Personal Computer Information

Keith and Betty's Idiosyncratic Recommendations for Personal Computers and Software

By clicking on this link, you can view (and save if you wish) or download an Adobe Acrobat .PDF file of the world-famous, 21-page "Keith and Betty's Idiosyncratic Recommendations for Personal Computers and Software." Please feel free to use, particularly to print and give to friends who are less knowledgeable about computers. "Here, read all this and then I'll answer your computer questions." Betty and I did this mostly to protect ourselves against an onslaught of computer questions: "Have you read your homework assignment yet? No? Well read the damn thing and then ask your questions!"

Please feel free to link to this page, or directly to http://www.pitt.edu/~kconover/ftp/kbrec.pdf from your own web site. Please don't post elsewhere on the Web, as we will post updates here on an irregular basis (every few months on the average, sometimes sooner, sometimes later). The files will always be named kbrec.pdf if you wish to link to it. The current version is 13.01 and is dated November 21, 2002.

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Switching Capslock, Control, and Alt Keys

"It's in the fingers, not in the mind."

Note 1: The best program I've found so far to remap keys is the clever and easy to use SharpKeys. In fact, if you have SharpKeys, you really don't need to read any of the stuff below.

Note 2:  PC Magazine now has a utility to remap your keyboard that is reputed to work under WinXP:  TradeKeys 2.  Download from www.pcmag.com/utilities. Bruno Fernandes says it works, but only for standard keys. And, he says there is a .NET program called "Scancode Mapper" but that under XP it was mapping keys incorrectly.

Note 3: before you email me asking "how do I remap X to Y?"  There is a Microsoft Word file on the Microsoft website that lists the scancodes for all of the keys. Bruno Fernandes also notes there is a Microsoft PDF file that is even easier to use and has information on more key scancodes, even allowing you, with some work, to remap nonstandard, officially unsupported keys.  Please review these files FIRST.  With these files and the article below, you should be able to implement your particular key-swap needs.  Sorry that I can't provide registry files to everyone for every possible key-swap -- you'll need to do some of the work yourself.

Actually, it's in the basal ganglia deep within your brain, but as it's not accessible to conscious inspection, it's really not in the "mind."  Typing and playing the piano are learned psychomotor skills, and not easy to change once learned. See David Sudnow's books such as Talk's Body for more on this theme.

I learned to touch-type not only text, but also control-key combinations for formatting and other commands, back in the days of the original CP/M WordStar and WordMaster -- and for those who have some facility with touch-typing, and can find the Ctrl or Alt key without looking, control keys are invaluable for working at a computer keyboard.  

But then IBM moved the control and alt and capslock keys, apparently so people who couldn't type worth **(%*% could find the capslock key easier.  A concession to people who are using the personal computer as a glorified typewriter and had no interest in touch-typing commands (at least, not until they realized how useful they could be).  Stupid.

So I once got a keyboard for my PC that had the control key in the place God intended -- next to the A key, where it's easy to reach. And the Alt key was two keys below this, and the CapsLock key was next to the space key, where it could be accessed when needed -- which is about 100,000 times less often than the control key.  And the Alt keys were along the left where you could touch-type control plus some of the function keys. However, Northgate went out of business, and that keyboard died.

Sigh.  I've had to give up on function keys along the left, although it made lots of sense to me.

BTW, as far as having others be able to use your PC, here is an email exchange that might be of interest:

On 6 Aug 2002 at 22:11, David vGB wrote:

> Just thought I'd mention that if, like me, you share a computer with
> people who'd be quite distressed at a sudden apparent keyboard
> malfunction, you can also do this on a per user basis (contrary to
> what it says in the MS article you link to) Just add "Scancode Map" to
> "HKEY_CURRENT_USER\Keyboard Layout" instead of in HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE
>
> It doesn't work with Fast User Switching, though. As far as I can tell
> the remapping occurs during the login and is not repeated during fast
> user switching. As long as you do proper login and logoff it seems to
> work fine.

Great point, thanks!

