Merry Xmas and get ready for 2010!

Well, another year, another Christmas time, another victory on the road to living a good life. Let's celebrate with friends and family while enjoying a delicious fruit salad of glorious pomegranate and smooth Granny Smith apples. For all you who read this blog I want to send my best wishes for this holiday season and for a great New Year! Hang on! The best is yet to come ahead for those of us who have persisted and endured through difficult times. Life's many rewards await us.

Microsoft Security Essentials does the trick, does it not?

After one several years of using System Mechanic from iolo Technologies, and coinciding with the fact that my subscription was up for renewal this past Halloween, I decided to drop the entire security suite and go for the free Microsoft Security Essentials proposition, with antimalware, antivirus and antispyware included. However, something funny happened on my way to getting back my system to its usual stable state and that included a blue screen (the first one in more than a year!) but not before having my system frozen three times... I have to add here that I had also installed ZoneAlarm free firewall, another good product that I used for many years in Windows XP and previous versions. ZoneAlarm shuts down the Windows Vista firewall and everytime I turned it back on, my machine froze or got the blue screen, as mentioned. I gave Microsoft Security Essentials the benefit of the doubt and uninstalled ZoneAlarm. Now I'm back to normal.

Just a matter of knowledge and money

I would say that there are three major reasons why some people (regular folks) still use Windows XP (and I want to refer only to those who are very vocal against Vista):
1) They lack good IT skills and the knowledge necessary to understand why Vista and Windows 7 are SUPERIOR to XP, hands down.
2) They don't have the right hardware and/or don't know how to configure it correctly (see reason 1, above), and
3) They're cheap (cheapskates). As simple as that.
Companies, on the other hand, don't upgrade for the same reasons above, and the guys from their IT department are usually to blame (reasons 1 and 2). They usually are too comfortable using their old stuff (hardware and software) and too lazy to learn, so they advise companies not to use, for instance, Vista, because "it's buggy and slow, etc." Basically something they read or heard somewhere and never bother(ed) to try in the first place. I have withnessed companies using XP on machines with the Vista logo. How clumsy! they bought new equipment and bought also all the nonsense circulating about Vista and downgraded to XP (!), and on top of that they're still using Internet Explorer 6 (!). Again, if you still want to use Windows XP that is (literally) your problem, but what I find plain silly is getting a brand new computer (for those who can afford it) designed for Windows Vista and Windows 7, and then reformatting the hard drive to install XP (!) and then start comparing apples with pears...

SP2: Applications

1) 957388. Hotfix. December  2008 Windows Vista and Windows Server 2008 Application Compatibility Update.  http://support.microsoft.com/kb/957388 2) 954366. Hotfix. The August 2008 Windows Vista and Windows Server 2008 Application Compatibility Update is available.  http://support.microsoft.com/kb/954366 3) 951618. Hotfix. A black screen issue occurs on a Windows Vista-based computer or a Windows XP Service Pack 2-based computer that has Onekey Recovery 5.0 installed when you upgrade the operating system.  http://support.microsoft.com/kb/951618 4) 950636. Hotfix. FIX: SQL Server 2005 is not installed on a Windows Web Server 2008-based system.  http://support.microsoft.com/kb/950636 5) 947562. Hotfix. May 2008 Windows Vista and Windows Server 2008 Application Compatibility Update.  http://support.microsoft.com/kb/947562

SP2: Base Technologies (1 of 9)

