Sorry for the long break in posting. I've been very busy in the past few weeks. Mostly moving into my very first home! Well, back to business, I have had some interesting computer problems at work lately so I will be posting the computer troubleshooting steps I took to fix them.
In the meantime...checkout the cool tool that was posted on Technibble this week. Bluescreens happen, period....there is no way to not get one if you are using any Microsoft Windows flavor. From windows 95 to Windows 7, bluescreens happen. The below listed tool may help figure out what caused the bluescreen which might help you troubleshoot the issue further to resolve the problem.
Check out the article here: BlueScreenView
Showing posts with label Windows Vista. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Windows Vista. Show all posts
PC Maintenance tip of the week: Defrag PC
Is it time to defrag your PC? Overtime, files get fragmented due to copying & moving files around, deleting files or installing applications on the hard drive. For example, let's say you had lots of music on the hard drive but decided to delete it. Now, all of the space where the music was is empty and ready for more files to be stored. Problem is that depending on how big the next program or file you attempt to install is, it may just not "fit" into the empty space vacated by the previous music files. Windows may have to find the next available space to finish the install of the program or file. This is what causes the fragmentation of the hard drive, which can cause the PC to respond slower because it has to work harder to find all of the files related to the program or application you are trying to access.
Solution: Defrag PC on a regular basis if you do alot of moving, copying or deleting of files or programs. On Windows XP, you can schedule a defrag or start one manually. Windows Vista attempts to automatically defrag when the PC is idle (but it is also scheduled to defrag as well by default).
Solution: Defrag PC on a regular basis if you do alot of moving, copying or deleting of files or programs. On Windows XP, you can schedule a defrag or start one manually. Windows Vista attempts to automatically defrag when the PC is idle (but it is also scheduled to defrag as well by default).
Vista Capable Logos are not Needed
Most of us have read the recent lawsuit articles relating to Microsoft's Vista Capable logo that was planted on basically every PC maker out there during the initial mass selling of Windows Vista. Infact, companies like Dell and HP were selling these PCs and laptops with a Vista Capable logo before Vista even hit stores basically stating this:
"The purchase you are making will allow you to install Windows Vista when ready and your PC will work fine".
Well, apparently, consumers feel they got scammed into purchasing PCs and laptops there were technically not Vista Capable even though the logo said it was. I would like to now squash this theory because whether or not the stupid logo is on the PC, it comes down to how bad a person wants Windows Vista. Anything is possible with the correct hardware.
Case in point......
My father-in-law has a 6 yr old PC, it is an HP Pavilion 551w. It came with Windows XP Home Edition installed and its been running perfectly fine for the last 6 years. Of course, he only uses it for the Internet and the occasional Word or Excel document but for him, its fine. To me....its extremely slow but that is only because I work with much faster PCs on a daily basis so my mind is accustomed to the faster speed. Anyway, I decided to see if it was possible to upgrade the PC to Windows Vista. The PC originally had only 128MB of RAM but that was upgraded to 512MB a couple of years ago. (I can not even remember when a PC that I supported only had 128MB of
RAM). From experience with Vista, I realized that before I even attempted the upgrade, I would need to at least bump up the RAM to 1GB. So I did. The 2nd thing I decided to do was install a better graphics card. I hate using the on-board video so I installed an Nvidia GF400 64MB card (it was free) in the free AGP slot.
The hard drive was the next thing that needed to be upgraded. The PC came with a 40GB drive but at some point during the past 6 years, the PC crashed and someone (who shall remain nameless) decided to try and help fix the problem. So after formatting the PC, he partitioned the hard drive in 2...another no-no in my book. I never partition hard drives, because you will eventually run out of space on the partition with the OS, it always seems to happen. I received a 40GB drive by donation and decided that I will just use it to install Windows Vista and then install the original drive as a backup and migrate all of his personal data to the new drive.
Quick recap:
Upgraded RAM to 1Gb from 512MB.
Installed a 64MB AGP video card
Installed a used formatted 40GB hard drive for the OS installation.
