New XP user questions

Just upgraded my system to XP, and have been customizing over the past 2 days. Have these questions:

1- After installing XP, a "System Volume Information" directory now appears on every partition/logical drive (with many subdirs and files beneath). What are these folders/files for? Can they be removed? Should they?

2- Regarding the use of the WinXP firewall: How do you configure it? I have it shut off right now, but am wondering how it works and what types of protection I can set/unset using it (used to use BlackIce, but doesn't run on XP).

3- There isn't any 'Dos Mode' now in the startup menu (when you hit F8 at boot time). I had to reboot with an old Win98 Floppy to be able to use partition Magic in Dos. Oddly you CAN create a DOS boot disk from Explorer though... how can you boot to dos mode without a floppy now, or can you?


Thanks for any assistance.

 

It has been my experience that that is the best and safest way run Partition Magic from anyway regardless of the OS.

When run from within Windows it has to go into DOS. And if the switching into and out of DOS does not work porperly it can ( and did ) cause problems.

The answer to #1 is. It is a Microsoft fancy a** name that Windows uses for backups that XP makes of your drive(s). And they can be used to restore a system to a previous state.

I think here is a good place for a question of my own.

In XP. If a system restore is used, it restores ALL partitions to a former state. In ME I believe it could be set to just be used on certain paritions. I have also heard that it XP there is no way to stop it from running on all partitions.

BillyBob

 

Thank you PeteC

I myself see no reason for it being on anything other than the C: drive.

Why should I restore say the E: drive when the problems may all be on the C:drive.

Possibley I will have a new HD today.

BillyBob

 

A suggest only about Firewalls

Kerio does seem to do just as good job as Norton with a HELLO of a lot less System Load. Both disk space AND resources.

And the same applys to AVG Anti-Virus.

This comes from a user ( me ) who has just ended his long, long time respect for and Supporter of Symantec.

Also I understand the Norton and McAfee are one and the same now. YUCK !!!

BillyBob

 

Hmmm... ok, thanks for the input. Now I have other questions based on the responses <g> :

1- Should I then only have 'System Restore' on my main drive (C: )? As it stands I've turned it off on my other partitions, btu am awaiting your recommendations. Guess I'm wondering if I need it at all (but suppose it wouldn't hurt to keep it on C: )?

2- Now I'm torn. Should I get ZA or Kerio? Pros and cons? I've only used Blackice before, and my version doesn't run on XP. Decisions, decisions...

3- Regarding 'Dos' mode: I always booted to DOS before running P-Magic before, but am still wondering why there is no longer a 'DOS' mode to boot to in XP. There was always an option before on the F8 menu at boot time. As I said, I've created a boot floppy from the 'Create an MS-DOS startup disk' option in the 'Format' menu option (using Explorer). Just curious as to why there wouldn't be a way to boot to dos without a floppy.

Thx again.

 

Oops, forgot:

regarding

1- If I do go with only having System Restore on my main partition, do I just delete the ' "System Volume Information" directories that were created on the other partitions?

Thx,

 

For future reference, how does one create a restore point?

As for the DOS, I did create a dos boot disk, so I can always use that to run anything requiring it.

Off to try firewalls...

Thx,

 

Found out how to create a Restore Point in the Start menu under 'Help and Support':

Option:
"Undo changes to your computer with System Restore "

Thx again,

 

Wait...back to the original questions...

1.) Once you've turned off system restore on a drive, you can then safely delete the corresponding SystemVolume Information file on that drive. Saves a bunch of space.
You only need to have system restore active on drives that have INSTALLED software on them, not storage drives.

2.) The XP Firewall IS configurable. Enable the firewall, click on settings, and enable/edit the configuration. OK, maybe you can't do a LOT in there, but you can specify ports to open if needed for online gaming or whatever.

3.) DOS is gone. Apps like PM and Ghost should be run in pure DOS anyhow, not a DOS emulator. Use a boot disk, and that will ensure that they run properly. Be careful with NTFS partitions! More than one user will tell you that NTFS is "better ", but may become totally unusable, and totally unrecoverable, especially in DOS. I usually leave the boot partiton as FAT32, just so I can still use my DOS tools to fix it if necessary. I guess it depends on how much messing around you do.

If you must use a 3rd party firewall, please go get Kerio. BillyBob can point you to at least 2 extensive, multipage posts, dealing with firewalls, and anti-virus cohabitating.

 

You don't need "Full Authority" set manually.
You don't need "Simple File Sharing ".
Once system restore is turned off on a drive/partition, you can delete the "system volume information" folder completely, and it won't return.
Turning off System Restore only leaves the folders, 0 byte, as you've mentioned, but just to clean things up, go ahead and delete the folders.
System restore will recreate them if needed (when you add/remove any drive/partition to XP), and system restore will be reactivated on all (new/changed) drives/partitions.
Any account with admin priveledges can do it, you don't even need to log in as Administrator.
You've translated the terms perfectly, BTW.

 

I tried it but am not sure what to configure it to. I had it set to "Ask me First" but was being constantly pop-upped to death and wasn't sure which to allow or deny at times. I tried changing to "Deny unknown" and it seems to be working, BUT I don't see anywhere where it says what the attacks were, when etc.

I also tried Zone Alarm, but again couldn't get back to the list of possible 'attacks', although it did give a running count. I had set it to only ask about programs trying to access the net and adjusted/set them from there. Still, was a tad annoying at first.

When I used Black Ice I just set it to a level of security I wanted and could view the 'attacks' in a tab that kept a running list.

SO, what is the best way to setup Kerio, for the uninitiated?

Thx,

 

View as web page missing; Changing Icon text on Desktop

1- In Win98 when you used Explorer you had an option to "View as web page" in the menu which allowed you to see what an image file might look like on the far left of the window pane, but in XP the option no longer seems to exist?

2- On the desktop, is there a way to allow for the text under the icons to have a box around it so the text is readable on background images (i.e. black text on white box)?

Thx,

 

Mike, toggle the folder button in WE to see an image thumbnail in the bottom left corner. You will get simple text on the left instead of your file tree. HTH

 

Kerio's advanced options show you each rule you have set/enabled. It doesn't give you a running list of hits, but does write the log if that's enabled. When I said it was easy to use, I also meant that it will ONLY pop up stuff, until you have set the rules, then you don't get botherd any more (unlike ZA).
Each time a program tries to access the net, or something tries to access the computer, you get the prompt. The trick is to know what it is, if it's legit, and then to put the tick mark in the box for the rule so you don't get bugged every time. Be aware that it's doing it's job, and it's not in your face (like ZA) one you have the rules set.
If you're in doubt, you can edit, or remove any rule at any time, so as it learns what's acceptable and what isn't, so do you.
Any firewall is going to take a bit of learning, I just find that Kerio is more intuitive than most, and doesn't constantly bother you with a possible warning, it simply allows, or blocks the attempt, on whatever port, based on what it thinks, and what you've specified. Don't try and make it more confusing than it is.
I may have misread (I've been known to do that a lot ) the UNtick/tick...anyhow, you get my meaning, and stop worrying about your translation abilities, so far it's perfect.

XP has "view as web page" on by default, and is difficult to turn off. What you're referring to is the thumbnail option, and someone else will have to help with that, as I've turned mine off so long ago, I've forgotten how to set it.

On the desktop, changing the font color (or getting the little box around it again like 98) isn't as easy as it sounds.
As far as I know, it's a basis of the theme applied, and cannot be changed manually.