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Hi, Bob.

First question: The system repair disc is not hardware specific. Create it on two different Win7 machines and you’ll have two identical disks.

2nd question: Honestly, I don’t know. When researching this article, I found these instructions (or variations on them) in several sources. One thing they all agreed on was fat32. Anyway, it’s generally recommended that you use FAT32 for external media where possible because of greater compatibility, although I wouldn’t think that would be too much of a problem with a bootable drive. NTFS really doesn’t offer any advantages in a situation like this.

The real reason for using FAT-32 is that Flash Drives are always formatted in FAT-32. They don’t come any other way. That is why you need to use FAT-32 end to end.

PE Builder pops out a warning that using OEM Windows as the source for System and Driver files may produce a Rescue Disk which will not work on some computers. Your results may depend on how “modified” your computer’s OEM Windows is, compared to “pure” Windows. Laptops from Dell and Sony (Vaio) tend to be the most modified, while my old WinBook or my new Toshiba Satellite (or a Gateway or e-Machines) should be fairly standard. As with all things which are done at variance with the recommended procedures, your mileage may vary. But little is at risk, except one CD and a bit of your time.

Since Windows 7 allows you to create your own Repair Disk, why not just use that tool and not fool around with BartPE? Vista does not have this tool, so there you would have to use BartPE or something like it. And my Toshiba laptop (64-bit Windows 7) did allow me to burn a set of five or six Recovery DVDs, one of which says “Repair and Recovery”. So I think I’m set in any event. Not to mention Acronis True Image and Disk Director, both of which can be run from stand-alone CDs You can never have too many sockets in the old wrench box!

And Windows 7 64-bit is in fact quite sensitive to any OEM modifications. Also, PE Builder is based on 32-bit Windows, and may not copy all of the necessary system files for 64-bit Windows 7. One other thing I noticed is that my Windows 7 (64-bit) actually has two active partitions. One says “System” and is relatively small, while the main partition is “C:Windows”. I wonder, is this small “System” partition needed to boot 64-bit Windows 7? If so, that may be the problem right there.

-- rc primak

One thing which sets Super Antispyware apart from many malware removal programs is that, once it has been on your computer for awhile, it can restore Registry entries, files and many Windows settings which have been damaged in the course of cleaning up an infection. Avast also has this capability. This includes the type of damages seen here in this thread.

-- rc primak

Regarding .NET Framework updates — I have installed every one of them on my (personal home user) laptops (Windows XP Pro and Windows 7) without any problems. Maybe this is more of a business networking and server applications issue you have been reporting about?

And about Microsoft Security essentials — frequently the updates (even the Definitions) report they fail the first time, only to succeed the second try. I think there is a bug running around in there somewhere. Anyway, both the Definitions and the Program Updates seem to get done — eventually. Not any worse than my other security programs, or ones I’ve tried in the past. At least MSE is Native 64-bit. Only a few other security programs can make that claim.

-- rc primak

None of my computers came with an OS CD – all of them were set up with a D: “Recovery: partition from which the OS may be reinstalled. Is there a way to create the BartPE or Linux or any other [but not Mac] boot disk from that partition?

Yes, Miriam, there is a way (at least for OEM Windows XP Pro). Read on.

Miriam, I have built BartPE disks from PE Builder with only my OEM Windows installation from the same laptop on which the BartPE disk will be run. Just select the Windows Directory from your C:Windows drive as your Source for the System Files.The program warns you not to do that, but as long as the CD is being built for that one specific computer, the process goes through perfectly well, and the resulting CD is bootable.

Lincoln (Lounge Member), you are just plain wrong. What I just outlined is perfectly legal, and it usually works, although not for all OEM Windows installations.

Lincoln Spector, I still would stick with the external optical drive. Even if your system lacks an optical drive, an external CD/DVD drive is a cheap and effective add-on. And one which might pay for itself the first time you use it to run a System Rescue Disk. You would have to set your Boot Order in your BIOS to start from the external drive (usually USB) but that’s the only tricky part.

And, Lincoln Spector, thanks for the tip on making a Windows 7 Repair CD. I’ll get on that one in the morning.

