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5851

General Software Discussion / Re: Best app ore method to restore a Win7 system? (not a disk image)

« Last post by MilesAhead on August 02, 2010, 09:16 PM »

Not quite your question, but... Safest Win7 codec pack I've found is the one from www.Shark007.net (granted the sites is a bit of an atrocity, but...) - I've used it successfully on both 32 & 64bit machines, and it will play anything. Rented moves, downloaded movies, weird format cell phone movies - It's played everything I've thrown at it.

-Stoic Joker (August 02, 2010, 01:27 PM)

+1 on Shark's.

-MilesAhead (August 02, 2010, 01:34 PM)

Thanks for that, I'll use it. However, some apps install codecs forcibly - like J-River Media Center, which I do like for the organization features, but which installs and updates ffdshow without so much as a prompt or a notification. And I like trying out software - never yet found an all-round media player I would be 100% satisfied with, so I'd love to be able to quickly roll back.

-tranglos (August 02, 2010, 02:58 PM)

Hmmm, I'm rapidly changing my opinion.  I just updated and now even if I select Custom Install I still get the BingBar and Window Live Sign On Assistant whether I like it or not.  I don't really want to uninstall 2 things every time I install one thing.  It's a royal pita!!

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General Software Discussion / Re: Best app ore method to restore a Win7 system? (not a disk image)

« Last post by MilesAhead on August 02, 2010, 07:07 PM »

The codec and video thing is a nightmare. Often I find if I go to a new version of some video software that was working fine, it breaks.  Backing off to the working version does no good.  Even a restore point doesn't always fix it.  The stuff is getting so complicated it's like you have to freeze it once you get it to work.

I don't know how much stuff you have on your system drive.  I like Macrium because I can back up to external drives very quickly.  But I keep the usage level low on the system partition.  Makes it less of a chore to restore.  Still, I'm not thrilled about doing it if I don't have to.

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General Software Discussion / Re: Best app ore method to restore a Win7 system? (not a disk image)

« Last post by MilesAhead on August 02, 2010, 01:37 PM »

Afa the rollback type softwares, iiuc they use the Shadow Copy mechanism and the recovery consists of booting into the saved image, throwing away all changes. Trouble with that scheme is a nasty virus will tend to attack how your system boots.  You really need some kind of total system backup that's easy to restore.  For "voluntary" rollbacks, those softwares may be fine. But anytime you hook some new software into how your system boots it's a risk that what ain't broke gets fixed but good.

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General Software Discussion / Re: Best app ore method to restore a Win7 system? (not a disk image)

« Last post by MilesAhead on August 02, 2010, 01:34 PM »

Not quite your question, but... Safest Win7 codec pack I've found is the one from www.Shark007.net (granted the sites is a bit of an atrocity, but...) - I've used it successfully on both 32 & 64bit machines, and it will play anything. Rented moves, downloaded movies, weird format cell phone movies - It's played everything I've thrown at it.

-Stoic Joker (August 02, 2010, 01:27 PM)

+1 on Shark's.  The major safety feature is during uninstall it asks you if you wish to put the PC back the way it was before Codec Pack was installed, or keep your settings.  Plus there's a save and restore settings feature.  When I update I always restore settings to what I saved and an attempt to keep everything working.  It's so complicated now with all the media splitters and all the rest that it's just about impossible to remember how you have stuff set up. There's too many option on every filter, splitter and codec.

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General Software Discussion / Re: Best app ore method to restore a Win7 system? (not a disk image)

« Last post by MilesAhead on August 02, 2010, 01:30 PM »

I haven't used the rollback type softwares.  Just imaging like Macrium.  But you may get a good answer for Windows Seven on this forum:

http://www.sevenforums.com/software/

A lot of MSMVPs hang out there.. as well as us mortals.

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General Software Discussion / Re: TicClick 1.2.5.0

« Last post by MilesAhead on August 02, 2010, 12:48 AM »

TicClick 1.2.5.0 Made some small fixes.  Reduced memory footprint.
Now Edit IniFile command saves the .ini file, then opens it, so data is in sync. Then the app quits to avoid clobbering changes to the file.