Actually, since this involves my religious belief that God intended
the Control key to be next to the A key <g>, I adopted a different
approach. I used my Brother labelmaker and put new labels on the
keys so it's apparent to anyone who uses my laptop that the keys have
been remapped. On an old desktop keyboard once I was able to
actually switch the keys, but on most keyboards the keys are of
slightly different sizes so this won't work.

Take care.

"Put the Control key next to the A where God intended it!"

Starting with Windows 95, Microsoft offered a keyboard remap addition, part of the kernel toys setup.  And it worked with Windows 98 and ME.  But not with NT, Windows 2000, or WindowsXP.  I found some information on this in the forum at http://www.annoyances.org, including references to a Microsoft article that explains the new keyboard mapping starting with Windows 2000. If you follow the link at the top right, it contains a link to a Word file that lists the scancodes for the keys:

• CapsLock: 3A
• L Ctrl: 1D
• L Alt: 38

So, with a little editing of your registry, you can remap these keys yourself!  Great!  

The information on this topic is a bit cryptic for those not used to low-level Windows programming -- even to me, who used to code in A86 Assembler, it's easy to make mistakes.  And indeed, I made some mistakes myself in trying to do this, including putting something in my Registry that made different random keys get exchanged each time I rebooted (just follow the PC World article's advice and leave off the ending 00,00,00,00 null termination to the value in the key and you, too can experience this bizarre twist!)

So here are some key concepts as you read through this material and try to puzzle it out.

• Some articles, notable the key Microsoft article about keyboard remapping, give you information in DWORD format, yet when you are typing things into a text file, or looking at things in the Registry Editor, they are in Little Endian format.  The difference is as follows:
  
  DWORD format is pairs of bytes, expressed as hexadecimal equivalents, thus: GHEFCDAB (e.g., 00000003)
  
  little endian format is pairs of bytes, expressed as hexadecimal equivalents, thus: AB,CD,EF,GH (e.g., 03,00,00,00)
  
  So, when reading the Microsoft article, reverse the order of  the DWORD format byte pairs you see there to the little endian format.  That way, they will sense when you type them into Notepad, read the files I've prepared, or browse keys in the Registry Editor.
   
• There is an article on the PC World site about remapping the keyboard, at  http://www.pcworld.com/howto/article/0,aid,65157,pg,3,00.asp; it is much easier to follow than the Microsoft article. But, it seems to have a significant error: PC World doesn't tell you that you need a null DWORD at the end, and that you have to include this null DWORD in the count of assignments. It also has a recommendation to include the line "00000409"="kbdus.dll" in the registry key, but that line doesn't seem to be needed at all. Indeed, Microsoft says this applies to all users and all keyboards, so specifying a particular keyboard is useless (at least until Microsoft adds in the functionality in a future release of Windows).
   
• To paraphrase the Microsoft information:  The Scancode Map value of the Keyboard Layout key -- note: not the "Keyboard Layouts" (plural) key -- is formatted as follows:
  00,00,00,00 First, there needs to a four-byte header with version information (all zeros for XP or 2K):
  00,00,00,00 Next, there needs to be a four-byte header with flags (all zeros for XP or 2K):
  03,00,00,00 Third, there needs to be a four-byte header with the number of keyboard mappings to follow, including the four-byte terminator (i.e., if you want to remap control to capslock, and capslock to control, that's two mappings, so the number should be three, not two as in the PC World article.)
  1D,00,3A,00, Now comes your keyboard mappings, four bytes for each mapping, the first two bytes specifying which function you want to assign, and the second is which physical key you want to assign it to.  This first set of eight bytes assigns the Left-Control function to the physical CapsLock key. 
  3A,00,1D,00 The second set of eight bytes assigns the CapsLock function to the physical Left-Control key.
  00,00,00,00 Last is a set of null bytes that serves as a termination.
  If you want to do a triple-switch of Control, Alt, and CapsLock, the byte sequence is:
  00,00,00,00,
  00,00,00,00,
  04,00,00,00,
  38,00,1D,00,
  1D,00,3A,00,
  3A,00,38,00,
  00,00,00,00

Do it Yourself: CapsLock - Control

There are three ways to make these changes to the Registry yourself.  The following instructions assume you want to switch CapsLock and Control; additional information on the triple CapsLock-Control-Alt switch appears at the end.

