Tag: windows xp

More than one EULA in your copy of Windows

February 04, 2010 by Jason

Want to know what your Windows EULA looks like? Windows XP’s EULA is stored in a file located here:

C:\Windows\System32\eula.txt

XP also has a help file associated with the EULA. The help file is located at:

C:\Windows\Help\license.chm

In Vista and Windows 7, one version of the EULA is stored in the following location:

C:\Windows\System32\license.rtf

But Vista and Win7 also store other EULAs on the system. For example, Win7’s license library for the US-English version of the software is at this location:

C:\Windows\System32\en-US\Licenses

In fact, my test PC has 54 separate Win7 EULAs in that folder! Read More»

15 Free Microsoft Downloads

February 01, 2010 by Jason

Microsoft offers a plethora of software that users can download and install without paying a single cent to the company. However, the software giant hasn’t centralized all its free offerings into a single location, a move which would streamline access to the resources it is delivering. That’s why I included below a list with a consistent collection of free software products which can be grabbed free of charge, with the vast majority available through the Microsoft Download Center.

As far as I’m concerned the list needed to start with Windows client and server operating systems. In one way or another, packaged as ISO or VHD images, Microsoft is offering customers the chance to test drive, and even use, feature-complete versions of its platforms, again, completely free. In some cases, Microsoft is making it easier for customers to test drive a Windows release before buying, while in others it is actually offering the OS on top of an existing license.

However, the list doesn’t stop with Microsoft’s operating systems. The Redmond company is also providing free downloads of its “other” cash cow, the Office productivity suite, along with its development platform and tools, security solutions and additional offerings. Read More»

Vista SP2 and XP SP3 Get Automated Troubleshooting Services

January 31, 2010 by Jason

An online resource from Microsoft is designed to diagnose and repair Windows operating systems, including Windows Vista SP2 and Windows XP SP3. The Microsoft Automated Troubleshooting Services are set up to perform what the Redmond company refers to as common system maintenance tasks. Specifically, the Automated Troubleshooting Services will not only detect a range of maintenance problems, including broken desktop shortcuts, unused icons, disk volume errors, and incorrect system time display, but will also correct them automatically, requiring very little effort on behalf of the end users, beyond running the solution.

Microsoft enumerated some of the issues that the services deal with, including: “problems with desktop shortcuts and icons (shortcuts on the desktop don’t work or are broken; desktop icons are broken or have not been used in 3 months; startup items don’t work or are broken); System maintenance tasks (free up disk space by repairing disk volume errors such as bad sectors, lost clusters, cross-linked files and directory errors; free up disk space by removing error reports and troubleshooting history older than 1 month; set the correct system time and synchronize system clock with the time server) and the following errors: Windows update error 0×80072F8F and the item that this shortcut refers to has been deleted.” Read More»

Repair the MBR to restore Windows 7 to your Multiboot Options

January 03, 2010 by Jason

Each time you install a version of Windows, it rewrites the MBR to call its own boot loader. If you install Windows 7 (or Windows Vista) as a second operating system on a PC where Windows XP is already installed, the Windows boot menu incorporates the options from the older boot menu. But if you install a fresh copy of Windows XP (or Windows Server 2003) on a system that is already running Windows 7, you’ll overwrite the MBR with one that doesn’t recognize the Windows 7 boot loader. To repair the damage, open a Command Prompt window in the older operating system and run the following command from the Windows 7 DVD, substituting the letter of your DVD drive for d here:

d:\boot\ bootsect.exe /nt60 all

When you restart, you should see the Windows 7 menu. To restore the menu entry for your earlier version of Windows, open an elevated Command Prompt window and type this command:

bcdedit /create {ntldr} –d “Menu description goes here”

Substitute your own description for the placeholder text, being sure to include the quotation marks. The next time you start your computer, the menus should appear as you intended. Read More»

Download Free Vista, XP and Windows 7 from Microsoft

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»

MEGA TIPS – Last year popular tips 2009

January 01, 2010 by Jason

1. Booting Windows XP with USB Flash Drive

2. Windows XP Automatically Logoff after logon

3. How to Get another activation for Windows XP or Windows Vista

4. XP to Windows 7

5. Tweak for Windows 7

6. Download Windows 7 Beta right now

7. Windows 7 Performance and Productivity Tips

8. Windows XP Shutdown Much Faster

9. Downgrade Vista to XP

10. Windows 7 RC Activation Product Keys

Read More»

TOP 10 – December 2009 Popular Tips

January 01, 2010 by Jason

1. Uninstalling Windows 7 RTM

2. Configure Your Windows 7 System to Run Legacy Apps in a Virtualized Windows XP Environment

3. Create a Multiboot System for Windows 7

4. Windows 7 RTM Volume Activation Top 7 Things to Know

5. Hacking Windows 7 RTM

6. Windows 7 Universal Disk Format File System Driver Update

7. Fast access to Windows 7 resources via the keyboard

8. TOP 10 – November 2009 Popular Tips

9. Get to Know Robocopy for More Powerful File Management

10. Windows 7 UAC Setting Access Cut

Read More»

Windows XP Clone Built on Ubuntu 9.10

December 28, 2009 by Jason

It might look and feel like Windows XP, it might sport a similar graphical user interface and even be able to run XP software, but fact is that an operating system developed by Rain Forest Wind Guangdong Computer Technology Co., Ltd. is anything else but Windows Vista’s predecessor. Ylmf OS is designed as a Windows XP clone based on version 9.10 of the Ubuntu distribution of the Linux open source operating system.

The makers of Ylmf OS revealed that the Windows XP’s GUI was adopted in an effort to allow users of Microsoft’s proprietary platform to immediately start running Ubuntu Linux without needing to adapt to a new operating system.

An obvious downside to Ylmf OS is the fact that the release is Chinese only, at least at this point in time. Available for download localized exclusively in Chinese, Ylmf OS is bound to serve only users living in China and speaking the local language. No indications were offered by the team behind the project of future releases or support for additional languages. According to third-party reports, the people building Ylmf OS are in fact a group of Chinese pirates that were previously distributing a pirated copy of Windows XP, and which were tackled by the local authorities and Microsoft. Read More»

Configure Your Windows 7 System to Run Legacy Apps in a Virtualized Windows XP Environment

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»

Vista SP2 and XP SP3 Patch Security Release ISO Image

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»