(by the way, so far, this has only cost us $40 which was for the purchase of the 1GB PC3200 DDR module)
I was now ready to upgrade to Vista....and just to be funny, I decided to upgrade to Windows Vista Ultimate just because I could. Here is where I ran into a snag. If you don't already know, to install Windows Vista, you now need a DVD drive since the OS is so large, the install no longer fits on 1 CD. I think that the size of the original ISO files are at least 2 or 3GB. Upon inserting the Windows Vista install DVD, nothing happened. So I rebooted the PC anyway because I need to do the install from booting to the DVD anyway. Again, nothing happened! The DVD drive was running but the DVD was not being recognized.
To speed this long article up, there were 2 problems:
1) The HP Pavilion 551w desktop is so old that it does not allow booting from a DVD (and yes, there is no BIOS update to allow this, I already checked)
2) The actual DVD drive was not accepting any DVDs. I could not even play a DVD movie from the original hard drive which I used as a test to checkout the drive. CDs work fine, burning CDs worked OK, but for some reason, it did not like any DVD. (for the record, this drive was an HP DVD writer 740b)
After spending another $60 to purchase a new DVD-RAM drive, I was able to install Vista but since the PC does not allow us to boot from it, I had to first install Windows XP and then do an upgrade to Windows Vista Ultimate. Everything was recognized after the install completed, including the video card drivers!
Total Cost to make PC Vista Capable: $100
Conclusion: Vista Capable logos are not necessary! If you can not afford to purchase a new PC with Windows Vista, just attempt to upgrade your PC as much as possible so that Vista will install for you. You will probably save money by doing so.
"The purchase you are making will allow you to install Windows Vista when ready and your PC will work fine".
Well, apparently, consumers feel they got scammed into purchasing PCs and laptops there were technically not Vista Capable even though the logo said it was. I would like to now squash this theory because whether or not the stupid logo is on the PC, it comes down to how bad a person wants Windows Vista. Anything is possible with the correct hardware.
Case in point......
My father-in-law has a 6 yr old PC, it is an HP Pavilion 551w. It came with Windows XP Home Edition installed and its been running perfectly fine for the last 6 years. Of course, he only uses it for the Internet and the occasional Word or Excel document but for him, its fine. To me....its extremely slow but that is only because I work with much faster PCs on a daily basis so my mind is accustomed to the faster speed. Anyway, I decided to see if it was possible to upgrade the PC to Windows Vista. The PC originally had only 128MB of RAM but that was upgraded to 512MB a couple of years ago. (I can not even remember when a PC that I supported only had 128MB of
RAM). From experience with Vista, I realized that before I even attempted the upgrade, I would need to at least bump up the RAM to 1GB. So I did. The 2nd thing I decided to do was install a better graphics card. I hate using the on-board video so I installed an Nvidia GF400 64MB card (it was free) in the free AGP slot.
The hard drive was the next thing that needed to be upgraded. The PC came with a 40GB drive but at some point during the past 6 years, the PC crashed and someone (who shall remain nameless) decided to try and help fix the problem. So after formatting the PC, he partitioned the hard drive in 2...another no-no in my book. I never partition hard drives, because you will eventually run out of space on the partition with the OS, it always seems to happen. I received a 40GB drive by donation and decided that I will just use it to install Windows Vista and then install the original drive as a backup and migrate all of his personal data to the new drive.
Quick recap:
Upgraded RAM to 1Gb from 512MB.
Installed a 64MB AGP video card
Installed a used formatted 40GB hard drive for the OS installation.
(by the way, so far, this has only cost us $40 which was for the purchase of the 1GB PC3200 DDR module)
I was now ready to upgrade to Vista....and just to be funny, I decided to upgrade to Windows Vista Ultimate just because I could. Here is where I ran into a snag. If you don't already know, to install Windows Vista, you now need a DVD drive since the OS is so large, the install no longer fits on 1 CD. I think that the size of the original ISO files are at least 2 or 3GB. Upon inserting the Windows Vista install DVD, nothing happened. So I rebooted the PC anyway because I need to do the install from booting to the DVD anyway. Again, nothing happened! The DVD drive was running but the DVD was not being recognized.
