What You Need to Know about All Things PC
Volume 2 Number 24Click here to return to the back issues page.Click here to return to the main newsletter page.
The Naked PC - http://www.TheNakedPC.com What You Need to Know about All Things PC Publisher: Lee Hudspeth and T.J. Lee Editor in Chief: Dan Butler Contributing Editor: Al Gordon This issue is for Wednesday, November 24, 1999 - Vol. 2 No. 24 ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ Table of Contents ** 01. Letter from the Publisher ** 02. CD-Writers Revisited (by Dan Butler) ** 03. Featured Product - APC Back-UPS Pro 420 (Uninterruptible Power Supply) (by Lee Hudspeth) ** 04. TUGPCs Corner - Roll Back the Registry ** 05. Featured Software Bargains ** 06. Featured FAQ - Reseller Ratings by EarthWeb ** 07. Featured Web Site - The Answering Machine ** 08. Newsworthy - a potpourri of current events and interesting stuff ** 09. We Get Mail - Comments and Tips from TNPC Readers ** 01. Letter from the Publisher Hello! And welcome to the Thanksgiving We-Sure-Hope-Someone- Is-Around-This-Week-To-Read-It Holiday Special Edition of TNPC. We had a number of readers ask for more information on how our systems are set up and on the types of equipment we install and use on our own computers. In this issue, Lee discusses his recent foray into the land of spikes and power losses and how he solved his washday problems with a UPS from American Power Conversion. Meanwhile, Dan finally comes around and installs a rewritable CD to see what the entire backup-to-CD hubbub is about. He found a good deal too, one that included the necessary splitter cables that I had to run out and buy separately when I installed my Acer. In the December issue of PC/Computing you find Lee and T.J.s Cell Phone Secrets in the Hands On section. Find out how to link and download phone numbers directly from your computer (page 240). http://www.thenakedpc.com/t/224/tr.cgi?pccphone1 They also answer a number of questions in the Answers section. Get the straight scoop on portable connections, getting your email from anywhere, thwarting hackers, and dealing with incompatible versions of Access (page 248). http://www.thenakedpc.com/t/224/tr.cgi?pccanswers1 Rob Rosenberger is going into the final round of consideration for a term on the U.S. government's Computer System Security and Privacy Advisory Board and wanted us to pass this on to our readers: "A NIST employee said "we've received a large number of endorsements for your membership to the Board." I know TNPC had a role in this, and I thank y'all from the bottom of my heart. I especially want to thank the readers who nominated me. My very best to everyone, and I'll report back when I know more." -- Rob Rosenberger Good luck Rob! This is a holiday week so we'd like to wish each and every one of our readers a very Happy Thanksgiving. We're thankful that you let us into your inbox every other week! You can find back issues and prior articles on our Web site so even if you are a new subscriber (we add about 1,000 new readers every issue) you can catch up on all that has gone before. http://www.TheNakedPC.com As always, reader support is what keeps TNPC free, so please pass a copy of TNPC on to co-workers and friends (no spam please!) and always say "I saw it in TNPC!" +++------------------------- sponsor -------------------------+++ The Unofficial Guide to PCs "This excellent book is the best solution for all your questions and problems. It will save you lots of money, time and anger." This is what readers have said about "The Unofficial Guide to PCs" from QUE. From hardware to software this book has all the critical information you need to optimally maintain your personal computer. "I am just writing to tell you that last week I bought your book and three days later I finished it. It is without a doubt the best book I have read on computers ever." -- Andrew H. http://www.thenakedpc.com/t/224/tr.cgi?sponsor1 +++------------------------- sponsor -------------------------+++ ** 02. CD-Writers Revisited (by Dan Butler) After all the excitement here in the TNPC offices over CD-ROM rewritable drives I broke down and purchased one. Since I'd missed the rebate on the Acer drive we recommended in TNPC #2.20 I settled on the ZipCD from Iomega. This drive is 4x-4x-24x and uses an