http://search.support.microsoft.com/kb/c.asp
http://search.microsoft.com/advanced_search.asp?qu=&siteid=us

I'm still grumbling about the changes Microsoft made to the search page I frequently visited, but the one I had bookmarked isn't the only place to do a search on Microsoft's site. A whole gaggle of you pointed out the two links above as viable alternatives that continue to use the old interface, though I can't say for how much longer. Get it while it's hot!

Another option to consider is to use other search engines. For instance, Google.com allows you to specify a search based on a particular site by entering "site:support.microsoft.com" as one of the search terms. Order doesn't matter, in case you were curious. Specify the terms you're looking for and the site: parameter and you're all set. Try it with other websites too!

Tweaking Win2K Services for Home Users

http://searchwin2000.techtarget.com/tip/1,289483,sid1_gci778742,00.html

"There are usually many Windows services started that are not needed for a home user. Telling Windows not to load some of these can speed your machine up considerably. The list below describes some. It's recommended that you set them to "manual" and not "disabled". A manual setting will usually still allow the service to start if the system requires it. When playing with the services, it's usually a good idea to change just one, then reboot, check the functionality of the machine (test it and play around etc) before changing anything else. Going ahead and changing the startup of 10 different services then finding out your machine isn't working properly is no fun to fix!"

Microsoft Security Tool Kit

http://www.microsoft.com/technet/security/tools/stkintro.asp

More on security... Microsoft recently introduced the new Security Tool Kit in order to help customers address the ongoing security threat in a more proactive manner. The kit is free of charge for customers in the U.S. and Canada, and can either be ordered online (with shipment in 3 to 6 weeks) or downloaded directly from Microsoft's web site. Current TechNet subscribers will receive the tool kit with the November shipment, so no need to order it, though you are still free down download the information if that suits your tastes.

Firewall Forensics

http://www.robertgraham.com/pubs/firewall-seen.html#10

The more you get into networking, the more confused you may become. This is due to the vast number of details that low-level network analysis involves. Most firewalls these days provide a simple interface to manage, which is great for home and small office environments. But what about more intense networks? High-end firewalls have a high-end set of features to go right along with them, but how does one troubleshoot all of these details when performance or compatibility becomes a problem? With the help of this Firewall Forensics FAQ for starters.

ASK THE EXPERT

Next time you have a question and don’t know the where to turn, sit

back, relax, and let us take care of it. SearchWin2000’s “Ask the

Experts” is the place to get your technical questions answered by

some of the leading authorities in the Win2000 field. Our experts

have been chosen by our editorial team for their knowledge of

specific technology areas. Stop here to get your questions answered

on Administration and Performance, Careers, Certification, Exchange,

Programming and Application Development, Security, Web

Administration, and Win2000 Migration. Go to:

http://searchwin2000.techtarget.com/Ask_the_Experts_Page_Components/searchWin2000_ATE_Experts_Index/0,282113,,00.html 

Web Collaboration

Employee collaboration is a key feature of successful businesses in today's global markets. Find out How to make full use of Office 2000 and Windows 2000 Web integration http://www.microsoft.com/technet/events/Fall00/tnq20110.asp  in this TechNet event. Office Server Extensions Whitepaper http://www.microsoft.com/technet/office/TechNote/osewhtp.asp  can help you make your intranet a living collaboration environment. Get step-by-step instructions on how to use the Office 2000 60 minutes Intranet Kit to build a workgroup collaboration Web site in The Power of Intranets: Creating Workgroup Web Sites with Microsoft Office 2000 and FrontPage http://www.microsoft.com/technet/Office/ProdFact/pwrintra.asp .

vPing v1.00.02 [889k] W9x/NT FREE

http://hyperion.spaceports.com/~pjwtwo/vping.zip
http://hyperion.spaceports.com/~pjwtwo/

"vPing is a small utility which gives you instant, meaningful information about your Internet connection. You can test quality, check for errors, compare various ISPs, and more. Results can be stored, printed, emailed right from the application. User-friendly interface and advanced features should make happy both beginners and power users. For more detailed information you are encouraged to read the help file. This is (yet another) ping tool which provides visual interpretation of RTT latency (how much time does it take to send ICMP echo packet and get it returned from the target). It gives a wealth of diagnostic data useful for troubleshooting and evaluation of the Internet connections. Report information covers: RTT min/max/avg, timeouts, errors, jitter and lost packets."

I don't aim to give a complete TCP/IP tutorial here, because it is miles beyond the scope of this newsletter. What I will do, however, is provide some great links for you to keep handy while you're learning how the protocol works.

