I wasn't even going to blog about this.
In the grand-scheme of pc troubleshooting..

.it didn't even really phase me one bit.
But then.

..you know those hunches I get.

..
I've been running for a while now.

I love the glassy-black look and the (orange?) Start button. It seems a bit more classy to me than the default Luna themes packaged with XP.

I haven't had any issues or problems...

it has been rock-stable...

until Friday.
See Friday I did some and deleted quite a number of old graphic manipulation software, some clip-art programs, some pc games, etc. that we never use any more.

In the end I reclaimed almost 6 GB of space on my C: partition. Not bad.
Then I did a and ran a on the partition.

So far, so good. I didn't do any malware/spyware cleaning nor did I mess around with cleaning the registry this time.
So when I did a final reboot imagine my surprise to see a bizarre It was a pure black and white, Windows 2000'ish look.

It looked like something Frankenstein cobbled together.
Hmmm. That was unexpected.

So I went into the desktop properties and it was still reporting to be using the Zune theme.
So I reapplied it and rebooted. No change, in fact, my Start menu seemed to look worse.

Changing the property settings to switch between the XP and "Classic" view options didn't help.
My initial troubleshooting response was to do a damage assessment and see just what was broken with the XP themeing.
So I switched from the Zune theme to the default "Luna" theme.

Amazingly, the normal blue/green default XP theme popped right back and everything was looking normal again.
Odd.
So (since I tend to archive my setup files) I dug out the ZuneDesktop Theme.

msi file. I right-clicked on it and selected the "Repair" option. It did its thing without complaint.

Next I did a reboot (just for good measure) and then switched back to the Zune theme. It applied and came back..

.just like always. The black/white classic look was gone.

I had a little bit of housecleaning/tweaking to do to put all my little elements back like I like from the default XP theme setting, but it didn't take too long to do.
I figured that in uninstalling all those programs, I may have accidentally deleted a shared .dll file (I usually leave them when prompted during an uninstall process).

This seemed to make a little sense since a few graphic applications interface with the display settings for color matching and the like.
Except the next day (Zune theme still happy again) I wondered if anyone else had run into this. I've never had a Microsoft theme bomb out on me like that.

Both posters, and some commenters have also ran into a Zune theme crashing problem.
One hypothesis is that recent Microsoft patches may have broken something. I'm not sure.

I use it on my XP Pro notebook system at work and it hasn't burped yet..patches and all.

And I've been running on the latest patches for some time before it "burped."
Just for kicks, I downloaded the Zune msi file again and it still has the same MD5 hash as my original one..

.so no changes have been made by Microsoft on the file, yet.
I'm not sure what to think.

I'm running Zune theme fine and stable again several days after my experience. Maybe it was just a freak thing, or maybe my pc cleaning tanked a .dll file it was using unaware.

The repair seems to have fixed it.
But since others had it happen to them..

.thought I would share.
--Claus

You may have already been smacked in the head by this if you are a Windows 2000 Professional user.

No more access to (not supported!)
Want ? Too bad!

Blame it on Congress and Microsoft.
Why not let Microsoft's brief " " explain it for us.

In August of 2005 the United States Congress passed the Energy Policy Act, which changes the dates of both the start and end of daylight saving time (DST).

When this law goes into effect in 2007, DST will start three weeks earlier (2:00 A.M. on the second Sunday in March) and will end one week later (2:00 A.

M. on the first Sunday in November) than what had traditionally occurred.
(snip)

• Windows 2000
• Update available - (under Extended Hotfix Support)
• Windows 2000 has passed the end of Mainstream Support and will not be receiving an update without Extended Hotfix Support.

So what is a poor Windows 2000 user (or enterprise-wide deployment) to do?
Well..

..according to Microsoft.

..in that same link and in "
1) "All versions of Windows can be manually updated using or other techniques documented in Knowledge Base article and similar articles for other countries, which is the preferred method of remediation for any product outside of Mainstream Support.

(The tzedit.exe tool allows you to create and edit time zone entries for the Date/Time settings in the Control Panel, especially for daylight-saving time)."
2) Export the registry fixes made by that using that utility and then import the reg files created across other computers in your network,
3) Use the Daylight Saving Time Update utility (Timezone.

exe located in your handy-dandy Resource Kit) to update the registry settings. (Not sure you know where you put your copy? Download the or directly from Microsoft's web page.

Hint: Look near the bottom for the timezone.exe link.)

4) "Use Visual Basic to programmatically change time zone information.

"
1) Upgrade all your Windows 2000 systems to XP SP2 or Vista (although kinda implied there...

),
2) Just remember to manually change your system clock forward and backward an hour when it becomes out-of-sync with the (now incorrectly) programmed DST periods, or
3) Use the hand-dandy " " created by the fine folks over at IntelliAdmin. (Thank the gods for them!)
Oh and you lingering Windows 98 users still out there?

