Toora Loora!
...or however that's spelled. (And stop asking what it means. We'll tell you, when you tell us what 'fa la la la la' is all about! )

We've taken a bit of a break here for the holiday and are recycling three old tid bits from past issues that we still get plenty of requests for. Part of the reason for the break is to take a breath after all the testing for SAFE/XI (coming soon!).

Til Next Time!
 

SAFE X Three Tips

PRINTER DRIVERS
We occasionally still  hear about problems with 'brain dead' printers, ie. inexpensive laser printers with no internal controller circuitry. Such printers include the venerable HP LJ1100. The reason they are inexpensive is because they rely on Windows itself for much of the heavy lifting to generate pages. Way back when, these printers would often not print properly with SAFE. Though most newer models of these printers now work just fine with SAFE, if you have inherited an older model, here are a couple of suggestions:

1. If the printer supports Postscript, then use the Postscript driver. This always works well.

2. If there is not PS driver, then install an HP LaserJet III or Laserjet IV driver on your computer and point that towards your printer (yes, even if the printer isn't even an HP model; most all laser printers will work just fine with this.)

ON-LINE HELP OVER THE NETWORK!
On another 'greatest hits' of typical problems, we want to re-visit the old "can't open the on-line help over a network" problem. This has been a bugaboo since Microsoft plugged a security leak in Windows that, unfortunately, hosed all programs that use compiled HTML Help (CHM), including their own, over a network. The problem it was designed to correct was that certain 'help' files could contain embedded malware. The fix assumes that all CHM files that are not physically on your machine are suspect and should not be allowed to open. Obviously there needs to be a way to white-list certain files as 'OK'.

And there is. Now for those who want all the gory technical info look here: CHM files over a network http://support.microsoft.com/kb/896054. The Executive Summary is that you need to edit your computer's Windows Registry and alter a key which tells Windows that SAFE.CHM (our help file) is permitted to view over your network.

But for those of us who just want to know what to actually do about it. You have several choices. The bad news is that options 1-3 require an intervention at every user's desk. The good news is that, whether

1. Copy the help file to your own machine and reference it as a shortcut on your desktop. No, it's not the most satisfying thing, but it does work.

2. Edit a registry entry (manual) after reading the aforementioned gory technical article. It goes without saying that you should make a backup of your registry before trying this!

3. Edit a registry entry (auto-magically) using a free program available at our website called hh-reg. This program (created by our friends at EC-software) basically takes the guess work out of performing option #2.

4. If you're lucky enough to have an IT guy, have said IT guy apply a Group Policy to all users on your server which implements the aforementioned gory registry fix. Everything he/she needs to do this is described in the article.

Obviously for most users, options 3 and 4 are the way to go. We've tested hh-reg with many, many machines and it works flawlessly. So take 5 minutes, download hh-reg and run it. We update on-line help four times a year (along with SAFE) so there's probably something new to discover and learn about SAFE.

SQL BACKUP UTILITY!
And finally, we want to once again encourage y'all to be making regular SQL Backups. This can be done either auto-magically in SQL Server or within SAFE itself using the UTILITIES|Backup function.
Ed Note: This is the place where I mention that you should read up on this function in the on-line help.

Now remember that a SQL Backup is not really a 'backup' in the at it's just a file that is created with a snapshot of your data at a given point in time. In the event of a system failure, it's no safer than having no backup at all. What it does give you is a file that can be easily copied to some place that is safe... like an external drive or tape.

Remember: Most backup systems do not properly backup a SQL database while it is running! You must run a SQL Backup to create a 'copy-able' file.' We call this 'copy-able' file a SQL Backup. When these are created, the common convention is to give them a BKP extension so we call them 'BKPs' for short.

If you have someone who knows their way around SQL Server, you can ask them to create a Database Maintenance Plan which will automatically make a BKP file for you on schedule (as well as do other useful things like check the health of your databases—always a good routine.)

But you can also use the SAFE Backup Utility to create a BKP any time you like—even with users in SAFE. For example, you could do this immediately before every Period Update, or just before you upgrade your server to a new drive or OS version.

The important thing is to do this and do it often (preferably every day!) Disk space has become so cheap that there's really no reason not to.

Til Next Time!

Ciaran's Corner: Windows Seven
The latest desktop operating system from Microsoft isn't scheduled for release until later this summer but it's far enough along now to make some recommendations for our customers.

Many of us have already been happily using the Windows 7 Beta and you can too. http://www.microsoft.com/windows/windows-7/ . We have found it to be quite stable for use with all our in-house use. We can't really say it's fully ready for prime time since it is a beta, but from what we've seen it's not much of a risk to try--even in using for 'real' work.

But why would you want to bother with it? Here are the reasons we think Windows Seven merits consideration--even now before release.

1. It's what Windows Vista should have been. It largely addresses all the main beefs we all have had with Vista, including slow performance, poor support for some hardware devices and a lack of any important features that made it worth the grief and expense of 'upgrading'. W7 is faster and well supports most all the hardware you're likely to have--yes, even in the printing business. Also, it has made significant progress in being less annoying while providing better security.

2. It comes with several really good enhancements that we have wanted to be on everyone's machine for years, such as built-in drive imaging software which makes backing up and restoring your entire PC easy. We've talked a lot about imaging software as essential to your backup strategy so this may seem like a smal thing, but it's really, really big. Many of you still don't have a program like Norton Ghost and this fills that gap.

3. Windows XP is at it's end of life. MS has pushed this support date back a few times in order to stave off complaints with Vista. But now that Windows Seven is imminent, it's soon going to be closing time for Windows XP.

So, our current recommendations:
1. Install Windows Seven on at least one machine in your office (or a home machine of a trusted IT person) and give it a spin. Get used to it because it is in your future.

2. If you currently need a new computer, don't fret over the XP vs. Vista choice. The current Vista already includes most of the performance improvements in Windows Seven. Our sources tell us that those who have Vista now will almost assuredly have a totally painless time upgrading to Windows Seven. Many vendors, desperate to sell in this recession, are offering credits towards Windows Seven if you buy with Vista now.

3. If you are going to wait, make certain that your machine is ready. We recommend that you have at least four GB of RAM and a decent video card (any inexpensive one from nVIDIA seems to be fine). Interestingly, the processor and hard drives (the expensive bits) are not so critical. It turns out that these have far less impact on performance than the video card and amount of RAM.

Even if you aren't planning on an immediate upgrade, the good news is that Windows Seven appears to be a really good release. Maybe it will be perceived as 'conservative' and not exactly forward looking, but maybe that's not such a bad thing. Maybe it's enough that you'll be getting a faster, more reliable operating system—core improvements, rather than sexy gimmicks.

Til Next Time!

Ciarŕn Marron
Technical Support Manager
cm@suntowersystems.com

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End of E-News From The Suntower, Volume XI #6