October 5, 2008

Don’t let XP Service Pack 3 hose your system

Scott Dunn By Scott Dunn

From the moment Microsoft released it, Service Pack 3 for Windows XP has been the subject of almost daily reports of bugs, incompatibilities, and general headaches.

You can install SP3 with confidence — providing you take certain precautions — or, if you prefer, use Windows' Automatic Update settings to keep the service pack off your system.


Multiple problems plague SP3 adopters

Windows Secrets has been reporting problems with Windows XP's Service Pack 3 almost from the instant the patch collection was first distributed. In fact, so many readers have contacted us with questions or complaints about SP3 — the last major update to Windows XP — that we've synthesized everything you need to know about this update in a single column.

Here are the most glaring SP3-related problems:

• Internet connectivity fails when using black hole routers, which drop packets (see Susan Bradley's May 1 column in our paid content and Microsoft's Knowledge Base article 314825).

• False positives are generated by Norton Internet Security and other security applications (see my May 2 Top Story).

• Device Manager settings go missing, especially in connection with using Norton Antivirus (see Susan Bradley's column in the May 29 newsletter as well as KB 953791).

• Repeated rebooting occurs on machines using an AMD processor (see Susan Bradley's May 22 column and KB 953356).

• You can't install any new updates (see KB 943144).

• Third-party visual styles encounter problems (see the Support Alert Newsletter of June 19).

Making an upgrade decision that works for you

In light of these and other problems, you may wonder whether you ever want SP3 at all, especially given that many of its enhancements focus on networking and IT-level administration. Here's the case for SP3:

Think security: In addition to new features, SP3 — like most service packs — includes numerous security updates that were available individually in the past.

Consider support: If you think you might require Microsoft's assistance to install SP3, you need to add the service pack before April 2009, when the company will end such support. And because overall support for SP2 expires in early 2010, you'll need to have SP3 installed by that date if you want general support for XP.

Be prepared: Before you install SP3, take a few precautions. First and foremost, perform a full system backup. Microsoft has digested all recommended pre-install steps in KB 950717, which also includes troubleshooting information if all does not go well.

How to remove SP3 from your Automatic Updates

If you decide you don't want SP3, Microsoft offers a tool for suppressing the automatic installation of the service pack. The Service Pack Blocker Tool Kit won't prevent you from downloading SP3 manually from the company's site, nor will it stop you from installing the patches from a CD or DVD. All it does is stop the service pack from being installed via Windows' Automatic Updates.

In addition, the Service Pack Blocker postpones the installation for only a year from SP3's release date last April.

Surf over to Microsoft's Service Pack Blocker download page and click the Download button for SPBlockerTools.exe. Click Yes to accept the license agreement and type in the path to the folder where the files will be stored (click the Browse button and navigate to the folder if you want to avoid typing).

Now open the folder containing the extracted files and double-click SPBlockingTool.exe. A command prompt window appears for a few moments and displays the statement "Action successfully completed." Unfortunately, that doesn't tell you very much. The action the message refers to is the addition of a Registry entry instructing Windows Update not to send you SP3. (The same setting on Vista blocks SP1.)

If you want to see the code that is added, do the following:

Step 1. Choose Start, Run. Type regedit and press Enter.

Step 2. In the Registry Editor, navigate in the left pane to this entry:

HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE \ SOFTWARE \ Policies \ Microsoft \ Windows \ WindowsUpdate

Step 3. With the WindowsUpdate icon selected in the left pane, look in the right pane for a key named DoNotAllowSP.

If you later decide you want Automatic Updates to offer you Service Pack 3, simply select the DoNotAllowSP key and press Delete (or click Edit, Delete).

If you're concerned about editing the Registry (which involves risks of its own), the Service Pack Blocker can also undo the block:

Step 1. Choose Start, Run. Type cmd and press Enter.

Step 2. At the command prompt, either type the path to the SPBlockingTool.exe file, or drag the file into the command prompt window and let Windows do the typing for you.

Step 3. At the end of this command, type a space followed by /U and press Enter.

Once again, you'll see the "Action successfully completed" message and Windows Automatic Update will no longer be blocked from installing the service pack on your system.

The other tool included with the download, splitting propecia SPreg.cmd, is a batch file useful for administrators who want to block the service pack on remote computers; this utility requires that the machine name be specified in the command line.

Even though most of SP3's problems should now be in the past, these precautions can help ensure that you aren't one of the service pack's installation victims.

HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE \ SOFTWARE \ Policies \ Microsoft \ Windows \ WindowsUpdate

Step 3. With the WindowsUpdate icon selected in the left pane, look in the right pane for a key named DoNotAllowSP.

If you later decide you want Automatic Updates to offer you Service Pack 3, simply select the DoNotAllowSP key and press Delete (or click Edit, Delete).

If you're concerned about editing the Registry (which involves risks of its own), the Service Pack Blocker can also undo the block:

Step 1. Choose Start, Run. Type cmd and press Enter.

Step 2. At the command prompt, either type the path to the SPBlockingTool.exe file, or drag the file into the command prompt window and let Windows do the typing for you.

Step 3. At the end of this command, type a space followed by /U and press Enter.

Once again, you'll see the "Action successfully completed" message and Windows Automatic Update will no longer be blocked from installing the service pack on your system.

The other tool included with the download, SPreg.cmd, is a batch file useful for administrators who want to block the service pack on remote computers; this utility requires that the machine name be specified in the command line.

Even though most of SP3's problems should now be in the past, these precautions can help ensure that you aren't one of the service pack's installation victims.

Filed under OS XP by al

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Problems with Windows XP SP3 persist

Dennis O'Reilly By Dennis O'Reilly

If you're still on the fence about XP's Service Pack 3, best to stay there for a while.

We continue to hear from readers whose PCs choke on the update, and for very different reasons.


XP SP3 should ship with two aspirins

I'm sure Microsoft made every effort to ensure that the distribution of Windows XP Service Pack 3 would go smoothly. Unfortunately, the company's efforts didn't keep some Windows Secrets readers out of the update muck.

One of the many people who shared receding hairline propecia their SP3 pain with us was Almer Procyshyn, who was seeing the Internet Explorer customization screen every time he started IE 7:

  • "Recently, like many others I have noticed, I experienced problems with my laptop after SP3 was installed, one being the RunOnce setting for IE 7. Many forums suggest modifying the Registry, but the simple most effective solution is:

    Tools, Internet Options, Advanced, Reset (under Reset Internet Explorer settings), OK.

    "This allows you to [reset your] RunOnce settings. Simple, and it works."

If only all SP3 glitches were so easy to resolve. Note that this workaround changes all IE 7 settings back to their default values, which may not be what you want. To fix the problem with a specific change to the Registry or using local security policy, see an explanation at Online Tech Tips.

While most XP users who have installed SP3 experience no problems, the risk/reward balance suggests that there's no hurry to apply the patch, at least until Microsoft stops supporting SP2 — many months from now.

Renewal pop-ups tick off antispyware user

Reader Ted Cohen is mad as hell at SpySweeper, his antispyware vendor, and he's going to take his business elsewhere.

  • "I have used SpySweeper for years and agree it is among the best. However, 30 days prior to my subscription expiration, the software begins automatic renewal-notice pop-ups every time the machine reboots — for me, several times a day.

    "SpySweeper support says the pop-ups cannot be removed. It is intrusive and annoying, as the pop-ups override my applications. I pay SpySweeper to stop hackers from installing trash on my machine, but it seems they are as guilty as the bad guys where their own revenue is involved.

    "All it would take is the usual 'do not show this message again' checkbox to make me happy, but these guys are shameless. I like their software, but I am going elsewhere."

The computer industry may not own the patent on alienating customers (see Automobiles, American), but software vendors in particular have made an art form out of it.

How good does a program have to be for you to put up with such annoying renewal reminders, not to mention update pop-ups and other intrusions? How loathsome do a company's marketing practices have to be for you to toss a product you're otherwise happy with?

Filed under OS XP by al

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Going Virtual with VirtualBox

TechTips - 187

By Scott Nesbitt – Sunday, September 28, 2008

PullQuote187For whatever reason, many computer users think that their desktop computers can only run one operating system at a time. Windows PC only run Windows. Macs only run Mac OS. Linux machines only run Linux. But that's far from the truth.

There are a number of ways in which you can run more than one operating system on a computer. A popular and venerable way is multi-booting. Another is using an application layer like Crossover. But the solution that's gained popularity in recent years is virtualization.

A quick look at virtualization

Virtualization – in the case of this TechTip, operating system level virtualization – is a form of software sleight of hand. The trickery involved enables a computer to run two or more operating systems simultaneously. There are two types of operating system involved. The first is the host operating system, which runs the virtualization software. The second is the guest operating system, which runs inside a space that the virtualization software and the host operating system allocate to the guest.

