Today, Earl Grey made these interesting comments ...
[color=blue]
> HEMI, Ken:
>
> I'm sorry that HEMI learned his lessons the hard way.[/color]

That is how some of us learn! <grin> Please keep in mind that this
was MY stupidity for incorrectly using a very dangerous utility
like PM haphazardly, and NOT a Windows issue.
[color=blue]
> Backing up before making important changes to a hard disk and
> using a UPS are second nature to most experienced users. And
> yet the newsgroups are filled with posts from people who are
> unaware of these and other precautions.[/color]

Fool me once, shame on you, fool me twice, shame on me! I bought my
UPS boxes and two externals, plus Acronis True Image, unfortunately
AFTER a really heinous rebuild. Gack!
[color=blue]
> Somehow we as a user community need to be better at getting
> the word out that a relative handful of simple steps
> consistently followed can spare us from a lot of grief and
> frustration.[/color]

Absent the very experienced and the newbies here, with a few nuts
thrown in, my view is that in the main, most people have never
experienced any of this and just want to send snap shots to their
kids and do a little web surfing. But, when you see an OP with a
subject like HELLPPP!, you know he learned a very valuable object
lesson also.

--
HP, aka Jerry

HEMI-Powered wrote:
[color=blue]
> Today, D. Spencer Hines made these interesting comments ...
>[color=green]
>> Which UPS do YOU use?
>>[/color]
> APC, $150, great, 20-25 minutes on battery, great monitoring
> software. May be overkill if your needs are less, you can probably
> get by with Ken's estimated $60 boxes just fine.[/color]



Check the current prices on APC UPSs. I like APC too, but the prices for
their lower level units actually start even lower--around $40. I just
checked on Amazon.com, and you may even be able to beat their prices.

I'm currently using an APC unit I got for free, because it was discarded by
someone who thought it had died. All I needed to do was replace the battery
for somewhere around $20-25, and it was fine.


--
Ken Blake - Microsoft MVP Windows: Shell/User
Please reply to the newsgroup

HEMI-Powered wrote:
[color=blue]
> Thanks, Lang, appreciate it. I have tried to turn over a new leaf
> from the flamer and anti-MS, anti-MVP creep I was last summer.[/color]


LOL! I don't know what you were last summer (or don't remember), but I'm
glad to see that you are what I consider to be a reasonable person. You
don't agree with everything I post (nobody else does either <g>), but that's
fine. Your opinions always seem always to be reasonable and well
thought-out. We don't all have to have the same views on everything.

--
Ken Blake - Microsoft MVP Windows: Shell/User
Please reply to the newsgroup

"HEMI-Powered" <none@none.sn> wrote in message
news:Xns98EEC822096D8ReplyScoreID@216.168.3.30...[color=blue]
> I tried to separate basic design principles of all motor vehicles
> for the past 100+ years from the problems associated with simply
> redoing an older car. A major new vehicle STARTS at $2B and
> quickly goes up depending on a great many factors.
> Chief big
> hitters are design, development, testing, tooling, robots in the
> plants, etc., what finance bean counters call investment cost.[/color]

I think some people would argue that as long as MS continues to implement
past practices then any new OS will just continue on a "bad frame".
Regardless of the CAD program used (language).
[color=blue]
> As to your last, new trucks with body-on-frame now coming to
> market, e.g., the new GM pickups, are so completely redesigned by
> CAD and CAE systems that their stiffness is raised 40-50%, which
> translates into better handling, less noise, tighter feel, lots
> of things.[/color]

OT: I read a lot about that. Plus, it explains Fords new Super Duty and
Toyota's massive money ad's with their new Tundra.
[color=blue]
> Easy example, there are some 25 computers in my
> 2006 Charger, talking to each other largely with multiplexed
> wiring systems. The exact number of lines of code is secret, of
> course, but based on what I knew as long ago as 2002 when I
> retired, it is AT LEAST as many as Vista.[/color]

Whhhhhhaaaaaaaaaaatttttttttt??????

