I was looking round for a decent disk imaging program and, on the recomendation of a fellow Microsoft MVP, I took a look at Macrium Reflect.
Then I downloaded the free edition. What an eye opener! It has a very clear user interface, is simple to use and I imaged a 35GB partition in 22 minutes. Any imaging or backup operations can be saved to a .xml file so it becomes a one-click operation to repeat the backup.
There is also the option to create a Linux-basd recovery disk should my system fail to boot, whereby I can restore the whole partition and quickly get back to work. Brilliant!
I will be upgrading soon to the full paid-for version as this allows incremental backups - the way I prefer to work. And at £19.99 this has got to be a bargain.
Download it, use it, back your data up. Remember that time when you really wished you had a recent backup? No excuses now!
Thursday, 13 August 2009
Canon CanoScan LiDE 200 Scanner
I just upgraded my scanner. The old one, A Microtek Scanmaker 4600, was about the size of four house bricks and made a noise like the gears were formed out of the aforementioned bricks. It was born around the time of Windows 98. But it produced very good results.
However, time to upgrade, I thought. I love doing photo restoration work and the Epson Perfection range of scanners are highly recommended for this sort of thing. However, the decent ones were way above my budget at the time and so I investigated the Canon LiDE range, eventually deciding on the 200 model.
So off to my favourite online store, ebuyer to find it going for just over £60. Now, if you've never used ebuyer.com then I really do recommend you give them a try, not just for their prices but also for their service. While I was placing my order at around 6.00 pm on 12th August I noticed a little box telling me there was only something like 1 hour 32 minutes to order for delivery on 13th August. "Oh yeah" I thought, and ignored it. Sure enough the next day at 9.30 am my scanner arrived, Unbelievable!
Anyway, the Canon is a totally different beast from the Microtek. For a start it is barely 1.5" high, hardly bigger than an A4 sheet and doesn't need a power supply as it takes it's power requirements from the USB port. So it was driver disk in, reboot when done, connect USB cable. And that was it. No fuss. No errors. Done.
I haven't fully tested it out yet but initial impressions are smooth, quiet, fast and the results for 300 dpi colour scans are truly excellent. And that's without playing with the advanced options such as Descreening, Dust & Scratch Reduction, Sharpening, different Colour Profiles and so on.
I really thought I was happy with the old Microtek, but I've got to admit the Canon is in another league.
However, time to upgrade, I thought. I love doing photo restoration work and the Epson Perfection range of scanners are highly recommended for this sort of thing. However, the decent ones were way above my budget at the time and so I investigated the Canon LiDE range, eventually deciding on the 200 model.
So off to my favourite online store, ebuyer to find it going for just over £60. Now, if you've never used ebuyer.com then I really do recommend you give them a try, not just for their prices but also for their service. While I was placing my order at around 6.00 pm on 12th August I noticed a little box telling me there was only something like 1 hour 32 minutes to order for delivery on 13th August. "Oh yeah" I thought, and ignored it. Sure enough the next day at 9.30 am my scanner arrived, Unbelievable!
Anyway, the Canon is a totally different beast from the Microtek. For a start it is barely 1.5" high, hardly bigger than an A4 sheet and doesn't need a power supply as it takes it's power requirements from the USB port. So it was driver disk in, reboot when done, connect USB cable. And that was it. No fuss. No errors. Done.
I haven't fully tested it out yet but initial impressions are smooth, quiet, fast and the results for 300 dpi colour scans are truly excellent. And that's without playing with the advanced options such as Descreening, Dust & Scratch Reduction, Sharpening, different Colour Profiles and so on.
I really thought I was happy with the old Microtek, but I've got to admit the Canon is in another league.
Wednesday, 5 August 2009
BEWARE! Fake 'Microsoft Update'
The past couple of days I have been receiving email purporting to be from Microsoft regarding a critical update for Outlook and Outlook Express - KB910721. THIS IS A SCAM.
KB910721 is actually a genuine Windows update to fix a problem with Outlook, but remember that Microsoft will NEVER alert users to updates via email. If you follow the link in the mesage you will download the trojan Troj/Spy-CU onto your system which will compromise your system security and can steal your private data.
If you are ever unsure then go to the genuine Microsoft Update site (using Internet Explorer) and get your system scanned for relevant updates.
More reading on this scam: http://www.sophos.com/blogs/sophoslabs/v/post/4889
KB910721 is actually a genuine Windows update to fix a problem with Outlook, but remember that Microsoft will NEVER alert users to updates via email. If you follow the link in the mesage you will download the trojan Troj/Spy-CU onto your system which will compromise your system security and can steal your private data.
If you are ever unsure then go to the genuine Microsoft Update site (using Internet Explorer) and get your system scanned for relevant updates.
