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Pastimes : Computer Learning -- Ignore unavailable to you. Want to Upgrade?

To: mr.mark who wrote (20140)	6/22/2001 7:16:02 AM
From: mr.mark	Read Replies (2) \| Respond to of 110652

from Scot's Newsletter -- 6-12-2001.... COMPUTER SAVVY: RULE #2 ------------------------------------------------------------ "Last issue I introduced Computer Savvy. It's the spot for computing-school-of-hard-knocks advice about how to work shrewdly with your PC to avoid problems and maximize performance and satisfaction. scotfinnie.com Rule #1 was, "When Troubleshooting, Eliminate the Variables." Here's the next commandment. -- Rule #2: Never Upgrade over a Beta -- To some people this may be obvious, but to a lot of people it isn't. Never, ever, install a newer version of a program over an existing beta installation of that program. This includes installing a later beta version over an earlier beta version as well as installing the final version of a program over any of its betas. Beta software is prerelease code, and programmers do not necessarily ensure that the final version of their software will clean up well when installed over a previous beta. Some software makers will tell you it's OK to do this. For example, Qualcomm has sometimes said in past that it was okay to install Eudora Pro over its betas. I still wouldn't do that. In most cases it's easy enough to uninstall first. I will even go so far as to say your computing experience will generally be better if you uninstall a previous version of a program before you install a newer version. People rarely do this, but it's the right habit to get into. There are exceptions to this rule, but over the long haul, get into the habit of removing the old before you install the new. Your PC will be better off for it. I'd like to take a moment with this rule to emphasize that installing any beta of Internet Explorer is generally a bad idea because this program doesn't uninstall well, and that could mean that you'll be headed for a clean installation of your operating system at some point to clean up after the beta. -- Reader Rules -- After reading the inaugural Computer Savvy, several Scot's Newsletter readers wrote in with their own expert rules of thumb. Here are three of my favorites: 1. PERFECT PREP. After a clean install of Win98SE I eliminate all except the bare bones OS itself, clean the registry using Easy Cleaner by Toni Arts, boot to DOS, run scanreg/fix/opt. Then I run Defrag Pro and, finally, using Drive Image 4.0 image the partition to CDR. Now I have the "perfect" Windows 98 Second Edition ready to "clean install" with all my net and user settings intact ready to roll. --Rick Steele 2. REBOOT, REBOOT, REBOOT. Here's a computing rule I now live by: Install & uninstall software only after doing a clean boot. I had tons of trouble installing Norton Utilities 2000 until I did so. I also had to uninstall my old version from a clean boot. The following link to Symantec's site gives step-by-step instructions on how to do this in Windows 98: service1.symantec.com:8080/SUPPORT/nunt.nsf/docid/1998429102510 After much gnashing of teeth and many hours of effort, I learned my lesson. I don't necessarily do this for small programs but certainly do for heavy hitters (Office, AutoCAD, Photoshop, etc.). --Pam Kovach 3. CAPTAIN'S LOG. Keep a log of all changes you make to your computer - software additions and deletions, hardware changes, changes to settings. I keep a Word document linked on my desktop and record the date for each change. Also record any error messages, workarounds, so forth. I also print it out once in a while so that I have that trusty hard copy. Although this takes some effort, it's a very useful way to track down the likely culprit of a problem. --Alan Moskowitz and Ken Cox I'll be running more of these reader rules with each future installment of Computer Savvy, so if you don't see yours here, it may appear at later date." To SUBSCRIBE to Scot Finnie's Newsletter, send a blank email to: mailto:subscribe-scots-newsletter@lyris.dundee.net You will receive a confirmation message that you MUST reply to in order to confirm your subscription.