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General Software Discussion / Re: TicClick 1.2

« Last post by MilesAhead on August 01, 2010, 11:44 PM »

TicClick 1.2  Added commands Show Readme and Edit IniFile to the Tray Menu.  Yup, I took the lazy way out.  To change the hotkey, use the Edit IniFile command.  The ini file will be opened via file association, then TicClick will quit.  This is to avoid overwriting any changes to the .ini file.

At least this way you don't have to dig into the folder where TicClick.exe is to open the .ini file with an editor.

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General Software Discussion / Re: TicClick 1.1

« Last post by MilesAhead on August 01, 2010, 09:57 PM »

TicClick 1.1  Changed default mouse hotkey to WinKey-Left Click.  Shift-Left Click interferes with Windows multiple selection with the mouse.

Please delete the old TicClick.ini file before running v. 1.1 or it will pick up the old hotkey from the .ini file. If it doesn't work you can usually fix it by quiting using the Tray Icon Menu, then delete the .ini file, then run it again to set the new default.

Or you can just edit the .ini file yourself and put #LButton as the hotkey(or one you prefer.)  See AutoHotKey for the format of hotkey strings.

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General Software Discussion / TicClick 2.4.0.0

« Last post by MilesAhead on August 01, 2010, 06:29 PM »

TicClick 1.0 Shift Left Mouse Click on the active window to move it to one of nine Tic Tac Toe positions similar to: https://www.donation...ex.php?topic=23584.0

This version is Mouse-Only.

You can download here:

http://www.favessoft.com/hotkeys.html

In the future I may add a command to avoid having to edit the .ini file when changing the mouse hotkey.  For now you can edit the .ini file while the program is not running to change the hotkey. Modifier keys are
^ for Control
+ for Shift
# for WinKey

As I refine the program I'll have this info near what you need to edit to change it.  Still 1.0 after all.

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General Software Discussion / Re: TicTac 1.4

« Last post by MilesAhead on August 01, 2010, 06:19 PM »

Directly under TicTac on my page you can download a mouse-only version called TicClick.

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General Software Discussion / Re: TicTac 1.4

« Last post by MilesAhead on August 01, 2010, 11:29 AM »

Canoot play TicTac... 'Numbpad' nonexistent on my lap top.

-PhilB66 (August 01, 2010, 12:19 AM)

btw, could you try running it anyway? Or have you?  If it gets an error trying to assign the first hotkey, it should pop up an error msgbox. If it doesn't then the way I have it should work.  I'll probably come out with a mouse-only version after a bit so that people who don't want to use the numberpad and assign 9 hotkeys can just mouse click. The grid is a bit large now. I'm not the greatest with ahk guis.  But it's working. I'll try to improve the looks eventually.

Edit: Not necessary.  I've got a mouse-only version working using just one ahk program.  I'm putting the polish on it now.  Tray menu commands etc..  I think I'm going to call the mouse version TicClick.

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General Software Discussion / Re: TicTac 1.4

« Last post by MilesAhead on August 01, 2010, 03:21 AM »

Canoot play TicTac... 'Numbpad' nonexistent on my lap top.

-PhilB66 (August 01, 2010, 12:19 AM)

There is the possibility if the keyboard does not actually have the keys, the hotkey registrations may fail. I don't have a laptop to try it.  But let's see what happens. 

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General Software Discussion / Re: TicTac 1.4

« Last post by MilesAhead on August 01, 2010, 02:33 AM »

Canoot play TicTac... 'Numbpad' nonexistent on my lap top.

-PhilB66 (August 01, 2010, 12:19 AM)

I'm working on a mouse addon for it. I should have it ready to upload in a day or so.  The way the mouse handling works, you Winkey click on the active window and a grid pops up with buttons for the 9 positions.  You click a button and it sends the corresponding hotkey to the numpad handler program.