You're pretty well screwed. Use option #2 above and good luck on that rapidly-deflating life-raft.
Better get on that.

...

and if your a system administrator...

I'm sure you and your IT group have already long-since began to audit which of your other server, email systems, network and end-user applications are impacted and may also need patches or workarounds...

right? Right? Oh man.

...

Will there be panic in the streets (and in the media?)
So far, the mass-media outlets have been on this brewing storm ( ). They've been too wrapped up on all this critical and .

They will sure be confused!
And all you faithful XP patchers out there can relax and watch the fireworks as you should already have gotten the update amongst the recently released December 2006 Windows updates. If not.

.. .

Got Vista? It's already in there.
Good luck.

...

and get busy planning...

time's running out!
One of the ways I try to debug and fine-tune my Blogger template (and see how other web-pages are constructed) is to view the page code of it and of other blogs I find well designed.
If you are using Firefox, it's pretty easy to do.

Just right click on the page and select "View Page Source" You will get another window that will show you the HTML/XHTML code. (Tip: You can also to use another external text editor instead.)
It is a great way to scan the code for hidden JavaScript code and the like.

TechBlog co-blogger Jim Thompson recently tipped me off to an "advanced" extension for Firefox with a clever name. (Thanks Jim!)
I've been using it for a week or two and find it has a lot of useful features for debugging and inspecting CSS, HTML, and JavaScript coding on web pages.

While I am a heavy Firefox user, I do use Internet Explorer (now v7) regularly. Imagine my surprise when I stumbled across a very similar tool for it over on the site.
While still in beta, it has been stable on my systems.

Like Firebug, it is a wonderful tool that helps you see what is going on behind the mysterious veil of web-page coding.
Even if you aren't a regular web-page coder, these are both good tools to have available on your browsers..

.just in case.
It has been a while about Microsoft's Virtual PC 2007.

This week Microsoft announced (still in Beta) is now available.
This normally would have brought me a measure of cheer, but seeing as Virtual PC 2007 has been updated to only now run on XP Professional and Windows 2003 server editions..

.that left me very bummed out. The newly updated RC version is working great on my XP Pro work machine, but at home, I'm still stuck with Virtual PC 2004.

Others are bummed too...

no VPC 2007 on XP Home.
What to do?
Well, hot on the heels of my recent post " ", a fair bit of work on Google, and my stubbornness.

..I present you the following:
How to get Microsoft Virtual PC 2007 RC to run on XP Home

1. , you will have to register and enroll if you don't already have an account.

2. You will now have a setup.exe file. Make a subfolder somewhere and place the downloaded file into it.

   I named my folder VPC2007.

3. Go get and install it on your system, if you haven't already. (See for more details on Orca.

   )

4. Open a command-prompt session and browse to the sub-folder where you have the setup.exe file.
5. Now extract the contents of the setup.

   exe file with the following command: setup.exe /c /t .\

6. It should take a moment to complete, but you will now see three files in the folder:
1. setup.

   exe (your original)

2. msxml6-KB927977-enu-x86.exe
3. Virtual_PC_2007_Install.msi
7. Close the command-prompt session window.

8. Run Orca and use it to open the Virtual_PC_2007.msi file.
9. On the left-hand side listing find the "Custom Action" item and select it.

10. On the right-hand side listing, find the "CA_CheckIfWeCanInstall" row.
11. Right-click on that row, then select the "Drop Row" option to delete it.
12. Save the changes and close Orca.

13. Now run the modified Virtual_PC_2007_Install.msi file.
14. It should install the application without any issues.

I'm running Vista RC1 right now in Virtual PC 2007 RC on my XP Home machine!
You must have the msxml6-KB927977-enu-x86.exe file in the same location as the msi file.

If you do not, you will get an error message like "Error message: "Virtual PC cannot find MSXML 4. Please reinstall Virtual PC or install MSXML 4 and try again." won't fix it.

Despite what the message says, you must actually have the MSXML 6 version which the msi will install automatically from that other file.
I don't know yet if this will work on Windows 2000 Professional systems. That OS is not supported under VPC 2007 either, although it was under VPC 2004.

I think it will, although I haven't had time to try it yet. If you beat me to it, let me know.
You will probably want to uninstall the virtual machine additions from any Windows virtual OS systems you may have installed it on under VPC 2004.

It has been updated in the latest VPC 2007 RC version.
Happy modding!
I didn't get one; Damn-it.

If some maintenance worker in the bowels of Microsoft's Redmond facility happens to stumble across my blog...

and can add my name to the next shipping list, I'd be glad to accept one for "long-term-testing and evaluation" purposes.
Wink-wink-nudge-nudge. Say no more!

Say no more!
So there you go, just in case you were wondering..

