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Free unlimited installation and compatibility support for Windows Vista SP1

Free unlimited installation and compatibility support is available for Windows Vista, but only for Service Pack 1 (SP1). This support for SP1 is valid until March 18, 2009. Chat and e-mail support is available only in the United States and Canada.

Some issues may require more advanced support for which there is a charge.

For all other Windows Vista issues, visit the Help and Support site at http://support.microsoft.com/oas/default.aspx?Gprid=11732, and then choose your product.

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Start Email Support                                                     Start a Chat Session

More info is available @ http://support.microsoft.com/oas/default.aspx?prid=11274&gprid=500921

Posted by bpaul | 0 Comments

Microsoft made Hotfix available online

Do you spend lot of time waiting in the Microsoft Phone Support Queue just to request a Hotfix? Forget those old days...yes now you can view and download the Hotfix package directly from Microsoft website and you need not to call Microsoft Support for these. Lets see how:

1) Go to http://support.microsoft.com/ and search for the KB with appropriate KB number.

2) Look into the top most part of the KB details page:

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3) Click on View and Request hotfix downloads.

4) Approve the Agreement for Microsoft Services

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5) Complete the small web form with appropriate package details, email address and confirmation number.

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That’s it…you should have the hotfix download link in a while in your inbox. Let me know how do you feel about this service.

Posted by bpaul | 0 Comments

Where is Vista SP1 MUI Packs?

Ok…till now I got tons of responses for my previous blog post on Vista RTM MUI. I know everyone is looking for Vista SP1 MUI but where are they? So to address all those asks...here is what we have for you:

1) If you are installing Windows Vista SP1 All Language Pak on a Vista RTM box where there is a MUI pack already installed, you need not to look for SP1 MUI pack as the above patch will upgrade all installed MUI to SP1.

2) If you are planning to buy a Slipstreamed Windows Vista SP1 media, you could ask for a specific language....so once again no need of MUI packs.

But if still you are looking for MUI standalone download links for Vista SP1 language packs...here you go:  

Vista SP1 x64 MUI Language Packs

Vista SP1 x86 MUI Language Packs

Arabic

Arabic

Bulgarian

Bulgarian

Chinese (Simplified)

Chinese  (PRC)

Chinese (Traditional)

Chinese  (Hong Kong)

Croatian

Croatian

Czech

Czech

Danish

Danish

Ukrainian

Ukrainian

Turkish

Turkish

Thai

Thai

Swedish

Swedish

Spanish

Spanish

Slovenian

Slovenian

Slovak

Slovak

Serbian (Latin)

Serbian (Latin)

German

German

Japanese

Japanese

Russian

Russian

Dutch

Dutch

Latvian

Latvian

Italian

Italian

Hebrew

Hebrew

Finnish

Finnish

Korean

Korean

Polish

Polish

Norwegian

Norwegian

Estonian

Estonian

Greek

Greek

Lithuanian

Lithuanian

Hungarian

Hungarian

Romanian

Romanian

Portuguese (Brazil)

Portuguese (Brazil)

Portuguese (Portugal)

Portuguese (Portugal)

French

French

Posted by bpaul | 0 Comments

BitLocker!!#$?! What all downloads are available...

BitLocker Drive Preparation Tool: Windows BitLocker Drive Encryption is a feature that encrypts one or more volumes (drives) attached to your computer and that can use a Trusted Platform Module (TPM) to verify the integrity of early startup components. Because BitLocker encrypts the entire volume of data, it requires the computer to be configured with an active partition, used for startup, which is separate from the operating system volume. This is called a “split-load configuration.” User data is stored on either the operating system volume or additional data volumes, which can also be encrypted by using BitLocker.

BitLocker Recovery Password Viewer for Active Directory Users and Computers tool: The BitLocker Active Directory Recovery Password Viewer helps to locate BitLocker Drive Encryption recovery passwords for Windows Vista- or Windows Server 2008- based computers in Active Directory Domain Services (AD DS).

