Picablu

Hi Hazelnut, Sorry you closed my topic. I wasn't getting any response to the post in Hardware so I asked my question in the Lounge.

Would like to know if using an LED light with two 4.5V 0.12A bulbs which connects via USB port would cause my laptop to 'run hard' and wear out sooner. This item is available a a good discount today, but I don't want to buy something that could be harmful to my computer. Advice from this forum has always been excellent. Thank you.

I worked for a vet years ago, and like both cats and dogs. I can't afford to fence my three acre place for a dog and don't like keeping an animal tied up so instead I have four and a half cats. One is a fat old lady named PV (Piss and Vinegar) who needs to be loved when she isn't crabby. I tamed two wild little boys (Fuzzyboots and Spot) then they adopted a little orphan girl (Wiggle). This accounts for four. The half is the big lovable and clumsy itinerant (Blunderboots) who is very obviously Fuzzyboots' daddy. The four that are mine are spayed and neutered. Blunderboots is a full Tom who visits daily. He rules a large territory so I no longer have roaming Toms creating problems here. My little 'furfriends' spend time both inside and out, coming and going through my den window. They are a lot of work, but also the source of much love and amusement. All were abandoned, and I can't stand for creatures to go hungry. Please, people, have your pets neutered and take care of them. The love you receive in return is worth the effort on your part.

Not sure if my question really belongs in this forum. Would like to know if using an LED light that plugs in to a USB port is a 'drain' on my laptop causing it to 'wear out' sooner than normal. The light uses two 4.5V 0.12A bulbs. It would be especially helpful to receive an answer today, as I can get the best price for this item today should I decide to purchase it. Thank you in advance for your advice.

This same 16MB file remains fragmented for me. It was there for several days, then disappeared for a few days, and now it's back again. All I can find out is that it's a file employed by Windows Management. From what I've read, I think it contains error information of some sort that is sent back to Microsoft. I chased it down with Agent Ransack and tried opening it only to discover that access is denied, so I cannot view the contents of the file even using the 'super user' Administrator account. Does anyone out there know how/if this file can be cleared?

Thank you Hazelnut. I think I just did it.

Greetings Andavari! Glad to hear there may soon be a service pack for Win7. Feeling more comfortable now that I have the Macrium backup. I notice your quote selected just a portion from my post. I can see doing so would save members a lot of scrolling. Reading the help section left me confused. If you have time, I'd appreciate knowing the steps used for the 'partial' quote.

Hi Dennis, Happy February! Hope you are well and your weather OK. The recent snow and icicles have melted here in Oklahoma. I left Minnesota many years ago as winter is not my favorite season. My computer has been repaired. A defective part was replaced and the drive had to be re-formatted, so now I'm back to Vista. That's OK with me, and I think I'll wait a spell before going to Win7 again as some forums are mentioning wrinkles not yet ironed out of Win7. While waiting for the external HD to arrive, I reloaded all my programs and personal files. The external arrived and I found the openings in the (sealed) case were offset from the connections inside so there was no way any connections could be made. I called the supplier right away for an RMA, but after two weeks and four more contacts had to inform them that I intended to call out the big dogs (Chase Visa) to get my refund. That got immediate results. Went to WalMart and got a newer model of same HD with proper connections, and it was $20 cheaper! Downloaded The Macrium Reflect as you recommended. Free! At first I felt intimidated by this new contraption, but after reading about it I just deleted the included trial software, familiarized a bit with the Macrium program, and jumped in. I ran the intelligent system image and verified all files were on it. Then made the Macrium rescue CD, and tested for reboot. I'm trying to be careful not to break my arm patting myself on the back. Seriously, I could not have accomplished my goal without all your patient assistance. Thank you so much! Picablu

Thank you for checking over my 'plan' Dennis. Sorry you had a flash drive failure. The Lexar flash drives at work always served us well so that's what I have at home. There's a 2GB for transferring stuff back and forth between my laptop and the old desktop the printer is connected to. Also have a 4GB to keep frequent personal files backup of my laptop. Thankfully never any problems so far. Birthday money does come in handy doesn't it? Saved mine for a month and it has now paid for the new external HD. When my C: drive system image is run it will include both system and personal files. Then if a separate personal files backup is made to the same external HD my guess is it would appear as two separate items on the external drive? Is making the Rescue CD a one time thing or do I make a new one each time I run a new system image? I'll be sure to try out the Rescue CD as recommended. Wishing you a good day! Picablu

