[GoJoAGoGo]

Originally Posted by aarhus2004

Hello Joe,

Ummm - Services??? Sounds like an XP heading. WinME doesn't have it. See my GUI GIF attached, Joe.

Cheers.

Ben.

Hi Ben:

You're right, I haven't installed Autoruns in WinME yet so I wasn't aware it has 12 more options to work in WinXP.

[aarhus2004]

Originally Posted by GoJoAGoGo

Hi Ben:

You're right, I haven't installed Autoruns in WinME yet so I wasn't aware it has 12 more options to work in WinXP.

Wow, that's fascinating, Joe. All those header options. I think I will post all the WinMe ones (header = 'Everything') cos I am picking away at them (all headers) merrily (so far). Thing is I cannot equate the BootLogExaminer 916 items with these. Ignorance is not bliss is some instances.

Cheers, Joe.

Ben.

Edits: P.S. The forums have a few horror stories; see GoJoAGoGo's (Joe) post below.

P.P.S. In GIFS all 'Options' are checked. (i.e. Include Empty Locations, Verify Code Signatures and Hide Signed Microsoft Entries.)

[ekim68]

AVG anti-virus will be good on ME machines until August 2008....

http://www.grisoft.com/doc/products-...dition#details

[aarhus2004]

Mike, does that mean only until August 2008?

Ben.

[ekim68]

Yep, it looks like they're discontinuing support for Win98, WinME, WinNt 4.0, and WinNt server 4.0 at that time...Looks like my link didn't work. Here's another one.

http://www.dozleng.com/updates/index...event_id=47470

[GoJoAGoGo]

Ben, I don't know if you were aware but the "Windows Sysinternals" site has a Forum for the Autoruns utility. It may be useful.

http://forum.sysinternals.com/forum_topics.asp?FID=16

[aarhus2004]

Originally Posted by ekim68

Yep, it looks like they're discontinuing support for Win98, WinME, WinNt 4.0, and WinNt server 4.0 at that time...Looks like my link didn't work. Here's another one.

http://www.dozleng.com/updates/index...event_id=47470

Hello WinMe users,

ekim68 (Mike)'s news about the problable end of AVG's very popular free edition of their anti-virus suite is likely to be of serious concern to very many users of Windows Millennium.

A tentative Google search reveals these alternatives:

Avira AntiVir® PersonalEdition Classic

Free antivirus - avast! 4 Home Edition

BitDefender Free Edition

Some assessments:
http://wiki.castlecops.com/AntiVirus_Comparison
http://www.techsupportalert.com/best...tilities.htm#2

Cheers.

Ben.

[GoJoAGoGo]

It appears Avira AntiVir is not compatible in Win98/ME.

avast! 4 Home Edition may be a good choice.

[ekim68]

Personally, I love taking ME as far as it can go...
When it first came out, it was ridiculed and bad-mouth by many. And for a while I believed that, but after years of using it my opinion has changed...It presents a lot of the best of the 9X and XP integration....
So, I'll keep using it until I can't...Thanks Ben..

[aarhus2004]

Hello WinMe users,

First of all my thanks to GoJoAGoGo (Joe) and ekim68 (Mike) for keeping me on the straight and narrow.

Autoruns.

Please remember that this is directed at WinMe users and that I have no security items loading with Windows.

I have decided to keep it handy on my computer's Desktop. It is of small size and does not need an install. I recommend you explore the various Options available and examine all the entries under: Everything, Logon, Explorer, Internet Explorer, respectively.

The check boxes point to entries running automatically at startup and are listed under the relevant registry key. These entries can all be subjected to further scrutiny by right-clicking on the individuals and choosing from the menu available. I think this feature very worthwhile.Here it is:


My choice of 'Options' is these:

I don't need to see the empty keys and believe it safe to ignore those Microsoft entries with a signature.

I attached GIFS of my autoruns.

I have found no advantage in unchecking (disabling) any of the entries since my bootup time remains at 10 secs.

The most important offering of Autoruns (which has, by the way, been copyrighted since 1996) is that any changes made by ourselves or others are readily visible and, if problematic, can be deleted. These are .dll(s) and .exe(s) as are most of the legitimate entries on display.

Thanks to GoJoAGoGo (Joe) for bringing a worthwhile freeware to our notice.

Cheers,

Ben.

[aarhus2004]

Hello WinMe users,

I think it likely that you, as am I, are using Internet Explorer 6.0.2800.1106. If you are also a user of Outlook Express 6.00.2800.1123 then this post may be of interest.

O.E.(6) is not the most reliable of e-mail clients but it is so very convenient (my excuse anyway!). It can be problematic in many ways and many are the error messages it can return. Check them out here.
However I recently had a new experience of its seeming great delicacy, and since it took me quite sometime to find even a mention of the problem (which seemed catastrophic) using the doughty Google, I thought it of some value to share my experience.

