|
Please note: Older issues may contain information that is now out of date. How To
Subscribe and Unsubscribe is at the end of this
note. Mailing List Trouble? See
http://www.langa.com/help.htm Please recommend the LangaList to a friend! (And maybe win $10,000 !) An easier-to read formatted
HTML version of this newsletter is available The
LangaList 2002-04-04 Please visit our sponsors and help keep the LangaList S.E. free!
--- ( Your Clicks On Ad Links Help Keep The LangaList Free! ) ---
--------------( the above is an advertisement )--------------
1) The Evil Of Silent CensorshipThe more I look into it, the worse it gets for us
all. Consider this: Whether you know it or
not content filters probably are blocking or discarding some of your outbound
messages before they ever reach their destination, even if you've never written
anything remotely racy or salacious in an email. Many times, you may never know
that your mail wasn't delivered to your intended recipient. It's in home and business systems, for example, not only in overt filters you may know about , but in filters you may not even know about--- like the filter built into every copy of Outlook. It's in many ISPs, too. For example, AOL was guilty of some outrageous
filtering during the last U.S. presidential election: The AOL filters let users
visit the home page of the Republican National Committee, but not the very
similar Democratic National Committee site. Regardless of your politics, and no
matter whether this was a programming error or deliberate choice; you have to
admit that this kind of silent censorship is very, very wrong. But if we use the wrong technology--- or the wrong law--- we'll end up losing far more than we gain: We *won't* stop the bad stuff, but we *will* unintentionally stop a lot of good stuff. This is an important topic that is probably affecting you *right now*, even if you don't know it, and even if you didn't ask for your site access and email to be filtered. And it's a topic that surely will affect us all in the near future. That's why I've made it the subject of an in-depth InformationWeek.Com column, running now at http://www.informationweek.com/story/IWK20020328S0008 . In it we'll cover:
What's *your* experience with filters? Where do you weigh in on the subject? Do you use filters, and if so, which ones have you found good or bad? Do you use tools to circumvent filters? Please click to read the column ( http://www.informationweek.com/story/IWK20020328S0008 ) and then join in the discussion! Click to email this item to a
friend --- ( Your Clicks On Ad Links Help Keep The LangaList Free! ) ---
--------------( the above is an advertisement )-------------- 2) CleanAll UpdatedTwo years ago, we ran a series on simple text-based, command-line scripting, intended to help you control your system at a low level--- to help make the system do what *you* want it to do, instead of what someone else (the vendor, for example) wants. All versions of Windows support text-based, command-line scripting. They either let you get at underlying DOS, the disk operating system that's the foundation of all versions of Windows through Win98SE; or (in NT, Win2000, XP) to a "command window" that accepts commands entered by typing instead of by pointing and clicking. WinME is a hybrid: It's really Win98SE under the covers, but the DOS elements are hidden and made hard to get at; WinME users are supposed to use a command window rather than to directly access DOS. Either way--- in true DOS or in a command window--- you enter your commands by typing
at a "command prompt," which is usually something like "C:\>". Done manually,
you normally type the commands one at a time. But you can also place a series
of commands in a special kind of text file, and the operating system will run
through the whole series of commands, step by step. All versions of Windows recognize and can use batch files, but the available commands and syntax vary from version to version. Different versions of Windows also allow (or prohibit) different kinds of command-line actions. Our original series on text-based command-line "batch" scripting, two years ago, was aimed mostly as Win9x and--- to a degree--- WinME. The base information in those articles is still 100% valid, and can be applied to all versions of Windows, although Win9x and ME users can use the information there mostly as-is; WinNT/2K/XP users will need to modify some of the information to make it work with those versions of Windows. That original series is still available online: Part One of the series ( http://content.techweb.com/winmag/columns/explorer/2000/15.htm ) sets the context and gives the essential ground-zero information on DOS commands; it also contains a plethora of DOS-related