Year: 2008

Many folks don’t know that when you delete a file in Windows, that file isn’t really “deleted”.

You see, Windows keeps track of everything on your hard drive using something called a “Master File Table” (MFT) or “File Allocation Table” (if you’re one of the 4 people left still running Windows 98 and the FAT32 file system). When you delete a file, the file’s entry in the MFT\FAT is erased, and the space is marked as “free”. But the actual data is still there, and it will remain there until it’s overwritten by a new file. And even when the data is overwritten, it’s possible for computer forensics types to figure out what files were originally there.

The only real way to “delete” a file in Windows is to take the space where the data was located and overwrite it with random data from 7 to 35 times. Some programs, like DBAN, will overwrite all the data on an entire hard drive, which is good for when you want to donate old computers to charity, and want to be 100% certain that any data on the drives is gone.

But what about securely erasing data on computers that you need to keep using? DBAN will wipe out an entire hard drive – thus rendering your computer useless. What if you want (or need) to securely delete just a few files? What if you work with medical patient information and need a means of completely removing any data files, but keeping all of your other files intact?

I like Eraser. This free, open-source program adds an “Erase” option to Windows Explorer’s context menu. Just select the file(s) you want to erase, then right-click and select “Erase”. Eraser will then overwrite the file(s) using the Guttmann, US DoD 5220-22.M method, or with pseudo-random data. It can also erase Internet Explorer’s index.dat file, “Temporary Internet Files” and cookies, erase free space, erase the contents of the Recycle Bin, erase network files, floppy disks, CD-RW, DVD-RAM and DVD-RW discs, and erase the page (swap) file. Oh, and it works with Windows 95, 98, ME, NT, 2000, XP and DOS! It’s a great little program – did I mention that it’s also free? – and is a quick and easy way to remove any trace of files on your computer!

Self Extracting Archive (SFX) files are archive files (like .ZIP or .RAR files) that have been converted to .EXE files that can run on any Windows computer. The appeal is obvious – if the IT department needs to send out an “emergency patch” for a home-grown application, they can convert a ZIP or RAR file to an EXE file that doesn’t need WinZIP or WinRAR installed. The user doesn’t have to do anything other than double-click the EXE file to extract the contents.

Us IT folk have to put a SFX file together every so often. Most of us have our favorite programs for doing this. I prefer the old, trusty WinRAR. Others prefer WinZIP. Programmers may require something more powerful, like Advanced Installer or a Nullsoft Scriptable Install.

But what do you do when you don’t have access to your favorite SFX creator?

You might not know this, but Windows has one built right in: IEXPRESS.EXE. Click click Start > Run and type iexpress.exe and press the ENTER button. An IExpress installer can extract files only or extract files then run a command. You can also customize your installer with custom titles, EULA screen and final dialog boxes.

You might find IEXPRESS lacking some of the more advanced features of other installers, but it sure could come in handy in a pinch!

Click here to read more about IEXPRESS at TechNet.

There are two general types of operating system in this world: server operating systems and desktop operating systems. As a rule, server operating systems are built for stability and security, while desktop operating systems – the kind you run on your personal PC – are built for flexibility and accessibility.

As a general rule, you don’t want to run a server operating system on your desktop PC. In fact, the only people that should run a server OS on their desktop or laptop computers are people that write software for servers, Quality Assurance (QA) testers, and certain IT guys that use their computers for testing purposes. But that hasn’t stopped a few misguided people that think it’s “cool” or “edgy” from running a server on their desktop. You know the type – “Look at me! I’m too cool for Windows XP! I’m running Windows Server 2003!”

And so, for the past few years, both myself and most of the posters at the Ars Technica forums have heaped scorn and ridicule upon people that run Windows Server 2003 as their desktop operating system. But then Windows Vista came out. And then Windows Server 2008 came out and changed everything.

As I noted in my News for 03/12/2008 post, many people are finding out the Windows Server 2008 can be easily tweaked to look and feel almost just like Windows Vista, yet Server 2008 runs around 20-30% faster than Vista on the same hardware. I found these numbers intriguing, and did some additional research… which led me to this site, which offers a free guide for tweaking Server 2008 to make it look like Windows Vista. I got myself a free copy of Windows Server 2008 (thanks, Microsoft!) and went to town. I eventually ended up with this:

Yep, that’s Server 2008 running on my desktop PC (click the picture to “embiggen”). It does, in fact, look and act like Windows Vista. But it’s not 20% faster than Vista on my computer… it seems like it’s 40% faster than Windows Vista! In fact, I couldn’t be happier with what I’ve experienced so far. Running Windows Vista on my computer – a circa 2003 Asus P4GE-V motherboard with a Northwood P4 (3.06GHz with HT), 2GB of RAM, a Radeon x1300 Pro video card and three PATA hard drives – was like installing Windows XP on a P133 with 32MB of RAM. But Windows Server 2008 – even with the eye candy turned on – only feels slightly slower than Windows XP on this box. In fact, Server 2008 acts like what I thought Vista would act like on this computer!

Feel free to try this out for yourself – I’m actually dying to find out if it works as well for you as it does for me. Keep in mind, though, that there are a few caveats to running a Windows Server operating system. Some programs are incompatible with Server 2008 (they most likely wouldn’t run under Vista, either). Also, many system utilities – such as disk defraggers and anti-virus apps – will check the operating system when you try to install them, see the word “Server” in the name and refuse to install. In most cases, the reason for this is not technical, but one of greed. Since it’s mostly companies that run servers, and since companies have deep pockets, many vendors offer a “Home” or “Personal” edition of their software for home users and a (much more expensive) “Professional” or “Server” version for servers. Although in most cases the software is exactly the same, the prices sure aren’t.

If you decide to run Windows Workstation 2008 (or are already running it), please leave a comment and tell me how it’s going for you!