available IDE connection in your computer. The box came with everything I needed including a two-connection IDE cable, power cable Y-connector, and all the necessary software. Little things like a power cable Y-connector are important to me since a quick trip to the computer store is a one and one half hour round trip! The Iomega installation software was a multimedia application complete with Jazz music and voice instructions on how to proceed. All in all it took about 10 minutes to get the hardware installed and was almost painless. I say almost because I had to switch my regular Zip drive from the secondary IDE chain to my primary IDE chain. This shifted my drive letters and Windows refused to start! After considering my options I booted into Safe Mode and used the Partition Magic Drivemapper utility to match my drive letters with the new configuration. That took another 10 minutes. A quick reboot (is there such a thing in Windows?) and everything was back to normal. Partition Magic on Amazon for $59.99 http://www.thenakedpc.com/t/224/tr.cgi?pma Partition Magic on Beyond for $62.99 http://www.thenakedpc.com/t/224/tr.cgi?pmb In "The Unofficial Guide to PCs" we recommend setting your CD- ROM drive letter to Z:. Keeping with this train of thought I set the zipCD to drive letter Y:, keeping my old CD-ROM drive as Z:. To change the drive letter of your CD-ROM go to Control Panel and open Device Manager. Locate your CD-ROM drive, choose Properties, then change to the Setup tab. Pages 146-147 of "The Unofficial Guide to PC's" contain the full instructions with screen shots. The package was rounded out with a nice selection of software: Adobe Photoshop Limited Edition, Iomega Quick Sync, Adaptec Easy CD Creator(tm), Adaptec DirectCD(tm), and Avery Media Software for creating and printing CD labels, jewel case inserts, and more. The only thing I wish Iomega had included was a CD-RW (rewritable) disk. Two CD-R disks were included but the space on those goes fast when you're backing up. If you buy the drive be sure to pick up some CD-RW disks while you're at it. The list price for this drive on Amazon.com is $209.99. Iomega is running a $30 rebate bringing the actual price down to $179.99. The rebate isn't mentioned on Amazon but you can visit the link below for full details. Overall I'm very pleased with the drive and what I received. If you're still looking for a rewritable drive give the Iomega ZipCD a look. The information on the drive is very sparse at Amazon so use the Iomega site for more details. Info on the Iomega ZipCD: http://www.thenakedpc.com/t/224/tr.cgi?iomega Iomega ZipCD rebate information: http://www.thenakedpc.com/t/224/tr.cgi?zipcdrebate Purchase the Iomega ZipCD from Amazon.com: http://www.thenakedpc.com/t/224/tr.cgi?amazon1 10 CD-R/RW disks (5-CD-RW and 5 CD-R): http://www.thenakedpc.com/t/224/tr.cgi?amazon2 The Unofficial Guide to PCs: http://www.thenakedpc.com/t/224/tr.cgi?tugpcs2 Acer CD Writer Review in TNPC #2.20 http://www.thenakedpc.com/t/224/tr.cgi?acer1 You can reach Dan Butler at: mailto:danbutler@TheNakedPC.com +++------------------------- sponsor -------------------------+++ *****************FREE DirecTV GIVEAWAY!!!***************** Two former Dell Executives want to give you an opportunity to earn extra cash and A FREE DirecTV system! If your neighbors, friends and business associates ask you for free advice about computers and technology products, wouldn't you like to get paid for all the FREE advice you have been giving away? Find out how to profit from your computer knowledge. Details at: mailto:webmaster@allnyte.com or http://www.thenakedpc.com/t/224/tr.cgi?sponsor2 +++-----------------------------------------------------------+++ ** 03. Featured Product - APC Back-UPS Pro 420 (Uninterruptible Power Supply) (by Lee Hudspeth) I live in Southern California. We rarely have weather-induced power fluctuations or outages, so I've been cavalierly taking my chances and operating my home office PCs without any uninterruptible power supplies (UPS). That all changed recently, but the story has a happy ending. Several months ago, I began experiencing power problems. On several occasions a properly grounded isolated circuit -- one that runs straight from my office to the panel with no interruptions -- failed with