April 2008 - Posts

Windows XP Service Pack 3 RTM / RTW
29 April 08 06:00 AM

Last week, we announced the release of Windows XP Service Pack 3 (SP3) to manufacturing (RTM). Windows XP SP3 includes previously released updates for the OS and also a small number of new updates. The current timeline for XP SP3 availability is as follows: Read More...

Postedby CC Hameed | 4 Comments    

Filed under: general, windows xp

Controlling your MMC Snap-ins on 64-bit Operating Systems
25 April 08 06:00 AM

Over the last couple of weeks, we have worked with a few customers on some MMC issues that they have been experiencing when launching MMC Snap-ins on 64-bit Windows systems.  Most customers have reported that the issue normally surfaces after installing Read More...

Postedby CC Hameed | 1 Comments    

Filed under: troubleshooting

Understanding Component-Based Servicing
23 April 08 07:30 AM

Prior to Windows Vista, if you wanted to install optional components, Windows Updates or driver files on your system, the process was fairly simple. In Windows Vista, the new componentization architecture, known as Component-Based Servicing (CBS) changes Read More...

Postedby CC Hameed | 0 Comments    

Filed under: architecture, vista, windows server 2008, troubleshooting

WMIC: Leveraging the power of WMI
18 April 08 06:00 AM

We’ve covered different pieces of WMI in previous posts, but we have yet to discuss the Windows Management Instrumentation Command-Line (WMIC) in detail.  The WMIC provides administrators easy access to the WMI infrastructure.  Prior to Read More...

Postedby CC Hameed | 2 Comments    

Filed under: two minute drill, WMI

Using Special Pool to find out who is allocating a Pool Tag
15 April 08 06:00 AM

OK, a quick disclaimer right at the start.  The steps we discuss in this post assume that you are very comfortable with kernel debugging, and in particular live debugging.  This is a bit of a niche post, but it is a question that we get every Read More...

Postedby CC Hameed | 1 Comments    

Filed under: architecture, memory management, performance, debugging, troubleshooting

An Introduction to Pool Tags
11 April 08 06:00 AM

We’ve discussed several areas of Memory Management in our blog since we started. Today, we’re going to take a look at Pool Tags and how they can be used to identify the source of Pool Memory leaks. A pool tag is a four-byte character that is associated Read More...

Postedby CC Hameed | 0 Comments    

Filed under: architecture, memory management, performance, troubleshooting

Using Process Explorer without an Internet Connection
08 April 08 06:00 AM

Last year when we wrote our post on Memory Management – Understanding Pool Resources we mentioned that it was possible to use Process Explorer to view the limit for both Paged and NonPaged Pool.  In that post  we mentioned that you would Read More...

Postedby CC Hameed | 1 Comments    

Filed under: debugging, troubleshooting

MSIT, Terminal Services, Network Adapter Performance and Hyper-V
04 April 08 06:00 AM

Looking at the title, I know you’re thinking, “what do these four things have to do with one another?” The answer: not a great deal in fact. However, there are some very interesting posts and articles on these subjects that have been published recently Read More...

Postedby CC Hameed | 0 Comments    

Filed under: architecture, performance, terminal server, windows server 2008

Using Reliability Monitor for Troubleshooting
01 April 08 06:00 AM

Today we are going to talk about the new Reliability Monitor feature in Windows Vista and Windows Server 2008.  In a nutshell, the Reliability Monitor shows you your system stability history at a glance and lets you see details on a day-by-day basis Read More...

Postedby CC Hameed | 1 Comments    

Filed under: vista, windows server 2008, troubleshooting