Where exactly does it store this data?
[color=blue]
> My
> Charger, with its ability to shut 4 of the 8 cylinders down,
> ditto for the other guys that can do this, CAN get close to its
> city CAFE of 17, and I have gotten, 22, 23, 24+ on the highway,
> to its highway CAFE of 25.[/color]

OT: maybe you can clear something up. I read many articles about the SRT8
engine system and how it was "buggy" and not shutting down to 4 properly.
Most of it was speculation. You know the truth to the mater?
[color=blue]
> If you really want to take the car biz into this NG, which is
> pretty OT, we should start a new thread.[/color]

As long as we keep comparing it to MS :)

On Fri, 9 Mar 2007 17:00:47 -0800, "Justin" <None@None.com> wrote:
[color=blue][color=green]
>> If you really want to take the car biz into this NG, which is
>> pretty OT, we should start a new thread.[/color]
>
>As long as we keep comparing it to MS :)[/color]

My brand new Pirus gets 46 MPG and has multiple computer systems, two
power trains, a gas engine and electric motor, no iginition key, the
shift knob (actually is just a knob) is on the dash and so is the
keyless "power" button that turns the car off and on. So there. I
didn't even mention the regentative brake system or the continious
variable smooth as silk transmission. <giggle>

"HEMI-Powered" <none@none.sn> wrote in message
news:Xns98EEC8F0B935EReplyScoreID@216.168.3.30...
[color=blue]
> As to gas mileage of 500+ hp cars, who the hell cares? A Viper is
> north of $82K and a Z-06 Corvette is around $65K. Don't think
> people with that kinda change worry about $2,70 premium, do you?[/color]

I do. I opted to wait on the SRT8 because of the bug I asked about in
another thread. However between the SRT8 and a 500HP engine, depending on
the mileage difference, it might just not be worth it (for me). If the
difference between 0-60 is .2 seconds yet also 4MPG then as I said, not
worth it. I'm paying 3.20 a gallon. If the price for the 500HP monster is
much more then I guess the argument of "being able to afford it" can come
into play. At this point I can swing an SRT8 but at 3.20 a gallon I'd be
pushing the gas bill. I commute. Granted it's not a commuter but I want
what I want. It beats people driving large SUV's 80+ miles a day :)

Today, D. Spencer Hines made these interesting comments ...
[color=blue]
> No ---- Real Questions.
>
> Troy, after Ancient Troy?[/color]

Nope, not named after the Trojans! <grin> I answered this
question in another NG, but the short version is that there an
1850s, then 1870s+ small farm town by coincidence maybe 1/4 from
my house called Troy Corners.
[color=blue]
> A Classicist was doing the naming?
>
> Which UPS do YOU use, Jerry?...[/color]
[color=blue]
> Manufacturer & Model.[/color]

APC RS-900, both PCs, about $150 with my nephews OEM discount
last year. It fits my peculiar needs that I outlined yesterday
with all the hits I take, but I think the MVP Ken in the other NG
speculated that a good UPS can be had for as little as $60. I
didn't go that low because I wanted a bit more battery life and
whole lot MORE surge protection, and my limited investigation
also suggested that APC had good monitoring and warning software.
Don't know how true all this is, and nobody really wants to find
out, but I do hear a beep every now and then when it tells me it
has switched to battery. But, the events are so short they almost
never even register in its history. On my PC, which is more
susceptible because of higher loading on the electrical box
circuit than my wife's shows only one hit for 4 seconds. I know
there were more but of too short a duration to record. Sometime
last year, it was on battery power for maybe 8-10 minutes and my
PC, monitor, and external HD kept on a clickin' just fine.
[color=blue]
> Cheers,[/color]

You, too, Spence.

