Emergency repair disks for Windows: Part 1

Emergency repair disks for Windows: Part 1

When your PC won’t boot from its hard drive, you might be dead in the water — unless you’ve created a bootable emergency repair disk or drive.

Repair disks don’t simply get PCs started; they also include tools that might fix what’s wrong with the system. And creating a repair disk takes just minutes.

Rescue-disk options for all Windows versions

There are various ways to create self-contained, emergency, boot/repair disks. With Win7 and 8, creating excellent repair discs is quick and easy. Vista and XP also offer repair disk–creation tools, but the process takes a bit more effort.

There are also numerous third-party boot disks — both free and paid — that work with all versions of Windows. The best of these have repair and recovery options that far exceed Windows’ native tools.

Of course, you can boot PCs using original Windows installation CDs or DVDs, and they provide some basic recovery tools. But most PCs now ship with the setup files in a special partition on the hard drive. Those files will be inaccessible if you didn’t take the time to create an emergency boot disk. In other words, a recovery partition might do you no good whatsoever in an emergency if you can’t boot the PC!

Even if you’ve diligently made system-image backups, you might still need an emergency disk at hand to restore the most recent image.

In Part 1 of this two-part article, I’ll discuss a wide range of emergency repair disks for XP, Vista, Win7, and Win8. I’ll start with the options in Windows 8 and work back to XP. I’ll also begin with Windows’ built-in tools and then mention some excellent third-party products — most of them free!

Next week, in Part 2, you’ll see how to use these disks to boot your PC and how to access what repair tools they contain. I’ll also include some advanced tips and tricks.

Windows 8: Using the Recovery Media Creator

Windows 8.0 and 8.1 both include the built-in Recovery Media Creator. This tool lets you easily set up a flash drive or an external USB drive as a bootable recovery/repair disk. The Windows 8.0 version of the tool can make bootable CDs or DVDs as well.

A standard Win8 recovery drive (or CD/DVD) contains a bootable recovery image — a stripped-down, special-purpose version of Win8 — that will boot your PC. It also includes tools for repairing or restoring your main Win8 setup. It might also include tools for resetting or refreshing the PC from a full system image, such as that provided by the original manufacturer.

(For more information on Refresh and Reset, see these three Top Stories: Aug. 15, 2013, “A ‘no-reformat reinstall’ for Windows 8”; Sept. 12, 2013, “A clean-slate reinstall for Windows 8”; and Oct. 10, 2013, “Creating customized recovery images for Win8.”)

If your PC contains an accessible, factory-installed recovery image (typically, in its own dedicated partition), Recovery Media Creator (RMC) can also add the image to the bootable recovery drive. If necessary, you can completely rebuild your system solely from the recovery drive. (You can even place a custom restore image on the recovery drive. I’ll cover that in Part 2.)

The Recovery Media Creator is very easy to use. Here’s how:

• In an admin-level account, type Win + W (the Windows-flag key plus the W key) or swipe to open the Charms menu bar.
• Enter recovery drive in the search box (use the Search/Settings box on Win8.0) and then click the Create a recovery drive icon when it appears. The Recovery Drive tool will open (see Figure 1).
  

  Figure 1. Windows 8's Recovery Media Creator is point-and-click simple to use.

• If your system has a recovery partition, select whether you want to include the recovery image with the new, bootable recovery/repair drive.

  If the Copy the recovery partition from the PC to the recovery drive checkbox is shown in black and is clickable, you can add your PC’s factory-installed recovery image to the recovery drive. Simply check the box to enable this option.

  If that checkbox is grayed out and unclickable, then obviously you can’t add a factory image to your recovery drive. But don’t worry; your new recovery drive will still contain a bootable, stripped-down Win8 recovery image plus the standard array of recovery/repair tools.

  When you’re ready, click Next.

• RMC will then tell you how much space the recovery files — and system image, if selected — will take. Connect a USB drive to your PC that’s at least equal to the required size. Keep in mind that the drive can be used only as a bootable recovery/repair drive; everything else on the drive will be deleted.
• If you have more than one USB drive attached, RMC will list available drives. Select the one you want to use for the recovery drive and click Next. The next dialog box will warn you that everything on the selected USB drive will be overwritten. When you’re ready, click Create.
• The bootable recovery image, the recovery/repair tools, and the factory image (if selected) will now be copied to the recovery/repair drive. This might take several minutes.
• If you chose to copy a factory image, RMC will now give you the option of deleting the OEM recovery partition from your hard drive, to save space. Delete or keep the partition — it’s your choice.
• Click Finish.
• Unplug the USB drive and store it in a safe place.

For more information on Win8’s Recovery Media Creator, see the Microsoft Support page, “Create a USB recovery drive.”

Windows 7: The Create a system repair disc tool

Win7 was the first Windows to ship with an automated tool for creating bootable emergency repair CDs or DVDs. The tool doesn’t do as much as the Win8 version — for example, you can’t add an OEM recovery image — but it does keep things simple. With just a few clicks, your recovery disc is done!

Here’s how:

• Insert a blank CD/DVD into the PC’s optical drive.
• In an admin account, open the Backup and Restore applet; click Start/Control Panel/System and Security/Backup and Restore.
• In the applet’s left pane, click Create a system repair disc.
• Confirm that the correct optical drive is selected. Click Create disc (see Figure 2) and follow the on-screen steps.
  

  Figure 2. Win7's Create a system repair disc lets you build a bootable repair CD/DVD with just a few clicks.

