Clear IE7 Browsing History From the Command Line

If you like to build batch files to automate cleanup on your computer, you'll probably want to include at least one of these commands in your batch script. You can automate any one of the functions on the Internet Explorer 7 Delete Browsing History dialog.

Here's the dialog that you are probably used to seeing: And here's the commands that correspond to the different buttons. The most important one from a cleanup perspective is the first, which will delete just the temporary internet files that are cluttering up your computer. To use these commands, just run them from the command line, the start menu search box in vista, or a batch file. Temporary Internet Files RunDll32.exe InetCpl.cpl,ClearMyTracksByProcess 8 Cookies RunDll32.exe InetCpl.cpl,ClearMyTracksByProcess 2 History RunDll32.exe InetCpl.cpl,ClearMyTracksByProcess 1 Form Data RunDll32.exe InetCpl.cpl,ClearMyTracksByProcess 16 Passwords RunDll32.exe InetCpl.cpl,ClearMyTracksByProcess 32 Delete All RunDll32.exe InetCpl.cpl,ClearMyTracksByProcess 255 Delete All - "Also delete files and settings stored by add-ons" RunDll32.exe InetCpl.cpl,ClearMyTracksByProcess 4351 These commands should work in Internet Explorer 7 on XP or on Windows Vista.

Beep Code Manual

BIOS Beep Codes When a computer is first turned on, or rebooted, its BIOS performs a power-on self test (POST) to test the system's hardware, checking to make sure that all of the system's hardware components are working properly. Under normal circumstances, the POST will display an error message; however, if the BIOS detects an error before it can access the video card, or if there is a problem with the video card, it will produce a series of beeps, and the pattern of the beeps indicates what kind of problem the BIOS has detected. Because there are many brands of BIOS, there are no standard beep codes for every BIOS. The two most-used brands are AMI (American Megatrends International) and Phoenix. Below are listed the beep codes for AMI systems, and here are the beep codes for Phoenix systems. AMI Beep Codes Beep Code Meaning 1 beep DRAM refresh failure. There is a problem in the system memory or the motherboard. 2 beeps Memory parity error. The parity circuit is not working properly. 3 beeps Base 64K RAM failure. There is a problem with the first 64K of system memory. 4 beeps System timer not operational. There is problem with the timer(s) that control functions on the motherboard. 5 beeps Processor failure. The system CPU has failed. 6 beeps Gate A20/keyboard controller failure. The keyboard IC controller has failed, preventing gate A20 from switching the processor to protect mode. 7 beeps Virtual mode exception error. 8 beeps Video memory error. The BIOS cannot write to the frame buffer memory on the video card. 9 beeps ROM checksum error. The BIOS ROM chip on the motherboard is likely faulty. 10 beeps CMOS checksum error. Something on the motherboard is causing an error when trying to interact with the CMOS. 11 beeps Bad cache memory. An error in the level 2 cache memory. 1 long beep, 2 short Failure in the video system. 1 long beep, 3 short A failure has been detected in memory above 64K. 1 long beep, 8 short Display test failure. Continuous beeping A problem with the memory or video. BIOS Beep Codes Phoenix Beep Codes Phoenix uses sequences of beeps to indicate problems. The "-" between each number below indicates a pause between each beep sequence. For example, 1-2-3 indicates one beep, followed by a pause and two beeps, followed by a pause and three beeps. Phoenix version before 4.x use 3-beep codes, while Phoenix versions starting with 4.x use 4-beep codes. Click here for AMI BIOS beep codes. 4-Beep Codes Beep Code Meaning 1-1-1-3 Faulty CPU/motherboard. Verify real mode. 1-1-2-1 Faulty CPU/motherboard. 1-1-2-3 Faulty motherboard or one of its components. 1-1-3-1 Faulty motherboard or one of its components. Initialize chipset registers with initial POST values. 1-1-3-2 Faulty motherboard or one of its components. 1-1-3-3 Faulty motherboard or one of its components. Initialize CPU registers. 1-1-3-2 1-1-3-3 1-1-3-4 Failure in the first 64K of memory. 1-1-4-1 Level 2 cache error. 1-1-4-3 I/O port error. 1-2-1-1 Power management error. 1-2-1-2 1-2-1-3 Faulty motherboard or one of its components. 1-2-2-1 Keyboard controller failure. 1-2-2-3 BIOS ROM error. 1-2-3-1 System timer error. 1-2-3-3 DMA error. 1-2-4-1 IRQ controller error. 1-3-1-1 DRAM refresh error. 1-3-1-3 A20 gate failure. 1-3-2-1 Faulty motherboard or one of its components. 1-3-3-1 Extended memory error. 1-3-3-3 1-3-4-1 1-3-4-3 Error in first 1MB of system memory. 1-4-1-3 1-4-2-4 CPU error. 1-4-3-1 2-1-4-1 BIOS ROM shadow error. 1-4-3-2 1-4-3-3 Level 2 cache error. 1-4-4-1 1-4-4-2 2-1-1-1 Faulty motherboard or one of its components. 2-1-1-3 2-1-2-1 IRQ failure. 2-1-2-3 BIOS ROM error. 2-1-2-4 2-1-3-2 I/O port failure. 2-1-3-1 2-1-3-3 Video system failure. 2-1-1-3 2-1-2-1 IRQ failure. 2-1-2-3 BIOS ROM error. 2-1-2-4 I/O port failure. 2-1-4-3 2-2-1-1 Video card failure. 2-2-1-3 2-2-2-1 2-2-2-3 Keyboard controller failure. 2-2-3-1 IRQ error. 2-2-4-1 Error in first 1MB of system memory. 2-3-1-1 2-3-3-3 Extended memory failure. 2-3-2-1 Faulty motherboard or one of its components. 2-3-2-3 2-3-3-1 Level 2 cache error. 2-3-4-1 2-3-4-3 Motherboard or video card failure. 2-3-4-1 2-3-4-3 2-4-1-1 Motherboard or video card failure. 2-4-1-3 Faulty motherboard or one of its components. 2-4-2-1 RTC error. 2-4-2-3 Keyboard controller error. 2-4-4-1 IRQ error. 3-1-1-1 3-1-1-3 3-1-2-1 3-1-2-3 I/O port error. 3-1-3-1 3-1-3-3 Faulty motherboard or one of its components. 3-1-4-1 3-2-1-1 3-2-1-2 Floppy drive or hard drive failure. 3-2-1-3 Faulty motherboard or one of its components. 3-2-2-1 Keyboard controller error. 3-2-2-3 3-2-3-1 3-2-4-1 Faulty motherboard or one of its components. 3-2-4-3 IRQ error. 3-3-1-1 RTC error. 3-3-1-3 Key lock error. 3-3-3-3 Faulty motherboard or one of its components. 3-3-3-3 3-3-4-1 3-3-4-3 3-4-1-1 3-4-1-3 3-4-2-1 3-4-2-3 3-4-3-1 3-4-4-1 3-4-4-4 Faulty motherboard or one of its components. 4-1-1-1 Floppy drive or hard drive failure. 4-2-1-1 4-2-1-3 4-2-2-1 IRQ failure. 4-2-2-3 4-2-3-1 4-2-3-3 4-2-4-1 Faulty motherboard or one of its components. 4-2-4-3 Keyboard controller error. 4-3-1-3 4-3-1-4 4-3-2-1 4-3-2-2 4-3-3-1 4-3-4-1 4-3-4-3 Faulty motherboard or one of its components. 4-3-3-2 4-3-3-4 IRQ failure. 4-3-3-3 4-3-4-2 Floppy drive or hard drive failure. 3-Beep Codes Beep Code Meaning 1-1-2 Faulty CPU/motherboard. 1-1-3 Faulty motherboard/CMOS read-write failure. 1-1-4 Faulty BIOS/BIOS ROM checksum error. 1-2-1 System timer not operational. There is a problem with the timer(s) that control functions on the motherboard. 1-2-2 1-2-3 Faulty motherboard/DMA failure. 1-3-1 Memory refresh failure. 1-3-2 1-3-3 1-3-4 Failure in the first 64K of memory. 1-4-1 Address line failure. 1-4-2 Parity RAM failure. 1-4-3 Timer failure. 1-4-4 NMI port failure. 2-_-_ Any combination of beeps after 2 indicates a failure in the first 64K of memory. 3-1-1 Master DMA failure. 3-1-2 Slave DMA failure. 3-1-3 3-1-4 Interrupt controller failure. 3-2-4 Keyboard controller failure. 3-3-1 3-3-2 CMOS error. 3-3-4 Video card failure. 3-4-1 Video card failure. 4-2-1 Timer failure. 4-2-2 CMOS shutdown failure. 4-2-3 Gate A20 failure. 4-2-4 Unexpected interrupt in protected mode. 4-3-1 RAM test failure. 4-3-3 Timer failure. 4-3-4 Time of day clock failure. 4-4-1 Serial port failure. 4-4-2 Parallel port failure. 4-4-3 Math coprocessor.

