Windows XP

Add System Restore to Server 2003

Download the file http://www.windowsreference.com/files/AddSystemRestore.zip and extract it

Double click on AddSystemRestoreEntries.reg (This will add some values to the registry). Click on Yes to continue

Then insert a Windows XP CD to your CDROM drive. Right click on sr.inf and click on install

Reboot the computer

Now you can find the System Restore utility from START–>All Programs–>Accessories–> System Tools –> System Restore

“Windows 7″ is only Three Days Away!

Everyone ready to buy and install the latest and greatest Operating system since Windows XP? Based on the below stats(see insert), i think it is. I for one give Windows 7 a big thumbs up. I haven’t had this good of an experience with anything before retail as I have had with Windows 7 RC2. In fact, even though as an MSDN subscriber I am not going to install the latest copy of Windows 7, its just not needed at this point(for me personally). If you my readers can give me a few reasons why,(other than testing App-V; which I will most likely be able to download and install here anyways) then I might have to bite the bullet and start over once again. Its not like I haven’t re-installed my PC about a hundred times in the last 5 years! What is one more reload right?

Insert from Business Standard

“Microsoft, despite claims to the contrary, has not had much success with Vista which was launched in 2006. Analysts estimate that just one fifth of the world’s 1.2 billion computers use Vista. About four fifths use Windows XP (launched in 2001), introduced eight years ago, or even older Windows operating systems. XP is eight years old, but still runs on 70 per cent of all the Windows PCs across the globe. Microsoft will end active support for XP by 2014, and extended support by 2017.” Read the full story here.

Sysinternals Suite Updates

New Updates to the Sysinternals Suite

Process Monitor v2.7
This update to Process Monitor, a system monitoring utility, adds a new option to the process tree dialog that direct it to show just the timeline for displayed events, uses kernel-based thread profiling on Vista and higher for better performance, and includes a number of minor fixes and enhancements.

ProcDump v1.5
ProcDump now includes a new switch that enables the creation of a process dump upon process termination, which can help with troubleshooting unexpected process termination. It also fixes a bug where the -ma switch wouldn’t generate a full dump when combined with -r , the Windows 7-specific process reflection switch.

If you want to download these apps go to the Systinternals Live Site or go here for the whole updated package.

Posted in August that is Definitely worth a read.

Mark’s Blog: The Case of the Temporary Registry Profiles
In the latest post in Mark’s “Case of the Unexplained” series, he documents a perplexing case affecting many Microsoft and Citrix customers that Microsoft Customer Support Services solved with the use of Process Monitor’s boot logging and stack trace features.

Samsung N510 Netbook.

Finally a Netbook that will be able to play Hi-Definition video! With its 11.6″ screen and a resolution of 1366×768, this Netbook will surely become popular.

Samsung N510 specs include.

Intel Atom N280 1.67Ghz Processor with 1GB DDR2 Memory.

Nvidia’s Ion Chipset

160GB HDD

WiFi b/g/n

Bluetooth

wired ethernet

integrated webcam and microphone,

multi-format memory card reader

6-cell Li-Ion battery

Windows XP Home(Europe Release; its rumoured that it will ship with Windows 7 in North America.

Early reports state that the netbook will be worth about 420 pounds, or 864$ US. That’s quite a hefty pricetag, let’s hope the price drops quite a bit around the release date.

NS

Windows 7 Release Date

Microsoft announced that it will launch Windows 7, on Oct. 22.

Aside from the obvious desktop deployments, Windows 7 will also be ported onto netbooks.  Microsoft reall needs Windows 7 to be a hit, and be on as many PC’s as possible. I for one love Windows 7, I have it running at home flawlessly. My favorite feature is the rotating wallpapers

Windows 7 will also work much better in the enterprise because of its rumoured backwards compatibility, for applications, with Windows XP Applications.

Get a more complete story here

NS

Windows XP and VMware ESX Server

Okay I have seen this a lot, and I have also solved this myself, but I’m going to be honest with you when installing Windows XP Pro on an ESX Server and using the LSI Drivers, you will have issues. There is a driver on LSI’s website that you can use, but I don’t have that information for you at the moment, I do however have another solution, using the BusLogic controller, you can utilize a flp image file that is already located on the datastore. Alot of websites say, use an LSI Logic controller and the floppy image and you will be fine, well thats wrong. This is in fact a virtual floppy for the BusLogic controller.

So basically, start the setup of Windows XP Pro whichever way you want, hit F6 and when it asks for the floppy, mount the flp file from the data store, connect it, then hit “S” to proceed. The BusLogic driver should load and you will then be able to proceed with the installation.