Using virtualization, you can run guest operating system in isolation from the host but at the same time. The virtualization software enables you to allocate system resources – like hard drive space and memory – to the guest operating systems. And the virtualization software can also simulate the instruction set that a guest operating system requires.

Advantages

Why virtualize? It's often a lot easier and more efficient than multi-booting or using an application layer. With multi-booting, you need to partition your hard drive, and that could lead to problems with the partition table. I've talked to more than a few people who tried multi-booting, but who found that they could only boot into one of the operating systems that they installed. And unlike an application layer, a virtual instance allows you to take advantage of all of the features of an operating system rather than just a subset of them.

The benefits of using virtualization include the ability to consolidate multiple servers on to a single piece of hardware. That cuts down on hardware and power costs, and enables companies (or even individuals) to decommission older, creaky hardware. For the desktop user (someone like you, obviously), using virtualization allows you to work with multiple operating systems without the need for several PCs, and (as mentioned above) without worrying about any weirdness that might occur when you try to partition a hard drive.


Virtualization on your desktop with VirtualBox

There are a growing number of virtualization products out there. VMWare is popular in the data center and on the desktop. Other, well-known ones include Xen, and Microsoft psa and propecia Virtual PC for Windows. Parallels lets Mac users run Windows seamlessly. This TechTip looks at VirtualBox, a popular and flexible virtualization app. It runs on several operating systems and supports a wide array of
guest operating systems.

Note : This TechTip discusses running Windows XP on Linux. The concepts and procedures are similar for most other host operating systems.


Up and running

Obviously, the first thing that you need to do is download and install VirtualBox. There are installers for several flavors of Linux (including Ubuntu, Debian, Red Hat, and openSUSE), as well as for Mac OS, Windows, and Solaris.

The installers are binaries – you just need to download and run them. For my Linux-powered laptop, I downloaded the installer for all distributions, which has the extension. run. To run the installer, open a terminal and navigate to the directory into which you downloaded the installer. Then, type the command sudo./VirtualBox-2.0.0-36011-Linux_x86.run (substitute the name of the installer, if necessary).

If you get an error telling you that the file can't be found, then type the command chmod +x VirtualBox-2.0.0-36011-Linux_x86.run to make the installer executable. Then, run the previous command again.

A graphical wizard will guide you through the process of putting the software on your hard drive. When the process is complete, you'll have a new menu item to launch VirtualBox. In Ubuntu, this is System Tools > Sun xVM VirtualBox.

Installing a guest operating system

Now it’s time to install the guest operating system. In this case, it's Windows XP Pro. There are two steps to this. First, you need to create a new virtual machine. Then you perform the actual installation of the guest operating system.


Creating the virtual machine

In the VirtualBox window, click New to start the Create New Virtual Machine wizard. The wizard will walk you through the process, but here is some of the information that you'll have to supply:

  • The name of the virtual machine, as it will appear in VirtualBox. I chose WinXP; not the most clever name, I admit…

  • The type of guest operating system that you're installing.

  • The amount of memory that you're making available to the virtual machine. The default is 192 MB, but you can specify up to the maximum amount of memory that your computer has. Remember, though, that any memory that you give to the guest operating system is not available to the host.

  • The size of the virtual hard disk for the virtual machine. You can do this in two ways: either a dynamically-expanding disk (which grows as your guest operating system grows), or a fixed-size disk (in which you allocate a fixed amount of space for the guest operating system).

  • A name for the virtual disk.

Once you've done all that, VirtualBox will create the virtual hard disk. This can take several minutes, depending on the size that you specified for the disk. Once that's done, you can install the guest operating system.

Installing the guest operating system

Installing the guest operating system is quite easy. You can do it from an ISO image or from a CD/DVD. In my case, I had a Windows XP Pro CD. Assuming that you're installing from a CD, just pop it into your CR-ROM drive and then start VirtualBox. In the main window, click the name of the virtual machine and then click Start. The virtual machine will read the CD and start the installer.

All you have to do is follow the installation program. It is that easy. Depending on the operating system, the amount of memory your system packs, and the speed of the CPU, this process could take anywhere from a few minutes to half an hour.

Once the process is complete, all you need to do is click Start in the VirtualBox window to start the guest operating system.


