Notes from the April 11, 2002 meeting of the Rochester Genealogical Society, Computer Interest Group.

The meeting was attended by 44 members and 1 visitor. Rochester Genealogical Society/Vice President - Computer Interest Group, Roy Thurston, opened the meeting with announcement of a change of the usual agenda. The presenter, Dave Enright, president and owner of Enright PC Management Services had received an emergency call for service. He offered to speak for 30 minutes, then return in the Fall to give another presentation.

Dave apologized for the change in plans, noting that his client had not backed-up the server and now has a problem. Of course, all attendees do timely back-ups! He mentioned that he is part of the SoundBytes Team (with Nick Francesco and Steve Rey) on WHAM, 1180AM on Saturday from 12:22 P.M. to 2:00 P.M.

Starting a discussion on WindowsXP, he noted that this operating system is very stable, not like his nemesis, Windows ME. He opined that Microsoft pushed ME to fill a 6 month gap before Windows 2000 was ready, but developers declined to provide drivers for their programs. Alternately, Microsoft has provided a hardware compatability list which lists hardware which will run on XP.

Describing XP, he noted that the minimum requirements are: at least a Pentium 500 or greater, 256 meg memory, (but 512 is better) and at least a 30 gigabyte hard drive. XP uses over 200 meg of operating space. A current zinger encountered by XP users is the video card. Drivers are being developed, but they must be reviewed by Microsoft prior to being Win XP certified.

Also, anyone planning to upgrade to XP should check the items in the service tray, lower right corner, (right click) as TSR (terminate and stay resident). One client had trouble with an upgrade, which Dave resolved, but still had trouble with a scanner. Dave had noted on his invoice to the client that many scanner driver updates were not available. It is necessary to keep checking.

He noted that Dell and Gateway are selling systems at very low prices, about $700 for Pentium 4, 20 gig hard drive, 128 meg of memory, a 15" monitor, (upgradeable to 17" for $70). Back to XP, he noted that as a BETA tester, he was not able to crash his machine. (He made a special recommendation that attendees buy Norton's back-up called GHOST. It will transfer directly from one hard drive to another.) One advantage of XP as an upgrade is that home users only need the Home Edition. XP Professional has improved security, which is easily by-passed. You become your own system administrator, i.e. controlling what games your children can use. A variety of system components can be used in many combinations on either the Home or Pro Editions. Dave is also a genealogist/family historian. He uses the My Family Tree program, as he gets time. His father was one of 19 sibilings, 18 survivors. It is on the Web, with a coverplate of all the 18 with their spouses. The children are contributing new links and data.

Answering questions, he noted that home networks are getting more common, to share printers, especially with routers using DSL. XP picks up new devices without even rebooting. With different printers, and one parallel port, he recommends using an A-B switch.

Upgrades to XP require at least Win98, ME or 2000. Before installation, shut down applications in the system tray, especially the anti-virus software. If a program does not seem to install properly, check that the anti-virus software is shut down. The anti-virus programs think that the machine is being attacked. He recommends removing all special Norton Utilities, Crashguard, Clean Sweep, Fixer, before attempting to install XP. XP will recommend removal of temp (.TMP) files. No more than one anti-virus program should be installed.

XP must be registered in 30 days, but only the I.D. number is required. Other info will result in lots of SPAM. There must be a separate copy of the program for each installation to be a legitimate user.

Dave also recommended using the program POPUP KILLER available on Google, for SPAM deletion. ADAMWARE is another useful SPAM preventer.

Returning to XP installation, Dave noted that you must go into System Manager, then Disk Management. Set up the hard drive using NTFS, a cleaner, faster program. You cannot cross copy from one drive to another. It will not boot. The registry from Win 95 on will not work if cross copying files. A program like GHOST is needed. Many DOS programs are not compatible with XP. He again offered to return in the Fall. Dave was given a well deserved round of applause.

Soundbytes is seeking donations to build a server to store archives of programs up to 4 years old. Send donations to Dave's office at 3385 Brighton-Henrietta Townline Road, Rochester 14623.

Roy opened the meeting, welcoming new attendees. We had one new attendee from Dave Enright's announcement on Soundbytes about this meeting.

Jim Hall, Rochester Genealogical Society's Membership Secretary, noted that the 2001-2 membership year ends on June 30, 2002, but renewals are being accepted now.
He also suggested that Computer Interest Group members view the Computer Interest Group meeting notes on the Rochester Genealogical Society's website. Dick Halsey has done a wonderful job of preparing the links presented at the March 14^th meeting.
Another special was announced that there are several excess issues of recent (and older) "Here Ye" that will be available at the April 18^th Rochester Genealogical Society's meeting. The attendees had the advanced notice to check the piano top for the copies.

RGS V.P./Programs Larry Schungar announced that the Rochester Genealogical Society and Kodak Genealogical Society joint meeting was scheduled for April 18^th. He also reminded attendees of the May 30^th (5^th Thursday) meeting and June 15^th picnic. (Directions and details for the Picnic will be available at the May Rochester Genealogical Society's meeting.)

Paul Blake, Rochester Genealogical Society President and Computer Interest Group Program Team discussed a Computer Interest Group program questionnaire being circulated that evening to find topics of interest.

Roy also noted that the May 9^th Computer Interest Group meeting will feature former Rochester Genealogical Society Vice President/Computer Interest Group, Tom Pautz, describing PAF Version 5.1.

Paul Blake noted that he had found a diagram of an operating system, including Graphic User Interface, with Job, Task and Device Management, showing how everything works together.

A question on the 1930 Census was responded that (as Dick Halsey had put into the Spring 2002 issue of "Hear Ye") there is a website at where an enumeration district can be defined from an address. Check city directories for street numbers and cross streets. The site will provide the appropriate number of the enumeration district and the number of the film roll.

Paul Blake reported a problem in printing charts under Family Tree Maker. An attendee recommended visiting the Office Max store opposite Eastview Mall, where they have a 36" width printer for extended document widths and lengths. They have the proper printer drivers needed.

wishes to thank Gloria Church for her continued service in keyboarding these notes, and Dick Halsey for preparing the notes for display on the RGS website.

Back to RGS homepage

Back to CIG page.