Note: If Win7 can’t find the files it needs, it’ll prompt you to insert a Windows installation disc.

For more details, Microsoft offers a video tutorial on its Win7 “Create a system repair disc” page.

Vista: Enabling and using Create Recovery Disk

A beta version of Vista SP1 shipped with the nice Create Recovery Disk (recdisc.exe) utility (see Figure 3). But, for reasons known only to Microsoft, the utility was neutered in all production versions. The recdisc.exe file still lives in Vista — but it doesn’t function!

Figure 3. Vista's vestigial recdisc.exe is nonfunctional by default; but with a little work, it can be made useful.

However, enthusiasts liked the working version of the utility. So they made the files available for download — along with how-to information. It’s not an officially sanctioned option, but it has been openly discussed and recommended by Microsoft MVPs in the Microsoft Answers forum. For example, see the Microsoft Answers thread, “Creating system recovery disk for Windows Vista.”

Obtaining recdisk.exe isn’t difficult, but the steps are too long to detail here. The third-party VistaForums thread, “How to create a Vista recovery disc,” contains the best how-to instructions I know of. The only thing I’d add to the how-to is the standard admonition: Make a backup before applying any system alterations.

If the above is outside your comfort zone, consider using a third-party boot disc, as discussed below.

Windows XP: Third-party tool is needed

XP has no native, built-in option for creating a bootable emergency repair disk.

For years, the best alternative was UBCD4Win (Ultimate Boot CD for Windows). But creating that boot disc is a long and complex process that requires some technical prowess and access to a full-blown XP setup CD.

UBCD4Win (site) is still around — and still free — but I no longer recommend it. There’s now a better tool.

Hiren’s BootCD offers an astonishing array of freeware tools — close to 100 in all (list).

The CD itself is Linux-based, but you don’t have to know Linux; the text-based main app has simple menus for choosing the tools you want to run. (See Figure 4.)

Figure 4. Hiren's BootCD offers an array of about 100 freeware repair/recovery tools.

Oddly, Hiren’s BootCD also contains a stripped-down “MiniXP,” offered on a “grayware” honor-system basis. It’s intended as an emergency repair tool for use by owners of legitimate, paid-for copies of XP — not as a replacement for buying a license or as a standard XP setup. Within that limited context, it works fine. When your regular (legitimate and paid-for) XP setup won’t boot, Hiren’s BootCD’s MiniXP can help you get it going again.

You can get Hiren’s BootCD on its download page. But finding the correct download link can be a challenge — the page contains several distracting, alternate download links for unrelated tools.

The true link to Hiren’s BootCD’s download file is toward the bottom of the page and appears — as of this writing — as shown in Figure 5.

Figure 5. Actual Hiren's BootCD download link

If you have trouble finding where to click, here’s the current direct link to the file.

All Windows versions: Free repair disks

If Windows’ native tools are unavailable or won’t work for you, there are many free, alternative, boot/repair disks. Like Hiren’s BootCD, most are Linux-based and come preconfigured with a wide range of maintenance and recovery tools.

Here are four of the best:

• Trinity Rescue Kit (free/donationware; home page, download page) is designed specifically for recovery and repair operations on Windows machines but can also be used for Linux recovery issues. It uses a simple text-and-keyboard menu system by default, with a Linux command line also available.
• Ultimate Boot CD (free; site) contains over 100 repair/restore/diagnostic tools in an easy-to-use, text-and-keyboard menu interface.
• SystemRescueCd (free; homepage, download page) provides basic repair/recovery tools in a hybrid text/graphical Linux environment.
• Ubuntu Rescue Remix (free; site) offers a range of open-source data recovery, repair, and forensics tools. However, it’s almost entirely Linux command-line based, which might make it challenging for those more comfortable in a point-and-click environment.

The automated Easy Recovery Essentials

NeoSmart Technologies’ Easy Recovery Essentials tools deserve separate discussion. They’re favorably mentioned in almost every online Windows repair/recovery forum.

In part, it’s because the tools are quite good and can work on all Windows versions — XP, Vista, Win7, Win8, Windows Server.

But the tools’ popularity developed partly because they were free. Although many online discussion forums still refer to the NeoSmart discs as free, they are in fact now commercial products. Fees start at U.S. $20 for the Home editions of Easy Recovery Essentials and go up to $75 for Server editions. You can find a list of all versions and prices on the NeoSmart site.

For what is a really modest price, you get a bootable .iso image that you can download and burn to a CD, DVD, or USB drive. Once launched, Easy Recovery Essentials offers highly automated repair and recovery options. In fact, many complex repair operations can be launched with one simple click — no further user input required.

You can get an idea of how easy the tools are to use in a NeoSmart video demo. NeoSmart also offers a money-back guarantee (more info).

Which recovery/repair tool is right for you?

I suggest you start with the native Windows tools, if possible. They’ll handle most routine tasks and might be all you need. They also offer familiar operation and few surprises. Hey — you’ve already paid for them!

If the Windows tools don’t work for you, try the free Linux-based bootable recovery/repair disks. Although the Linux environment might be unfamiliar to most Windows users — especially Linux command-line tools — there’s usually enough documentation to help you through any rough spots.

If neither the built-in Windows tools nor the free Linux tools work for you, then commercial tools might be ideal. NeoSmart’s Easy Recovery Essentials tools, in particular, work well, are extremely simple to use, and come with a money-back guarantee.

