Replies

I’ve been using the free version of KeePass for more than three years. There is an Android version, and by storing the file on DropBox, I always have the latest version with me.

Chris

The only consideration I had with any VM is that the PC should have more Ram as the Host and Client OS’s both use Ram. When you set up the VM you specify how much of the Ram the Client should use. With 4 Gb Ram, I found I was taking a performance hit. The performance hit was not noticable when I upgraded to 8 Gb. Just something else to consider.

Ted, I accept that more memory is definitely better when it comes to VMs. But I’m managing with only 4GB on my Win7 notebook, and only 2GB on my XP desktop. But I only power up the VM when I need it, and rarely multi-task between the host and the guest, just transfer data between them. And I’m only running old legacy programs (primarily PageMaker) in the VM, and although PM likes a lot of memory, these old programs (and XP) are less of memory hogs that some of the newer applications.

So I guess it’s ‘horses for courses’. If you want to do ‘power’ work in the VM, you may need more memory. But you can still be productive without this.

Chris

Alternatively, you might want to consider installing XP in a virtual machine within Windows 7. This gives you the option of accessing both operating systems at the same time, rather than have to swap from one to the other with dual boot. It should also address the challenge of drivers. I have found the free VMware Player to be very simple to use and most reliable. But as noted, you will need an XP license for this. However, if you have a license (not OEM, I assume) from an old machined that has been retired, you can use that (as I have). I had no problem with activating.

Chris

I have a laptop w/out a numeric keypad. I frequently use the degree ° symbol & the cent ¢ symbol. Is there a way to make a HotKey for those 2? Is there an easy way? I’ve d/l’d AutoHotKey & MS Keyboard Layout Creator 1.4, which doesn’t seem to load a US keyboard when I select it. It may not work w/Win7 HP (64) or I’m doing something wrong. AHK doesn’t work, despite my following the very complicated directions. I use the symbols mainly in word processing & Thunderbird for emails.

To use AutoHotKey, you’ll need a script that you either load at startup (easiest) or load together with the programs you wish to use it with.

In the script, you’ll need the following lines:

Code:

:o:dg::°
:o:ct::¢

You can of course change the trigger string (‘dg’ for ‘degree’, ‘ct’ for ‘cent’) to whatever suits you. But be aware that this will replace this string every time you type it. so choose one that is unusual.

I inserted the degree and cent symbols into the script by copying from Character Map. I suspect it may be possible to use character codes, but a quick skim of the Help doesn’t show this.

Let me know if this is unclear…

Chris

I find the lack of drag-and-drop between host and guest in VirtualBox a real inconvenience.

Chris

I have approached this need by using a scripting program call AutoHotkey. This allows me to allocate a Windows key (I used Win-X) to shutdown. The AutoHotkey script associated with this key can first call the pre-shutdown software, then call the AutoHotkey Shutdown function.

AutoHotkey is easy to use, and can provide a wide range of other useful functions.

Chris

I have tried Windows Virtual PC on an XP host, but not on Win7. But I’ve also tried VMware Player and VirtualBox (both have free versions) with an XP guest on both XP and Win7, and found VMware simplest to install and use. You might want to give it a try. You should be able to import your existing VM into VMware – I did this without problem for a ME guest.

Chris

I fear I have some difficulty trusting pages such as this which do not indicate the date updated. From the comments this information appears to be almost three years old – a life-time in this business.

I’m wondering if the USB will immediately respond on a win98 machine. I’ve never tried to boot from USB on such an old machine, but I do know it is quite difficult to get win98 machines to recognize a USB drive – usually one has to search all over the place for drivers.

I guess if the USB approach can be used, would not Windows Defender Offline be a more reliable and up-to-date solution?

Chris

What a scaremongering program! It tells me I have a Severe Risk. Why? Although not entirely clear, it seems to be because my Swap drive uses FAT file system (critical!), and because I don’t have Automatic Updates turned on (non-critical).

I am under-impressed!

Chris

1. Given that (at least for personal use) MSE is free, yes, I’d say it was a waste of money to pay for AV software.

2. In the real world (at least here) where sharing files by USB is very common, I’d be sunk without being able to scan the stick before doing anything else with it. Maybe you’d say I’m stupid plugging an unknown USB stick into my computer, but it’s very common here, as are infected computers. So far :crossfingers: I’ve managed to avoid nasties. I couldn’t have done that without a good AV program.

Chris

Ian,

So is there a quick, reliable way to copy text from a web page and paste it into Windows with Windows newlines (and preferably ANSI encoding)?

Which browser do you use? I use Firefox with an extension called Copy Plain Text – EVE. I don’t seem to have the problem you experience when I use this. If you also use Firefox, you might wish to give it a try…

BTW, I have used TextPad for years for (among others) PHP editing. It offers free syntax highlighting for PHP, Java, AutoIt and several other programming languages.

Chris

Thanks for the clarification.

wartaaid, I think you are a little confused.

While you may be able to install the updates without re-booting the problem is that they won’t take effect until you re-boot and the updates are loaded into your system files.

So if you don’t re-boot you are effectively running your computer without the benefit of the updates that required a re-boot..

This could leave your computer at risk until the next time you shut down and re-start or the next time you re-boot..

Actually, I think the confusion arose from the statement “If a reboot is required, you are correct, no further updates will be possible.” I read that to mean that it would not be possible to install any more updates until a reboot had been done. Seems like perhaps I’ve been using the term ‘update’ in a different way from other folk: I used it to mean an individual update (KB?), while others perhaps take it to mean a complete set of KBs released (usually) on Black Tuesday. I got the impression that folk were saying that it is imperative to reboot after each KB is installed (if so required), and thus each tranche of KBs could require multiple reboots.

Just to confirm: I install all the KBs one after the other, with no restart. Immediately I have completed all, I then reboot. As I say, I’ve done it this way for ever, and never had any problem. I never expected the update to be fully effective until after the reboot, but I can’t believe the short time between installing the remaining KBs and rebooting leaves me at much additional risk.

Chris

Thanks all for your input.

If a reboot is required, you are correct, no further updates will be possible.

Well, I’ve never found it impossible to install updates after NOT rebooting when requested; can’t say I’ve ever seen a reboot ‘required’. I just install them all (never been told I can’t continue, just select ‘Reboot Later’), then reboot after all have been installed. I do this both with XP and with Win7 – and used to do it with ME, and also with Office (2000 and 2007).

I’ve frequently done the same with dozens of updates after a reinstall of XP; I just add as many as 30 updates without reboot without problems. I’ve sometimes wondered if this is recommended, but I’ve not once experienced a problem or been forced to reboot.

Based on my evidence base, I’m not convinced I should change this practice…

Chris

Since I am responsible for a number of PCs, I always download all the update files first and then install them. I never bother to restart until all are installed. I get the impression that I am being told that this is not recommended.

Am I taking a risk by not restarting after each install that requests it? I’ve never had any problems with this. And I’ve never seen this one-time restart as being a real pain…

Chris

I have KeePass installed both on my PCs and on my Android (Samsung Galaxy Ace). I synchronize the database using DropBox, so have access to the latest settings on all. There has been some concern over DropBox privacy, but since the KeePass database is encrypted with a strong password, this should not be a problems.

There has been much discussion over the value and effectiveness of the various antivirus offerings for Android. I use Lookout, which seemed to get a good writeup.

Chris