--
HP, aka Jerry

Today, D. Spencer Hines made these interesting comments ...
[color=blue]
> O.K.
>
> You posted it here.
>
> Thanks.
>
> DSH
>
> "HEMI-Powered" <none@none.sn> wrote in message
> news:Xns98EEC60A9D94DReplyScoreID@216.168.3.30...[color=green]
>>
>> What is that, not familiar with it. My two are APC, about
>> $150 each, 20-25 minutes for my PC, monitor, and external HD.
>> Batteries need to be replaced every 4-5 years as total
>> battery time drops, I think in the $50 range.[/color]
>[/color]
Thought I had posted somewhere, guess my brain has gone soft.
<grin> I reply to posts serially so sometimes miss what people say
later on, and most of us don't read every other reply to reply to
reply, we just launch in, so some redudancy is there, but I don't
view that as a negative.

--
HP, aka Jerry

Today, Ken Blake, MVP made these interesting comments ...
[color=blue]
> HEMI-Powered wrote:
>[color=green]
>> Thanks, Lang, appreciate it. I have tried to turn over a new
>> leaf from the flamer and anti-MS, anti-MVP creep I was last
>> summer.[/color]
>
>
> LOL! I don't know what you were last summer (or don't
> remember), but I'm glad to see that you are what I consider to
> be a reasonable person. You don't agree with everything I post
> (nobody else does either <g>), but that's fine. Your opinions
> always seem always to be reasonable and well thought-out. We
> don't all have to have the same views on everything.
>[/color]
Ken, you and I tangled more than once in my earlier life. Pretty
much, I decided to stand down from about Labor Day until just last
month, then slowly put my toe in the water, and try this time to
see the glass as half-full instead of my former half-empty.

Thanks for the complement, I'll try to reinforce the good behavior
and suppress any lingering baddies.

--
HP, aka Jerry

Today, D. Spencer Hines made these interesting comments ...
[color=blue]
> How about Zero Surge -- any good?
>[/color]
Don't know, Spence. YOu and I are cross-replying right now, but I
didn't do a real deep dive. I did a bit of investigating and
relied on my nephew's PC and networking knowledge. To whatever
truth there is, he says that APC is a well-known, reliable brand,
in use in its larger models in businesses. He has used earlier
versions for years. So, a personal testimonial works for me!

I doubt that any reputable brand will be OK. I'd check the amount
of surge protection, the rated battery life, which is a function
of the load you plug into it, and its software. I have had just
as good luck with no-name HW, such as the two Hammer 200 gig
externals I bought, as I have with the name brands.[color=blue]
>
> "HEMI-Powered" <none@none.sn> wrote in message
> news:Xns98EEC6926C52DReplyScoreID@216.168.3.30...
>[color=green]
>> Today, D. Spencer Hines made these interesting comments ...
>>[color=darkred]
>>> Which UPS do YOU use?
>>>[/color]
>> APC, $150, great, 20-25 minutes on battery, great monitoring
>> software. May be overkill if your needs are less, you can
>> probably get by with Ken's estimated $60 boxes just fine.
>>
>> --
>> HP, aka Jerry[/color]
>
>
>[/color]



--
HP, aka Jerry

Today, Ken Blake, MVP made these interesting comments ...
[color=blue][color=green]
>> Today, D. Spencer Hines made these interesting comments ...
>>[color=darkred]
>>> Which UPS do YOU use?
>>>[/color]
>> APC, $150, great, 20-25 minutes on battery, great monitoring
>> software. May be overkill if your needs are less, you can
>> probably get by with Ken's estimated $60 boxes just fine.[/color]
>
> Check the current prices on APC UPSs. I like APC too, but the
> prices for their lower level units actually start even
> lower--around $40. I just checked on Amazon.com, and you may
> even be able to beat their prices.[/color]

Really! I've bought mine, but Spence just asked for the model
number, which turns out to be RS 900, so I'd guess that it is a
step or two up from what you're recommending. My nephew and
computer builder said this is what I needed and it fit with my
limited research. Nobody ever has enough money, and I don't throw
mine around, but I'd rather "squander" an extra $80-100 and feel
safe than try to buy something at WalMart, which isn't to say the
lower prices units are at all bad. Ken, it is like firemen in your
city - you pay them a big salary but hope to hell you never need
their services! <grin>
[color=blue]
> I'm currently using an APC unit I got for free, because it was
> discarded by someone who thought it had died. All I needed to
> do was replace the battery for somewhere around $20-25, and it
> was fine.
>[/color]
I like that price!