BitLocker Repair Tool: This tool helps access data encrypted with BitLocker if the hard disk has been physically damaged. This tool attempts to reconstruct critical data from the drive and salvage any recoverable data. To decrypt the data, a recovery password or recovery key is required. In some cases, a backup of the key package is also required. Use this command-line tool if the following conditions are true:

  • A volume has been encrypted by using BitLocker Drive Encryption.
  • Windows does not start, or you cannot start the BitLocker recovery console.
  • You do not have a copy of the data that is contained on the encrypted volume.

BitLocker Drive Encryption Algorithm: The BitLocker Drive Encryption feature of Windows Vista poses an interesting set of security and performance requirements on the encryption algorithm used for the disk data. We discuss why no existing cipher satisfies the requirements of this application and document our solution which consists of using AES in CBC mode with a dedicated diffuser to improve the security against manipulation attacks.

Windows BitLocker Drive Encryption Design and Deployment Guides: The Windows BitLocker Design and Deployment guides describe the various aspects of planning for deploying Windows BitLocker Drive Encryption for Windows Vista® Enterprise and Windows Vista Ultimate computers in an enterprise environment. The document is organized in two guides, and you should carefully consider each guide before you deploy BitLocker Drive Encryption.
Posted by bpaul | 0 Comments

This is again good to have!! All updates included in Windows Vista SP1

KBArticle Title Issue Type Component Link

843289

Proxy server settings are not set correctly in Internet Explorer after you download a proxy script that uses chunk encoding

Hotfix

Desktop Technologies

http://support.microsoft.com/kb/843289

870853

Office 2003 and 2007 Office documents open read-only in Internet Explorer

Hotfix

Base Technologies

http://support.microsoft.com/kb/870853

884534

FIX: Internet Explorer may stop responding when you set the "display" style for the DIV HTML element to "none"

Hotfix

Desktop Technologies

http://support.microsoft.com/kb/884534

889333

Print queue shows incorrect number of pages when you print a Web page in Internet Explorer 6 or Internet Explorer 7

Hotfix

Desktop Technologies

http://support.microsoft.com/kb/889333

905866

Description of the definition updates for Windows Mail

Hotfix

Desktop Technologies

http://support.microsoft.com/kb/905866

906473

FIX: A new window always opens when you click a link that has a specified target in a WebBrowser control-based application

Hotfix

Desktop Technologies

http://support.microsoft.com/kb/906473

922498

FIX: Error message when you use an IEEE 1394-based scanner on a computer that is running Windows XP 64-bit or Windows Server 2003: 0x0000000A or 0x000000BE

Hotfix

Drivers

http://support.microsoft.com/kb/922498

925255

Power consumption increases when you run a WPF-based program that runs an animation in Windows Vista

Hotfix

Desktop Technologies

http://support.microsoft.com/kb/925255

925271

A Toshiba Tablet PC that is running Windows XP with Service Pack 2 stops responding when you try to run a command

Hotfix

Desktop Technologies

http://support.microsoft.com/kb/925271

925272

FIX: The XML serialization may lose some optional elements in an XSD schema in the .NET Framework 2.0

Hotfix

.NET Framework

http://support.microsoft.com/kb/925272

925369

FIX: A Windows form may not work as expected when you use the Show method in a COM client application to display the form on a computer that is running the .NET Framework 2.0

Hotfix

Base Technologies

http://support.microsoft.com/kb/925369

925492

FIX: Error message when you add a Web reference to a project in Visual Studio 2005: "The custom tool 'MSDiscoCodeGenerator' failed"

Hotfix

Base Technologies

http://support.microsoft.com/kb/925492

925528

Stop errors occur on a Windows-based computer that has 2GB or more of RAM and is using an NVIDIA nForce USB controller

Hotfix

Drivers

http://support.microsoft.com/kb/925528

925832

FIX: Error message when you browse a file that uses a custom MIME type in Internet Explorer 6 and Internet Explorer 7: "The file you are downloading cannot be opened by the default program"

