Windows and third party applications constantly write to and remove data from the Registry database. This produces empty areas in the Registry and data become fragmented (scattered) within the Registry file. This process is comparable to disk fragmentation. However, running a disk defrag tool won’t help to reduce Registry defragmentation. Disk defrag tools don’t change the contents of files, while a Registry defrag tool alters the database. This is why Registry defragmentation usually compacts, i.e., reduces, the size of the Registry file.

However, Registry defragmentation is not as risky as Registry cleaning because a defrag tool doesn’t have to understand what the Registry entries mean. Of course, if the defrag tool has a bug, then your Registry might also become corrupted. Therefore, you should always back up the Registry before you mess with it. You can do this with the Windows regedit tool.

Free Registry Defrag will first analyze the Registry and then tell you how much space will be regained after the defragmentation. You can then decide if it is worth the effort. Notice that Free Registry Defrag will reboot the computer after defragmentation is completed. I tested Free Registry Defrag v2.40.

Free Registry Defrag

• FREE: CCleaner – Improve Windows performance by removing unnecessary files and registry entries (3)
• FREE: EMSA Register DLL Tool – Register programs with a GUI (1)
• FREE: AccessEnum – displays directory and registry permissions (0)
• FREE: RegAlyzer – a nifty free Registry editor (7)
• TrackWinstall: track installations of Windows programs (0)

I tried Internet Explorer Collection on Vista and Windows XP. IE 1.0 only runs on Windows NT and Windows 95. Some of the older browser versions crashed every now and then under Vista. My impression is that the collection works better on an XP machine.

I think versions older than IE 6 don’t really play a noticeable role anymore. Last month, nine 4sysops visitors were using Internet Explorer 5.5 and two were running 5.01. That is good because 4sysops doesn’t really look good with those browsers.

According to Google Analytics, there were also 31 visitors who were using version 999.1. We now have the final proof that time travel is possible. Yeah, it appears some technology historians are accessing 4sysops from the far future. For the sake of completeness, among the IE users, 9.21% use IE6, 29.25.% IE7 and 61.48% IE8. Just in case you are an IE6 user, don’t you think, it is time for an update?

And since I am already in babbling mode, let me mention a related topic. In my view, the web as we know it today is the worst technological invention since the nuclear bomb. If you also have spent countless hours adapting your website to the numerous browsers out there, then you will probably agree. Why do we need open web standards anyway? Why not allow every browser publisher to use its own standard? It wouldn’t be a big a deal to automatically launch the rendering engine that fits to a certain document type. Like with PDF, this could be done automatically without bothering users.

Browser manufacturers could add new features without having to wait until the sluggish W3C bureaucrats accept a new proposal and the web would certainly develop much faster because there would be real competition between the different closed web standards. And most importantly, the number of ex-webmasters living in psychiatric hospitals would decrease rapidly.

• Windows 7 web browser Ballot Screen – The important facts (7)
• Thoughts about Google’s Linux distribution – A threat to Windows? (12)
• Why Firefox 3.5 doesn’t rock, and about the childish obsession with browser performance (18)
• The war against Internet Explorer – Has the European Commission gone bananas? (21)
• Internet Explorer 8 vs. Firefox 3 – Deployment and Management (6)

DSCT makes use of the new snapshot feature in Windows Server 2008. Unfortunately, creating Active Directory snapshots is a bit cumbersome and can only be done on the command prompt. If you want to work with DSCT in a productive environment, then it makes sense to create AD snapshots automatically. Of course, you can also use the tool whenever you have to perform major Active Directory modifications. If you create an AD snapshot before you run your new PowerShell script to modify some hundred objects, then you can use DSCT to clean up the mess of your automation efforts afterwards.

Before you start using DSCT, you should enable Active Directory auditing. You can do this in Group Policy (Windows Settings\Security Settings\Local Policies\Audit Policy\). After you have installed DSCT, you have to add its snap-in to the MMC. The DSCT installer doesn’t add icons to the Windows Start Menu.

Once you have created a snapshot, you can change Active Directory objects. The snapshot has to be mounted and you have to expose the snapshot as LDAP server, as I outlined in a former post. You then have to tell DSCT in the Datasource settings where it can find the LDAP server, including the port you configured (see screenshot). DSCT will then display the difference between the snapshot and the current Active Directory state. DSCT enables you to select changed or deleted objects and to restore them to their previous state.

In my test, I renamed the givenname attribute of a user object. In the upper pane, DSCT displays the object, and in the lower pane, the changed attribute. Restoring the attribute to its original state worked flawlessly. I tried DSCT 1.3.3.X on a Windows Server 2008 R2 domain controller. As noted above, the tool also works on Windows Server 2008.