1: (hard) Edit the Registry Manually. 

Start > Run > RegEdit and press Enter.

Go to HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SYSTEM\CurrentControlSet\Control\

Add a new key named "Keyboard Layout" (without the quotes). (NOT the plural "Keyboard Layouts" which is already there, and which you should not touch)  Within this (singular) "Keyboard Layout" key, add a binary value named "Scancode Map" (without the quotes).  Add the following to this value:

00,00,00,00,00,00,00,00,03,00,00,00,1D,00,3A,00,3A,00,1D,00,00,00,00,00

2. (easier) Type In a Text File and Import Into The Registry

Start Notepad, and on the first line of a new file, type REGEDIT4 (in Windows NT 4) or Windows Registry Editor Version 5.00 (in Windows 2000 and XP). Press Enter twice, and type [HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SYSTEM\CurrentControlSet\Control\Keyboard Layout]; press Enter.  Now type "Scancode Map"=hex:00,00,00,00,00,00,00,00,03,00,00,00,1D,00,3A,00,3A,00,1D,00,00,00,00,00 (including the quotes) and press Enter. When you're done, the result should resemble the lines shown below.  You can also cut the text below and paste directly into Notepad if you wish.

Windows Registry Editor Version 5.00

[HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SYSTEM\CurrentControlSet\Control\Keyboard Layout]
"Scancode Map"=hex:00,00,00,00,00,00,00,00,03,00,00,00,1D,00,3A,00,3A,00,1D,00,00,00,00,00,00

3. (extremely easy)

If you are willing to take some risks to avoid having to figure our how to edit your Win2K or WinXP registry correctly, I've saved the appropriate changes for both the CapsLock-Left Control and the CapsLock-Left Control-Left Alt switches that you can download and install.  Using the Registry Editor to delete the Keyboard Layout key deletes the changes.  You can also view it in Notepad or a similar text editor to see how to do it yourself.

Download the text file here: caps-control.txt.  Note that this is just a simple text file and there is no way this can contain a virus (load it in Notepad to check to make sure there is nothing but text).

One you've got the file, rename it using a .reg file extension and save it as "caps-control.reg".  Right-click and select "merge" or simply double-click.

Do it Yourself: CapsLock-Alt-Control

1. (hard) Edit the Registry Manually.

Start > Run > RegEdit and press Enter.

Go to HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SYSTEM\CurrentControlSet\Control\

Add a new key named "Keyboard Layout" (without the quotes). (NOT the plural "Keyboard Layouts" which is already there, and which you should not touch)  Within this (singular) "Keyboard Layout" key, add a binary value named "Scancode Map" (without the quotes).  Add the following to this value:

00,00,00,00,00,00,00,00,04,00,00,00,38,00,1D,00,1D,00,3A,00,3A,00,38,00,00,00,00,00

2. (easier) Type In a Text File and Import Into The Registry

Start Notepad, and on the first line of a new file, type REGEDIT4 (in Windows NT 4) or Windows Registry Editor Version 5.00 (in Windows 2000 and XP). Press Enter twice, and type [HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SYSTEM\CurrentControlSet\Control\Keyboard Layout]; press Enter.  Now type "Scancode Map"=hex:00,00,00,00,00,00,00,00,03,00,00,00,1D,00,3A,00,3A,00,1D,00,00,00,00,00 (including the quotes) and press Enter. When you're done, the result should resemble the lines shown below.  You can also cut the text below and paste directly into Notepad if you wish.