 

• Introduction to TCP/IP
  http://www.yale.edu/pclt/COMM/TCPIP.HTM

   

• Binary IP Calculation and Subnet Masking
  http://www.subnetonline.com/subnet/step1.html

   

• The TCP/IP Protocol Suite
  http://www.networkmagazine.com/article/NMG20000727S0022

   

• TCP/IP Suite (In-depth information at Protocols.com)
  http://www.protocols.com/pbook/tcpip.htm

   

• Internetworking with TCP/IP Volume 1 Principles, Protocols and Architecture
  http://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/ASIN/0130183806/ref=ase_lockergnome/103-1606628-3011050

1. Introduction to IP Version 6

http://www.microsoft.com/technet/network/ipvers6.asp 

2. Designing the Active Directory Structure

http://www.microsoft.com/technet/win2000/dguide/chapt-9.asp 

3. Frequently Asked Questions About BizTalk Server

http://www.microsoft.com/technet/biztalk/btfaq.asp 

4. The TechNet Mole: Technical answers from inside Microsoft

http://www.microsoft.com/technet/inside/default.asp 

OTHER VALUABLE TECHTARGET COMMUNITIES

http://www.SearchNetworking.com  the Networking-specific search engine

http://www.SearchCRM.com  the Customer Relationship Management-specific search engine

http://www.Search400.com the AS400-specific search engine

http://www.Search390.com  the S/390-specific search engine

http://www.SearchDatabase.com  the Database-specific search engine

http://www.SearchWin2000.com  the Windows NT/2000-specific search engine

http://www.SearchASP.com  the Application Service Provider-specific search

engine

http://www.SearchDomino.com  the Lotus Domino-specific search engine

http://www.SearchVB.com  the Visual Basic-specific search engine

http://www.SearchSolaris.com  the Solaris-specific search engine

http://www.SearchWebHosting.com  the WebHosting-specific search engine

http://www.SearchHP.com  the Hewlett-Packard specific search engine

http://www.SearchEnterpriseLinux.com  the Linux-specific search engine

http://www.SearchEBusiness.com  the eBusiness-specific search engine

http://www.SearchSystemsManagement.com  the systems management-specific search engine

http://www.WhatIs.com  the online IT knowledge exploration tool

AT&T, WorldCom and Office Depot rely on REMOTELYANYWHERE everyday

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http://www.windowsitlibrary.com 

Lock in your own Domain Name for just 15 bucks. Dirt Cheap!

http://www.sunbelt-software.com/redir.cfm?id=112700freename 

Looking for our downloads?

BHS Software

Drivers Guide

NTWare.com

Shareware.com

TUCOWS

Windows 2000 Magazine

Windows 2000 Magazine Network

Windows 2000 FAQ

Winfiles.com

WinInformant

Windows SuperSite

Winternals

NT Utilities

GroupStudy.com
Highly recommended by Aaron Texley

http://www.groupstudy.com/

As the saying goes, there's safety in numbers. That's the idea behind GroupStudy.com for those after Cisco certification, but not wanting to brave the study on their own. The site is completely free and works from the premise of helping each other out. Kind of like Lockergnomies, eh? They also offer online classes once in a while, led by highly geekified individuals willing to pass along what they know to others. Almost makes me want to go out and buy a Cisco router just for the camaraderie!

Get VB Answers

http://www.visual-basic-solutions.com/vbanswers/

Get VB Answers is a Visual Basic search engine, providing a searchable index of the best VB source samples, ActiveX controls, COM development tips and a whole lot more. Get VB Answers is dedicated to helping you get the answers to your toughest VB questions - straight from the Wizards, the MVPs, the Old Wise Men and Women, Gurus and Hardcore Masters of the VB community. Get VB Answers is a VB information site with a twist: instead of adding to the information glut with another list of links, this is a search engine, providing you with search capabilities in some of the best, most reliable and advanced VB sites on the web.

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========================================================

Data recovery services -- a last resort

Rick Cook

If you have a damaged hard disk containing vital data, a data recovery service is often your last hope. These companies specialize in recovering data from disks damaged by everything from fires to viruses, which cannot be read by other means. Their services are not cheap, not always successful and almost never necessary if you have maintained proper backups. However, sometimes they are the only way to recover irreplaceable information.

Data recovery on this level is not a do-it-yourself project. A lot of the time it involves opening up the drive in a clean room and trying to read the disk sectors using specialized equipment. It is painstaking and requires a skilled technician. While some of the data on the disk is often unrecoverable, it is often possible to get back the "target data" - the most important and irreplaceable files, such as data files. Typically the turnaround time is several days and the data will be returned to you on a CD-ROM or other media you specify. Because the process is so complex, most companies price their work on a case-by-case basis, providing the customer with an estimate once they have actually examined the drive. Many companies only charge if they are able to recover some or all of the target data.

