Windows Operating System Support for windows XP, Vista Support

This issue could be caused by any of the below possibilities.

    1. Bad software settings.

   2. Corrupt or missing sound drivers.

   3. Compatibility issues with the operating system and/or other hardware.

   4. Speaker related issues.

   5. Bad or missing sound card.

 

Solution:

Verify software volume control settings

First verify you see a small sound icon in the systray (generally at the bottom right hand corner of your screen). If this icon is missing follow the below section.

Windows XP

   1. Open the Control panel

   2. Open the "Sounds and Audio Devices" icon.

   3. Verify the "Place volume icon in the taskbar" checkbox is checked. If this option is      not available or is grayed out, skip to the next section of this document.

   4. If you were able to check this box, click ok and close out of this window and the Control Panel.

   5. Double-click the sound icon in the systray and verify that all the sound volumes are mid-way or higher.

 

Windows 2000

   1. Open the Control panel

   2. Open the "Sounds and Multimedia" icon.

   3. Verify the "Show volume control on the taskbar" checkbox is checked. If this option is not available or is grayed out, skip to the next section of this document.

   4. If you were able to check this box, click ok and close out of this window and the Control Panel.

   5. Double-click the sound icon in the systray and verify that all the sound volumes are mid-way or higher.

 

Windows 95 / 98 / ME

   1. Open the Control panel

   2. Open the "Multimedia" icon.

   3. Check the checkbox for "Show volume control on the taskbar". If this section is grayed out, attempt to change the Playback "Preferred device" by clicking the down arrow and changing to an alternate selection. If that is also grayed out, skip to the next section of this document.

   4. If you were able to check this box, click ok and close out of this window and the Control Panel.

   5. Double-click the sound icon in the systray and verify that all the sound volumes are mid-way or higher.

 

Verify the installed driver settings

   1. Open the Windows Device Manager

   2. Verify there are no conflicts or errors listed anywhere in Device Manager. If conflicts exist skip down to conflicts section.

   3. Verify no other devices are listed. If other devices are listed skip down to other devices section.

   4. Verify that your "Sound, video and game controllers" category is listed, if not skip down to the missing sound card section.

   5. If no conflicts or other devices are listed and your sound card is listed with no conflicts, skip to the next section.

 

Conflicts section

If conflicts exists with your sound card and/or other devices installed in your computer it is likely that either the drivers are not properly installed for that device and/or the sound card and/or other devices are conflicting. If you open the properties of the device that is conflicting and view the properties, additional details about the conflict can be found. Additional information about error codes as well as help with Device Manager can be found on our Device Manager section.

If you are unable to locate additional information about your issue or are unable to resolve the issue, follow the below steps.

   1. Under Sound, Video and game controllers highlight each device and press the delete key to remove the device.

   2. Reboot the computer.

   3. As the computer is booting the system will detect the sound card and any of it’s devices and re-install those devices. If prompted for a location of drivers, try pointing it to your sound card CD and/or your Windows CD. If this does not work or is unable to locate the proper files, you will need to get the latest sound drivers from your sound card manufacturer.

 

Other devices section

If other devices are listed, it is possible that these other devices could be the sound card or other devices conflicting with the sound card. If any other devices are listed it is recommended you remove those devices, reboot the computer and let Windows redetect the devices.

If this does not work, attempt to determine which device is not being detected and resolve that issue first.

 

Missing sound card section.

If you are missing the "Sound, video and game controllers" category in Device Manager, it is likely that the sound card drivers are not installed properly, sound card has been disabled, sound card is bad, or no sound card is available in the computer. First, verify no conflicts or other devices are present in the Device Manager; if these are present it is likely they are the sound card and/or devices causing the sound card not to be detected. Second, verify that the computer has a sound card and/or that the sound card is enabled on the computer.

If this is an on-board sound card you can verify that it is enabled in BIOS setup.

If you have no adapters and/or cannot click the down arrow to select the correct adapter, close out of this Window. In Control Panel double-click the System icon / click the Device Manager tab within Device Manager and ensure there are no yellow ! or red X.

If you have either of these on any of your sound devices, attempt to remove everything under Sound Video game controllers and reboot the computer. If after rebooting the computer you still have the same conflicts, double-click on the conflicting device and refer to our Device Manager error code section giving you additional information on the error code you are experiencing.

Verify speaker connections

Verify the speakers settings and speakers are not at fault by running through speaker troubleshooting steps.

Sound card drivers

If you have followed the above recommendations and you are still unable to get the sound card to work, download and install the latest sound card drivers from the computer or sound card manufacturer. A listing of sound card drivers can be found on our sound card driver page.

Defective hardware

Finally, if all of the above recommendations do not resolve your issue it is likely that either the sound card is physically bad or that the operating system is severely corrupt. We recommend you contact the Windows Operating System Support.

Vista is an ideal gamer and machine combination, unfortunately Vista takes too many resources and leave so little room for older, less memory computers to execute resources intensive 3D games. Vista is advanced and able to deliver a better gaming experience, especially after Service Pack 1.

Tip #1 - Add or free more memory
You must be laughing by now, and yes this is the best way to accelerate games. If your budget is so tight, then you must disable most background services and startup software. Use " msconfig" in your command prompt to activate the system configuration tool, you can disable services from here, go to do some research before you even try to disable the services.