Down the years of using WinMe (and when I learnt how) I saved to various files/folders a lot of e-mails in 'Mail' format. Important personal stuff. You can imagine my dismay when, very recently, I needed to view one of these from years ago and found the message body completely empty.

Those e-mails stored in the O.E. folders were also devoid of all message. I have never been a cool customer when confronted with problems beyond my experience. This was no exception. Clearly this was a 'yesterday everything was OK - today it isn't' problem and perhaps a System or Registry restore might have saved my day but, sorry to say, I cannot even remember whether I tried either. You might want to - should you experience the same difficulty.

Google eventually yielded this seeming solution here. I followed all the recommended steps diligently to no avail. And came to the one of last resort. "Reinstall or repair Outlook Express" a link which lead me here. I felt no confidence after reading and re-reading the MS Article "How to reinstall or repair Internet Explorer in Windows XP". Reluctant to admit defeat (and post in TSG!) I remembered the good old right click on the e-mails as presented in the Inbox folder, choosing the 'Detail' tab and clicking on the 'Message Source'. And lo and behold there were the messages. So now I knew that the message existed but how to get it to display as normal?

In Add/Remove Programs I selected Outlook Express 6 and chose to delete it. A reboot revealed O.E.5.5? and all was well - with the messages revealed in the message bodies.
A visit to Windows Updates allowed me to re-install O.E.6 and updates. A process requiring several visits.

It has occured to me since that this method of problem resolution may well apply to all and any O.E. problems. We shall see. Since I.E.6 and O.E.6 are intricately co-joined perhaps I also had to use Windows Updates for the former too - sorry, I cannot recall.

Cheers.

Ben.

[Blue Zee]

Hi Ben,

That is a common problem when OE decides to compact folders.

I'm glad you managed to recover your messages, but better safe than sorry:

Outlook Express Quick Backup

Very simple, very safe.

Zee

[aarhus2004]

Originally Posted by Blue Zee

Hi Ben,

That is a common problem when OE decides to compact folders.

I'm glad you managed to recover your messages, but better safe than sorry:

Outlook Express Quick Backup

Very simple, very safe.

Zee

Hello Zee,

Thanks for the input.

If the setting in Tools>Options>Maintenance "Compact messages in the background" is unchecked (mine routinely is) will O.E. persist in doing so?

Best wishes, Zee.

Ben.

An Edit: I cannot recommend this freeware. I found it to be not user-friendly. Not simple at all and as to safe - well I cannot say.
I shall persist in saving my important e-mails as .eml and deleting those of no significance.

[Blue Zee]

Originally Posted by aarhus2004

An Edit: I cannot recommend this freeware. I found it to be not user-friendly. Not simple at all and as to safe - well I cannot say...

Why Ben?

[aarhus2004]

Originally Posted by aarhus2004
An Edit: I cannot recommend this freeware. I found it to be not user-friendly. Not simple at all and as to safe - well I cannot say...

Originally Posted by Blue Zee

Why Ben?

Hello Zee,

My apologies for the above edited-in comment on the freeware OE Quick Backup of your recommendation. I was too hasty. Further exploration in depth has shown me that it is indeed "simple and safe" to use. The lack of a Help file and seeming dead-ends flummoxed me. As its author says it is not a "pretty" GUI. And I say it (the freeware's initial setup) could be improved in terms of user friendliness (see GIFS 1 and 2 below).

That aside I offer these tips to help users who may be as challenged initially as I was!

Before installation close all other windows.

Create a folder. I suggest on the Desktop and name it OEBUPS or some such.

If you chose to download the zip file extract the contents and click-on the .exe file.
It will install to the Program Files folder and place a link in the Start>Programs list.
Click on that.
Ignore the message(s) you may see except for clicking OK (see GIFS 1 & 2).
The GUI will open and the words 'File not selected' will show.
Click on 'File' and then
click on 'Set existing folder as backup'. (see GIF 3)
In the 'Browse' window locate the file you created and click on it. Click OK.
On the GUI select 'Complete backup'. (see GIF 4)
The backup is made and is shown together with the number of Identities involved on the GUI's bottom line.
Take a look in your folder. All the backups will be listed.(see GIF 5)

Restoration can be achieved either by using the same GUI. Or, if preferred, on O.E.'s main page > File > Import and select from the menu.

I can vouch for its safety.After making a complete backup I deleted all my messages in all the O.E. folders. I then searched for and deleted all the .dbx folders (Application Data ones), but not the ones located in the folder I created, and also deleted my Address Book. The restore went without a hitch.

Cheers.

Ben.