda, she married a friend called Andrew Dick.

Needless to say he adopted her surname after the wedding otherwise she would never have gone to school again!

2204

General Software Discussion / Re: MAILSTORE EMAIL ARCHIVER

« Last post by Carol Haynes on October 12, 2009, 10:15 AM »

Anyone found the link to upgrade a home plus license from version 3 to 4 ?

2205

General Software Discussion / Re: Windows Security Essentials

« Last post by Carol Haynes on October 11, 2009, 11:36 AM »

Any of these people running MSE will never complete a full computer scan.

-Innuendo (October 11, 2009, 10:31 AM)

Depends if it resumes where it left off after a reboot.

2206

General Software Discussion / Re: Win7: Anyone else getting excited?

« Last post by Carol Haynes on October 11, 2009, 11:35 AM »

Isn't that pretty much what I said?

2207

General Software Discussion / Re: Win7: Anyone else getting excited?

« Last post by Carol Haynes on October 11, 2009, 04:24 AM »

To me the really bizarre thing is HP putting a bay in the tower case so you can slide a USB 2.0 drive in.  I mean, the thing has to connect to the motherboard somehow anyway and the internal drives are Sata.  So why not just have a snap in with a Sata connection?  Makes no sense at all. They could have had a coup with a built-in docking station that people would actually use.  Just slide an internal Sata drive in the bay!!

-MilesAhead (October 10, 2009, 10:12 PM)

It does make some sense because many HP models are supplied with a USB drive in a caddy and if your doesn't you can buy a drive (at an extortionate price). The stated intention is so that you can use it as a portable drive to carry data with you on the move. Whilst an eSATA dock would be very nice the majority of people would find a portable USB drive far more useful as every computer can use USB drives whereas relatively few computers have eSATA interfaces - and those that do (like one of my desktops) aren't brilliant at hot swapping drives.

2208

Mini-Reviews by Members / Re: Registry Cleaning Software

« Last post by Carol Haynes on October 09, 2009, 05:40 AM »

FWIW CCleaner works with all the major browsers. If EasyCleaner doesn't then swap to CCleaner (or have both installed).

2209

General Software Discussion / Re: What is best program to create a DVD from any video file?

« Last post by Carol Haynes on October 08, 2009, 08:48 AM »

If you don't mind spending some money then:

http://tmpgenc.pegas...en/product/taw4.html

is very good, allows easy menu creation (and now allows you to design your own buttons etc.).

Converts most common formats, can produce DVDs in both PAL and NTSC format (as well as DivX Ultra DVDs in both formats) and has tools for creating subtitles, up to 5.1 surround sound and burning final output to disc.

I have been using this product right through since version 1 and it does produce really good quality. They also have a free trial version so you can see if you like it.

Only negative side is that your comouter has to be connected to the internet because they validate your license periodically.

Another option if you have some dosh is Sony Vegas Pro with DVD Architect. It lets you do pretty much anything you want with video files and give complete control over building video menus etc. This is a really professional package - but you pay the price (but then you did ask for the best).

DVD Architect is available as a separate product and there are various other cheaper product packages in the Vegas range which include hobbyist versions of the tools. See http://www.sonycreat...oviestudiopp/compare for a comparison.

Finally Adobe do a DVD production tool called Encore. I have a copy (as part of a suite) but I have never used it so I can't really comment on how good it is. See http://www.adobe.com...cts/premiere/encore/

2210

General Software Discussion / Re: Can't copy actual email addresses from Outlook.

« Last post by Carol Haynes on October 06, 2009, 03:55 PM »

Yeah, but are you using the global address list from Exchange?  That is where the root of all evil is.

-superboyac (October 06, 2009, 03:34 PM)

No - so the problem isn't actually in Outlook. It is in Exchange ??

2211

General Software Discussion / Re: Can't copy actual email addresses from Outlook.

« Last post by Carol Haynes on October 06, 2009, 01:41 PM »

Try creating an email to the person (you don't need to send it) and then in the To line right click and look at the properties. It should have the email addess listed but you can never tell with Outhouse.

Update: I am using Outlook 2007 and the email addresses are clearly shown on the Contact forms and are selectable.