links to get you started. Part Two ( http://content.techweb.com/winmag/columns/explorer/2000/16.htm ) details how to create a custom boot or "emergency" disk -- a better boot disk than the one that may have come with your copy of Windows, or that you can make via the Control Panel "Add/Remove Software" applet. Part Three ( http://content.techweb.com/winmag/columns/explorer/2000/17.htm ) helps you stock your DOS toolkit with interesting, worthy -- and mostly free! -- DOS tools. Part Four ( http://content.techweb.com/winmag/columns/explorer/2000/21.htm ) explains batch files in some detail, including how to build your own batch files -- or alter those of others. Singly or together, that information will help you a lot in understanding and making best use of the rest of the information in today's Special Issue. Click to email this item to a
friend 3) Basic Cleanup: All Versions Of WindowsAs a demonstration of the power of batch files in the above series on scripting, I presented a very simple disk-cleanup tool file, and was astonished at the response. Many readers reported that the cleanup file recovered hundreds of megabytes of disk space that they couldn't otherwise recover; and a few readers reported truly staggering gains of up to *12 gigabytes of space!* Even
some expert readers who were using every trick they knew to keep their drives
clean -- including using automated, commercial cleanup applications such as the
$40 "Window Washer" -- found my little free batch file saved them up to tens to
hundreds of megabytes that otherwise had been wasted! But two years ago, when we first covered this, Win9x--- Win98 especially--- was top dog. WinME was just released, and not in wide use. WinXP was unheard-of, and NT and 2K were used by a relatively small portion of users. As a result, our coverage focused mostly in Win98, with only a little in ME and 2K. That's all changed now. The rest of this Special Issue is the result: and includes a new download method for Win98 users, and all-new batch files for WinME, Win2K and WinXP. But some parts of the overall cleanup process haven't changed: In fact, the first steps apply to ALL VERSIONS OF WINDOWS, and are spelled out here: http://content.techweb.com/winmag/columns/explorer/2000/18.htm ; scan down the page to the section that starts with "Easy First Steps." The concepts presented there are totally valid and applicable for all browsers and all versions of Windows, although you may need to slightly adjust the general instructions there to suit your specific setup. In fact everything on that page is worth a look and can save you a ton of disk space in itself--- except for one thing: The batch file information ("Just Batch It"), is version-specific to Win9x. Don't miss the sections after "Just Batch It;" they also are quite generally applicable. (Please note especially the admonitions about making a backup.) It's just that one "Just Batch It" section that's highly specific to Win9x. So let's now revisit that "Just Batch It" section, and update the info for current OSes. Click to email this item to a
friend --- ( Your Clicks On Ad Links Help Keep The LangaList Free! ) ---
--------------( the above is an advertisement )-------------- 4) Advanced Cleanup Batch File For Win9XThe Win9x operating system has not changed, so the original batch files still work fine. In fact, the "Clean9x.Bat" file remains one of the most powerful free disk-cleaning tools you can find: It cleans up *all* Temp files, compacts your Registry and Cookies Index, completely empties the Temporary Internet File (TIF) area, compacts your Icon Cache, and can automatically run either Scandisk or Norton Disk Doctor at the end of the cleanup process to ensure the health of your hard drives. Clean9x is especially good because the documentation links that accompany that file let you modify Clean9x's actions to your heart's content. Want to totally erase all Cookies on your machine? No problem: Cleran9x can do it. Want to totally eradicate your browser's History file? No problem: Clean9x can do that, too. In fact, you can make the Clean9x file as powerful as those commercial "erase all traces of your browsing!" tools--- except that Clean9x is free! Just read the documentation and tweak away! However, in the past, some users have reported problems downloading the files because some browsers, security tools, and filters (see item#1, above) interfere with the smooth delivery of batch and REG files. So, I've repackaged the Clean9x files into a single Zip-compressed download that should come through fast and clean. Once downloaded, use your favorite UnZip tool (such as WinZip--- http://www.winzip.com ) to extract the files. The ReadMe.TXT file contains further (essential!) instructions.
