Jan. 16, 2008
MCP Magazine News
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Windows Tip Sheet #179: Defrag, Fast & Free
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IN THIS ISSUE:
- Windows Tip Sheet: Defrag, Fast & Free
- Redmond Radio: Microsoft Buys Fast; Raikes To Retire
- IT/Cert Forums: Vista Activation; Passwords over VPN; More
- Special Offers: Insider Threats; Orion Network Performance
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WINDOWS TIP SHEET: Defrag, Fast & Free
By Jeffery Hicks
I'm a big believer that a properly defragged disk is faster
and
healthier. It is convenient that Microsoft includes a free
defragmentation tool, although it has limitations. Of course
there
are full fledged defrag applications if your budget allows.
But I'm
always looking for a good free or open source alternative.
Lately I've been trying JKDefrag v3.62 from Jeroen Kessels
http://www
.kessels.com/JkDefrag/index.html . This open source
product
comes packaged for Windows 2000/XP/2003 and Vista, as well
as a 64-bit
version. The utility is written using the same Windows
defragmentation
APIs that the big vendors use and it has been pretty
rock-solid so far.
Installation is practically non-existent: Unzip the files to
a folder
and you're done. The graphical version is as bare bones as
you can
get -- no menu, no buttons. Just click it and it runs.
Because it's
barebones, it's a small executable that runs very quickly.
You can manually launch the graphical version from the
command line
and pass configuration parameters. But if you prefer more
granular
control and don't really care about a GUI, then I recommend
just
running the command line version.
The command line version has a wealth of parameters and
because it's
CLI based, it's incredibly easy to set up as a scheduled
task. You
could easily push out the exe file to all your clients and
remotely
create a scheduled task to run a daily defrag job. There is
also a
screen saver version of the utility.
Documentation is included as an HTML file and is pretty
complete.
JKDefrag also has a decent online support forum.
So if you're looking for a defrag solution that is a step
above what
comes with Windows but have a limited budget, take a look at
JKDefrag.
It's free so you've got nothing to lose!
Comment: http://mcpmag.com/columns/article.asp?editorialsid=2
454#post
Jeffery Hicks MCSE, MCSA, MCT is a senior network engineer
with Visory
Group. He's a contributing editor to ScriptingAnswers.com
and the
coauthor, with Don Jones, of "Advanced VBScript for
Microsoft Windows
Administrators" (Microsoft Press, http://tinyurl.com/g63nf
) and
"PowerShell TFM" (SAPIEN Press, http://tinyurl.com/2v7dye ). Jeff
is also the creator of several popular, script-related tools
used for
network and Exchange administration. He maintains a blog at
http://jdhitsoluti
ons.blogspot.com .
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REDMOND RADIO: IT News, Jan. 14
Take a quick listen to what made news last week in the world
of
Redmond and IT:
* Microsoft Buys Fast Technology
* Microsoft's Raikes To Retire
* Study: MSN Most Dangerous IM Client in 2007
* Best Buy Sales Up in December
Plus, listen to find out how to enter and win the weekly
Redmond
T-Shirt Giveaway, exclusively for podcast listeners.
AND, find out how you can win an All-Access Pass to
TechMentor in
San Francisco. Details only in the weekly Redmond Radio
Podcast.
Listen now!
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ANSWERS TO YOUR IT PROBLEMS IN THE IT/CERTIFICATION FORUMS:
Need troubleshooting help? Post your questions to
MCPmag.com's
IT/Certification Discussion Forums, where experts Andy Barkl
and Andy Goodman, as well as a host of regular members, can
offer
solutions to your most difficult IT dilemmas.
The messages are always free to read, but registration
(which is
also free) is required to post. Go to http://mcpmag.com/forums/
and start posting.
Also check out the Unix/Linux interop thread hosted by
Redmond
magazine's "Integration Station" columnist Emmett
Dulaney at:
http
://mcpmag.com/forums/forum_topics.asp?fid=90
Members who needed help posted these questions in the last
week:
- Regedit /s: I added a registry file in a batch file to run
at
all users at startup folder using regedit /s to run
silently, but I
am still prompted with a message pop-up.
Comment: htt
p://mcpmag.com/forums/forum_posts.asp?tid=4071
- Vista Activation: Today I installed Vista Business on my
PC. At time
of installation, I was not asked for a CD key. When I try to
activate
Vista, it gives me the following error: Unable to Update
Error code
0x800FE33
Comment: htt
p://mcpmag.com/forums/forum_posts.asp?tid=4067
- Anyone Do Any IT Consulting?: Anyone in IT out there who
does
independent consulting, maybe for their company or on the
side? I was
interested in finding someone who assists business owners in
purchasing bandwidth or suggesting providers from time to
time for
things like business t1's, pri's, flex's, SIP stuff, phone
systems, etc.
Comment: htt
p://mcpmag.com/forums/forum_posts.asp?tid=4063
- Setting Up Homepage for Multiple Users: We need to set up
our
homepage in Internet Explorer for all our PCs on our
network. There
are too many to do individually. If anyone could give me
instructions
on how to do this with Group Policy, it would be much
appreciated.
Comment: htt
p://mcpmag.com/forums/forum_posts.asp?tid=4073
- Password Change Over VPN: I work for a large company that
has off-
site employees logging onto the domain over VPN on Windows
XP. We are
getting a lot of helpdesk requests from users regarding
password
changes. When users attempt to manually change their
passwords over
VPN by pressing CTRL ALT DEL and going to the Change
password option,
they are able to enter their current password and new
password.
However, after they click the OK button to accept the new
password,
they get an error message saying they could not connect to
the domain.
This is becoming a big problem, as many of the users are
being locked
out due to their passwords expiring, and a lot of work is
being
created for the helpdesk.
Comment: htt
p://mcpmag.com/forums/forum_posts.asp?tid=4069
Want to join the discussion? Go to http://mcpmag.com/forums/ and
start posting.
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