..

Most all (home) tech support geeks are faced with confronting the problem of handing Microsoft's Windows Updates.

(Did you get ?)
In the enterprise environment I'm sure we are all using Group Policy, Windows Server Update Services, or even manually configuring Windows Automatic Updates to download and apply patches to the systems, right?
Then again, there is the old standby.

..going to , running a manual check.

Then you can pick and choose, download and install. This generally isn't too painful a process..

.providing you've got a broadband connection and have been keeping up with the Update Joneses.
You can also manually download the updates yourself, and which ones to get.

But what to do when Uncle Albert calls you to come over to his house in the boonies to help set up his "brand-new" XP system? You show up, and Uncle Albert's pc has a bare hard-drive, he has a XP setup disk, and a dial-up modem. Well, up until recently you have had very few choices.

Chances are you are looking at a very large group of updates. Load the system, slap on a firewall, break out the brewskies and sit back and wait for the updates to trickle down the dialup pipe.
Sure, you can download the biggest ones and keep them handy on a USB stick or CD, but it can still be a lot of work collecting all of them
Until now!

It's very clever.
Read the accompanying article carefully. Then download and unzip the file.

Then run the application. You can pick from updates for XP / 2000 / Server 2003. You also need to specify if you want to download the English or German version of the patches.

You can download all three sets or just two or even one. Depending on your choice you must then decide to have the patches bundled in a CD or DVD ISO for burning. A script will open up a WGET session which will download all the critical security patches for the selected OS(s).

What is really cool is that the downloads occur directly from the Microsoft download servers, so you know you are getting valid update files. Once the downloads are completed (not too long assuming you are using your broadband connection) the program rolls them up into a handy ISO file. Then use your favorite ISO burning application to burn them to your CD/DVD media.

Place the burned CD/DVD in Uncle Albert's pc and an autorun file will kick it off. Give it an affirmative, and it will begin to apply all the patches to the system. No downloads to wait for!

Sweet!
Drawbacks..

.well, since the program doesn't check the system update catalog, it doesn't know which updates are already on the system---so it puts them all on, even if they are already present. Not a big deal, but good to be aware of.

The program actually uses some text files in the structure to decide which patches to download and install. So with some fairly easy tweaking you can add more or remove the ones you don't want. Also, it does create a temporary updating user profile on the system with Administrator rights to allow the updates to be installed.

It is deleted at the end of the update process. Depending on how you feel this is either a great thing or a deal-breaker. Finally, you will still need to run one final manual Windows Updates session to verify that you catch and apply any additional updates that the script doesn't get.

Benefits...

a very automated update process, almost all updates on a removable media disk, limited time lost waiting for updates to download and apply. Not a bad deal. Oh yeah, did I mention that it is free?

Read the whole 4-page article from the publisher to get an good idea of what is going on.
This gem has been out for some time. It is highly polished and packed with goodies.

Like Offline Update 3.0 it supports XP / 2000 / 2003 Microsoft systems. Unlike Offline Update 3.

0, each OS can be selected in Full, Lite, and Update versions.
The Full versions come with all the usual updates, and then the developers toss in a ton of "extras" like desktops, system tweaks, Windows Power Toys, additional application updates, the whole kitchen sink. You appear to be able to decide at installation which ones you want to add and which ones you don't, so you still have some installation control.

The Lite version strips out many of the additional items and tweaks. Finally, use the Update version to patch a system you have already run either the Full or Lite version on, as it will just include the latest updates.
Drawbacks.

..you get some extra download items that you may not want.

Like before, there doesn't seem to be a check for the existence of pre-installed patches already on the system, so you will get overwriting again. Also, the developers have already downloaded and packaged the updates already, so unlike Offline Update 3.0 which downloads directly from the Microsoft servers, you will have to trust the developers as your source.

You decide.
Benefits..

.you just need to make a single package. That's it.

Burn it to a CD/DVD or it looks like you can even copy the downloaded file to flash media if it is large enough to hold it. The installation options looks a bit more selective as well.
Nice work!

- Quoting from the developer's site "This pack is designed to bring a Windows XP CD with SP2 integrated fully up to date with all of the latest hotfixes released by Microsoft since SP2's release. It accomplishes this task via direct integration, where files on the CD are directly overwritten by the updated files."
I haven't played with this one yet, but it appears to be a .

You can also add in additional features via modules.
Another very slick tool is . Quoting the developer's site again, " nLite is a tool for permanent Windows components removal and pre-installation Windows setup.

After removal there is an option to make bootable image ready for burning on cd or testing in virtual machines. With nLite you will be able to have Windows installation which on install doesn't include, or even contain on cd, unwanted components."
* - Textmode (CD Boot) and normal PnP
** - hotfixes with white icons, *KB*.

exe, including update packs and Internet Explorer 7
***- supports generic SFC, Uxtheme, TcpIp and Usb Polling patching.
Also in works from the same group..

