I checked the status of drives attached to the system by opening a command prompt window and issuing a Windows Management Instrumentation Command-line (WMIC) command, but the results indicated all of the drives were OK.

C:\>wmic diskdrive get status, size, model
Model                            Size           Status
DELL PERC S150 SCSI Disk Device  999642954240   OK
WD Elements SE 2622 USB Device   1000169372160  OK
PNY USB 2.0 FD USB Device        62018611200    OK


C:>

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[/os/windows/utilities/sysmgmt] permanent link

Total Uninstall stores the data for programs installed under its monitoring in .tun files. The data for version 6 is placed in C:\ProgramData\Martau\Total Uninstall 6\Monitored Programs while the data for version 7 is placed in C:\ProgramData\Martau\Total Uninstall 7\Monitored Programs. After I imported the data from version 6 into version 7, I saw that a host of .tun files now appeared in the version 7 Monitored Programs directory with "IMPORTED@" prepended to the file names, e.g., IMPORTED@SpeedFan 4.52.tun for the SpeedFan 4.52.tun file in the version 6 Monitored Programs directory.

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At Forcing MSI Installation Into a Specific Directory, I found a suggestion to put TARGETDIR on the command line when using the msiexec command. E.g. to specify the directory where an application should be installed when the installation file for that application is an .msi file, the author of that page suggested that you can use a command similar to the following:

msiexec TARGETDIR="C:\MyTargetDirectory" /i MyProject.msi

You can use the /q option to specify that the installation does not present a GUI installer window or prompt the user - see Command-Line Options for other command line options.

That did not work in this case, however. So, I decided to try the webpage author's suggestion to turn on logging during an installation of the software where I performed the install normally from the GUI installation method. I turned on verbose logging using the command msiexec /i dbg_x86_6.11.1.404.msi /l*v c:\windbg.log, which created a log file c:\windbg.log.

During the installation process, I chose a "custom" install and specified the installation directory be C:\Program Files\Utilities\SysMgmt\Debugging Tools for Windows (x86)\ rather than the default installation directory of C:\Program Files\Debugging Tools for Windows (x86)\. When the installation was completed, I saw the following when I opened the log file with Notepad:

MSI (c) (44:D8) [16:44:12:281]: PROPERTY CHANGE: Modifying INSTDIR property. Its current value is 'C:\Program Files\Debugging Tools for Windows (x86)\'. Its new value: 'C:\'.
MSI (c) (44:D8) [16:44:13:291]: PROPERTY CHANGE: Modifying INSTDIR property. Its current value is 'C:\'. Its new value: 'C:\Program Files\'.
MSI (c) (44:D8) [16:44:16:866]: PROPERTY CHANGE: Modifying INSTDIR property. Its current value is 'C:\Program Files\'. Its new value: 'C:\Program Files\Utilities\'.
MSI (c) (44:D8) [16:44:18:062]: PROPERTY CHANGE: Modifying INSTDIR property. Its current value is 'C:\Program Files\Utilities\'. Its new value: 'C:\Program Files\Utilities\SysMgmt\'.
MSI (c) (44:D8) [16:44:24:941]: PROPERTY CHANGE: Modifying INSTDIR property. Its current value is 'C:\Program Files\Utilities\SysMgmt\'. Its new value: 'C:\Program Files\Utilities\SysMgmt\Debugging Tools for Windows (x86)\'.
MSI (c) (44:D8) [16:44:25:095]: PROPERTY CHANGE: Modifying _1394 property. Its current value is 'C:\Program Files\Debugging Tools for Windows (x86)\1394\'. Its new value: 'C:\Program Files\Utilities\SysMgmt\Debugging Tools for Windows (x86)\1394\'.

I could see that the property being modified was INSTDIR rather than TARGETDIR, so I then tried the following command at the command line:

msiexec INSTDIR="C:\Program Files\Utilities\SysMgmt\Debugging Tools for Windows (x86)\" /i dbg_x86_6.11.1.404.msi /q

That put the software in the directory where I wanted it installed and did not display a GUI window or any prompts.

To uninstall software installed through an MSI file, you can use msiexec /x Package|ProductCode. In this case, after the installation, I ran regedit and checked the registry key HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SOFTWARE\Microsoft\Windows\CurrentVersion\Uninstall. I could see that the HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SOFTWARE\Microsoft\Windows\CurrentVersion\Uninstall\{300A2961-B2B5-4889-9CB9-5C2A570D08AD} registry key was the appropriate one, since within it I saw the following:

That told me that the ProductCode for Debugging Tools for Windows is {300A2961-B2B5-4889-9CB9-5C2A570D08AD}. However, if I used MsiExec.exe /I{300A2961-B2B5-4889-9CB9-5C2A570D08AD} to uninstall the software, I would get a GUI uninstall window where I would have to select the "remove" option. For a silent uninstall from the command line, I can use msiexec /x {300A2961-B2B5-4889-9CB9-5C2A570D08AD} /q. The /x option indicates that you want to remove the software. The /q option indicates you want a silent uninstall. Without the /q option, you would be prompted to confirm the removal of the software.

