[Stoner]

Hi Ben
Since you have done a re-install, if you have a Maxtor or Seagate hard drive in your computer, or attached by USB, now would be an excellent tine to use the free Disk Wizard or MaxBlast that Seagate provides. Through it, you can save a backup drive image for restoration purposes.


Here are the links
Link

and:
Link


BTW, I found Firefox to improve online security for win 9x as opposed to the buggy IE.
Downside was .....it used more memory than IE, though.


Jack

[aarhus2004]

Originally Posted by Stoner

Hi Ben
Since you have done a re-install, if you have a Maxtor or Seagate hard drive in your computer, or attached by USB, now would be an excellent tine to use the free Disk Wizard or MaxBlast that Seagate provides. Through it, you can save a backup drive image for restoration purposes.

Here are the links
Link

and:
Link


Jack

Jack, thanks for the post.

I downloaded the 101MB file and installed it.

I attempted to use the software by clicking on the desktop executable. The GUI appeared and a message requesting "Wait - Processing...".

My system froze and I was unable to do anything. The Close Program dialog couldn't handle it either. I did a shutdown, usually resulting in ScanDisk running on reboot. Boot normal. I tried again with an identical result.

Removal was unpleasant; with some items necessarily removed by a registry cleaner and others in Safe Mode.

I have no doubt it works for some - I don't know what their systems would be. I cannot recommend it for Windows Millennium.

Cheers.

Ben.

[Stoner]

Sorry to hear about the conflict.

[aarhus2004]

Originally Posted by aarhus2004

Hello WinME Users,

For the past 24 hours I have wrestled with the most intractable problem ever to confront me.

Symptoms:

I noticed a sluggishness in performance. Realising I had been busily moving large files to and fro on my C:\ drive I decided to do a defragment. Do what I may, and I did much since the defrag refused to pass the 30% mark, such as reducing those processes indicated in the Close Program dialog (Ctrl|Alt|Delete) leaving only Explorer and Systray up and running (to no avail), going into Safe Mode (to no avail), together with checking the Hard Disk's heath and the other drives (they defragged readily), thinking virus, rootkit and every other nasty, including boot sector viruses and the dreaded malicious take-over in unknown ways, I was at my wit's end. System Restore achieved nothing, neither did registry restore. Panda On-line was deployed and to my considerable dismay it too refused to complete its scan having indicated no problems whatsoever. I admit to hair-tearing bafflement. And pride. Which pride kept me from presenting my problem anywhere else and finally resorted in my doing a format/re-install. I enjoy that clean makeover anyway.

One of the more interesting outcome of this particular re-install (which always places one in the original setting of 800 x 600 resolution) was the decision to remain at that setting. I intend to keep it that way for all the problems I have had with vision recently slipped away, and my desktop appearance is as close as can be to my normal 1024 x 768.

Of course the defrag and Panda reluctances were no more.

But what had happened?

Today I believe I know. The knowing began when I read a post by our deeply knowledgeable member Rollin' Rog. He linked, in his post here, to an MS Article dealing with the defrag issue of no completion in WinME. From that article to this one here.

I had seen the Applog folder listed but as with so many system folders and files I never looked into it. Now it is on my list of the 'dangerous and useless'. And after deletion and replacement, the registry tweaks having been made, it is, and will remain, empty.

I am satisfied I have my culprit ...

That quote is from this post here. In it I made reference to registry tweaks. These are they:

And see this article here.


"Windows 98 and Me track the loading patterns of your programs and use this data to fine-tune the DEFRAG process. The benefit, however, may be canceled by the time required and the space occupied by the logged data in C:\Windows\applog. Using this tweak, you can delete the files in that folder and prevent further logging.

HKLM\software\Microsoft\Windows\ CurrentVersion\Applets\Defrag\AppStartParams

Action: [add] UseProfile and give it a DWORD value of 0.

HKLM\software\Microsoft\WindowsCurrentVersion\Run

Action: Find and delete the value whose data is the full path name of Taskmon.exe."


The applog is still re-created but remains empty.

This MS Article makes for interesting reading too. Here.

Cheers.

Ben.

[aarhus2004]

This thread's selected TIPS, TRICKS and TWEAKS.

The POST numbers are links. And all other links given are revisions. In some instances where the post is a brief one I have given all the information contained in the original. Tips in RED are deemed significant.

POST 1 "For WinME Users Only"

Jack Gulley's web page on WinME which prompted this thread. Here.

