August 12, 2002

System Restore and the My Documents Folder Tom Kling writes in with a very clever use of My Documents folder and how you can leverage its location to optimize your System Restore procedure: "We all have some small programs that we download from the Internet that we just can't live without (i.e., ZoneAlarm or a great Remote Access program called VNC that I use). Instead of having to re-install from a CD or Zip backup, or much worse, having to re-download, I created a folder in My Documents called Program Files. Inside this Program Files folder I have a folder called Installs where I keep a copy of all the setup files for these programs (not necessary, but you never know when you'll want to share them or otherwise need the file). Then, upon install, instead of using the default install directory (C:Program FilesThe Program) I add the additional "Documents and Settings\User\My Documents\" to end up with "C:\Documents and Settings\User\My Documents\Program Files\The Program\". Everything still works the same, you still have the program listed in Start -> All Programs, etc., except you can restore leaving everything intact. One word of caution, if it's your first time installing the program and you didn't get tipped off on it from a trusted fellow-XPer, you might want to install using the defaults until you know the program is safe. If you use it and it turns out to be one of the utilities you just can't live without, you can always uninstall-reinstall later..." 2:53:38 PM     Solution to "Cannot Simultaneously Use Multiple USB Scanners in Windows XP" Problem Last week I shared with you a Microsoft Knowledge Base article which explained how two USB scanners are a no-no in Windows XP. Jack Campbell wrote in with a pretty cool workaround for this problem: "I use 2 USB scanners (HP OfficeJet K80 & HP ScanJet 4470c) on my XP computer without having to unplug anything. I can use one scanner, then immediately use the other. But, I've added a USB2 card ($39) (to use a USB 2.0 60-gig drive kit for backups), and have the 4470 plugged into a spare port on the USB 2.0 card, and the K80 is plugged into the old USB 1.1 port that came with the computer. Works great" It's also worthy to note that Wayne Lufts wrote in about a similar configuration and he's not having any problems with it either. So, if you're thinking about using two USB scanners, knock yourself out! 2:52:34 PM

© Copyright 2002 Eric Hartwell. Last update: 01/09/2002; 10:10:40 PM. This theme is based on the SoundWaves (blue) Manila theme.