Next week: You’ll see how to use these repair/recovery disks to boot your PC and to access the tools they contain. I’ll also include some advanced tips and tricks. Stay tuned!

Simplifying life: How to have email, sans PC?

Writing on behalf of two colleagues, Lounge member klxdrt asked members in the General Productivity forum for some advice: How to send and receive email without using a personal computer? “Don’t laugh,” he said — because his coworkers were serious.

The suggestions offered are both practical and genial. The question suggests we’ve reached a point where some don’t need a full computer, but everyone needs mail delivery over the Internet.

The following links are this week’s most interesting Lounge threads, including several new questions for which you might have answers:

Office Applications
General Productivity	How to send and receive email without PC?
Word Processing	MS Office transferable from old to new laptop?
Spreadsheets	Microsoft Map: From Excel 2000 and earlier
Databases	Access 2010: Limiting records in grouped report
Microsoft Outlook	Strange behavior with Caps Lock in Outlook 2010 and Win 8.1
Non-Outlook E-mail	Outlook Express links won’t work
Windows
General Windows	Recommendations to replace existing computer
Windows 8	Can’t run .aspx webpage from IE 10
Windows 7	Can’t print wirelessly when external USB HD is on
Windows XP	XP is long way from gone
Windows Servers	Add info about computers into Active Directory?
Internet/Connectivity
Internet Explorer	Possible Internet Explorer 11 problem
Third-Party Browsers	Search hijack?
Networking	Setting up printer via VPN
Other Technologies
Security & Scams	Need firewall recommendation to work with AVG
Maintenance	Setting up Disk Cleanup in Task Scheduler
Hardware	USB 2.0 vs. USB 3.0

starred posts: particularly useful

If you’re not already a Lounge member, use the quick registration form to sign up for free. The ability to post comments and take advantage of other Lounge features is available only to registered members.

If you’re already registered, you can jump right into today’s discussions in the Lounge.

Diagnosing a computer's power-state troubles

When a PC won’t restart, suspend, sleep, or hibernate properly, how to find and fix what’s wrong.

Plus: Understanding the system-folder name changes between Win XP and Win7/8, and using an Android .iso to boot and run your entire PC.

Personal computer won’t wake from sleep mode

Reader Bob Gellman’s PC won’t restart without a full power-off cycle. It also shows unexpected wake/sleep activity.

• “Hi, Fred. I have a Sony Vaio all-in-one running Win 8.1. I can’t restart it — it just hangs. For a successful boot, I have to turn it off entirely and then turn it on. Its normal restart capability [from sleep or hibernation] disappeared at some unknown time.

  “How do I go about diagnosing this problem and — better yet — fixing it? Going back to an earlier configuration just doesn’t seem practical. I’ve already spent more than 50 hours (not all at one time!) setting up and configuring the machine to my liking.

  “One possibly relevant observation: If I hibernate the machine, it seems to wake up on its own in the middle of the night. I’ve nothing scheduled to run then — or at any other time.”

That combination of issues sounds like a problem with your PC’s power state–management subsystem. Something’s not responding properly to power-down commands and something else is causing the unexpected wake-ups.

Windows typically supports system power states that are defined by the Advanced Configuration and Power Interface (ACPI) specification. You’ll find specifics on the ACPI site, but Wikipedia’s explanation is somewhat more digestible.

The MSDN page, “System power states,” nicely details Windows’ ACPI support.

That said, PC hardware vendors don’t have to adhere to the spec. They can add, delete, or modify available system power states as they wish. For example, I have a Toshiba system that has its own “Eco” mode, which doesn’t conform to the official ACPI specs.

As you might expect, these nonstandard, vendor-specific modes can complicate troubleshooting. Fortunately, Bob, you have several diagnostic options. Let’s start by looking at what Windows normally can control, diagnose, and repair on its own.

With Vista, Microsoft began offering a variety of automated diagnostic and repair programs called Troubleshooters. Win7 and Win8 expanded on Vista’s set of troubleshooters. Some of these tools are built into the operating system; others, such as those listed on the “Troubleshooting in Windows” site, are Web-based and might include automated fixit utilities.

The exact number of built-in diagnostic and repair tools can vary, depending on your setup. But Windows 8 typically has around 19 built-in, automated Troubleshooters (see Figure 1) — including one for problems with the power-management subsystem.

Figure 1. Win8's 19 built-in troubleshooting tools; Vista and Win7 have somewhat fewer.

All the Win8 Troubleshooters are located on the Control Panel/All Control Panel Items/Troubleshooting page. Here’s an easy way to access the power troubleshooter:

• Press Win + W (the Windows flag key plus the W key) or swipe to open the Charms menu bar.
• Type troubleshooting into the Win8.1 Search box (in Win8.0, use the Search/Settings box). Click the Troubleshooting icon when it appears.
• Select the View all link on the left side of the Troubleshooting dialog box.
• Click Power and follow the on-screen instructions.

If the Troubleshooter can’t find and fix the problem, try another built-in, automated repair system — System File Checker (SFC). Open an admin-level command window and enter the sfc /scannow command. If SFC finds system files that have been altered or corrupted, it’ll replace them with known-good copies. (In some setups, you might need to have your original setup or repair discs handy as a source of known-good files.)