POST 3 "More Millennium"

On System Restore - a link to an excellent thread in TSG. Here.

And one to the site of an MVP who specializes in System Restore problems: Noel Paton. Here.

POST 16 "For the Faithful"

The Delindex Link (The best clean-up WinME freeware). Here. & The RegSeeker link (tweaks and registry clean) New Version here & Old Version here should you, as I do, prefer it.

POST 17 "ME Talk"

Boot Log Examiner (How does your computer fare on Startup) - Link.
Plus:
ScanDefrag (automated Disk Cleanup, Scan Disk and Disk Defragment freeware) - Link
MS Splash Screen remove on Boot-up - Tip/Tweak
Shortcuts to Shutdown and Restart - Tip/Tweak
Enabling DMA - Tip/Tweak and a Link
Expanding Control Panel - Tip/Tweak
The second great WinME Tips/Tweaks website - Link


POST 24 "In Post #17"

ShellIconCache (remove/resize/restore). The link given in this post to the Microsoft Community Newsgroups is now obsolete. Do this: Go to Start|Search| enter: shelliconcache. If the folder returned is larger than is reasonable (say 1,000kb or more) delete it and re-start. Windows will recreate the folder and reduce its size. N.B. This is a hidden system file so you will have to unhide those. Go to Start|Settings|Folder Options|View and scroll down to the appropriate settings (there are three of them). See flavallee's Sticky this forum here. Link.

POST 30 "Some Useful Links"

Various links including the excellent vb2java cleanie - link and a revised link to HijackThis. Here.

POST 35 "Where is My Product Key?" Product Key: find it if it exists! - link
'Bills Way' - link to his (Bill's) visual basic freeware site especially his RegSrch.vbs registry search one. Use this after uninstalling anything - you will be surprised & it's very simple to use.

POST 43 "Problems with Symantec Norton Anti-Virus?"

Link to MS Newsgroups for WinME listing these categories... Applications. Display. Games. General. Hardware. Internet. Movie Maker. Multimedia. Networking. New User. Power Management. Printing. Setup. System Tools.
Also: About Norton A/V and McAfee A/V (as resource hogs and trouble-makers)

POST 46 "Perhaps of Interest to WinME Users"

"Bare Essentials" (Some ideas on Security - mine). Attachment.

POST 52 "Assorteds"

Tweaks.

Virtual Memory Management.
Active Scripting Disablement (The most interesting of the WinMe tweaks!).
DirectX check-out (Is yours working efficiently?)
Startup Axis (Don't burden your computer from the word 'Start').
Maintenance of software/hardware - routines. And a very good website on cleaning. Here
Tweaks re resource excess usage.

POST 57 "Take Care When Applying Tags"

Take care when applying the TAGS in creating a post.

POST 65 "By Way of Information"

This forum and its original purpose (a nag). A Sun Java important update. and a revision - here, to moderator dvk01's post on the need to update Java (re: Vundo infections).

POST 77 "Password Protection for WinME"

Desktop Locker v1.0 freeware (prevent easy access to your desktop) - link

POST 82 "Security: A Personal View"

A final (well almost!) word on my security thinking.

POST 83

MenuShowDelay. Lightning fast menu display - your choice of lightning speed or less.
An intro. to jv16pt originally a freeware registry cleaner (and still one of the best). It is available here. Revised link - Here.

POST 84 "Security Anyone?"

Search engine searching - risks disclosed - BBC Tech Article here re: Risky search engine terms.

POST 93 "Testing and Testers"

Testers and Testing - RAM, Hard Disk(s) and Sun Java. Links.

POST 94 "Rootkits - For the Security Conscious"

A review of Rootkit Detector Software (Based on TSG thread here).

POST 100 "Updates and a Caution. Removing those Index.dat files".

Windows Updates Catalog for use if you do a Format and Install of WinME. Link. And an Update:
This suggestion relates to that time when Millennium is removed from both the Microsoft Update site and the Catalog - looking ahead?!

To view and to clean-up your Index.dat files this is a proven tool. Here.

POST 108 "For those in fear and trembling".

Two quotes. Honest, I failed to use the quote tags on the second, which, while somewhat re-assuring, is a bit mixed-up! The quote I mean. I hope.

POST 109 "Rename Recycle Bin".

e.g. Bin, Rubbish, Sh*t, MS, El Crappo, Black Hole, By way of Bill... or start a thread in Random with a pole for the most creative. Link.

