Tag: windows xp sp3
January 01, 2010 by
Jason
Microsoft is offering free downloads of all its supported Windows clients, including Windows 7 RTM, Windows XP and Windows Vista. Starting with the advent of Vista, customers, partners, IT professionals and developers have been able to take advantage of a variety of offerings involving free releases of Windows from the Redmond company. Furthermore, the software giant has made somewhat of a tradition from making sure that XP, Vista and now Windows 7 are available as free downloads in order to streamline various testing, training, planning and adoption programs.
Various releases of Windows, packaged both as ISO and VHD images can be grabbed from the company, and installed into testing environments immediately. In this regard, it is critical to note that one downside of the free Windows OS downloads is the fact that the bits cannot be deployed into production.
On December 29th, 2009, Microsoft has updated the virtual hard disk images of Windows Vista and Windows XP. Initially delivered following the release of Internet Explorer 7, the VPC Hard Disk Images of XP and Vista are designed for testing websites in accordance with multiple Internet Explorer versions. There are three copies of XP SP3 and two of Vista available at no charge via the Microsoft Download Center. Read More»
Posted in Windows 7, Windows Vista, Windows XP | 1 Comment »
December 01, 2009 by
Jason Windows XP Mode is an optional download for the Professional, Enterprise, and Ultimate editions of Windows 7. It provides a licensed copy of Windows XP with Service Pack 3, saved in Virtual Machine Hard Drive Image (.vhd) format. When run in Windows Virtual PC, or another compatible program, this virtualized installation of Windows XP lets you run applications that might not run well in Windows 7. Windows XP Mode is also handy if you have an older device with a proprietary driver that hasn’t been updated for Windows Vista or Windows 7. If it worked great in Windows XP but doesn’t work in Windows 7, give it a try in Windows XP Mode.
NOTE: Windows Virtual PC requires a computer with hardware-assisted virtualization. That means the CPU has to support either Intel Virtualization Technology (Intel VT) or AMD Virtualization (AMD-V). In addition, hardware virtualization must be enabled in the BIOS. Both Intel and AMD offer an array of processor options, some that support hardware virtualization and some that do not. If you’re buying a system expressly for the purpose of running Windows XP Mode, be sure it meets these requirements. Read More»
Posted in Windows 7 | No Comments »
November 14, 2009 by
Jason A DVD5 ISO image file containing all the security bulletins made available on November 10th, 2009 for all supported Windows platforms, is now up for grabs via the Microsoft Download Center. As is the case every month, the Redmond company is accompanying the security patched it offers through Windows Update, Automatic Updates, and Microsoft Update with standalone downloads as well as with a package of updates. In this regard, the November 2009 Security Release ISO Image has become available for download earlier this week.
There are no less than six security updates packaged into the ISO image, four of which are now served through WU, AU, and MU to Windows users around the world. MS09-063, MS09-064, MS09-065, MS09-066 are all designed to patch security vulnerabilities in Windows server and client platforms, including versions such as Windows Vista SP2 and Windows XP SP3.
“This DVD5 ISO image file contains the security updates for Windows released on Windows Update on November 10th, 2009. The image does not contain security updates for other Microsoft products. This DVD5 ISO image is intended for administrators that need to download multiple individual language versions of each security update and that do not use an automated solution such as Windows Server Update Services (WSUS). You can use this ISO image to download multiple updates in all languages at the same time,” Microsoft explained. Read More»
Posted in Windows Vista, Windows XP | 1 Comment »
September 19, 2009 by
Jason Microsoft has reached the end of the road when it comes down to the evolution of Windows XP through major updates. Moving onward, the Redmond company will focus exclusively on Windows Vista and Windows 7 with service pack releases. Specifically, if you are running Windows XP and still hoping for an SP, then by all means, don’t hold your breath. Or, if you were indeed holding your breath, then this is about the right time to exhale and move beyond the aging operating system. Windows 7 is now just a few days short of one month away, seeing how general availability is planned for October 22nd, 2009.
No more service packs for Windows XP, what does it mean? It means that SP3 was the last service pack for 32-bit (x86) XP and the SP2 was the last major update for 64-bit (x64). Immediately after the availability of SP3 for x86 XP, Microsoft confirmed officially that it was the last service pack for Windows Vista’s precursor. However, a potential SP3 seemed to be in the cards as far as x64 XP was concerned.
In fact, this is not the case at all. Microsoft offered official confirmation of the fact that it was not, nor would it be in the future, developing a third service pack for 64-bit XP. “We have received inquiries from our customers and partners on whether or not there will be a need for a Service Pack 3 for Windows Server 2003. Read More»
Posted in Windows 7, Windows XP | No Comments »
Even before the release of Windows 7 Release Candidate Build 7100 Microsoft announced that it would take extreme measures in order to increase end user protection and amputate the AutoPlay/AutoRun feature of the operating system. Over a months after Windows 7 has been released to manufacturing, Microsoft is applying the same security strategy to previous Windows releases. The Redmond company is making sure that the amputated AutoPlay/AutoRun in Windows 7 will make its way to Windows XP (including SP3), Windows Server 2003, Windows Vista (including SP2), and Windows Server 2008, for security reasons.
