Download Vista Compatibility and Reliability Update Available

In the fall of 2007, the Redmond company issued two Vista compatibility, performance and reliability update packs that were essentially bits of the first service pack, but offered to Vista RTM users almost half a year ahead of SP1 via Windows Update. Following the availability of SP1, Microsoft informed that there are users who cannot implement the service pack due to a variety of issues, but mainly incompatibility problems. For them, the KB938979 and KB938194 update packages were reissued. Users of Windows Vista SP1 need neither of the packs.

According to Microsoft, KB938194 will resolve the following problems:

"The screen may go blank when you try to upgrade the video driver.
• The computer stops responding, and you receive a "Display driver stopped responding and has recovered" error message.
• The computer stops responding or restarts unexpectedly when you play video games or perform desktop operations.
• The Diagnostic Policy Service (DPS) stops responding when the computer is under heavy load or when very little memory is available. This problem prevents diagnostics from working.
• The screen goes blank after an external display device that is connected to the computer is turned off.
• There are stability issues with some graphics processing units (GPUs). These issues could cause GPUs to stop responding (hang).
• Visual appearance issues occur when you play graphics-intensive games.
• You experience poor playback quality when you play HD DVD disks or Blu-ray disks on a large monitor.
• Applications that load the Netcfgx.dll component exit unexpectedly.
• Windows Calendar exits unexpectedly after you create a new appointment, create a new task, and then restart the computer.
• Internet Connection Sharing stops responding after you upgrade a computer that is running Microsoft Windows XP to Windows Vista and then restart the computer.
• The Printer Spooler service stops unexpectedly.
• You receive a "Stop 0x0000009F" error when you put the computer to sleep while a Point-to-Point Protocol (PPP) connection is active."

Download : 32-bit|64-bit

Via [Softpedia News]

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Vista Codec Package 4.6.6

With Vista Codec Package installed, you won't need to install any other codec or filter. Many user suggested default settings are implemented. It does not contain a media player.

It does not associates filetypes. With this package installed you will be able to use any media player (limited only by the players capabilities) to play DVD's, movies and video clips of any format. Streaming video (real and quicktime) is supported in web browsers. Visit the homepage to get a 64bitAddon which enables xvid, divx and DVD playback in Vista's MediaCenter.

Vista Codec Package has the following other editions available: Vista Codec Package x64 Components.
Latest Changes:
* Add shortcuts for MP4 splitter choice
* Set Haali as the default 32bit MP4 splitter
* Upgrades are disabled - clean install required
* Update ffdshow to tryouts rev 1960
* Fix issues with single core systems
* Minor improvements

Download:
Vista Codec Package 4.6.6 (link 1)
Vista Codec Package 4.6.6 (link 2)

Source : [Keznews]

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This entry was written by ShaDow and posted on Thursday, May 22, 2008 and filed under Downloads Bookmark the permalink . Follow any comments here with the RSS feed for this post . Post a comment ( in a new window )

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Windows Vista Language Interface Packs

Windows Vista Language Interface Pack (LIP) for Windows Vista provides a partially translated version of the most widely used areas of Windows. After installing the LIP, portions of the text in wizards, dialog boxes, menus, Help and Support topics, and other items in the user interface will be displayed in the LIP language. The text that is not translated will be in English. You can install more than one LIP, so each user of the computer can display the user interface in their desired language.

Supported Operating Systems: Windows Vista

• Microsoft Windows Vista
• User interface is in English
• 2.63 Mb of free space for download
• 15 Mb of free space for setup
Supported Platforms: LIPs only work with 32-bit versions of Windows Vista and cannot be installed on previous versions of Windows or on 64-bit versions of Windows Vista.

(Languages denoted by an asterisk (*) are also available for Windows Vista Starter versions. Windows Vista Starter Edition balances the needs of first-time PC owners in developing technology markets by delivering proven Microsoft technology at a more affordable price, and optimized specifically for lower end hardware. )

This package applies to the following languages:

• Albanian*
• Assamese*
• Bosnian - Cyrillic*
• Bosnian - Latin*
• Gujarati*
• Hindi*
• Indonesian*
• Kazakh*
• Macedonian*
• Marathi*
• Serbian - Cyrillic*
• Tamil*
• Uzbek - Latin*
• Vietnamese*
• Welsh

Via [Bink]

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This entry was written by ShaDow and posted on Monday, May 19, 2008 and filed under Downloads , Windows Vista Tips Bookmark the permalink . Follow any comments here with the RSS feed for this post . Post a comment ( in a new window )

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Windows XP SP3 Update Breaks Windows Home Server Remote Access

Windows Home Server users are reporting Remote Access problems after updating their home computers to Windows XP Service Pack 3.

