So, you buy a new car.

You take it home and, for the next few years you drive it every day.

In those few years, the only time it sees a servo is when something breaks.

No oil changes, no 10,000km service, nothing.

What sorta condition do you think you car would be in after those few years?

If you said “pretty crappy condition” then you’d probably be fairly close to the mark.

While a computer is clearly different to a car, some of the same things apply.

If you don’t do some regular maintenance on you computer you can quickly end up needing to do some expensive repairs.  The photo with this article is real.  It’s the inside of a computer recently in my workshop.  The build-up of crap was pretty serious, to the point that some components had failed.  Much more expensive to fix than just giving I a good clean.

Moral of he story?

Regular maintenance matters.

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What do I install?  Pretty much just the file format converters to allow Office 2003 to read files created with Office 2007.

(As an aside, the Office viewers normally only open Office 2003 files but if you install them and then install the converter, they will also read Office 2007 files.)

I’ve worked out an unattended install but for only one install it’s not really all that relevant.

For what it’s worth, this is the unattended install command:

Office2003-FileFormatConverters.exe /quiet /passive /norestart

This article is part of a series dealing with my standard system build.  It starts with this article and the post you’re reading now is directly related to this one.

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Having already dealt with service packs, Windows/Microsoft Updates and standard utilities, now it’s time to come up with a good way of handling these extra items.  I’ve set this up with our typical customers in mind and it handles the stuff we usually need.  Obviously once you get to this level there is almost infinite scope for how you might handle things.

For me, the main areas that I need are:

• Extra bits that support Microsoft Office 2003 versions
• Extra bits that support Microsoft Office 2007 versions
• Extra bits that might be needed on an ad hoc basis

A large percentage of the computers we handle here have MS Office installed so I’ve gone to the trouble of scripting the installation of the bits for these.  The more ad hoc extras, though, I’ve approached from the perspective of just knowing they’re handy when I need them and then manually installing as required.  We don’t often need these (maybe once every 20-30 times we use this build process) but when we do it’s much easier to have them at hand instead of having to download or find from some other install media.

Having dealt with this bit of background, the next three articles on this topic will go into more specifics on what I actually install and why.

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The benefit of using unattended installs is that all of these tools get installed with no interaction required on my part.  Just set it going and come back when its done.  How did I do this?  Largely be combining each silent install into a single batch file that does the whole install process.

Unfortunately, it’s not just a matter of doing a cut and paste on each item.  In order to do this properly I need to work out which operating system I’m dealing with.  For example, there’s no point trying to install Sidebar Gadgets under Windows XP.

I’ve also found that the launcher I’m currently using does not retain any useful path information.  That means that in order to get things working properly I first have to identify what driver letter the batch file was called from and then ensure that I keep all paths correct from that point.

Working out operating system and drive path has already been discussed earlier in my article about an automated install of Windows Service Packs, check there for further background.

Where does that leave us?  Ready to take a look at the finished result for handing installation of all the standard utilities that I include in my build disc.

At this point I should also note that this batch file really doesn’t do enough error checking for my liking.  It should check if any of the standard utils are already installed before going ahead and installing them.  In my own workshop, this isn’t as much an issue as we only use this particular installer in certain circumstances (on a new computer or on a computer that we’ve just done a clean rebuild on).  In these circumstances, we already know what software is installed and, for us, there are rarely conflicts with these standard utils.

If anyone has a good way of doing the error checking here I’d love to hear from you (my thought is to check either registry keys or particular .exe’s that form part of the relevant util’s install).

So, here’s my complete batch file:

@ECHO OFF
 
echo **************************************
echo * Build DVD - 28 March 2009          *
echo *                                    *
echo * Software Installers                *
echo **************************************
 
echo.
echo Checking drives for build disc...

rem ==========================================================
rem * When this batch file is launched it                    *
rem * doesn't retain a path and, therefore, can't find any   *
rem * of the stuff it's supposed to install.  This routine   *
rem * is used to locate the DVD that contains the required   *
rem * information.                                           *
rem *                                                        *
rem * The batch file works in Vista but currently benefits   *
rem * from having UAC disabled.  Working on a future version *
rem * that will copy with UAC being enabled.                 *
rem ==========================================================
 
SET CDROM=
SET Temp1=%Temp%.%~n0%Random%1.reg
SET Temp2=%Temp%.%~n0%Random%2.reg
START /WAIT REGEDIT /E %Temp1% "HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINESYSTEMMountedDevices"
TYPE %Temp1% > %Temp2%
TYPE %Temp2% | FIND "\DosDevices\" | FIND /V "\DosDevices\A:" | FIND "=hex:5c," > %Temp1%
FOR /F "tokens=3 delims=:" %%A IN (%Temp1%) DO CALL :ParseDrive %%A
DEL %Temp1%
DEL %Temp2%
SET Temp1=
SET Temp2=
 
echo Build Disc Found: %CDROM% drive.
 