1) 968275. Hotfix. Windows Media Player may crash when you remove a USB device from a computer that is running a 64-bit version of Windows Vista SP1 or Windows Server 2008.  http://support.microsoft.com/kb/968275 2) 967670. Hotfix. The NFS services stop responding after a certain period when you use a Windows Server 2008-based server that has NFS installed to export NFS shares.  http://support.microsoft.com/kb/967670 3) 967666. Hotfix. After you sync a file in Windows Vista or in Windows Server 2008, the Date Modified time for the destination file may be updated to the current time.  http://support.microsoft.com/kb/967666 4) 967657. Hotfix. You cannot access a CD or DVD disc on a shared optical drive after you replace one disc with another on a computer that is running Windows Vista or Windows Server 2008.  http://support.microsoft.com/kb/967657 5) 967586. Hotfix. When you run a 16-bit application on a Windows Vista-based or Windows Server 2008-based computer that has the Desktop Window Manager Session Manager service installed, some controls are not painted correctly.  http://support.microsoft.com/kb/967586 6) 967571. Hotfix. Error when you try to recursively delete a directory structure on an NFS share that is exported by a Windows Server 2008-based computer: "Permission denied".  http://support.microsoft.com/kb/967571 7) 967535. Hotfix. FIX: A hotfix is available to fix two problems in ASP.NET on IIS 7.0 for Windows Vista and Windows Server 2008.  http://support.microsoft.com/kb/967535 8) 967477. Hotfix. A WSD printer device displays a truncated IPv6 address in Device Manager and in the Function Discovery Browser utility on a computer that is running Windows Vista or Windows Server 2008.  http://support.microsoft.com/kb/967477 9) 967339. Hotfix. FIX: Error message after you use the ServiceKnownTypeAttribute class to specify types in an interface in the .NET Framework 3.5 Service Pack 1: "InvalidOperationException:Type 'System.Object[]' cannot be added to list of known types since  another type.”  http://support.microsoft.com/kb/967339 10) 967326. Hotfix. Data loss occurs after you use the Dfsrmig.exe  tool to migrate the SYSVOL share from the FRS to the DFSR service in a Windows Server 2008-based domain.  http://support.microsoft.com/kb/967326 11) 967191. Hotfix. The Windows Experience Index rating and the WinSAT command do not work correctly on a Windows Vista-based computer that has more than 8 logical processors.  http://support.microsoft.com/kb/967191 12) 967168. Hotfix. Event 1005 occurs on a Windows Server 2008-based computer that is running Server for NFS when there is an unmapped user in the advanced mapping list.  http://support.microsoft.com/kb/967168 13) 967124. Hotfix. Hyper-V performance counters in Windows Server 2008 are displayed incorrectly or report incorrect data when you remotely query the counters from a Windows Server 2003-based computer.  http://support.microsoft.com/kb/967124 14) 967111. Hotfix. You cannot access a symbolic link by running Client for NFS if the path length of the symbolic link is too long.  http://support.microsoft.com/kb/967111 15) 966319. Hotfix. During user logon or logoff, you receive stop error code 0x00000050, and the system restarts automatically on a computer that is running Windows Server 2008 or Windows Vista SP1.  http://support.microsoft.com/kb/966319 16) 965494. Hotfix. Stop error when a registry management problem occurs on a Windows Server 2008 or Windows Vista SP1-based computer: "0x0000007E".  http://support.microsoft.com/kb/965494 17) 963676. Hotfix. FIX: The CLR fails with a fatal execution engine error, and a crash occurs when you run an application by using the .NET Framework 2.0 Service Pack 2.  http://support.microsoft.com/kb/963676 18) 963047. Hotfix. If you cancel the Select Certificate dialog box on a computer that is running Windows Vista or Windows Server 2008, you are prompted two times for user credentials to access a WebDAV site whose SSL setting for client certificates is set to “Accept”   http://support.microsoft.com/kb/963047 19) 963044. Hotfix. On a computer that runs Windows Vista or Windows Server 2008, after you rename, delete, or move the files in a network share that is hosted on a Windows Vista or Windows Server 2008-based computer, files are still listed in the network share.  http://support.microsoft.com/kb/963044 20) 962969. Hotfix. Error message when you run Dfsradmin.exe to set membership properties in Windows Server 2008: "The property MemberSubscriptionReadOnly cannot be used".  http://support.microsoft.com/kb/962969 21) 962932. Hotfix. FIX: Some East Asian glyphs are not displayed correctly on a Windows-based computer when you run  .NET Framework 3.5-based applications.  http://support.microsoft.com/kb/962932

SP2: Base Technologies (2 of 9)