Hotfix

Desktop Technologies

http://support.microsoft.com/kb/925832

925876

Remote Desktop Connection (Terminal Services Client 6.0)

Hotfix

Server Technologies

http://support.microsoft.com/kb/925876

925902

MS07-017: Vulnerability in GDI could allow remote code execution

Security

Desktop Technologies

http://support.microsoft.com/kb/925902

926131

A Web-based software program cannot import an external style sheet after you install security update 916281 on a Windows XP-based computer

Hotfix

Internet Explorer

http://support.microsoft.com/kb/926131

926425

FIX: Error message when you try to query data from a column of the XML data type or from a variable of the XML data type in SQL Server 2005: "An error occurred while executing batch"

Hotfix

Base Technologies

http://support.microsoft.com/kb/926425

927084

Error message when you try to watch live TV in Windows Media Center on a Windows Vista-based computer: "Restricted Content - Display Driver"

Hotfix

Multimedia

http://support.microsoft.com/kb/927084

927341

The Manage Discs feature in Windows Media Center stops responding after you resume a Windows Vista-based computer from sleep or hibernation

Hotfix

Storage

http://support.microsoft.com/kb/927341

927546

You see only four available wireless network connections when you use a USB-based wireless network adapter in Windows XP or in Windows Vista

Hotfix

Networking

http://support.microsoft.com/kb/927546

928089

The computer may respond very slowly as the Phishing Filter evaluates Web page contents in Internet Explorer 7

Hotfix

Desktop Technologies

http://support.microsoft.com/kb/928089

928090

MS07-016: Cumulative security update for Internet Explorer

Security

Internet Explorer

http://support.microsoft.com/kb/928090

928135

A Windows Vista-based computer stops responding when you resume the computer from hibernation

Hotfix

Drivers

http://support.microsoft.com/kb/928135

928188

Ink programs may not work correctly on a digitizer in Windows Vista

Hotfix

Base Technologies

http://support.microsoft.com/kb/928188

928253

SATA optical drives are not available after you start a Windows Vista-based computer

Hotfix

Storage

http://support.microsoft.com/kb/928253

928365

Description of the security update for the .NET Framework 2.0 for Windows Server 2003, Windows XP, and Windows 2000: July 10, 2007

Hotfix

Computer Management

http://support.microsoft.com/kb/928365

928387

Internet Explorer stops responding after you click a link on a Web site

Hotfix

Desktop Technologies

http://support.microsoft.com/kb/928387

928439

Windows PowerShell 1.0 Installation Package for Windows Vista

Hotfix

Desktop Shell

http://support.microsoft.com/kb/928439

928494

InfoPath 2003 crashes when you click inside the Date Picker control on a form and then press the LEFT ARROW key

Hotfix

Desktop Technologies

http://support.microsoft.com/kb/928494

928570

An access violation occurs when you start Windows Vista from a Windows PE 2.0 image by using the flat file boot method

Hotfix

OS Deployment

http://support.microsoft.com/kb/928570

928631

A USB device may no longer work correctly after Windows Vista resumes from sleep or from hibernation

Hotfix

Drivers

http://support.microsoft.com/kb/928631

928870

FIX: An exception is not handled correctly when you use a try-catch block to handle an exception from multi-threads in the .NET Framework 2.0

Hotfix

Base Technologies

http://support.microsoft.com/kb/928870

929011

Windows Media Center does not correctly configure a combo TV tuner that supports both ATSC and NTSC signals on a Windows Vista-based computer

Hotfix

Multimedia

http://support.microsoft.com/kb/929011

929123

MS07-034: Cumulative security update for Outlook Express and for Windows Mail

Security

Desktop Technologies

http://support.microsoft.com/kb/929123

929399

FIX: Subscription services cannot extract metering data when the services try to synchronize metering data on a client computer that is running the Windows Media Format 11 SDK