2212

General Software Discussion / Re: Windows Security Essentials

« Last post by Carol Haynes on October 06, 2009, 03:11 AM »

I was just listening to a podcast by Leo LaPorte & Paul Thurrott earlier & they stated that while MSE has very good virus signatures it lacks any heuristic ability whatsoever. Heuristics, for those that aren't aware, is the part of the program that detects the bad stuff before the signatures get written. Without heuristics one is left vulnerable to 0-day exploits while waiting for a signature for a threat to be included in the daily download.

-Innuendo (October 05, 2009, 08:44 PM)

I think the big issue is that 1.6% of KNOWN viruses got through. That's nearly 10000 threats do not get stopped. That's before heuristics should kick in.

Personally I wouldn't want a bullet proof vest that lets nearly 1 in 50 bullets through!

By the way AVAST! does have heuristics (even in the free version). The biggest problem with heuristics are the number of false positives. Wth AVAST! I have never had an infection (or a false positive), with NOD32 I have had quite a few false positives over the years. Avira has the reputation of being the most secure AV but at the cost of many false positives.

IMHO too many false positives are nearly as bad as  no heuristics because users simply get to the point where they ignore most warnings (like over picky firewalls that constantly popup - people just click 'allow' without thinking)

2213

General Software Discussion / Re: BlueScreenView by NirSoft - find driver causing blue screen

« Last post by Carol Haynes on October 05, 2009, 07:00 PM »

Usually onboard sound can be enabled/disabled in the BIOS.

2214

General Software Discussion / Re: Win7: Anyone else getting excited?

« Last post by Carol Haynes on October 05, 2009, 03:25 PM »

It doesn't take that long.

I did a sequential upgrade from XP to Win 7 Pro via the following route:

Win XP - > Vista HP -> Win 7 HP -> Win 7 Pro

I can't remember how long that all took but it was under 2 hours for the lot.

I don't have a license for Win 7 HP and so I upgraded without a key and then upgraded to the Pro version with the key.

2215

Living Room / Re: recommendation wanted: which wireless network device, not usb?

« Last post by Carol Haynes on October 05, 2009, 02:38 AM »

I have used Edimax 802.11g cards before and found them very cheap but easy to set up and good signal strength (helped by an aerial on a cble rather than tcked behind the machine). See

http://www.edimax.co...1_id=1&pl2_id=44


If you need 802.11n they also produce:

http://www.edimax.co...1_id=1&pl2_id=44

which I haven't used but is pretty good value for an n card.

Amazon sell their stuff.

I don't know about Linux compatibility - I just know the few times I tried Linux it was almost impossible to get wireless working (with a whole bunch of Netgear, LinkSys and other PCI cards).

They say http://www.edimax.co...1_id=1&pl2_id=44 is Linux compatible but only with kernels 2.4/2.6. That probably means that was all it was tested with.

PS If you can afford to go for WiFi-n then you will find it is much faster (up to nearly 6 times) for file transfers between machines and I suspect if you have a lot of people trying to access a broadband connection at the same time the increased bandwidth would speed that up too. The best thing about WiFi-n is the improved range and signal strength.

If they are all in the same 'classroom' it would be cheaper to buy a bunch of wires and have a wired network and then you don't have to worry about compatability with Linux too much. Not as neat but cheaper, a lot less hassle and if the machines/router have gigabit interfaces very fast.

2216

Living Room / Re: Be warned - Acronis Backup and Recovery

« Last post by Carol Haynes on October 04, 2009, 06:49 AM »

Today Acronis released an update which amongst other things fixed the BSOD error.

-Carol Haynes (October 02, 2009, 10:49 AM)

Back on topic ...

My experiences so far with Acronis Backup and Recovery Advanced Workstation:

1) Initial release build - endless problems getting it installed. Introduces numerous running processes and ten applications to Add/Remove programs applet. No integrated installer other then via a web download system which means every repair or reinstall meant downloading over 600Mb of data.

2) Build 11055 released. Seemed to work OK on my system but other systems experienced BSOD 0x0A afetr every reboot until 'Use last known good gonfiguation' option was used which effectively removed the product.

