Tag: service pack 2
Microsoft is offering Windows Vista SP1 users the chance to block automatic upgrades to Service Pack 2. In addition to making available Vista SP2 RTM as a standalone download, DVD ISO image, the bits are also released to Windows Update, and subsequently served to Vista SP1 users who have Automatic Updates enabled. With the Windows Service Pack Blocker Tool Kit, Microsoft gives customers, especially businesses, the possibility to temporarily block the delivery of Vista SP2 RTM via Windows Update. Of course that, since Vista SP2 RTM and Windows Server 2008 SP2 RTM are joined at the hip, the Windows Service Pack Blocker Tool Kit is capable of blocking the delivery of the latest released service packs for both Windows client and server.
The temporary period of time for which the tool is capable of blocking Vista SP2 via WU is a year after the general availability deadline. Microsoft released the first wave of Vista SP2 RTM downloads on May 26th, 2009 and, in this context, the end of May 2010 will bring with it the expiration of the restrictions set in place by the blocking solution. Once the Windows Service Pack Blocker Tool Kit expires there will be nothing standing between Vista SP1 and Windows Server 2008 RTM/SP1 and SP2; with the exception of manually configuring updates not to download and install SP2 automatically, of course. Read More»
Posted in Windows Vista | No Comments »
Microsoft is making it easy for users running Windows Vista Service Pack 2, but also SP1, to resolve sound problems affecting the operating system after the deployment of a service pack. In this manner, the Redmond company is acknowledging that Vista users can run into issues related to sound once they upgrade their platform either to SP1 or to SP2. Fortunately enough, the software giant provides users with an automated solution for eventual sound problems via KB948481. Microsoft is essentially providing a Fix It button and associated solution that will help users troubleshoot any sound issues introduced with the installation of a new service pack.
“After you install a Windows Vista service pack, you may experience one or more of the following problems with sound: no sound is produced when you play audio files or run programs that have an audio component. The speaker symbol next to the clock in the notification area may display the following message: No Audio Output Device is installed. The Sound Controller in Device Manager displays a yellow exclamation point. The sound quality changes. For example, if you previously had surround sound, you may now have stereo sound,” Microsoft explained. Read More»
Posted in Hardware, Windows Vista | No Comments »
Concomitantly with this month’s security bulletin releases, Microsoft has also made available for download the June 2009 Security Release ISO Image. The ISO image is designed as a package containing all the patches released by Microsoft on June 9th, 2009, but only those plugging vulnerabilities in Windows client and server operating systems. June 2009 was synonymous with the release of no less than 10 new security bulletins. No less than six bulletins impact Windows, Microsoft explained.
“This month’s release addresses 31 total vulnerabilities with 15 rated as “1” on our Exploitability Index, meaning there is a high likelihood that reliable exploit code may be developed in the next 30 days,” stated Jerry Bryant, Sr. security program manager lead.
As it is traditional, Microsoft is offering all security patches designed to resolve vulnerabilities in Windows platforms in a single package. The June 2009 Security Release ISO Image comes to compensate the lack of Windows Server Update Services in IT environments that require security update to be downloaded in multiple individual language versions and then deployed. Read More»
Posted in Windows Vista, Windows XP | 1 Comment »
Windows Vista, even before the advent of SP1, namely as RTM, while it had its sins when it came down to compatibility and support, was extremely stable in comparison to Windows XP. However, given the necessary amount of abuse and the right triggers, Vista reliability can suffer just as much as its precursors. It is the case of repeated hot-unplugs of USB devices, which can easily lead to Vista Service Pack 1 and Service Pack 2 crashing. A hot unplug refers to the action of disconnecting a USB device from a machine without turning to the Safely Remove Hardware feature.
Windows Server 2008 RTM and SP2 are also affected by this problem, the Redmond company revealed. The software giant indicated that it is sufficient to surprise remove a USB device several times in order to cause a crash of the operating system.