10 Fast and Free Security Enhancements

Before you spend a dime on security, there are many precautions you can take that will protect you against the most common threats. 1. Check Windows Update and Office Update regularly (_http://office.microsoft.com/productupdates); have your Office CD ready. Windows Me, 2000, and XP users can configure automatic updates. Click on the Automatic Updates tab in the System control panel and choose the appropriate options. 2. Install a personal firewall. Both SyGate (_www.sygate.com) and ZoneAlarm (_www.zonelabs.com) offer free versions. 3. Install a free spyware blocker. Our Editors' Choice ("Spyware," April 22) was SpyBot Search & Destroy (_http://security.kolla.de). SpyBot is also paranoid and ruthless in hunting out tracking cookies. 4. Block pop-up spam messages in Windows NT, 2000, or XP by disabling the Windows Messenger service (this is unrelated to the instant messaging program). Open Control Panel | Administrative Tools | Services and you'll see Messenger. Right-click and go to Properties. Set Start-up Type to Disabled and press the Stop button. Bye-bye, spam pop-ups! Any good firewall will also stop them. 5. Use strong passwords and change them periodically. Passwords should have at least seven characters; use letters and numbers and have at least one symbol. A decent example would be f8izKro@l. This will make it much harder for anyone to gain access to your accounts. 6. If you're using Outlook or Outlook Express, use the current version or one with the Outlook Security Update installed. The update and current versions patch numerous vulnerabilities. 7. Buy antivirus software and keep it up to date. If you're not willing to pay, try Grisoft AVG Free Edition (Grisoft Inc., w*w.grisoft.com). And doublecheck your AV with the free, online-only scanners available at w*w.pandasoftware.com/activescan and _http://housecall.trendmicro.com. 8. If you have a wireless network, turn on the security features: Use MAC filtering, turn off SSID broadcast, and even use WEP with the biggest key you can get. For more, check out our wireless section or see the expanded coverage in Your Unwired World in our next issue. 9. Join a respectable e-mail security list, such as the one found at our own Security Supersite at _http://security.ziffdavis.com, so that you learn about emerging threats quickly and can take proper precautions. 10. Be skeptical of things on the Internet. Don't assume that e-mail "From:" a particular person is actually from that person until you have further reason to believe it's that person. Don't assume that an attachment is what it says it is. Don't give out your password to anyone, even if that person claims to be from "support."