. . For Vista deployments
So, now you know of quite a few solutions for bulk-patching systems.

These also might be dead useful for you corporate/enterprise sysadmins as well. Instead of constantly updating images with current patches or slipstreaming, just keep a Offline Update 3.0 or Autopatcher disk handy and bring the deployed image up to date, without the download delay times.

Sweet!
These solutions aren't for everyone. These can help manage the bulk patch updating process when you have a very "young" system.

By being able to apply these critical service patches before you even need to put the pc on the Net, you can help improve the system security and cut down on the chance of it being open to a vulnerability. And save a fair amount of your time in the process. Besides.

..it looks pretty cool and can impress Uncle Albert (and save his beer).

Not a bad deal!
See you in the skies.
Finally more news.

Microsoft appears to have experienced a major "burpage" dishing out the planned updates for today.
"Waiter..

.where's the fly in my soup?"
After , I considered doing a system reinstall.

..but held off.

Glad I did.
What to do is up to you.
You can download the updates "manually" from the windows download site if you don't want to wait.

...

if you just want to get the critical, critical ones.
I myself think I will wait this one out until they fix the problem with their waiters..

..
Since I put my update folders they recommended I delete in a doggie bag, I might try to see if I can restore them and regain my update history list again.

...

--UPDATE: Microsoft Windows Updates are now flowing in the tubes again. I was able to put my seven web-offered patches on with no issues. I also restored the files I had cleaned out and "doggie-bagged" trying to get my Windows Updates to work this morning and.

...

managed to get my Update history list back in place and showing the full history of installed items again. Whew!

Good thing I had a migraine all day today.

..kept me from having the energy to reinstall my XP system on what turned out to be Microsoft's issue instead.

Yeah, I kinda take patches and smooth system updating that seriously...

.

Tomorrow? Hopefully we will see the release of Virtual PC 2007 Beta.

...

So this morning I boot up the XP Home SP2 desktop to start my daily routine.
Knowing this is a Microsoft Update day, I go ahead and manually run my Windows Updates.
After a long pause I get Error code: 0x0248013.

Repeated attempts to reboot and reset my IE settings don't help.
Stymied, I eventually track down a Microsoft help file that suggests the Windows Update catalog is damaged and needs to be cleaned out. (I've tried to search Microsoft for a direct link, but cannot.

Here is .
Did that.
Re-run Windows Updates and get a response, but no updates at all are found.

This is weird. I am not necessarily expecting to see today's critical updates yet, but there were a number of "optional" software updates I don't have installed. But this says there are now none available.

Usually it is around six. Hmmm.
I check up Update History catalog and it looks like it has all 40 or so updates installed.

But somehow the dates are all showing from 2004. What? I know I just got a WinDefender update last week or earlier.

My system clock is on the correct time/date.
Same thing. Put the files I deleted following the guide above back and retry.

Nope. Back to Error number 0x0248013. Re-do that un-repair.

Reboot.
Apparently, that the Windows Update service is temporarily overloaded. Great.

Reboot and try one more time. Why not?
This time I get Error code: 0x80072EE2.

And this? Well, not getting a response from the Windows Update or Microsoft Update Web site.
Router is working fine.

Disabled the software firewall, but no difference. I'm otherwise getting to the net and loading pages fine. I go ahead and follow Step 4 and add the Update sites to my Trusted Sites list and not require server verification.

Reboot one more time.
OK. Windows updates works and gives me a return.

No critical updates available, no drivers available. Expected that. Six optional updates available.

Ah! Nice! Now are my update history dates fixed?

No. They are all gone. Nothing in there this time.

Sigh.
Just for kicks I fire up Lavie's laptop and see what it offers. Everything looks good.

Response looks good. History looks good.
Try it one more time.

What? Got a Windows Update Error number: 0x80244022. Well I know what that one means now.

Shut down IE and try again. Ok. Looking good.

Try a few more times, just to reassure myself. All good.
So.

..do I have a Problem or not?

Did I truly have an issue in the first place? Were the MS servers just on overload?
Can I accept that my desktop now seems to be getting updates without errors (apparently) but my update history catalog is now empty?

Since Windows Updates isn't offering all the updates all over again, can I surmise that it is still reading either a different log or my registry to know that I actually do have those 40-odd updates actually on my system?
Is this the First Sign of some operating system issues that may mean I need to soon consider wiping my C: drive and doing a fresh install of the system, updates and all the family files, software, tweaks, and configuration?
Hmmm.

...

.
I'm going to try really hard to be patient and just monitor the situation..

..apart from the update history blanked, the system seems stable and clear.

Despite the rant'ish tone of my title, I'm pretty happy about these two gems.
In my last post, I went on a rant about a number of things..