In the event the problem persists, try a nondestructive reinstall. That process can replace all system files while leaving the rest of your setup partly or completely intact. (How intact depends on the steps you’ve taken before the reinstall process starts.) For details, see the Aug. 15, 2013, Top Story, “A ‘no-reformat reinstall’ for Windows 8,” and the Oct. 10, 2013, Top Story, “Creating customized recovery images for Win8.”

Still stuck? You’ll have to resort to manual troubleshooting.

Some users report that anti-malware tools are the source of power-state troubles. Avast and Acronis crop up in many online discussions about power-state problems. You might try temporarily disabling your anti-malware tool(s) to see whether that solves the problem.

If you’ve recently updated your network-adapter drivers, the new drivers might have altered the hardware’s power settings, leading to conflicts with normal power-state transitions. Here’s how to check:

• Type Device Manager into the Win8.1 Search box (or Search/Settings, in Win8) and click the Device Manager icon when it appears.
• Scroll down to Network Adapters and double-click it to open its list of devices. For each network adapter listed, right-click its name and select Properties; then select the Power Management tab.
• Make sure the option Allow the computer to turn off this device to save power is enabled. (See Figure 2.)
  

  Figure 2. Make sure Windows is allowed to control your network adapter's power states.

Your last option for fixing Windows is to use the powercfg command-line tool to explore the PC’s power configuration settings. It’s not for beginners, though; it requires some very geeky spelunking of obscure device settings.

Feel free to skip powercfg if it’s outside your comfort zone. If, however, you want to try it, powercfg‘s options and operation are described on a TechNet page.

Five specific powercfg commands could be of help. In an admin-level command window, enter:

• powercfg /? – lists all available powercfg commands.
• powercfg /l – lists all power plans in the current environment. The power plan highlighted with an asterisk is the one that’s currently active.
• powercfg /q – lists detailed technical contents of all your PC’s power plans. Using other commands (listed in powercfg /? and on the related TechNet page), you can then experimentally modify anything that seems out of whack. But make a backup first!
• powercfg /devicequery wake_armed – shows all devices that can wake the computer.
• powercfg /lastwake – shows what event or device last woke up the PC — or tried to.

If none of the above helps, the problem is not likely to be in Windows itself but rather in some modification or alteration that’s specific to your brand and model of PC.

In this case, your court of last resort would be to visit the vendor’s support pages (e.g., Sony’s Vaio support) to see what help is available.

Folder name changes between XP and Win7/8

Like many readers, Don Smith is migrating from XP to a newer Windows version. But some of the changes in system folder names and locations have messed up his backup system.

• “Fred, thanks for all the recent info on backing up. But, being kind of new to Win7, I need help with which folders to back up. Is it Documents or My Documents — and from which folder: User\{my name} or Libraries\Documents?

  “It seems as if the same files are saved in several different folders on the C: drive, and I don’t know which one to back up using my sync tool — PTReplicator.”

Here’s the key thing, Don — in XP, your user documents were stored here:

C:\Documents and Settings\{username}My Documents

In Vista, Win7, and Win8, the equivalent folder is:

C:\Users\{username}\Documents

In some Vista/Win7/Win8 systems that were upgraded (rather than installed from scratch), you might also see a vestigial My Documents folder. But it’s there for compatibility — the real Vista/Win7/Win8 documents folder is at C:Users\{username}\Documents.

The Win7/8 Libraries are a whole ‘nother thing. Library folders are a special kind of virtual folder — technically, a kind of link — that lets you treat files from different locations as if they were all in one place. You can find complete information on Win7’s Libraries in the March 10, 2011, Top Story, “Make the most of Windows 7’s Libraries.”

But to answer your question directly: for simple, direct copying or synching of your user documents and related files in Vista/Win7/Win8, the C:\Users\{username}\Documents folder is the one to use.

Can Android boot and run your entire PC?

The March 13 Top Story, “How to run Google’s Android OS on a Windows PC,” generated some interesting mail — such as this note from Australian reader Anthony Patterson.

• “Is the android-x86 .iso image bootable?

  “If so, could you use an old XP laptop and boot off a CD into Android and use it for light browsing, etc.?

  “You could then make use of unused hardware (even if the hard drive died) and have a fast OS, with a short boot-up time, for basic use.

  “It’d be like a poor man’s tablet but with a keyboard and mouse instead of a touch screen! Could be good for those of us who cannot afford a more expensive tablet or computer.”

Yes, the Android-x86 .iso is bootable. If you burn it to a CD or DVD and set your PC to boot from its optical drive, you can boot and run your PC directly from the Android-x86 .iso — provided that your hardware is directly compatible with what Android needs.

But I don’t recommend that. If you’re looking for a bootable, non-Windows operating system, remember that Android-x86 is a variant of Android, which in turn is a variant of Linux.

Therefore, you’ll get much better results by eliminating the middlemen. Skip the Android/Android-x86 variants and simply run any of the excellent, free, live distributions of Linux proper. They’re already optimized for normal desktop use, and they carry none of the specialized phone/tablet/touchscreen baggage that Android brings with it.

Ubuntu is currently the most popular, full-blown, desktop version of Linux. It’s a major piece of software; the install files weigh in at about 900MB. You can get a free/donationware copy at the Ubuntu download site.

At the other end of the spectrum, Puppy Linux is one of the smallest and most complete versions of Linux available. At less than 100MB, it fits on and can boot from even tiny USB drives. It’s also incredibly easy to set up and use. And the small size means it runs great on older, slower (e.g., XP-era) PCs. If you’re new to Linux, Puppy Linux is about as painless an introduction as you’ll find. You can get a free/donationware copy of Puppy Linux at the publisher’s site.