Tip #2 - Downgrade DirectX
You probably are using the newest DirectX now, if you are facing some incompatible problems, try to downgrade 1 version, you might get things back on track. Some games allow you to specify DirectX version, you can keep both New and older version DirectX on the same machine.

Tip #3 - Use 4 GB or more fast access memory stick
Use a large and fast USB memory stick to create ReadyBoost and accelerate your games. 4 GB RAM might not enough for x86 Vista, with upper limit of 3.2 GB to 3.6 GB supported, if you have a 4 GB to 8 GB fast access memory stick, just disable the page file and your game should run faster! You should format your memory stick with the largest allocation unit, enable background cache to accelerate the write operation.

Tip #4 - Get the latest firmware and driver
Latest firmware will increase your hardware compatibility level, while latest driver will increase your games’ stability. Visit your vendor website for latest firmware and driver for vista support, update your Vista frequently if your Vista’s Windows updates is done manually.

Tip #5 - Use compatibility mode
Run your games under the Vista compatibility mode, you might need to try different combination before getting the right settings. If this does not help, I am afraid your need an update from your game vendor. Try to visit their website and contact them for the latest patch.

Tip #6 - Join gamer forum
Join their forum for tips and tricks, most of the technical settings will be shared across different forums, visit them and participate to share and get tips for setting up your Vista for the particular game.

The best way to optimize your Vista for gaming is to learn the correct way to minimize and redistribute resources in Vista.

By default, Windows XP and Internet Explorer 6 will examine what you are typing in the address bar and pop up a list of similar entries you entered recently. It also stores entries you have made on web documents and forms, including usernames and passwords. While this can help speed up your web surfing experience, it can also potentially compromise your privacy if multiple people are using the same user account on your system. Fortunately, autocomplete can be easily disabled through the IE options menu.

To do this: From Internet Explorer, go to the Tools menu, then select ‘options.’ Choose the ‘content’ tab, then click the ‘autocomplete’ button.

Disable the various options as you see fit. You can also clear autocomplete’s memory cache for web forms and passwords from this window.

Windows Vista has an incredible amount of features and tools, many of which are almost totally undocumented and buried in the system somewhere. Administrative and troubleshooting tools particularly are now much more powerful and easier to use then ever before.

Here are six little features and applications in Vista which I think are quite useful.

Snipping Tool

The Snipping Tool was an application I didn’t even know existed till yesterday. This tool was introduced with Windows Vista (although it is not present in Vista Basic) but I just hadn’t come across it yet.

I’m so used to replacing any Windows applications with better freeware alternatives that it didn’t occur to me a Windows tool could do the job adequately. Sure, Snipping Tool isn’t the best screenshot application but it does all the basics, and even has a few extra features such as the ability to directly email a screenshot, or highlight something quickly. All it needs is a setting that enables it to be launched from the printscreen key.

Quick Launch ToolBar

If you initially tried to drag the Quick Launch toolbar off the Vista task bar, you wouldn’t have had much success. However this feature hasn’t been removed from Vista - its just been made less accessible for some strange reason.

If you want to enable the Quick Launch bar, simply create a new folder on your desktop. Drag this folder to the right edge of your screen and let go. The toolbar should have now have appeared down the side of the screen. By right clicking on the bar and selecting ‘Toolbars > Quick Launch’ you will have enabled the Quick Launch toolbar.

There are a couple of adjustable options such as hiding the title and folder text or making the icons smaller. I like using this as my application launcher as it’s the best launcher you’ll find, and I can live without the visual effects of others .

Photo Slideshows

You’ve probably seen this option amongst the buttons along the explorer bar, but have you actually tried it?

The Slideshow is actually a nice way to view your photographs. You can change the speed and effects of the presentation, and a number of themes are included such as “collage”, “album”, “glass” and more. You can display photographs in Sepia, black and white and normal. It may seem trivial but it can be quite useful when you have relatives around, you can bore them with your latest travel photographs or something.

Windows Media Encoder

Windows Media Encoder was included with Vista but has been available to anyone as a free download for quite some time. Again it may lack some of the power of alternative applications, but I think you’ll find it does a fairly decent job.

You can use Media Encoder to capture audio or video, convert files, screen capture and more. The capture is particularly useful if you want to create a video of a program demonstration, etc.

Resizing Icons

Icons can be resized anywhere in Vista by simply holding down the control key and scrolling your mouse. Even though the ‘view’ options only list seven icon display sizes, there are actually nearly forty which you can scroll through via this method. It also works on your desktop icons.

Show Windows Side by Side

Hold down the control key and select two windows on the task bar. Right click and select “Show Windows Side by Side”. You’ll now have the two windows aligned next to each other. This isn’t just for Explorer windows of course, it’ll work on any application. Especially useful for comparing documents.

What are your favourite tools in Vista?

 

Windows 7 is the successor of Windows Vista. Windows 7 is expected to be released sometime in 2010

Microsoft’s Windows Vista is the latest operating system in over five years after Windows XP. And according to some experts this new OS is not really worth making a hue and cry about. No, there is nothing wrong with Vista, nor is there any single compelling feature that can force you to change your current OS for Windows Vista for the regular PC user.

However, Windows Vista Business is the first OS designed by Microsoft, keeping in mind the specific needs of small businesses support. Besides a user-friendly interface, and powerful new safety and security features, the mobile computing enhancements make this OS easy to use allowing them to get more from their computers. Therefore, if you are a small business owner, then Windows Vista for Small Businesses is worth switching over to from your existing windows operating system.