More reading on this scam: http://www.sophos.com/blogs/sophoslabs/v/post/4889
Tuesday, 4 August 2009
Europe to get a Browser with Windows 7
Computer Shopper has just announced that Windows 7 will actually feature a browser when released to the European market on 22nd October. The idea is to include IE8 which, on first use, will take the user to a 'Browser Ballot' screen allowing the installation of the browser of choice from a range of popular products (IE, Firefox, Opera and so on).
Personally, I would use a setup like I have on my current systems - Firefox as the main browser with IE8 for backups and, of course, hassle-free Windows updates. While I would expect the user's browser choice to be fully installed using the ballot screen, I would install IE8 as a first browser then head off to download the latest version of Firefox myself. Then make FF the default browser.
This would be a surefire way of ensuring both IE and FF worked in the way I want them to without the added kerfuffle of going through a separate website.
I applaud Microsoft for finally pushing the point that a browserless operating system makes no sense in the modern world. The decision will save thousands of hours for those selfless guys and gals who man the help forums. And that can't be a bad thing!
Personally, I would use a setup like I have on my current systems - Firefox as the main browser with IE8 for backups and, of course, hassle-free Windows updates. While I would expect the user's browser choice to be fully installed using the ballot screen, I would install IE8 as a first browser then head off to download the latest version of Firefox myself. Then make FF the default browser.
This would be a surefire way of ensuring both IE and FF worked in the way I want them to without the added kerfuffle of going through a separate website.
I applaud Microsoft for finally pushing the point that a browserless operating system makes no sense in the modern world. The decision will save thousands of hours for those selfless guys and gals who man the help forums. And that can't be a bad thing!
Thursday, 16 July 2009
Have You Pre-Ordered Windows 7 Yet?
Microsoft have allowed Windows 7 to be pre-ordered at a sizeable discount. Mayhem immediately ensued.
Customers were allowed to make advance payment for a copy of Windows 7 Home Premium (around £44.99) of Professional (around £88.99) prior to the official launch on 22nd October. Those prices are approximate as some suppliers have discounted below that. Almost immediately the websites concerned (Microsoft included) were swamped to the point of being unable to cope with demand. That's heartening as it means there are many folk out there who believe (as I do) that this latest version of Windows is well worth migrating to.
Many suppliers have sold their pre-order quota by now. I waited for my favourite supplier, ebuyer to offer the deal and promptly discovered it had sold up before I even got there. I eventually ordered from Currys online, not out of choice (they are really hard to deal with in the High Street) but out of necessity - the Professional version will retail at around £212.00 after 22nd October, a price I would be grieved to pay.
I see that Comet still have the offer on their site, but as I write the Home Premium offer has been withdrawn.
I think this is fantastic. Win 7 is certainly the best Microsoft operating system to date. Obviously many others share my opinion. And it is being rolled out early after a thorough Beta testing period so it should be stable. The only downside I can see is that a clean install is required (just did that for the Release Candidate), though that should not be too much of a hassle using my backup drive and the program disks I keep to hand.
At least the junk and clutter will have gone.
Oh, one last thought. Make sure you download Internet Explorer 8 before you reformat and install - European customers will find themselves browserless otherwise. You can use it to download Firefox ;-)
Customers were allowed to make advance payment for a copy of Windows 7 Home Premium (around £44.99) of Professional (around £88.99) prior to the official launch on 22nd October. Those prices are approximate as some suppliers have discounted below that. Almost immediately the websites concerned (Microsoft included) were swamped to the point of being unable to cope with demand. That's heartening as it means there are many folk out there who believe (as I do) that this latest version of Windows is well worth migrating to.
Many suppliers have sold their pre-order quota by now. I waited for my favourite supplier, ebuyer to offer the deal and promptly discovered it had sold up before I even got there. I eventually ordered from Currys online, not out of choice (they are really hard to deal with in the High Street) but out of necessity - the Professional version will retail at around £212.00 after 22nd October, a price I would be grieved to pay.
I see that Comet still have the offer on their site, but as I write the Home Premium offer has been withdrawn.
I think this is fantastic. Win 7 is certainly the best Microsoft operating system to date. Obviously many others share my opinion. And it is being rolled out early after a thorough Beta testing period so it should be stable. The only downside I can see is that a clean install is required (just did that for the Release Candidate), though that should not be too much of a hassle using my backup drive and the program disks I keep to hand.
At least the junk and clutter will have gone.
Oh, one last thought. Make sure you download Internet Explorer 8 before you reformat and install - European customers will find themselves browserless otherwise. You can use it to download Firefox ;-)
Tuesday, 7 July 2009
Locked Files
One utility that I found invaluable when running Windows XP was WhoLockMe. It is a small utility with one simple purpose - to unlock a file in order to perform an operation on it, usually a file delete.
Normally, Windows protects a file from deletion when it is being used by another process (and quite rightly so). There are times, however, when it is necessary to delete a file that is in use - when dealing with malware, for example, or when a process stubbornly refuses to quit or release the handle on a file. WhoLockMe always came to the rescue. This utility installs as a Windows Explorer extension, so a right click on the file to be removed allowed the file to be unlocked and then deleted.