Tweaking the settings

Before you start using the guest operating system, you should configure it to your liking. Just click Settings, and you can adjust the various settings for your virtual machine. Some of the things you can do include change the amount of RAM and video memory set aside for the virtual machine, changing the boot order of the disks, and enabling  the guest operating system to access your CD-ROM drive and any USB flash drives that are attached to your machine.

You can also adjust the audio settings, and enable the guest operating system to access one or more folders on the host. For the latter, you'll need to install guest additions. More about those in a moment.

Of course, networking is probably very important to you. To enable the guest operating system to access your network, or the Internet, click the Network option in the Settings window. Select your network adapter from the list, and from the Attached to list choose NAT 9 Network Address Translation. Also, ensure that the Cable Connected option is checked.

If you're using a wireless connection, then do the above. A lot ofdocumentation for VirtualBox discusses creating a network bridge to enable a guest operating system to use the wireless adapter onyour computer. I found that if you have the Cable Connected option checked, wireless works just fine. Your mileage may vary, though.

 

Installing the guest additions

You'll notice, though, that some things aren't quite right about the guest operating system. The screen is small, mouse support is kind of wonky, and you can't share information between the clipboards of the guest and host operating systems. You can fix that by installing guest additions. Guest additions are a set of drivers that help the guest operating system work more seamlessly with the host. The guest additions include:

  • Shared folders and clipboard

  • Better mouse integration

  • The ability to move between guest and host operating system windows seamlessly. Without the guest additions, you need to press a hot key move between them

  • Better video support, including the ability to dynamically resize the guest's window

In the latest version of VirtualBox (2.0.0 at the time of writing), you can install the guest additions by starting the guest operating system and then choosing Devices > Install Guest Additions. A wizard will walk you through the installation process. You might have to restart the guest operating system for the changes to take effect.

 

Using your virtual machine

Everything that's detailed above seems like a lot of work. It isn't and you only have to do it once. After it's done, your virtual machine is ready to use. As I mentioned, I'm primarily a Linux user. But for some of my professional work, I need to use various bits of Windows software. That's where VirtualBox truly comes in handy. I can run all of that software without resorting to using two laptops. In fact, after installing VirtualBox I got rid of my Windows-powered ThinkPad. My desk is a lot less cluttered, and I have one less piece of hardware to worry about.

If you need to run multiple operating systems on a single computer, or just want to test out another operating system before committing to it, you'll find that VirtualBox gets the job done nicely. It's easy to use, and makes a seemingly complex chores like virtualization easy.

Filed under OpSys, software by al

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Bringing Linux to the Windows Desktip with “Cygwin”

Tech tips - 185

By Scott Nesbitt – Sunday, September 14, 2008
PullQuote 185Like it or hate it, there's no denying that the command line is a powerful, flexible tool. The number of useful utilities available more than balances out the command line's reputation for not being easy to use.

That said, the default Windows command line is lacking – especially when compared to its UNIX or Linux counterparts. It doesn't have to be that way, though. You can bring the full power of the Linux command line to Windows with an application called Cygwin.

Cygwin_installOverview of Cygwin

Cygwin is an environment and a set of application that emulates the Linux command line within Windows. Originally called gnuwin32, Cygwin was developed by a company called Cygnus Solutions (now part of Linux vendor Red Hat) in 1995. The aim of Cygwin was to bring the software development toolchain used by UNIX and Linux hackers to 32-bit Windows (Windows 95 and NT at the time). With Cygwin, developers could write cross-platform software without many changes to the underlying code.

Cygwin grew from a set of programming tools to a complete implementation of the popular Bourne Shell command line environment. There's also a version of Cygwin called Cygwin/X, which is a version of the X Window System that runs on Microsoft Windows. Note: Cygwin/X may be covered in a future TechTip.

 

Who uses Cygwin?

Obviously, Cygwin isn't a tool that will appear on everyone's Windows desktop. It's a quite specialized, almost techie tool. Cygwin has its roots in cross-platform software development, so obviously one of the major groups of users is programmers; especially programmers who are writing software for multiple, UNIX-like platforms. With Cygwin, they can do their work and not have to worry about needing a second desktop computer running another operating system. Anyone doing system administration will find Cygwin's array of network utilities, and other command line tools, useful. Using them, an administrator can quickly gain access to and efficiently work with a server.