With better built-in support options and more stability leading to fewer crashes, enhanced new security features, mobility functions, and improvements to increase productivity, you can just focus on what really matters to you the most – making your business profitable. Your business data is safe and secure on your Windows Vista for Small Business PC.

Included within the Windows Vista for Small Business edition is:

* Windows Tablet PC

* Windows SideShow for remote gadgets

* Windows Small Business Server

* Group Policy Support

* File Caching (From client side)

* Remote Server Access for better mobility and secure access to confidential data

* Window Fax and Scan

* Windows ShadowCopy for creating file backup

* Easy Retrieval of accidentally deleted files/documents

As Microsoft claims, “Getting it done just got easier with Microsoft Windows Vista Business”.

Users looking to Service Pack 3 for Windows XP, as Service Pack 2’s second coming and the perfect reason to avoid Windows Vista SP1, might need to reconsider their plans. The reason is rather simple, despite the fact that it has spent over two months more time in development compared to Vista SP1, while containing only a minor, standard evolution in comparison to SP2, XP SP3 has come to the table with a flood of issues, a wide variety of them impacting the deployment process. There are no less than nine officially documented scenarios in which end users will find it unable to install Windows XP SP3, and even more error messages associated with the problems.

1. The XP SP3 RTM Infinite Reboot Loop

Jesper Johansson was among the first to signal this problem after installing XP SP3 on an AMD-based computer, an operation which lead to: "incessant reboots. The computer booted, apologized for not being able to boot properly, asked if I wanted to boot into safe mode, defaulted to normal boot, rebooted, and so on and so on. At this point, I want to clarify that the endless rebooting is not at all related to SP3 per se. The problem is that with some configurations, SP3 causes the computer to crash during boot, and Windows XP, by default, is set up to automatically reboot when it crashes."

This is by no means an isolated case. In fact, end users have been crowding to the support forum for Windows XP SP3 signaling the very same problem, as well as variations from this issue. Essentially users are presented by a "Stop 0x0000007E" error message, having performed and upgrade to XP SP3 from SP2 on what Microsoft referred to as a non-Intel-processor-based computer.

"After you upgrade a computer that uses a processor other than an Intel processor to Microsoft Windows XP Service Pack 2 (SP2) or Windows XP Service Pack 3 (SP3), you may receive the following error message after you restart the computer: ‘A problem has been detected and Windows has been shut down to prevent damage to your computer…Technical information: *** STOP: 0x0000007E (0xC0000005, 0xFC5CCAF3, 0xFC90F8C0, 0xFC90F5C0) SYSTEM_THREAD_EXCEPTION_NOT_HANDLED’," reads Microsoft’s description of the problem.

According to the Redmond company, not all systems affected by the "Stop 0x0000007E" error message behave the same, or from identical causes. Microsoft already has resources in place designed to help end users troubleshoot a Stop 0x0000007E error in Windows XP, and there are additional causes to implementing Service Pack 3 that may conduct to this scenario. Still, this does not mean that XP SP3 is off the hook.

"Most computers include an image that the manufacturer created by using the System Preparation (Sysprep) tool. Sysprep lets the computer manufacturer generate an image that can be used on different computers. The problem Windows XP Service Pack 1 (SP1) Sysprep image is created on an Intel-processor-based computer and if the Sysprep image is then deployed on a non-Intel-processor-based computer. Under this configuration, after the computer is upgraded to Windows XP SP2 or SP3, the Intel processor driver (Intelppm.sys) may try to load because an orphaned registry key remains from the original Sysprep image," Microsoft said.

But at the same time this is also valid for original XP SP2 and XP SP3 Sysprep images that have been built on an Intel-processor-based machine, only to be subsequently deployed onto computer powered by a processor which is not from Intel. At fault is the same Intelppm.sys driver. Apparently all it takes is a registry tweak in order to resolve the problem. The end users first have to reboot their machine into Safe Mode and then make their way in the registry to HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE – SYSTEM – ControlSet001 – Services – Intelppm and then modify the Value data by entering 4 in the box. A restart is necessary for the mitigation to come into effect.

2. 8007F0F4 – STATUS_PREREQUISITE_FAILED

There are no less than six errors for failed Windows XP SP3 installations which produce the with the "8007F0F4 – STATUS_PREREQUISITE_FAILED" log. The six errors have just as many causes, starting with the installation process failing to continue on computers running on battery power. In this case, Microsoft explained that in order to prevent and "update failure because of battery power exhaustion during the installation process," it generated the following error: "this Service Pack requires the machine to be on AC Power before setup starts."

"Service Pack 3 Setup has been canceled because Microsoft Shared Computer Toolkit for Windows XP is not compatible with this version of Windows. Before you can continue, you must: 1) Uninstall Microsoft Shared Computer Toolkit 2) (Optional) Install Windows SteadyState, the newer version of Microsoft Shared Computer Toolkit. For more detailed information, go to the Shared Access page on the Microsoft Web site," is the second of the 8007F0F4 – STATUS_PREREQUISITE_FAILED series of errors, and the message is self explanatory.

As it released the gold bits of XP SP3, Microsoft informed of an incompatibility between the MUI pack for XP SP2 and SP3. The issue affects specifically the Multilingual User Interface Pack (MUI) for the Remote Desktop Connection 6.0 (Terminal Services Client 6.0). "Service Pack 3 Setup has been canceled because Windows XP SP3 cannot be installed over RDP 6.0 MUI PACK).

