For those who are interested,

File Management Tips:

I have long since concluded that Windows Explorer, the default file manager, is not a very efficient means to navigate the Windows file directory. It has been my experience that two features, in particular, have the distinction of significantly enhancing the usability and efficiency of a file manger. These two features are multiple viewable panels(two or more) and/or multiple tabs. Preference is subjective and a matter of personal taste. In my case, I am partial to the former. To that end, I have been using the following three notable free Windows Explorer alternatives which are compatible with Windows XP SP3 and Vista SP1 and offer single-click support: FreeCommander, Q-Dir or Xplorer2 lite. The primary benefits of using any of the three mentioned is to cut down the number of mouse clicks and improve the speed and ease in which to perform such tasks as:

-Locating dump files.
-Locating log files.
-Replacing system drivers.
-Locating files/folders/processes to add to DefenseWall's "untrusted" list, "secured files" or "resource protection" list.(*Note: The relevant files/folders/processes can be typically found in the following locations: C:\, C:\Program Files, C:\Windows or C:\Windows\System 32)
-Verification of the safety and authenticity of a particular file.
-Locating critical system files or configuration setting files to backup.
-Locating files/folders left behind after uninstalling a program.(*Note: The relevant files/folders/processes can be typically found in the following locations: C:\, C:\Documents and Settings\All Users\Application Data(Windows XP SP3), C:\Documents and Settings\User Account Name\Application Data(Windows XP SP3), C:\Documents and Settings\User Account Name\Local Settings\Application Data(Windows XP SP3), C:\Program Data(Vista SP1), C:\Program Files, C:\Program Files\Common Files, C:\Users\User Account Name\AppData\Local(Vista SP1), C:\Users\User Account Name\AppData\Roaming(Vista SP1), C:\Windows, , C:\Windows\System 32 and C:\Windows\System 32\drivers. Although related, but not relevant to file managers, registry entries associated with uninstalled programs can be typically found in the following locations: HKEY_CURRENT_USER\Software and HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SOFTWARE.)

FreeCommander:
http://www.freecommander.com/
http://www.freecommander.com/fc_faq_en.htm (FAQ)
http://www.freecommander.com/fc_languages.htm (Help Files)

Q-Dir:
http://www.softwareok.com/?seite=Software/...anguage=english
http://www.softwareok.com/?seite=FAQ&language=en (FAQ)
http://www.softwareok.com/?seite=Q-Dir-hel...anguage=english (Help File)
http://proreviewer.com/2008/04/15/q-dir-a-...and-explorer-3/ (Q-Dir - A Really Good Portable File Manager and Explorer)

Xplorer2 lite:
http://www.zabkat.com/x2lite.htm
http://lifehacker.com/software/geek-to-liv...rer2-258730.php (Replace Windows Explorer with Xplorer2)
http://www.freewaregenius.com/2007/08/28/xplorer2-lite/

Registry Editing Tips:

*I highly recommend that one backup the registry with ERUNT which is a free registry backup and restoration utility before editing or making any changes to the registry.(*Note: In my case, I have allowed ERUNT to create a backup of my registry each time Windows is started. Additionally, since late 2005, I have been successfully using ERUNT with Windows system restore "disabled". To take a direct quote from ERUNT's FAQ,

"Question: Should I disable Windows XP’s System Restore function when using ERUNT?
Answer: Yes! Though System Restore backs up more than just the registry, the registry is essentially all you need to revert your system to a previous state. Advantages of ERUNT over System Restore are that each restore folder is standalone and independent of the others, minimizing the risk of restore failures, and that a restore can easily be done from outside Windows. Also, ERUNT backups usually take up less hard drive space than System Restore’s restore points and may be individually deleted at any time.")


http://www.larshederer.homepage.t-online.de/erunt/
http://www.larshederer.homepage.t-online.de/erunt/faq.htm (ERUNT FAQ)
http://www.larshederer.homepage.t-online.de/erunt/erunt.txt
http://www.winxptutor.com/regback.htm (Take a complete registry backup using ERUNT)
http://www.winhelponline.com/blog/backup-w...ly-using-erunt/ (Automatically Backup your Windows Vista Registry daily using ERUNT)
http://www.silentrunners.org/sr_eruntuse.html (Installing & Using ERUNT)

*The Windows registry editor leaves a lot to be desired when it comes to searching for particular registry keys. To achieve that end, I have been successfully using either Nirsoft's RegScanner(free) or RegAlyzer(free) to easily find and edit specific registry keys.

Nirsoft RegScanner:
http://www.nirsoft.net/utils/regscanner.html
http://www.howtogeek.com/howto/windows-vis...in-vista-or-xp/ (Finding Registry Keys the Easy Way in Vista or XP)

RegAlyzer:
http://www.safer-networking.org/en/regalyzer/index.html
http://4sysops.com/archives/regalyzer-a-ni...egistry-editor/ (FREE: RegAlyzer - a nifty free Registry editor)


Peace & Gratitude,

CogitoErgoSum

Hi CogitoErgoSum,

Thanks for this info with kids back in school and using the computers for their homework I really need to consider adding a program list this for better search function,
and file management.

All in all a very timely post !

cbella

Hello cbella,

You are very welcome.


Peace & Gratitude,

CogitoErgoSum

Hello CogitoErgoSum,

I have installed FreeCommander, Q-Dir and Xplorer2 lite. I like Q-Dir the most because of the 4 screens! I had been running ERUNT for quite some time.

Thank you very much for the information.

Hello Murderlove,

You are very welcome.


Peace & Gratitude,

CogitoErgoSum

A couple of other good Registry Programs:

1. Registry Crawler at: www. 4developers.com/regc/index.htm. This is a very fast finder and works in conjunction with RegEditX

2. RegeditX at www.dcsoft.com/products/regeditx/

Silver

I'd curious to know if you ever tried Registry Workshop. Less overpriced, and IMO allot better. And it's developers seem to be more actived and responsive to user requests.

I used and liked RegeditX for a good while (and trialed Registry Crawler), before I stumpled on Registry Workshop. And I was first a big fan of free PCMag's Registry Editor Plus on Windows 98 back then, never trialed it on XP or Vista...
Resplendent Registrar is also supposed to be very good, if a bit expensive, but I only used their free and quite limited Light version. TuneUp Registry Editor (part of their excellent Utility Suite) is installed on my PC, but I don't have a big use of it now. ;-)