All-In-One Win9x Zip File: Private Download
Area Click to email this item to a
friend 5) Advanced Cleanup: Other Versions Of WindowsBecause other versions of Windows either don't have true DOS, or limit access to it, the Win9x method (above) won't work without a lot of tweaking, and/or the use of DOS boot disks, etc. Instead, here's a simpler way that's almost as thorough but that requires no access to DOS at all, and that works on virtually all versions of Windows. To differentiate it from the earlier versions of "Clean*.Bat", I'll call this one "CleanXP.Bat," but note that it does NOT REQUIRE XP. In fact, it will work on XP, Win2K, and WinME. But you knew there had to be a catch, right <g>? It's this: XP, Win2K, and WinME can be set up in different ways, with files placed in different user-specific locations. In addition, you may have access to only part of the system files, depending on whether you're logged in as a system Admin or not. So, there's no "one size fits all" universal cleanup
file. Instead, CleanXP.Bat is
a
kind of easy-to-modify template you can use to create a custom tool that’s specific to
*your own
particular setup and needs.* Just follow the instructions in the rest
of this article (and inside the downloadable files) to ensure that the file contents and structure are OK to
run on your specific setup. Next, we need to modify one of Windows' own cleanup-tools, before we combine it with a custom batch file to erase what the Windows tool leaves behind. Click to email this item to a
friend 6) Sageset Unlocks CleanMgr's Power"Cleanmgr" is a disk-cleanup manager included in all Windows from Win98 onward. It doesn't do a lot in Win98, but has gained power in succeeding releases. In Win2K and XP, it's actually a decent little tool that has the potential to clean quite a bit from your system, and can even automatically compress little-used files to make them occupy less disk space. Oddly, simply running Cleanmgr does NOT normally give you access to its full power: Instead, you need to modify it a bit. We'll get to the mods in a moment, but if you want
more info on CleanMgr, click one of these links: Win98: Windows 2000: WinME: Now, to the mods: For our purposes, we only need to focus on one pair of Cleanmgr commands: SAGESET and SAGERUN. These commands are designed to allow the Windows "System Agent" to automate the running of Cleanmgr, but we can co-opt it for our purposes. Click on Start, Run then type cleanmgr /sageset:99 in the Run box, and hit Enter. The Disk Cleanup Tool will run in a special mode that offers you an expanded selection of cleanup choices. Most importantly, it will remember whatever choices you make now, and re-use those same choices when you use a matching "sagerun" command later on. For now, step through all the choices that the Disk Cleanup Tool offered you, and make whatever choices you wish. Note that some of the offered items may have additional options or advanced settings that become visible when you click or check the item. I generally select everything that's offered--- I'm looking for maximum cleaning, so I just check everything. But you can select any, all, or none of the offered choices: It's up to you. And don't worry. If you want to change your mind later, you can. Just re-run the command "cleanmgr /sageset:99" and make a new set of choices. Click to email this item to a
friend 7) SageRun Completes the PictureTo run the Disk Cleanup tool and invoke the choices you made above, you simply replace "sageset" with "sagerun." Click on Start, Run then type cleanmgr /sagerun:99 in the Run box, and hit Enter. The Disk Cleanup Tool then runs, using the stored preferences stored by the previous sageset command. You can run the cleanmgr command this way any time you want. You can also create many different cleanup scenarios, if you want: The "99" in the example above is arbitrary. You can use /sageset:1, /sageset:2, /sageset:3 and so forth, all with different cleaning strategies, and then invoke them with matching /sagerun:1, /sagerun:2, /sagerun:3 commands later. For our purposes--- aggressive cleaning--- we'll use /sageset:99 and /sagerun:99 Now, let's take care of what the Disk Cleanup Tool leaves behind. Although you'll soon have access to a downloadable file that combines the following sets of commands into a single unit, the next few items will discuss the commands separately, as if you were going to type them in manually: That's the best way to understand what the commands do, and to see how you can modify them for your own specific setup. Click to email this item to a
