I don’t know where the photo was taken, in a hotel room, Air Force One etc., but from what I can see on this picture, our president apparently is using a Dell Latitude D600 with Windows XP as Operating system. no doubt Obama is probably the techiest president we have had so far, but really, he definitely need a laptop upgrade. Dell Latitude D600s were released around 2004, runs on a Pentium 3 Processor, and support up to 2 GB of RAM.

at the beginning I thought it was a virus that was preventing the driver from installing correctly, but after a full scan with Malwarebytes it found nothing. then I started looking into I/Qs conflicts, but again, I found nothing.

then I thought that probably it was a hard drive issue, and did a scan of the drive, and sure enough, there were some bad clusters on the drive that was preventing the driver from installing correctly.

after those clusters were repaired, the driver installed fine. it really took me awhile to find this problem.

Note: If by a random chance you don’t know this utility, you can get familiar with it by typing msconfig on the run command.

Now if you want to get more technical, you can also see what’s running at the start-up menu by checking the following registry places:

• HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SOFTWARE\Microsoft\Windows\CurrentVersion\Run
• HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SOFTWARE\Microsoft\Windows\CurrentVersion\RunOnce
• HKEY_CURRENT_USER\Software\Microsoft\Windows\CurrentVersion\Run
• HKEY_CURRENT_USER\Software\Microsoft\Windows\CurrentVersion\RunOnce

there are more places on the registry that programs can be set to run at the start-up, but those are places more often exploited by spyware programs or viruses, legit software programmers normally set their programs to run at these four registry locations mentioned above.

checking my computer I notice that most of the programs running at startup are on the following key:

HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SOFTWARE\Microsoft\Windows\CurrentVersion\Run

which means that they will run for everyone that logs in to the computer regardless what account they use to login because they are on the local machine registry key.

So, where is the script?

The script I want is very simple, it will only allow the programs I need to run and disable the rest. I  have not found a script like this anywhere so I most likely will have to code my own. I know there are some options on local group policy that will also make this trick, but I most likely will end up playing with the registry instead.

basically I only need the antivirus, and some custom software for my laptop to run at startup, and then disable all other programs. you will be able to customize the script for your own needs of course.

stay tune for the follow up post.

note: there is a good program I found the other day at this location http://www.mlin.net/StartupCPL.shtml its pretty cool, just like the system configuration tool , albeit this utility can be executed in the control panel, just like any other control panel applet.

certainly a quick Google search will help!

apparently seaport.exe comes with Windows live application installations, like Windows Live messenger, or Windows Live writer, which I both use. certainly I don’t want this process running on my computer all the time, it consumes too much resources, and in all honestly I don’t like Microsoft doing updates on my system whenever they want. so how I disable this thing?

Seaport.exe runs as a service, so disabling the service will prevent it from running at start-up. to disable to the service click on Start then click on Run type services.msc click on Ok. the service snap-in will come up:

look for the seaport.exe service on the list right-click it and click on Stop:

after you stop the services, right-click it again, and click on Properties. the seaport properties will come up:

click on the Start up type option and select disabled then click on OK.

if you want to delete the file completely off your computer, on windows XP, it resides on this path: C:\Program Files\Microsoft\Search Enhancement Pack\SeaPort . on windows vista, it should reside at C:\Programs\Microsoft\Search Enhancement Pack\SeaPort

that should get rid of seaport.exe from your computer forever – or at least until you install another Windows live app.

open your browser and go to ISO recorder and download the plugin (power toy) for your Windows version. click on the .MSI file to to launch the setup wizard:

the installation should be straightforward, just click Next on all windows.

once you have installed the ISO recorder power toy, right click on any directory you want to create an ISO image of, and you will see the option to create an ISO image from the right-click menu:

The Create ISO image window will come up:

Basically, you can just click on the Next button here, but if have time, add the Volume label name, and choose the directory rather than the default where to save the ISO image.

you will find that the ISO image has been created:

now if you right-click on this ISO image, you can easily burn it to a CD or DVD by choosing the option to Copy image to CD or DVD from the menu:

from there on just insert a blank CD or DVD and click on next button to burn it.

that’s it. that’s how simple is to create an ISO image on windows XP, Vista or 7.

the reason probably I got the error was because the computer I was trying to add to the domain had been out of the network for a long time, and somehow lost the trust to the domain.

Solution?

Rejoin the computer to the domain, and then add the user to the group.

To fix the problem on Windows XP, go to Start and click on Run and type Regedit and hit Enter.  the registry editor should come up:

Expand the HKey_Local_Machine then click on the System directory.

after you expand the System folder, also expand the CurrentControlSet subdirectory:

Click on the Control key, and expand the Class key: under the class key look for the following string “4D36E965-E325-11CE-BFC1-08002BE10318” and select it. on the right hand side many keys will show up:

carefully select LowerFilters and UpperFilters and hit the Delete key.

after you delete the lowerfiters and upperfilters keys, reboot the computer.

that should make the exclamation mark go away, and the CD-ROM should start working again.

Note: deleting the whole 4D36E965-E325-11CE-BFC1-08002BE10318 key should make the trick too, and after you reboot the computer the whole thing should get recreated. try deleting only the lower and upper filters first, and if that does not work, delete the entire 4D36E965-E325-11CE-BFC1-08002BE10318 key.

The error he was getting when clicking on the “Add/Remove Windows Components” button on the control panel was:

Setup was unable to open information file games.inf. Contact your system administrator.the error code was something like “error code is OX2 at line 20ll777033″

The reason he was getting such error is because when I built his computer I removed the “games” directory under the accessories folder. Somehow the Windows component window does not open when the directory is missing.