3) Build 11133 released. Now I can't use VSS to ensure consistent backups of my system drive. Seems to work fine on any hard drive that doesn't include a system partition but on the system drive you can't use VSS even with the Windows partition excluded. Completely pointless product - the whole point of VSS is to ensure a backup of internally consistent data - without that functionality product is worse than useless.

[Edit - Correction ... use of VSS is inconsistent sometimes you can't backup any drives with VSS enabled]

4) Reverted 11055 - started getting BSODs myself and had the devil's own job to get the system to start in a way that allowed me to install the SnapAPI patch fix.

5) Installed SnapAPI fix (so now running 11055 with fix) and have the same problem as 11133 with lack of VSS support.

All in all an extremely frustrating experience.

Situation is so bad now that Acronis Support forums have either been taken off line or can't cope with the volume as all I get is a white screen.

Instant support try to be helpful online (the promised telephone support no longer seems to exist - at least I can find no way to get a telephone number) but they always want to collect information for supoort to examine and tell you to run AcroniInfo.

Trouble is I can't get AcronisInfo to run on my system it just exits with errors every time. So they can't even write a troubleshooting tool that works consistently.

Is Acronis going to be in it's final death roll over this one? I cannot see how a manufacturer of corporate recovery software can survive with this debacle. I would imagine corportate clients will abandon the sinking ship in droves.

2217

General Software Discussion / Re: BlueScreenView by NirSoft - find driver causing blue screen

« Last post by Carol Haynes on October 04, 2009, 06:35 AM »

I have experienced this error in the past with faulty RAM, out of date video and audio drivers and Netgear WiFi drivers.

2218

Living Room / Re: Be warned - Acronis Backup and Recovery

« Last post by Carol Haynes on October 03, 2009, 06:05 PM »

That's right. Provided minidumps have not been deleted you can see dated earlier crashes.

2219

Living Room / Re: Be warned - Acronis Backup and Recovery

« Last post by Carol Haynes on October 02, 2009, 03:50 PM »

It that was the message it is more than likely a faulty driver.

If you want to track down past BSODs try http://www.nirsoft.n...lue_screen_view.html which allows you to look at past BSODs and lists the drivers involved.

I have found this incredibly useful for troubleshooting.

2220

Living Room / Re: Be warned - Acronis Backup and Recovery

« Last post by Carol Haynes on October 02, 2009, 10:49 AM »

Today Acronis released an update which amongst other things fixed the BSOD error.

My system was running fine until I installed the update now my system runs fine but I can't do backups all I get is: "Process interrupted - requires user interaction" but there is no interaction to be given just click on OK and then it stops as failed backup.

I suppose at least an application of 688Mb that does nothing is better than an application of 688Mb that simply crashes your system is an improvement!

I have now manually uninstalled it (including all the registry entries) and reinstalled without any improvement!

Really pissed off and will certainly not be renewing my maintenance contract next month.

2221

Living Room / Re: Be warned - Acronis Backup and Recovery

« Last post by Carol Haynes on October 02, 2009, 03:26 AM »

I have to say I gave up on TrueImage Home edition after version 9 because of all the bugs. I transferred to Workstation 9.1 and through that version and TrueImage Echo Workstation I had virtually no issues whatsoever and I recommend people avoid the Home version and go for the corporate versions because that are rock solid.

Now they have left the True Image developement thread and moved to Backup & Recovery I can't in all honesty recommend to clients that they swap over. I have had nothing but hassles since the bloody thing was released. I must have spent about 5 hours troubleshooting a clients system to get this working - it has left her unconfident in the software and me 5 hours of my life gone forever (and a bad taste in the mouth). How anyone can release (and still be distributing) a product that instantly kills even a small proportion of corporate customers computers is beyond me. I could understand an error creeping in and them withdrawing and returning to the previous build until it is resolved but anyone who buys this piece of crap will still play lottery with their system by installing it.

2222

Found Deals and Discounts / Re: WinX DVD Ripper Platium - free for the rest of Sept.

« Last post by Carol Haynes on October 01, 2009, 05:01 PM »

I'm reluctant to characterize DVDFab as bloatware, but it has certainly grown significantly in the last couple of years. 

-sajman99 (October 01, 2009, 01:23 PM)

I haven't seen much appear in DVDFab that is beyond reasonable core functionality (and I am running the latest paid version).

