16 Mei, 2008

Troubleshoot Failed Installations of XP SP3 RTM Build 5512

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Although Microsoft has hammered away at Windows XP SP3 in order to provide an experience as seamless as possible for end users when deploying the service pack, failed installation scenarios are still a valid possibility. In the eventuality of a failed installation of XP SP3 RTM, there are some troubleshooting steps end users can take before running to Microsoft Support for help. The troubleshooting methods involve nothing more than basic actions on the part of the end user and are designed to resolve an unsuccessful installation process while, at the same, time ignoring the error message.

First of all, Microsoft advises all end users to turn to Windows Update for the primary source of the gold bits of XP SP3. “Sometimes an installation is unsuccessful because a previous operation was not completed. By restarting the computer, you close any pending computer functions and restart the process. Wait until the computer finishes the restart process, and then log on to your account. Visit Windows Update to reselect and install Windows XP SP3. Click Express Install (Recommended),” Microsoft stated.

If the Windows XP machine that the end user is trying to update meets all the requirements for XP SP3 RTM, the service pack will be automatically installed. At the same time, if the WU package fails to install, users also have the possibility of manually accessing the bits for XP SP3 and then to attempt to integrate the service pack in their operating system.

There is a variety of applications that can interfere with the installation of the service pack, especially security products. “Installation failure may occur when a third-party program holds a file open or when it locks a file that the Windows XP SP3 installation program needs. To minimize this possibility, follow these steps before you install Windows XP SP3: exit any open programs, and then restart the computer. After the computer has restarted, disable any antivirus, antispyware, and third-party firewall programs that may start during the startup process,” Microsoft said.

Users will need to try to install XP SP3 again either via the standalone packages or through WU, and then turn back on all their security software. If the installation still fails, the status of the Background Intelligent Transfer Service needs to be checked, and BITS has to be turned on.

“Click Start, click Run, type services.msc in the Open box, and then click OK. Right-click Background Intelligent Transfer Service, and then click Properties. On the General tab, click Automatic in the Startup type box, and then click Apply. In the “Service status” section of the properties dialog box, verify that the BITS service is started. If it is not started, click Start. Click Apply, and then click OK,” Microsoft added.

Retrying the installation process at this point should end up in a successful deployment. In the case that XP SP3 is still not integrated, there remains only the option of clearing the Software Distribution folder and trying one last time. But if the result is the same, the end users are advised to contact Microsoft Support.

“Click Start, click Run, type services.msc in the Open box, and then click OK. Right-click Automatic Update, and then click Stop. Click Start, click Run, and then type the following in the Open box: ‘%windir%SoftwareDistribution’. Right-click the Download folder, and then click Rename. Type Download.old, and then press ENTER. Exit Windows Explorer. In the Services console, right-click the Automatic Update service, and then click Start,” Microsoft explained.

How to block unwanted sites on your PC?

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There are hundreds if not thousands of software programs that are available to block unwanted sites on your PC. some straightforward commands and a text editing program like notepad ( on every windows PC since windows3.1) and you not simply stop someone one(kids, husbands, brother in-laws) from visiting sites that might put computer at risk, or expose them to thing you don’t want them to know about.

1. Know the list of sites you want to block make sure your computer has an internet connection.

2. Standard look of DOS Window Open a command window (DOS), and type in nslookup

3. Jot down this IP address for future reference type in the name of the site you want to send them to when they visit one of the sites you don’t want them to go to. Ie. www.google.com etc…

4. Found on XP Find the “HOSTS” file on your PC. HINT: on Windows(Pre XP ) it will be located under C:\WINNT\System32\Drivers\etc On WindowXP machines it will be located under C:\WINDOWS\System32\Drivers\etc

5. Double Click on the file named “HOSTS”, there is no extension for this file.

6. Select NOTEPAD to open and edit this file with Your PC should ask what program you want to open this file with. Select “Browse” and the select Notepad as the program you want to use.

7. Basic HOST file setup there is some basic instructions on how to enter things in here. 127.0.0.1 is the universal IP address for the “loop back address” on every windows PC in the world. By using this entry, any request to a certain address will send the request back to your PC.

