PCTips Box

1. Vista screensavers in windows xp
2. Download Windows Firewall with Advanced Security
3. Windows SteadyState for Vista and XP
4. The beginner’s guide for portable applications - part 1
5. Download Windows Installer 4.5
6. How Does Windows Product Activation Work
7. Microsoft Offers TCP/IP Fundamentals for Windows
8. Access Sysinternals utilities over the web with command prompt
9. TOP10 - June 2008 Popular Tips
10. XP SP3, Some Problems Emerge
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Microsoft is offering Windows Vista users no less than 17 User Interface (UI) Language packs designed for integration with the operating system. However, the company informed that only the 32-bit editions of the latest Windows client can have LIPs implemented. In fact, the Language Interface Packs are restricted only to the English language versions of 32-bit Vista, with no support for the 64-bit variant of the operating system or for previous Windows releases. The 17 LIPs can be installed on Vista Home Basic, Home Premium, Business, Enterprise and Ultimate, but only 15 of them also play nice with the Starter SKU.

Albanian, Assamese, Bosnian - Cyrillic, Bosnian - Latin, Gujarati, Hindi, Icelandic, Indonesian, Kazakh, Macedonian, Malay, Marathi, Serbian - Cyrillic, Tamil, Uzbek - Latin, Vietnamese and Welsh are all the language UI packages offered for Windows Vista. With the exception of Icelandic and Welsh, all can also be deployed on the Vista Starter edition. The rest of the Vista SKUs are supported by default. (more…)

The latest version of a solution accelerator initially dubbed Windows Vista hardware Assessment is now available for download. The Microsoft Assessment and Planning Toolkit is now at version 3.1 and has hit RTM stage. The latest build of the assessment and planning solution accelerator is tailored specifically to the most recent Windows client and server operating systems, namely Windows Vista Service Pack 1 and Windows Server 2008 SP1/RTM, including the Hyper-V release. Version 3.1 is up for grabs straight from Microsoft, and is designed to streamline as much as possible the evaluation and planning phases of large scale software migration processes in complex IT infrastructures.

“Formerly known as Windows Vista Hardware Assessment, this new release is now packed with many new features such as: Hyper-V virtualization candidates assessment (+ improved virtual machines inventory); SQL server discovery and assessment; 64-bit installation support; and Desktop Windows Security Center assessment,” revealed Baldwin Ng, Senior Product Manager, Solution Accelerators Team. (more…)

An update is available that will help improve the performance and reliability of Windows Vista SP1.

This update includes the following improvements on a Windows Vista SP1-based computer:

1. The stability of Windows Vista SP1-based computers by addressing some crashes that may occur when you try to check e-mail by using a POP3 e-mail client such as Windows Mail or Mozilla Thunderbird.

2. The reliability of the Windows Vista SP1 based-computers by addressing some problems that occur when you delete user accounts by using the User Accounts item in Control Panel. When this problem occurs, the system may stop responding (hang). (more…)

This guide shows you how to allow computers to connect to a computer and use it remotely via Remote Desktop.

The only Windows Vista versions than can be connected to via Remote Desktop are Business, Enterprise, and Ultimate editions. All versions of Windows Vista can use Remote Desktop to remote to another computer though.

Enable Remote Desktop

1. Right-click Computer in the Start menu and then select Properties.

2. Click Remote settings in the Tasks list on the left side of the System window.

3. Select Allow connections from computers running any version of Remote Desktop if computers connecting to it will only be from within a local network or are running versions of Windows other than Vista. Select Allow connections only from computers running Remote Desktop with Network Level Authentication if computers connecting to it will connect from the internet or all computers connecting will be Windows Vista. (more…)

In the first half of June 2008, when they gave a taste of the new features cooking for Internet Explorer 8 which are planned for integration starting with Beta 2, Jane Maliouta - IE Program Manager and James Pratt - IE Product Manager pointed out that IE8 would come with slipstream support by default. This is valid as early as the Beta 1 Build of Internet Explorer 8, but only with Windows Vista RTM, Vista SP1 and Windows Server 2008. Microsoft has left Windows XP SP3 out of the IE8 slipstream equation, this is nothing new for XP, as slipstreaming was also not supported even with Internet Explorer 7.

“With IE8 and Windows Vista, you are able to integrate IE8 into the image file of the original operating system in about 15 minutes. No more booting the OS image, manually installing IE and re-capturing the image. The slipstreaming support also extends to IE8 cumulative updates and language packages. Slipstreaming IE8 into an OS image will only be supported on Vista and Windows Server 2008 platforms. Windows XP and Windows Server 2003 do not currently offer a solution for slipstreaming Windows components, which are built using update.exe,” Maliouta revealed. (more…)

1. Open the Control Panel from the Start menu.

2. Make sure you’re in the Classic View of the Control Panel by clicking Classic View in the Control Panel’s left sidebar.

3. Open System.

4. Click Device Manager in the left sidebar of the System window.

5. Right-click the device you want to uninstall the drivers and then select Properties.

6. Click the Driver tab in the device properties window. (more…)

Being the loyal adept of a business model based on proprietary software, a free operating system is not exactly something that Microsoft customers can expect from the company. But of course that there are always exceptions to confirm the rule. And the free copy of Windows Vista up for grabs via Microsoft Download is an illustrative example in this context. That’s right, a completely free copy of the latest Windows client, time-bombed of course, but free nonetheless.

Microsoft continues a tradition debuted after the launch of Internet Explorer 7. Because two different versions of Internet Explorer cannot coexist under normal circumstances on the same Windows machine, let alone be used simultaneously, the Redmond giant turned to an alternative solution to make the lives of web content developers and designers a tad easier. The company released Internet Explorer Application Compatibility VPC Images. (more…)

No matter how fast or shiny computers might be when they are new, they all seem to get slower over time. That state-of-the-art PC you bought last year might not feel like such a screamer after you install a dozen programs, load it with antispyware and antivirus tools, and download untold amounts of junk from the Internet. The slowdown might happen so gradually you hardly notice it, until one day you’re trying to open a program or file and wonder, “What happened to my poor PC?”

Whatever the cause, there are a lot of ways to help speed up Windows and make your PC work better even without upgrading your hardware. Here are some tips to help you optimize Windows Vista for faster performance. (more…)

Microsoft has made Origami Experience 2.0 available for download. A collection of programs designed to enhance the user experience of ultra-Mobile PCs, Origami Experience 2.0 is set up to integrate seamlessly with Microsoft’s latest Windows operating system. In the Redmond company’s vision, UMPCs upgraded to Windows Vista should also feature Origami Experience 2.0, as the project announced at the Consumer Electronics Show January 2008 was finalized. In fact, even as early as the start of May, the Origami team was hinting that the downloads of 2.0 were planned to go live with the final bits.

“The Origami Experience 2.0 is designed for Ultra-Mobile PCs that run Windows Vista. To run the Origami Experience 2.0, a UMPC with the following specifications is recommended: minimum 100 MB of available hard disk space; minimum 1 GB of system memory and touch panel display (required for Origami Picture Password),” revealed Microsoft’s Brandon LeBlanc.

A total of four applications have been packaged into Origami Experience 2.0. Users running Windows Vista Business; Enterprise; Home Premium; and Ultimate on UMPCs will be able to enjoy the added power, flexibility and functionality of Origami Experience 2.0: Origami Central, Origami Now, Origami Picture Password and Touch Settings. (more…)