jv16 PowerTools 2007 RC2 released

tullik wrote

File Finder (Vista)

The results window, and all other PT windows, hung in a 50-75% cpu usage state when I clicked Abort (doing a search of C:\). Message box said "Operation aborted" followed by "C:\ analyzed." Excel (of all things) was using the CPU. Closed Excel OK, and CPU dropped to near 0%. All PT windows could get focus, but nothing actually happened when any buttons or widgets were clicked. They responded (depressed) to the click but did nothing else. Had to kill PT.

Something similar (involving Excel) has happened before, but I doubt it can be reproduced with any consistency …

Incidentally, putting out the completion ("analyzed") messages after an abort is a bug ... IMO.

Sorry guys

The posts of "fieldoxide" and replies about Symantec products have little or nothing to do with reports and/or feedback about testing jv16 PT 2007 RC2 and in my humble opinion are rather off-topic.

You don't hear me saying they are not interesting, but this topic is not the right place to discuss about it.

There are other sections at the forum to do so :

jv16 wrote

tullik wrote Registry Cleaner -- unexpected setting change

… Registry Cleaner runs OK -- but when I close the results window and click Registry Cleaner again in the main window, the "Results format" setting has been reset to "Structured list" …

This is a known problem, exactly same problem is also with Automation Tool's Create new task feature. For some reason, if a tab control contains only radio boxes their state can change when browsing through the tabs.

I haven't been able to locate the problem and I believe it to be in the control itself, therefore I'm afraid no quick fix will be available.

However, the problem itself isn't very serious, I'm glad to say.

Perhaps you can circumvent the flaky tab control:

• 1. Eliminate the Results format tab
  

  2. Put the two choices as additional checkboxes in the Advanced options tab
  

  3. Put (default) after one of the choices so users who check both boxes won't be too surprised to get that format …
  

  4. Or just use one checkbox -- one list format is the default and checking the box results in the other …
  

  5. Or keep the Results format tab, but change the radio buttons to checkboxes (one says "default") ...

An oldie, but still there: The manually fix textbox is about this size

_______________

There is no way to enter anything into it. As a workaround, would using the default font help?

Is this item from yesterday's fix report by jv what you mean? Also, did you try drag-resizing the window to make it larger?

Since you didn't say what font settings you are using, there's no way to really know if something else would help ... :

Issue: Custom error fixing window of the structured Registry Cleaner list shows too small by default

Reported by: symantics

Status: Fixed in RC3 and later.

Registry Cleaner (Vista)

First, please refer to this Post…

I did some more testing and found this behavior is very repeatable (happens every time -- except see here )):

• 1. Click on the Registry Cleaner icon in the main PT window
  

  2. Whether the Autosave RegCleaner.dat files contain Structured=True or Structured=False, the Results format tab always has Structured list selected
  

  3. You can Select Raw list and click multiple times between tabs -- the Raw list setting remains selected
  

  4. Uncheck all the Options tab boxes except, for example, Add/Remove software list scan (for speed)
  

  5. When you click Start, you get a raw list
  

  6. When you click Start again, you still get a raw list -- you can do this time after time
  

  7. When you change the setting to Structured list and click Start you get a structured list
  

  8. Repeat 6. and 7. as often as you like in any sequence -- you get the list you checked
  

  9. When you exit the tool window, the correct Structured=True or False is saved in the Autosave RegCleaner.dat files
  

  10. When you do 1. again, you get the bug at 2.
  

  11. If instead you select a named preference after doing 1., the Structured=True or False in the preference is correctly reflected in the Results format tab
  

  12. It seems only the Autosave preference triggers the bug …
  

  13. If, instead of selecting a named preference, you select "Saved preferences …," you get "Structured list" selected even though the Autosave RegCleaner.dat files contain Structured=False …
  

  14. If you select a named preference, then immediately select "Saved preferences …," the settings now are those in the previously selected named preference
  

  15. If you exit the tool, click it again, and select "Saved preferences …" twice in a row, you get "Structured list" selected both times even though the Autosave RegCleaner.dat files contain Structured=False …

Registry Cleaner, structured list (Vista)

First, please refer to this Post…

In the structured list, two other parts of the context menu do not work ... Namely,

• Export as .reg file … creates an "empty" file (only contains headers)
  

  Save as PowerTools backup file … creates an "empty" backup (only contains headers)

Also -- should the context menu even show for parts of the tree which are totally unpopulated … ?

RC3 update

Partially fixed in RC3 -- "Export …" and "Save …" no longer create empty backups.

The features now only back up one item at a time, no matter what you have "selected."

Post moved to place it closer to jv's latest fix report: http://www.macecraft.com/phpBB2/viewtopic.php?p=9528#9528

Registry Cleaner (Vista) -- stress test

I don't know if this is by design, or if it provides any useful debugging information, but it's interesting nonetheless …

• 1. You click the Registry Cleaner icon in the main window
  

  2. You set the tool to run a structured list, click start, and let it run to completion
  

  3. You get a structured list and the scan report -- you leave these windows alone …
  

  4. You set the tool to run a raw list, click start, and let it run to completion --

• a. As it runs, all the scan completion messages appear (a second set) in the structured list window's message box ... Note: fixed in v.1.7.0.388
  

  b. The raw list has no message box ... Note: fixed in v.1.7.0.388
  

  c. When the raw list scan completes, the scan report window is updated -- the counts are doubled ... Note: v.1.7.0.388 improvement: the counts are not doubled -- except in the "Grand total" ...