You also have to keep in mind that Service pack 3 is designed to integrate only with the 32-bit editions of Windows XP, and nothing more. Attempting to deploy SP3 on top of Windows Fundamentals for Legacy PCs (WinFLP) will result in the following error message: "Microsoft Windows XP Professional Service Pack 3 cannot be applied to Windows Fundamentals for Legacy PCs (WinFLP). A unique SP3 update package for WinFLP will be made available at [the Download Center]."

The same is valid for the Embedded for Point of Service (WEPOS) operating system, and users will be informed that "Microsoft Windows XP Professional Service Pack 3 cannot be applied to Windows Embedded for Point of Service (WEPOS)."

According to the Redmond company: "setup cannot continue because one or more prerequisites required to install Service Pack 3 failed. For More details check the Log File Drive_Letter:windowssvcpack.log" is an error message produced by the installation of Service Pack 3 on top of Windows XP Media Center Edition or over Windows XP Media Center Edition 2003.

3. XP SP3: "Access is denied" or "Service Pack installation did not complete"

The third and final service pack for Windows XP will also fail to deploy if the installation process comes across registry keys that it cannot modify. In such cases, the error messaged presented to the end user reveal that there has been a Service Pack 3 setup error and that "Access is denied" or that "Service Pack installation did not complete."

"You may receive these error messages if permissions for one or more registry keys are restricted in a way that prevents the update of those registry keys," Microsoft informed. "Some programs change the system access control lists (SACL) in the Registry so that administrator accounts cannot alter them. The service pack installer runs under the user (admin) account and not under the SYSTEM account. Failure to update a registry key causes the Setup program to fail."

4. You do not have enough free disk space on %SystemDrive% to archive the uninstall files

This is without a doubt the most easily solvable problem relates to the installation of XP SP3 RTM. The error message "Service Pack 3 Setup Error - You do not have enough free disk space on %SystemDrive% to archive the uninstall files," is of course related to a scenario where there is insufficient disk space available for the archiving of the uninstall files. XP SP3 will not go ahead with the deployment because without the uninstall files end users will not be able to remove the service pack.

5. "You do not have enough free disk space on %SystemDrive% to install Service Pack 3"

"Service Pack 3 Setup Error - You do not have enough free disk space on %SystemDrive% to install Service Pack 3," is designed to alert the end user that XP will not deploy due to the lack of space on the installation drive.

6. Intel processor-based Apple computers can also run "Out of Disk Space"

it’s not only PCs that are affected by insufficient disk space problems, but also Apple Mac machines. According to Microsoft, Mac Pro, Mac Mini, MacBook, MacBook Air, MacBook Pro and iMac computers with Intel processors running XP SP2 may spit of the "Out of Disk Space" error message when the user will attempt to install Service Pack 3. "This problem occurs because a critical registry key (BootDir) is missing. This registry key is not created when Windows XP SP2 is installed by using Boot Camp on the Apple computers. "Apple has released an update to Boot Camp [version 2.1]. This update addresses issues and improves compatibility with Windows XP and with Windows Vista when these products are running on an Apple computer that uses Boot Camp.

7. Setup has detected that another update is in progress

The "Setup has detected that another update is in progress. Please complete that installation or removal and try again" error message will be generated if Service Pack 3 for XP is installed concomitantly with Automatic Updates running the Update.exe file. "The Update.exe file runs the Windows XP SP3 installation. The Update.exe file does not let multiple instances of itself to run at the same time on the same computer. Most of the security updates and service packs that are released by Microsoft run the Update.exe file.

8. "Service Pack 3 installation did not complete" and "An internal error occurred"

"Service Pack 3 installation did not complete" is just a part of the error message produced by unsuccessful installations of Windows XP. Clicking OK will inform the end user that "an internal error occurred." This issue is also connected with a faulty registry. "The errors can occur because of files that are not trusted or because of corrupted registry keys.

9. Windows Update Failed Installations

Microsoft continuously advices end users to turn to Windows Update as the preferred way to upgrade to Windows XP Service Pack 3. The WU infrastructure is designed to serve specific Windows operating systems with the exact updates tailored to them, rather than with generic downloads. But this is not a guarantee that the introduction of XP SP3 will go smooth always. Case in point: failed installations that generate the following error code in the logs: 0x80246007.

For all the problems mentioned above you can approach here Computer Support for technical troubleshoot  and get along with your SP3 Installation

It is been a while i was trying to post something related to Windows 98 as i always wanted to make the blog complete in itself, covering all the Microsoft OS and provide a microsoft online support, but was not able to explre some thing around Windows 98 as it is being absolute.. but then let’s be a bit formal and have some thing for Windows 98 and it is straight here..

Remove the Speaker Icon from the Tray

 

The speaker icon in the lower-right of your toolbar (Tray), enables you to open the Volume Control by clicking on it. To remove the icon:

1. Right-click the speaker icon and choose Adjust Audio Properties from the menu
2. At the bottom of the Audio Properties window, there’s a check-box Show volume control on the taskbar, removing the check-mark in the box will remove the Icon from the Tray.