To speed this long article up, there were 2 problems:
1) The HP Pavilion 551w desktop is so old that it does not allow booting from a DVD (and yes, there is no BIOS update to allow this, I already checked)
2) The actual DVD drive was not accepting any DVDs. I could not even play a DVD movie from the original hard drive which I used as a test to checkout the drive. CDs work fine, burning CDs worked OK, but for some reason, it did not like any DVD. (for the record, this drive was an HP DVD writer 740b)
After spending another $60 to purchase a new DVD-RAM drive, I was able to install Vista but since the PC does not allow us to boot from it, I had to first install Windows XP and then do an upgrade to Windows Vista Ultimate. Everything was recognized after the install completed, including the video card drivers!
Total Cost to make PC Vista Capable: $100
Conclusion: Vista Capable logos are not necessary! If you can not afford to purchase a new PC with Windows Vista, just attempt to upgrade your PC as much as possible so that Vista will install for you. You will probably save money by doing so.
Testing Windows 7
Today, I installed the pre-release copy of Microsoft Windows 7. Instead of totally screwing up my own PC, I decided to attempt the install on a Microsoft Virtual PC lab. By the way, this is what Virtual PC is supposed to be used for.....testing beta software. At least that is what I use it for.
A couple of things to know if you decide to try out Windows 7:
1) You must already have a copy of Windows Vista SP1 installed in order to upgrade to the pre-release version of Windows 7.
2) If you have an actual DVD in ISO format, that would be best. But for those of you who "obtained" a copy like I did....with a setup file and the rest of the files just in folders on the DVD. I had to copy the entire contents of the DVD to the desktop first and then run setup.exe from there.
3) Supposedly, you will need the Windows Vista RC1 key or Vista beta key from last year if you wish to activate Windows 7. I personally do not care to do this, I just wanted to see how it works and how it looks. There are ways around activation....but I do not recommend doing it since its against Microsoft TOS.
After the installation was finished....Windows 7 looks almost exactly like Windows Vista. It did seem to load faster than Vista but I was running it on Virtual PC which makes all versions of operating systems faster. I will follow up with another post about Windows 7 and its features sometime this week.
Read more about Windows 7 here: Windows 7 news
A couple of things to know if you decide to try out Windows 7:
1) You must already have a copy of Windows Vista SP1 installed in order to upgrade to the pre-release version of Windows 7.
2) If you have an actual DVD in ISO format, that would be best. But for those of you who "obtained" a copy like I did....with a setup file and the rest of the files just in folders on the DVD. I had to copy the entire contents of the DVD to the desktop first and then run setup.exe from there.
3) Supposedly, you will need the Windows Vista RC1 key or Vista beta key from last year if you wish to activate Windows 7. I personally do not care to do this, I just wanted to see how it works and how it looks. There are ways around activation....but I do not recommend doing it since its against Microsoft TOS.
After the installation was finished....Windows 7 looks almost exactly like Windows Vista. It did seem to load faster than Vista but I was running it on Virtual PC which makes all versions of operating systems faster. I will follow up with another post about Windows 7 and its features sometime this week.
Read more about Windows 7 here: Windows 7 news
Work from Home | A Solution to high Gas Prices
Could I work from home?
I probably could....but how many days in a row that would work is a different story. Eventually, I would need to come in to work to fix a PC problem that I was unable to fix remotely. All one needs to work from home is a PC with a highspeed internet connection and a work PC with remote desktop enabled. Both PCs could be Windows XP or Windows Vista or a combination of the two. And since I have my work PC setup with SMS 2003, I remotely connect to our clients PCs anyway to fix an issue for them instead of going to their office. I probably can do this about 95% of the time with success. So I figured, why not just do it from home and not even commute to the office? I am going to inquire about "testing" this scenario out but I have a feeling that my boss will not go for it.