--
HP, aka Jerry

Today, D. Spencer Hines made these interesting comments ...
[color=blue]
> Nope.
>
> Pagefile CAN be defragmented -- I do it every couple of weeks.
>[/color]
How do you manage that? As best I can see, Windows built-in
defragger, the only one I've tried since Norton System Works 2006
refused to run correctly, says that its blocks cannot be moved.

And, how much of a performance improvement do you see, and how do
you know? Launch times go down, when you know an app or Windows
is paging and you see a difference, you work on huge bitmaps? It
isn't that I am arguing with anyone, I just don't see it, but
that doesn't mean it ain't so.

Incidentally, maybe 2 or 3 times a year, I will double backup
each of my two extended partitions to 2 separate externals,
verify I got good writes, then just reformat the NTFS drive and
copy the files back. Yes, the copy process itself causes
fragmentation, but it isn't until a defrag analysis shows I
really need it that I try.[color=blue]
>
> "HEMI-Powered" <none@none.sn> wrote in message
> news:Xns98EEC6E60AC23ReplyScoreID@216.168.3.30...[color=green]
>> Today, D. Spencer Hines made these interesting comments ...
>>[color=darkred]
>>> I do see a marked performance bump.
>>>[/color]
>> Spence, since I have all the possible data files I can on D:\
>> and E:\, defragging C:\ has very little effect, only very
>> minorly on app launch times, which I only do once a restart.
>> And, the big hitters like the pagefile, cannot be defragged.
>> And, I don't do nearly enough churning on my two data
>> extended partitions to cause much of a problem. But, exactly
>> the opposite may be true for you or others, it all depends on
>> how your system is organized, what you do, and how you
>> measure improvements.
>>
>> --
>> HP, aka Jerry[/color]
>
>
>[/color]



--
HP, aka Jerry

Today, Justin made these interesting comments ...

[snip][color=blue][color=green]
>> As to your last, new trucks with body-on-frame now coming to
>> market, e.g., the new GM pickups, are so completely
>> redesigned by CAD and CAE systems that their stiffness is
>> raised 40-50%, which translates into better handling, less
>> noise, tighter feel, lots of things.[/color]
>
> OT: I read a lot about that. Plus, it explains Fords new
> Super Duty and Toyota's massive money ad's with their new
> Tundra.[/color]

Not to try again to turn this into a car group, the Japanese and
Koreans are not only formidable competitors, they are improving
at an accelerating rate. The American Big Three have come a long,
long way but their rate of improvement is flatter, thus the
differences, while not huge, are getting wider. Lots of reasons
for that, and lots behind any hoopla you may read about wages,
healthcare, pensions, and the like. I do not evangelize American
cars, and certainly not Chrysler products, nor do I disparage my
competitors. There is simply no upside to going negative. But,
there is a lot more to this very complex industry than most
people see on the 6 o'clock news, just as someone familiar with
the overall development process of the entire MS suite of
products could describe.
[color=blue][color=green]
>> Easy example, there are some 25 computers in my
>> 2006 Charger, talking to each other largely with multiplexed
>> wiring systems. The exact number of lines of code is secret,
>> of course, but based on what I knew as long ago as 2002 when
>> I retired, it is AT LEAST as many as Vista.[/color]
>
> Whhhhhhaaaaaaaaaaatttttttttt??????
>
> Where exactly does it store this data?[/color]

Non-volitile RAM of some secret sort. No HD or optical, of
course. Memory needs to be almost exclusively non-volital so the
car doesn't lose its collective brains if the battery goes dead.
Usually, about all a driver has to do if that rarity happens is
maybe reset the clock and their radio stations.