I've got all that part done. Now I just need to add an option for it to the Tray Menu of the numpad handler and write functions to launch and kill the mouse handler exe when the option is enabled/disabled or if you change the hotkey modifier from the Tray Menu etc..

You won't even see the mouse handler program unless you look in task manager. It's just easier to split the job into 2 tasks to take advantage of the strengths of both programming languages(AutoIt3 and ahk.)

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General Software Discussion / Re: TicTac 1.4

« Last post by MilesAhead on July 31, 2010, 06:40 PM »

damn

I keep downloading & you keep updating :p
:-)

-tomos (July 31, 2010, 05:29 PM)

Hehe.  I think it's pretty stable now. Don't think I'd add anything unless I figure out how to do it with the mouse instead of keys.  But that won't be for awhile.

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General Software Discussion / Re: TicTac 1.4

« Last post by MilesAhead on July 31, 2010, 04:08 PM »

TicTac 1.4 Now the hotkey modifier is checked for valid character combinations( any combination of the 3 chars '^ '!' and '#') both when reading the .ini file, and when processing the InputBox.

If an invalid modifier is detected on start up, it is reset to the default( the Win Key) and an error msg is displayed.  If during InputBox processing, the current one is kept and an error displayed.  The program doesn't quit unless it gets a failure setting the first hotkey.

edit: if everything seems to work except one position, another program may have that hotkey.  Try changing the hotkey modifier to get around it.  When you change the modifier, all hotkeys are released and reset to the new combination.

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General Software Discussion / Re: TicTac 1.2

« Last post by MilesAhead on July 31, 2010, 01:12 PM »

TicTac 1.2  Added Change Hotkey Modifier command to the tray menu.

Now you shouldn't need to edit the .ini file.  If the hotkey modifier is changed using the Input Box, the change will take effect immediately.  The setting will be saved to .ini on program close.

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General Software Discussion / Re: TicTac 1.1

« Last post by MilesAhead on July 31, 2010, 01:07 PM »

Now I need to find an animated gif of a head swelling. 

Thanks for the compliment.

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General Software Discussion / Re: TicTac 1.1

« Last post by MilesAhead on July 30, 2010, 08:51 PM »

TicTac 1.1  Version 1.1 adds commands to the Tray Menu such as Show Readme to display the Readme file, Visit Hotkey Page, Donate etc...   Also double clicking the Tray Icon brings up an About dialog displaying the current hotkey, version and copyright info .. the usual soporifics. 

I also added the ability to change the hotkey modifiers using an .ini file setting.  If you don't like using the Win Key you can change the modifier setting in the .ini file.  Shift is not advisable as that changes the state of the number pad. If the hotkey assigment fails, I assume something illegal was specified in the .ini file, and the program quits. If it seems broken a quick way to get it back on track is shut it down and delete the .ini file, and start over.. but this is in the Readme.

Each time the program is run, on exit it writes TicTac.ini to the same folder as TicTac.exe.  The .ini file has comments explaining the format of the HotKeyModifier setting.  Default is # for the Win Key.  Remember to quit the program before editing the .ini file, otherwise your changes will be overwritten on program close.

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General Software Discussion / Re: TicTac 1.0

« Last post by MilesAhead on July 30, 2010, 08:44 PM »

What a really cool idea!
Since it 'sticks' the window in a (new) place I would suggest the name "TicTack".  Like a thumbtack that sticks a piece of paper on the wall.

-parkint (July 30, 2010, 05:52 PM)

Thanks.  Glad you like it.  

edit:

WindowMenuPlus had this as one of its menu commands, but insisted on resizing the window at the same time.  I prefer just moving the window as directly as possible without altering it. So I did it via hotkey.

See the Readme for the sordid details.

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General Software Discussion / TicTac 1.7.0.0

« Last post by MilesAhead on July 30, 2010, 03:22 PM »

TicTac 1.0

No, it doesn't play the game. It just positions the active window to a section that would correspond to a tic tac toe position.  The positions visually correspond to the NumPad number keys.  3 is Bottom Right, 8 is Center Top etc..