no notice. You know how much fun that can be when you're working away on your PC, then it's completely dead. D-E-A-D. There were no brownouts, no neighbors had any difficulties, and all other circuits in the house seemed okay. I had my electrician come over and inspect everything ASAP. I won't waste your time with all they gyrations we went through, suffice it to say that when the dust settled he said the evidence pointed to a bad neutral from my power company (SoCal Edison). He used a voltmeter at the panel that showed fluctuations from 115V to 120V on one leg while the other leg was changing from 120V to 115V. Long story short: I called SoCal Edison, they sent an engineer out, he did an inspection and said everything was kosher, although he did notice that the right leg (the leg sporting my office's isolated circuit) showed lower voltage than left leg. In his opinion, that right leg would be more susceptible to voltage fluctuations. He suggested I might consider moving the isolated circuits to the left leg. TMT (Too Much Trouble), so... I logged on to the APC (American Power Conversion Corp.) Web site immediately after he left and selected the right UPS for my needs. http://www.thenakedpc.com/t/224/tr.cgi?apc1 At the time, that need was to protect my production PC and watch any more outages to see how they would affect the other PCs on my LAN that were without a UPS. Based on a review of my System Journal (as recommended in our book "The Unofficial Guide to PCs") it turns out there was a pattern: the outages occurred on Monday and Wednesday mornings, times when the laundry was being done and both the washer and dryer were running. These appliances are both on the right leg along with the circuit used by my PCs. Since the SoCal Edison engineer did his inspection, there have been no more outages, although I do still get frequent low voltage warnings on laundry days. Go figure. I chose the Back-UPS Pro 420 (part no. BP420S) because: 1. It sports DoubleBoost and SmartTrim features that correct both over-and under-voltages without draining the battery, thus preserving battery resources. (These features were the key for me.) 2. It has more than enough capacity for my production system and peripherals or any of my other PCs should I swap them from testing to production status. 3. It has 13.6 minutes of backup time at half load. 4. It includes "PowerChute plus" and WorkSafe software and cabling for intelligently shutting down (and saving open files on) the PC in a power outage when the battery finally fails. There are plenty of other compelling features for this device: building/site wiring fault indicator; automatic, routine internal diagnostic testing; $25,000 lifetime equipment protection guarantee (including lightning events); two-year comprehensive warranty; and more. WOW! The current list price for the Back-UPS Pro 420 is $299; you can find it for as low as $210 (although neither Amazon or Beyond carried it as of this writing). At the time, my production system did not have any USB ports (gasp!), so I got the serial cable model (for "PowerChute plus" integration) instead of the USB version. Since then I've switched my production PC to one with USB support. Although USB would be convenient, all my PCs have one open serial port so it's just as easy to use the serial port connection as USB. The "PowerChute plus" software works great. I can monitor the UPS load, output voltage, and minutes of run time remaining in a cool bar graph format! Here's what I have plugged into the Back-UPS Pro 420 right now: (1) an HP Vectra VE Pentium II/333 in one battery backup outlet; (2) a NEC MultiSync XE15 monitor in another battery backup outlet; (3) an external 56.6 kbps modem in a dangling BlockSafe battery backup outlet; (4) a data phone line through its RJ-11 outlets; (5) the HP's speakers in one BlockSafe "accessory surge protection" outlet; and nothing on the remaining two accessory surge protection outlets. There are plenty of plugs back there: three battery backup outlets, three non-battery backup outlets (they are surge protected), and two RJ-11 outlets (for one phone line or a 10 Base-T Ethernet cable). And the two BlockSafe plugs are extremely handy! (Note: a BlockSafe plug is a 3-prong plug on the end of a 1.5" cord; it dangles from the