Give you a fun example which isn't classified anymore. Everybody
has sophisticated anti-theft systems that are based on
communication between a key fob with a chip in it talking to the
security computer. So, why can't a thief just swap out the
computer, it is well-known where it is just by reading the
service manual in the library. So, we hide a 2nd computer
someplace else and move it around, telling service techs to
replace an unrelated module if it is compromised. And, in the
pre-9/11 days, we were using encryption bit lenghts longer than
the Feds would let us export beyond the U.S. and Canada. I
retired in January, 2002, so I am way, way out-of-date after only
5 years, but I can assure you that all of my competition is at
least as good, and they each have patented their various systems.

As to computers in the cars, the biggies are the engine and trans
controllers, but there's a giant one to control all the stuff in
the body, with smaller ones doing things as simple as controlling
the door locks, heater settings, audio controls in the radio,
etc. So, not all of the 25 or so are at all that large, but the
bigger ones when I was aware of it - and the true numbers are
VERY confidential - suggest that they ran into the tens of
millions of lines of code each. And, remember that in cars, for
emissions and safety, we design for 100-150,000 miles and 10
years, so the code MUST work at least that long. Now, are there
SPs? Of course. Some are done the way MS does critical updates,
via recalls, and some are done during normal service and the
customer doesn't necessarily even know it. But, big but, the
testing is pretty sophisticated and when we blow it, it can be
VERY expensive,over hundreds of thousands of cars.

Easy example: my wife's former 2006 Jeep Liberty had its battery
go dead several times last year. I thought it was her short
driving cycles, being we usually ride in my Charger. Turned out,
though, to be a body computer software glitch, fixed through a
normal service recall, that was telling some lower amperage
components to turn on even with the key off. So, if you didn't
drive enough to keep it charged, it'd die.

One whack at the Japanese, as good as they are. About a year and
a half ago, Toyota recalled some 1.5 MILLION small SUVs and the
first of the CUVs built only between 2002 and 2004 or so. But,
instead of page one, it was buried in the paper. I'm not being
critical, those people make **** fine vehicles. Just not everyone
of them.
[color=blue][color=green]
>> My
>> Charger, with its ability to shut 4 of the 8 cylinders down,
>> ditto for the other guys that can do this, CAN get close to
>> its city CAFE of 17, and I have gotten, 22, 23, 24+ on the
>> highway, to its highway CAFE of 25.[/color]
>
> OT: maybe you can clear something up. I read many articles
> about the SRT8 engine system and how it was "buggy" and not
> shutting down to 4 properly. Most of it was speculation. You
> know the truth to the mater?[/color]

Prior to 2007, the 6.1L HEMI did not have MDS (Multiple
Displacement System) so I'm not sure what buggy is. I've not
heard that, but that doesn't mean it ain't so. The big reason for
adding MDS to what is a balls out performance engine is that just
one or two mpg put it into the Federal gas guzzler range and we
were dinging customers $2100/car for the tax. That didn't win us
many friends. I wish I could afford one; they are dirt cheap
compared to an upscale Euro performance sedan such as a BMW 7-
Series, but ours can get into the mid-40s which is too rich for
my blood.
[color=blue][color=green]
>> If you really want to take the car biz into this NG, which is
>> pretty OT, we should start a new thread.[/color]
>
> As long as we keep comparing it to MS :)
>[/color]
Sometimes I go overboard on analogies and metaphors, but also
sometimes it helps for us to relax, take a breath, and put
something as large as Vista or Vienna or whatever into some
perspective we might be able to relate to.