In this regard, Microsoft has already made available an update designed to limit the AutoPlay/AutoRun functionality in Windows 7’s precursors. Essentially, following the implementation of the refresh, the AutoPlay/AutoRun will no longer display the “Install or run program” option for USB drives.
“In Windows XP, Windows Vista, and Windows Server 2003, AutoRun entries were populated for all devices that had mass storage and had a validly formatted AutoRun.inf file in the root directory. This included CDs, DVDs, USB thumb drives, external hard disks, and any volume that exposed itself as mass storage. This update disables AutoRun entries in AutoPlay, and displays only entries that are populated from CD and DVD drives. Read More»
Posted in Windows 7, Windows Vista, Windows XP | No Comments »
The July 2009 Security Release ISO Image is now available for download from Microsoft, having been offered concomitantly with the company’s monthly patch cycle releases. In addition to serving each month’s security bulletins through Windows Update, the software giant is also packaging the patches aimed for the supported Windows client and server operating system as an ISO image. In this context, customers can now access Windows-related security updates, including for Windows Vista Service Pack 2 and Windows XP SP3 that went live on July 14, 2009, through the DVD5 ISO image package.
“This month we are releasing six bulletins. Three of those affect Windows and are rated Critical. All three of those also have an Exploitability Index rating of ‘1’ which means that we believe that consistent exploit code in the wild is highly likely within the first 30 days,” revealed Jerry Bryant, Microsoft security program manager. “The remaining three bulletins are all rated Important and affect Microsoft Office Publisher, Microsoft ISA Server, and both Virtual PC and Virtual Server. The first two also have Exploitability Index ratings of ‘1’ so please consider this while doing your risk assessment. In total, we are addressing nine vulnerabilities this month.” Read More»
Posted in Windows Vista, Windows XP | 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 »
Microsoft is enriching the collection of language packs available for Internet Explorer 8 RTW. At the end of April 2009, the Redmond company promised that it would deliver the IE8 gold language packs aimed specifically at Windows XP and Windows Server 2003 in mid-May. With the release of the two Multilingual User Interface packages for the two operating systems, the software giant managed to live up to its promise. The IE8 MUI packs are designed to play nice with the 32-bit and the 64-bit versions of Windows XP SP2, Windows XP SP3, and Windows Server 2003 SP2.
Vishwac Sena Kannan – IE International program manager, and Jatinder Mann – IE Setup program manager, explained that end users would have to tailor the IE8 MUI pack to the specific language and architecture of their operating systems. In this regard, they will first need to install the IE8 bits in English, and only after deploy the MUI pack matching the OS MUI pack already deployed. Read More»
Posted in Internet, Windows XP | 1 Comment »
February 16, 2009 by
Jason New storage features have come to Windows Vista Service Pack 1, Windows XP SP3 and releases of the Windows Server platforms. Windows Feature Pack for Storage 1.0 was released to web (RTW) and is now available for download and integration with the supported operating systems. This is the finalized version of Windows Feature Pack for Storage 1.0, with Microsoft cooking the pack since 2008. In fact, in August 2008, the Redmond company was dropping a pre-release version of the solution via Microsoft Connect.
“The Windows Feature Pack for Storage 1.0 includes the following features: Image Mastering API Update for Blu-Ray Media – this feature enables the Windows platform to do master style optical burning on Blu-Ray media. Smart Card Driver – this release provides support for new form factors, such as ICCD,” Microsoft revealed.
“The following system requirements are necessary to install the Windows Feature Pack for Storage 1.0 – the system must be running one of the following operating systems: Read More»
Posted in Windows Vista, Windows XP | No Comments »
February 01, 2009 by
Jason
Microsoft released Windows Vista Service Pack 1 and Windows XP Service Pack 3 to manufacturing in the first half of 2008, and subsequently made the service packs available both as standalone downloads and via Windows Update, Microsoft Update and Automatic Updates. Soon enough, there will be nowhere to hide from the final wave of Vista SP1 and XP SP3 that the Redmond company released through its update infrastructure. This because the software giant is gearing up for the expiration of the last barrier standing in the way of automatic downloads and upgrades to SP1 for Windows Vista and to SP3 for Windows XP, namely the Service Pack Blocker Tool.
“The Service Pack Blocker Tool temporarily prevents the installation of a service pack through Windows Update, typically for one year after general availability of the service pack. We are announcing the upcoming expiration dates for the Service Pack Blocker Tool for Windows Vista SP1 and Windows XP SP3: Windows Vista SP1: April 28, 2009 – Windows XP SP3: May 19, 2009. After April 28th, Windows Vista SP1 will be delivered via Windows Update. And after May 19th, Windows XP SP3 will also be delivered via Windows Update,” revealed Brandon LeBlanc, Windows Communications Manager on the Windows Client Communications Team. Read More»
Posted in Windows Vista, Windows XP | 1 Comment »
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