POST 110 "Current List of Applied MS Hotfixes for WinME".

The Windows Millennium Complete list of Updates as in June '06.

POST 118 "A Rant known as Threats - Known and Not So".

Tongue seriously in cheek!

POST 121 "The ZERT Patch".

Zert patches for older Windows versions incl. WinME. Thanks Tom. (lotuseclat79)

POST 134 "Stickies".

Re the Sticky here in this 'Tips and Tricks' forum. A clarification.

POST 139 "The Resource Issue in Windows 9x"

The Resource Issue in Windows 9x. With links to expert opinion and guidance.

POST 151 "Illumination by Song and Dance".

POST 153 "A little of this and that".

Uninstalling WMP9. Link, More on Rootkits. Link, AVG Free to remain available. Link.
Streaming Video. Suggestions. And this update: When logging-in to a stream make sure your I.E.6 settings under Security | Internet Zone | Custom | Scripting | are each enabled (three of them).

POST 158 "Prettier and Prettier".

Two of the best and most useful freewares from Mike Lin - StartUpCPL and StartUp Monitor.

POST 161 "Moving on?"

IF you don't have an ATI video card then skip this post. However if you do have one and it is an ATI Rage 128 GL SD AGP or the PRO version of that card or the Rage Fury, then this post may be of serious interest.

POST 172 "WordPad & its default font".

"As a comparatively confused novice in the more esoteric innards of WinME I have managed to find a way of getting a satisfactory outcome for myself. When I click on a Desktop shortcut to WordPad it opens to my preferred Font, Style and Size..."

POST 176 "Sun Java Updates - A revision".

On the Sun Java Runtime for Millennium - Links (lotsa).

POST 183 "Threats to MS Word".

"Triple threat targets Word users".Here.

POST 184 "Format and Install Windows Millennium."

On Formatting C: and Re-installing Millennium. And Links.

POST 185 "Partitioning a Hard Disk".

On Partitioning or Re-partitioning a Hard Drive. And lotsa inks.

POST 186 "Those Confounded Settings in Internet Explorer 6"

On the settings in I.E.5 and O.E.6. Link.

POST 191 "The most puzzling solution."

Yuk, why do I need "Shortcut to" as well as an arrow? A link.

POST 192 "Atomic Clock Time Check".

Keep your computer clock set with the accuracy of the atomic clock from here.

POST 198 "Some observations, tips and so forth"

POST 199 "Virus alert for Europeans & all of us". Here and here.

POST 200 "Stashing the Millennium Updates".

POST 201 "Sizing the tree".

Another superb freeware.

POST 202 Thanks Mike (ekim68)

re: Storing your Updates.

POST 209 "The whole world... A patch for all."

POST 216 "Pre-post pacification? Check. Checks OK."

Sun Java up to its old tricks - with me at least. An updated version 5.0 Update 11.

POST 217 "HijackThis x 2"

POST 218 "Treating your WinME machine to a probably needed 'special'"

POST 221 "Security and Mozilla Firefox".

POST 223 "Relationships - CMOS and Battery, BIOS and...

POST 224 "The latest.."

New version ScanDefrag. The 'walk the dog' and let it work and then shutdown the rig - no-problem freeware.

POST 225 "The learning never stops."

The APPLOG and its potential for causing problems. And...
I have, obviously, an interest in either voodoo or in birds of a different feather. Or both! This appropos of an O.E. spell-check link given in a previous post, repeated here and with a pic!!

POST 229 "More on the Applog".

The registry tweaks which prevent further logging. Links.


With best wishes to you all.

Ben.

[aarhus2004]

Hello WinME Users,

More research has led me to conclude that preventing logging to the Applog is probably an over-reaction to the single instance of the Disk Defragmenter's failure to complete its operation. So I have restored the Value in the Registry (for Taskmon) and removed the added value (for UseProfile) as per the link in Post #219.

Instead of the radical approach I am opting for observation of the contents of this file folder and of the action of the defragmentation tool.

The link here is particularly illuminating and provides a number of links relevant to a greater understanding of the processes involved.

Ben.

[aarhus2004]

Joneses!! Or Surreptitious (sneaky) Bumping but may be a Proudest Moments.

Heavily disguised under this heading:

POST 218 "Treating your WinME machine to a probably needed 'special'".
I did call (head) this post that way and dutifully copied it into the Summary It is a misnomer or a daft error on my part - for which my apologies.

