The LangaList (Standard Edition) 20-09-2004

The LangaList (Standard Edition) 20-09-2004:

A Free Email Newsletter from Fred Langa that helps you get more from your Hardware, Software and Time Online.

Read the Standard Edition in HTML:

Click http://langa.com/newsletters/2004/2004-09-20.htm


Contents:

1) Save an Hour (Or More) On XP Installs
2) RAID-Users Speak Up
3) Simple Organizational Tricks Save Time
4) NTFS Files Insecure?
5) Warning For Air Travelers With Pen Drives
6) Is This Information Useful?
7) ClipOmatic
They Loaded The Code
9) Update On An SP2 Problem
10) Just For Grins
11) Plus! Edition Highlights:

PC Info Site From The UK
Free Content Indexer For Your Desktop
Another Free Internet Telephony Option


Next Issue: 23-09-2004


QUOTE
1) Save an Hour (Or More) On XP Installs

Our recent discussions about XP's SP2 http://www.informationweek.com/story/showArticle.jhtml?articleID=46200911 show that Microsoft's huge patch is working fine for most users; and that with caution (make a full backup or image beforehand; read and follow all of Microsoft's pre-SP2 installation tips), even potentially troublesome installations can usually (but not always) be handled smoothly.

And never swiftly: The update process will take a chunk of your workday, even if you don't count the download time or if you install from the free SP2 CD; or the prep time; or the cleanup time. Twenty to forty minutes seems about the minimum for the basic install on faster PCs; older, slower systems can take well over an hour. the total process can be much, much longer.

Fortunately, you can achieve a huge timesavings on future installations and reinstallations of XP by integrating the new SP2 files with those of your original XP setup CD. Your new hybrid install CD will work exactly as the original one did, even to the point of using the same 25-character Product Key, but it will be completely up to date with all patches and updates, up to and including SP2. Any system you set up with the hybrid CD will be pre-patched to current levels, in one step.

You'll be totally up to date from the start, rather than facing maybe an hour or more of additional downloads to bring the new installation or reinstallation to SP2 levels.

Creating a new hybrid installation CD is surprisingly easy--- a point and click exercise with only a few geeky parts. And it works very well. In fact, in most ways, this method of pre-patching an installation CD is basically the same process software vendors use to produce an updated version of their installation software; indeed, starting this Fall, Microsoft will offer for sale fully prepatched versions of XP on CD. But you don't have to wait: You can create your own totally legitimate
prepatched copy of XP on CD today.

I've posted a fully-illustrated step-by-step guide to producing your own up-to-date installation CD at .http://www.informationweek.com/story/showArticle.jhtml?articleID=47212312 Every critical step is accompanied by a screen shot so you'll know exactly what to expect. I've included live links to the (free) downloads
you'll need to create the CD, and also included links to other sites that discuss the same process, so if my method doesn't work for you, for any reason, you can find another that will.

I've already used my updated installation CD here, and it was very cool to set up a new XP PC and see the process end, in one step, with a complete, up-to-date SP2 setup, with no additional downloads or patches needed.

Check it out---all the information you need to make your own, full pre-patched XP installation CD is at http://www.informationweek.com/story/showArticle.jhtml?articleID=47212312...


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