Vista

Clearing Vista's saved passwords

21/11/2008

Clearing Vista's saved passwords It's great when things just work... and very frustrating when they don't. This is often compounded by unhelpful error messages. '''An extended error has occurred.''' I recently was unable to access one of my network shares, and while I suspected the share to be the problem, I didn't rule out the fact my Vista desktop was doing something unhelpful. And rather than tell me it was trying to connect with the wrong credentials it was just unable to connect with the error above. Using the following on the command line I was able to access Vista's saved credentials list and clear the UID and Password that was causing the issue. #c#rundll32.exe keymgr.dll, KRShowKeyMgr

Awesome Sidebar Gadget

30/10/2007

Awesome Sidebar Gadget This gadget is awesome '''(ESPECIALLY IN LARGE MODE)''': http://gallery.live.com/liveItemDetail.aspx?li=426dc418-12ce-481a-b886-89a66ca9127e System Control is much more than your average shutdown gadget. Aside from the normal Shutdown, Restart, Lock, and Sleep / Hibernate, we give you Switch User, Log Off, Task Manager, Run Window, and Command Prompt. All of those buttons can be re-ordered or disabled / enabled. This gadget has two sizes: Small, which accommodates 3 buttons at a time, and Large which gives you the ability access all the buttons at once. In addition to that, we have 10 themes at your disposal. Worried about accidentally shutting your machine down? No problem. We have an in-gadget confirmation for buttons with greater functionality. We also have a lock button in case you need it. In addition to the buttons, we also have the time below, which can be changed in the settings panel to: 3 different time formats, date format, overall CPU usage, overall RAM usage, or just plain nothing. It’s small, sleek, powerful, and very customizable. New 1.2 Update! Website: BuildAGadget.com

How to get more than 3GB in Windows Vista 32-bit

13/9/2007

How to get more than 3GB in Windows Vista 32-bit Out if the box, Vista (32-bit) only detects a maximum of 3GB of RAM. You're probably gutted if you just bought a 4GB PC. Vista 32-bit systems can actually detect 4GB RAM (and more!). Sometimes the O.S. does not see the 4th GB of RAM but that can be remedied by typing the following command '''(as Administrator)''': This forces Windows Vista X32 to use 4 or more GB of RAM. (PAE stands for Physical Address Extension) For more information on BCDEdit see: http://msdn2.microsoft.com/en-us/library/aa906211.aspx

Great site for Vista WallPaper and more!

27/6/2007

Great site for Vista WallPaper and More http://neosmart.net/gallery/v/wallpapers/Vista/official/

uTorrent Server Vista Gadget

2/6/2007

uTorrent Server Vista Gadget I've had loads of comments about my articles on creating your own Torrent Server, see the attached links. If you haven't configured uTorrent to work like this I can assure you it is excellent and you can access your torrents from anywhere if you have a static IP or a dynamic DNS. {Creating a torrent server - Part 1}http://www.geekzilla.co.uk/View838302ED-E806-4314-AC3A-89872D6F8C9B.htm {Creating a torrent server - Part 2}http://www.geekzilla.co.uk/View2F63F17E-E0C7-4EFC-9A9D-CFECBD845363.htm So what's next?? As an early adopter of Vista, I've been really excited about the sidebar gadgets and today I found a really great one on Microsoft's site. A uTorrent gadget. What this allows you to do is keep an eye on your torrent server remotely from your desktop, great for when you're at work. [[utorrent_vista_gadget.jpg]] If you haven't installed a gadget before its really easy, just run and install the .gadget file and that's it. Once the gadget appears on the sidebar click the spanner icon for the settings and configure the location and the UID and PWD of your uTorrent server. I set the refresh rate to 60000 milliseconds so save the network traffic. [[uTorrent_Vista_Gadget_Settings.jpg]] That's it... you now can keep a track of your downloads even without having to open your web browser. I have attached a copy of the gadget here, but you can find it on page 5 (well it is today) of Microsoft's Vista Gallery. See link below. {Windows Vista Sidebar}http://vista.gallery.microsoft.com/vista/SideBar.aspx?mkt=en-gb Even easier to kick off torrents Now all you need to do is drag and drop a .torrent file on the gadget to initiate a download. You can even Drag and Drop a hyperlink to a torrent document, from your browser, onto the gadget to start the download. A single click opens the screen below and you can check each torrent's progress. [[uTorrent_Vista_gadget_clicked.jpg]] Enjoy.... time for a beer since the sun is out (b)