Here is what I should have conveyed:

"Treating your WinME machine to two probabily needed specials" followed by a sub-header:

Cleaning the CPU fan and replacing the CMOS battery

Ben.

[ekim68]

Thanks for the reminder Ben. I always think of cleaning the cpu fan and checking the batteries on customers' machines, but I tend to forget my own. (Kind of like a mechanic driving the clunker on the road.)

[aarhus2004]

Mike,

I didn't know you were a technician - you are a very modest man. Do you find many WinME machines out there? I have a question for you, if I may. Do you routinely check for decay-in-prospect with regard to the ribbon connectors? They seem very vulnerable to me especially if poorly routed. Low cost and vital as they are suggests to me routine replacement.

Thanks, Mike..

Ben.

[ekim68]

Hi Ben,
I find less and less ME machines in our area. They made a big splash when they first came out, but they got bad-mouthed a bit. Then Win2k and XP hit the market in a relatively short time afterward and the rest is history. (Right now I think I have about ten customers with ME.) I normally do check the cables when I'm in the box. As a kind of standard rule, electronic components are pretty sound, barring any electrical problems, for a period of five to eight years. Before five years if you have problems, you're unlucky, if it lasts after eight years, you're lucky. Unless cables are crimped or have been connected/disconnected a whole lot of times, they normally last as long as the components, IMO. (But, I keep spares...of course.)

[aarhus2004]

Originally Posted by ekim68

Hi Ben,
I find less and less ME machines in our area. They made a big splash when they first came out, but they got bad-mouthed a bit. Then Win2k and XP hit the market in a relatively short time afterward and the rest is history. (Right now I think I have about ten customers with ME.) I normally do check the cables when I'm in the box. As a kind of standard rule, electronic components are pretty sound, barring any electrical problems, for a period of five to eight years. Before five years if you have problems, you're unlucky, if it lasts after eight years, you're lucky. Unless cables are crimped or have been connected/disconnected a whole lot of times, they normally last as long as the components, IMO. (But, I keep spares...of course.)

Mike, that's interesting and very readable. It has presented me with a number of questions. I'll put one to you. If I may?

On a job you detect a failing or failed mobo. The owner doesn't want to replace his comp which is, say, three years old. What are his options? If any?

Or, if you prefer, take a comp. from 2000 with WinME - same problem, same type owner. What are his options?

Ben.

[ekim68]

Originally Posted by aarhus2004

Mike, that's interesting and very readable. It has presented me with a number of questions. I'll put one to you. If I may?

On a job you detect a failing or failed mobo. The owner doesn't want to replace his comp which is, say, three years old. What are his options? If any?

Or, if you prefer, take a comp. from 2000 with WinME - same problem, same type owner. What are his options?

Ben.

Actually good timing on your part. That happened today. I went to a client today with only a vague description of the problem. (I've found that interpreting customers' descriptions of their problems is half the job... )
And, I'll be right back...

[ekim68]

Sorry for the delay, I had to step out for a few minutes.

Well, three years old isn't that much...Is it the mobo for sure? Check the power supply.
If it is the mobo, chances are that the owner is better off replacing the whole unit. No matter what OS....There was a time when mobo's could be swapped out rather effectively and economically, but things are changing quickly....In my world, I give my customer a best and worst case scenario, including replacement...
One option to explore however, is costs through your local computer parts connection.
This is one local to me:
http://www.gizmobyte.com/

At least you can get a general idea of costs.

[aarhus2004]

Mike, there is a response, already days in the making, which may not see the light of posted day. But I'm working on it. Is it like a song begun so enthusiastically but which wanders into some unknowable bog and puzzles the mind?

But thanks for the input based on your experience, Mike. My questions were unassociated with an actuality to do with me. I was looking into the unseeable future astigmatically I suspect.

Cheers.

Ben.

[ekim68]

Originally Posted by aarhus2004

Mike, there is a response, already days in the making, which may not see the light of posted day. But I'm working on it. Is it like a song begun so enthusiastically but which wanders into some unknowable bog and puzzles the mind?

That's a perfect beginning for a song... I like stories, but tend to meander..
Looks like you have the lyrics started Ben. Well said...

"Is it like a song begun so enthusiastically but which wanders into some unknowable bog and puzzles the mind?"

Already a classic line...