There are a number of companies worldwide that specialize in recovering data from damaged hard disks. Since the process is so dependent on the skill of the technicians, the results can vary widely. Your best guide is the data recovery firm's reputation and the best time to select a company is when you have time to check them out -- before you need them, in other words.

MDS Disk Service of Riverside, CA, has a FAQ on data recovery on its Web site, http://www.mdsdiskservice.com/

.

TechNet for Education Online Seminar Series!

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The Management Services home page at

http://www.microsoft.com/windows2000/library/technologies/management/default.asp 

 is definitely worth a bookmark if you need this information. Given

Microsoft's propensity to reorganize its Web sites, I suggest you

download as much as possible of the useful information found there.

Installed RAM Identification

When it comes to hardware identification apps that I inquired about last week, two stand-outs floated to the surface. There were several other great utilities suggested, but these two seemed like the best candidates for general use due to the number of additional features and broad information provided.

SiSoftware Sandra v2001.3.7.50 [2.64M] W9x/NT/2K FREE

http://www.sisoftware.co.uk/sandra

This was the most popular suggestion, and I know Chris has featured it in his newsletter in the past. The latest version has full Windows 2000 support and perfectly fits the stated goal of providing RAM type, density, and features such as ECC capability, as well as interrogating your system for what's installed in each memory bank. The three systems I used for testing all were correctly identified, but an older Pentium 133MHz Socket 5 system with 8 SIMM sockets could not be properly detected, likely due to the fact that such an old system does not conform to today's standards for communicating with the system BIOS.

I attempted to run Sandra on my Dell Inspiron 5000e notebook, which resulted in a nasty crash. After visiting their website, they did note incompatibilities with some Dell notebooks, so I suppose I can forgive that. In addition to the system memory information is the staggering amount of other data you can gather about your system - very highly recommended tool.

Dr. Hardware Sysinfo v6.5e [618k] DOS $28

http://www.drhardware.de/english/drhdose.zip
http://www.dr-hardware.com

Dr. Hardware produces a Windows version of their hardware detection product, but the DOS version was the focus of my testing, as it does not require the existence of Windows in order to gather great information. Doctor Hardware is similar to Sandra in the information it provides, but it's not quite as detailed. Again, the older machine was not fully interrogated, but that was expected, as the SMBIOS and DMI standards are not supported with older machines. This might serve as a great utility addition to a boot floppy or CD, particularly if you are required to perform hardware identification for many machines.

The Ultimate Memory Guide

http://www.kingston.com/tools/umg/umg2000.pdf

Memory is an extremely important component to the efficient operation of a computer. Today's hardware can be quite picky about the RAM installed; you can't just buy a stick of RAM and assume it will work at peak efficiency. Memory maker Kingston Technologies has put together a very comprehensive guide (in .PDF format) that starts by explaining how RAM is used by a computer and continues with the various types of RAM and then into installing and troubleshooting. It's quite thick, but a fantastic resource to keep in mind, so to speak. 

Unknown Memory

http://www.crucial.com/library/memorymodid.asp
http://mlarchive.ima.com/winnt/1997/Nov/0814.html
http://www.ozemail.com.au/~gyra/pc100.htm
http://www.ozemail.com.au/~gyra/ramident.htm
http://www.micron.com/products/
http://www.mitsubishichips.com/data/datasheets/memory/

Yesterday I sent you to a site that will help you put a name to the face of a modem, but sometimes there are other system components that are equally befuddling. You walk into the office one morning to find that someone has left a stick of some sort of memory laying in the middle of your desk with no explanation of where it came from or what it is. To some, all memory looks alike, but as we know, memory is often not interchangeable among systems.

I've provided a few of the finer links that I've tripped over in my quest to discover a memory module type. The first link has pretty pictures that will help you determine what sort of form factor it fits into, and the others give you a fair shot at identifying the exact type. Just for kicks, I took a stack of 8 DIMMS and 6 SIMMS with these links in hand and was able to identify all but four. The low-end broker grade RAM will likely prove difficult to find. 

Network Boot Disks

http://appdeploy.com/faq/networkdetect.shtml

We all know that you can install operating systems over the network, but getting to the installation files is half the battle. You likely need a boot disk that drops you on the network so you can launch the setup process, but this is easier said than done, particularly if you don't have one of the few NICs included with the Network Client Administrator tool in Windows NT. Understanding all of the details that go along with NDIS client configuration can leave you with little patience and even less hair by the time you're done. I remember when I first learned NDIS and can't say that I much enjoyed it, but once you have the hang of it, you can quickly draft a new boot disk for different NICs that you may come across. This page will get you started and provides some very useful utilities for aiding in the identification of NICs as well as detailing configuration steps required. This is definitely a must-have page in your bookmark list!