-- rc primak

Disk management (checking and changing partitions or whole disks) is one area I do not entrust to free products. And I have seen serious disk errors introduced by using the Windows built-in disk management tools. I use Acronis Disk Director (currently in version 11). It can check a disk when Checkdisk cannot, make repairs beyond what Windows can do, recover munged partitions and sectors, and expand or shrink partitions. The interface is simple, clean and easy to use. Just remember to apply each change by clicking on the yellow “commit” button which appears in the interface top taskbar when a change has been selected. And BACK UP YOUR DATA before making any changes in the partition structure of your drive! I like Acronis True Image Home for this task. Again, I do not entrust system backups to free software. When a system backup just HAS to work, I don’t mind paying for a product which gets the job done consistently.

By the way, even if your system lacks an optical drive, an external CD/DVD drive is a cheap and effective add-on. And one which might pay for itself the first time you use it to run a System Rescue Disk. You would have to set your Boot Order in your BIOS to start from the external drive (usually USB) but that’s the only tricky part.

-- rc primak

Has anybody used VLC Player in place of Flash Player? I mean, has anyone actually dumped (completely removed) all traces of Flash Player, and then tried to watch streaming videos at PBS.org, Hulu.com, You Tube, and TV.com? Do these sites work with VLC Player and no Flash Player installed? Or do they insist that you must download and install Flash Player or a modified Flash Player, such as the ABC Move Player? So, did you folks really dump Flash Player? I sincerely doubt it!

-- rc primak

Just because a firewall passes a “leak test” does not mean it is good. It means that the vendor knew the parameters of that specific test, and specifically tuned their product to pass that test. The problem is, these “leak tests” do not reflect real-world environments. It’s like creating custom “malware” which does not exist in the field, and then tuning your predictive heuristics to block or remove that particular piece of lab-created artificial code. Again, if vendors pay the “research lab”, they can get a preview of the specs for the upcoming tests, and tune their products to pass those tests. Matousec has done this with Outpost, and they were totally discredited on that basis. So these tests must be taken with a very large grain of salt, especially if the testing lab is a for-profit company.

Comodo has complained for years about the lack of objectivity of Matousec, even though their firewall consistently passes the tests with flying colors. Gibson Research is much more trustworthy than Matousec, but I still believe that some vendors were tipped off before the tests, and made specific changes to their products in order to gain higher scores. Call me paranoid, but I do believe that a company can be bought off — even Gibson.

Norton as a complete suite has passed all INDEPENDENT lab tests with flying colors. There is also nothing wrong with the Windows 7 or Vista firewall — both versions will keep you safe enough for almost any legitimate purpose on the Internet, when combined with adequate antivirus (Microsoft Security Essentials) and antispyware (Super Antispyware) scanners and perhaps some web shields, or a safer browser (like Firefox or Chrome).

How safe do you need to be? What do you do on line which puts you at greater risk? Can you control or reduce these risks? Are you a careful web surfer, or do you click on anything which flashes at you? If a security alert pops up, do you always click “allow”? And isn’t that the same as if the alert never came up, and the security program did nothing to protect you? Ninety-nine plus percent of the time, the problem with on line safety lies between the keyboard and the chair — i.e., the End User.

I am currently running 64-bit Windows 7 Home Premium with MSE and the out-of-the-box Windows 7 firewall. Nothing else active. I browse with Chrome with only a few privacy Extensions (including a nice one which blocks Google Analytics). I patch as advised. And I maintain a good, clean Acronis backup of the System and Windows partitions on an external drive which never connects to the Internet. Am I safe? Safe enough. Am I going to worry that I could be safer? No, I have better things to do with my time.

Norton is perfectly fine security software — in fact, it is overkill, and that is why I do not use it. One of the first things I did on this laptop was to remove the pre-installed Norton Internet Security Trial Subscription software. But if you like Norton, keep it. It will serve you well, even without raising it to “paranoid” security levels.

-- rc primak

Same here (ALT and wheel does what the wheel usually does) am I missing something.
In Chrome the BBC videos – but not iPlayer – nor on-page videos in other sites – do not work. BBC unhelpful.