back plane of the box so that clunky AC/DC adapters and the like have plenty of room to plug in without covering up other plugs.) I recommend you test your UPS monthly. And I do mean test it. March over to the wall outlet the UPS plugs into and unplug it! Then pat yourself on the back for having had the foresight to protect your equipment from outages, spikes, and brownouts. My next assignment is to pick up either two Back-UPS 500 models (BK500M) at $169 MSRP each, or perhaps a single UPS with enough capacity for two PCs. APC has a deep product line so there are plenty to choose from. I urge you to order your UPS from APC today, it's a must-have piece of equipment, and I'm EMBARRASSED that it took me so long to get mine. My TNPC associate Dan Butler has the following two APC models, and has high praise for them: Back-UPS 500 (serial) and Back-UPS Pro 350 (USB). * APC Back-UPS Pro 420 ($299 MSRP) http://www.thenakedpc.com/t/224/tr.cgi?apc2 * APC Back-UPS Pro 350 USB $163.45 ($229 MSRP) at Beyond.com, you save $66: http://www.thenakedpc.com/t/224/tr.cgi?apc3 * APC Back-UPS 500 serial $149.99 ($169 MSRP) at Amazon.com, you save $19: http://www.thenakedpc.com/t/224/tr.cgi?apc4 If you've got power problems, solutions, or anecdotes I'd love to hear from you. You can reach Lee Hudspeth at: mailto:leehudspeth@TheNakedPC.com +++------------------------- sponsor -------------------------+++ >> ********** Who have you been trying to find? ********** STOP Wasting Time --- on searches that GO nowhere! When a search engine can't help ---- we can. Confidential --> Classified --> Top Secret --> For Your Eyes Only http://www.thenakedpc.com/t/224/tr.cgi?sponsor3 +++------------------------- sponsor -------------------------+++ ** 04. TUGPCs Corner - Roll Back the Registry [TUGPCs Corner is a tiny glimpse into our latest book, "The Unofficial Guide to PCs", (by T. J. Lee, Lee Hudspeth, and Dan Butler) published by QUE (ISBN 0-7897-1797-2).] "Many problems with applications running under Windows stems from something going wrong in the registry. We could fill an entire chapter with bizarre stories about strange application and system crashes that were the result of installing a device or application and having the registry get fouled up. Bright Idea Take this advice to heart, you must have a copy of your registry before you install anything on your computer so you can undo the effects of a bad install if necessary. You need to copy both the User.dat and System.dat files, which reside in the C:\Windows folder. Save these to a disk that you keep in a safe place. Fortunately, there's another System Information utility that can fix problems with the registry and even restore a previous version of the registry. We touched on this utility back in Chapter 9 "Preparing for Disaster." It's such a lifesaver of a utility that a repeat visit is warranted. Registry Checker automatically scans your registry every time you start your computer. If Registry Checker notices a problem, it automatically replaces the registry with the backup copy that it has made (it makes a new copy once a day). You can manually run the Registry Checker from the Tools menu on the System Information program to make a backup copy. Unofficially By default, the Registry Checker keeps five complete copies of your systems registry backed up. This gives you a five-day incremental history to restore from if necessary (unless you manually backup the registry more often). To manually restore your registry, follow these steps: 1. Select Start / Shut Down / Restart in MS-DOS mode / OK. 2. From the MS-DOS command prompt, type scanreg /restore. 3. You'll see a list of the last five backups (named Rbnnn.cab where nnn starts at 000) along with their date/time stamps, so pick the latest known good backup. The screen will also indicate either Started or Not Started for each backup file, meaning that the particular copy of the registry has successfully started your system, or it hasn't, respectively. Pick the backup file you want to restore. 