Virtual Network Computing 9x/NT/2K/Unix/Mac/CE FREE

http://www.uk.research.att.com/vnc/

{Remote control utility} Having remote control of your network or PCs is almost a must-have these days, but every one of the decent commercial products is expensive, particularly if you have several servers that you need to outfit. If you're looking to have desktop remote control for your company, the numbers start to grow very quickly.

I've been a VNC user for as long as I can remember because of the vast number of platforms they support and the absolutely FREE pricetag. There's no glitz or glamour here, but it works extremely well. Supported clients include Windows 9x/NT/2K, Linux, Solaris, DEC Alpha, Mac and even Windows CE (MIPS and SH3 processors).

Identifying a Video Card

Ever try to install video drivers and forget what kind of video card is installed? No more removing the case in order to find out. Just pull up a DOS Prompt and enter the following:

DEBUG [ENTER]
DC000:00 [ENTER]
DC000:70 [ENTER]

This will result in some identifying information about the video adapter installed in the machine. This information will vary among manufacturers and models, but it should present enough to figure out what's there. This trick works under DOS, Win9x and Windows NT/2000.

Winmodems - Are You Getting What You Pay For?

As the computer expert of my family and neighborhood, I get the expected phone calls asking for help with all sorts of odd PC problems, as I'm sure many of you do. There is one thing that I tend to have more problems with than virtually any other piece of hardware in a PC. The crappy Winmodems that ship with many retail PCs. Winmodems are not like traditional modems in that they do not contain controllers on the board, which means that they must rely on Windows to provide the intelligence. The modem itself simply performs the physical communications in most cases.

All Winmodems are internal, but not all internal modems are Winmodems, so determining if you have a Winmodem can be a challenge. Some of the key identifying traits are if it says that Windows is required on the box, and there are no jumpers or DIP switches on the board itself, though this may not be the case with all Winmodems.

If you've ever had to reinstall your modem drivers and had problems doing so, I'll lay odds that you've been bitten by the most common problem with these devices. They just don't work very well once they're outside of the factory's static configurations. Here are a few sites that go further into the details of how Winmodems work and the various problems that can ensue:

http://www.56k.com/reports/winmodem.shtml
http://808hi.com/56k/winmodems.htm
http://www.idir.net/~gromitkc/winmodem.html
http://unix6.sysnet.net/~nazarian/nowinmod.htm
http://www.ez-net.com/winmodems.html

So, why am I picking on Winmodems so much? Because simply put, they are one of the most problematic pieces of junk ever invented by the computing industry. Ever experience frequent disconnection with your dialin ISP? Or routinely connect at low data rates? This is very common with Winmodems, as they're known for having problems with line noise. The error correction is not very efficient without the controller on the modem itself, thus it must be handled by Windows, which introduces additional variables.

The links above do have a bit of a slant toward Linux/Unix, and that's for a reason. If many users of Linux/Unix systems can get a modem to adequately function within their OS, then odds are it's not a Winmodem, and it will serve you well. If you ever decide to upgrade your operating system beyond what was factory installed, expect modem issues right out of the gate. If you set the expectation, and do a little research up front, you may be able to identify problems before they cause you to spit on your motherboard in frustration.

There isn't a single internal modem in my house... well, unless you count the one included in my Dell Notebook, but I use a 3Com 3C656C Ethernet/Modem CardBus PCCard versus dealing with the LT Winmodem that's there. Before I purchased the 3Com card, I was forced to use the Winmodem and while Dell does provide Windows 2000 drivers for the modem, they didn't work properly until I called Dell to discover that they had to issue a patch for their drivers because of "compatibility issues"... typical Winmodem.

If you want a piece of advice, don't order your PC with a modem. Instead wander out to your local computer retailer and pick up an external modem. I have all of my friends, family and neighbors on external modems wherever possible, and I NEVER hear of connection problems or funky dialing errors any longer. My phone remains silent. Trust me when I say that they are worth the extra money you'll pay for an external, and don't forget to pick up a serial cable as well, because 98% of external modems do not include the cable. Most other devices today come in USB form factors, which reduces the serial port contention, so why not put that serial port to use and prevent later headaches?

Unknown Modem

http://www.fcc.gov/oet/fccid/help.html

You wouldn't think so, but I seem to get frequent questions about how to figure out what brand/model a modem is. It seems that modem manufacturers don't care to go to all the trouble of stamping their name and the exact model number on their devices, particularly internal modems. What they do often include is an FCC ID on the device. This is your key to identifying the lost soul using a database that the FCC has conveniently setup. For those of you overseas, this probably won't be terribly useful unless you purchased the device from a U.S. manufacturer. Also note that recent changes to FCC regulations mean that not all devices will be tagged, but the vast majority still are.