Getting on the Vista developers merry-go-round

27/7/2006

Getting on the Vista developers merry-go-round Trying to keep up with the various Vista Beta releases? Want to develop but not sure which version will work on your platform? Here's a useful set of links to make sure you get the right version of the runtime, SDK, Orcas VS extensions and WCF libs: || OS || Runtime || SDK || Orcas Extensions || WCF || || Vista 5472.5 || July CTP || http://www.microsoft.com/downloads/details.aspx?familyid=1D7F16B3-D2D5-48F7-9494-6696117EE712&displaylang=en || None yet! || http://www.microsoft.com/downloads/details.aspx?FamilyId=E74FECC8-1278-444E-B775-21F9E8E2A586&displaylang=en || || Vista 5456 || June CTP || http://www.microsoft.com/downloads/details.aspx?FamilyID=d6cd6490-af1a-48c3-aebd-389daf45003c&DisplayLang=en || http://www.microsoft.com/downloads/details.aspx?FamilyID=1a994549-94cb-4f61-903d-a8c8e453eef4&DisplayLang=en || http://www.microsoft.com/downloads/details.aspx?FamilyId=63A80A4B-BD27-4124-A2A5-61786ADB626E&displaylang=en || || Vista 5384.4 || Beta 2 || http://www.microsoft.com/downloads/details.aspx?FamilyId=13F8E273-F5EA-4B7B-B022-97755838DB94&displaylang=en || http://www.microsoft.com/downloads/details.aspx?FamilyId=31F9F15D-00E0-4241-8014-2F12679119AA&displaylang=en || http://www.microsoft.com/downloads/details.aspx?FamilyId=5C080096-F3A0-4CE4-8830-1489D0215877&displaylang=en || || XP / W2K3 || http://www.microsoft.com/downloads/details.aspx?FamilyId=62057A6F-185F-41DB-ABE5-678F6FC388F0&displaylang=en || http://www.microsoft.com/downloads/details.aspx?familyid=1D7F16B3-D2D5-48F7-9494-6696117EE712&displaylang=en || None yet! || http://www.microsoft.com/downloads/details.aspx?FamilyId=E74FECC8-1278-444E-B775-21F9E8E2A586&displaylang=en || || XP / W2K3 || http://www.microsoft.com/downloads/details.aspx?FamilyId=8D09697E-4868-4D8D-A4CF-9B82A2AE542D&displaylang=en || http://www.microsoft.com/downloads/details.aspx?FamilyID=d6cd6490-af1a-48c3-aebd-389daf45003c&DisplayLang=en || http://www.microsoft.com/downloads/details.aspx?FamilyID=1a994549-94cb-4f61-903d-a8c8e453eef4&DisplayLang=en || http://www.microsoft.com/downloads/details.aspx?FamilyId=63A80A4B-BD27-4124-A2A5-61786ADB626E&displaylang=en || || XP / W2K3 || http://www.microsoft.com/downloads/details.aspx?FamilyId=4A96661C-05FD-430C-BB52-2BA86F02F595&displaylang=en || http://www.microsoft.com/downloads/details.aspx?FamilyId=13F8E273-F5EA-4B7B-B022-97755838DB94&displaylang=en || http://www.microsoft.com/downloads/details.aspx?FamilyId=31F9F15D-00E0-4241-8014-2F12679119AA&displaylang=en || http://www.microsoft.com/downloads/details.aspx?FamilyId=5C080096-F3A0-4CE4-8830-1489D0215877&displaylang=en || The Vista versions all install the relevant runtime as part of the os install. #$#

Vista Beta 2 is missing boot.ini

4/7/2006

Vista Beta 2 is missing boot.ini The latest build of '''Vista Beta 2 (Build 5456)''' does not use boot.ini to store details of boot sequence, display times etc. If you dual boot with XP on the primary partition you can see that Vista install has modified the boot.ini header. Vista uses a boot data store and BCDEDIT lets you view and edit this data store. Available commands includes: '''Commands that operate on a store''' '''Commands that operate on entries in a store''' '''Commands that operate on entry options''' '''Commands that control output''' '''Commands that control the boot manager''' '''Commands that control Emergency Management Services for a boot application''' '''Command that control debugging''' I strongly suggest you '''backup your datastore before modifying any elements'''.