In short: Use Android-x86 if you specifically want to run Android on your PC. But for a general-purpose, non-Windows operating system, a less modified version of Linux is probably a better bet.

Time for spring cleaning — your hard drive

Is Windows sending regular nag notifications that you’re running out of hard-drive space? Or perhaps you’re trying to squeeze onto that new SSD?

Spring cleaning for your PC mostly means looking through the contents of your hard drive and getting rid of the accumulated garbage.

Don’t replace hard drives; clean them

Some time ago, the 320GB hard drive in my laptop was running out of room. So I replaced it with a 500GB drive. Then, a couple of weeks later, I realized that a large part of what had been choking the drive was garbage — digital stuff I could easily do without.

As a penance for wasting U.S. $80 on a new and bigger drive, I’ll tell you how to do the chore I should have done myself — starting with cleaning the crud out of Windows and installed applications. After that, we’ll look at the accumulated data in the Windows libraries and other locations.

If you’ve separated the OS and data into separate partitions, as I described in the Jan. 26, 2012, (article), “Hard-drive partitioning gives better protection,” the first section — “Clean the code” — will clean up the primary (typically C:) partition. The section after that — “Clean out unneeded data” will apply to your data partition (typically D:). If you haven’t taken my previous advice (it’s okay; I’m not offended), both sections will help you clean up C:.

How often you should clean up your hard drive depends on how intensely you use the PC. I recommend once a year as a minimum. If you’re pounding the keyboard every day, twice a year should keep the accumulation of unneeded files to a minimum.

Before we start the process of sweeping out our PCs, one last important warning. Whenever you make changes to system files, something might fail. Don’t start this task until you’ve made a full image backup of your system files. (I’ll assume your data files are already backed up on an external drive or the cloud.)

For simplicity, most of this discussion focuses on Windows 7 and 8. But with relatively minor modifications, some of these steps also apply to XP and Vista.

Clean code: Slimming down Windows and apps

Removing bits and pieces from Windows or uninstalling applications can lead to unexpected consequences. So, as an added measure of safety, create a Windows restore point. If, at some point during the cleanup process, Windows or an app starts behaving badly, a restore point can make recovery much faster and easier than restoring an image backup and starting over.

You can create a restore point in all versions of Windows from XP on. To do so in XP, click Start/All Programs/Accessories/System Tools/System Restore. In all other Windows versions, type “system restore” into the Windows search box and select Create a restore point in the search results. When the System Protection dialog box opens, click the Create button, type a descriptive name, and then click Create.

Remove unwanted apps: With our systems safely protected, it’s time to uninstall unwanted programs. Open Windows’ Programs and Features and look over the list of installed apps. Seriously consider removing any application you no longer use, have never used — or didn’t even know you had. If you’re unsure what an app does, Google it. (Some of us are bad about trying new apps and then failing to uninstall them after deciding they’re not what we were looking for.)

Run Windows disk cleaner: Once you’ve removed apps you don’t want, your next stop is Windows’ built-in disk-cleaning tool. Type cleanmgr into the Windows search box and select cleanmgr.exe. Disk Cleanup will open; if it asks you to pick a drive, select the one with Windows on it — typically C:. Press OK and let the tool scan your system drive.

Disk Cleanup eventually provides a list of items you might want to delete. Ignore that list; you’re going for the better one. Click the Clean up system files button and wait while the app scans again. The resulting list should clean up a good deal more. (The option to clean up system files is not in XP or Vista. Originally optional in Win7, it was added to most Win7 systems via KB 2852386.)

The potentially big fish, if they show up, are Service Pack Backup Files and Windows Update Cleanup (see Figure 1). However, before you check these items and remove the related files, consider this: if you remove these files, you give up the ability to uninstall problematic Windows updates. There’s no going back; using a restore point won’t help — you can recover only via a recent image backup. So make sure any recent updates are properly installed and working.

Figure 1. The most recent Disk Cleanup wizard lets you remove outdated system-backup files.

With that said, I almost always clean out service pack and Windows Update backup files.

Look at the other Disk Cleanup options and decide what you can do without.

Remove temporary files: You might also want to clean out your local Temp folder. To get there, type %temp% into the Windows search box and press Enter.

Here’s the rule about Temp. You can safely delete any file in this folder that’s older than your last boot. So if you shut down your PC last night (and no: sleep mode and hibernation don’t count) and booted it this morning, you can safely delete any file not dated today. Sorting or grouping files by date makes this task easier.

Clean out downloads: Finally, take a look at your Downloads folder(s). Type downloads into the Windows search box; one or more folders will be listed in the search results.

There’s little point in keeping the installation files for apps you’ve downloaded and (probably) installed. You can always download them again — as, usually, more up-to-date versions.

Clean out unneeded data: Dupes and behemoths

Chances are good that your data files take up more disk space than Windows and all your applications put together. So your data folders — documents, music, pictures, video, and so on — are where you’ll do most of the real cleaning.

Here’s the point at which you want to ensure you have recent, reliable backups. You can always reinstall an application — and even Windows, if you really need to. But you might never recover accidentally deleted family photos or that report the boss is expecting. (Keep in mind that old backups might disappear, too, depending on how you’ve archived the files. For more on backup strategies, see Fred Langa’s recent two-part series: “Sorting out the revolution in PC backups,” Part 1 and Part 2.)

