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It Happened To Me - Windows Died.

You know how I’m always saying you need to backup your stuff? How I’m always trying to sell stuff to help protect you from disaster? Well, my Windows XP kicked the digital bucket yesterday. It became so severely crippled (even after multiple reboots), I could no longer use it. It was (sniff) gone.

My data was all backed up (and on a separate drive), so that wasn’t a problem.

However, I did need to restore my system. You know how that can go. You grab the restore disk from your computer manufacturer, but it only puts you back to the way the computer was when it was new- all your software is history.

Well, fortunately I had installed Drive Image on my system back when I first purchased my computer. After installing all the software I regularly work with, I had made a backup "image" of the drive and saved it.

So, instead of spending hours locating and installing all my software, I just restored my hard drive with the backup image had I created. In less than a half hour, everything was back to normal, all my software was in place, and I was back in business.

I can’t tell you how happy I am with Drive Image. I absolutely love it. It worked great and saved my behind. In light of this, I wanted to run it in this newsletter at a discounted price. Here’s the info:

Finally! Backups Made Easy! (really easy)

OK, you know the drill. You should backup your computer. Now - be honest - do you "forget" to back up from time to time? It's OK, I have a hard time getting to it myself - it's such a pain in the digital rear.

Well, all that ended for me when I started using a fantastic program called Drive Image 2002. It makes backing up your entire computer incredibly easy. And easy is good, right?

What this software does is to make an "image" (exact copy) of your hard drive. Now, this image can be created on another hard drive, a partition of your current drive (it can painlessly create this for you - don't worry), or on a set of CD ROMS - whatever you prefer. It's fast and extremely easy to do.

The great thing? It only took me 20 minutes to back up my entire hard drive! Should my 20 month old son decide to push my laptop down the stairs, it won't be as bad as it could have been (I'll still be crying though :-)

Think about all the info and programs you have on your computer. If disaster strikes, what will happen? Will it take weeks to get back to normal - assuming you even can get back to normal?

With this fantastic software you can back up your computer with ease - insuring that when you experience the inevitable hard drive crash, destructive virus, nasty hacker, or even bad software install you can be up and running again in no time.

This current version of Drive Image sells for $69.95 at most retail stores, we normally sell it for $34.97, but between now and 02-17-2003 (Monday) your price is only $29.97! Yes - that's HALF OFF! And yes, US shipping is FREE! Here's the link for more info:

http://www.worldstart.com/store/drive-image-2002.htm

Warning - Don't delay - head to the site ASAP! Quantities are limited and these are going to be sold on a first come, first served basis. Be sure to get in on this one - I can't recommend it highly enough!

Computers 101

Q:
I was installing a program and it told me disable my anti-virus software. How do I do that?

A:
On the right side of your taskbar is your system tray. In it you can see the programs that are currently running.

Move your cursor over an icon and you should get a little text line telling you what the program is.

Right mouse click your anti-virus icon and you will be given the option to disable.

A red X should appear over the icon in the system tray.

When you are done installing the software, just right click your anti-virus icon again and choose "enable".

BONUS TIP: You can also use this procedure to disable or shut down any programs running in your system tray, which especially comes in handy when you need extra memory to burn CD-Rs.

~ David

Have a question for the newsletter? Submit it at the link below:
http://www.worldstart.com/submitquestion.htm

Tip of the Day

Did you ever have the suspicion that one of your Windows system files was corrupt? Normally, this problem causes lots of frustration while you try to hunt down the impaired file or do a complete re-install of Windows. Well, hold your Install Disks! There's another way.

Prior to Windows 2000 the operating system might overwrite shared system files (for example .dll and .exe files) when you install software. Overwritten system files cause unpredictable system performance, strange program behavior, and operating system failure.

If you're using Windows 98 you have a way to repair these files with the System File Checker. Here's how:

1. Click Start, Programs, Accessories, System Tools, System Information.
2. Once the System Info utility is running, click the Tools menu, System File Checker.
3. You will be presented with a screen that allows you to "scan all" to hunt for any altered files or to specify the problem file. Since you probably don't know which file is giving you the headaches, scan for altered files.

That's it. If there's something wrong, you'll be given instructions for repair.

One more thing, if the System Information program is not there, you'll need to insert your Win98 install disk, select Add/Remove, and select System Information from the System Tools section.

Windows 2000 & XP users: You will not find System File Checker in your system tools, but if you search for it you will find it as "sfc.exe". No need to run it though, because Windows File Protection prevents the replacement of protected system files such as .sys, .dll, and .exe files. If you do run SFC, you will probably see a DOS window flash on your screen for 1.5 seconds.

Windows File Protection runs in the background to protect all files installed by the Setup program. Any attempts by other programs to replace or move a protected system file are detected, then the file's digital signature gets checked to see if the new file is the correct Microsoft version.

If not, the file gets replaced from the backup stored in the Dllcache folder or from the Windows CD. If Windows File Protection cannot locate the correct file, it prompts you for the location.

By default, Windows File Protection is always enabled and allows Windows digitally signed files to replace existing files.

Have a an original tip for the newsletter? Submit it below:
http://www.worldstart.com/writers-guidelines/index.htm

Amanda's Cool Site of the Day

Park Net—The National Parks Service

This is a really cool site, whether you want to visit a national park in the great US of A, or if you need to do a report or some research. You can even visit the national parks online and get great info on why you might want to visit one. There is even a page to check out volunteer opportunities in different parks around the country.

I highly recommend the Learn NPS section. It is chock-full of information for both teachers and students and has some very interesting ways to learn about America. Their feature this month is Thomas Edison (whose birthday was February 11th). This site is fabulous, I hope you all check it out.

http://www.nps.gov/

Do you have a cool, non-commercial site that you want to share?
Send it to Amanda at amanda@worldstart.com