Windows Registry Editor Version 5.00

[HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SYSTEM\CurrentControlSet\Control\Keyboard Layout]
"Scancode Map"=hex:00,00,00,00,00,00,00,00,04,00,00,00,38,00,1D,00,1D,00,3A,00,3A,00,38,00,00,00,00,00

3. (extremely easy)

If you are willing to take some risks to avoid having to figure our how to edit your Win2K or WinXP registry correctly, I've saved the appropriate changes for both the CapsLock-Left Control and the CapsLock-Left Control-Left Alt switches that you can download and install.  Using the Registry Editor to delete the Keyboard Layout key deletes the changes.  You can also view it in Notepad or a similar text editor to see how to do it yourself.

Download the text file here: capslock-alt-control.txt.  Note that this is just a simple text file and there is no way this can contain a virus (load it in Notepad to check to make sure there is nothing but text).

One you've got the file, rename it using a .reg file extension and save it as "capslock-alt-control.reg".  Right-click and select "merge" or simply double-click.

Alt -> Windows Key

Greg Narmin emailed to say that he's gotten his right Alt key to remap to become a Windows key. Here is how he did it:

Windows Registry Editor Version 5.00

[HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SYSTEM\CurrentControlSet\Control\Keyboard Layout]
"Scancode Map"=hex:00,00,00,00,00,00,00,00,02,00,00,00,5B,E0,38,E0,00,00,00,00

Feedback

If something here doesn't work, or you have trouble understanding something, or you have a suggestion to improve this article, please email me.  Thanks!

How to Synchronize Your Data between Desktop and Laptop and Palm -- including Outlook and Pegasus Mail

It's nice to have a desktop computer, as you can expand it more than a laptop.  It's also nice to carry around a laptop, especially if it's relatively light.  And Palm Pilots and their clones are handy as well.  But trying to synchronize your data between all three can be a real pain.  But, with the advice here, some relatively inexpensive hardware, and some discipline on your part, you can make it work, and have the relevant parts of your data with you wherever you are.  (If some of the terms don't make sense, download and read Keith and Betty's Recommendations, above, for an explanation.)

The key components to this system are:

• A desktop computer, a laptop computer, and optionally a Palm OS handheld.
• A network linking all devices.  I recommend a router/Ethernet hub to connect laptop and desktop -- if you have or plan to get a DSL or cable modem, a router such as the LinkSys BEFSR41 router (about $70 discount from PC Connection and other suppliers) will make your home network more secure, so that crackers can't get into your system via the DSL or cable modem, and allows you to connect your desktop and laptop via high-speed Ethernet adapters (PCI or ISA card for your desktop, PCMCIA card for the laptop).  
• LapLink, which has something called SpeedSync that allows it to synchronize only the changed portions of large files.  This speeds up transfers between desktop and laptop.  Laplink also allows you to define "Xchange Agents" which are predefined synchronization programs. 
      By the way, you have a choice of Laplink cables. They have a high-speed USB cable, or rather four different models, each requiring different special drivers. My advice is to completely forget this, it's too kludgy for words. If you want to sync between laptop and desktop, install Ethernet adapters and a cheap generic Ethernet hub between laptop and desktop and use this instead. For syncing on the road between your PC and another, carry the Laplink parallel cable which is reasonably fast. Also carry the Laplink serial cable: the latest version of Laplink (11.0 Gold) has a "remote install" that allows you to use a single floppy disk and the serial cable to install to another computer. I haven't tried this but have used previous versions of the serial install and it worked OK if slowly. Carrying a CD with a copy of the installation file is also a good idea. 
• Discipline.  If you update something on both computers prior to synchronizing, YOU WILL LOSE DATA.  I've disciplined myself to plop my laptop on my desk when I get home, plug into power, plug into the Ethernet, and synchronize before using the desktop PC.  And, before I leave, I synchronize again, so all my changes get copied over to the laptop,  then use my laptop until I get home again.  For the Palm, things get more complicated, see below.  So, things work like this:

1. Desktop -> Laptop, work on Laptop only
2. Desktop <- Laptop, work on Desktop only
3. Repeat over and over and over . . . 

If you're going to try this, it is CRITICAL that you back up your data regularly.  Yes, having a copy on both laptop and desktop is great, and means that your data is backed up on a very frequent basis.  BUT, after years and years using personal computers to store personal data, I am a firm believer in having 2-3 belts AND 2-3 sets of suspenders.  I suggest the following backup methods.  I use ALL of them.