Cygwin is also useful for anyone who wants to learn about Linux or UNIX. That could be a curious Windows user who plans to make a switch, someone who needs to learn either operating system as part of their job, or who wants to take advantage of the wide range of Linux utilities that Cygwin offers. I'm in the latter group. Whenever I use my laptop computer running Windows, I use Cygwin to:

  • Securely log into my Web sites using ssh
  • Convert documents written in Markdown to HTML
  • Work with many of the same scripts and utilities that I work with on my Linux laptop

And quite a bit more.

 

Getting started

Obviously, you need to download some software in order to start working with Cygwin. There is one file that you need to get: setup.exe, which is the setup program. Once that file is on your hard drive, double click it to start the installation. The setup program is a wizard that guides you through the installation and (when it comes time) update process. Unless you have a reason to do otherwise, install from an online source. The wizard enables you to choose a site from which to download the application packages. When choosing a location, find one that's relatively close to you and select a site that uses HTTP instead of FTP – I've found HTTP to be faster. Your results may vary. If you're planning on installing Cygwin on multiple computers, then you might want to choose the local installation option. This will enable you to put all of the packages (another name for Cygwin applications and libraries) on a shared drive so others can access cygwin_terminalthem as needed. Going with the default installation will only install the basic Cygwin system and a few utilities. That basic installation is functional, but doesn't do much. You need to specify what you want to install. That's where the fun begins. There are over 1,100 packages available. You definitely won't need them all – and installing them all at once will take a long time. So, what should you choose? It depends on what you're doing. If you're a developer, you'll want to install various compilers, interpreters, and libraries. A system administrator will want to install tools like ssh, ftp, less, vi, and the like. Consult the package list at the Cygwin Web site for more information that will help you make your choice.

Installation will take anywhere from a couple of minutes to much longer, depending on what you've decided to install. Once the process is complete, you can find Cygwin in the folder c:\cygwin.

Note: For more information about the installation options, read this document.

Using Cygwin

Assuming that you're successfully installed Cygwin, there are three ways in which you can launch it: from a desktop icon, from the Start menu, or from within Windows Explorer. For the latter, you'll have to install a package called Cygwin Prompt Here (sometimes called chere). It's a small application that adds an item to the context menu in Windows Explorer. Just right click on a folder, and then choose Bash Prompt Here. A terminal window opens in that folder. There's no need to use a lot of keystrokes to get there!

 

The file system

Regardless of what method you use to start Cygwin, you'll find the file system to be … well, a bit interesting, especially proscar and propecia if you're not cygwin_logofamiliar with Linux or UNIX. Whereas the Windows command line uses backslashes to separate directories (C:\Windows\System32), Cygwin sticks to its UNIX roots by using forward slashes. Everything starts from the root directory (/), and Cygwin uses standard Linux directories – like bin, etc, lib, and the like.

You can navigate to the Windows file system by specifying /cygdrive/c. From there, you can use the cd command to change to whatever directory you want to.

 

Using Cygwin's programs

To use any of Cygwin's programs, just type the name of the program in a terminal window and press Enter. For example, to get a directory listing just type ls. Of course, depending on the program, you might have to specify some options and/or a file name. You can read this TechTip and this one to learn a few basic Linux commands. Or, you can read the Cygwin user manual.

 

Conclusion

Cygwin is definitely not for every computer user. It's really a tool for the techie or the technically curious user. But if you need to use the Linux command line and don't want to invest in a second computer, to partition your hard drive, or use virtualization, then Cygwin is definitely a good choice. Best of all, it's free!

Filed under OpSys by al

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September 30, 2008

Alt + Tab

Back by popular demand. You asked for it, so here it is!

Let's say you have about four different programs running on your PC all at the same time. For instance, maybe you have your e-mail up and running, a Web browser window open, a Word document ready for review and your music player playing your favorite song. With all of that going on, have you ever wondered if there was a quick way to pull each of those programs up as you need them, without the rest of them getting in your way? For example, maybe you're working on your Word document, but you want to bring your music player up to change songs. So, how can you do that quickly and painlessly?

propecia timeline

Well, all you have to do is press Alt + Tab together one time. Once you do that, it will bring up a little box that has all of your open programs listed. Then while continuing to hold the Alt key down, just press the Tab key to scroll your way across the programs. Highlight the one you want and then release the Alt key to pull that program up. Want to change programs again? Just repeat the process as many times as you need. It's so simple and it also helps you to keep track of everything you have running on your PC at one time. Pretty cool, huh? Give it a try today!

Filed under OS 2000, OS Vista, OS XP by al

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