Following the update, attempting to access those home computers via Windows Home Server’s Remote Access features brings up a dialog asking the user to add their homeserver.com domain to the Trusted Sites list in Internet Explorer. However, after doing so, users are still not able to access those PCs.

The issue arises due to security changes in XP SP3 - namely, that the Terminal Services ActiveX control in Internet Explorer is disabled by default.

To resolve the issue, Microsoft Forums user ColinWH has published a workaround:

Click on Tools -> Manage Add-Ons -> Enable or Disable Add-Ons in IE to enable the Terminal Services ActiveX control. If you are unable to see/enable the Terminal Services ActiveX control in IE7 on XPSP3 as a workaround can you try deleting the following registry keys:

HKCU\Software\Microsoft\Windows\CurrentVersion\Ext\Settings\{7390f3d8-0439-4c05-91e3-cf5cb290c3d0}

HKCU\Software\Microsoft\Windows\CurrentVersion\Ext\Settings\{4eb89ff4-7f78-4a0f-8b8d-2bf02e94e4b2)
Once you delete these keys, the activeX control should be enabled in IE7.

Note, of course, that Microsoft have disabled the Terminal Services ActiveX control in Internet Explorer for security reasons, so run these changes with care. For now, you may wish to wait a while before updating to XP SP3.

More Info: Microsoft Forums

Via [WeGotServed]

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This entry was written by ShaDow and posted on Monday, May 19, 2008 and filed under XP , XP SP3 Bookmark the permalink . Follow any comments here with the RSS feed for this post . Post a comment ( in a new window )

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Vista SP1 matches XP SP3 in gaming performance tests

While some businesses might not be seeing much incentive to move to Vista SP1, gamers might be warming up to the idea. Past game performance tests have shown that lower frame rates, lag, and crashing are the norm for Windows Vista RTM. While some switched over and found they were having no problems, the majority held onto Windows XP SP2 for dear life. The majority of the blame for this problem was laid on lack of solid video drivers.

According to data from Microsoft, the hardware company's drivers were responsible for the largest amount (28.8 percent) of Vista crashes. ATI was at 9.3 percent. It's therefore not surprising that many users were having performance troubles with their Vista gaming machines. This has been slowly changing, thanks to both new third-party and Microsoft drivers.

Most recently, the progress has hit a point where gamers have stopped complaining about Vista. My good friend, a gamer who swore he would be skipping Vista (as many gamers have), built himself a new computer and installed Vista x64 SP1. Not only did he tell me that he had made the switch, he was quite satisfied with the decision. Back in November, data showed that Vista was being adopted very slowly by gamers, and so one gamer switching over is hardly something to write home about. On the other hand, a few recently released gaming performance tests by ExtremeTech do show something that's worth mentioning.

The test machine had the following specs: Intel Core 2 Duo E6750, ASUS Blitz Formula, 2GB of Corsair RAM, WD6500AAKS hard drive, and an ATI Radeon HD 3870. The rig is hardly a high-end machine, but one must remember that these tests vary slightly with every different component. The test software used included PCMark05 and 3DMark06, while the games tested included Supreme Commander, Crysis, and World in Conflict. Windows Vista SP1 significantly outperformed XP SP3 in the PCMark05 test, and all but matched SP3 in the 3DMark06 test. As for the games, Vista SP1 tied XP SP3 in Supreme Commander, slightly beat XP SP3 in the Crysis test, and also slightly beat XP SP3 in the World in Conflict test. Nowhere did Vista RTM or Vista SP1 truly stumble, which suggests that ATI has significantly improved its video drivers to match XP's.

Can the same be said for NVIDIA? The company has actually recently just rereleased the 175.16 drivers for GeForce FX, 6, 7, 8, and 9 series as they just passed the Windows Hardware Quality Labs (WHQL) test: Vista x86, Vista x64, XP x86, and XP x64. Before these, the last WHQL drivers for the GeForce 6/7/8 series of cards were released released back on December 19 and 20. While there are no recent tests to show the improvements, it seems NVIDIA is getting back on track as well.

Will gamers previously set on skipping Vista begin taking the plunge?

Source : Extreme Tech via Arstechnica

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This entry was written by ShaDow and posted on Thursday, May 15, 2008 and filed under Vista News , Vista SP1 , XP SP3 Bookmark the permalink . Follow any comments here with the RSS feed for this post . Post a comment ( in a new window )

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