• Software Tip
  Clean and Repair the Registry
  
  
• Website of Interest
  Tickle.com
  
  
• Computer Parts
  Sound Cards
  
  
• Tech Tip
  Make an Explorer link
  
  
• eScams
  Requesting Photo Approval
  
  
• Featured Discussions
  Folder View Incomplete
  The passrv.exe
  Having Internet Explorer
      as my default browser
  WinRescue Spare Registry
  
  
• Questions on our
  Discussion Board
  
  
• Update Notices
  
  
• A Personal Note from Ray

Software Tip - Clean and Repair the Registry

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        When Windows 95 was being developed someone decided that it would be a good thing to have all settings for all programs in one place on your computer. So Microsoft programmers designed such a place and called it the Registry. To encourage involvement Microsoft required any software seeking Windows endorsement to keep their settings in the Registry. It finally caught on and today virtually all software keep their settings in the Registry.
        Although there are advantages to having a Registry, there are also some big disadvantages. I created RegVac Registry Cleaner to correct the following disadvantages.
        One disadvantage is that if you remove a program from your computer incorrectly, its entries will remain in the Registry forever. But with RegVac you can find whole sections of programless entries in the Registry and sweep them away using the Software Vac.
        Even when you remove software correctly, most uninstall programs leave entries behind. RegVac finds and removes these left behind entries.
        Another disadvantage is that some programs do not respect your space and stash all kinds of unimportant and unused data in the Registry. Microsoft programs, including Windows, are the worst at doing this. RegVac has a Stash Vac which lists hundreds of known and hidden storage locations. You can go through the Stash Vac list and remove the stashes that you do not want.
        A fourth disadvantage of the Registry is that some programs do not use the Registry correctly. They put entries in the Registry which can weaken Windows and even crash it. While no program can prevent a program from trashing your system, running RegVac regularly will clean up many of these mistakes.
        When you regularly clean up your bloated and cluttered Registry, your computer will run smoothly and error-free.
        If you are not an expert, RegVac has a novice mode which allows even beginners to keep the Registry sparkling clean. If, on the other hand, you know your way around the Registry, RegVac has some powerful tools to get you into nooks and crannies that no other registry cleaner can. Please be careful in the Expert mode because a wrong move can cause serious problems.
        RegVac cleans so well that it sometimes even repairs the Registry. Many people including myself have experienced this. In fact, a programmer for an international software retailer was so impressed with how RegVac repaired his Registry, that he talked his boss into hiring me to write a Registry cleaner for them to distribute in retail stores.

        Please note that while RegVac repairs the Registry in many situations, it may not be able to repair all registry problems. To guarentee that you can recover from registry problems, you should make a daily backup of the registry with WinRescue and restore it when you have problems.

        You can downloaded a free 30 day trial of RegVac at http://regvac.com/regvacz.exe. For more information about RegVac Registry Cleaner go to http://regvac.com/regvac.htm. If you like RegVac, you can purchase it for only $29.95. All future updates are free.
        Keep the Windows Registry clean and running smoothly with RegVac Registry Cleaner.


Website of Interest - Tickle.com

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        Tickle.com bills itself as the number one place for self-discovery. Having 20 million members gives them the right to make such a claim (I am still working on my first million). Click here to go to www.tickle.com.
        This site uses tests to help you discover things about yourself that you never knew or wanted to know. For example, I took a test to find out that my color is brown (whatever that means). There also is the Love Test, the What Breed of Dog Are You at WORK test, the What Dance Style Are You test, the Which Hawaiian Island Are You test, and many more. The tests fall under the following categories: Dating & Relationships, Education, Parenting & Family, Lifestyle, Career & Money, Mind & Body, Entertainment & Celebs, and Teens. Some tests are marked as being PhD Certified Premium Tests. Does that mean the others are not worth taking?
        You have to sign up with this site in order to take any of the tests, but signing up and taking tests is free. The site will then keep track of the results and will send you a newsletter if you request it.
        There is also a network section where you can create a profile and share your test results with others.
        While I do not necessarily enjoy these types of websites (I am the more serious type, maybe that is why my color is brown), many people do. It is a fun site. Who knows, you may just learn something there, like, which candy heart you are.