Now if you ever want to restore the Speaker icon in your Tray, you have to:

1. Click Start, Select Settings > Control Panel
2. Open Multimedia, and place the check-mark back in the Show volume control on the taskbar box (on the Audio tab)

Change the size of Icons on your Desktop

 

To change the size of the Icons on the Desktop:

1. Right-click on the Desktop
2. Choose Properties from the context menu. On the Appearance tab look in the Item list box. Once you find Icon you can choose the size from the Size box
3. To hit the Apply button, once you are satisfied hit OK

Change Icon spacing on your Desktop

 

To Change the Icon spacing on your Desktop:

1. Right-click on the desktop
2. Choose Properties from the popup menu. On the Appearance tab look in the Item list box. Once you find Icon Spacing (Horizontal) and Icon Spacing (Vertical) you can choose different values
3. Once you are satisfied hit OK
4. Press F5 to Refresh the Desktop

Change the color of your Title Bar

To change the color of your Title Bar:

1. Right-click on the Desktop
2. Choose Properties from the context menu. On the Appearance tab look in the Item list box. Once you find Active Title Bar and Inactive Title Bar you can change the color from the Color and Color2 boxes

Select your Monitor

Windows 98 will not always detect your Monitor. This is done by design. Many monitors don’t like to be "poked". To select your monitor:

1. Right-click on the Desktop
2. Choose Properties from the context menu. On the Settings tab press the Advanced button. Select the Monitor tab. If your monitor is not listed (correctly) here, press Change
3. Select your Monitor from the list, or if you have a driver disk for your monitor, select have Disk
4. Click Apply, and follow any other instructions on screen

myLot User Profile

Hi Friends.. After seeing your warm response for the blog and for the particular section of windows xp tips and tweaks which generated the most traffic for the blog as made a concern for me that i should come with some thing additional on that part…

So, here it is you might have  come through some of them and some may be a new island to explore around So enjoy and have happy computing..

 

Windows command prompt

The Microsoft Windows command prompt is an invaluable tool that can be used in conjunction with Windows. Below are some helpful shortcuts and tips that can be used to improve your abilities while in the command prompt.

 

   1. Press the up arrow key to scroll through all previously typed commands at the prompt. This is helpful when you need to type long commands in more than once.

   2. Pres the tab key to auto-complete the names of directories or files. For example, at C:\ type: "cd wi", press tab and the command prompt should complete WINDOWS as the name of the directory.

   3. Familiarize yourself with the top MS-DOS commands and each of their available switches.

 

Windows Selective Startup

Improve overall system performance and boot time and get rid of programs you don’t want running in the background by choosing to do a Selective Startup in msconfig.

 

   1. Click Start, Run and type: msconfig and press enter.

   2. In the System Configuration Utility click the Startup tab.

   3. Uncheck programs you do not wish to load each time your computer starts. Once done click ok and restart the computer. After the computer boots back into Windows you will receive a prompt about Windows being in a selective startup. Check the box to not receive the prompt and click ok.

 

Saving Windows XP and later searches

Save your frequent Windows XP and later version searches for future use by following the below steps.

   1. Open the search and enter the search queries you wish to save. For example, you could save a search to find any remix mp3 files by entering: *remix*.mp3 in the all or part of name box.

   2. Once the values have been entered test the search and allow you to save the search.

   3. In the Search Results window click File and then Save Search.

   4. Finally, browse to the location you wish for this file to be saved and name the file with a .fnd extension.

 

After completing these steps you’ll be able to quickly perform a search by simply double-clicking the file.

 

Display hibernate option in XPs

When shutting down or turning off the computer you’ll get three options:

Standby, Turn Off, and Restart.

 
For users who wish to hibernate their computer you can easily display this option by holding down the Shift key on the keyboard.

 

Quickly move files or other objects to the Desktop

Quickly drag one or more files to the Windows Desktop with other open windows by dragging and holding the files over an empty portion of the Windows Taskbar. If done properly all open windows should minimize and allow you to place the files or other objects on the Desktop.

 

Quickly get to the Windows Desktop

Quickly get to the Microsoft Windows Desktop by pressing the Windows key and D at the same time on the keyboard.

 

Run a web page

Get to a web page quickly in Windows when no browser window is open by typing the web address in the run line. For example, click Start, Run and in the Run Open box type: http://www.iyogi.net and press enter to quickly get to the Computer Support page of iYogi.

Windows XP is a Microsoft designed operating system for use on computers, including media centers, home and business desktops. The letters ‘XP’ in the acronym stand for ‘experience’. Windows XP has predecessors like Windows 2000 Professional and Windows Me. Windows XP enjoys greater efficiency and permanence over the Windows in the 9x series. As a Microsoft operating system, Windows XP has presented itself as a robust file system and shown improved performance (provided the user has enough RAM), thereby standing for a worthwhile upgrade from the 9x series. Outlined below is the match up between Windows XP and 9x Series in the following areas:

Security Features: The advanced security features in Windows XP provide excellent protection for most sensitive files from virus attacks, Internet hackers, unauthorized use, and data loss. Such exclusive features are not present in any of Windows 9x versions.

Stability: A task based design of Windows XP helps in an effective management of files, folders, and other applications. On the other hand, 9x series do not offer ease-of-use features. Windows XP is based on the industrial-strength NT operating system, which became Windows 2000. It has ‘Remote Assistance’ which allows another user to log into computer and take its control to resolve problems.

