Windows Archive

Windows Vista SP1 Beta Set to Debut

Thom Holwerda 2007-08-29 Windows 16 Comments

Microsoft is finally talking about the much-anticipated first service pack for Windows Vista and will release the first beta to a select group of about 15,000 customer and partner testers within the next few weeks. The software maker will release the beta for Windows XP Service Pack 3 at the same time. Microsoft acknowledged Aug. 29 that it has already shared beta previews of Windows XP SP3 and Vista SP1 with small group of testers, a fact it refused to admit until recently despite numerous leaks on the Internet.

Windows Server 2008 Delayed

Thom Holwerda 2007-08-29 Windows 10 Comments

Microsoft has delayed the upcoming release of Windows Server 2008. "Windows Server 2008, which we have been saying would Release to Manufacturing by the end of the calendar year, is now slated to RTM in the first quarter of calendar year 2008. Why? Well, as you know, Microsoft's first priority is to deliver a great product to our customers and partners, and while we're very happy with the feedback we're getting and the overall quality of the latest product builds, we would rather spend a little more time to meet the high quality bar that our customers and partners deserve and expect."

Submitted by diegocg 2007-08-29 Windows 33 Comments

Robert Love, a famous Linux kernel hacker, has written a blog entry with his thoughs on the recently posted Vista's network slowdown issue and the explanation given by Mark Russinovich: "Unlike DPCs, however, the Linux parallel does not consume nearly half of your CPU. There is no excusable reason why processing IP packets should so damagingly affect the system. Thus, this absolutely abysmal networking performance should be an issue in and of itself, but the Windows developers decided to focus on a secondary effect."

Microsoft Responds to Re-Discovery of Vista Network Slowdowns

Thom Holwerda 2007-08-27 Windows 74 Comments

A curious network performance reduction noticed by many Windows Vista users of the 2CPU forum that became the talk of Slashdot last week has been identified as having been caused not by DRM, as Slashdot users expected, but by a curious prioritization 'feature' of Vista that's intentionally biased toward Media Player at the expense of network and system resources.

Submitted by shykid 2007-08-25 Windows 97 Comments

"Late last night we started receiving reports from readers experiencing problems with Windows Genuine Advantage authentication. Users of both Windows XP and Windows Vista were writing to say that they could not validate their installations using WGA, and one user even said that his installation was invalidated by the service. We contacted our sources at Microsoft, who told us off the record that the company is aware of a major WGA server outage affecting users across the globe. Microsoft is telling users who are affected that they should 'try again' later, with some support techs telling readers that Microsoft is aiming to have a fix in place by Tuesday, August 28th."

Windows Home Server System Specs, Prices, Launch Date Leaked

Thom Holwerda 2007-08-22 Windows 51 Comments

"Details about the first OEM systems equipped with Windows Home Server are leaking out on to the 'net, and it looks like HP is going to get the ball rolling with its MediaSmart Home Server. Prices for the units were accidentally posted on several sites, such as PC Mall and onSale.com, and it looks like the server will have a US list price of USD 596 for the 500GB version and USD 745 for the 1TB version."

Windows Home Server Released Into the Wild

Thom Holwerda 2007-08-20 Windows 49 Comments

"With Bill Gates' announcement earlier this year that Windows Home Server would be available as a 'system builder' product (that means 'OEM' to most hardware geeks), enthusiasts and system builders alike have been looking forward to its release. With several different rumors being floated last week regarding when Windows Home Server would hit store shelves, we checked in with Microsoft to get the full and somewhat-confusing story. The short version is: it's already out in the wild, but catching a copy from your favorite reseller may prove tricky for at least two more weeks."

‘Busting the FUD about Vista’s DRM’

Submitted by Jonas Persson 2007-08-16 Windows 119 Comments

"Gutmann generated a lot of heat last December with the publication of a paper that called Windows Vista's Content Protection scheme 'the longest suicide note in history'. He updated it in April, mostly to call his critics names, and he updated it yet again yesterday with a top-of-the-page slam at my ZDNet colleague George Ou, who took exception with some of Gutmann's claims yesterday. Gutmann has a flair for melodramatic language and headline-grabbing phrases, but his theoretical arguments against Vista's video subsystem fall apart quickly when they make contact with the real world."

A Messy Transition: Vista Buys Some Time

Submitted by tudyparghel 2007-08-14 Windows 48 Comments

"As we saw in part 1 of this series, large applications and games under Windows are getting incredibly close to hitting the 2GB barrier, the amount of virtual address space a traditional Win32 (32-bit) application can access. Once applications begin to hit these barriers, many of them will start acting up and/or crashing in unpredictable ways which makes resolving the problem even harder. Furthermore, as we saw in part 2, games are consuming greater amounts of address space under Windows Vista than Windows XP. This makes Vista less suitable for use with games when at the same time it will be the version of Windows that will see the computing industry through the transition to 64-bit operating systems becoming the new standard. Microsoft knew about the problem, but up until now we were unable to get further details on what was going on and why. As of today that has changed."