.prime of which was my inability to get my new (yes, dearlings..

.and legal) copy of Microsoft Office Student and Teacher Edition 2003 activated.
Get used to that term, .

I think it is Microsoft's revenge on the world for not being allowed to use the word "integrated" (as in Internet Explorer, or Windows Media Player...

). Anyway.
When we last left the thrilling episode, Claus was trying to escape from the confines of Microsoft Office imprisonment.

He was having to say the secret release code to the Microsoft guards to gain his release and allow unfettered access to his program.
Deep into "Last Night" when that term isn't technically accurate anymore and become "Earlier Morning" Claus carefully consulted the myriad of he had to his left and his . Nope.

Nothing helpful there.
Each timed I tried, the activation wizard would seem to lock up, then eventually progress to a slowly moving bar and finally give me the following error message: "A communication error has occurred. Your request cannot be processed at this time.

Please try again in a few minutes."
I had shut down my firewall, I was getting to the net just fine. I had even tried to open Internet Explorer first--just in case it hopped across that connection.

Nothing. So I went to bed thinking that maybe the activation servers were having a party.
This morning I got up, started the weekly laundry going, and then fired up the old pc.

Troubleshooting time.
1) Try Activation again. Nope.

Same problems. -- maybe it isn't the servers.
2) Check net.

Nope. Running fast and strong.
3) Shut down firewall.

Still the same problem.
4) Think, think, think. What do I know about how this activation feature must work?

Obviously, Word is calling the command to go to the net to check the activation. Monitoring it via ProcessExplorer, I don't see it kicking off Internet Explorer. Could it be checking internally to the Office programming?

Claus has an Idea!
5) In Word 2003, I enabled the Web toolbar. I tried clicking the "homepage" icon.

Nothing for quite a while, then finally--Bammo. Internet Explorer launches and displays my homepage.
6) I verify that it is calling to the Net properly by shutting down IE and typing a web-address into the document, then launching the link.

Working great.
7) I go to the Activate Product option under Help in the menu bar list. Fire it up.

8) In under five seconds the Activation Wizard has launched, connected, and authenticated (activated) our copy.
9) Golden!
So what happened here?

Well Kiddos...

it appears that when Office 2003 installed it didn't properly configure itself to pick up the network connections internally to the application. Funny. So by forcing it to look for a web-page, it finally (and correctly) auto-configured it's Web connection settings, thereby now allowing the activation feature to pass on through to the other side.

File that one away you Microsoft product troubleshooting wackos.
Volume 2 - The Return of Rocket Raccoon!
When we last left our fearless hero, Claus, he had escaped from the confines of his Evil Empire captors.

Now, making his way across the Net, he was being mercilessly hounded by a cute and generally useful Fox nipping at his heels.
What gives?
Just when he had about had it with the apostrophe key firing up the Firefox "Find" bar, comes crashing to the rescue via the comments!

Ray Cornwall (of ) posted a tip that the wacky apostrophe behavior I am getting in Firefox is not, in fact a bug, but indeed a feature.
Thank the gods they changed that feature name, although I would have lobbied for "Irritate Bloggers with the Apostrophe Key Trick" name myself..

..
Furthermore, he helpfully drops tip that by diving into the about:config and setting the value to "False" you can disable that nuisance.

So I tried it. But it didn't work for me.
Why?

Yep. Dialog thread seems to indicate that the feature does not work in Firefox 2.0 builds yet.

Bummer.
So Rocket Raccoon jets off into obscurity yet again..

.leaving me frustrated, but wiser now on my Foxy Friends behavior.
Sometimes it's just like that.

..and it still doesn't clear up that annoying copy/paste bad behavior sinkhole I had been running into.

So Alvis is taking a mandatory class in Computer Literacy at her Junior High school. (What's up with that class title?)
Among the skills she is developing in her class is how to type (frustrating to her), how to identify various Microsoft operating systems (didn't get taught about Vista, I asked), and how to work in Microsoft Office products--Word, Excel, Powerpoint.

Linux? Alvis says not brought up--even though her own pc is Linux-based.
Hmmm.

Closed educational shop?
Although Lavie and I both use Office XP Pro or Office 2003 Pro at work, at home, our legal home copy of MS Office is 97. Works great.

Does the job. Why want more on the home pc?
Well.

...

Alvis can't practice her Office 2003 skills learned at school here at home, that's why.
Grrrr.
So after a family meeting, I picked up a copy of Microsoft Office "Student and Teacher Edition" 2003.

Word, Excel, Powerpoint, Outlook. (I didn't install Outlook). $150.

Not a bad price. Our box says I can install it on up to three computers in our home. Nice.

I did a custom install so I could keep Access 97 on the pc. Went to the Microsoft Office site and installed all my patches and updates like a good user.
Then I had to activate it.

