Getting Along With Your Computer Column Archive

More Time-Saving Tweaks, and Daylight Saving Time

By Cate Eales
Appeared April 6, 2006 on castanet.net

Upate Update
The next "Patch Tuesday" is April 11. Look for another batch of critical Windows updates from Microsoft. If you use Windows XP, you can set up your computer to download and install updates automagically.

Start | Control Panel | Security Center | Automatic Updates
Click on Automatic
Select a day and time
Click on OK

This method will identify, download, and install critical updates. You have some other choices there, like "Download updates for me, but let me choose when to install them," and "Notify me but don't automatically download or install them." If you have a good reason to choose that, go for it. But the easiest thing is to just go with Automatic. Please remember to leave your computer turned on and connected to the internet for the time you've set for the updates.

There are always non-critical updates for you to review as well. To see what's available, use Internet Explorer to browse to http://update.microsoft.com/windowsupdate/.

Choose "Custom" instead of "Express" and wait for Windows to finish "checking" for updates. On the right side of the browser window, you'll see links for optional software and hardware updates. Click on the links to see the individual updates, and decide if you want any of them. If so, follow the prompts to choose and install them.

RealNetworks released updates to address security vulnerabilities in RealPlayer, RealONE Player, and Rhapsody a couple of weeks ago. If you haven't already discovered the update, there is a page here: http://service.real.com/realplayer/security/03162006_player/en/ that will tell you if your player is affected. However, a simpler way to find out is simply to open your RealPlayer, click on "Tools" and then on "Check for updates". If you need the update, it will show up in the resulting list.

An annoying "feature" of RealPlayer is that you must navigate many screens that make it easy for you to buy more feature-rich versions of RealPlayer and volumes of content in order to get to the update for the free player. Stay with it, unless you want to pay for more features or content.

Another annoyance is that when you install the update, it tries like crazy to make itself your default player. Unless you're happy with that, take a moment to review the Media Types in Preferences. By the way, QuickTime exhibits the same behaviour, and both QuickTime and RealPlayer will start up every time Windows starts unless you turn that off. If you notice RealPlayer or QuickTime icons in the System Notification Area (by the little clock), they are starting with Windows. Having those programs running all the time is a waste of resources. You can always start the players when you need them, and applications that need them can start them automatically, too. You can go to Preferences in each of those programs and stop them from loading every time you start Windows.


Remove unwanted files
Have you ever tried to delete a file in Windows only to be told you can't because it's "locker"? Recently I heard about two programs, both free, that will let you clear out those locked files. The first is called "Unlocker" and is available here: http://ccollomb.free.fr/unlocker/.  The other is here: http://www.snapfiles.com/get/moveonboot.html and is called MoveOnBoot. I've tried both and they've both worked for me. A word of caution, however: Sometimes files are made "undeletable" by Windows because they are a vital part of something and Windows needs them to run properly. Or at all. Please use these programs with caution. They really, really, really delete the files.

Finally, for those looking for a registry cleaning tool, there is a very nice free one here: http://www.ccleaner.com/ called CCleaner. The Windows registry is a database which stores settings and options for Windows and the programs you run on your Windows computer. It contains information and settings for hardware, software, users, and preferences. When you changed the file associations with RealPlayer, that information was stored in the registry.

The registry can become crowded with out-of-date references, it can become corrupted, and a problem with the registry can affect Windows' performance. A registry cleaner will allow you to prune unwanted registry entries. CCleaner will also clear out your temp files and internet browsing history if you let it. Again, exercise caution and read the documentation (also free!) if you're not completely sure what you're doing.


Links:
Windows Update http://update.microsoft.com/windowsupdate/
RealNetworks security update page http://service.real.com/realplayer/security/03162006_player/en/
Unlocker http://ccollomb.free.fr/unlocker/
MoveOnBoot http://www.snapfiles.com/get/moveonboot.html
CCleaner http://www.ccleaner.com/
Wikipedia article on Windows Registry http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Windows_Registry
Get Cate's column by email: http://www.feedblitz.com/f/?Sub=20618

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Cate Eales has been helping people make online computing safe, accessible and fun for over 20 years. She lives in Kelowna with her husband, Eric, and her dog, Sandy. Cate is a partner in Real Life Internet Solutions, helping individuals and small businesses with virus, spyware and malware eradication; personal computer training and management; digital image management; music transfer; and website design, hosting and management. Email Cate at cate@rlis.com with your comments, suggestions, or questions. To browse the column archives, visit the Real Life Internet Solutions website at www.rlis.com.