Other Exclusive Features: Windows XP is an improvised version which has extensive multimedia support that allows viewing images as thumbnails from the Internet Explorer. The user can load images directly from a digital camera without using any software. Most tech savvys nowadays are narrowing down for Windows Support available online to make their Windows XP run faster.

• Time to Time Virus and Malware Cleaning: Virus can badly affect the way your computer functions. This makes it important to scan the system for spyware, adware, and other unwanted malware. Regular scanning helps the Windows operating system run faster.

• Removing Unnecessary Software: Storing a bunch of software packages on hard drive can bog down your operating system. Some of them are self-installed at the time of downloading. The general examples are toolbars, file sharing programs, free email enhancers, and online shopping. They can affect start-up time of Windows. Get the things back in shape by removing the software that you don’t need.

• Applying Window Updates: Running Windows Update helps Windows operating system to be free of any defects that circumvent the security of the computer. Always stay up-to-date with the system patches in response to the privacy and security exploits.

Q: What is Service Pack 3?

A: Windows XP Service Pack 3 (SP3) is the final Windows XP service pack, a collection of previously-released fixes and product enhancements, as well as a few new features that are unique to this release.

Q: Does SP3 include everything from SP1 and SP2 or do I need to install those first?

A: Though XP SP3 aggregates all of the previously-released XP fixes, Microsoft now says that you will need to install at least SP1 on XP before installing SP3. The company recommends installing SP2 first as well, though that is not required.

Q: What versions of Windows XP will work with SP3?

A: You can apply Service Pack 3 to Windows XP Home Edition, Professional Edition, Tablet PC Edition (any version), or Media Center Edition (any version).

Q: What about Windows XP Professional x64 Edition?

A: SP3 does not apply to the x64 version of Windows XP. Instead, that operating system is updated via service packs aimed at Windows Server 2003. The latest Windows 2003 service pack is SP2.

Q: Windows XP SP2 was released over three years ago. Why the delay on SP3?

A: While Microsoft is an enormous company with over 77,000 employees worldwide and over $50 billion in annual revenues, its organizational structure actually constrains which products are actively developed in some cases. For example, while a large team of developers, product managers, and program managers are involved during the ramp-up to any major OS release, Microsoft then pushes the product into its support organization for follow-up development in the form of hot-fixes, service packs, and so on. Other teams work on out-of-band updates that are typically shipped via the Web and, eventually, a new or existing team is constituted to work on the next major release and the entire process begins anew.

With Windows XP, however, Microsoft was forced to temporarily halt development on XP’s successor, Windows Vista, in order to complete XP SP2. That’s because this release, though provided to customers for free as a typical service pack, was in fact a major OS upgrade and was developed outside of the company’s support structure, a first for any service pack release. After XP SP2 was completed, the people involved with that project moved onto other things, typically Vista or Windows Server 2008.

In the case of Windows XP SP3, Microsoft simply dedicated every available employee it could to completing Windows Vista, which by that time was years behind schedule. So it’s only been since the beginning of this year that anyone turned their attention back to XP’s next and neglected service pack.

Q: What are these new features I keep hearing about?

A: Windows XP Service Pack 3 will not include any major new features, but it will include four minor new features that improve the system’s reliability and security. Contrary to reports, Microsoft has been very up-front about these functional additions for quite some time now.

These new features include:

Network Access Protection compatibility. Announced years ago, this feature allows Windows XP machines to interact with the NAP feature in Windows Server 2008. This functionality is built into the RTM version of Windows Vista as well.

Product Key-less install option. As with Windows Vista, new XP with SP3 installs can proceed without entering a product key during Setup.

Kernel Mode Cryptographics Module. A new kernel module that "encapsulates several different cryptographic algorithms," according to Microsoft.

"Black hole" router detection algorithm. XP gains the ability to ignore network routers that incorrectly drop certain kinds of network packets. This, too, is a feature of Windows Vista.

And that’s about it. Nothing dramatic, as promised.

Q: That’s it? Is there anything else?

Nothing major. Some features have actually been removed, like the taskbar-based Address Bar option.

Q: Why is Microsoft even bothering to release this update? Isn’t everyone moving to Microsoft Windows Vista?

A: Given the relative security, stability, and reliability of XP with SP2, and the subsequent release of Vista, XP SP3 may seem like a pointless update, but nothing could be further from the truth. Many businesses will roll out new XP-based PCs in the coming years, and as anyone who’s had to update an XP SP2 system can tell you, the 100+ updates that Microsoft has shipped since SP2 can be a nightmare to deploy. If you’re already running XP and have been regularly updating your systems all along, the release of XP SP3 will be a minor event. But if you have planned XP deployments in the future, look very carefully at this release and consider it the baseline for your next generation of PCs. Or, you could always consider Vista, which will of course be updated with genuine new features far longer than will XP.

Q: When will Microsoft ship XP SP3?

A: Microsoft finalized Windows XP Service Pack 3 on April 21, 2008 and will release it publicly to the Web on April 29, 2008.

Here’s the complete Windows XP SP3 release schedule:

RTM (release to manufacturing): April 21
Windows Update (optional update): April 29
Microsoft Download Center: April 29
MSDN/TechNet download: May 2
Windows XP SP3 fulfillment media (CD-based): May 19
Volume license customers download: June 1
Windows Update/Automatic Updates: June 10

source @ http://www.cubed3.com/topic/30935

For Windows loyalists, there’s no doubt that the future is bright (optimistically speaking) and the future is Vista. However, for people who cannot let go of the ageing XP, they can expect support if they invest in an emerging, new class of mobile personal computers commonly known as ULCPC (Ultra Low-cost Personal Computers).

