Off Topic: Re: Memory issues

["J. R. Fox" jr_fox@xxxxxxxxxx]

Patricia M Godfrey wrote:

> After perusing the scanty documentation that came with GoBack
> (which I went and got, and am now regretting),

GoBack is a rather problemmatic solution, from what I know of it. Takes a
gigantic footprint, too, since it "archives" almost everything. If I wanted to
archive _everything_, I'd snap a whole partition image ! CONFIGSAFE is
really the way to go, for archiving the Win Registry, before & after changes --
like the installation of new app.s -- that (unfortunately but inherently) always
hold _some_ possibility of destabilizing the OS. This utility has saved my
neck a few times, has saved other users I know, and has a fairly modest footprint
and a negligible downside. I install it *early* on every Win-32 system I have any

influence over, using it as a "tag team" with CLEANSWEEP, which maintains
an exhaustive database of what files got put where by each install, allowing a
more comprehensive uninstall, should that prove necessary. The latter utility
is not perfect; some care and knowledge is clearly indicated in its use.

I have seen a couple system-trashing problems, back in the NT-4 days, where
the installation of some Win app. visited such havoc upon the OS that it became
unsalvageable, even by these fine tools. {Equal curses be upon those particular
app. designers, and on Bill's boys, for their labyrinthine monstrosity.}

IBM thought highly enough of CONFIGSAFE to package it with several of their
ThinkPad models. It is now called CPR Suite, which I upgraded to but haven't
gotten around to trying yet, and includes a tool that is supposed to be able to
get
you into a compromised Win-2K/XP on an NTFS partition, which had formerly
been difficult to impossible without special, expensive software. Haven't tried
that
out yet either.

> I have a long-standing prejudice against
> "utilities," and the more I see of them, the more I think I'm justified.

As with so many other things, one must research them and choose carefully. There
are plenty of not very good ones in circulation.

> With ACPI, system configuration (Plug and Play)...is no longer controlled

> by the BIOS setup; it is controlled entirely within the operating system
> instead." If
> so, then Harry may call me paranoid if he likes, but Big Brother Bill has
> taken another step toward making Windows firmware.

Hmmm, that's alarming ! I don't want any part of *anything* that isn't subject to

control by the BIOS ! Plug & Pray has always been in the range of huge headache
to absolutely deadly for OS/2. Turning it OFF is one of the first things I do in
setting
up a new motherboard. I suppose it needs to be ON when installing and setting up
a
Win-32 partition, but I turn it OFF again right after that, and Win -- W2K, at
least --
seems to go chugging merrily along despite this. I even installed a USB-2 card
not
long ago (older mb, which had only USB 1.1 ports built-in), and W2K still auto-
detected it with the Hardware Wizard, despite P&P being turned OFF in the BIOS.

Anyway, you've just furnished me with another reason not to enable ACPI. I still
have no plans to go beyond W2K for my Win, for the forseeable future. (And once
you learn some of the things WINTEL reportedly has in store for us, you may not
wish to, either . . . . )

>     Will check where the USB is loaded in the new machine next time I have
> it on (only one monitor, and KVM switch is too slow for the new one's
> FSB, so I have to turn this off and swap the monitor connction to turn
> the other on).

Never heard of a KVM being too slow before, but I haven't used them. I'm sure you

know this already, but there are dual-head video cards on the market. The
replacement
monitor I just got (another CRT -- separate story), has two video inputs, suitable
for
being driven by separate computers. I gather it's switch selectable, though I
haven't
bothered to read the manual yet.


Jordan