Believeitornot, I think we have turned the corner on what we need to have here. Thanks for your input and what you need out of this thread.
Well, I be usil. Had not thought of a USB drive. But you sure have a point.
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Believeitornot, I think we have turned the corner on what we need to have here. Thanks for your input and what you need out of this thread.
Well, I be usil. Had not thought of a USB drive. But you sure have a point.
Glad to hear it..:cool:
The text file is for the customers. I place it on their desktops, which contains the instructions on how to use the various softwares I've installed; and a weekly clean up routine including dumping TIF, cookies, scandisk, chkdsk, and defrag and my phone number and email at the bottom of this file. A usb drive would be handy; however, only for myself as I couldn't leave that with a customer; hence, the reason I use cd's.
Thanks Train, I'll have to add Delpart in case I have problems with Wipeout.Quote:
Originally posted by Train
Philgo
I have had wipe out not do what it is suppost to do a few times in the past initially.
But after using Delpart to remove the partitions, it worked just spiffy.
Ive only just had the chance to read this thread, and just like to say great input guys, lots of great stuff here:)
I'm currently in the middle-ish, of getting my main system up to scratch, I know its bad practice but I havnt really spent much time maintaining it:( So its time to do a winter clean-up;)
Ive been working on my own toolbox, hardware/software that will get me up and running from scratch, in as little time as possible.
Currently I have my usual pc building tools and gadgets, but i really need to look at the software side of things, I really like your boot CD Philgo:)
I will be looking closely at this thread, keep up with suggestions guys:)
P3-450, the toolbox needs tools for malware defense and I think you might have some. :D
Ifyou have time that is left over from helping people with their malware such as the HighJack This forum it sure would be nice for a couple of your goodies. :)
Nice Photolady nice. What do you get for feedback from those whose computers you have installed the text on?
On every install, as well as Windows Updates, the first programs that get installed, are Firewall, AV, Spyware Blaster, Adaware, Spybot S&D, Spyware Guard, HijackThis, Registrar Lite, Registry Mechanic.Quote:
Originally posted by greengoose1
P3-450, the toolbox needs tools for malware defense and I think you might have some. :D
Ifyou have time that is left over from helping people with their malware such as the HighJack This forum it sure would be nice for a couple of your goodies. :)
Maybe I forgot some stuff but they where at the top.
I usually get relatively good feedback GG1. Customers thank me for writing it in a language they can understand.
Something else I have done in the past but haven't kept up with and thinking about it now, I should. I have created and laminated sheets of screenshots on "how to check and setup email" "what the options in IE show" "Where to find certain system tools" these include the control panel, defrag screens, and various other computer options/help. The laminated sheets were met with great enthusiasum by clients. If there were many sheets, I put them in a small one inch notebook, labeled what was in there.
I enjoy working in my garden.
My garden shed is full of tools. Some I use every day. Others maybe twice a year. A young couple moved in next door. Hadn't got a clue about gardening. The grass grew. The weeds spread. The shrubs took over. It was a mess. It was nasty. The log pile had nearly a thousand different bugs. They saw me do my garden, then said, the house is decorated now. It's time to start on the garden. We're going to town to get some tools. What Do We Need....You can imagine the rest for yourself.
Many of us folk are like that young couple. What do we need.
To PC Gardeners, the virtual doctors, the terms and words and programs in this thread are well known. However, to those who live next door, it's a different world.
Maybe you can summarise what is essential for a basic everyday toolkit to keep the PC Garden neat and tidy. Then perhaps say what tools are required if you start to grow and get a USB Greenhouse and grow your own hard drives. And maybe then tell us what it would be nice to have, something special that we can put on our Christmas wants list.
Must go now I said I show 'em how to prune the roses, and they have no stout gloves nor secateurs. :)
D4\/!d, computer tools like gardening tools. A great simile. And you need to know how to use both. :)
I try to get programs that will work on machines as slow as a 486 with 16mb ram
I would also have one of those FREE from microsoft windows update CD's that has all the updates on it.
Like Photolady, I too leave a folder on the desktop of computers I work on. I name the folder "Utilities" and place short cuts to all of the utiity programs I have installed on their computers. In this folder I also place a "Readme file" with detailed instruction on how, and how often, to run each of the programs. Works for me. :)
D4\/!d,
Exactly what I am trying to draw out here first. The specific names of tools or any procedures used would seem to logically follow this. But first the basics.
As there are free programs out there that allow to make a .avi of your desktop, or csrtain actions on the desktop, I have made avi's of using diskclean up, scandisk and defrag in 98.
In XP, disk clean up and defrag only. And along with that a html pages explaining things with Print screen captures to help explain things. They are all linked together just like a webpage. Not real professional looking, but they do get the idea.
I have been using a old USB burner to save folks stuff for some years now. One of the better tools I have used as is my digital multi meter. Surprising how many bad outlets I have found over the years!
Software wise, I do believe everthing has been brought up already.
Not quite....I generally install Diskeeper, run it once, and set it to Set it and Forget it. Never again do I get a defrag question or complaint.Quote:
Software wise, I do believe everthing has been brought up already.
I also make use of DiskSpan. When a PC has a 4 or 6 Gig drive, and the user's getting that 2% dialog box, it's easier to pop in a second small drive (lots of older ones lying around) and run DiskSpan to merge the two into 1 virtual drive. No more explaining why they suddenly have an extra drive letter, how to move files around, etc. Just instant space.
I carry a few USB keys with me, loaded with a lot of the above software as well as some other stuff. On 2K/XP machine's, it's the way to go.