Videos use modified players, so some features are not available within a video frame. Sorry.

-- rc primak

On my Toshiba Satellite laptop, Chrome responds to CTRL-Scroll Wheel for zooming in and out. So some computers use ALT while others use CTRL.

-- rc primak

Chalk up another vote for Nitro PDF Reader. They have other on line tools, browser plug-ins, and a growing list of PDF editing tools, all for free. I run .NET Framework because I like Paint.NET, so that is not a problem. In my new Toshiba Windows 7 64-bit laptop, Nitro runs as a partially 64-bit program, and .NET Framework works as a 64-bit environment. Which makes Nitro in this environment very speedy and responsive. Nitro’s Primo PDF allows extensive editing as well. I use Chrome on the Toshiba, but on my old Windows XP WinBook, I ran Firefox with the Nitro PDF download plug-in. SSL pages never worked, but other web to PDF downloads were just fine.

-- rc primak

For any on line purchases I use a thing called a “Debit VISA” card that my bank puts out. It works just like a credit card but can only draw on the money already put into its account. It usually sits close to zero, but when I need to make a purchase on line I just transfer the funds I need into it and use it. If some hacker gets hold of the number and tries to clean me out all he/she will get is a few dollars I leave in it to keep it alive. Seems the perfect answer to me.

Let’s not confuse this type of rechargeable, special-purpose debit card with the more general term “debit card”.

I do not recommend the use of debit cards on line. Your account linked to the debit card may not have sufficient funds for a purchase, but your bank can assess hefty fees for any transaction which would overdraw the account linked to the debit card. And with a debit card, once the money is spent, you have no recourse if goods are not delivered in good condition or in a timely fashion. Dispute resolution is much more difficult with a debit card compared with a single-use actual or virtual credit card. Gift Cards are a good alternative, and as posted above, it is possible at the iTunes Store to remove a credit card once you are signed up, and not replace it with another card.

All of this having been said, I have a Yahoo Mail Plus Account which charges my debit card every year automatically. And Yahoo’s Terms of Service clearly state that if your card cannot be billed, they can find another account you own, and start charging that account, unless you notify Yahoo to discontinue the Mail Plus services. I would be surprised if Apple did not have a similar term in their TOS. So if they wanted to pursue you, I believe they could. They just don’t in most cases.

So, do I worry about ID Theft in my Yahoo account? Yes, a little. Have any problems shown up? None in three years. And my Yahoo Web Mail Account has never shown any sign of being hacked in eight years, some with the free account, and sometimes even when I was using Public Computers at my local Library. Dumb luck? I don’t think so. Lack of on line shopping and social networking? Possibly. Someone already checked me out and found out that I have little personal wealth? That could explain it.

-- rc primak

Chrome will show many of these popups just as badly as IE or Firefox. Firefox can block them with its NoScript add-on. Chrome does not have this, but it does support AdBlock Plus. I would not rely on third-party antispyware programs for this purpose. IE settings are useless in this situation.

BTW, the Netflix ad comes from Zedo.com, and is generally harmless. Just close it after you get to your desktop.

-- rc primak

First, you do need Adobe Flash Player. Some web content will not open or play without that player. Alternatives like VLC Player will not play embedded Flash content, and cannot play streaming videos which use modified Flash Players (such as Hulu.com). Silverlight, as stated above, is an entirely different plug-in, made for different content.

Second, the current Flash Player upgrade is different from previous versions, in that it includes a hardware acceleration linkage. This time, more than previous times, you will want to uninstall all previous versions before installing the current version.

Check with Secunia PSI to make sure you have gotten rid of ALL previous versions. Flash can be installed in non-standard locations on a computer.

-- rc primak

Drivers won’t be a problem if you back up your drivers to a single folder (also known as exporting them) and save that folder to a flash drive before doing a reinstall using any generic Windows XP Install CD. I use DriverMax to do this, but there are tons of other driver backup utilities out there.

-- rc primak

Yes, MS does have new versions of PE for Vista and Windows 7 but I don’t think they support the variety of plugins like Bart’s PE Builder. Which BTW runs on Vista and Windows 7 just fine.

Oh. OK. Good to know.

-- rc primak