razz

I also use avast and love it. I have VRDB doing its thing when the screen saver comes on. The following is a copy of how avast describes the principke and settings of VRDB: VRDB PRINCIPLE avast! creates an integrity database, i.e. it stores information about the actual state of the files, doing it three versions back for each file. The database creation/maintenance is performed either when the computer is idle, or when the screen-saver is running (any screen-saver, not only the avast! one). This database, once it is created, is updated each three weeks (this value may be changed by editing avast4.ini). If a file is infected by a virus, it may be possible to repair it using the information stored in VRDB, i.e. turn it to its original state. If there are multiple versions of the file in the database, you can choose which version you want to restore. SETTINGS The settings of VRDB can be changed by clicking on the icon in the system tray with the right mouse button. There are three options: Generate VRDB when computer is idle. avast! will create its database only when the computer is idle, i.e. when it is not being used. Generate VRDB only when screen-saver is running. avast! will create its database during the time screen-saver is running. It may be any screen-saver, not only the one included in avast! Disable VRDB generation. avast! will neither create, nor update the database. If you select this option, it will not be possible to repair virus infected files in the future!

I am looking for a nice customizable Home Page. MSN screwed mine up lately with too many ads so I am making a change. What do you recommend?

Thank you pavid, I appreciate the info.

I allowed the change to take place because Scotty kept barking at me when I kept saying "no" to the change. So, like you said, if I need to I can change it back.

Hi YoKenny, I did not think that I did install an application that would have changed that - my two latest installs were Macrium Reflect and Returnil.

Just this instant I was sitting here at my pC and a WinPatrol message popped up which reads: File Type Change Alert The program currently associated with this file type is: Registry Editor Microsoft Corp. regedit.exe %1 A change was made to use the following program for this file type: Notepad Microsoft Corp. NOTEPAD.EXE %1 Is this change ok, or would it be harmful - i.e. should I allow the change or not? I have no idea why this would occur. Thank for your time!

In case you use JKDefrag and did not know it has a GUI option. Very nice. http://www.emro.nl/freeware/

After checking many, many, music players, the results are in. My personal favorite and the gold star goes to Spider ( http://spider-player.com/ ). Brief info copied from the Spider webpage: Amazing sound quality Internal 32-bit sound processing adds extra clarity and fidelity to playback, even if your sound card is not capable of output in such resolution. Crossfading Crossfading effects result in a smooth subtle transition between tracks. Surround Sound Supports 5.1/7.1 Surround as well as classic stereo/mono audio files. I agree with the sound quality...excellent! I also like the look and the small modules PLUS one big thing I really like...it uses very little memory compared to others. Spider blasting away uses less than 6,000K. Foobar 2000, a really good player, uses about 26,000K. Check it out if you are looking for a great little music player.

Personally, I find that the uninstaller that is part of CCleaner works equally as well, if not better. I sometimes uninstall a fair # of programs and I have never had a problem with the CCleaner Uninstaller.

Thank you Humpty. I did what you suggested and actually it was fairly clear of any major dust "bunnies" (to quote YoKenny). Thanks for the tip, I haven't heard that one before....I'll try it if it happens again.

Late last night something weird happened. Suddenly my PC shut off. After several attempts to turn it on with nothing happening, approx. 1/2 hour after it started when I tried again. But nothing at all happened except the power was on so O decided to shut it off. I rebooted about 1/2 hour later and all went as per normal. Today all is fine as well. Any ideas what could have happened?

Have no idea Good idea, I think I'll try that and see how I like it. Thank you.

I think you misunderstood. I wish to develop a little program that I will have personally customized to just provide a link to certain programs I already have installed. Just a neat little project I am working on for myself. This program would open a panel whereby for example: I would have several buttons (or tabs), one of which would be labeled "Performance", then within this category I would have buttons for all my performance tweaking tools (like CCleaner). Another category would be Anti-Spyware/Malware, within which I would have 3 buttons, one for each of my 3 Anti-Spyware/Malware programs. etc. etc. Just thought it would be fun to setup something like that for personal use. Now I just need to figure how to accomplish this task.

I have a bunch of PC tools that I use and I want to organize all these tools in a personal panel. A little panel that would pop-up when I click my panel icon. Within this panel I would have various options with some buttons that would connect me to the piece of software that I would need for the job I wish to accomplish. Does anyone have any advice for where I could get free software that would help me accomplish this or advice on how to program this myself (I have no experience with programming code)? I know some HTML but not much use in what I wish to accomplish. Naturally, it goes without saying, that this is strictly for my personal use.

Very recently when I download software, a pop-up called MiniDM appears to assist in the download. I never had this happen before. I was just wondering where it came from - was it part of a recent Microsoft update or something? I don't mind it, just wondering that's all.

I gather it is a good idea to make sure you have the latest drivers for all of XP land. What is the best and easiest way to check if there is an update for all your drivers and if there is, install them? It seems to me that trying to go to the website of various driver manufacturers and trying to track down the correct driver, must not be the easiest way. Someone said that perhaps there is a utility that scans all drivers on your PC and reports what's needed. I was not able to find one if there is such a thing. Please advise, thank you.

Thank you for telling me about this. I will uninstall Rhapsody because I don't want it.

Just after posting my original post on this subject I downloaded Real Player 11. Seems really good, only uses about 10,000K memory. Anyone have any cons regarding Real Player? I'm looking at all players recommended. When done checking several recommendations, I'll post which player, in my opinion, is the best.

Thank you Humpty, good idea.

Thanks davey, you're a good man! Just downloaded WinPatrol and love it. Seems like a great program. For those not using it, I highly recommend having a look at it.

I want to run my email client within Sandbox as recommended for extra protection. All sounds great, except I use Incredimail and that needs a special setup which Sandbox supplies detailed instructions for. I followed the instructions very rigorously and then did the configuration test to insure no mail is lost when you delete contents in Sandbox. It was supposed to have worked but it didn't. I went through the procedure again (twice actually) and still no good. So I can't run Incredimail in Sandbox because I would lose my mail My folders are in the default location etc. It's very weird because according to Sanbox it should work. Any suggestion other than stop reading emails?

Andavari. you have a good point about false positives being more likely with the Sensitivity set to high. I'll set it back to Normal.

Thank you for the advice, I will try it for sure. I am currently trying Real Player. Just discovered that Real Player also plays my songs from iTunes so I've imported all my songs into My Real Player Music Library. Part of my goal has been achieved - to have all songs in one player. I have decided to uninstall Windows Media Player and iTunes/QuickTime. Yay, get rid of all that bloating!

I have a list of 14 ActiveX Controls and all enabled. To navigate within IE7 to this point I clicked: Tools > Manage Add-ons > Enable or Disable Add-ons and then select "Downloaded Active Controls" from the drop-down list. Is it best to leave all these enabled or can you just disable all or delete all (except those you know for sure you need)? I realize that you may need to reinstall some as needed when the time comes. Just doing general cleaning and almost done thank goodness. Just wondered about this and I know you guys would know. Thanks for your time.