It won't activate. Almost locks up the pc, trying.
Yes, it is a legitimate product, thank you very much.

Seems the activation feature cannot connect to the Microsoft activation servers. I have Net connection. I turned my firewall off.

All is well. The activation wizard just cannot connect--not after something like 25 attempts. Grrr.

I'm too tired to call by telephone tonight, good-old Plan B.
I will try tomorrow one more time, then will just call the Borg ship myself if I must. Wonder what might happen if they can't access the activation servers either.

Why-oh-why can't our school district use this instead? Sounds like a parent-teacher conference is about to happen between a miffed systems administrator and the Junior High school's comp-lit teacher.
Can't wait to see attempts in the coming months.

...

Just the other day while poking around for additional information regarding the , I stumbled upon Voldermort's !
Worried that it was a devious trap set for the "not-so-young-anymore-boy-who-lived", I quickly snagged the document and beat a hasty retreat to my "Room of Requirement" where I could study the document in safety.
Step 1) Cunningly hide the plan under a benign White Paper title "Using Microsoft Virtual PC 2007 for Application Compatibility" -- Clever.

.. Who but true Death Eaters would bother to read a title like that?

Is that the new Dark Mark Logo against the green and blue background?
Step 2) Reassure Vista adopters that if their apps run under XP SP2, they shouldn't have any issues with using them under Vista, but new security features need to be considered.
Step 3) Now strike fear in the undecided by reminding them that 16-bit applications and 32-bit drivers are not supported on 64-bit versions of Vista.

..along with some other scary sounding combinations.

Some of those legacy applications you have might be left out in the pasture! Oh my gosh! What should I do?

I'm an IT manager and I just know I'm going to have to deploy new hardware along with Vista to stay competitive. Please! Not the Cruciatus Curse!

Step 4) Offer your victims (customers) a chance to swear allegiance: pick up a free copy of Virtual PC 2007 for all your Vista deployments! Why? Well.

..
Step 5) Explain how Virtual PC 2007 has been optimized for Vista and has a whole new slew of bells and whistles to make running of virtual machines more efficient.

Step 6) Provide neat Visio-like illustrations to show how victims (customers...

there I go getting terms confused again) can upgrade to Vista, but then create as many virtual machines as they want on Vista in Virtual PC 2007 so if their legacy application can only run on say 2000 Pro, or MS-DOS, or Win98, they are still covered nicely! Evil is so clever.
Step 7) Drop your guard, accidentally, and remind converts to your evil plan that they must still obey your power by making sure they have a proper license for all of the operating systems installed in each virtual machine.

Oooooo. Very Evil indeed.
Step 8) Kill the first convert who raises their hand and asks you, "Is it OK if I just use my "virtual license keys" since they are "virtual" operating systems?

" Evil cannot be mocked in public by its minions...

.
Step 9) Offer a handy step-by-step guide (with pictures for the kiddos) of how to set up and utilize your own Virtual PC operating system of Evil.
Step 10) Leave your stunned converts now under your control with the Imperius Curse pondering the meanings of the section "Comparing Virtual PC with Other Solutions".

You have just convinced them to upgrade to Vista and then convert their existing Microsoft operating system licenses into the undead-zombie Inferi form of "Virtual PC" systems. Now cast a stunner at them with long-term suggestions such as: "Apply updates or service packs to the application", "Modify the configuration of the existing application", "Upgrading the application to a compatible version", "Modify the security configuration", "Modifying the application", "Using application compatibility tools", "Consider retirement of your legacy application", and the most mysterious alternative suggestion of all..

...

"Running the application in a virtualized environment". Geesh. Why didn't you suggest that in the first place?

Oh, wait. YOU ALREADY DID!
Your Evil Plan is now complete!

Sit back and watch the masses be assimilated.
All Harry Potter references aside, the use of virtualization to continue supporting critical legacy applications in "virtual" systems is a very good idea to consider for your organization if it is flirting with upgrading to Vista. In many cases you may already own sufficient legacy operating system licenses and redeploying the virtual images across your infrastructure might be pretty quick and easy.

If nothing else, it would allow you a window of transition to find alternatives to non-Vista compatible applications, or can hold you over until your custom application vendor releases a Vista compatible version.
Clever stuff indeed..

.this virtualization stuff.
I think we are just seeing the beginnings of a new (old) technology field re-birth.

Mwuhaaahaaahaaa! Mwuhaaahaaahaa! Mwuhaaahaaahaaa!

Or you can take a stand and remain, " ."
- George Ou, TechRepublic
- Dwight Silverman, Techblog

Got home ASAP to load up these new gems! Christmas has come early!

Pick number one: is now available.
My version says it is now actually 1.0 (141).

Great. I haven't had time to play with the updated features, but it is launching dramatically faster on my machine than the previous version. I like that.