Hotfix

Multimedia

http://support.microsoft.com/kb/929399

929427

The Windows Vista Application Compatibility Update

Hotfix

Applications

http://support.microsoft.com/kb/929427

929451

A client computer that is running Windows Vista registers an old IP address when the GUID of a network adapter changes

Hotfix

Server Technologies

http://support.microsoft.com/kb/929451

929478

After you use the Safely Remove Hardware option to remove a built-in optical drive from a portable Windows Vista-based computer, you may be unable to reconnect the drive

Hotfix

Drivers

http://support.microsoft.com/kb/929478

929547

Some applications and services appear to stop responding for 15 seconds after you install a Windows Filtering Platform driver on a Windows Vista-based computer

Hotfix

Networking

http://support.microsoft.com/kb/929547

929550

When you connect a PCI ExpressCard device to a portable Windows Vista-based computer, the device may not work correctly

Hotfix

Drivers

http://support.microsoft.com/kb/929550

929577

A Bluetooth device may no longer work correctly when you wake a Windows Vista-based computer from sleep

Hotfix

Drivers

http://support.microsoft.com/kb/929577

929615

You may not receive audio in the desired language when you use Windows Media Center to view television in Windows Vista

Hotfix

Multimedia

http://support.microsoft.com/kb/929615

929637

Error message during Windows Vista startup if the Nero InCD program is installed and if the "Special pool" feature is enabled in the Driver Verifier utility: "Stop 00000050"

Hotfix

Base Technologies

http://support.microsoft.com/kb/929637

929685

A high definition audio device may no longer work after you resume Windows Vista from hibernation or from sleep

Hotfix

Drivers

http://support.microsoft.com/kb/929685

929734

You may experience problems after you resume a Windows Vista-based computer from sleep or from hibernation

Hotfix

Drivers

http://support.microsoft.com/kb/929734

929735

You may not find the file that you want when you use Advanced Search to search by date and you use a non-Gregorian calendar format in Windows Vista

Hotfix

Desktop Shell

http://support.microsoft.com/kb/929735

929761

When you run Wusa.exe together with the /quiet option to try to install certain software packages on a Windows Vista-based computer, the installation fails

Hotfix

OS Deployment

http://support.microsoft.com/kb/929761

929762

You receive a Stop 0x9F error when you wake a Windows Vista-based computer that is connected to an IEEE 1394-based device

Hotfix

Drivers

http://support.microsoft.com/kb/929762

929763

Version 5.00 of the Mongolian Baiti font may be displayed incorrectly in Windows Vista

Hotfix

Desktop Technologies

http://support.microsoft.com/kb/929763

929777

Error message when you try to install Windows Vista on a computer that uses more than 3 GB of RAM: "STOP 0x0000000A"

Hotfix

Base Technologies

http://support.microsoft.com/kb/929777

929790

On a Windows Vista-based computer, DVD movies that are contained in a Niveus Disc Changer are not displayed in Windows Media Center after you click "DVD library"

Hotfix

Multimedia

http://support.microsoft.com/kb/929790

929798

Windows Internet Explorer 7 may not correctly recognize the zone to which a network resource belongs when you access the resource by using a mapped drive in Windows Vista or in Windows XP with Service Pack 2

Hotfix

Desktop Technologies

http://support.microsoft.com/kb/929798

929824

Windows Vista cannot connect to any off-link addresses when the default gateway is configured to be the same as the client IP address

Hotfix

Networking

http://support.microsoft.com/kb/929824

929909

A Windows Vista-based computer that uses a Mobile Intel 945GM Express Chipset may occasionally not wake from sleep

Hotfix

Storage

http://support.microsoft.com/kb/929909

929913

An error is logged in the Setuperr.log file when you run the "sysprep –reseal" command on a Windows Vista-based computer

Hotfix

OS Deployment

http://support.microsoft.com/kb/929913

92991