Oh well, a guy can dream right? If you could work from home would you? How would you do it?
I probably could....but how many days in a row that would work is a different story. Eventually, I would need to come in to work to fix a PC problem that I was unable to fix remotely. All one needs to work from home is a PC with a highspeed internet connection and a work PC with remote desktop enabled. Both PCs could be Windows XP or Windows Vista or a combination of the two. And since I have my work PC setup with SMS 2003, I remotely connect to our clients PCs anyway to fix an issue for them instead of going to their office. I probably can do this about 95% of the time with success. So I figured, why not just do it from home and not even commute to the office? I am going to inquire about "testing" this scenario out but I have a feeling that my boss will not go for it.
Oh well, a guy can dream right? If you could work from home would you? How would you do it?
Vista slow? Download this free performance E-book
Microsoft recently released a free e-book called Windows Vista Performance and Tuning. I just downloaded the 14 page e-book and it is definitely something that all Windows Vista users can benefit from reading it. Microsoft claims that Windows Vista along with the recent release of SP1 provide major advancements in usability, reliability, connectivity and security.
The following areas are covered in this e-book:
1) Improve PC responsiveness
2) Improve speed by using external hardware
3) Improve PC start-up time
4) Improve PC performance
5) Maintain & Monitor PC performance to help stop small issues from becoming big ones.
The article focuses on performance improvements for a single computer but there is a section that includes ways to use tools for enterprise environments as well. Right from the start, it mentions having at least 2GB of RAM for PCs that use Windows Vista. I wrote an earlier post about RAM and how Windows Vista would barely boot-up with less than 1GB of RAM. You can never have too much RAM installed in your PC.
That is the summary of the free e-book titled Windows Vista Performance and Tuning which you can download here: E-book download
The following areas are covered in this e-book:
1) Improve PC responsiveness
2) Improve speed by using external hardware
3) Improve PC start-up time
4) Improve PC performance
5) Maintain & Monitor PC performance to help stop small issues from becoming big ones.
The article focuses on performance improvements for a single computer but there is a section that includes ways to use tools for enterprise environments as well. Right from the start, it mentions having at least 2GB of RAM for PCs that use Windows Vista. I wrote an earlier post about RAM and how Windows Vista would barely boot-up with less than 1GB of RAM. You can never have too much RAM installed in your PC.
That is the summary of the free e-book titled Windows Vista Performance and Tuning which you can download here: E-book download
Product Review: XP Repair Pro
Today's post is related to a product that I came across while troubleshooting my own PC. I usually do not use registry repair tools because I would rather go into the registry myself and attempt to fix the issue. But the majority of my readers probably would rather use a trusted software tool to handle these types of issues.
I recommend using XP Repair Pro for the following reasons:
1) XP Repair Pro has had over 2.71 million downloads in less than three years, and has quickly become one of the most popular system utilities on the market today.
2) It has no spyware, adware or viruses. (You would be surprised about this fact, there are products out there that claim to help you get rid of problems but only create more)
3) It fully supports Windows Vista, Windows XP and Office 2007
You can more information about this product Here
I recommend using XP Repair Pro for the following reasons:
1) XP Repair Pro has had over 2.71 million downloads in less than three years, and has quickly become one of the most popular system utilities on the market today.
2) It has no spyware, adware or viruses. (You would be surprised about this fact, there are products out there that claim to help you get rid of problems but only create more)
3) It fully supports Windows Vista, Windows XP and Office 2007
You can more information about this product Here
PC vs Mac: The Fight is On!
As most of you know, I am a big fan of Microsoft products. This includes Windows Vista and Virtual PC. Now granted, I do not know too much about Apple and its Macs but I am learning. (Watch for a future post on how I got a Mac on a Windows domain). Seeing these "I'm a PC, I'm a Mac" commercials, you think that Microsoft would retaliate with ads of their own......well, the wait is over!