Directory Service Comparison Tool (DSCT)

• Contest: MaxPowerSoft Active Directory Reports – Filters, and print preview (0)
• Contest: MaxPowerSoft Active Directory Reports – Quick LDAP Reporting (0)
• Active Directory management with PowerShell v2 (0)
• How to migrate the Active Directory domain functional level to Server 2008 R2 – Part 3 (0)
• Raffle: ManageEngine ADManager Plus – Reporting and Delegation (1)

CCleaner is a famous free optimization, privacy and cleaning tool. I should have added it long time ago to the list of free administration tools, because it is a valuable tool for admins who have to clean a user’s PC that has been cluttered with junk. This usually improves the performance of a Windows PC that has become slow because too many applications have been installed over time, often leaving traces even after they have been uninstalled. CCleaner can also help to free disk space. If you are planning to upgrade your PC to Windows 7, then it might make sense to get rid of all of the deadwood first—although I would always recommend that you perform a fresh install of a new Windows version.

CCleaner also allows you to remove unwanted traces that web browsers have left on the hard disk. The tool removes information such as the temporary file cache, the URL history, cookies etc. CCleaner supports Internet Explorer, Firefox, Chrome, Opera, and Safari, although the website doesn’t say what kind of traces can be removed for the latter three browsers.

It is also possible to remove Windows Explorer traces, such as recently opened documents or the thumbnail cache. Furthermore, it empties the Recycle Bin, Chkdsk file fragments, memory dumps and more places where the operating stores temporary information (see screenshot above for complete list). Most important thing is that CCleaner can also remove remnants of third party applications. Unfortunately, CCleaner’s homepage doesn’t list all of the supported applications. You can also use CCleaner to uninstall applications and to manage auto starting applications, although both features have only limited functionality.

It also comes with a Registry cleaner. A bloated registry is sometimes the reason for a sluggish PC. The problem with automatic Registry cleaning is that you might end up with a PC having zero speed; that is, with a non bootable system or perhaps with some apps that no longer work properly. This applies to all kinds of automatic PC cleaning tools; however, messing with the Registry is certainly the most dangerous.

Thus, I am missing an undo function in CCleaner. Of course, you can always use Windows System Restore to revert all changes CCleaner has made. However, you should always back up the entire system before running the tool. CCleaner allows you to analyze your disk first and lists all of the changes it intends to do. It certainly makes sense to have a closer look at these and to deselect those that could harm your installation.

I have tried CCleaner v2.25 and I had no problem with it. I also skimmed over some forum discussions before I wrote this post. All in all, it appears that CCleaner is reliable. Just in case you are using the tool, it would be great if you could share your experiences. I would also be interested in other PC cleaning tools.

Cleaning your system is only one way to speed up your PC. Two years ago I wrote a post that gives some additional tips on how to improve the performance of a Windows PC. IT pros probably won’t find anything new there, perhaps, except for the last method, which is still the one that has always worked best for me.

CCleaner

• Free Registry Defrag – Defragment the Windows registry (0)
• VistaSwitcher – Better task switching for Windows 7 and Vista (0)
• PicPick Tools – A nifty free screenshot program (0)
• FREE: Product Key Finder – Export license keys from multiple Windows computers (8)
• FREE: UBCD4Win – Ultimate Boot CD for Windows, a comprehensive rescue tool (1)

You can copy entire directories or, using wildcards (*,?), particular files in a directory. You can also use the tool’s batch mode to configure multiple source and destination folders to copy their contents in one go. You can save this configuration so that the next time you have to perform the same copy operation you can do so with only a few mouse clicks. (This function is also useful for undamaged disks.)

Unstoppable Copier offers several options that could prove helpful in a disaster recovery situation. For example, you can copy the undamaged files first, skip damaged files, or only copy newer files. See the screenshot for all options.

The tool’s name may be a bit misleading because Unstoppable Copier can’t copy everything. It does not, for example, copy open files. However, it will continue with the rest of the selected files. The tool’s log file informs you which files have been skipped and which files were identified as being corrupt.

Unstoppable Copier comes with an installer, but the tool seems to run without installation if you just copy its program folder to another computer.

Unstoppable Copier

• IZArc – The best freeware ZIP utility available? (6)
• FREE: Notepad++ – Source code editor and Notepad replacement (3)
• FREE: FileMenu Tools – Customize Windows Explorer easily (2)
• FREE: Recuva – Recover accidentally deleted files (2)
• FREE: GParted – Partition manager for Windows and Linux (1)

My last argument was that the new Windows 7 features will increase overall user productivity. However, the mere practical effect of the new features is only one side of the coin when it comes to productivity. On the other side is the often underestimated user motivation.