BIOS and Power Management Discovery

http://www.ibm.com/products/surepath/documents/utilities.html

IBM has put together a set of utilities that will interrogate a PC for BIOS and power management features. Since these are command-line utilities, you can export the results to a text file, then weed through it with a search utility, allowing you to possibly determine a PC type or exact model within a script. Conditionally install fixes or updates, customize installations, compile the information in a shared location for inventory... the uses for this are endless.

http://www.rojakpot.com/Speed_Demonz/BIOS_Guide/BIOS_Guide_Index.htm

Some bookmarks occupy space in my Favorites folder just in case I need such a resource in the future, but others are frequent visits. I can easily see this one being a resource to which I refer often. This site contains very good explanations of the numerous configuration options you see in the BIOS. The site has been pretty slow, and I hate to slam it harder by featuring it here, but this truly is a link you'll want to keep around. Better yet, check the links at the bottom of the page, You can download the entire optimization guide in PDF (Adobe Acrobat) or LIT (Microsoft Reader) formats for constant reference when you need it. This one is already sync'ed to my iPaq!

Motherboard Monitor (MBM) v5.05 [1.26M] W9x/NT/2K FREE

http://mbm.livewiredev.com/

{System Temp and Fan Monitoring} Nobody likes the magic blue smoke that occurs when system components suddenly fail due to heat. Many of today's motherboards have facilities for measuring fan speeds and system/CPU temperatures to keep you posted on the weather inside your case, but some of the utilities that are included are buggy or don't provide the information in a useful manner. MBM is both capable and stable, providing you with a dashboard that's easy to understand and a wealth of configuration options that can be tailored to your specific system. MBM is compatible with a wide range of motherboards, but even if your board isn't on the list, it may still work ok with a little tinkering. It's humming right along on my server now, running as a service thanks to FireDaemon. They have a little write-up on the site that shows how to make the MBM work as a service, along with their shutdown utility to keep your system protected even when you're not logged on.

UMDH Tools for Windows NT/2000 [444k] NT/2K FREE

http://support.microsoft.com/support/kb/articles/q268/3/43.asp

Leaky memory makes a mess of things. You're desktop gets all soggy and applications start sliding around... makes things a bit unstable, you could say. Microsoft has developed a set of tools that enable you to identify memory leaks in applications or other processes. The kit contains six utilities that are mainly meant for Windows 2000, but can also be used with NT 4.0 SP6. The download link and a wealth of detailed information on how to use utilities are contained within the article.

IEEE OUI and Company_ID Database

http://standards.ieee.org/regauth/oui/index.shtml

Every device on a network must be uniquely identified at later 2 of the OSI Reference Model. This identification comes in the form of a Media Access Control (MAC) address consisting of 6 hexadecimal octets (48 bits). All network cards produced by a manufacturer are assigned a permanently installed address to ensure that no two devices occupy the same address on the network. Using the first 3 octets of the MAC address, commonly referred to as the Organizationally Unique Identifier (OUI), you can locate the manufacturer of a particular network device with the help of this online database. This can come in handy when performing network analysis. With some practice, you'll be able to identify certain types of devices by their OUI, which can aid in locating the source of a problem. 

http://windowsupdate.microsoft.com for OS updates and 

http://office.microsoft.com for MS Office updates

QChain Multiple Hotfix Install Utility [57k] NT/2K FREE

http://www.microsoft.com/downloads/release.asp?releaseid=29821
http://support.microsoft.com/support/kb/articles/Q296/8/61.asp

Anyone that has had to build a server recently knows the anguish of installing Windows NT/2000 hotfixes one by one with the requisite reboot in between each and every one. At very long last, the Redmond bunch has provided QChain, which permits the installation of multiple hotfixes back-to-back without a system restart. Being that it's a command line utility, you could also incorporate this into scripts easily enough.

PC in Pictures

http://www.mkdata.dk/click/index.htm

Reading the description of how technology works is fine for those with at least some understanding of the topic, but putting concepts in pictures sure does help. Not all topics listed in this directory have detailed drawings, but there are quite a few sprinkled in to help clarify a point. The list of topics addressed is quite long and covers a wide array of various system components. Keep this one around for use in explaining subjects to a class or just to confuse a user that asks a question you don't particularly care to have them know the answer to.

IomegaWare v3.0 [6.93M] W9x/NT/2K/Mac FREE

http://www.iomega.com/software/ioware30pc.html

{Zip/Jaz/Click drive utilities} A new release of IomegaWare tools is available for those of you that use Iomega products such as Zip or Jaz drives. A new interface is the obvious enhancement that jumps out at you once you install the package, but you'll also notice that they've put the desktop icons back. The other major change is the addition of Active Disk Technology support, which allows you to launch applications directly. This is kind of cool because you can carry both your software and data with you on a single Zip disk, usable by any machine with a Zip drive. So, what's the catch, you ask? Well, applications must be specifically designed to support the Active Disk system. The only one available thus far is LiveWorks Photo Album software, and unfortunately, it's not free.

