XP

A very handy hotfix for those people lucky enough to own an ASUS EEE PC. I will own one eventually, I am sure. Probably when they adopt the newer die-shrunk powersaving Intel chips.

In the meantime, if you have applied KB 923293 and/or KB 934428 (for SDHC support), and still have trouble with your SD cards, give KB 946629 a try. It looks like the files were built on Christmas Eve, 2007.

Based on build numbers, it looks like you can safely use this KB in place of the other two previously released.

As always, please don't e-mail me for the hotfix - use the handy link on the right side of this blog to request the hotfix from Microsoft directly.

Due to the way the packages are handled, and due to their exclusion from Windows XP SP3, it is typically a good idea to install the Universal Audio Architecture (UAA) High Definition Audio class driver version 1.0a hotfix (KB 888111) if you are using a newer HD audio chipset. If you are in a pinch to download this hotfix, you can find it on Lenovo's site here.

If you want to enable LLTD (Link Layer Topology Discovery) responder support, install KB 922120, and then install SP3.

This blog entry is due to me trying to install both of these hotfixes after installing one of the latest XP SP3 builds and discovering that their install routine blocked their installation after I put SP3 on the machine. I simply uninstalled the SP3 build, installed the hotfixes in question, and then reinstalled the new SP3 build. Time consuming, but at least I know it works. I am hoping at some point that Microsoft will release updated versions of these hotfixes that can be applied to SP3.

I am actually a little surprised that they are not included with SP3.

Now we just need more driver writers to adopt 64-bit Windows. Download it from here using a web browser that identifies itself correctly as a 64-bit browser, such as the 64-bit version of Internet Explorer.

If you want to download the 64-bit version directly without relying on the problematic website detection routine, grab the new 64-bit edition directly from here.

Mild rant: I hate websites that to try be clever and do not let you manually specify what version of a program you want to download. I know it tends to make it easier for end users but there are many times when I am on a 32-bit OS and need to download a 64-bit program.

Update: A reader named Mark left an excellent link in the comments page of this blog that shows how to install iTunes and iPhone support on Windows XP 64-bit. I really wish Windows XP 64-bit had better support when it was launched because I suspect we'd have more Vista and Windows 2008 64-bit drivers by now.

These commands assume administrative rights on the PC.

To temporarily disable the PC Speaker beep:
net stop beep

To disable the PC Speaker beep for good (until you undo this setting):
sc config beep start= disabled

So, if you are bothered right now by PC Speaker beeps and want them to go away even after a reboot, run net stop beep and then run sc config beep start= disabled.

The space between start= and disabled is required.

This new package creates a mouse scheme called "XsX - Alpha Blended with Shadows" on installation.

This is practically identical to the original package, except that a mouse shadow has been added to the actual cursor files.

Why was this done? The option of Enable pointer shadow does not function for 32-bit RGBA cursors in Windows XP and Vista.

The shadow effect was added by yksyks from the DonationCoder.com forum - read the original forum discussion here.



You can download the brand new package here.

No need to worry about manually installing any .inf files. Just run the program and follow the prompts! I embedded the Vista UAC elevation manifest so that limited rights users under Vista are properly prompted for elevation.

Improvements

1. Improvements to package upgrade when importing upgraded sequences into the SoftGrid Server Management Console Snap-in.
2. Improvements to package downgrade operation.
3. Improvements to non-paged pool usage when sequencing large applications.
4. Improvements to sequencing of applications that use both Microsoft .NET Framework 1.1 and Microsoft .NET Framework 2.0.
5. Improvements to command-line parameter handling of virtualized child processes.

New capabilities

1. Microsoft SoftGrid now provides support for the MSI Utility for Microsoft Application Virtualization.
2. Microsoft SoftGrid now supports SoftGrid Server components running under WOW64 on 64-bit Windows.

Read more about the 4.1 SP1 Hotfix Rollup 1 from here and the 4.2 SP1 Hotfix Rollup 1 from here.