Windows Archive

Think Windows Firewall is tough enough to keep your system safe? Check FlexBeta's review. Elsewhere, the Express Install for WinXP SP2 is now available (90 MB).

Installation reports for Microsoft's new security-focused upgrade range from trouble-free to complete system failures. Our Take: I had one random reboot and one freeze since I installed SP2 this week. The _only_ other time in the past that my XP had crashed was when I plugged-in a SONY external DVD-+RW drive to a USB 1.1 port last month. Except that DVD-RW incident last month, my XP was crash-free for 2.5 years (which might have been a SONY issue, I give the benefit of the doubt to MS). But with the SP2, I had two crashes in 4 days. Unforgivable. SP1 was really solid, can't say the same for SP2.

The new print path in Longhorn, called the NextGen print path, addresses many limitations of the current print path, which is based on the Windows GDI. The NextGen print path will also coexist with the GDI print path. This coexistence ensures applications and devices a smooth migration over time by providing critical backward compatibility.

With Windows XP Service Pack 2 (SP2), Microsoft is introducing a set of security technologies that will help improve Windows XP-based computers' ability to withstand malicious attacks from viruses and worms. These technologies include: Network protection, Memory protection, improved email security, safer browsing.

Microsoft announced Wednesday it would offer a low-cost starter edition of its Windows XP operating system in Asia starting in October, as it strives to hold onto market share facing erosion from the open-source Linux system and software piracy.

The Windows XP Tablet PC Edition Development Kit facilitates building ink-enabled applications for Tablet PC. The combination of software and hardware in a Tablet PC enables these methods of user interaction and allows for a rich, interactive, and productive computing experience for users.

This guide will describe the easiest way possible to slipstream (also known as 'Integrate') a Service Pack into Windows 2000, XP or 2003. To do this, we will only need one program - MSFN's very own popular nLite created by one of our members nuhi. While nLite is primarily aimed to remove components to slim down a Windows CD, it has the required tools to do just an automated Service Pack slipstream as well as create a CD image.Slipstreaming Windows XP SP2 and Bootable CD Guide

Service Pack 2 for Windows XP has finally been released and is now available for people to download and install on their systems. The file, at just over 265 Megs, is a hefty download yet is packed with new updates well worth getting. Microsoft's new focus on security is paying off, but the company still has a long way to regain its customers' trust, according to the company's security program manager.

There are many ways to add fault tolerance to network services and resources running on Windows Server 2003 servers, and all without the hassle of third-party software. Find out how to use them.

Great news for beta testers, Windowsbeta has just put Windows XP SP2 final for beta testers to download. The final build number is 2180 with digital signature, here is a screenshot of the build on WindowsBeta. Update: Windows XP SP2 ships to manufacturing.

Microsoft is shifting about 70 technical staff from its research unit into its Windows effort as the company gears up for Longhorn, the next major release of the operating system.

This chapter covers the wealth of tools and options available to administrators in Windows Server 2003, including many enhancements to tools that existed in previous versions of the system.

Shadow copies is a new feature of Windows Server 2003 that automatically creates point-in-time copies or snapshots of files in shared folders. This lets users recover accidentally overwritten or deleted work without the need to ask an administrator to restore from backup, which saves administrators a lot of time and headache.

From games to the desktop itself, 3D graphics will be everywhere in the new Windows Longhorn OS. Take a sneak peek at Microsoft's forthcoming WGF architecture that will make it happen.