To solve the problem I needed to comment out some lines on the sysoc.inf file located at C:\windows\inf\ directory. To do that go to the RUN command and type “C:\windows\inf\sysoc.inf” and hit ENTER.

note: the directory is hidden, if for some reason you don’t see it, unhide hidden files and folders on the folder options.

The sycoc.inf file should look like this:

there are 3 lines that you need to comment out, in order to have the add/remove windows component working. the lines are:

• games=ocgen.dll,ocEntry,games.info,,7
• pinball=ocgen.dll,ocEntry,pinball.inf,,7
• ZoneGames=zonesetupPro,images.inf,,7

to comment these entries out, just add two slashes “//” at the start of each string. for example, to comment out the first line, it will look like this:

//games=ocgen.dll,ocEntry,games.info,,7

after you make the changes save the file and try to open the add/remove windows component wizard again.. it should work.

Here is the list of things I recommend to do to optimize a computer.

Follow the tips in sequence for better results…

Prevent Programs From Running At Startup

If you have many programs installed on your computer, most likely some of those programs are running at the start-up; that’s a waste of resources on your system. to stop those programs from running at the start-up do the following:

click on the Start button then click on RUN and type msconfig. click on the startup tab on the system configuration window:

Uncheck all the programs that you don’t want the computer to open when it starts-up. some of those programs include, WinZip, Adobe Acrobat, Itunes etc. if you have a laptop make sure you don’t delete necessary mobile functionality programs like touch pad, wireless drivers, etc .

click on APPLY and then OK to restart the computer.

system configuration utility is a windows XP/Vista built-in utility, but if you want to see what’s running on your computer more in detail, I advice you to download some useful tools from the Microsoft Sysinternals site. the two tools that can help you optimize the startup process on your computer are:

• Autoruns http://technet.microsoft.com/en-us/sysinternals/bb963902.aspx
• Process Explorer http://technet.microsoft.com/en-us/sysinternals/bb896653.aspx

With this two tools you can get deeper on the computer startup process to figure out what’s hogging resources on the system.

Autorun screenshot.

Process Explorer screenshot:

as you can see, you can see everything running on your system in real time with Process explorer.

Deleting Temp files, Internet Temp files, and unnecessary junk.

After rebooting the computer from above, is time to delete some unnecessary junk: click on Start>All Programs>Accessories>System Tools>Disk Cleanup:

at the Disk Cleanup tab, check everything you think is unnecessary. if you have office installed on the system, just leave alone the Office Setup Files all the rest can be deleted. click on the More Options tab to clean up Windows Components delete Install Programs and clean up System Restore.

Click OK to start deleting the files.

Windows Updates

after running the disk clean up utility, check if your windows operating system is up to date will all the updates and service packs. normally you find the Windows Updates option by clicking on Start>All Programs>Windows Updates if its not there, check the control panel.

Make sure your system is up to date.. until you get the message:

Make sure you update the Office suite if you have one to the latest updates and service pack as well.

Disable Services Running For Nothing.

your computer might be running many unnecessary services that only take resources out of your system. to check what services are running on your computer, click on Start button then Run and type services.msc and hit Enter.

To know what services you need to stop, read the following post I wrote when I authored helpdesk geek blog at:

http://helpdeskgeek.com/windows-xp-tips/stopping-unnecessary-windows-services/

Disable Automatic Searching for Network Folders And Printers

If your computer is not on a network, or if you don’t need to check for network folders or printers then it makes sense to remove this option from your computer. to do that do the following, Click on Start then Run and type Control Panel hit Enter. when Control Panel comes up click on Folder Options. when the folder options window comes up click on the View tab. on the Files and Folders option uncheck: Automatically search for network folders and printers:

click on Apply and then OK after you uncheck the settings.

Disk Defragmentation

By now is time to defrag the hard drive on your system. by defragmenting the hard disk of your computer, the files will be organized in sequence, and as a result the hard drive will spin less to find the files. to defrag your hard drive click on Start> All Programs>Accessories> System Tools>Disk Defragmenter click analyze then defrag if windows recommend to do so:

click on Defragment if you get this window.

Other things you might consider to speed-up your computer.

Download BootVis to speedup the boot up process of your operating system. when you open Bootvis click on File then New and choose Next Boot + Drivers Traces

Click OK to reboot the computer.

after the computer restarts, open Bootvis and click on Trace on the menu and choose Optimize System. the system will reboot again, and it will take awhile.

Download CCleaner To Clean up the Registry

Download CCleaner from the following link http://www.ccleaner.com/download

after you install CCleaner, click on the Registry tab on the left menu and Scan For Issues:

after the scan finished, click on Fix selected issues.

Registry Hacks

Last but not least you can perform the following registry tricks to speed up your system.

click on Start then on Run and type Regedit and navigate to the following registry key:

[HKEY_CURRENT_USER\Control Panel\Desktop find the following key  “WaitToKillAppTimeout” and set the value to 1000

look of the key “HungAppTimeout” and set the value to 1000 as well.

To prevent the computer from hanging when some applications don’t close correctly or crash during the shutoff process do the following registry hack:

On your registry navigate to the following key [HKEY_CURRENT_USER\Control Panel\Desktop and look for the following key: “AutoEndTasks” and set the value to 1.

there you have it, the Ultimate Computer Optimization Guide just like a pro will clean a computer.

That’s the logon screen in my computer!! I normally like to keep my system clean and performing well, so every week I check all these settings, and disable what I don’t need.

Download autorun and see what’s running on your system. Download the small file from here