Also on a side note… if you decide to VMconvert Windows XP Pro you will not have any luck, I haven’t had a chance to experiment too much, but I think if you select BusLogic(on the VM Properties) on before conversion you might be Ok. If anyone can answer this for me that would be great. Last time I VMConverted a Windows XP box I was greeted with a lovely BSOD!

Here is a good reference link to check out if your having issues.

NS

Internet Explorer 8 gone Gold

Well Microsoft released Internet Explorer 8 as of 12pm EST.

You can download it here.

If you interested in reading the press conference then check that out here.

The following is an insert from the above mentioned link.

“Customers have made clear what they want in a Web browser — safety, speed and greater ease of use,” said Steve Ballmer, CEO of Microsoft. “With Internet Explorer 8, we are delivering a browser that gets people to the information they need, fast, and provides protection that no other browser can match.”

There is also a quick tour that you can take before downloading. Check it out here.

NetBooks What are they good for?

I’ve been following Netbooks closely, not too close, but close enough

Jenny, yes our Jenny, asked me a couple notable questions. Answering that question will inform people that there are options out there to make the Netbook experience a joyful one.

“I enjoyed your coverage on Netbooks earlier in the month; did you end up getting one? I’ve been considering one myself, but I’m concerned about the memory and whether it will run smoothly enough. Where do you think netbooks perform the best (under what types of work situations)?”

First off, Netbooks i think are a great idea for a travel bug. They are small enough and just as powerful as some notebooks people are using out in the world. I like to travel quite a bit, and the Netbook bug has bit me, although I am very stubborn when it comes to purchasing “toys” Now your average Netbook will come with a 1.6 or 1.66Ghz Processor, remember the N280 chips are coming out full force, make sure you get a Netbook with at least the 1.66Ghz N280 chipset. Its not really the clock speed that makes a difference its the 134Mhz jump in the FSB. 1GB DDR2 SDRAM and 8GB are the norm for the baseline models. These will work well if you just check your hotmail, webmail, or gmail. But are also powerful enough to play streaming movies, music, iTunes, winamp, internet, and even have a webcam built in. If your the kind of person who does those kind of things then the base model is a great starter Netbook. Only caveat is the SSD HDD is only 8GB once the OS is in there, you loose 30-40% depending if you got Windows XP or Vista.

If you’re like me, well then we cant go with the base model… we need to amp it up a bit…

The HP Mini 1000 XP Edition Netbooks comes with the Intel Atom N70 Processor, but has a 60GB HDD… lots of storage for the avid traveller, but its limited to 1GB Memory, not so good…. The HP Mini Mi Edition lets you install up to 2GB memory, although it runs “HP Mobile Internet” built in Linux(not exactly mainstream)

Dell Inspiron Mini 9 is about the same specs although you can only go up to a 16GB SSD Drive, and the camera isn’t standard. There is an option to add bluetooth, I personally have no need for bluetooth. The Dell Mini 12 comes with either the Z520 or Z530 Processor. The hyperlink will take you to Intel’s page, which shows you all the Atom Processors and their differences. The Mini 12 also has the option for either a 40GB or 60GB HDD (4200rpm) for 30$ more then the 60GB HDD you can get an extra 20GB to bump you up to 80GB of space.

Acer has a model that comes with 160GB HDD and up to 1.5GB of memory.

And last but not least, my pic of the crop, ASUS, their N10J model, comes with the N270 Processor, 1GB DDR2 memory, up to 2GB max, a 160GB 5200RPM SATA Drive(up to 320GB), a built-in 1.3Mega Pixel Camera, integrated 802.11a/b/g/n(the only one in this blog to come with draft-n wireless technology), 6-in-1 card reader, VGA/DHDMI, HD Audio and microphone, all this jammed into a 10.2” screen Netbook. And yes you are correct, i know what your thinking, “Wow this isn’t going to be cheap…” its not, its about 1,000CDN

My honest opinion is that if you haven’t bought a Netbook wait for the N280 Atom chip, with its accompanying GN40 chipset, that’s when you’ll see a real multimedia boost. ASUS, Acer and Gigabyte are all expected to announce new Netbooks using the Atom N280 in the first half of 2009, HP and Dell to follow closely behind.

Remember that you could always go out and buy yourself a 2.5” SSD Drive. Just make sure you get a high performance one. The fact that SSD has 0 seek time, would greatly improve the usability of Netbooks. As always they come with a  price… and I would LOVE to get my hands on one of these for my future Netbook… a 256GB SSD Drive with an amazing 200MB/s data read rate, click here

Well i think I have blogged just about enough for tonight… Let me know how your Netbook experience goes!

NS