Check out this article on Channel Web. From what I've read, Windows Vista is clearly better than any OS Microsoft has designed so far. Not to mention more secure. Think about it, when Window XP first came out, everyone complained about it as well. I'd really like to see someone that knows nothing about Windows XP start using Vista and see if they don't love it. It all depends on what one is familiar with. People hate change....but most of the time, change is needed.
In my opinion, Windows Vista is just what we need to have a better PC experience. But, I do give credit to my graphic design friends out there, so stick with your Mac! What are your thoughts?
Check out this article on Channel Web. From what I've read, Windows Vista is clearly better than any OS Microsoft has designed so far. Not to mention more secure. Think about it, when Window XP first came out, everyone complained about it as well. I'd really like to see someone that knows nothing about Windows XP start using Vista and see if they don't love it. It all depends on what one is familiar with. People hate change....but most of the time, change is needed.
In my opinion, Windows Vista is just what we need to have a better PC experience. But, I do give credit to my graphic design friends out there, so stick with your Mac! What are your thoughts?
Error Code 0x80072F8F Windows Update
The other day, a client of mine had a Windows XP machine that could not get its Windows Updates from Microsoft. The following error appeared:
Error Code 0x80072F8F
Not sure how it happens but apparently, the date and time on the PC is so different from the Windows Update site that the error appears.
The solution is quite simple and is listed on Microsoft's website. Apparently, this must be a normal issue if there is an entire support page for it. It even happens on Windows Vista.
I will be posting more of these type of problems/solutions in the next few days. It has been a busy few days at work and there have been lots of issues that I have not seen before.
Stay tuned for some more Windows XP troubleshooting tips.
Error Code 0x80072F8F
Not sure how it happens but apparently, the date and time on the PC is so different from the Windows Update site that the error appears.
The solution is quite simple and is listed on Microsoft's website. Apparently, this must be a normal issue if there is an entire support page for it. It even happens on Windows Vista.
I will be posting more of these type of problems/solutions in the next few days. It has been a busy few days at work and there have been lots of issues that I have not seen before.
Stay tuned for some more Windows XP troubleshooting tips.
svchost.exe 99% CPU usage
I did not think I would have the same issues with Windows Vista. But apparently, I am...
There are tons of searches for svchost.exe 99% CPU usage in Google and most are related to Windows XP. But not too many, if any at all are related to Vista. Well, maybe I am the first person to come across this issue so I am posting about it. I submitted a comment to the Windows Vista Blog this morning related to my issue. All of the searching I have done has come up with 2 yr old issues that were related to XP and not Vista.
For now, I've disabled Windows Updates because this seems to be the problem. Svchost.exe is a Windows process that is used multiple times within the Operating System. Its not possible to completely disable svchost but there are ways to disable certain services that use it.
Stay tuned for any updates. I know I am not the only person with this issue.
There are tons of searches for svchost.exe 99% CPU usage in Google and most are related to Windows XP. But not too many, if any at all are related to Vista. Well, maybe I am the first person to come across this issue so I am posting about it. I submitted a comment to the Windows Vista Blog this morning related to my issue. All of the searching I have done has come up with 2 yr old issues that were related to XP and not Vista.
For now, I've disabled Windows Updates because this seems to be the problem. Svchost.exe is a Windows process that is used multiple times within the Operating System. Its not possible to completely disable svchost but there are ways to disable certain services that use it.
Stay tuned for any updates. I know I am not the only person with this issue.
Free Support for Vista SP1
For those of you still worrying about upgrading to Vista SP1, Microsoft is offering unlimited installation and compatibility support at no charge until March 18, 2009. Offering a service such as this will help home users and those not familiar with installing upgrades to Windows Vista. And I am very surprised that its actually being offered for a year! Maybe Microsoft is beginning to realize how difficult things like upgrading their operating systems can be for home users or PC beginners.
