Well after about 700+ days of good service  my Windows XP based Dell Precision 390 was chunking a bit.

The hardware is absolutely fine but Windows was crudded up after being hammered over the last couple of years.

The original hard disk was a 500gb drive that was almost full so I elected to put another 500gb in the system and install Windows on it and boot from it.

Tip: Because my machine can have multiple hard disks connected I can still access the data on the old drive as both are connected.

Tip: For good measure I placed the new windows swap file on the old disk drive . So I now treat the old drive as storage without having to backup and restore 480gb of data.

I also swapped the video card from an ATI one to an  Nvidia one  as I prefer their multi monitor support.

Decisions, Depictions, Decisions

Again I elected to have Windows XP Pro SP3 as my Operating System. I am still knee deep in legacy applications. XP on this machines fly’s. Done Deal.

Office: Microsoft Office 2003 SP3 (again for legacy).

Anti-Virus: Nod32 Business Edition

Observations

I seem to be regressing but this configuration just works well in terms of performance and application compatibility.

I would have no problems replacing the lot with faster machine running Vista and Office 2007 but I just don’t think I would be any better off.

I would prefer Vista for security reasons but that’s about it.

Microsoft have just released the updated version of their free file sync application called SyncToy.

The current version is 2.0, There was a beta version of 2.0 available for some time but this marks latest stable release version.

SyncToy is great at keeping folders and files in sync on two machines.

Example

A Desktop PC’s My Documents Folder

to a

Laptop My Documents Folder

I use SyncToy to do just that. I keep all my files on my Desktop PC and when I go mobile I do a quick Sync to my laptop ensuring it’s up to date.

SyncToy looks at the files in both locations and only copies across files that have changed.

Another practical application would be keeping picture files/folders up to date on various machines.

Download Link: Link

Documentation PDF: Link

Forums: Link

SyncToy is a freebie from Microsoft so don’t expect any technical support.

Important Note for existing SyncToy Users Upgrading:

“If upgrading from an earlier version of SyncToy (e.g. SyncToy 1.4 or SyncToy 2.0 Beta), it is **CRITICAL** to ensure that all folder pairs are fully synchronized using the previous version before running SyncToy 2.0 setup. Not following this guideline can lead to unintended behavior and partial data loss when running SyncToy 2.0 for the first time after upgrade. All folder pairs must also be fully synchronized at least once right after the upgrade is done.”

Google have a new search tool called Google Insight.

It allows you to compare search trends in different regions of the world.

This would be ideal for companies researching how products are searched for in different countries or regions within countries.

Say for example you had a single web site for your international company but were based in 3 international territories this tool could help you identify the popular search terms in the countries that matter to you.

I love how Google share this kind of thing.

Link: http://www.google.com/insights/search/#

I’ve re-formatted and re-installed more Dell’s than I care to mention. Desktop, Laptops and Servers you name it I’ve spend hours doing it.

One thing I’ve learned for an easy life install the drivers in the order below.

1:System Software
2:Chipset
3:Video Adaptor
4:Network Card
5:Audio
6:Modem
7:Wireless
8:Input things like touch pad
9:Bluetooth
10:PMCIA/Smart Card

Other Tips

Tip: Prior to reformatting your Dell PC BACK IT UP.

Tip: Not all Dells are the same look at the device manager and make a note or screen dump of how the hardware has been identified. In particular What Network, Audio and Video is installed as this can vary.

Picture: Windows Device Manager

Tip: Prior to reformatting locate all the latest drivers for your specific model from www.support.dell.com

Dell have a more detailed “What Driver Order” Document which you can read on the link below.

Link: Dell Support Document

I provide technical support for several hundred users both locally and remotely. In an ideal world they would have all their software repositories nice and organised.

Example: Envelopes with usernames containing all the CD’s, Licenses and Product keys that belong to that particular PC.

Sadly life isn’t like that and I am usually under pressure to quickly rebuild and redeploy on the same hardware say after a Hard Disk problem or Virus/Malware attack.

So today’s tech tip is for a download that exposes the current machines product keys.

On my USB key I keep install repositories for common software installations, I then grab the product keys from current machine using keyfinder (link below) and save time by not having to root about the customers cupboards.

Link: http://magicaljellybean.com/keyfinder/