1. Use backup software and a backup device (I currently have two Iomega 30 GB portable USB/FireWire hard drive I use for this) and about once every 2 weeks, back up both laptop AND desktop (even though a laptop crash may lose little or no data, recreating your laptop setup and programs and reinstalling and upgrading everything can take hours, and hours, and hours, and hours . . . .)
2. Get LifeSaver, a utility that backs up critical data in ZIP files automatically -- including, if you specify it, your Outlok and Pegasus data.  Set it to run on a regular basis, say, once a week.
3. Before trying anything new, copy your data files into a temporary subdirectory.  I keep a subdirectory named C:\bak into which I copy my files.

First, let's look at how to synchronize Outlook between desktop and laptop.

Outlook -- How to Sync between Desktop and Laptop

If you set up Outlook in Corporate/Workgroup mode, it can be told to keep all its data in a single Personal Folders file.  Mine is called mailbox.pst, and I keep it in C:\exchange.  Note that this file keeps everything in it -- email (presuming you use Outlook for email -- yechh), memos, calendar, addresses, tasks.  Mine is now about 12 megabytes.  

Sounds like trying to sync such a file would take forever.  But, with a high-speed Ethernet network, and LapLink's SpeedSync technology, only the changed portion of this file is synced, and it only takes a minute or two. 

I suggest that you get all 100baseT as opposed to 10baseT adapters for desktop and laptop -- I have 10 Mb adapters and it's fast, but I wished I'd paid the extra for the 100 Mb/s adapters in the first place.  Only one problem -- my desktop has a free ISA slot but no free PCI slots and 100 Mb/s adapters require PCI.  Sigh.

And that's all there is!  Well, setting this up in the first place is a bit complicated.  Here are my notes about how I did it the first time, and after my laptop crashed and I didn't have a tape backup, twice.  With WinXP and Outlook XP things were much easier, but in case you are working with an older version of Windows or Outlook, I'll leave this posted:

- Run/install Outlook 2000 Corporate Go into Control Panel mail applet Add "Personal Folders" as a Service under the "Keith Conover, M.D., FACEP" profile property choose the C:\exchange\mailbox.pst as the folder rebuild the Outlook taskbar shortcuts if needed Since Netscape Messenger decided to be the mail client, had to edit the Registry to change the default Mail client to "Microsoft Outlook":  HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\Software\Clients\Mail So Winfax can access the Outlook address list

(NOTE:  if something changes the mail client to NOT be outlook, and you have Internet Explorer 5 or above, and despite Outlook and Windows 98 insisting, you CANNOT change this within Outlook or the Control Panel Applet.  You CAN change this within Internet Explorer itself though!  So you don't have to edit the registry as above.)

Pegasus Mail -- How to Sync between Desktop and Laptop

Pegasus, a freeware email program for Windows (and Mac), is clearly the best email program out there.  It doesn't have all the security holes of Outlook, and it has all the features anyone could ask for.  (Well, actually, that's not true, because people are always asking for more features, and David Harris, the author of the program, is always adding things.)  One of the great reasons to use Pegasus is because almost everything known about it is available online, as for example the list of files referenced in the email below.

I like to use both my laptop and desktop for email and other things, and over the years have perfected the art of keeping the laptop and desktop in sync.  It requires Laplink, a commercial but inexpensive program that can be purchased over the Internet with electronic delivery, and a bit of work.  Here is the text of an email that, I hope, describes how to do this -- at least well enough that you can, with a bit of work, get it working for you! 

On 23 Mar 2000, at 12:35, Rob wrote:

> I use PMAIL 3.12c here at work and really like it. I have also installed it on my home PC and I would like to transfer/import settings from work to home. I want to maintain all Folders/Trays, Filters, Address Books, Distribution Lists and Identities. I do not need all the messages. ( I zipped up my current PMAIL folder and it is 57mb in size, including all messages - well over 10,000. This is too large for me to move to my home computer ).