OK they have added things like rip and move files to various media players etc. but they seem like reasonable options to offer and you don't pay for those if you don't want them.

If you do want that extra functionality is is pretty well integrated and slick to use.

2223

General Software Discussion / Re: Windows Security Essentials

« Last post by Carol Haynes on October 01, 2009, 04:56 PM »

How long before the anti-trust lawsuits start up.

I suppose it is reasonable that MS should off free antivirus and other anti-malware protection since 99% of the time it seems to be Windows itself that has the security holes in it that are being exploited.

Just a shame they allowed a large third party group of developers build a thriving business base that Microsoft will now undoubtedly try and market out of business.

Perhaps MS should spend more time working on stopping the holes in the first place - and releasing patches in a reasonable time when they appear (which they aren't always good at).

Given that MacOS seems to be a growing target for malware perhaps MS should also produce a Mac version

2224

Living Room / Re: Be warned - Acronis Backup and Recovery

« Last post by Carol Haynes on October 01, 2009, 04:46 PM »

Backup & Recovery is supposed to be Windows 7 ready but there is a restriction with the secure zone in that images can't be mounted.

I can't really see the point of the secure zone - it doesn't really add anything apart from using up an entry in the partition table. Given that Windows 7 uses 2 primary partitions just to install (unless you are installing it as a multi-boot option on top of Vista or XP) it doesn't leave you many primary partitions to play with on a system!

The other thing I would like Acronis to do is to produce a pure recovery ISO image that is freely distributable so that you can distribute an archive of a new system with an easy to use recovery option.

I think this sort of early release shoddiness is going to come back and bite them in the arse one day - especially with products that are supposed to be enterprise recovery tools!

2225

Living Room / Be warned - Acronis Backup and Recovery

« Last post by Carol Haynes on September 30, 2009, 04:31 PM »

Acronis in recent months replaced their corporate products of TrueImage with "Acronis Backup and Recovery 10". I am not personally convinced that it is a step forward and I have had a lot of teething problems with it (not least the 680Mb download of the Advanced Workstation!!!). There is a lighter Workstation Edition which deosn't include server technology for remote installation and centralised licensing.

They recently released a new update (build 11105) which a client of mine downloaded and tried to install yesterday and there is a major problem on some systems (her's included) - when installed in certain configurations the system BSODs on restart/startup.

The problem seems to be related to driver conflicts between certain USB card readers (even if they are factory fitted in laptops) and the SnapAPI driver set installed by Acronis.

For anyone playing with this there is a much under-publicised fix for the issue (it does not appear in the Acronis KB it is hidden away in the forum). The fix basically means installing an updated SnapAPI set after the software (though why they can't simply create a new build and incorporate the new drivers is beyond me).

See http://forum.acronis.com/forum/3698 for details if you are affected.

Apparently in XP you get a BSOD, in Vista it starts the Windows repair interface (which was very confusing for my client as once the repair had finished the Acronis Software had apparently disappeared - not that life was that simple).

If like me you get in a big strop and want to remove the program manually they have not yet released a removal tool but there are manual instructions at http://kb.acronis.com/content/2975

Note these manual instructions are not correct in some places - for example in the Vista 32 instructions steps 8 and 9 cannot be completed in Home Premium because those Management Console snapins are only available in the Pro, Enterprise and Ultimate versions of Vista.

This all reminds me of the days when shoddy incomplete software was released to home user for unwitting beta testing and was one of the main reasons I shifted to the corporate software editions. If you have True Image Echo Workstation with a support plan that offers free upgrades I would wait six months while they get the software working properly.

One final comment I can't see any way in the new software to recover individual files from TIB archives (which are still used and old TrueImage archives are supposed to be compatible). The archive needs to be mounted and individual files or folders copied and pasted to recover them. I may be wrong but I can't see any other method. The problem lies in that in Windows 7 you can't mount archives in the Acronis Secure Zone so I would recommend you don't use Secure Zone at all. I haven't tried file archives yet but if you can only retrieve files by mounting images I am not sure you can do that with file archives so I am not sure how you are supposed to retrieve stuff ???

Its all a bit shoddy and isn't going to do their corporate image much good.