TeeJay3800

rridgely, where can I download that blue theme you are using?

IZArc 3.6 would have to be very improved over previous versions for me to switch over. Nothing about it impressed me and I've been a 7-Zip user for a long time, but given the good reviews, I might give IZArc a shot.

I think it looks awesome! It makes XP look pretty close to Vista...at a glance anyways. I can't tell if its based off of Luna or Royale though. If I had XP I would definitely use it. While we're on the subject, does anyone know of any way to change Windows 2000's appearance?

Yeah Process Explorer is awesome! It can even be set to replace the standard windows Task Manager.

The machine is always sitting on a hard wooden desk. However, I just realized that the fan is on the bottom! This seems like an incredibly bad design to me. I've always had my laptop raised off the desk by about 1/2 an inch to help cooling, and I'll definitely start doing that on this machine as well. I know for a fact that this PC has a reputation for running hot. Here's an article on Wikipedia: Inspiron Overheating

Unfortunately this is a laptop, so adding fans really isn't an option. It has a normal case fan like most laptops that turns on at higher temps, and seems to work fine. It just doesn't keep the computer cool at all. Your explanation of the HDD sounds interesting...maybe thats whats going on. I just wish there was something I could do because its virtually unusable when the temps get high.

I am wondering how much PC temp effects performance. My gf's computer model is known for hot running temps (Dell Inspiron 1100). Anytime the HDD temp gets to 120?F or higher, it slows down significantly. I'm talking 5-10 times as long to open programs, compared to when its cooler. If it really is the temperature itself that's hurting performance, what exactly happens to the hardware at the higher temps to slow it down? Has anyone else experienced this on their computers?

I think he's saying every time he does a scan with AVG, his mem usage drops by 20%. That's a complete mystery to me though. Makes me want to keep track of my mem usage before and after scans.

I love the Vista-inspired look of it. The play/stop/fast fwd buttons remind me of iTunes too.

Autoruns Another great program for editing start-up entries.

Doesn't it seem like XP will be towards the end of it's product life cycle by 2008? I haven't looked at the official roadmap lately, but 7 years after it's initial release seems pretty late to me. Seems like Microsoft will be encouraging Vista upgrades so heavily they won't bother with another SP by then.

Sorry to bring up an old thread, but after reading the positive reviews here I decided to try it out. I think it's my new favorite! I'd still like to read a review by CNET or similar just to see what they think.

Yeah pretty much size and simplicity. I feel it does a lot considering how small and simple it is. Just thought it was worth mentioning.

No, friend, I don't like spreading false information. How many people are going to try to play an 8-bit file format these days? It IS true that MPlayer will play almost every format that you'll come across today. It is also true that it will play as many, or more, formats than programs that are many times larger in size. If you like VLC or others better, then use them. I only started this thread because I hadn't seen MPlayer mentioned here and thought it was worth bringing up.

Until I build my new computer in a few months, HD space is at a premium for me. Comparatively, VLC is a huge install, and MPC while smaller than VLC is, still larger than MPlayer. MPlayer also plays EVERY file format, whereas the other two only play most. Basically, MPlayer lets you play any media format you'll come across, while only taking up 4MB on your HD. If you want something with a very large feature set, obviously VLC is a better choice.

You're right, it doesn't support all of MPlayer's functionallity. From MPUI's site, "It does not support every feature of MPlayer ? there are just too many of them ? but it is a solid ?workhorse? media player tool suitable for most, if not all, everyday needs." Probably not anything that would affect the average user.

Why do you find MPUI so terrible (compared to VLC for example)?

According to the site, "hard-core" Unix users don't mind the fact that its command line (the OS it was originally designed for), but us Windows users sure do appreciate a user-friendly GUI. When you use it in conjunction with MPUI, you really have no idea you're using a command line program, so its really not a problem. I too find it interesting that command line programs like this exist in this day and age, but there are some other great pieces of software out there just like it. Contig from Sysinternals is another example (that has a GUI available as well).

So apparently what I suspected is actually true. As far as I can tell there is nothing about the Defender software itself that won't allow it to run under 2000, Microsoft just dropped support because 2000 is in the "extended" life cycle phase. Pretty lame that they would tease 2000 owners with Beta versions, then as soon as the full release comes out they say "we were just messin with ya! haha!"

This is a bunch of bull! Apparently, the non-beta version of Defender is only compatible with XP SP2 or later. I've been using the Beta version on 2000 SP4 for months, but now I'm out of luck. What the heck changed so dramatically with the latest version that they had to drop 2000 support??? Probably another sleezy ploy by Microsoft to force you to use their latest Windows version. Typical Microsoft BS. Unless I'm wrong and there actually is something very different, but I'm very skeptical of that...

I recently started using a piece of software that I haven't seen mentioned on this forum and wanted to recommend: MPlayer. It's a free and open-source command line media player that will play more formats than ANY other media player out there. If you'd rather use a full GUI (like me), use MPUI. Just download the .exe's for both programs, put them in the same folder, and run MPUI.exe (less than 4MB total for the install!). MPUI has a package with both files already in a .ZIP file. MPlayer MPUI Wikipedia article

No one has any input on this?? Come on, there's a lot of knowledgeable people here!

I have a few general questions about the registry scanner. There are several results that I'm not sure are safe for me to delete. One example is an "unused file extension" error with the .PDF extension. I'm not sure why its labled as unused since .PDF files on my computer are currently associated with Foxit Reader... Also, there are several "open with application" issues for programs that are currently installed on my computer; they have not been removed. Is it safe to fix these kinds of errors? Thanks in advance!

Use Contig from Sysinternals with Power Defragmenter GUI. Just unzip each file into the same folder and run the Power Defrag .exe file. It's a perfect compliment for PageDefrag. Contig Power Defragmenter GUI

My personal favorite is O&O Defrag 2000. O&O Defrag 2000