Brain teaser. Can anyone remember Visual C++ ?

[Des]

I have had a hard problem with my computer in the past. One is that I
would have a memory stick plugged in and it would start to flash for
no reason. Nothing should be accessing it. Could it be a virus or spy
ware? The word SPY comes to mind. I remember writing programs in
Visual C++ and creating a message loop. At the time Visual C++ had an
app called Spy. The icon was of the head of a blue detective with a
magnifying glass. Is there something I could use using Visual studio
2008 that would show me what is in the loop? I would love to roll up
my sleeves and write the message loop but have forgotten this. I do
write in C# but any way would help. Adding to a database table would
be cool.

Told you this would be a hard problem. Scratch those brain cells.

Any ideas?

 

[Rick Lones]

I have had a hard problem with my computer in the past. One is that I
would have a memory stick plugged in and it would start to flash for
no reason. Nothing should be accessing it. Could it be a virus or spy
ware? The word SPY comes to mind. I remember writing programs in
Visual C++ and creating a message loop. At the time Visual C++ had an
app called Spy. The icon was of the head of a blue detective with a
magnifying glass. Is there something I could use using Visual studio
2008 that would show me what is in the loop? I would love to roll up
my sleeves and write the message loop but have forgotten this. I do
write in C# but any way would help. Adding to a database table would
be cool.

Told you this would be a hard problem. Scratch those brain cells.

Any ideas?

Task Manager? (If you are trying to see what is running on your system.)

Or else ask a coherent question? Like maybe explaining what your memory stick
has to do with writing a "message loop" or what either of those has to do with
adding to a database table.

You are right, figuring out what the hell you are actually asking for here is a
hard problem . . . maybe you should figure that out first and then repost your
question without assuming that we can follow your apparently random jumps.

-rick-

 

[Arne Vajhøj]

I have had a hard problem with my computer in the past. One is that I
would have a memory stick plugged in and it would start to flash for
no reason. Nothing should be accessing it. Could it be a virus or spy
ware? The word SPY comes to mind. I remember writing programs in
Visual C++ and creating a message loop. At the time Visual C++ had an
app called Spy. The icon was of the head of a blue detective with a
magnifying glass. Is there something I could use using Visual studio
2008 that would show me what is in the loop? I would love to roll up
my sleeves and write the message loop but have forgotten this. I do
write in C# but any way would help. Adding to a database table would
be cool.

Google leads me to:

http://mdb-blog.blogspot.com/2010/11/microsoft-spy-or-spyxx-for-download.html

I can not guarantee for what it is, but it could be worth
looking at.

Arne

 

[Arne Vajhøj]

Task Manager? (If you are trying to see what is running on your system.)

I don't think task manager can see the windows messages.

Or else ask a coherent question? Like maybe explaining what your memory
stick has to do with writing a "message loop" or what either of those
has to do with adding to a database table.

He explained that is was to investigate a situation with unexplained
IO to the mem stick - didn't he??

You are right, figuring out what the hell you are actually asking for
here is a hard problem . . . maybe you should figure that out first and
then repost your question without assuming that we can follow your
apparently random jumps.

Hint: first step to understand it is to read it!

Arne

 

[Rick Lones]

I don't think task manager can see the windows messages.

It can't. It can tell you who is doing I/O operations, though.

He explained that is was to investigate a situation with unexplained
IO to the mem stick - didn't he??

Yes. But is he asking how to do it himself or which utility can do it for him?
If the latter, then he is way off topic for this group.

Hint: first step to understand it is to read it!

I did. It's incoherent crap, IMO. But feel free to scratch your brain cells on it.

 

[Rick Lones]

I have had a hard problem with my computer in the past. One is that I
would have a memory stick plugged in and it would start to flash for
no reason. Nothing should be accessing it. Could it be a virus or spy
ware? The word SPY comes to mind. I remember writing programs in
Visual C++ and creating a message loop. At the time Visual C++ had an
app called Spy. The icon was of the head of a blue detective with a
magnifying glass. Is there something I could use using Visual studio
2008 that would show me what is in the loop? I would love to roll up
my sleeves and write the message loop but have forgotten this. I do
write in C# but any way would help. Adding to a database table would
be cool.

Told you this would be a hard problem. Scratch those brain cells.

Any ideas?

There is a utility called Spy++, successor to the Windows 3 (if not earlier) Spy
utility, which is no doubt the one you are remembering. I think is ships as
part of Visual Studio, although not necessarily the most current versions.
Google Spy++.

-rick-

 

[Rick Lones]

There is a utility called Spy++, successor to the Windows 3 (if not
earlier) Spy utility, which is no doubt the one you are remembering. I
think is ships as part of Visual Studio, although not necessarily the
most current versions. Google Spy++.

-rick-

P.S. I suspect that you are going to discover that it is Windows itself that is
peeking at your drive, probably the background file indexing service.

 

[Des]

[...] Is there something I could use using Visual studio
2008 that would show me what is in the loop? I would love to roll up
my sleeves and write the message loop but have forgotten this. I do
write in C# but any way would help. Adding to a database table would
be cool.

You can try using Spy++ as suggested by others, but I think the better
tool if you want to see what, if anything, is accessing your USB drive
would be either the Resource Monitor in Windows, or Process Monitor from
the Sysinternals guys (now at Microsoft).

Resource Monitor can be run from the Task Manager: just start Task
Manager, go to the Performance tab, and there should be a button that
says "Resource Monitor".  It has an i/o pane that will tell you the most
active files being accessed.

Process Monitor is even more specific: it creates a filterable log that
records every single OS operation that happens, including file system
access.

A tool sort of in between that could also be used is Sysinternals'
Process Explorer.  It has a "search for handle" feature that you can use
to find any OS handle referring to a specific named object, just as a
file.  Just enter the drive letter (e.g. "E:\") for the search and it
should turn up any files open on that drive and tell you which process
has them it open.

There are other ways to approach the problem as well.  None of them,
including the above, have anything whatsoever to do with C# programming.

Pete

Sorry. guys the message loop which everyone had to write in order to
create a windows app is to long ago for you.

 

[Jeff Johnson]

Sorry. guys the message loop which everyone had to write in order
to create a windows app is to long ago for you.

We know what a message loop is. Spy++ is exactly what you want if you want
to view a window's message queue (and QUEUE is what you're really talking
about, not "loop").

However, I agree that for what you're trying to do you should definitely
take the advice of others and use a different utility to determine what
process is accessing your drive. THEN you can use Spy++ to check out that
process's message queue, but I doubt that'll do you much good.

Feel free to disregard this advice just like you seem to have done with
everyone else's. You appear to have asked a question wanting one specific
answer and nothing else, which makes me wonder why you asked in the first
place.

 

[Jeff Johnson]

Is there something I could use using Visual studio
2008 that would show me what is in the loop? I would love to roll up
my sleeves and write the message loop but have forgotten this. I do
write in C# but any way would help.

You know what, folks? I think I've figured out his actual question. Here's
my translation: "Can I write a C# program that will do what Spy++ does?"