Computer Parts - Sound Cards

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        In the olden days if you wanted any sound besides a beep on your computer, you had to get a sound card. The sound card allowed you to hook up speakers and a microphone to the computer for playing and creating music and sound files. Today most computers come with these sound abilities already built in.
        This does not mean that sound cards are obsolete. If you have an older computer, your computer needs a sound card in order to have sound. The sound card is located in a PCI slot on the back of your computer. It is the card that has jacks for a speaker, microphone, sometimes an audio line, and sometimes headphones. Some cards also have a volume dial on it.
        If you have a computer with a sound card and your sound is not working, it is probably because the drivers for your sound card have been corrupted. To get your sound back, remove the sound driver in the Device Manager and then use the software that came with the sound card to reinstall it.
        There are a few circumstances where a sound card is still needed on new computers. If you want to compose, edit, and mix your own music on a professional level, you can purchase sound cards that are specially designed for this. If you want surround sound for your games, videos, or music, you can get sound cards which have all of the necessary connections for multiple speaker systems.
        If high quality sound is important to you and you have the money, adding of a good sound card will boost your computer experience.


Tech Tip - Make an Explorer Link

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        Windows Explorer always seems to start in the worst possible place. If you use it much, it can be a real pain to always have to find and open the folder that you want. What if you could get Windows Explorer to open up to the folder that you want automatically?
        This can be done with the help of a shortcut. Last month I explained what shortcuts are and how to make them. Below are step-by-step instructions on how to make a shortcut which opens Windows Explorer to a specified folder.

1. Right click on an empty area of the desktop.
2. When the popup menu is shown, move your cursor to New and a submenu will appear. Click on Shortcut in the submenu. The Create Shortcut dialog box will appear.
3. In the textbox insert this line - C:\WINDOWS\EXPLORER.EXE /n,/e,d:\
   Change the d:\ in the line above to the folder you wish to open. For example, if you want to open Explorer to a folder named WinRescue in the Program Files folder on C drive, you would change the line to C:\WINDOWS\EXPLORER.EXE /n,/e,c:\Program Files\WinRescue
4. Click on the Next button.
5. Type in a name for the shortcut in the textbox and then click on the Finish button.
6. If you want the shortcut to be located somewhere other than the Desktop, like in the Quick Launch area or on the Start menu, drag the shortcut on the Desktop to that area and drop it between existing items (if you drop it on an existing item it will open that item instead of adding the shortcut).

        Now when you double click on the shortcut that you created, it will open Explorer in the specified folder.


eScams - Requesting Photo Approval

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        This is a scam that almost got me. I let it in past my first line of defense, MailWasher. Then I read it and believed it. But when I started to open the attachment, I saw that the attachment was an executeable file (with an exe ending). Red flags went up all through my brain. I stopped, deleted the email, and let out a sigh of relief. I had almost been duped by the W32/BrepiBot.R!tr virus.
        The email's subject was "Requesting Photo Approval" and its message read as follows:

Hello,

Your photograph has reached editing stage as part of an article we are publishing for our February edition of Traders World Monthly. Can you check over the format and get back to us with your approval or any changes?
If the picture is not to your liking then please send a preferred one. We've attached the photo with the article here.

Kind regards,

Jamie Andrews
Editor
TradersWorld"

        Since it was possible that someone would want to write an article about me and use my photo, this sounded legit.
        Attached to this email was a file called Photo+Article.zip which had a file in it named Photo+Article.exe. If I had run that file, it would have put a file on my computer which Windows would have run everytime that it started. This file would have launched a flood of similar emails with attached viruses from my computer to as many email addresses as it could find.
        I wanted to tell you about this scam because it shows how inventive the writers of virus emails can be. All virus emails do not look alike. They can come in all kinds of forms. You must always be on the lookout for them.
        A good practice to get into is to NOT open attachments. You should only open attachments that: 1) come from someone you know, 2) that person has told you about the attachment, and 3) you are 100% sure what the attachment is. If you do not know what an attachment is, it will not hurt you to NOT open it or at least to ask the sender what the attachment is.
        If you are careful with emails, you can keep your computer virus-free.