cd /d %CDROM%:
 
GOTO:FindOSVer
 
:ParseDrive
IF EXIST %1:buildversion.txt (
SET CDROM=%1
)
GOTO:EOF
 
:FindOSVer

rem ==========================================================
rem * This batch file supports Vista and XP - need to work   *
rem * out which one we're dealing with.                      *
rem ==========================================================
 
echo.
echo Checking Windows Version...

rem ==========================================================
rem * Test for Windows XP here...                            *
rem ==========================================================
 
ver | find /i "Windows XP" > nul
if %ERRORLEVEL% equ 0 (
echo Build running - Windows XP Version
set OSVER=5
goto XP1
)

rem ==========================================================
rem * Test for Windows Vista here...                         *
rem ==========================================================
 
ver | find /i "Version 6" > nul
if %ERRORLEVEL% equ 0 (
echo Build running - Windows Vista Version
set OSVER=6
goto Vista1
)
 
goto Unsupported
 
echo.

rem ==========================================================
rem * Install XP-only pre-requisite software - basically,    *
rem * any dependencies for other software that may not be    *
rem * installed already.                                     *
rem ==========================================================
 
:XP1
 
echo Installing Windows Installer v3.1 ...
start /wait .InstallersWindowsInstaller-KB893803-v2-x86.exe /quiet /norestart

rem ==========================================================
rem * Install software compabible with XP and Vista.         *
rem ==========================================================
 
:Vista1
 
echo Installing .NET Framework 3.5 ...
start /wait .Installersdotnetfx35.exe /passive /norestart
 
echo Installing 7-Zip v4.65 ...
start /wait .Installers7z465.exe /S
 
echo Installing K-Lite Codec Pack v4.7.5 (Corporate) ...
start /wait .Installersklcodec475c.exe /verysilent /norestart /loadinf".Installersklcpc.ini"
 
echo Installing Paint.NET v3.36 ...
start /wait .InstallersPaint.NET.3.36.exe /auto /CHECKFORUPDATES=0 DESKTOPSHORTCUT=0 "PROGRAMSGROUP=Utilities"
 
echo Installing PDF Creator v0.9.7 ...
start /wait .InstallersPDFCreator-0_9_7_setup.exe /SP- /VERYSILENT /NOCANCEL /NORESTART /LOADINF="./Installers/pdfinf.inf"
 
echo Installing Citrix Client ...
start /wait .InstallersIca32Web.msi /passive /norestart
 
echo Installing Google Earth v5.0 beta ...
start /wait .InstallersGoogleEarth-5.0.11337.1968.exe /S /v/qn
 
echo Installing Mozilla Firefox v3.0.8 ...
start /wait .InstallersFirefox_3.0.8.exe /S /ira
 
echo Installing Sun J2SE Runtime Environment v6 update 13 ...
start /wait .Installersjre-6u13.exe /quiet /norestart
 
echo Installing Adobe Flash v9 and Shockwave v10 Players ...
start /wait .InstallersAdobeFlashPlayer_ie_v9.exe /S
start /wait .InstallersAdobeFlashPlayer_moz_v9.exe /S
start /wait .InstallersAdobeShockwave_v10.exe /S
 
echo Installing Windows Live Messenger v8.5
start /wait .InstallersWLSetup.exe /silent /configfile: .InstallersWLSetup.txt
 
echo Installing Google Toolbar v4.0 for IE (Enterprise) ...
start /wait .InstallersGoogleToolbarInstaller.msi /passive /norestart
 
echo Installing MS SyncToy Power Toy ...
start /wait .InstallersSyncToySetup.msi /passive /norestart
 
echo Installing Westnet Sign-up Tool ...
start /wait .InstallersWestnetD461.exe /S /v/qn
 
echo Installing CrossLoop ...
start /wait .Installerscrossloopsetup.exe /VERYSILENT /SP-

rem ==========================================================
rem * Install XP-only software                               *
rem ==========================================================
 
if %OSVER% equ 6 goto Vista2
 
echo Installing Windows Media Player v11 ...
start /wait .InstallersXP_WiMP11.exe /Q:A /C:"SETUP_WM.EXE /Q:A /R:N /P:#e"
 