If you haven't tried it yet, and are a blogger, I highly encourage you to give it a shot. Most blog platforms are supported.
I don't know if I blog any better using it, but I enjoy the interface quite a lot and it seems to have lots of additional features once you get digging into it.

via .
Pick number two: . My version is now sitting at v7.

0.1.8 It is supposed to be helping out with various issues.

I like this update a lot, despite it's past problems with stuttering on my machine that the previous version never exhibited.
So Dad calls me up last weekend because his home pc is freezing up after boot.
Symptoms: Once he logs onto his desktop it seems ok, he is able to launch a program or two.

He goes to check his email or browse the web and ----bammo! The Great XP Freeze. Pressing Ctrl-Alt-Del is unresponsive.

Finally after what could be many minutes of waiting the system is flooded with pop-up Task-Manager windows matching the number of times he has tried the Microsoft Three-Finger Tango. Internet is good again and mail comes flowing.
Hmmmm.

I'm on the phone and Dad. I could set up a , but I'm not sure how well that would run on his chilly system.
Troubleshooting begins:
1) He mentioned a new update of ZoneAlarm got installed recently.

Firewall problem? Could be. Since he doesn't run a hardware based router/firewall and is on cable modem, I have him disconnect his CAT-V cable.

ZA gets uninstalled.
2) He is also running a Nortons Security A/V "suite" product. OK.

I've had trouble with those. Uninstall that pile of programming also. Reboot.

3) System comes up quick and fine. Once on his desktop he is able to open programs with no sign of the dreaded XP Freeze. Great!

4) Before we drop him back on the Net, let's get Windows XP built-in firewall enabled. I lead him through the steps. We find it and eventually get it activated.

Great! Reboot.

5) Hook the pc back to the Net.

6) Boots up and gets to the desktop...

.bammo! Lockup!

The Microsoft Three-Finger Tango fails to get Task Manager launching. Hmmmm. Malware?

-At this point we are approaching the point where more advanced troubleshooting will need to kick in. I suggest Dad brings the box down here to me on his weekly drive-in to Houston for his consulting job. Plans are made.

7) I fire up the box on our dining-room table and set to work, Dad watching and taking notes. Class is in session. XP boots and runs great.

Dad is shaking his head. I really need to replicate the freezing behavior! The box isn't cooperating.

(I think it knows a techie is in front of it. I swear they can sense our presence!) It's still off the Net for now.

8) First thing I do is to drop in my utility-tools CD and fire off . I find a number of old "auto-run" references and some "quick-launch" references we don't need. I clean all those out, but no signs of malware.

Lots of dead startup links for Symantec left by the Nortons uninstall. Thanks guys..

. I confirm the HiJack This findings with . Yep.

Looks clean now.

9) Next I run a scan. Some cookies and mundane stuff.

Nothing interesting here. I don't even bother with a 2nd scan with .

10) Check the Add/Remove Program List.

Even though Norton's was uninstalled, there are still four Norton's related items still hanging on in there. Uninstalls fail since the product is gone. I'll come back later to strip them out of the registry manually.

I find Microsoft Anti-Spyware Beta (expired) is still on the system. That gets removed.

11) Reboot.

XP still humming along well. Well..

...

a quick check with doesn't show any unusual Processes or threads.

12) I check his system properties. Yep XP SP2, 512MB RAM, 800ishMHz processor.

(OEM HP system build.) The processor speed is pretty low (in my humble opinion) for running XP, but RAM is OK and it is working. With Process Explorer still going I launch various programs and watch the cpu load shoot up on some processes but then drop down once the application is going.

Looks like the processor is having a bit of a challenge keeping up. Could be bad memory, but I doubt it since this pc hasn't had any BSOD events. I tell Dad he should consider upgrading to a better processor but it isn't critical just yet as all they do on the box is some word-processing, light picture cropping and email/Net surfing.

13) OK. Well, let's hook it to the Net and get a new firewall and A/V solution loaded that will be more kind on his processor than ZA and Nortons.

14) Reboot and hook to the net behind my firewall/router.

Once on the desktop...

.BAMMMO!!

!! TOTAL SYSTEM LOCKUP!

!!!

15) I'm actually very excited to see this! I've got the problem replicated now! No Net = good pc.

Net = bad pc. Now I've got a target to focus on.

16) The Three-Finger Tango fails.

So I reboot in safe-mode, system is fine...

and add Process Manager to the Startup Group. Hopefully this will launch it prior the the lock-up stalling so I can see what bad-boy is causing it. Whatever it is, it is clear to me that Something is getting to the net and either hogging up all the bandwith from the pc or is executing a process that the lowly cpu cannot keep up with.

17) Once rebooted the system comes back and Process Explorer comes to life. Fantastic! I'm watching the cpu process loads and.

