Do you use Windows XP?

Before you reformat that Hard Drive, or change hardware components....

If you need to reformat your system drive and reinstall XP, or if you make a lot of hardware changes, you'll have to reactivate Windows XP. Reactivation is a nuisance. Also, Microsoft may suspect that you are violating the Windows license by installing it on multiple computers. Here's why:

Your Windows installation has a file named \windows\system32\wpa.dbl. It is the "Windows Product Activation" file. It contains information about your system's hardware and the status of your system's Windows Activation.

Whenever you boot-up your computer, the existing hardware configuration is compared to the data in this file. When you change hardware in the system, that new information is added to the data in wpa.dbl. If Windows detects too many hardware changes, then wpa.dbl will force a reactivation.

Before you reformat that Hard Drive, make a copy of your "Windows Product Activation" file ( \windows\system32\wpa.dbl ). Save it to a floppy disk, a CD, a USB Pocket Drive, another computer on the network, or in a pinch, your digital camera.

Remember to create a new wpa.dbl backup every time you change or add a piece of hardware. That way, if you need to reformat the system drive, you can bypass the pain of activation: after the Windows installation, just copy your backup file onto the newly-created wpa.dbl.

There is at least one freeware product that can help:
RockXP allows you to:
- retrieve and change your XP Key
- retrieve all Microsoft Products keys
- save your XP activation file
- retrieve your lost XP system passwords
- retrieve your lost RAS (Remote Access Settings) passwords
- generate new passwords

Size: 421 Kb
License: Freeware
Requires: Win XP

Download RockXP

How Can I Miss You If You Won't Go Away

Here is more on the topic of stubborn files which won't go away when you try to delete.
Forced Unlock/Deletions
File Deletion discussion

Both articles are from the Langa List archives. Fred Langa's newsletter is a truly valuable resource for people whose computer skills are beyond beginner, and who want to learn more. Langa List is on my "things to take along when going to a desert island" list.

If you subscribe to the Langa List, tell 'em I sent you. Just say "the wacko at www.willowpondpress.com/blackbox". I get something free, I think.

Much Ado About Duct Tape

More than you ever wanted or needed to know about Duct Tape. Kids can enter the "My Dad uses Duct Tape for..." contest. You can buy Duct Tape books, video, clothing. Find enlightenment with the breathtakingly stupid philosophy. DUCT SHUI, as they call it, reveals the secrets of achieving harmony and happiness, all through the use of you-know-what. Learn about the Duct Tape Olympics, ad nauseum.

What some kid's Dad uses Duct Tape for is amusing. What the Navy uses it for on an aircraft carrier is downright scary.

Remember:
If it moves and it shouldn't, duct tape it.
If it doesn't move but it should, WD-40 it.

Windows Error-reporting Message

You don't have to look at the ubiquitous Windows error-reporting message.

When Windows or another program crashes, you get a message asking you to send information on the error to Microsoft. If you get such a message, and don't care to participate, just say no ("Don't Send..."). There should be a third option: "Send anything to Microsoft after Hell freezes over"

Better yet, block the message so you never see it:
• Click Start
• Right-click My Computer
• Select Properties
• On the Advanced tab, click the Error Reporting button
• Disable the message for all programs (including Windows), or limit it to certain programs
• Click OK
• Click OK (again)

Drop The Mouse And Step Away From The PC

There's a lot of computer rage out there.

...In a... study conducted recently by the University of Maryland's Laboratory for Automation Psychology and Decision Processes, a full 10 percent of respondents to that poll indicated that had committed violence against their computers in frustration, said Dr. K. L. Norman.

"There was one restaurant manager who was so upset with his laptop that he threw it into deep fryer," Norman said. "That destroyed the laptop ... and deep fryer, too.

That might sound extreme, but few computer users haven't considered tossing a misbehaving PC out an office window at one time or another. One respondent in Norman's study did just that, but left out an important step.

"His mistake was he forgot to open the window," Norman said.

"Many consumers don't think to look for help because of the subtle training they have received from overworked and sometimes sarcastic technical support staff," said Todd Johnson, vice president of data recovery at Ontrack

Norman thinks companies could benefit from instituting 15 minute "frustration breaks" that employees could take during the week. Consider it the 21st century version of Industrial Age break-time.