Heidi Eraser changed my start button and other things

Discussion in 'privacy technology' started by caspian, Mar 10, 2016.

  1. caspian

    caspian Registered Member

    Joined:
    Jun 17, 2007
    Posts:
    2,363
    Location:
    Oz
    I thought I would use Heidi Eraser to wipe my free space. I normally use an older version to wipe the Sandboxie contents upon deletion. But I downloaded the new one and wiped my free space. After it was finished I noticed that things looked different. Like the boxes that pop up when I run software or browse to a folder. The start button looks different and the task bar is white. I don't understand what happened. This is very strange.:confused:

    ScreenShot001.jpg
     
  2. zapjb

    zapjb Registered Member

    Joined:
    Nov 15, 2005
    Posts:
    5,554
    Location:
    USA still the best. But barely.
    Not an official download site?
     
  3. mirimir

    mirimir Registered Member

    Joined:
    Oct 1, 2011
    Posts:
    9,252
    It seems to have wiped desktop settings.
     
  4. caspian

    caspian Registered Member

    Joined:
    Jun 17, 2007
    Posts:
    2,363
    Location:
    Oz
    I had to get it from sourceforge. https://sourceforge.net/projects/eraser/ The Heidi Eraser site doesn't have download links. They are missing. I also tried in another browser that doesn't have any addons and the only download links were for other products.
     
  5. caspian

    caspian Registered Member

    Joined:
    Jun 17, 2007
    Posts:
    2,363
    Location:
    Oz
    I wonder what else it did? I right clicked on the task bar and the start button to restore defaults but ut had no effect. Looks like I'm going to do a reinstall. Oh well.
     
  6. zapjb

    zapjb Registered Member

    Joined:
    Nov 15, 2005
    Posts:
    5,554
    Location:
    USA still the best. But barely.
    SourceForge got sold & they were/are wrapping downloads with toolbars etc.
     
  7. Peter2150

    Peter2150 Global Moderator

    Joined:
    Sep 20, 2003
    Posts:
    20,590
    No image to restore?
     
  8. caspian

    caspian Registered Member

    Joined:
    Jun 17, 2007
    Posts:
    2,363
    Location:
    Oz
    I have been meaning to learn how to create an image. I'm not very sophisticated compared to most of the users here, I'm embarrassed to say. Can you recommend a product for creating a backup image?
     
  9. mirimir

    mirimir Registered Member

    Joined:
    Oct 1, 2011
    Posts:
    9,252
    I've had great experience with ShadowProtect. It's very user-friendly. Not free or open-source. But it works, and seems reliable.
     
  10. TS4H

    TS4H Registered Member

    Joined:
    Nov 5, 2013
    Posts:
    523
    Location:
    Australia
    I would try a system restore first, before you bother with a complete reinstall. System restore does solve a lot of problems in many cases.
     
  11. Daveski17

    Daveski17 Registered Member

    Joined:
    Nov 11, 2008
    Posts:
    10,239
    Location:
    Lloegyr
    I use Macrium Reflect (freeware), I regularly (every 4-6 weeks) make an image. It's fairly straightforward. I can do it anyway, and I'm virtually an idiot.
     
  12. Peter2150

    Peter2150 Global Moderator

    Joined:
    Sep 20, 2003
    Posts:
    20,590
    I would recommend Macrium v6 Home. Plenty of users in the backup threads that can help you
     
  13. bjm_

    bjm_ Registered Member

    Joined:
    May 22, 2009
    Posts:
    4,453
    Location:
    .
    SHA256: 3851189937d5d347d240a9c3703fe9f7bbc792edcbddd8ed08f34ee7d183c062
    File name: Eraser6.2.0.2971-NoRuntimes.exe
    Detection ratio: 0 / 56
    Analysis date: 2016-03-12 08:48:55 UTC ( 21 hours, 46 minutes ago )
     
  14. caspian

    caspian Registered Member

    Joined:
    Jun 17, 2007
    Posts:
    2,363
    Location:
    Oz
    I was going to try that initially but all of the restore points were gone.
     
  15. caspian

    caspian Registered Member

    Joined:
    Jun 17, 2007
    Posts:
    2,363
    Location:
    Oz
    Thanks for all of the suggestions. Much appreciated! I think I'll start with Macrium free and go from there.
     
  16. Stupendous Man

    Stupendous Man Registered Member

    Joined:
    Aug 1, 2010
    Posts:
    2,843
    Location:
    the Netherlands
    I don't know what happened.
    I have no experience with the latest Eraser versions.
    I still use Eraser version 6.0.10.2620, as that version works OK for my use on Windows Vista and Windows 7, and also because I didn't like the things that I read on the Eraser forum regarding the 6.2.0.x versions. (Nothing related to the issue that you experienced, though.)

    At the Heidi Eraser download page, when you hover the build names, you'll notice the download links, and clicking will start the download for that build.
    The links are the same as those in the SourceForge Eraser download directories, except the SourceForge download links are secure https links where the Heidi links are plain http.

    The thing that strikes me is that the SourceForge page offers an Eraser version Eraser6.2.0.2971-NoRuntimes.exe, that is not offered at the Heidi Eraser download page.
    Why is that version offered at the SourceForge Eraser page and not at the Heidi Eraser download page, and what is it with the "NoRuntimes"?
     
  17. TS4H

    TS4H Registered Member

    Joined:
    Nov 5, 2013
    Posts:
    523
    Location:
    Australia
    Heidi could have deleted many cache files including desktop settings, themes and icons.

    You could also try to navigate to C:\Users\username\AppData\Local folder and then delete IconCache.db file located there and reboot. Windows will rebuild the files automatically and propagate new cache files.

    regards.
     
  18. caspian

    caspian Registered Member

    Joined:
    Jun 17, 2007
    Posts:
    2,363
    Location:
    Oz
    I went to the Heidi website and hovered over the names and you're right. I wouldn't have thought of that though because they have a column dedicated for the download links. They should fix that. I don't know what happened but I still use an older version 5.86 with Sandboxie. It probably would have worked just fine for wiping free space.
     
  19. caspian

    caspian Registered Member

    Joined:
    Jun 17, 2007
    Posts:
    2,363
    Location:
    Oz
    I wish I had knopwn that before I reinstalled. That would have been an interesting experiment. Thanks for the tip.
     
  20. Stupendous Man

    Stupendous Man Registered Member

    Joined:
    Aug 1, 2010
    Posts:
    2,843
    Location:
    the Netherlands
    On the previous version of the Heidi Eraser download page, that "Downloads" column showed the download count per version, like there still is on the SourceForge pages.
    On the current version of the Heidi Eraser download page, that column is empty and that is just confusing. You are right, they should better fix that.
     
  21. TS4H

    TS4H Registered Member

    Joined:
    Nov 5, 2013
    Posts:
    523
    Location:
    Australia
    My mistake. It didnt come to mind earlier. Hope its all sorted now though. The good thing is at least now you should have a clean image that you always revert to. Guard that with your life :thumb:, and the next problem that comes along is much less stressful.

    regards.
     
  1. This site uses cookies to help personalise content, tailor your experience and to keep you logged in if you register.
    By continuing to use this site, you are consenting to our use of cookies.