...

.wait for it..

...

YES! Got it! Well how about 'dat.

The G-man set the trap, waited on stake-out, and collared the kriminal!

18) What did Claus nab? Who was playing " " like in a bad Batman movie?

Yep. Microsoft Windows Update ( ). (Note: this is the "good" one and not a virus/trojan faker.

)

Let's pause a momement in this "thrilling bat-tastic blog-drama" and sort out what we learned so far. Dad's pc has sufficient RAM, an overtaxed processor (it was upgraded from WindowsME to XP) and bit the dirt when it was connected to the Net. No malware on the system.

Through careful troubleshooting, we can now explain the lockup event. When connected to the Net, XP (having Automatic Update check enabled) goes on-line immediately and searches for availiability of any updates to download. Unfortunately, the wuauclt.

exe process take prioriy over the system and runs the cpu cycles up to 90+%. Bad. Nothing else works until it completes it's check (however long that takes--usually a LONG time as of late) then closes the process and sufficeint cpu resources become available for the system (and Dad) again.

All the things Dad tried to launch are released from the buffer and flood the desktop. Nice.

19) Time to fix.

Well. That's being generous. I would be more accurate to say--time to "work around" the issue.

The (user-side) "fix" would probably be a beefier processor (more on that later...

).

20) I go into Control Panel and . This will prevent the wuauclt.

exe from launching at startup and hogging the processor. XP hates this and tells me about it in no uncertain terms. It places a and provides balloon text warning about the serious consequences of that decision.

Great. 'Preciate that, Microsoft.

21) After a minute of Googling, I locate .

Gone!

22) I place a shortcut to on the desktop and advise Dad to manually check for critical updates the weekend after the 1st Tuesday of each month.

23) I download (via my handy ) and install .

Dad wants the "simple" installation option that enables inbound firewall protection only. He is too overwhelmed with deciphering the outbound firewall prompt messages and is afraid he might block something important (which has occurred). I agree.

Inbound blocking only. Done.

24) I download and install .

I give a quick tour and configure it to automatically download and install the updates and run a scan in the late afternoon. AVG cooperates nicely with Keiro and picks up his Outlook email client and plugs right into it with no additional configurations needed.

25) Reboot.

The final test.

26) Armed with Process Explorer we watch as the system hits the desktop and the process thread cycles look normal. AVG and Kerio are running lightly on the system and no lockup and no wuauclt.

exe launching. Mischief Managed!

27) Just for kicks I fire up IE 6 and we run the Web-based Windows Updates.

BAMMO! there goes the lockup and the process load is at 90% again. I explain to Dad that based on the cpu loads I'm watching, it looks like it is working, just VERY slowly.

I advise him to just start the Updates, and then walk away from the pc for a while (like before he goes jogging). When he comes back it (hopefully) will have finished up.

I didn't install the latest , as I didn't want to add any additional processing demands on his taked system.

Dad is happy. The system is breathing new life and all is well. Another modern-day father-son bonding moment.

Instead of working under the hood of the convertible we built together (Classic Roadsters, LTD. - the Duchess model) way-back when, now it is over a keyboard and system software. Ahhh.

Nothing like the hum of a hard-drive and cooling fan to set the bonding mood...

..unfortunately, no beer was consumed in the process.

..maybe why I was able to figure it out this time.

...

I'd never noticed any problems myself. I have Automatic Updates set on my machines to auto download and notify (but not install so I can check them first). So this morning, I ran a "custom" Web-based Windows Update scan on my own pc: 2.

0GHz AMD processor, 1GB RAM. I fired up Process Explorer before I began and watched. Sure enough, the wuauclt.

exe process peaked around 74ish% of my cpu cycles. Wow. But because of the beefy processor, it just peaked and dropped up and down very quickly until it was done.

So I had the system headroom to not notice any lockups or anything.

1) Why does wuauclt.exe need to claim that many cpu cycles to do it's job?

Is it that intensive a process to check for updates on the Web and compare that to the locally cached catalog? Or is the code just poorly written?

2) Why does it take (what seems like) FOREVER for the query to Microsoft's update servers to return a response?

Are they being hammered? Do they have enough? Is it a bandwidth issue in Redmond?

3) I'm quite OK with it taking a while to download the updates to the system, but it just doesn't seem to me to require that long a delay in displaying the list of needed system updates. This happens on our Win98 (yes, I know..

.) systems, Windows 2000 SP4 systems, and XP (Pro/Home) systems. Can't this be more efficient?

4) A suggests that many others are having similar issues and Microsoft is aware of this "issue."

Note to self: Damn. I SOOOO wish I could have Mark's l33t troubleshooting skills!

I've GOT to buy his books. He's taught me so much!

See you in the skies, and happy Microsoft defrosting.

...