Download: http://www.favessoft.com/hotkeys.html

Usage:  Leave running in Tray.  To position the active window, press the Windows Key and a numberpad key 1-9.  Win NumPad5 would center the window.  Win NumPad1 would position it on the bottom left.

Only single monitor setups are supported.  However on each hotkey press it does get the desktop work area from the OS.  It should not cover the Taskbar or get thrown off by a change of screen res.

The active window is not resized or changed. It's only moved such that the entire window should show(if it fits in the work area that is) either flush to an edge of the work area, or centered, depending on the numberpad key used with the Win key.

5871

Found Deals and Discounts / Re: New MakeMKV beta

« Last post by MilesAhead on July 29, 2010, 06:04 PM »

I'm glad the program is working out for you. I guess it is slow going with a one man shop. I know I felt a bit weird after shelling out $50 and then it just goes along and is still beta... but I figure the program does work as well as most paid programs as it is, and with the license key, if it goes away at least I can keep using it as it is.

When you deal with these market services, you end up squishing your octagonal peg into their square hole.  I have a feeling the discount thing is something he couldn't turn off if he wanted to.  But that's just my intuition.  Maybe the developer is a perfectionist, but I agree with you the program works well enough to charge for it. He should probably release it as commercial and give a discount for a time and get things moving.  But I don't know what's going on.  Maybe there's some other ducks he wants to get in a row before he takes the plunge.

5872

Living Room / Re: Death and the net: How to log off gracefully for the very last time

« Last post by MilesAhead on July 28, 2010, 06:24 PM »

I don't recommend this method... way too corny.

http://www.youtube.c.../watch?v=bytoID_SNnE

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General Software Discussion / Re: GlassPrompt 1.1

« Last post by MilesAhead on July 28, 2010, 01:03 AM »

If anyone is tempted to play around with FreeBasic, I posted the v. 1.1 source code for GlassPrompt on the forum:

http://www.freebasic...iewtopic.php?t=16107

It's pretty flexible and interesting.  It has classes but I believe inheritance is not implemented.  The libraries include lots of WinAPI stuff like ShellExecute, FindWindow etc..

It also has user defined types so creating a struct to make a WinAPI call that's not in the library is not difficult.  Also some sort of operator overloading. I'm still new to it so resort to the online site for accurate info.

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General Software Discussion / Re: WindowMenuPlus freeware

« Last post by MilesAhead on July 28, 2010, 12:40 AM »

Yup, it does work.  Looks like they update frequently.  Plus they have a feedback thingy for suggestions.  The good thing is you can exclude some features so even if they implement many of the suggestions you can disable the ones you don't like.

I'm going to check out a few more of the utilities as I get time.

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General Software Discussion / WindowMenuPlus freeware

« Last post by MilesAhead on July 27, 2010, 09:42 PM »

I saw this mentioned on one of the tech sites.. probably Addictive Tips.. and decided to try it out.

http://www.moo0.com/...tware/WindowMenuPlus

WindowMenuPlus sticks some extra menu items in the window system menu. It doesn't show in Chrome and I'm assuming not in other apps that use Ribbon and don't have the system menu in the upper left corner, but if the window has a Taskbar icon then you should be able to get the menu there.

The "maximize to" command is pretty useful as it positions and sizes the window flush to a location on the desktop, such as right-top etc.. and can also maximize just horizontally or just vertically.

There's a "move to" that's not as useful since it only has Left Top Center Right Bottom and no left-top without risizing the window. I suggested they add that feature.

The other one I like is "find this program." It works similarly to my Home Folder utility. It opens the folder where the exe file lives. Only thing is there seems to be a small bug as it opens 2 folders to the same location.

But the main thing is, so far I don't feel any destabalization of my system.  Most gizmos that add menus and commands seem to make the shell fragile.  I'm only just trying it out but it seems solid to this point.  There are some other interesting toys on the site.  Might be a place to get a few utilities especially if you don't use all in one type window positioning utilities on your desktop.