Hi Dennis, Hope you are having a good day. I've ordered an external hard drive. When it arrives, I think the following are the steps I need to follow. 1. Run a fresh backup of personal files on my USB flash drive. 2. Download the Macrium Reflect freeware. 3. Plug in the external hard drive, but do not install the SmartWare that comes with it. 4. Open the Macrium Reflect, and run intelligent system image for C: drive. 5. Create the rescue CD, which will, if need should arise, restore the complete system image made with Macrium. Do I have a proper grasp now? Are these steps in the right order? Am I missing anything? As I understand it, the D: drive is just there to be used by the Windows recovery process to go back to factory original, and I should just let it be. Pretty much ignore it. Thank you for your time and advice.

Thank you so much for your patience, Dennis. I read through the other thread, and everything here also. Probaby didn't absorb everything, but hopefully understand better now. Please review the following points, and confirm or correct my thinking. My computer has C: drive (both system and personal files) and D: drive (named Recovery). I think the D: drive just holds restore points which would be used for System Restore to an earlier date. Is that correct? The Macrium Reflect freeware version would place an image of the entire C: drive on the external hard drive. System Recovery would then be able to put everything back on my computer using the Macrium rescue CD. Am I understanding correctly so far? Also please advise; will running the program monthly just record any recent changes to the image that's already on the external drive, or do I delete the image and run a whole new one? The idea of messing around creating and using separate partitions scares me, so for now I think I'll stick with frequent backups of personal files on USB flash drive. I'm comfortable moving files about with that. Sorry if I'm turning this into "Computers 101 for Dummies"

Hi everybody, I'm back! Thanks for all the info you've provided about external HDs and backup software. Have been doing external HD comparison shopping after reading what many members posted. Will probably go with the WD MyBook Essential. The Smartware included appears to back up both system and personal files, and looks easy for a non-techie like me to use. Since Macrium Reflect is so welll recommended by many members, I would really like to know if/why it is better than SmartWare. Do I understand correctly that it would be necessary to use the paid version of Macrium Reflect if you want to use it for both system and personal files backup.

Hi hazelnut, Thank you for your response. I would be interested in knowing why you prefer not using included software? Is it becuase you have other software you prefer? Several members highly recommend Macrium Reflect. If I wanted to use that instead, would I simply not install the included software? Please tell me about the 'safely remove hardware procedure'. I'm only familiar with a notification that comes up sometimes that it's OK to remove.

Hi cc1, Thank you for the input. I've checked info on a few external hard drives and narrowed down my possible choices. May I ask why you prefer not to use the SmartWare that comes on the WD My Book? As they describe it, it seems like it would be easy for an inexperienced user such as myself. Also what is the advantage of an on/off switch? Don't you just disconnect the unit when backup is complete? Sorry about being so ignorant.

Had the same problem. Created a new restore point. Removed the old ones. Ran CCleaner. Then ran Defraggler. It worked like a charm.

Hi Dennis, I'm so glad you posted this. I installed the free Win7 Home Premium 32 upgrade, and really wanted to have a system image in the event of disaster. However, there was an endless struggle trying to successfully run the Create System Image feature. Finally had to contact HP. The outcome of that call was that something is not 'fixable' in my system. I have to send my lappy in to have it recovered to factory original (Vista) status because even the recovery DVDs they sent me could not be run because onscreen instructions never came up when DVD was inserted. So now that I will be back to square one, I will immediately want to get that so important system image. I've looked at several available imaging programs and Macrium Reflect looks really good to me, especially since I've seen a number problems reported with other frequently recommended programs. I've even purchased one from Worldstart, but hesitate to even try it even though they say it's glorious. Guess I've become paranoid on this subject. I'm really afraid to attempt the process on DVDs again. In your opinion, would it be better to use an external hard drive? If so, I need advice regarding what kind to purchase. I just can't throw money at something that might not be right for my purpose. My C: and D: drives total 280+GB of which I presently use only about 30GB. I'm looking at an HP product described as "HP250GB Pocket Media Drive", which runs on a USB cable and costs around $80. I need to know if this item is capable of storing the system image, and if I can recover the system from it if ever needed. I trust your advice, and any recommendations you can provide are much appreciated. Picablu

Hi Mike, When I open Defraggler, it always says "Ready". After I defrag, it always says "Finished".