The DisplayName registry entry is what you will see under "Uninstall or change a program" or "Add or Remove Programs" under the Windows Control Panel. E.g., in this case, I would see Debugging Tools for Windows (x86) there.

References:

1. Debugging Tools for Windows
   WHDC - Windows Hardware Developer Central
2. File Extension .MSI Details
   FILExt - The File Extension Source
3. Windows Installer
   Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
4. Forcing MSI Installation Into a Specific Directory
   Arthur Zubarev
5. Command-Line Options
   MSDN: Microsoft Development, MSDN Subscriptions, Resources, and More
6. Unattended/Silent Installation Switches for Windows Apps
   Unattended, A Windows deployment system

[/os/windows/utilities/sysmgmt] permanent link

I created a script, bios-info.vbs from the code provided on Microsoft's webpage that will retrieve the information from the BIOS.

[/os/windows/utilities/sysmgmt] permanent link

When you run the downloaded file, setup.exe, by default, it will attempt to extract the files stored within itself to c:\Temp\BatteryMonitor2006. If there is no c:\Temp directory, you will receive the message below:

WinZip Self-Extractor

Could not create "c:\Temp\BatteryMonitor2006" - unzip operation cancelled. OK

In that case, choose another directory into which the files will be extracted. The software requires 6,992 KB of free space on the disk on which it will be installed.

The installation process creates a program group named Duomart.com. Within it you will find a Laptop Battery Power Monitor group. When you run the progam it will place a battery widget on your desktop showing the battery charge level.

That widget will remain over top of windows that you open. Moving the mouse pointer over it will display information about the state of the battery. If you right-click on it, you can change the size of the battery displayed. You also have the option to adjust its transparency or close the program.

The software can be downloaded from the developer website, which is a source for purchasing computer accessories, bluetooth devices, or laptop batteries. Other sources for the software are listed below.

Download Sites

DuoMart
MoonPoint Support
FileBuzz

[/os/windows/utilities/sysmgmt] permanent link

Because I also hear the fan making a fair amount of noise at times, I thought I would install a utility to monitor the fan speed and CPU temperature. I used SpeedFan 4.37, but found that the laptop's motherboard doesn't support such monitoring. The temperature of the hard drive in the laptop can be monitored, though. I see it varies between 34 and 37 degrees Celsius.

[/os/windows/utilities/sysmgmt] permanent link

Disks:
Disk /dev/sda: 80.0 GB, 80026361856 bytes

Candidate Windows partitions found:
 1 :            /dev/sda1   76316MB BOOT

Please select partition by number or
 q = quit
 d = automatically start disk drivers
 m = manually select disk drivers to load
 f = fetch additional drivers from floppy / usb
 a = show all partitions found
 l = show propbable Windows (NTFS) partitions only
Select: [1] _

Selected 1
Mounting from /dev/sda1, with filesystem type NTFS

NTFS volume version 3.1.

=========================================================
   Step TWO: Select PATH and registry files
=========================================================
What is the path to the registry directory? (relative to windows disk)
[WINDOWS/system32/config] : _

Select which part of registry to load, use predefined choices
1 - Password reset [sam system security]
2 - RecoveryConsile parameters [software]
q - quit - return to previous
[1] : _

<>========<> chntpw Main Interactive Menu <>========<>

Loaded hives: <sam> <system> <security>

  1 - Edit user data and passwords
  2 - Syskey status & change
  3 - RecoveryConsole settings

  9 - Registry editor, now with full write support!
  q - Quit (you will be asked if there is something to save)

What to do? [1] -> _

Failed login count: 1, while max tries is: 5
Total  login count: 68

- - - - User Edit Menu:
 1 - Clear (blank) user password
 2 - Edit (set new) user password (careful with this on XP or Vista)
 3 - Promote user (Make user an administrator)
(4 - Unlock and enable user account) [seems unlocked already]
 q - Quit editing user, back to user select
Select: [q] > _

When the system booted into Windows XP, I tried logging into the administrator account. I saw the message "Your password has expired and must be changed." I entered a new password and was able to login to the administrator's account.

[/os/windows/utilities/sysmgmt] permanent link

Microsoft offers a utility, hotfix.exe, to aid in managing hotfixes, i.e. patch files that correct security vulnerabilities or bugs in the operating system.

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[/os/windows/utilities/sysmgmt] permanent link

Microsoft provides the Disk Cleanup tool for freeing disk space on a Windows system. You can also delete the uninstall directories for patches to free additional space.

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