friend --- ( Your Clicks On Ad Links Help Keep The LangaList Free! ) ---
--------------( the above is an advertisement )-------------- 8) Cleaning the Temporary File AreasAlthough Cleanmgr says it cleans your Temporary file areas, it doesn't do a very thorough job. That's where our batch file comes in. But to set it up properly, you need to know where your Temporary file areas are, and that varies from user to user and OS version to version: Use the Search tools that comes with your version of Windows to look in "All files and folders" for anything with "temp" as part of the name. For example, in XP, I'd click Start/Search, then click "All files and folders;" then I'd enter "temp" (minus the quotes) in the "All or part of the file name" box, and select C: in the "Look in:" pull-down menu. You may also need to adjust the "Advanced" search functions to cast your net as widely as possible. When done, you may be surprised at how much supposedly "temp" stuff has accumulated on your hard drive--- many "temporary" files turn out not to be so temporary! (BTW: If your Windows Explorer is in its default state, it may not show you "hidden" and "system" folders. However, you can use Explorer's "Tools/Folder Options" menus to tell it to show you everything; and you usually can adjust the Search function to look for these items, as well.. For example, see item #2 in http://www.informationweek.com/story/IWK20011204S0009 ) In theory, *any* "temp" file should be able to be deleted safely, but some vendors don't play by the rules and--- stupidly, IMO--- place valuable stuff in "temp" locations. This is one of the reasons why human intelligence--- yours--- is needed to set up the CleanXP batch file properly. It will clean anything you tell it to, but only you can decide what should and should not be cleaned. Generally, two areas that should always be safe to clean out are the "Local Settings\Temp" and "Local Settings\Temporary Internet Files." In my case, these are located as follows, but the path will be different for you, unless your logon name is "fred" and your system is set up identically to mine! <g> C:\Documents and Settings\fred\Local Settings\Temp In any case, make a note of the full path (like the above examples) to any and all areas you want to clean. We'll do that cleaning via the "DEL" command, which in Win2K and XP is more powerful than the DEL command in Win9x; or via the "DELTREE" command in WinME. On my XP system, the basic series of commands for the Temp directory looks like this (you can type the commands one at a time, in sequence, or add them to a batch file, as we'll soon show): c: The C: command switches to the C: drive. (This is actually not essential, but I prefer to play it safe by using explicit navigation commands when possible.) The "CD" command is a "change directory" (i.e. "change folder") command that tells the system to work on--- in this case--- the "C:\Documents and Settings\fred\Local Settings\Temp" directory. Naturally, you should substitute the path and name of whatever directory/folder you want to empty. And note the quotations marks around the path; these quote marks help Windows not to be confused by any long folder names or spaces within the names. The "del /q /s /f *.*" command tells XP or 2K to DELete everything (*.*) in that directory, to do so in Quiet mode ("/q") with no prompts, to Force ("/f") the deletion even of read-only files, and also to work on any subdirectories ("/s") beneath the target directory. There's obviously some danger to this kind of mass-deletion of files, so if you have any doubts about what you're doing, you should temporarily substitute a "/p" in place of the "/q." This tells Windows to Pause at each file and ask if it's OK to delete. If you have many files in a directory, this is a major pain, but it ensures that you won't delete anything you shouldn't. After you gain confidence that you're not deleting any files you shouldn't, you can switch the "/p" back to a "/q" for no-prompt, high-speed mass deletion of the files. NOTE: The WinME "DEL" command does not support the /q /s and /f options. Instead, like Win98, WinME uses the "DELTREE /y *.*" command (minus the quotes) for fast cleaning of a folder and all its subfolders. But the first few times you use Deltree, omit the "/y" so WinME will pause at each file and ask if it's OK to delete. After you've gained confidence that you're deleting only the correct files, you can add the "/y" back in for no-prompt, high-speed mass deletions. Click to email this item to a