5 Motivation

It is true that some users are reluctant to learn new things and hope to keep their current OS as long as possible. But I’m guessing they’re not the most productive ones in your organization anyway. On the other hand, those users who are open to changes probably will have Windows 7 on their private PCs soon. It will certainly have a negative effect on their motivation, if you give them outdated equipment at work. Would you want to work in an office with furniture that hasn’t been replaced for the last 20 years?

You might say a desk is desk and a chair is a chair. Users only have to sit at a desk anyway, and a Windows XP PC doesn’t stand better on a new desk. But the truth is that modern motivational psychology has found that the so-called flow is an even more important factor than the person’s motives when it comes to motivation. To put it simply, you could say that a user who has more fun at work will work better. And there is no doubt that the most productive users who embrace innovations easily will have more fun working with a modern OS like Windows 7.

6 Turbulence

It is a general rule of thumb that skipping a desktop OS version will only cause more costs in the long run. Of course, there are exceptions, but in my experience these cases are rare. There are not just the costs of higher infection rates and lower user and admin productivity. The main point here is that ruptures always amplify the effort necessary to resume normal operation. Of course, any new OS causes such ruptures. This is the main argument of the “skippers.”

However, the bigger the gap, the more energy is required to jump to the other side. Admins who are already familiar with Vista can now focus on the new features in Windows 7 and deploy the new OS without time pressure. Admins who still live in the XP world have to learn the Vista part of Windows 7 plus the new enhancements. Once the new PCs are there, the new OS has to be deployed quickly. The greater the time pressure, the more likely are the mistakes which will only cause more ruptures.

This argument also applies to end-users. The more they have to learn about their working environment in a short time period, the more it will affect their daily work. The smoother the transition to a new level, the less turbulence. This is what chaos theory tells us, and we all know that a complex Windows network is the perfect playground for chaos experts.

7 Modesty

I think many CIOs and CTOs are much too dependent on what others are saying about Windows. Fifty-nine percent of businesses that skipped Vista never tested the operating system. How did they come to the decision to skip? And what about the 40% that already plan to skip Windows 7? Did they just skim over the feature lists?

Of course, the new features are the very reason why we upgrade. However, in my view it is impossible to really predict the exact benefits of a new OS. How do you calculate the costs that a computer worm will cause if it interrupts your business for a couple days? You can’t know in advance whether your network will be affected or not if you skip Windows 7. Past statistical data is often useless because IT is evolving too fast. Moreover, the number of new features every new OS version introduces is usually just too big to anticipate the concrete influence on productivity.

The only thing that is certain is that 5,000 engineers who have been in contact for years with thousands of businesses out there will always create a new OS that will be significantly better than its predecessor. Those journalists who know of a Windows version where this was not the case, must be smarter than those 5,000 engineers.

Of course, this doesn’t mean that you should always upgrade without even evaluating a new OS. If you have incompatible applications or hardware, then upgrading is probably not an option. And If you see that an upgrade would cause too many troubles because of the peculiarities of your environment, then skipping Windows 7 makes sense. Perhaps you are thinking that Windows 7 is just too expensive or that there are better operating systems. Maybe so.

However, concluding that your organization can do without the new Windows 7 features after reading a couple of reviews is certainly grossly negligent. I think for many of the 40% who already know that they will skip Windows 7, it should be enough to sit back for a moment and think about what they really know about the latest Windows version in order to acknowledge that they are not really able to make this decision yet.

• Seven reasons why skipping Windows 7 is not a good idea – Part 1 (3)
• Some more thoughts about the Windows 7 taskbar, a.k.a. Superbar (6)
• Deploying 2500 Windows 7 netbooks at Tech.Ed Australia (5)
• Windows 7 keyboard shortcuts – the complete list (3)
• Speed up your Windows 7 RTM download from Technet and MSDN (7)

1. Security

The number one reason for deploying Vista was certainly security. Regular readers will probably start rolling their eyes, moaning “not again.” But when it comes to security, one can’t wag one’s finger too often. It is important to point out that according to new data from Security Essentials users, it is not just that XP is much more vulnerable than Vista; it appears that Vista is even more vulnerable compared to Windows 7. I wasn’t surprised to learn that, of all infected PCs, 52% were running Windows XP and only 32% Vista. But the fact that only 17% run Windows 7 seems to be surprising at first because Windows 7 and Vista are not that much different. One could object that this data is from Microsoft. Of course, they want to make their latest offspring look as good as possible. However, I think, this big difference can be partly explained by the fact that many of the Windows 7 machines were just installed and did not have enough time to get infected. Nevertheless, there is no doubt that Windows 7 is the most secure Windows OS. I am positive that long-term data will prove this.