4. Choose Restore. If the restore is successful, Registry Checker tells you so. Likewise if there was a problem restoring the CAB file, an error message appears. In this case try restoring the next oldest CAB. The Scanreg.ini file controls many of the Registry Checker's functions and settings. You'll find this file in your C:\Windows folder. This file can be edited in Notepad and you could, for example, increase the number of backups the checker maintains by changing the MaxBackupCopies settings. For example: MaxBackupCopies=10 This increases the number of copies maintained giving you a 10- day history of your registry files. Be careful editing this INI file as the Registry Checker is a very important part of your disaster recovery arsenal." http://www.thenakedpc.com/t/224/tr.cgi?tugpcsorder http://www.thenakedpc.com/t/224/tr.cgi?tugpcsinfo ** 05. Featured Software Bargains We get a lot of questions about digital photography since we featured the JamCam as a low-cost, entry-level digital camera (TNPC #2.18). Beyond.com has put together a Digital Darkroom page with their best deals on digital cameras (low end to high end), software, scanners, and printers. http://www.thenakedpc.com/t/224/tr.cgi?beyond1 The Y2K Survival Kit V1.0 Windows 95/98/NT is free after rebate and contains tools to ensure your PC successfully rolls over to the year 2000. It comes with utilities that check your hardware and detect problems caused by the year 2000 and actually fix a number of these problems. http://www.thenakedpc.com/t/224/tr.cgi?beyond2 Note: rebates on Beyond.com are usually only available in the U.S.A. and Canada. Always check for current rebate availability before ordering as TNPC does not warrant or guarantee rebate offers mentioned on this page. If you know of other software or hardware bargains that would interest TNPC readers, send them to: mailto:bargains@TheNakedPC.com ** 06. Featured FAQ - Reseller Ratings by EarthWeb The Internet is a scary place when it comes to buying something like computer equipment. Will you get what you order? Is the company you're about to do business with honest and trustworthy in their business practices? Check out the Reseller Ratings to see what others who have trafficked with a given company have to say about their experiences. Find out who to deal with and who to avoid. Companies are rated based on seven survey questions and receive final scores from between zero and 7. Look before you leap and check out the comments sections where people describe their experiences with the company in question. http://www.thenakedpc.com/t/224/tr.cgi?reseller1 ** 07. Featured Web Site - The Answering Machine Okay, so it's not directly computer related but it's fun and a great way to kill half an hour. The Answering Machine site simply has the very best telephone answering machine bits ever assembled. Funny, serious, risqué, you name it, they got it. Some very clever stuff here along with some obvious and poorly done celebrity impersonations as well as a few real celebrities (how did they get Leonard Nimoy to do a "Spock answers the phone" bit?). Check it out but not when you're in a hurry or have something else you should be doing. http://www.thenakedpc.com/t/224/tr.cgi?answermach +++-----------------------------------------------------------+++ WANT TO GET YOUR WORD OUT? Classified ads in The Naked PC can be yours for the ridiculously low price of $30 per issue. Get your message out to over 41,000 TNPC subscribers. http://www.TheNakedPC.com/tnpcadvertising.html?v2i24 +++-----------------------------------------------------------+++ ** 08. Newsworthy - a potpourri of current events and interesting stuff *-* Hold onto your wallets if Utah Governor Mike Leavitt has his way: Americans buying mail-order products on the Internet will soon start paying sales taxes. http://www.thenakedpc.com/t/224/tr.cgi?news1 *-* Cringley has done the homework and gives you the Cliff notes to Judge Thomas Penfield Jackson's finding of fact in the Microsoft antitrust case. You too can quote page numbers and sound like an industry pundit with this very slick article. http://www.thenakedpc.com/t/224/tr.cgi?news2 *-* There's a bug in Windows NT Service Pack 6 that prevents users from accessing Lotus Notes without full administrator rights. http://www.thenakedpc.com/t/224/tr.cgi?news3 *-* And be sure to check the Annoyance Update page regularly: http://www.thenakedpc.com/t/224/tr.cgi?officeupdate ** 09. We Get Mail - Comments and Tips from TNPC Readers The feedback on the Download Dilemma article in the last issue (TNPC #2.23) was very positive with most everyone in agreement that a writeable CD is the way to go for backup these days. TNPCers Lorna V. and Steve M. recommend a utility called Download Wonder from Forty Software: http://www.thenakedpc.com/t/224/tr.cgi?forty Download Wonder pops up when you download something and lets you save it wherever you want and record information about the application that is stored in DW's searchable database. Sounds very handy. TNPCer Dennis M. solved his headset/Internet phone problem with a special sound card from the folks at Quicknet Technologies that, according to Dennis, lets him plug in a standard PC microphone and speakers or an actual telephone. http://www.thenakedpc.com/t/224/tr.cgi?quicknet **PLEASE SUPPORT TNPC BY VISITING OUR ADVERTISERS** +++----------------------- classifieds -----------------------+++ Blue Horizon Enterprises Blue Horizon Enterprises is one of the very few "Mom and Pop" operations left on the web. We specialize in virtual web hosting, World Wide Web development, mail services, including mailing lists, and everything else that can enhance your presence on the Internet. HTML, Perl, Java, CGI development, and custom graphics. http://www.thenakedpc.com/t/224/tr.cgi?class1 +++-----------------------------------------------------------+++ Outlook Annoyances Outlook driving you crazy? Despair not, the Annoyances series from O'Reilly has the cure! Outlook Annoyances from the award winning team of Woody Leonhard, Lee Hudspeth, & T. J. Lee http://www.thenakedpc.com/t/224/tr.cgi?class2 +++-----------------------------------------------------------+++ INTELLIGAMER Intelligamer is the intelligent choice in online Computer Game information! We've got the best in computer gaming news, reviews and more. Check with Intelligamer before buying that next game. http://www.thenakedpc.com/t/224/tr.cgi?class3 +++-----------------------------------------------------------+++ DISCLAIMER Personal computers are individual machines with performance that can vary with components, software, and operator ability. The Naked PC is not responsible for the manner in which the information presented is used or interpreted. Also, although we work hard to provide you with accurate Internet links in The Naked PC, we are not responsible for Internet links herein that represent sites owned and operated by third parties. We are not responsible for the content, accuracy, performance, or availability of any such third-party sites. Grass stains may not wash out. Do not fold, spindle, or mutilate because it sounds like that would really hurt and we're not sure what spindle means anyways. REDISTRIBUTION POLICY We encourage you to forward this newsletter to your friends, associates, and colleagues for their review and enjoyment. However, please do so only by sending it in full, thereby keeping the copyright and subscription information intact. We do request that, once they've reviewed an issue or two, they subscribe independently rather than continue to receive issues from you. This helps TNPC grow and prosper, thereby funding its continued publication. Also, if you wish to post this newsletter to a newsgroup or electronic discussion group, you may do so if you preserve the copyright and subscription information. Thanks. SUBSCRIPTION SERVICES To subscribe or unsubscribe, surf on over to: http://www.TheNakedPC.com/subscribe.html To make comments or suggestions, surf on over to: http://www.TheNakedPC.com/tnpfeedback.html or send email directly to: mailto:tnpc@TheNakedPC.com Get back issues form our Mailbot by sending email to: mailto:Mailbot@TheNakedPC.com WEB BULLETIN BOARD Check out our 24x7 Web bulletin board. If you've got a technical question about PC issues, or suggestions of your own, this is the place to hang out: http://www.PRIMEConsulting.com/cgi-local/annoy.pl ADVERTISING To advertise in TNPC go to: http://www.TheNakedPC.com/tnpcadvertising.html Mail services provided by Blue Horizon Enterprises, one of the very few "Mom and Pop" operations left on the Web: http://www.bhorizon.com Copyright (c) 1999, PRIME Consulting Group, Inc. and Dan Butler. All Rights Reserved. The Naked PC is a trademark of PRIME Consulting Group, Inc. ISSN: 1522-4422 RMH: 607 TNPC Hot Tips:
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