8. Don’t just block them, send them somewhere useful Start by entering the IP address you jotted down earlier. Followed by the name of the site you want to block

9. One drawback to this is that you will need to enter the domain name twice Once as the domain name, and once with WWW in it.

10. Save the file.

11. Open browser and try to visit the site, you should be redirected back to where you wanted them to go. if you use 127.0.0.1 and are not running a web server on your computer then your browser should return the standard ( 404 page not found error )

Create A Batch File To Open Multiple Programs At Once

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Ever have the need to open more than one program or application at the same time?

Say it’s the beginning of the month and time to pay those dreaded bills. You know you need Excel, Windows calculator and Firefox or Internet Explorer open. Instead of opening them up one by one, you can easily create a batch file that will open all three programs at once.

And while your at it, why not have Excel open the spreadsheet file you use for tracking your budget and the browser open to your Bank’s home page. Here’s how to do it…

First let’s take a look at a batch file I created that will just open Excel, Calculator and Firefox:

NOTE: Examples and file paths are from Windows Vista. XP paths will probably be different for some programs as well as for MS Office (Office 2007 is used in the example).

start /d C:\Windows\System32\calc.exe
start /d “C:\Program Files\Mozilla Firefox” firefox.exe
start /d “C:\Program Files\Microsoft Office\Office12″ EXCEL.EXE

Pretty simple.

The above command, start tells Windows to open a separate window to run the specified program.

The /d switch tells start command the path of the program. For starting Excel and Firefox, notice that the paths are in quotes, which is needed when there is a space in the file path.

Now it’s great that all three programs open, but since it’s time to pay your bills, you need to have Excel open that budget spreadsheet and Firefox open to your Bank home page so you can log on and access you checking account.

Here’s how the commands look in the batch file to do this:

start /d C:\Windows\System32\ calc.exe
start /d “C:\Program Files\Mozilla Firefox” firefox.exe
https://www.bankofamerica.com
start /d C:\finance\spreadsheets budget.xls

To open Bank Of America home page with Firefox, just add the URL to end of the command as shown above using https://www.bankofamerica.com.

To open the Excel spreadsheet, budget.xls you don’t need to first open Excel. budget.xls can be opened directly using the start command, as long as the extension or file type is associated to the program.

If you need Firefox to open more than one URL, say to Google, just add the URL like this (make sure you use a space in between URL’s):

start /d “C:\Program Files\Mozilla Firefox” firefox.exe https://www.bankofamerica.com www.google.com

Now you’re probably saying “that’s great, but how do I create a batch file?”.

That’s the easy part.

* Just open up Notepad or your favorite text editor.
* Copy the commands from above and modify them to use which ever program or Office files you want open. Make sure when you copy file and folder paths that have spaces, to use quotes.
* Then save the file with any name and a .bat extension (make sure it’s not saved using .txt as the file type extension)

Maxthon 2.1.0.2082

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Maxthon Internet Browser software is a powerful tabbed browser with a highly customizable interface. It is based on the Internet Explorer browser engine (your most likely current web browser) which means that what works in the IE browser will work the same in Maxthon tabbed browser but with many additional efficient features like: Tabbed Browsing Interface; Mouse Gestures; Super Drag&Drop; Privacy Protection; AD Hunter; RSS Reader; IE Extensions Support; External Utility Bar; Skinning And Much More to Explore...

Download : Maxthon 2.1.0.2082

Microsoft Security Releases ISO Image May 2008

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This DVD5 ISO image file contains the security updates for Windows released on Windows Update on May 13th, 2008. The image does not contain security updates for other Microsoft products. This DVD5 ISO image is intended for administrators that need to download multiple individual language versions of each security update and that do not use an automated solution such as Windows Server Update Services (WSUS). You can use this ISO image to download multiple updates in all languages at the same time.

Important: Be sure to check the individual security bulletins at http://www.microsoft.com/technet/security prior to deployment of these updates to ensure that the files have not been updated at a later date.

This DVD5 image contains the following updates:
KB950749 / (MS08-028)
Windows 2000 - 24 languages
Windows Server 2003 - 18 languages
Windows Server 2003 x64 Edition - 11 languages
Windows Server 2003 for Itanium-based Systems - 4 languages
Windows XP - 24 languages
Windows XP x64 Edition - 2 languages

Download : Security Releases ISO Image May 2008 | Other Languages