2. Compatibility

Given the fact that Windows 7 is hyped by the media and analysts, it is obvious that most ISVs and IHVs will now focus on the latest Windows version. Of course, they will all officially support Windows XP and Vista for some time. However, claiming compatibility is one thing; commitment is something different. If it is correct that 60% of all business will upgrade to Windows 7, then the share of XP machines in corporate environments will soon decrease, and within a short time period, XP will no longer be the norm but the exception. In the IT business, it’s always a problem if you belong to a minority, because it is less likely that compatibility issues will be detected. And if you still have applications in your organization that have problems running on Windows 7, then you can make use of the new XP Mode feature.

3. Admin productivity

Windows 7 also has a few new features for admins, but here the big changes certainly came with Vista. Most noteworthy probably is that Vista was the first Windows version where Microsoft acknowledged that imaging is a far better OS deployment method than unattended installations. The end of the HAL hell simplified OS deployment, significantly. If you are moving from XP to Windows 7, you will learn to appreciate this feature. In organizations having many users who are working from home or travel often, Windows 7 comes with quite a few important network-related enhancements that will make an admin’s life easier.

4. User productivity

I strongly believe that every new Windows version increases productivity. People often have problems seeing this because many of these tiny enhancements that come with every OS seem to be negligible. Maybe the new Windows 7 taskbar or the Jumplists improve productivity. But does this really justify deploying a new OS in the whole organization or even buying new PCs? I believe, most people underestimate the importance of the sum of all user interface enhancements. Every user works differently, but the likelihood is quite high that each user will find at least one feature that increases his or her productivity significantly, and this implies that the overall productivity of the entire organization will be increased. The problem is that this is hard to prove. That’s why it’s quite easy for the skippers to say that their users only need email and the web to do their daily work, so it doesn’t really matter if they use Windows 7, Windows 95, or even Snow Leopard. However, there is one factor that can’t be easily explained away when it comes to user productivity. This will be the first topic of my next post.

• Seven reasons why skipping Windows 7 is not a good idea – Part 2 (4)
• Some more thoughts about the Windows 7 taskbar, a.k.a. Superbar (6)
• Deploying 2500 Windows 7 netbooks at Tech.Ed Australia (5)
• Windows 7 keyboard shortcuts – the complete list (3)
• Speed up your Windows 7 RTM download from Technet and MSDN (7)

On the other hand, it is possible that I have been taken by just another hype. According to Gartner’s Hype Cycle cloud computing is now at the top of the hype curve. It is interesting to note that it shares this position with eBook readers which is the other topic that fascinates me for quite a while. (Just ordered the new Kindle International.) So you see I am prone to fall for all kinds of new technologies which are sometimes just hypes.

I am running this poll to get an idea of how 4sysops readers think about this topic. The outcome of this poll will have an influence on future articles I will write for 4sysops. I can’t promise that I will completely stop writing about cloud computing even if most 4sysops readers are already bored by this topic. Sometimes I just can’t stop myself. (This is where all those rants against Apple, the CLI and Vista bashers come from.) However, if there is a certain interest, you will find more stuff about cloud computing, in particular about Amazon’ cloud, on this blog. I might also dive a into Microsoft’s Azure once it is publicly available. But I have to play with it first before I can tell if it really interests me.

Independently of its significance for 4sysops, the outcome of this poll is certainly of general interest. Research institutions usually only ask CEOs and CIOs about such topics. However, in the end, it often depends on the opinion of IT pros if something is really doable or just another hype pushed by analysts and journalists. Therefore, I think it is quite interesting to know what you think about cloud computing.

Please note that you can select more than one answer in this poll. Of course, you can also share a more differentiated opinion in a comment below.

• Free Amazon S3 explorers (file managers) for Windows (7)
• Elasticfox – Manage Amazon EC2 with a Firefox plugin (2)
• Amazon EC2 pricing for dummies – Part 3: Bandwidth and instance costs (0)
• Amazon EC2 pricing for dummies – Part 2: Storage costs (0)
• Amazon EC2 pricing for dummies – Part 1: Only pay for what you use (0)

Vista Switchter’s interface is divided into two panes. The right hand side displays a list of all opened applications with their window titles and the left side shows a preview of the application when you hover over the task list. The size of the interface is configurable, so you can make use of your entire screen size. This is especially useful if all your application icons don’t fit on the taskbar.