Microsoft announced the worldwide extension of the availability of Windows XP Home operating system support for ULCPCs. Windows XP Home for ULCPCs will be available until June 30, 2010, or for one year after general availability of the next version of Windows.

Microsoft had earlier announced that it would stop selling Windows XP completely by January 2009 (albeit postponing the stoppage by a year), and that sellers would stop bundling the old operating system with machines June onwards.

Conversely, it seems that Microsoft has realized the potential of the up-and-coming breed of ULCPCs, like the Eee PC, and has therefore decided to not withdraw the much-loved-by-some OS completely from the market. After all, it cannot allow people to have only the option of Linux on such PCs; customers loyal to the Windows brand are sure to follow.

And Microsoft cannot offer its high-configuration-hogging Vista OS for this segment because of obvious reasons, hence it has decided to stay and battle it out with Linux, which has been gaining a steady grip over the OS (Operating System) market slowly and steadily.

On the other hand, the OS business in emerging markets has been tricky for Microsoft. India being one of the top countries in such markets that has a majority of people who cannot yet seem to embrace the legality issues that encircle a pirated copy of an OS. For markets like ours, Microsoft has announced that computer makers could sell Windows XP Starter edition until June 2010.

Here’s hoping that there are further reductions in the price of this one, so our countrymen can make a wilful transition to the legal software route.

Here are some of the tips for experiensing a better XP performance through some of the tips to get along with:

Reach Run quickly
Here’s a quicker way to reach the Run dialog box, if you don’t want to go through the Start menu. Just hit the Windows key + R.

Looking for a better screen font display?
Enable ClearType, Microsoft’s trademark font display technology, for a drastic improvement in screen font rendering. Right-click anywhere on your desktop. Now select Properties. Under the Appearance tab, click Effects. Check the box for Use the following method to smooth edges of screen fonts, and in the drop-down menu, select ClearType. Press OK, and apply the change.

Change your mouse pointer scheme
Bored of the same old arrow? To change your mouse pointer scheme, in the Control Panel, select Mouse and go to the Pointers tab. Scroll through the available schemes, pick one that you like and click Apply.

Check that your Windows Firewall Setup is turned on
To make sure your Windows Firewall hasn’t been accidentally disabled, go to your Control Panel and click Windows Firewall. Make sure the radio button for On (recommended) is selected. Add exceptions to your Firewall by going to the Exceptions tab and adding the programs that you think should have access to the Internet to the list of exceptions.

Instantly activate your screensaver
In XP, you can put a short cut of your favourite screensaver on your desktop to instantly start your screen saver. Here’s how. Go to Start on your desktop and click on Search. In the help box, click on All files and folders. and then type in *.scr. Select your screen saver file and right click. Then select Send To, and then Desktop.

Put your Monitor to sleep
Right click on the desktop and click on Properties. In the dialog box that appears, click on the Screen Saver tab. Click on Power and in the dialog box that appears click on the Turn off Monitor list.  Select a time to automatically after which the monitor will be turned off. Click OK twice and you’re set.  
 
Using your Windows Key
Your Windows key can be used to for many short cuts. If you want to open your Windows Explorer quickly just press your Windows key and E. If you want to open the Run dialog box, just press the Windows key and R. If you want to open your search dialog box, press your Windows key and F.

Instantly lock your PC
If you have password protected your Windows, here is a quick way to lock it. Press the Windows key and L together.

Change the look of folder icons
If you don’t like the look of the folder icons on your desktop, you can change them. Right click on the folder, select Properties. Click on the Customize tab, and under the Folder icons area, click on the Change Icons button. Select the icon of your choice and select OK.

Minimize a Window to your taskbar
If you’re tired of using the mouse over and over again to minimize a window, here’s a handy tip. To minimize a window using just the keyboard, press Alt, Spacebar and N together. 

Display album art in your music folder thumbnails
If your music files are in WMA format, XP automatically picks up the album art and displays it, both in the folder thumbnail as well as in the Windows Media Player display. If your files are in MP3 format, you can download the album art from the Internet and then customize each folder to display it. But this takes a lot of time. A faster way around is to save each image as ‘folder.jpg’ and put it in the correct folder. Once you do this, XP will pick up that image and use it as the thumbnail for the folder, and also use the image to display in Windows Media Player while playing songs from the album.

How to stop Windows Media Player from accessing your information
You may be uncomfortable with the idea of Windows Media Player collecting your information and sending it to various websites. You can stop this. Go to the Tools menu of Windows Media Player. Select Options and then go to the Player tab. Look for the check box that says "Allow Internet sites to uniquely identify your player?" and make sure it is not selected.

Opening folders with a single click
If you’d rather not have to double-click everything to open it, here’s the way out. Go to My Computer, and select Options in the Tools menu. Choose Folder options. In the dialog box that opens, select the check box that says ‘Single-click to open an item (point to select)’, and click OK.

Making web pages available offline
You may occasionally need to refer to a website, and you may not be able to connect to the Internet at the time. An easy way out of the situation is to go to the Favourites tab in Internet Explorer, and click Add to Favourites. In the dialog box that is displayed, select the Make available offline check box, and press OK.