echo Installing PowerToys for XP ...
start /wait .InstallersXP_ClearTypePowerToy.exe /S /v/qn
start /wait .InstallersXP_TaskSwitchPowerToy.exe /S /v/qn
 
echo Installing Eye Candy ...
@xcopy .Installers3DWindowsXP.scr %SystemRoot%system32 /q /y
start /wait .InstallersXP_Royale_Theme.exe /S /v/qn
 
echo Installing Additional Windows XP Tools ...
start /wait .InstallersXP_Uninstall_MS_JVM.exe /Q
start /wait .InstallersXP_WindowsRightsManagementServicesSP2-KB917275.exe /S /v/qn
start /wait .InstallersXP_KB925876.exe /quiet /norestart
start /wait regedit /s .InstallersXP_Reg_Hacks.reg
 
if %OSVER% equ 5 goto Finish

rem ==========================================================
rem * Install Vista-only software                            *
rem ==========================================================
 
:Vista2
 
echo.
echo Copying Vista Sidebar Gadgets (current user profile only)
echo.
echo   -o- CPU Utilization Gadget
@xcopy ".ExtrasVistaSidebarCPUUtilization v1.2.0.2.Gadget" "%USERPROFILE%AppDataLocalMicrosoftWindows SidebarGadgetsCPUUtilization v1.2.0.2.Gadget" /e /i /c /q
echo   -o- Drive Info Gadget
@xcopy ".ExtrasVistaSidebarDriveInfoByChris.gadget" "%USERPROFILE%AppDataLocalMicrosoftWindows SidebarGadgetsDriveInfoByChris.gadget" /e /i /c /q
echo   -o- iWeather Gadget
@xcopy ".ExtrasVistaSidebariWeather.gadget" "%USERPROFILE%AppDataLocalMicrosoftWindows SidebarGadgetsiWeather.gadget" /e /i /c /q
echo   -o- Memory Meter Gadget
@xcopy ".ExtrasVistaSidebarMemoryMeter.gadget" "%USERPROFILE%AppDataLocalMicrosoftWindows SidebarGadgetsMemoryMeter.gadget" /e /i /c /q
echo   -o- Neptune Digital Clock
@xcopy ".ExtrasVistaSidebarNeptuneDigitalClock.gadget" "%USERPROFILE%AppDataLocalMicrosoftWindows SidebarGadgetsNeptuneDigitalClock.gadget" /e /i /c /q
echo   -o- SysShutdown.gadget...
@xcopy ".ExtrasVistaSidebarSysShutdown.gadget" "%USERPROFILE%AppDataLocalMicrosoftWindows SidebarGadgetsSysShutdown.gadget" /e /i /c /q
 
goto Finish

rem ==========================================================
rem * Failed to find valid operating system.                 *
rem ==========================================================
 
:Unsupported
 
echo.
echo ERROR: Operating system not supported.
echo        (Windows XP and Windows Vista only)
pause

rem ==========================================================
rem * Pause to permit whoever is doing the installs to check *
rem * for any install errors that may have occurred and give *
rem * path to installers if any manual installs are needed.  *
rem ==========================================================
 
:Finish
 
echo.
echo Installs Complete.  Please check output for any error indicators.
echo.
echo If needed, re-install manually from %CDROM%:Installers.
echo.
pause

There you have it.  The next step in this journey is handling the extra stuff that may be needed depending on other software (e.g. if a system has Office 2003 installed, what extra bits do we install?).

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A standard build needs to be able to be standardised.  This means installing the same programs every time.  With a standard install, you have to hit the “Next” button regularly and make other selections to get the software installed. This can become long and involved, it takes time.  When you get busy, things get missed.

The goal for getting this installation standardised was to have all of these tools work as a silent/unattended install.  The combination of this, and a scripted install, means that you can get through the complete install with minimum interaction.

Our current standard install includes:

• 7 Zip
• K-Lite Codec Pack – Corporate Version
• Paint.NET
• PDF Creator
• Citrix Client
• Google Earth
• Firefox
• Java Run-time Environment
• Adobe Flash Player
• Adobe Shockwave Player
• Windows Live Messenger
• Google Toolbar for IE
• CrossLoop
• Microsoft SyncToy
• Windows Media Player v11 (Win XP Only)
• Microsoft PowerToys (Win XP Only)
• XP Royale Theme (Win XP Only)
• A selection of registry hacks for Windows XP
• A selection of Sidebar Gadgets for Windows Vista

Rather than try and detail each of these programs individually here, they’ve all been split off to their own small articles (which will get written as I find the time).