Windows 2000 Configuration Guide

http://www.houseofhelp.com/articles/win2k_guide/index.php

If you haven't taken a bite from the 8-foot hoagie that is Windows 2000 yet, then this configuration walk-through might be of some help as you chew. The guide weaves a path through Windows 2000 helping you decide which configuration options to set, how to identify and deal with certain hardware devices and what all of these service packs and hotfixes you've heard about are for.

PC Mag's Registry Detective v1.0 [594k] W9x/NT/2K FREE

http://www.zdnet.com/downloads/stories/info/0,10615,77609,00.html

"If you need to search the Windows Registry, Registry Detective can make the job a lot easier. Windows provides a Registry Editor (RegEdit) for locating and changing data, but its search facility is slow and limited. Registry Detective, a read-only registry search facility that works in conjunction with RegEdit, provides an alternative. You can specify multiple search criteria, search only specific portions of the registry, view all hits at once, examine detailed information for each hit, and then launch RegEdit with the hit selected so you can make changes. If you're using PC Magazine's Registry Editor Plus (a tool to make editing the registry safer), Registry Detective will launch it along with RegEdit. Source code is included."

PC Mag's Registry Editor Plus v1.1 [641k] W9x FREE

http://www.zdnet.com/downloads/stories/info/0,10615,77596,00.html

"The System Registry holds a huge amount of essential information and settings. Some can be viewed and modified through Control Panel applets or utilities such as TweakUI. However, many settings only can be accessed through RegEdit, the powerful and dangerous Window Registry Editor. Changes made using RegEdit can cause far-reaching problems. Also, it's tedious to open a lengthy key in RegEdit, as you must painstakingly locate and click on every element of that key. Registry Editor Plus (RegEdit+) makes RegEdit both safer and easier to use. To open a key in one step, type its name into the key list, or select it from the pull down list of recently visited keys. You can save frequently used Registry keys as Favorites. When you use the SafeEdit functions in RegEdit+ to rename, delete, or modify a key or value, the data to undo that change is recorded in the History list. Source code is included."

How to Change the Default AutoSearch Search Page

http://support.microsoft.com/support/kb/articles/Q198/2/79.ASP
http://www.google.com/google.reg

"This article describes how to change the default AutoSearch search page without having to install the Microsoft Internet Explorer Administration Kit (IEAK). The AutoSearch feature enables you to conduct a search directly from the Address box in Internet Explorer or the Address toolbar in Windows 98 and Windows 2000 by typing "go," "find," or "?" (without quotation marks), followed by the topic you want. For example, typing "? mountain bikes" (without quotation marks) automatically searches the Internet for information about mountain bikes. By default, Windows uses a random search engine to perform your search. If you want to specify a particular search engine, you can do so by using the IEAK or by editing the registry."

TDIMon v1.01 [95k] W9x/NT/2K FREE

http://www.sysinternals.com/ntw2k/freeware/tdimon.shtml

Time for a basic lesson on networking for the uninitiated. There are 7 layers on the OSI Model that governs standard network communication. From the bottom up, these layers are Physical, Datalink, Network, Transport, Session, Presentation and Application. Without going into too much detail, the MAC address on your network card sits at layer 2, or the Datalink layer. TCP/IP is actually a suite of protocols with IP (as in your IP address) being a layer 3, or Network layer, protocol. TCP and UDP are layer 4, Transport layer protocols. In order to establish communications with a remote host, you need an IP address that signifies the box you're talking to, then a TCP/UDP port that a particular service is listening on. For instance, if you're talking to the Lockergnome web server, you're establishing a session with TCP port 80 at IP address 216.246.17.205.

The Transport Driver Interface is, as you might expect, a mechanism for establishing communications at the Transport layer of the OSI Model. TDIMon is a monitor for said communications, showing you sessions that are established with remote hosts, including the protocol (TCP or UDP), the IP address of the host and the port of the service on the other end. So what good is this? Well, if you're simply curious about what's going on when you're talking to remote hosts, this is a no-frills way of finding out. It's also helpful in spotting strange application communication, such as that conducted by spy-ware applications behind the scenes.

Speaker Cable Modification Guide

http://www.mrpcpro.com/reviews/cablemod/cabmod.html

Since I own a set of Klipsch ProMedia speakers, this modification guide caught my eye. One of the big knocks on the system is the seemingly low-grade cables used. While I find the sound to be perfectly fine for what I do, some may wish to make a few adjustments in search of the best experience. Here's a guide that talks about the Klipsch system specifically, but that doesn't mean it will only apply to that speaker set. The basics talked about here should suffice for anyone interested in doing a bit of a re- wire on an existing setup.