If you proceed carefully, no harm will come. So let’s get to it.

You’ve likely got a lot to look over. As I write this, my Documents folder contains 99,539 files in 3,001 folders — and that doesn’t include the Picture, Music, and Videos libraries. Clearly, you don’t want to spend hours examining every file in every folder.

Start with the really big files and folders: One shortcut is to go for the big critters; by concentrating on the largest files and folders, you can make room quickly. Deleting one 100MB file frees up as much space as 1,024 100KB files — and takes a lot less time.

To find the true space-wasters, run MindGems’ free utility Folder Size (site). In an easy, graphic way, Folder Size helps you identify and explore the folders taking up the most disk space. It lets you concentrate on the whales and ignore the minnows.

Once you’ve launched Folder Size and scanned a drive or a folder, the program displays a pie chart of the drive’s content (see Figure 2), which lets you easily see where the space is being used — and possibly wasted. Click on a slice of the pie, and Folder Size drills down through layers of subfolders, showing you what’s fat and what’s thin inside.

Figure 2. Folder Size provides a graphical display of what files and folders are consuming the most space.

The app also displays a more conventional file list above the pie chart. From there, you can open and delete files or relocate them in Windows Explorer (File Explorer in Windows 8).

MindGems also offers a free, experimental portable version. A $25 “Personal” version includes filters, printing, and reports on the oldest and newest files.

Hunt down duplicates: Duplicate files also provide fertile ground for retrieving lost disk space. And a utility can help here, too. I recommend DigitalVolcano’s Duplicate Cleaner Free (site).

The program’s Search Criteria tab provides plenty of options for controlling how you define duplicates. You can — but needn’t — insist that the files’ contents are identical. I strongly recommend you keep the Same Content option on; you don’t want to casually delete similar files. You can require the same name, size, and/or date plus filter out certain types of files.

Figure 3. Duplicate Cleaner Free provides various duplicates-search criteria and filters in an easy-to-use interface.

Best of all, you can set a minimum size. Again, your time is better spent concentrating on large files.

There’s also an Audio Mode to help you find duplicate versions of the same song. You can select by same or similar artist, title, and album. Unfortunately, the Match Audio Data only option doesn’t work in the free version; you’ll have to shell out $30 for that. The utility’s Image Mode is also functional only in the paid version (but keep reading for an alternative).

The Duplicate Files tab shows you the results of the last scan. Blue and white bands group the duplicates for easy identification (see Figure 4). You can check individual files for deletion or use various tools to group-select files. For instance, you can click the magic wand icon and select Mark/Select by group/All but one file in each selection.

Figure 4. Duplicate files are displayed in colored bands for quick review.

I promised another option for finding duplicate photos. It’s the unfortunately named Awesome Duplicate Photo Finder (ADPF, for the sake of convenience; site). I’m not sure I’d call it awesome, but it does the job well — despite the fact that it hasn’t been updated since 2012.

I’ll tell you one thing that isn’t awesome. The installation routine attempts to install potentially unwanted programs. While in the installation wizard, be sure to select Custom Installation. Or just use the portable version, which doesn’t need to be installed.

After you’ve launched the ADPF, selected your photo folders, and run the scan, the program lists pairs of matching or similar images. Select a pair; the images are displayed side by side, so you can visually compare them.

The program rates each pair’s similarity. A score of 100 percent means you’ve got two identical files. You can safely delete one and keep the other.

Unfortunately, you can’t delete duplicate pictures en masse, as you can with Duplicate Cleaner. ADPF requires the potentially time-consuming process of reviewing and deleting files one at a time. I recommend that you enable Delete Files without Confirmation, in the Settings dialog box, to make the task easier.

Once you get below 100 percent similarity (you can sort by similarity rating), you must compare paired images carefully. For example, two test images with a 49 percent match were, after visual examination, clearly two photos taken seconds apart, with the subject looking in another direction (see Figure 5).

Figure 5. Awesome Duplicate Photo Finder paired these two images and gave them a 49 percent match.

On the other hand, of two images rated an 89 percent match, one had been converted to black and white (see Figure 6). ADPF paired resized image pairs as the same photo, but severely cropped photos went unmatched.

Figure 6. ADPF gave these two images an 89 percent match.

The final cleanup: When you’re done with uninstalling applications, using Windows’ cleanup tool, searching for large folders/files, and finding duplicates, there’s one more chore. Empty the Recycle Bin! No use cleaning out your home if you don’t take the garbage cans out to the street.

"Please don't watch this movie on your phone"

Perhaps you haven’t seen an honest movie trailer lately — or ever. We recommend this one, for “Gravity.” If you haven’t seen the movie already and rigorously avoid spoilers, we’re sorry — you’re about to see four wry minutes of unpreserved secrets. Put this video on hold if you must. But we think you’ll enjoy this take on movie trailers — as we’d like to see them. Click below or go to the original YouTube video.

Adieu XP; bonjour Windows 8.1 Update

For April’s Patch Tuesday, we’re waving goodbye to official XP patches and hello to the Windows 8.1 Update.

Plus: Critical updates for MS Word and Adobe Flash, a threat from malicious Publisher files, and a massive batch of nonsecurity Office fixes.