For now, this will be the next priority in this series of articles.  Once I’ve sorted that, I’ll post a summary on I’ve tied it all together and then continue on to look at some of the extras that I’ve included for particular situations (e.g. supporting tools for Microsoft Office) as well as how I’ve tied all this together into a single package that offers good automation of the whole process and minimises Internet bandwidth use (fewer downloads, less often).

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(This article is written in reference to Offline Update v5.1 – it should remain relevant for other versions.)

It’s a two step process.  First, you need to run the Offline Update tool, tell it what updates you’re interested in, and tell it to go and download them from Microsoft.

This process can take quite a bit of time, but you only need to do it once (or, at least, once for each new version of the Offline Update tool – about every 3-5 months or so).

At the end of this first step, Offline Update produces .iso image files (you’ll find them in the “ctupdateiso” directory) that you can burn to disc.  Because I’m extending this I usually extract the created .iso images to combine with the other things I use on my build disc.

The second step is using the Offline Update installer to actually install updates on a target computer.  The installer is smart enough to figure out what updates are already installed and skip over them.  Depending on your configuration selections, this will work for Windows 2000, Windows XP (32 and 64 bit), Windows Server 2003 (32 and 64 bit), Windows Vista (32 and 64 bit) and Windows Server 2008.  It will also handle Office 2000, Office XP, Office 2003 and Office 2007.  That’s a pretty comprehensive set of updates if you choose to use them all.

In my case, we only rarely handle Windows 2000, Office 2000 and Office XP so I don’t configure Offline Update to download these updates.  In my experience, a computer using these versions is probably reaching replacment rather than repair status anyway.

Offline Update makes use of Update.cmd to apply all the updates.  It can be found in the “client” sub-directory of whereever you extracted the ctupdate archive.  If you prefer, you can leave all these files on a network share and just run Update.cmd from there.  I prefer to combine it into my overall build disc and burn off a number of copies of the disc instead.  This way I don’t have to worry as much about overloading the network if I’ve got a lot of computers all doing updates at the same time.

This pretty much covers the subject of Windows updates.  In the next installment it’s time to look at the extra utilities that I have in our standard build/install.

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Why does it matter?  As previously discussed, a fresh install of Windows might need hundreds of megabytes of downloads before it’s fully updated.  Also, unless you take precautions, the time it takes you to download and install those updates might be all the time needed for your computer to be compromised.

For me, running a busy workshop, the final consideration is that downloading updates for every repair on every computer would mean a significant increase in our Internet needs.

The choices?

Transparent Proxy/Cache: It’s possible to use a cache engine (e.g. squid, ISA, etc) as a transparent proxy.  Every download from the Internet gets cached the first time and then just loaded from that cache each subsequent time it’s needed.  For me, the down sides to this are that Microsoft (and others) work on preventing caching of their updates.  There’s reasons for this and I don’t disagree with all of them.  However, it does mean that you’ve got to take additional steps to make caching like this work effectively.  Because it’s largely transparent, you don’t really know if it’s working properly without checking logs regularly.  Lastly, it means running another computer on my network (or beefing up a server already on my network) to fulfil this task.  I wasn’t happy with this so, for me, this isn’t an ideal solution.

Windows Software Update Service (WSUS): This is the Microsoft solution.  It works pretty well for Microsoft software, but, for this solution to work you have to tell computers to talk to your WSUS server instead of going direct to Microsoft.  This is a relatively simple process (can be done just with a registry hack) but then you also have to remember to remove that registry hack of a customer’s computer may not be able to obtain updates in future.  Again, not an ideal solution in a busy workshop.

Offline Updates: A process where all relevant updates are downloaded to a local computer together with some supporting software.  You run that supporting software on a computer that needs updates, it figures out which updates are relevant and installs them.  As far as I know, there are two main choices for this type of software at the moment.  The first is AutoPatcher; this used to be my personal choice until Microsoft sent them a cease and desist on the process they were using.  They’re still around but the new approach they’re implementing is taking a while to become stable.  My need was more immediate so, while I’m keeping an eye on what they’re up to I needed a more immediate solution.

The second is Heise Offline Update; it works as advertised and my only real complaint at the moment is that updates aren’t all that frequenty.  In reality, this is a minor issue because as long as it can get you within a few months of current you can then download the rest without a huge impact on your Internet access.

In the next installment, I’ll look at how I’ve actually put Heise Offline Update to use in my workshop.

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Does my computer need regular servicing? Yes. No matter where your computer lives there will be dust around.  Because a computer uses fans to help keep cool, that dust will get sucked into the computer.  Also, the critters that live around you probably like that warm and dry environment of the computer – this can include spiders, mice, geckos, frogs, and so on. They all leave something behind.  Eventually, your computer can get clogged with this build-up of dust, dirt, spider webs, dead insects and so on.  If not cleaned out periodically, the computer may overheat, or short out, causing components in your computer to fail.