It is much easier to locate apps with VistaSwitcher than with Alt-Tab or the Windows taskbar because you can see a larger portion of the window title. This comes in handy if you have opened multiple instances of the same application. Furthermore, you can display only the tasks of the current foreground application. For example if Word is selected, then you can access a list of all other opened Word documents with a special shortcut key.

I replaced Alt-Tab with the tool and I “pinned” it to one of the buttons of my eight-button mouse (this thing is not just useful for gaming). If you only have a common mouse than you can replace the right mouse button plus wheel with VistaSwitcher. It is possible to assign a key of your choice to access the task list or click on the tool’s systray icon.

If you work with multiple monitors, then you can configure on which screen VistaSwitcher will be displayed. Also useful is that the tool allows you to assign numbers to tasks and that it is possible to exclude applications from the task list.

I had a odd problem when I first tried VistaSwitcher. The tool always crashed whenever I switched to a WinSCP task. I reported the bug to the NTWind support and they sent me a fixed version on the same day.

I have already tried quite a few different application switchers. Most of them are better than Microsoft’s solutions. However, many of them are unstable. Obviously, it isn’t easy to modify such an integral part of Windows. Thus, it would be Microsoft’s job to take care of this very essential function. The Windows 7 taskbar is a step into the right direction, but there is still a lot of room for improvement. Perhaps, it would make more sense for Microsoft to integrate one of these third party solutions into Windows instead of lending ideas from the Cupertino guys.

• FREE: CCleaner – Improve Windows performance by removing unnecessary files and registry entries (3)
• PicPick Tools – A nifty free screenshot program (0)
• FREE: Product Key Finder – Export license keys from multiple Windows computers (8)
• FREE: UBCD4Win – Ultimate Boot CD for Windows, a comprehensive rescue tool (1)
• AutoHotkey – A free mouse / keyboard shortcut and macro tool (2)

You can install the frontend (the documentation calls it the client) and the backend (server) separately. The frontend can be used to manage jobs remotely for one or multiple servers. Of course, you can also install the client and the server on the same machine.

VisualCron’s product name fits very well because its graphical user interface makes it easy for you to track all of your jobs. The user interface resembles the ribbon interface used in some Office 2007 applications. Microsoft introduced the ribbon in Office because the features had become too numerous for the menus and toolbars of the old interface style to handle without being cumbersome. I suppose this was also the reason why VisualCron chose a ribbon-style interface type.

I will describe each of the ribbons shortly, but let me first explain the main part of the user interface—the task area. This area is basically a grid designed to keep track of numerous servers and jobs. Each server is displayed separately and has two child “tracks,” the first one for the job and the second one for the job’s tasks.

List ribbon

The columns in the grid display the most important job and task parameters. Using the tools in the List ribbon, you can customize the grid layout. You can select which parameters are displayed, you can group jobs, and you can use filters to display only specific jobs (for example, you can limit the display to the jobs that will run next).

Tools ribbon

VisualCron offers a few useful tools that can come in handy when you are configuring jobs: a file explorer (for remote servers), an SQL Explorer, a reporting tool (to print job configurations), a flow chart (to display relations between triggers, conditions, tasks, and notifications), and an object search tool (to find jobs, tasks, notifications, etc.).

Server ribbon

The Server ribbon allows you to define several objects that can be used in job definitions. For example, you can configure credentials or notifications that you can use in multiple job configurations (see screenshot for the other object types). Notice that these defined objects are only available for the selected server. Thus if you plan to copy a job definition to other servers, you must configure the corresponding settings for each job separately.

File ribbon

This ribbon allows you to configure some general settings, import and export settings from another VisualCron installation, and add remote servers to the frontend.

Conclusion

VisualCron is a very powerful task scheduling tool. Even three posts were not enough to describe all of its features. If task scheduling plays a role in your environment, you should definitely look closely at VisualCron. You can download a 45 days free trial with full functionality and without registering. Also check out the active user forum.

If you to have the chance to win VisualCron license, just send an email to:

with the subject line

VisualCron.

Please, add your name and the name of your organization for which you want to use the license. The deadline of this contest is December 4, 2009.

• Raffle: VisualCron – Configuring cron jobs (0)
• Raffle: VisualCron – Central task scheduling for Windows (0)
• FREE: WinRAP – Hide running Windows applications (0)
• FREE: Process Hacker – a mighty Task Manager and Process Explorer alternative (3)
• Process Lasso – improve the responsiveness of Windows (5)