Days Off Calculator v2.2 [537k] W9x/NT/2k FREE

http://www.schedule-me.com/days.exe
http://www.schedule-me.com/days.htm

"[This] is the world's standard workweek optimization software. It's easily adaptable to construction, maintenance, assembly lines, telephone coverage, retail work, field supervision, etc. The calculator helps you schedule work crews over the 7-day week, by working out how many crew members can have any given pair of days off (Saturday/Sunday, Sunday/Monday, etc.) and still fill your personnel requirements. Tell it how many people you need each day, and it tells you how to set up your employees' off days. [It] can generate a variety of reports to make the scheduling process easy."

Micro Net Utilities v0.12 [1.4M] W9x/NT/2k FREE

http://www.micronline.com/dl/MNU.exe
http://www.micronline.com/software/MNU/GB/index.htm

This program includes: WHOIS (for discovering domain name registration information quickly), FINGER (for checking a user's server profile), DNS (A, PTR, MX), IP Monitor (for making sure that an IP address is still alive and kicking), PING (for testing a connection to any given IP address), Trace Route (for tracing the connection between your computer and another), Port Scan (for checking open ports), IP Scan (for scanning a range of IP addresses), Net Stat (for listing all established network connections), Time synchronization (for matching your system clock with an atomic one), and a Notification system (Windows NT/2K). "The IP Monitor will do a persistent ping; the System Tray icon can be disabled; and the Port Scan can scan an unlimited number of ports.

Help with Excel

http://www.geocities.com/davemcritchie/excel/excel.htm

Over the years, I've learned to love spreadsheets for their simplicity in design and depth of scope. You're simply presented with a whole load of empty boxes - no confusing interface to figure out first, but what comes next? You've heard all about the vast number of things that can be accomplished with Microsoft Excel, but getting started can be an adventure in confusion. Here's the first place I send people because of the broad nature of information listed directly or linked to from this page. If you're responsible for user support in your company, I believe you'll find yourself referring to this page often from now on.

StarOffice v5.2 [76.6M] 9x/NT/2K/Linux FREE

http://www.sun.com/staroffice/
http://www.staroffice.com

I think Microsoft's Products are the best out there and worth the money to business users!  However, you may have heard about Sun's FREE StarOffice 5.2 suite. Some say, "While MS Office is a well-rounded office suite, most casual users hardly need to spend hundreds of dollars, only to leave 90% of the product's features un-used."

StarOffice includes all of the major applications that MS Office does, and even has a slick front-end for the entire suite that integrates all of the applications into one interface. There are filters for many office application file formats include MS Office 2000, so interoperability with Microsoft Office users is cake. The use of some very Microsoft-specific features in some applications can cause a problem, but I have yet to run into one of these quirks myself.

The links above are to the Sun StarOffice page, where you can read up on the suite and download if you decide to do so, and a StarOffice resource site so you can learn more about the applications' capabilities.

Here's an interesting link that shows the tally on the number of flaws discovered per operating system. http://www.securityfocus.com/vdb/stats.html

Custom Installation CDs

I hate carrying a ton of CDs around with me all the time because I never know what I'll need. I decided one day that it would be nice to make a couple of CDs that contain everything I need to get an OS up and running without regard to the specific OS. There are several ways to do this, of course, but I'll share the method to my particular madness.

I start by creating one CD that carries the Win98SE, WinME, NT4 Workstation and Win2K Pro base installation files. This CD does not have any Service Packs applied directly to the base installation files (known as slipstreaming). I often use the CD for installing or removing particular OS components, and if I have slipstreamed installations on the CD, it may provide incompatible files to the PC in question as files are copied. I always choose to install the service packs afterward, if necessary, as it's better to be overly cautious than to potentially cause problems. I also make this CD Bootable so the Windows 2000 installation is automatically started since this is the OS I install most often.

Since the base installation files will consume nearly an entire CD, I also create a utility CD that contains many miscellaneous applications, service packs and drivers that I often use. With some extra work, you can make this CD bootable as well, replicating the Windows 98/ME boot diskette that supports many CD-ROM devices upon boot. Here's a quick list of things I often include - add or remove items as you see fit:

• Windows NT Service Packs 3, 5 and 6a (high and low encryption)

• Windows 2000 Service Pack 1 and selected hotfixes
• Logitech Mouseware
• Microsoft IntelliPoint & IntelliType
• Synaptics TouchPad Drivers - Useful on many notebooks
• DOS and Windows file compression utilities (PKZip)
• VNC (Remote Control Utility)
• Palm Desktop
• Microsoft ActiveSync
• Xteq X-Setup
• DOS-based disk partitioning utility
• DOS and Windows TCP/IP utilities (Ping, Tracert, etc.)
• Preferred DOS and Windows text editors
• CD-Writer application
• Text file with serial numbers