friend 9) Extending The CommandsYou can use the same command structure to work on other folders/directories, too. In XP/2K, you just keep adding cd "FULL PATH TO FOLDER WITH FILES TO DELETE" for each additional folder/directory you want to clean out. In WinME, you simply add cd "FULL PATH TO FOLDER WITH FILES TO DELETE" for each additional folder/directory you want to clean out. Of course, you replace "FULL PATH TO FOLDER WITH FILES TO DELETE" with the actual path and name of a folder whose contents you want to delete. You can clean as many directories/folders as you wish simply by appending as many "CD" and "DEL" or "DELTREE" lines as needed. But note again: Mass deletion of files can be dangerous. For safety, the first few times you use these commands, use the file-by-file confirmation settings described in Item #8. Click to email this item to a
friend 10) Now Add SageRunThe last command in our cleanup sequence will be the "sagerun" that's complementary to the "sageset" you created in Item #6. In my case, because I used "sageset:99" I'd add "cleanmgr /sagerun:99" to our basic example, thus: c: This set of commands looks simple but actually does a lot: It wipes out the contents of whatever folders you've specified (in this example, the Temp and Temporary Internet Files folders), and then invokes the extended version of CleanMgr to do everything you've set it to do. It can reclaim a *lot* of space for you, especially in XP and 2K, as (over time) the automatic compression of older files augments the basic deletion of unwanted temporary files. Click to email this item to a
friend 11) Batch It UpAlthough you can type the commands as shown above, few people would want to do it that way. Instead, you can download an easy-to-edit template (see next item) or batch the commands into a file yourself: Open NotePad, and copy/paste the commands shown in Item #10 to Notepad, edit the paths and folder names so they reference the areas on your system you want to clean up, and (if needed) change the "sageset:99" line to be whatever you previously used in Item #6. Also, if you're using WinME, substitute DELTREE for the DEL commands, as discussed in item #8. And no matter what operating system you're using, for maximum safety the first few times you use these commands, use the file-by-file confirmation settings described in Item #8 rather than the no-prompt mass-deletion method. Save the batch file where you want, and give it a memorable name--- such as CleanXP.Bat. You can run it any time by double clicking on the file or its icon; and you can add it to Task Scheduler (also called "Scheduled Tasks" on some versions of Windows) to run it automatically. Click to email this item to a
friend 12) Download A CleanXP TemplateInstead of creating your own batch file, if you'd rather download an easy-to-edit copy of CleanXP.Bat, here it is:
CleanXP.Bat Private Download
Area Once downloaded, use your favorite UnZip tool (such as WinZip--- http://www.winzip.com ) to extract the files. The ReadMe.TXT file contains further (essential!) instructions. Click to email this item to a
friend 13) Has This Information Been Useful?If you think the LangaList is a worthwhile read, maybe a friend would find it useful too! Just use the following link to recommend the LangaList---your friend may find a new source of useful information and you just may win $10,000 for your trouble (full details also available via this link): http://www.recommend-it.com/l.z.e?s=143182 Or, win a no-strings $30 Gift Certificate for any item at Amazon.Com--- books, software, hardware, kitchenware, toys... and more. (Full details also available via this link): http://www.langa.com/recommend.htm Either way, thank you, and good luck! Click to email this item to a
friend See you next issue, which will be back in our normal format. <g> Best, An easier-to read formatted HTML version is available in the "Current Issue" section of http://www.langa.com. (The HTML version of each issue normally is available by 9AM EST [UT-5] of the issue date.) All past LangaList issues are also available at the Langa.Com site. UNSUBSCRIBE: From the same email account you
used to sign up with), send an email to |
|
|
|