I recently found out that it didn't install under Windows 7. It appeared to install but there was no option to unlock in the right click context menu.
Enter Unlocker from Cedrick 'Nitch' Collomb. This is also a small utility - the install file is 255KB - and it performs the same task. And it works perfectly with Windows 7.
I'm not recommending unlocking and deleting files as a regular practice, but when you need to, this is the tool you wish you had.
Normally, Windows protects a file from deletion when it is being used by another process (and quite rightly so). There are times, however, when it is necessary to delete a file that is in use - when dealing with malware, for example, or when a process stubbornly refuses to quit or release the handle on a file. WhoLockMe always came to the rescue. This utility installs as a Windows Explorer extension, so a right click on the file to be removed allowed the file to be unlocked and then deleted.
I recently found out that it didn't install under Windows 7. It appeared to install but there was no option to unlock in the right click context menu.
Enter Unlocker from Cedrick 'Nitch' Collomb. This is also a small utility - the install file is 255KB - and it performs the same task. And it works perfectly with Windows 7.
I'm not recommending unlocking and deleting files as a regular practice, but when you need to, this is the tool you wish you had.
Saturday, 4 July 2009
Windows 7 - The Show So Far
So, I've had s couple of months living with Windows 7 RC as my main operating system, and I can happily say the good points far outweight the bad.
Actually, 'bad' is not the word as I have found no features I can't live with. Boot times are a vast improvement on XP. Similarly shutdown time is speedier. And I love being able to click the Shutdown button without having to confirm I really do want to shut down.
I recently upgraded my Adobe Photoshop CS to CS4 with no problems. In fact CS4 seems to run quicker than CS did.
So, what are my remaining problems in Windows 7?
Well, my accounts program still occasionally fails to display a button or two, though these reappear when I mouse over them. I admit I still use Quicken 98 so it's not surprising to find the odd glitch. Other than that, here's my list of outstanding problems:
- Winpatrol occasionally stops working (with a warning that Scottie is no longer on patrol). Not a biggie as it I can restart immediately, but something I must look up in the forums.
- WhoLockMe, a file utility I sometimes need for troubleshooting, should install to the right click context menu, but doesn't. Again, I need to browse the forums for a solution.
And that's it.
I was a keen XP fan before I installed Windows 7. Now, when I'm at work using XP I find myself wishing for Win 7 - it makes life easier in ways I don't notice until I swap over. Given the history of late and flawed offerings from Microsoft, I was skeptical (to say the least) of this one. It really is good. It makes life easy when I don't want to fiddle about yet it can be tweaked and altered when desired. Most drivers work, most programs work and I've never seen a BSOD (or even a recovery screen).
FOOTNOTE:
All these posts I make about Windows 7 must seem a little suspicious to the reader. Let me assure you I am not associated with Microsoft (apart from being re-awarded as a MVP this month). But if I thought it was crap then I would say so. I don't. It isn't. It will be overpriced over here compared with the US market, and it will ship without Internet Explorer in Europe. But I will be among the first to pay up when it goes on sale.
Actually, 'bad' is not the word as I have found no features I can't live with. Boot times are a vast improvement on XP. Similarly shutdown time is speedier. And I love being able to click the Shutdown button without having to confirm I really do want to shut down.
I recently upgraded my Adobe Photoshop CS to CS4 with no problems. In fact CS4 seems to run quicker than CS did.
So, what are my remaining problems in Windows 7?
Well, my accounts program still occasionally fails to display a button or two, though these reappear when I mouse over them. I admit I still use Quicken 98 so it's not surprising to find the odd glitch. Other than that, here's my list of outstanding problems:
- Winpatrol occasionally stops working (with a warning that Scottie is no longer on patrol). Not a biggie as it I can restart immediately, but something I must look up in the forums.
- WhoLockMe, a file utility I sometimes need for troubleshooting, should install to the right click context menu, but doesn't. Again, I need to browse the forums for a solution.
And that's it.
I was a keen XP fan before I installed Windows 7. Now, when I'm at work using XP I find myself wishing for Win 7 - it makes life easier in ways I don't notice until I swap over. Given the history of late and flawed offerings from Microsoft, I was skeptical (to say the least) of this one. It really is good. It makes life easy when I don't want to fiddle about yet it can be tweaked and altered when desired. Most drivers work, most programs work and I've never seen a BSOD (or even a recovery screen).
FOOTNOTE:
All these posts I make about Windows 7 must seem a little suspicious to the reader. Let me assure you I am not associated with Microsoft (apart from being re-awarded as a MVP this month). But if I thought it was crap then I would say so. I don't. It isn't. It will be overpriced over here compared with the US market, and it will ship without Internet Explorer in Europe. But I will be among the first to pay up when it goes on sale.
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