Working Efficiently with Windows ME

http://www.microsoft.com/insider/mi/winmetips.htm

"Tips for Working Efficiently: Run programs from the Address bar, Get back to the desktop quickly, Browse the Web and your files with one program, Close several programs at once, Set system date and time, Ways to delete a file or folder, Explore more with Explorer bars, Undo actions in Windows, Turn on file name extensions, Move or copy files to subfolders, Rearrange programs on the Start menu, Set your windows so they all have the same view, Show hidden program or system files, Use single-click everywhere, Speed up your programs, Open a Web page from the Start menu, Surf your computer the same way you surf the Web, Customize the taskbar, etc."

ASAP Utilities v2.98b [955kb] W9x/NT/2K FREE

http://www.smile4ever.nl/asap/international/ASAPUtilities.exe
http://www.asap-utilities.com
http://www.asap-utilities.com/asapscreenshots.htm

I recently featured a great Microsoft Excel site that provided all sorts of useful tips and tricks for mastering the spreadsheet, but it was quickly brought to its knees and remains unavailable, so I thought I owed you another great Excel feature. ASAP Utilities is a set of over 200 Excel 97/2000 add-ins that will revolutionize the way you and your users interact with data. Everything from formatting text and cells to handling sheets and selections is included and the installation is as simple as pointing the way to the add-in file (.XLA) included in the package. 

File Extensions
Unearthed by Ian Morrish

http://www.cknow.com/ckinfo/acronyms/fileextensions.htm

When was the last time you received a .CFN file from a co-worker? Or maybe you needed a refresher on the extension for a WordPerfect graphics driver file. I know there are a bunch of utilities and sites online that will help you identify a file extension, but this one sticks out because not only do they list the extension and the application with which it is typically associated, but they also have links to additional information about the company or piece of software that handles the strange file you might have received.

Playlist Converter v1.1 [439k] W9x/NT/2k FREE

http://members.nbci.com/_XMCM/sergekol/Download/Proggs/Plcvt.zip
http://members.nbci.com/sergekol/
http://screenshot.lockergnome.com/playlistconverter.png

{Convert your DeluxeCD playlists} Sweeeeet. We've all listened to CDs on our PC, haven't we? I can't seem to stop rhyming, sorry. So, when a CD loads, you may get a list of generic tracks (Track 01, Track 02, etc). Those days were over when Microsoft released DeluxeCD. However, they seemed to have discontinued support for it when WiMP 7.0 hit the streets. What to do with all that stored DeluxeCD data? Convert to the more usable CDDB format. Never heard of it? Swing by GRACENOTE.COM for more information. NOTE: site contains questionable content. Ting tang... walla walla bing bang.

Install and Configure VPN Server

StreamCap v1.0 [868k] W9x/NT/2k FREE

http://www.mcdev.com/download/streamcap.zip
http://www.streamcap.com/
http://screenshot.lockergnome.com/streamcap.png

{Capture audio and video streams} Ever heard something you wanted to hear again and again... and again? But had no way of getting it? Capture a LIVE Windows Media stream or convert WAV, MP3, MPG, MPEG, ASF or AVI files with StreamCap. Since it's still stuck in the alpha stage, this melodic master can only improve with age. I mean, if you think it's cool now... whoa, man. You can already view file data and statistics with the touch of a button. Well, you can do pretty much everything with the touch of a button; the interface is super-easy to figure out.

WinSyslog v3.32 [7M] W9x/NT/2K FREE

http://www.winsyslog.com/en/Product/

{Syslog server for Windows} It's nice to know when servers, network equipment or anything else goes down unexpectedly, wouldn't you agree? Many devices and operating systems offer the ability to send errors or other informational events to Syslog servers. Taking advantage of this capability requires a bit of planning to ensure you can easily retrieve or view the information. WinSyslog runs on Windows 9x, Windows NT or Windows 2000, collecting all of the data submitted by your network devices, print servers, unix systems or other syslog-capable entity. There are expanded features in the full product, so be sure to evaluate those options if you decide to make use of syslog functionality.

INFO: HTTP Reply Codes and Messages

http://support.microsoft.com/support/kb/articles/q173/9/71.asp

"Below is a listing of the HTTP reply codes and their meanings. This can be helpful when troubleshooting Internet-based errors: 'The request was successful and a new resource was created; The request was accepted for processing, but the processing is not yet complete; The server has processed the request but there is no new information to be returned; The requested resource is available at one or more locations; The requested resource has been assigned a new URL and any further references should use this new URL.' For the latest Knowledge Base articles and other support information on Visual InterDev and Active Server Pages, [check] the Microsoft Technical Support site."