6. However, when you do try to run both simultaneously, structured list first, the structured list progress indicator stays in the list window even though the scan is done and PT is using no cpu … the scan report does not appear from the structured list ... after a while you can start the raw scan without the simultaneous message and it produces a scan report ...the structured list never ends, but can be aborted ... ... Note: no significant change in v.1.7.0.388 ... Note: Differences in v.1.7.0.398: Structured list stops processing (no cpu use) with status indicator at thread4; list shows no errors; scan report statistics has only zero counts. Meanwhile, the raw scan proceeded (in spite of the please wait message) and the same errors show twice on the results list; the scan report summary counts are tripled; the health indicator shows 100/100 with 27 medium errors (9 actual, tripled). The idle structured list could be aborted, then closed. The twice done raw list could be closed.

7. At 6, if you start the raw list first, the behavior described for the structured list switches to the raw list, and vice versa. ... Note: not tested in v.1.7.0.388 ... or in v.1.7.0.398 ...

The simultaneous message is put out, but is not accurate in this case:

• 1. You start two copies of the PT main window and click the Registry Cleaner icon in each one
  

  2. You set one tool window to run a structured list and the other to run a raw list
  

  3. In quick succession, you click Start on each tool window
  

  4. The "please wait" message appears in one of the tool windows, but both scans proceed anyway …
  

  5. Both scans complete successfully -- of course "focus" is a bit of a problem while they run …
  

  
  

  Note: no significant change in v.1.7.0.388 ... both scans proceed and complete successfully, but there is no "please wait" message ... focus switching was not a problem ...
  

  
  

  Note: no significant change in v.1.7.0.398 (for the most part) ... both scans proceed and complete successfully, but there is no "please wait" message ... focus switching was a problem between PT windows (but not to other running windows) ... However, there was this difference: the raw and structured lists both showed the same 9 items as errors (9 empty keys and 0 entries) ... but the structured list scan report statistics (and status bar) showed 14 keys ... a separate structured list scan also show 14 keys in the scan report statistics and status line, but only 9 keys were on the list ...

RC2 version -

Upon using File Cleaner tool, none of the removed files were backuped. In Settings, backups were indeed checked.

Drag & drop from Desktop (Vista)

jv, I've reported elsewhere here that D & D into the File and Directory tools, and into the File Organizer tool, did not work.

Some non-PT testing and experiences makes me think this is a bug in Vista.

I've reported to MS via help comments -- perhaps you have a better way to report …

. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

More:

• * Desktop Drag and Drop into C:\Users\Owner\Documents (formerly "My Documents") works
  

  * Into folders just about everywhere else, you get a "forbidden" symbol (Vista security protecting us from ourselves : )
  

  * You can workaround the forbidden D & D using copy and paste (duh, Vista team)
  

  * I guess you own your "Documents," but you do not fully own your "Desktop"
  

  
  

  * In the PT tools where Desktop D & D does not work in Vista, existing "Add" features in the tools are a workaround ...
  

  
  

  * In Vista, some other D & D functionality (where it works at all) has different results than in XP
  

  * I hope an eventual "Vista SP1" will make some of these things a bit more sensible
  

  
  

  * In spite of how this sounds, I actually like (most of) Vista … :

: Traces of these software were found from your computer (registry and hard disk drives), you can uninstall all the applications you don't use or you have already tried to uninstall.

: Failed to remove "C:\Program Files\Adobe\Acrobat 8.0\Acrobat\"! Windows core returned the following error: "Access is denied."

: All done! 38,44 MB of data was removed (1380 files, 1 directories, 15 registry entries and 16 registry keys).

This is another screen

After that I could not remove the Acronis

I do not know, if these comments help You or not.

Anyway, before I started, I have made an Image copy of the HD, so I can return to the same situation as it was before.

But I will recommend You to run parallel Your system and System mechanic. This might be the best way to find out what is going wrong and what must be removed from the system.

1. Your file remover did not remove Acrobat, maybe, because the disk came full and not info about that. It only stopped the work and made my TEMP directory full. Maybe I should work not to make a copy before deleting everything.

2. This problem I solved by using the previous EasyCleaner, to find the directory, which is the most data area consuming. So pleas append this also to Your system. It is very usefull tool, to see, where is the most data situated.

3. For Your info, my LapTop is very old and has only 10 GB HD and 256 mamory. So it runs Windows VP quite slowly. Specially when changing the system, it needs a long time always to reBoot……. My opinion is it is not a good operating system. I never will go to Vista, even I already bought it. Yesterday I bought MacBook with 80GB HD and what a beautiful machine….!!!

4. For my Toshiba I will next install UBUNTU LINUX and as my friends told me, there is no need to reeboot, same as MacBook. Only it was needed in MacBook, after we install Windows in it. Maybe next month I will take windows off from it….!!!!

I do not know if my comments help You or make You more nervous. But if You need more data or simulation, I can always return to the previous system. But as You know, with this slow machine it takes long time. External HD is connected on USB 1.0.

But anyway interesting tool, You are making.

Keep ongoing, I was also long time ago making software, but not any more after the ReBooting Windows arrived to the market. Dos-system was so nice, understable, simple and working well. No viruses etc….

Best Regards, jorma Satola

satola@cbn.net.id

ps. In Your system, I never needed to return (backup) the operation, I already made. Thanks for it.