There are still consistent signs of life on the Windows XP front. The Redmond company has decided to extend the availability of Windows XP for ultra-low-cost PCs for over two more years. Until the later of June 30, 2010 or one year after the availability of Windows 7, the next iteration of the Windows operating system. The availability extension applies only to the Windows XP Home Edition.

"Customers and partners have made it clear to us that Windows is the preferred operating system for ULCPC buyers, just as it is for mainstream PC users. That’s why we are extending direct OEM sales of Windows XP Home for ULCPCs so that they can preinstall Windows on these devices through the later of June 30, 2010 or one year after the general availability of the next version of the Windows operating system. While Windows Vista provides many benefits, including an easier and more secure user experience, Windows XP Home provides an effective solution on these devices from a performance and cost perspective," stated Michael Dix, General Manager of Windows Client Product Management.

According to Microsoft, well in 2010, Windows XP SP3 will not only still survive, but will also be available alongside Windows Vista and Windows 7. However, the company stresses that the initiative is only aimed at supporting ULCPCs and its OEM partners, which otherwise would have to go with the Linux open source operating system, because Vista is not an option due to the system requirements.

"There is no plan to extend sales of other editions of Windows XP beyond June 30, 2008. We are very proud of the progress that we have made with Windows Vista over the last sixteen months. Since its launch, Windows Vista has become the fastest-selling operating system in Microsoft history, and more than 100 million Windows Vista licenses have been sold worldwide," Dix added. "Given this landscape and after consulting with our partners, apart from today’s announced extension of Windows XP Home for ULCPCs, we are maintaining the timelines we announced in September."

According to IT Pro Microsoft has done a u-turn when it comes to charging users for Vista Installation or compatibility support with regard to Vista SP1. It says that Microsoft is now "offering free support to any Windows Vista SP1 user experiencing problems."

Quoting Microsoft MVP Brandon LeBlanc, it reports "you have a variety of options you can choose for support, all of which will not cost you any support fee."

Indeed, it would appear that the Microsoft Vista support site is now offering totally free support for SP1 installation and compatibility issues be it via email, IM or telephone to anyone enquiring during US Pacific time business hours, and the offer will run for a full twelve months.

If you have a machine with Vista pre-installed, then you no longer have to go via OEM support or pay Microsoft $59 for every support request, which has to be good news all round

 

Microsoft has a Knowledge Base article that goes into the issue. Here are the potential reasons :

• You are already running Vista SP1.
• Vista SP1 is not yet available for the language pack for your version of Windows.
• The Windows Service Pack Blocker tool is running.
• "You tried to install Windows Vista SP1, and the installation failed with a known inconsistency in the file or registry structure." Oops, this one sounds like you have a problem.
• A problematic device driver was installed on the system when you tried to update to Vista SP1. Windows Update can detect some of these and block SP1.
• You are running a pre-release of SP1. You must uninstall it first.
• You used vLite to configure your system and removed system components required for the installation of SP1.
• You have not yet installed other prerequisite updates before SP1.

You can visit the link for advice and solutions for these problems at microsoft technical support.

Microsoft has announced a new high-end wireless keyboard and mouse set designed to appeal to the executive.

The ultra thin keyboard has what Microsoft calls a ‘Comfort Curve’ design, which thanks to a six degree angle, encourages a more natural hand and wrist position to enhance comfort, the company says.

The keyboard sports a translucent border that Microsoft says is intended to echo the see-through borders around windows in its Microsoft Vista Support.

As well as a Windows Start button, the keyboard also features a button for direct access to Windows Vista sidebar gadgets and a Windows Live Call button to bring up your Windows Live messenger contact list. Also, a hardware zoom button lets you zoom in and out of digital pictures and maps and there’s direct access on both keyboard and mouse to Vista’s ‘Flip 3D’ feature.

The Wireless Laser Mouse 7000 employs a 1,000dpi laser and is powered by a AAA rechargeable battery. According to Microsoft’s figures, those who use rechargeable wireless mice reduce their battery consumption by 80 per cent over three years of use.

"We are thrilled to see the simplicity and beauty of the Windows Vista Aero experience conveyed in the Wireless Laser Desktop 7000," said Jeff Price, Windows Group senior director at Microsoft. "With the smoked translucent border and floating keys, this keyboard is a true extension of the dynamic design for Vista Support."

Recently Microsoft has dropped the price of Vista to encourage end users and businesses to upgrade.

Each Windows Vista edition includes a ‘basic’ restore option. Located in: Start>> Control Panel>> Backup and Restore center. Vista allows users to automate the process quickly and easily. This feature includes such options as, how often you would like your system backed up. What day to run this process and what time of the day. Scheduling couldn’t be easier as the "Simple Backup Wizard" guides you through the scheduling process.

If you are using either Business, Ultimate or Enterprise editions, you have a feature called "Complete PC Backup and Restore" available to you. This is a very comprehensive, image-based backup tool used in the event of:

• System Disaster
• PC Malfunction
• File Loss
• Corruption of Data

The Complete PC Backup and Restore tool is capable of restoring the entire PC environment which includes all Windows and data files, installed programs and individual user settings. You can also take your system back to its original state and even restore the PC environment to a replacement PC if necessary.

If you are not able to boot your computer to the hard drive, you can access ‘Complete PC Backup and Restore’ using your installation CD. or go for the Online Backup support