Replies

We’re just having a bit of fun with it,but Stormpulse does look useful for those with a use for it. They say that they are aggregating data from 25 ‘official sources’. but it seems likely to me that those sources are individually free, if they are indeed ‘official’. I suspect that if you could figure out where they are getting their data from, you could have most if not all of what you want.

Stuff Happens is a free (and recent) guide to backups that might interest contributors to this very active thread. I didn’t write it so don’t blame me if you don’t like it, but by all means post comments if you find interesting (or otherwise) arguments in it.

If you were getting reminders by email, the source must be online. I believe that Windows Live has such a capability, but exactly how it works I’m not sure, as I have but tend not to use Live.

Oop, sorry Joe – I just realized that that was your post.

My diagnosis is that you have a learning problem, which is not to be confused with a learning disability: Did you come home from a bookstore with a wheelbarrow filled with big fat books, try tutorials, go to classes, or online, or did you expect that intuition was all you would need?

We all learn differently and we tap different sources, including The Lounge. I have the usual big fat book (Windows 7 Inside Out, by Ed Bott) which has the added advantage of a CD with a PDF copy on it so you can put it on the computer and refer to it at any time, I have a small but interesting book called Windows 7 Tips & Techniques, by Stuart Yarnold, but my favourite source is Lynda.com, which is a paid online source of tutorials.

I do not have a vested interest in any of those sources, and there are many others, but if you are having the kind of trouble you describe I suggest that you check Lynda.com. They have a few things you can view as samples, and if you try it for a month you can learn Office while you’re there. It can be time- (and moderate bandwidth)-consuming, so you might check your service provider’s contract to be sure you won’t get a nasty surprise on that bill.

TuneUp may be worth looking at. It’s not free, but the trial might last long enough to get the cleanup started and let you decide if it’s worth paying for.

Get it a day early. 🙂

Note: It breaks RoboForm 6.2!:angry:

:thewave:

Conspiracy theory: Something has broken my RoboForm, but was it FireFox? :confused:

It appears that a commercial product, Reimage Repair, has the same idea, although who had it first I don’t know. At seventy bucks it seems expensive, but if it actually fixed a significant problem I can see the point of it (says he after days of troubleshooting). If Microsoft gets their version out of beta (you can’t get into the beta program for Win 7 any longer) then it could be of interest given that it might be free.

The Microsoft Project blog is a good starting-point to follow developments, and it’s free.

Hi, I am looking for good freeware to deal with duplicate files, and a program to sync files.
I sync my files between a windows 7 desktop, and a windows xp laptop, plus an external hard drive, plus a thumbdrive. I also use the free versions of Dropbox, Windows Live Mesh, Windows Live Skydrive, and Picasa to store files & sync them in the cloud.
Thanks for any advice.

You are using Windows 7, so type ‘sync’ in the box when you click on Start, and you will find ‘folder synchronizer’ and ‘sync center’ and assorted other capabilities conveniently built right into the operating system. For cloudy days, if you’ll pardon the expression, visit sync.live.com (using your Live account) and download the Live Sync software. There is even more powerful stuff built into the system (command line and all that) which I can’t remember details of, since I use GoodSync. You might also download the freeware FreeCommander, which will let you perform many different file operations. This last may be the most powerful available in freeware, simply because it can perform so many different operations (but you may have to spend a bit of time learning the extent of it).

First, download and install and run the FREE Windows 7 Upgrade Adviser from Microsoft on your XP computer. Much of your software and drivers for peripherals may not be compatible with Windows 7; in fact it may cost you a fortune to replace that stuff. That is the benefit of having a dual boot: you would still be able to use the computer as the familiar XP computer with everything working while having Windows 7 available as well, giving you time to make the transition. The LapLink program is PC Mover, not LapLink itself.

I suggest you check to see that this is not TimesNewRomanPSMT. You may have better luck with that name.

My apology to all for my previous set of confusions.

Peterg

Edited to add: I think this is Times New Roman Postscript Monotype, and that Adobe switched to this from the version of Times New Roman they were using to conform to the Microsoft choice of Monotype. Prior to that, incidentally, they settled on Times, but then switched to Times New Roman. I have all three, and yes, there are differences among them. You can download it free from the internet, and it might be advisable to add spaces so that PS and MT are seen as separate. Hope that is what you’re looking for.

You might visit PST utility
or simply google PST – there is quite a bit on it and it is open source. This might also be an argument for embedding fonts in at least one ‘intro copy’ of anything you publish that users might not have the correct fonts for.

You should backup all your important information. Choose the method that best suits you. If you are comfortable with imaging stick with it. You should be able to restore folders and files from the image when you need them. Just make sure that the image is readable with the version you’d need on a Windows 7 PC.

Joe

This means that you must know the password(s) as well. How many of us change our passwords and lose track of what we replaced?

For the likely size of the image or backup, saving to DVD is advisable for archival purposes. Be sure in your own mind to make a distinction between data and everything else. Everything else is replaceable, however expensive it may be. Data is irreplaceable – period.

Both replies are being actively pursued, but may require more research. Joe’s is something I haven’t run across before, and the ‘rogue’ explanation is a strong contender, especially given that if I fail to keep a document and throw it away, it will be stored in case I change my mind. This is the down side of that ‘feature’. The thing that bugs me is that it was so easy to go back to Square One in earlier versions but doesn’t seem to be available in 2010.

As for ‘What happens?’ there are only two things, to be honest, and both are minor but bug me no end. I couldn’t solve either and could easily take it from the default, or better still (I tried without success) substitute a ‘known good’ template from another machine. One is the date format that appears to conform to nothing, least of all any of the formats for either of the language selections for Windows 7, and the other is a recently-acquired, and since uninstalled, label-maker’s macro which has left me with a query at the end of every document that the global template has changed and do I want to accept the changes. It drives me crazy.

I have only one add-in which may be off the beaten track, and that is ‘Read in Microsoft Reader’ which to this day remains valid. Ah, yes. Adobe vs. Microsoft, Acrobat vs. MS reader, and I can’t imagine who won that little contest. There is still plenty of MS reader stuff around, and you can still write your own book in Word and publish it in MS Reader format. No kidding.

I’ll definitely let you know if I find a cure. I could always go back to the default by deleting or changing the extension of the current template in past versions; Office 2010 seems to be the exception.

Loungers may be interested to learn that it does NOT install IE9.