“After you plug the USB device into the USB port in this scenario, the device does not appear in Device Manager. Read More»
Posted in Windows Vista | 1 Comment »
Windows Vista Service Pack 3 gets its first hotfix from Microsoft. Yes, Service Pack 3, and yes, the error lies with Microsoft. The Redmond company is offering a hotfix designed to fix Event Viewer crashes associated with Windows Vista and Windows Server 2008 opening large event log files and attempting to sort log entries by a single column. But when it comes down to actually downloading the fix, the software giant offers it for the 32-bit, 64-bit and Itanium flavors of Windows Vista SP3. It is highly improbable that at this point in time Microsoft has debuted testing of Vista SP3 bits, and in this regard, the SP3 references are nothing more than an error. (via Neowin)
The Redmond company has recently wrapped up the code for Service Pack 2 for Windows Vista. The SP2 RTM bits are so “fresh” that they haven’t yet been served to Vista users, and Microsoft only pointed to the second quarter of 2009 for the availability of the second service pack for Vista, while not offering any specific deadline. The Redmond company announced that it had released Vista SP2 to manufacturing on April 28, 2009. MSDN and TechNet subscribers already got access to SP2 RTM, and the bits have even been leaked in the wild. Still, the public will only get Vista SP2 in Q2 2009. Read More»
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The Security Compliance Management Toolkit series builds on previous Solution Accelerators to provide you with expanded best practices and additional automation tools to help configure and deploy security settings for the following operating systems and applications: Windows Server 2008, Windows Server 2003 Service Pack 2 (SP2), Windows Vista SP1, Windows XP Professional SP3, and 2007 Microsoft Office SP1.
After deploying the security settings, you can verify the accuracy of the setting policies and monitor policy changes by applying one or more of 26 Configuration Packs using the desired configuration management (DCM) feature of Microsoft System Center Configuration Manager 2007 SP1. This series includes the following toolkits:
- Windows Server 2008 Security Compliance Management Toolkit
- Windows Server 2003 Security Compliance Management Toolkit
- Windows Vista Security Compliance Management Toolkit
- Windows XP Security Compliance Management Toolkit
- 2007 Microsoft Office Security Compliance Management Toolkit Read More»
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On March 3, Windows Vista Service Pack 2 and Windows Server 2008 SP2 went live on the Microsoft Download Center. A day later, Microsoft was confirming officially that the second service pack for Vista and Windows Server 2008 had indeed been made available to the public, after the bits were initially released to MSDN and TechNet subscribers the past week. SP2 for Vista is packaged both as an .EXE file, and as a standalone DVD ISO, but can additionally be accessed through Windows Update. Users who want to test the WU download and deployment process for SP2 will be able to do so with the Windows Server 2008 Service Pack 2 Release Candidate and Windows Vista Service Pack 2 Release Candidate – Windows Update Experience Kit.
“This kit contains 1) A Word document that has instructions and “things to know” before you install; 2) A command script that will set a registry key on your computer that will enable Windows Update to offer you the Service Pack. This installation option is available to computers that have any of the 36 supported Windows Server 2008 or Windows Vista languages. Service Pack 1 is a prerequisite for installing Service Pack 2. Please make sure that your system is running Service Pack 1 before you install Service Pack 2,” Microsoft informed. Read More»
Posted in Windows Vista | 1 Comment »
January 14, 2009 by
Jason Update Vista’s DirectX9 files for better game compatibility
One of the fixes for getting games to run in Vista that do not normally (such as FEAR and 3Dmark06 as two examples) is relatively simple. These games require the latest version of Directx 9. Vista does not actually contain a full installation of Directx 9, just some elements for compatibility purposes. So, install Directx 9.
To install Directx 9c on Windows Vista:
step 1: Download the latest DirectX 9 redistributable file from Microsoft.com here.
step 2: Unzip the file into a folder on your desktop or in your documents.
step 3: Run the DXSETUP file.
step 4: You can delete the folder after the install has finished.
Read More»
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January 02, 2009 by
Jason Almost everyone who has worked with computers for any length of time at all has run into at least one situation in which a problem left a PC unbootable. What if you could return the machine to a bootable state just by inserting a USB flash drive though? Believe it or not, it is actually possible to install a bootable copy of Windows XP onto a flash drive and then boot a PC off of the flash drive. From there, you can use applications that you have installed on the flash drive (anti virus, anti spyware, disk repair, etc.) to fix the PC’s problem. In this article, I will show you how.
What’s the catch?
As with most cool new techniques, there are a few catches. For starters, not every PC is capable of booting from a USB flash drive. For the most part, computers manufactured within the last two years are generally able to boot from a flash drive. Older systems may require a BIOS update, or might not be able to boot from a flash drive at all.
Another catch is that not every flash drive will get the job done. The primary factors that limit your use of a particular flash drive are capacity and speed. Technically, speed isn’t really a limiting factor, but booting Windows will be painfully slow unless you use a flash drive that supports USB 2.0. Read More»
Posted in Windows XP | 3 Comments »
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