--
HP, aka Jerry

Today, Adam Albright made these interesting comments ...
[color=blue]
> On Fri, 9 Mar 2007 17:00:47 -0800, "Justin" <None@None.com>
> wrote:
>[color=green][color=darkred]
>>> If you really want to take the car biz into this NG, which
>>> is pretty OT, we should start a new thread.[/color]
>>
>>As long as we keep comparing it to MS :)[/color]
>
> My brand new Pirus gets 46 MPG and has multiple computer
> systems, two power trains, a gas engine and electric motor, no
> iginition key, the shift knob (actually is just a knob) is on
> the dash and so is the keyless "power" button that turns the
> car off and on. So there. I didn't even mention the
> regentative brake system or the continious variable smooth as
> silk transmission. <giggle>
>[/color]
I take nothing away from them who feel the need to drive a Prius,
and it is a fine car. But, to take a quote out of the Top Gun
movie, I feel the need - for speed! I was in college during much of
the muscle car era, lasted only a year before getting drafted and
when I got home, it was over. So, I'm enjoying a mid-life crisis. I
quoted mpg for my HEMI in another reply, but I consider 15-16 city
driving exuberantly and low 20s on the road to be top notch for a
4100 lb car that can do 0-60 in under six seconds. Don't bother
telling me nobody needs that, 'cuz it is true, but people also
don't need 3-seat huge SUVs and drive around alone.

BTW, Toyota, Honda, and the major hybrid manufacturers are under
heavy fire from pissed off customers who actually believe the CAFE
numbers. Sometime, when I am waxing philosophically, I'll describe
how CAFE is really tested for and how absurd a standard it really
is, but not tonight.

--
HP, aka Jerry

Today, Justin made these interesting comments ...
[color=blue]
> "HEMI-Powered" <none@none.sn> wrote in message
> news:Xns98EEC8F0B935EReplyScoreID@216.168.3.30...
>[color=green]
>> As to gas mileage of 500+ hp cars, who the hell cares? A
>> Viper is north of $82K and a Z-06 Corvette is around $65K.
>> Don't think people with that kinda change worry about $2,70
>> premium, do you?[/color]
>
> I do. I opted to wait on the SRT8 because of the bug I asked
> about in another thread. However between the SRT8 and a 500HP
> engine, depending on the mileage difference, it might just not
> be worth it (for me). If the difference between 0-60 is .2
> seconds yet also 4MPG then as I said, not worth it. I'm
> paying 3.20 a gallon. If the price for the 500HP monster is
> much more then I guess the argument of "being able to afford
> it" can come into play. At this point I can swing an SRT8 but
> at 3.20 a gallon I'd be pushing the gas bill. I commute.
> Granted it's not a commuter but I want what I want. It beats
> people driving large SUV's 80+ miles a day :)
>[/color]
I replied to you on this, but I'm unaware of a bug, but that
doesn't mean it isn't there. When you retire from a car company,
your sources of up-to-date information pretty much dry up.
However, if you're aware of bugs in anything, even though it
sounds like you did buy, you can easily use the VIN and the
sticker on the door jamp to get the build date. I won't go into
details, but there were some color mismatches between the front
fascia and fenders of early -built Chargers in several colors,
including the Inferno Red I wanted. I nosed around a little and
discovered that the supplier paint process problem was corrected
almost completely in a redesign that went in around June 1, 2005,
and the rest got fixed later. My car was built mid-June and has a
little mismatch, but it is fine. So, while again I do not
disparage my own products, depending on what rings your bell, it
sometime can be worthwhile to wait a bit. But, the total
production run of SRT8 vehicles, and also the R/T Daytona, is
really quite small so if you didn't special order after you
verified that the MDS bug had been squashed, it may have been
difficult to find a "good" one.

For my own curiosity, exactly what were the symptoms, really piss
poor mileage, drivability, what? In my car, I can watch the tach
and sometimes see the cylinders go on or off, but the transition
can take place in as little as 50 ms so none but the most skilled
drivers can detect it. Basically, though, 4 shut down immediately
if you lift the gas and only a short distance at steady state
will shut them down. Works great, withing physical limitations.
And, from what I've heard, GM's Displacement On Demand is equally
effective. This is a far cry from muscle cars that had to
struggle to get 6 or 7 in the city and 9 or 10 on the highway.

If the rumors of a 500hp monster are true, I would expect it to
be pricey. More can be done with engine tuning using the
controller computer, and the premium Euro brands can get quite a
few more ponies per liter, but the break-even point for economics
suggests that 500 is about it without maybe going to 7.0L as
Chevy did.

--
HP, aka Jerry