Click here for the Microsoft Help and Support Page
Click here for the Microsoft Help and Support Page
Slow Browsing of Network Drives in Vista
I've been noticing lately that when open my network folder connections, there is about a 5-6 second delay when browsing as it seems Windows Vista is searching the entire computer to "find" the already present network drive data. Attempting to click on folders or files that show up while its seaching seem to be delayed as well. Eventually, you may even get the "Windows is not responding" message. Our network domain is made up of mostly Windows 2003 servers so this may have something to do with it but I am not sure and I do not have access permissions to be able to troubleshoot this myself. So, is there a workaround for this slowness?
Of course there is......and yes I found it by using Google. Here is the answer, compliments of Excalibur Partners.
Type in the following commands from the command prompt:
netsh int tcp set global autotuninglevel=disabled
netsh int tcp set global rss=disabled
RSS stands for Receive side Scaling, not the other RSS.
Make sure you are logged on as an administrator when you do this. You will need to restart your PC for the changes to take affect and you will definitely notice the speed difference.
If for some reason you need to reverse the changes, type the following:
netsh int tcp set global autotuninglevel=normal
netsh int tcp set global rss=enabled
So if your browsing of network drives are slow, try the above solution to see if this helps. If not, get with your
windows vista administrator to see if they have any other ideas.
Of course there is......and yes I found it by using Google. Here is the answer, compliments of Excalibur Partners.
Type in the following commands from the command prompt:
netsh int tcp set global autotuninglevel=disabled
netsh int tcp set global rss=disabled
RSS stands for Receive side Scaling, not the other RSS.
Make sure you are logged on as an administrator when you do this. You will need to restart your PC for the changes to take affect and you will definitely notice the speed difference.
If for some reason you need to reverse the changes, type the following:
netsh int tcp set global autotuninglevel=normal
netsh int tcp set global rss=enabled
So if your browsing of network drives are slow, try the above solution to see if this helps. If not, get with your
windows vista administrator to see if they have any other ideas.
Windows Vista SP1 now available from Amazon
Amazon.com is now shipping Windows Vista with SP1. All 6 editions are available. Before you decide to upgrade to Windows Vista, be sure that your PC supports it.
Read the system requirements for Windows Vista
I recently posted on installing Windows Vista SP1 and I recommend it for anyone looking to purchase a new PC or someone who has recently purchased a new PC but it came with Windows XP. Vista is very stable and my PC has not crashed since its been online (4 months and counting now).
Post your comments if you do upgrade...I would like to start building some feedback on Vista.
Read the system requirements for Windows Vista
I recently posted on installing Windows Vista SP1 and I recommend it for anyone looking to purchase a new PC or someone who has recently purchased a new PC but it came with Windows XP. Vista is very stable and my PC has not crashed since its been online (4 months and counting now).
Post your comments if you do upgrade...I would like to start building some feedback on Vista.
Do I really need Windows Vista 64-bit
If you don’t know already, Windows Vista comes in about 6 different versions ranging from Starter up until one called Ultimate. What most users may not know is that all but the Starter edition of Windows Vista supports a 32-bit or 64-bit version of the OS. Since I really did not have any idea of how a 64-bit Operating System was different than the 32-bit version, I decided to look into it. Here is what I found:
The difference between a 32-bit and 64-bit OS actually depends on if the computer’s CPU is 32 or 64-bit. The CPU (or Central Processing Unit) handles the information given to it. Its job is to perform most of the calculations of the computer. In order for you to use a 64-bit OS, your computer must also use or support a 64-bit CPU.
But in saying the above, why would you want to use a 64-bit version of Vista? The main benefit is the increased memory support beyond the 4GB limit that is currently available in a 32-bit OS. A 64-bit version of Windows Vista can access from 1 GB of RAM to more than 128 GB of RAM. Currently, I do not see any need for this much RAM but the way some applications are so memory intensive, it will definitely come in handy down the road. Another benefit is that all 64-bit versions of device drivers must be certified and digitally signed by the developer. This is a change from the original 32-bit version of Vista which allows unsigned device drivers to be used if need be.