Ignoring the inside of your computer can lead to your computer failing completely.  This applies just as much to laptops as desktop computers.  Although the empty space in a laptop is nowhere near as great, there are still places where dust and other stuff can build up.  Particularly because laptops are often used in places where a desktop computer wouldn’t be – such as in a car, sitting outside on a park bench, etc.

So, from the perspective of keeping the hardware of your computer working.  Regular maintenance is important.

But what about the software?  Yep, that too.

Microsoft releases updates for Windows (and other Microsoft products such as Office) on the first Tuesday of each month (also known as Patch Tuesday).  Sometimes, there are no updates for your computer, other times there are.  Occasionally, there are also more urgent patches released that address significant security flaws.

As well as Microsoft, your antivirus software may be releasing updates as often as every hour or two.  Other software on your computer is also updated periodically.

While some of these updates are optional and offer additional features, many are intended to address security flaws that have been found.  If you don’t install these updates then you may find that your computer is not as secure as it should be – this is particularly important for any computer being used on the Internet.

In 2004, the Internet Storm Center found that an unpatched computer connected to the Internet might be compromised in as little as 20 minutes.  This time is so short, you might not even be able to get your computer fully up to date before it gets compromised.  These days, that survival time may be much lower.

What does this mean for you?

On your computer, both the hardware and the software need regular maintenance.  Without it, the hardware in your computer may fail or the software may be compromised and result in your computer not running normally.

By Who?

Who should do this maintenance?  That’s up to you.  If you’re comfortable with doing the sorts of things talked about here then go ahead and do the maintenance yourself. If you’re not as confident, then you may be better off getting a qualified and experienced computer tech to do this work for you.  The bottom line, though, is that, either way, the maintenance gets done.

How often?

If you leave your computer turned off most of the time and use it for email once a week, and keep your software up to date, then once a year might be all you need.  If you leave your computer running all the time and use it for many hours each day then once every month or two might be necessary.

The more of this maintenance you are comfortable carrying out yourself, the less often you’ll need to take your computer to a tech who can make sure it’s done properly.

If you don’t keep up to date with the maintenance, it can mean needing more expensive repairs – particularly if lack of maintenance results in failed hardware components in your computer.

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Everyone knows somebody who “knows computers” and is happy to help sort out computer problems.  A friend, or relative, like this can be great to have around when you run into something you’re not sure about.  It sure beats having to pay a professional computer tech to fix the problem!

However, just like every other trade (including motor mechanics, carpenters, plumbers, electricians, etc) a job that looks simple, particularly when you watch a professional doing the job, may actually be more complicated and only look simple because the person doing the work has years of training and experience behind them.

In the world of computers, where today’s new technology is next weeks obsolete part, this includes understanding that even though the plug fits, those two bits might not work with each other; that static electricity damages computer parts;  that repairing a problem may not mean replacing the part that failed – the failure may have been caused by something else.  The training and experience comes into play for these things.  It helps make sure the job is done right. Instead of being done wrong and causing even more expensive problems down the track.

My computer had a new hard drive installed and Vista reloaded.  Now it doesn’t work.  Can you help?

This is what we were told for the computer in the photo above.  What we found is far from unusual from an amateur computer repair.  While the computer may have worked for a little while, it soon failed again.  Instead of a relatively simple repair (as was originally the case) or replacing a hard drive, there is now a more complicated repair that includes testing components to make sure that the loose hard drive hasn’t cause additional damage – as well as doing the original repair properly.

In this case, the first repair did no real good, had to be done over, and might have caused even more damage to the computer.  Was it worth saving the cost of the first repair for this result?  Probably not.

Fortunately, the owner was lucky and no additional damage resulted.  After removing the failed bits and installing things properly it was all fixed.

Why was the original repair done this way?  I can only speculate.  Perhaps the “mate” couldn’t work out how to get the failed hard drive out so just left it there.  Perhaps they didn’t have a spare/longer IDE cable to install the hard drive somewhere else.  Perhaps they didn’t have any drive screws to actually screw it into place.  Possibly they didn’t understand that having metal edges loose and potentially exposed to electrical currents may cause a short circuit. There are many reasons why this repair is flawed and it’s likely that the ultimate reasons come down to inexperience.

So, anyone can fix computers.  Right?

Sort of.

But you may not get a “good” repair and, sometimes, you might make the problem worse.

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