Submitted by flanque 2007-08-13 Windows 125 Comments

Microsoft has had to create a new build of Windows XP Professional for computer makers because the six-year-old operating system's continued popularity has nearly exhausted the supply of product activation keys. The new build, dubbed SP2c, includes no fixes or feature changes, but was created simply to address the shrinking pool of product keys. XP Pro SP2c, which has been released to manufacturing, will be made available to OEMs and system builders next month, said Microsoft.

Vista SP1, XP SP3 Leaked

Submitted by James Bannan 2007-08-11 Windows 22 Comments

"It's no secret that there's a leaked beta of Vista SP1 floating around, but no-one yet has really taken the time to analyse it in detail to find out what it really does. I made it my mission this weekend to trawl through the registry and file changes in SP1 to find out as best I could exactly what SP1 does." Apparantly, it isn't just Vista SP1 that got leaked - Windows XP SP3 has also been leaked.

Submitted by flanque 2007-08-09 Windows 58 Comments

In a move that will likely only further confuse the situation surrounding Vista Service Pack 1, Microsoft has posted for public download two updates that were released to beta testers last month. The patches improve Vista performance and reliability, along with the operating system's compatibility with drivers and hardware. Some of the changes include better file copy performance, faster boot times, improved compatibility with newer graphics cards, and better performance in games with advanced visuals.

Setting Up Vista for the Family

Submitted by mikemuch 2007-08-08 Windows 50 Comments

Got a computer that's shared by the whole family? Or a computer in an office that has to support more than one user? Vista has a much stronger user accounts feature than XP. Here's how to set up Windows Vista so that everybody's happy.

Service Pack 3 for XP in 2008

Thom Holwerda 2007-08-03 Windows 43 Comments

"In the past, we've speculated on an early 2008 launch, and according to a recent Redmond Channel Partner Online article, Microsoft could be planning just that. "We're currently planning to deliver SP3 for Windows XP in the first half of CY2008. This date is preliminary, and we don't have any more details to share at this time." Service Pack 2 was released in August of 2004 and added various features like the Internet Explorer Pop-up blocker, Windows Security Center, firewall updates and improved wireless and Bluetooth support."

Microsoft Releases ‘Sneak Peak’ at Vista SP1 to Testers

Thom Holwerda 2007-08-02 Windows 25 Comments

"In all the excitement about Vista Service Pack 1 betas that were imminent and then not so imminent, the company continues to release patches to select groups of testers. Most recently a group of patches appeared on Windows Connect, the online downloading service Microsoft provides for a select group of beta testers. Only testers of Windows Server 2008 beta were allowed to download the patches, but they are aimed at Vista as well."

Submitted by rx182 2007-07-31 Windows 33 Comments

"After many months of waiting, Microsoft finally released the Beta 3 version of Windows Server 2008 (previously codenamed 'Longhorn'), a major milestone pre-release version of the next version of Windows Server (more recently, a CTP, or Community Technical Preview, version was distributed to beta testers in June 2008). Windows Server 2008 has evolved quite a bit over time, and though the project hasn't suffered from the many feature drops and problems that dogged Windows Vista, there are certainly a few surprises in Beta 3 and the June CTP. Here's what you need to know about Windows Server 2008."

Windows 7: Preventing Another Vista-esque Development Process

Thom Holwerda 2007-07-23 Windows 83 Comments

Six months ago, after a long gestation period, Microsoft finally released Windows Vista. Vista is a huge release; not only because of the long list of new features, but also because of its sheer size, and number of bugs and other oddities and downsides. The development process that lead to Vista has left many with a very bitter aftertaste; features were cut, codebases were scrapped, release dates postponed. A few days ago, Microsoft released some sparse details on Vista's successor, internally dubbed 'Windows 7', and in order to prevent another Vista-like development cycle, here is what I would advise Microsoft to do. Update: APCMag reports that Julie Larson-Green, who was the driving force behind Office 2007's new Ribbon user interface, has been transferred to the Windows 7 GUI team.

Next Version of Windows: Call it 7

Thom Holwerda 2007-07-22 Windows 128 Comments

Microsoft is planning to ship its next major version of Windows - known internally as version '7' - within roughly three years, CNET News.com has learned. The company discussed Windows 7 on Thursday at a conference for its field sales force in Orlando, Fla., according to sources close to the company. While the company provided few details, Windows 7, the next client version of the operating system, will be among the steps taken by Microsoft to establish a more predictable release schedule, according to sources. The company plans a more 'iterative' process of information disclosure to business customers and partners, sources said.

Submitted by mikemuch 2007-07-17 Windows 89 Comments

"Way back in November 2006, when Windows Vista went from beta to RTM, Microsoft's Jim Allchin suggested that users might not need an antivirus program, thanks to the new OS's stronger security features. While the statement was subsequently clarified until it lost all its meaning, the question remains: Do Vista users really need an antivirus program running in the background at all times?"

Windows Home Server Off to Production, Gets New Partners

Thom Holwerda 2007-07-16 Windows 31 Comments

Right on schedule, Microsoft announced that its Windows Home Server software is off to the presses. This clears the way for HP, Gateway, LaCie, Medion, and now Iomega and Fujitsu Siemens, (both also announced today, the latter in Europe only) to begin selling their Home Server-powered hardware later this quarter.