So, do you think that you could benefit by using a 64-bit OS? Let me know
The difference between a 32-bit and 64-bit OS actually depends on if the computer’s CPU is 32 or 64-bit. The CPU (or Central Processing Unit) handles the information given to it. Its job is to perform most of the calculations of the computer. In order for you to use a 64-bit OS, your computer must also use or support a 64-bit CPU.
But in saying the above, why would you want to use a 64-bit version of Vista? The main benefit is the increased memory support beyond the 4GB limit that is currently available in a 32-bit OS. A 64-bit version of Windows Vista can access from 1 GB of RAM to more than 128 GB of RAM. Currently, I do not see any need for this much RAM but the way some applications are so memory intensive, it will definitely come in handy down the road. Another benefit is that all 64-bit versions of device drivers must be certified and digitally signed by the developer. This is a change from the original 32-bit version of Vista which allows unsigned device drivers to be used if need be.
So, do you think that you could benefit by using a 64-bit OS? Let me know
Vista SP1 installed
I installed SP1 for Windows Vista last night and I did not have any issues after the installation. The entire process took about an hour....just like the instructions from Microsoft advised. I did have to upgrade my sound card driver because Windows Update did not show SP1 available.
Steps I took to upgrade to SP1:
1) Downloaded stand-alone Vista SP1.
2) Upgraded sound card driver from Dell Support.
3) Installed Vista SP1
This is a great forum for Windows Vista, click here: Vistababble.com
Steps I took to upgrade to SP1:
1) Downloaded stand-alone Vista SP1.
2) Upgraded sound card driver from Dell Support.
3) Installed Vista SP1
This is a great forum for Windows Vista, click here: Vistababble.com
Windows Vista SP1 Released to Windows Update
As of March 18th, Windows Vista SP1 was released to Windows Update. I have been waiting for this so my PC will maybe be faster after the update. I've installed the Beta SP1 at work a few weeks ago and it actually does seem dramatically faster. Here are a few things to know before upgrading to Windows Vista SP1:
1) You have not yet installed all the prerequisite packages you need for Windows Vista SP1.
To install them, visit the Windows Update control panel and click on "check for updates." Just so you know....this may take up to 1 hour to complete so do it at time when you are not busy.
2) You have a pre-release (or beta) version of SP1 and need to uninstall it before installing SP1.
If for some reason Windows Update does not show SP1, check out this list from Microsoft about Windows Vista SP1
1) You have not yet installed all the prerequisite packages you need for Windows Vista SP1.
To install them, visit the Windows Update control panel and click on "check for updates." Just so you know....this may take up to 1 hour to complete so do it at time when you are not busy.
2) You have a pre-release (or beta) version of SP1 and need to uninstall it before installing SP1.
If for some reason Windows Update does not show SP1, check out this list from Microsoft about Windows Vista SP1
Windows Vista delayed media player files fixed
For those of you that have Windows Vista....I just fixed something that has been bugging me since I bought my new Dell PC a few months ago....
When you play an audio file (MP3, WMA, WAV) through a link on the web or maybe an email....there is a 5-10 second delay in the file playing.
To fix this do the following:
Go to the Control Panel and open the Sound properties:
Click the box that says: "Disable all Enhancements"
Press OK twice and.....there you go...no more delay in Media player.
(this should work for Vista...not sure if there is an issue in XP)
When you play an audio file (MP3, WMA, WAV) through a link on the web or maybe an email....there is a 5-10 second delay in the file playing.
To fix this do the following:
Go to the Control Panel and open the Sound properties:
Click the box that says: "Disable all Enhancements"
Press OK twice and.....there you go...no more delay in Media player.
(this should work for Vista...not sure if there is an issue in XP)
UPS guy conclusion
The UPS guy brought his PC to me today and I was able to reinstall Windows XP & Office 2000....yeah, I know, Office 2000 is like 7 years old. But so is his PC....at least I got it back up and running. He is happy now and I am pretty sure he will be purchasing a new PC soon anyway just to keep up with this century. Windows XP is basically at its end for free support so its time to get to know Windows Vista. My next article will be one about the basics of Windows Vista and some of its new features.
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