MS14-019 (2922229), MS14-018(2936068)

Two Windows updates are the final fixes for XP

Two security updates apply to all versions of Windows. They’re also the two final updates for Windows XP. KB 2922229 — rated important — fixes a vulnerability in how Windows handles .bat and .cmd files. KB 2936068 is the monthly cumulative fix for Internet Explorer; it’s rated critical for workstations.

To exploit the vulnerability in Windows’ file handling, an attacker must place a malicious .bat or .cmd file on a shared network. He must then trick victims into launching the file or clicking a link to a malicious site, as noted in a Microsoft Security Research and Defense blog. Because this is a relatively complex exploit, there are no reports of actual attacks yet — nor are they likely to be widespread.

It’s a bit sad to know we’ve come, at long last, to the end of XP’s long road — at least as far as updating is concerned. Many XP users insist they’ll stick with the OS regardless of the risks.

When we first saw XP, we laughed at its bright colors and chiclet-like icons. We complained about the mascots — Clippy, the dog, and later the cat. Yet as Microsoft closes the book on its most successful operating system, we’re reluctant to see it go. It’s been a stalwart friend through debacles such as Windows Millennium Edition and Vista. Many XP users still refuse to let it go, claiming it will be the only OS they ever use.

But as the Internet evolved into our indispensable means of communication, XP also became a vulnerable friend as well. It shipped without a firewall. It was nailed by Slammer and Blaster. And malicious hackers delivered malware over open ports. We suffered through Svchost issues that made XP a slug on bootup.

Keep in mind that XP will continue to get virus-definition updates through July 14, 2015. But new security fixes for the OS will go only to businesses that have purchased extended support from Microsoft. For example, as the Telegraph reports, the U.K. government paid Microsoft £5.5 (U.S. $9.17) million to extend XP support for one year. But these patches might never be posted on public locations.

Figure 1. For those who didn't get the message about the end of XP support, Microsoft puts it front and center on your screen.

Third-party application support for XP is somewhat muddled. Some vendors cut off support when Microsoft did; others will continue to support the platform for another year. A Google Chrome blog, for example, notes that there will be XP updates for at least one more year. Bottom line: If you have a business-critical app, you should already have checked with the vendor.

What to do: All Windows users should install KB 2922229 and KB 2936068 when offered. Going forward, XP users should run only specific tasks on their systems — legacy applications that don’t require an Internet connection. You should use some other, more secure, device for casual Web browsing and email.

MS14-017 (2949660)

MS Word zero-day threat gets its fix

This critical update applies to all versions of Office from 2003 on — including Office Web Apps. There are reports that the vulnerability in Word has already been exploited in targeted attacks. A hacker could use a malicious .rtf, .doc, or .docx file to remotely take control of a computer. So far, the attacks seem to be extremely limited in number.

Note: As with XP, this Patch Tuesday marks the last update for Office 2003. Microsoft notes that some Office users might receive the update for Office 2003 even if they don’t have that version installed.

Office users should see one or more of the following:

• KB 2863910 – Office 2013
• KB 2863919 – Office 2010
• KB 2863926 – Office 2010
• KB 2878237 – Office 2007
• KB 2878303 – Office 2003

An important note on related definition updates

• For Office 2013, install only KB 2760587 with KB 2863910.
• For Office 2010, install only KB 982726 with KB 2863926 or KB 2863919 (whichever you’re offered).

What to do: Install the appropriate Word patch when offered. See MS Support Bulletin MS14-17 for more information and links to each specific patch.

MS14-020 (2950145)

Defending against malicious MS Publisher files

Microsoft Publisher 2003 and 2007 users should see either KB 2878299 or KB 2817565. Both are rated important and fix a privately reported vulnerability from malicious .pub files. Because Publisher is no longer in wide use, this should be a relatively minor threat. Publisher 2010 and 2013 are not affected.

What to do: Install either KB 2817565 (Publisher 2007) or KB 2878299 (Publisher 2003 SP3) when offered. See MS14-020 for more info.

2755801

Keeping Adobe Flash Player up to date

As I’ve noted previously, Adobe syncs its Flash updates with Microsoft’s Patch Tuesday. Internet Explorer 10 and 11 users will receive the patch via Windows Update, as noted in Security Advisory 2755801. All other Flash users should get Version 13.00.182 from Adobe, as detailed in the April 8 Adobe Security bulletin. (And don’t forget to watch out for unwanted software that might be offered in the Flash installer.)

What to do: It’s critical to keep Adobe Flash Player fully up to date.

2919355

Hold off on Windows 8.1 Update

This week, Windows 8.1 users get a service pack that Microsoft doesn’t call a service pack. Standard PC users — those who use a mouse — have had many complaints about Windows 8’s Metro/Modern UI. Those gripes include the dual interfaces, the hidden shutdown button, and the difficulty of using the OS with a mouse.

In Windows 8.1 Update, Microsoft addresses those complaints — or at least some of them. Whereas you can now run native Win8 apps from the Desktop taskbar, you still don’t get a full Start menu. (Microsoft did tease that there might be one in the works.)

The update is good, but there’s a big stick to go along with the small carrot. Win8 users must install Windows 8.1 Update no later than May 13 — or they won’t be able to install further updates to the OS. Oddly, this impacts only Windows 8.1; anyone using the original Windows 8 will receive updates as usual.

So it’s important to install Windows 8.1 Update. But due to the complexity of the installation, the time it might require, and issues already reported, I suggest putting Windows 8.1 Update on hold for a week. In the meantime, I’ll post information on problems and solutions in a Windows Secrets Lounge thread.