Featured Discussions

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Folder View Incomplete

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Find this on our board at http://www.regvac.com/forum/m-1136580568/

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plonkeroo - As you know there should be four folder views (big icons, small icons, list, and details). I just cannot get 'details' to show up anymore. They are invisible. I know that they are there (somewhere) because the number of objects is displayed at the foot of the window.
        By the way there are no hidden folders set.

Ray - It sounds like the column headings across the top have been moved all the way over to the left thus hiding the entries. Try putting your cursor up there and see if it shows a double bar with arrows on each side. If so, you should be able to drag it to the right thus showing that column. Do this for each column until all of them are showing.

plonkeroo - There was a bar atop the window which was not present with the other three folder views. There were no arrows but I managed to manouveur the headings to the right and the details came into view. Thank you for your excellent diagnosis!

The passrv.exe

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Find this on our board at http://www.regvac.com/forum/m-1136611551/

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jdum81972 - When shutting down windows xp. I get this error screen passrv. exe what does it do? I use regvac and a1 cleaner but, keep seeing this when computer shuts down. Is this neccarrary or how do I get rid of it?

rayvilla - Looks like this is to do with an anti spam program you have. I'm no expert, so look for more advice. You could also have a look at the site below for a bit more info. Good luck
        PasSrv.exe - This process is with Panda antispam module, this is from Panda Platinum Internet Security Suite, for a secure system do not remove. PasSrv.exe is made by a Third Party but is most likely safe - http://www.file.net/process/passrv.exe.html

jdum81972 - Thanks for your help. I updated my panda to 2006 I don't think I seen it on shut down. Will check tonight or whenever I shut down the next time.

Having Internet Explorer as my default browser

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Find this on our board at http://www.regvac.com/forum/m-1137212454/

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ideasoa - I need to know how to change my main default browser to Internet Explorer instead of Firefox.

Ray - Sometimes all that you have to do is run Internet Explorer and it will detect that it is not the default browser and ask you if you want to make it the default browser.
        If Internet Explorer does not ask you this when you start it, go to the Tools menu in Internet Explorer and click on the Internet Options item. When the Internet Options dialog box comes up, click on the Programs tab and near the bottom there is a checkbox which reads "Internet Explorer should check to see if it is the default browser". Check this checkbox, close Internet Explorer, and then start Internet Explorer again. It should then ask if you want to make it the default browser.

WinRescue Spare Registry

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Find this on our board at http://www.regvac.com/forum/m-1136630945/

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mrobto - Hello, I have been using WinRescue xp for a while now but I have always been curious about the restore option named "Spare Registry" , not much is mentioned in the tutorial about this, is it the original registry? is it a spare registry created by WinRescue at some time? if it is the original registry how was WinRescue able to obtain it? I'm asking this for I might need it some day and I not sure about it.
        Thanks in advance for your feedback

Ray - Spare Registry is a copy of the registry portion of your most recent backup.


Questions on our Discussion Board

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Flashed BIOS with the wrong file

Startup problems with WinRescueXP

Phantom Taskbar

A1clickUltraPCCleaner

Lock up during WinRescue XP backup

Low on System Resources

Order of icons in Quick Launch

agonizing win xp crash issue

win 98 freeze ups

Stand By Mode Problem

Alphabetize programs on desktop

Faulty msn and msn messenger

Stuck Icon

Connected thru Network

Computer speakers make a musical sound

Clicking mpg file closes Explorer

Can I move a program from one computer to another?

Used different Registry Cleaner: big mistake

How to stop Win2000 Indexing

Windows cannot find Excel files

Unchecked items in msconfig come back

Unwanted Emails


A Personal Note from Ray

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        The response to our Discussion board has been great. If you have a question about your computer, please post it there. It is located at www.regvac.com/forum/ Thank you to those who have posted questions and to those who have answered them.
        If you do not want to be subscribed to this list, please use the unsubscribe link.


Thanks for reading,
Ray Geide