Disabling User Account Control (UAC)

4/7/2006

Disabling User Account Control (UAC) Annoyed by the Vista Beta 2 user account control (UAC) dialogs? These are the prompts for authority to install programs, run applications and perform day to day tasks such as some file operations. Also you will notice the that the prompt drop the computer display into black and white mode and if you are running on a widescreen resolution display the desktop resizes to a regular resolution. Personally I can see why Microsoft have taken this route to protect users from malware and hacker exploits which rely on executing as administator and through elevation of privileges. Trouble is it can be a real pain. For instance with the default install running a prefered partners anti-virus (CA for instance) you get prompted on machine boot to allow the antivirus real-time protection to start. This seems contary to the reason for introducing UAC in the first place. And currently there does not appear to be a mechanism to add exceptions. So if you want to remove those annoying prompts at the moment all you can do is disable elements of UAC. Before you do this you should understand UAC and the best place for this is the Vista MS pages - http://www.microsoft.com/technet/windowsvista/security/uac.mspx UAC is configured through the Local Security Policy tool launched from the Administration Tools menu, then select Security Options (or Run->cmd->secpol.msc) and scroll down the list to a range of settings for UAC. To turn of UAC set "Run all administrators in Admin Approval Mode" to Disabled. '''Note that disabling UAC means you are running with the same execution model as XP. You loose protection from elevated privlege attacks, virtualisation which protects your file system and the ability to be able to legal elevate privileges if required through a Vista token.''' So it's upto you - personally for now I'll run disabled. I'm just not ready for running a least privilege environment.

nVidia Graphics Drivers

27/6/2006

nVidia Graphics Drivers Having problems with nVidia display adapters running on Vista Beta 2. Well you are not alone. Unfortunately at the moment Vista does not understand turbocache so it will only report on the adapters onboard memory. This means you will get lower than expected Performance Assessments and may not have Aero features available by default. Also the Vista driver package provided by nVidia may not work. This is due to the unified driver approach nVidia take where they supply a single driver to cover the range of devices. This may mean you have to run with XP drivers, that's if you can get them installed and to work in the first place. Fortunately some helpfull people have produced an custom INF file which you can drop in the unzipped driver folder and following a driver reinstall you can start (still no turbocache) to take full advantage of your hardware and the slick Vista user interface goodness. Download the INF (with instructions) from http://www.laptopvideo2go.com/forum/index.php?showtopic=9820 There is also a link to more information on the limits imposed by nVidia's approach. Maybe next time I'll rethink my vendor and buy from ATI?

Where is IIS 7.0 in Vista Ultimate Edition ?

27/6/2006

IIS 7.0 is available in Vista Beta 2 Ultimate Edition but it is well hidden. You can try to install all the 'parts' which make up IIS from the Control Panel under Programs, Windows Features. However, you will see a bewlidering array of items to install. Note that some of these tools still refer to IIS 6 but don't worry you are getting IIS 7. Anyway to avoid problems installing things in the wrong order or missing some vital dependency run the following script: '''start /w pkgmgr /l:log.etw /iu:IIS-WebServerRole;IIS-WebServer;IIS-CommonHttpFeatures;IIS-StaticContent;IIS-DefaultDocument;IIS-DirectoryBrowsing;IIS-HttpErrors;IIS-HttpRedirect;IIS-ApplicationDevelopment;IIS-ASPNET;IIS-NetFxExtensibility;IIS-ASP;IIS-CGI;IIS-ISAPIExtensions;IIS-ISAPIFilter;IIS-ServerSideIncludes;IIS-HealthAndDiagnostics;IIS-HttpLogging;IIS-LoggingLibraries;IIS-RequestMonitor;IIS-HttpTracing;IIS-CustomLogging;IIS-ODBCLogging;IIS-Security;IIS-BasicAuthentication;IIS-WindowsAuthentication;IIS-DigestAuthentication;IIS-ClientCertificateMappingAuthentication;IIS-IISCertificateMappingAuthentication;IIS-URLAuthorization;IIS-RequestFiltering;IIS-IPSecurity;IIS-Performance;IIS-HttpCompressionStatic;IIS-HttpCompressionDynamic;IIS-WebServerManagementTools;IIS-ManagementConsole;IIS-ManagementScriptingTools;IIS-ManagementService;IIS-IIS6ManagementCompatibility;IIS-Metabase;IIS-WMICompatibility;IIS-LegacyScripts;IIS-LegacySnapIn;IIS-FTPPublishingService;IIS-FTPServer;IIS-FTPManagement;WAS-WindowsActivationService;WAS-ProcessModel;WAS-NetFxEnvironment;WAS-ConfigurationAPI''' Now sit back, wait and enjoy!

Problem With SQL Server 2005 on Vista Beta2

15/6/2006

Problem With SQL Server 2005 on Vista Beta2 So you've been through the throws of building a Vista Beta 2 installation and boy it looks good. Maybe a couple of missing drivers to hunt down but otherwise all that Vista goodness. So now you want to install some developer tools and start to play with those new foundation services. The good news is that Microsoft have done a really good job and Visual Studio 2005 Standard and Team System will both install pretty clean. The only problem comes when installing SQL Server 2005 (any version). The solution is to install SQL Server 2005 Service Pack 1 which you can get from those helpfull people here: http://www.microsoft.com/sql/sp1.mspx.