If you want to be adventurous, here is my plan of action:

• To keep things simple, uninstall any third-party Start menu apps such as Classic Shell or Start8 Menu.
• Uninstall your antivirus software (and severely limit your time on the Web).
• Uninstall any third-party software that may hook into Windows’ rollback system. See, for example, the Wilders Security Forums post about RollbackRX.
• Fully back up your system.
• Ensure that KB 2919442 is installed. It’s a servicing-stack update released in March that should already be on your system. You might also see KB 2939087 offered. Install it, too, before applying the Win8.1 Update.
• Did I remind you to back up your system yet?
• Windows 8.1 Update is delivered as KB 2919355. The entire bundle is five patches, but you’ll see only KB 2919355.
• Install KB 2919355 from Windows Update. This is the easiest way to apply this chunky patch. You can download the five components of Win8.1 Update from the Microsoft Download Center, but they must be installed in the following order: KB 2919442, KB 2919355, KB 2932046, KB 2937592, KB 2938439, and KB 2934018.
• Note that most of the problems with Win8.1 Update relate to getting it installed. Fortunately, if the installation fails, the process does a good job of rolling back and leaving your system operational.
• To be completely safe, I suggest waiting for my report on Win8.1 Update in the April 24 Patch Watch. By then, we should have a solid handle on installation issues and solutions.

What to do: If you must install Win8.1 Update immediately, back up your system and take the time to install the entire package via Windows Update.

The Office updates crew goes really big

It would seem that not only is Windows 8 a work in progress; so, too, is Office 2013. For this Patch Tuesday, the Office team released nearly a gigabyte of nonsecurity updates, listed on the Office Sustained Engineering Team blog.

Some of these updates really have me scratching my head (and opening up a support case with Microsoft). For example, I received two updates — KB 2817301 for Visio Viewer 2013 and KB 2837632 for Visio 2013. But I don’t have Visio 2013 installed on that particular machine.

To add insult to injury, the nonsecurity updates total 957.9 MB, nearly half of which represents one of the Visio patches. If I’m going to download a gig of data, I’d rather it were a good Netflix movie.

Figure 2. April's nonsecurity Office 2013 updates — including a massive Visio patch — weigh in at nearly a gigabyte.

As usual, I suggest putting off installing nonsecurity updates for a week or two. I’m checking whether the Visio updates are for real. Office users could see the following patches. (Note: Some of the links below were not active at publishing time.)

Office 2010:

• KB 2553444 – Visio
• KB 2837579 – PowerPoint

Office 2013:

• KB 2752087 – Excel
• KB 2760344 – Office
• KB 2760544 – Office
• KB 2768012 – Office
• KB 2817301 – Visio Viewer
• KB 2817628 – OneNote
• KB 2817636 – Office
• KB 2825631 – Office
• KB 2827272 – Office
• KB 2837627 – PowerPoint
• KB 2837632 – Visio (the really big update)
• KB 2863843 – Office
• KB 2863844 – Office
• KB 2863860 – Office
• KB 2863864 – One Drive
• KB 2863909 – Word

Nonsecurity patches for Windows:

• KB 2800095 – Wudfhost.exe crashes with smart cards
• KB 2908783 – Data corruption with iSCSI LUNs
• KB 2928562 – Event 55 after encrypted folder is moved

What to do: Put these nonsecurity updates on hold for a week or two. I’ll come back to them in the next April Patch Watch column.

Does the Heartbleed Open-SSL threat impact you?

By now, most Windows Secrets readers should have seen new reports of “Heartbleed” — a major new vulnerability whose name is almost as scary as the actual threat. Heartbleed is so widespread and potentially dangerous that security experts are urging all Internet users to change every Web-related password.

For a change, the blame for this vulnerability can’t be pinned to Windows, Flash, IE, or Java. Linux/Unix-based, it’s a bug in the way encryption is implemented in many Apache-based and other open-source websites that use OpenSSL.

GitHub published a long list of websites that use this faulty implementation — it’s a Who’s Who of the Web. Not included is microsoft.com or microsoftonline.com (the domain for Office 365); neither uses OpenSSL for encryption. The GitHub post includes a link to a site that lets you test URLs. (FYI, windowssecrets.com tested as safe.)

The potential risk is substantial. Attackers can use the vulnerability to steal private encryption keys. With the keys, they can decrypt all sorts of information, including passwords on the site.

But don’t take the advice of many news reports and immediately change your passwords. As noted on a Lifehacker blog, you should wait to see whether a particular site you visit was affected — and also whether it has already patched the OpenSLL vulnerability. Changing passwords before sites update their security won’t do you any good. And as reported in a LastPass blog, a site’s implementation of OpenSSL might not be vulnerable due to other factors put in place.

What to do: Don’t panic! Don’t take the day off work to change all your passwords. But do take any actions a website vendor recommends to eliminate the Heartbleed threat.

Regularly updated problem-patch chart

This table provides the status of recent Windows and Microsoft application security updates. Patches listed below as safe to install will typically be removed from the table about a month after they appear. Status changes are highlighted in bold.

For Microsoft’s list of recently released patches, go to the MS Security TechCenter page. See our “Windows Secrets master Patch Watch chart” post for a more extensive list of recent updates.

Status recommendations: Skip — patch not needed; Hold — do not install until its problems are resolved; Wait — hold off temporarily while the patch is tested; Optional — not critical, use if wanted; Install — OK to apply.