Hi kroozer, I don't know about you, but I like 0% fragmentation. Maybe it's the bookkeeper in me. Thanks to all the helpful members here I've found there's more than one way to skin this cat. Not that I'd ever do such a thing. I have five kitty 'furfriends'. Anyway, you don't have to live with system files fragmented. Happy CCleaning! Picablu

I remember seeing somewhere that you might not get the updates depending on what system you're running.....or something like that. Just remember to look way down in the bottom right corner and click on "Check for updates" every so often. In the left pane I always keep the box next to Cookies checked (I have only a couple that I excluded from the delete). It always works fine.

Hi Dennis, I'm anxious to see Avatar, but will have to wait 'till it comes out on DVD, and watch it on my big screen. (I'll enjoy all the special features anyway.) I, too, have been a fan of Fantasy and Sci-Fi starting with library books and comic books in the 1940s. Avatar has received several negative reviews, therefore I fully agree with your advice regarding imagination and visuals. Who cares if the story isn't as complex as Roman history, as long as the visuals blow your mind?!

Hi Mudd! Picablu here. I turned 73 Dec. 11. Have 5 children, 6 grandchildren, 4 great grandchildren and my 5 'fur-babies' the kitties. The business I worked for shut down 2 years ago, so I'm 'retired'. All I do now is fix up this old place I bought 12 yeaars ago (3 acres all badly neglected and house a disaster). I'm still chopping tree stumps and doing carpentry/plumbing/ electric/drywall/fireplace masonry, etc. by myself. Lucky I'm a gal who grew up in a 'jack-of-all-trades' family. I was really sorry to read about your stroke. Keep on keepin' on, Mudd!!!

Yeah, but think of all the fun reading we'd miss!

Hi Bronco90, Picablu here. The results following defrag that you show look just like mine used to. It drove me crazy! It was all System Volume Information files, and Defraggler can't defrag them. But you CAN solve this issue. I found info in the forums that CCleaner's latest update could get rid of these SVI files. Here's how I achieved 0 files, 0 fragments, 0% fragmentation: 1. Went to www.piriform.com and downloaded latest version of CCleaner 2. In Start search box typed backup - clicked on Create a restore point - in the System Properties window clicked on Create box and then gave the new restore point a name (the date and time fills in automatically) 3. Opened CCleaner and clicked on Tools in the left pane 4. In Tools I clicked on System Restore and one by one removed all restore points - leaving only the new one 5. Then I ran Analyse in CCleaner just to see what appeared - then hit Run Cleaner 6. Next I opened Defraggler - ran Analyse - went to View Files tab and checked all (at the top of the list) - then clicked Defrag Checked (down on the bottom) 7. After that I clicked on the Drive C: tab (next to File List tab) and saw that all the fragmentation was gone! Forgive me if I seem to be 'talking down' to you. I only gave such detailed steps because it's the kind of thing that's helpful to me personally. You are probably a much more advance user than I. Anyway the above steps got rid of the crazy-making frag problem. I sure hope you re-visit your thread and find this so you can get your drive 'all pretty' again. Regards, Picablu

Topic Reference: Deleting System Volume Information files with CCleaner To all the kind members who took the time to help me: Thank you so much. I have been struggling with a hugely fragmented C: drive for a long time. With your recommendations, I have at last achieved 0% fragmentation (0 files, 0 fragments). You guys ROCK!!!! Love to all, Picablu

Hello Aethec, Thank you for your response. I probably would try this, but I don't know what the Break key is. Does it have an alternate name? Regards, Picablu