22) 962878. Hotfix. FIX: An older version of Windows CardSpace is invoked even though a newer version is installed after you upgrade to .NET Framework 3.0 SP2.  http://support.microsoft.com/kb/962878 23) 962351. Hotfix. FIX: The pop-out menus are not displayed when you use Internet Explorer 8.0 in Standards mode to view an ASP.NET Web page that has dynamic menus.  http://support.microsoft.com/kb/962351 24) 962231. Hotfix. FIX: Error message when a .NET Framework 3.5-based application displays lots of text at different sizes or has a very long process lifetime: "0xC0000005".  http://support.microsoft.com/kb/962231 25) 961881. Hotfix. FIX: An access violation occurs when you start an application that runs on the CLR.  http://support.microsoft.com/kb/961881 26) 961730. Hotfix. A memory leak occurs in the Vmwp.exe and Vmms.exe processes on a Windows Server 2008-based computer that has the Hyper-V role enabled.  http://support.microsoft.com/kb/961730 27) 961719. Hotfix. Applications that perform asynchronous cached I/O read requests and that use a disk array that has multiple spindles may encounter a low performance issue in Windows Server 2008, in Windows Essential Business Server 2008, or in Windows Vista SP1.  http://support.microsoft.com/kb/961719 28) 961529. Hotfix. The first offline file sync operation fails when you pin an entry and then work offline on a client computer that is running Windows Vista or Windows Server 2008.  http://support.microsoft.com/kb/961529 29) 961366. Hotfix. You receive a confusing error message when an application tries to access an empty removable media drive on a Windows Vista-based or Windows Server 2008-based computer.  http://support.microsoft.com/kb/961366 30) 961324. Hotfix. Stop error message when you run the Dynamic Partition Testing for a Hot Replace test that is included in the Windows Logo Kit in Windows Vista or Windows Server 2008: "Stop 0x0000000A".  http://support.microsoft.com/kb/961324 31) 961080. Hotfix. Event ID: 19 occurs on Windows Server 2008 or Windows Vista Service Pack 1-based computers that use Intel Nehalem processors.  http://support.microsoft.com/kb/961080 32) 960816. Hotfix. Some applications or services stop responding because a deadlock condition occurs in the Ntfs.sys driver in Windows Server 2008-based or Windows Vista SP1-based systems.  http://support.microsoft.com/kb/960816 33) 960754. Hotfix. FIX: You receive the ObjectDisposedException exception when you refer to the Transaction.Current.TransactionInformation object.  http://support.microsoft.com/kb/960754 34) 960751. Hotfix. The PdhLookupPerfNameByIndex API in Windows Server 2008 returns incorrect values for V2 performance counters.  http://support.microsoft.com/kb/960751 35) 960632. Hotfix. After you eject and re-insert a recordable CD (CD-R) in a drive,  Windows Vista no longer finds some files on the CD.  http://support.microsoft.com/kb/960632 36) 960251. Hotfix. Error message when you run a Borland MS-DOS based application: "The version of this file is not compatible with the version of Windows you're running".  http://support.microsoft.com/kb/960251 37) 960151. Hotfix. Error message when you try to access a network drive that is mapped to a DFS shared folder on a client computer that is running Windows Vista or Windows Server 2008: "Error: Location is not available".  http://support.microsoft.com/kb/960151 38) 960037. Hotfix. When a 32-bit process tries to update a string value with a new value that contains the %ProgramFiles% string, the %ProgramFiles% string is converted to the %ProgramFiles(x86)% string in a 64-bit environment.  http://support.microsoft.com/kb/960037 39) 960014. Hotfix. Some services occasionally do not start if you repeatedly restart a computer that runs Windows Vista or Windows Server 2008.  http://support.microsoft.com/kb/960014 40) 959759. Hotfix. You cannot rename a folder by using the UNC path in Windows Server 2008 or Windows Vista SP1 systems if the UNC path includes a symbolic link.  http://support.microsoft.com/kb/959759 41) 959546. Hotfix. FIX: An XAML browser application returns a security exception error when you use the application to connect the WCF service in partial trust.  http://support.microsoft.com/kb/959546 42) 959543. Hotfix. An update is available for users of Windows Services for UNIX and of Utilities and SDK for SUA to incorporate DST changes in Mauritius, in Brazil, in Morocco, in Egypt, and in Argentina.  http://support.microsoft.com/kb/959543

SP2: Base Technologies (3 of 9)

43) 959489. Hotfix. Error message when you try to perform certain operations on the files that are located on a network share: "Access is Denied".  http://support.microsoft.com/kb/959489 44) 959488. Hotfix. The logon process may take a long time when you try to log on to a Windows Vista-based or Windows Server 2008-based computer.  http://support.microsoft.com/kb/959488 45) 959464. Hotfix. A Windows Vista-based computer that has BitLocker turned on crashes when you press ESC to restart the computer.  http://support.microsoft.com/kb/959464 46) 959453. Hotfix. On a computer that runs Windows Vista or Windows Server 2008, a PCI Express bus may run in PCI compatibility mode instead of in PCI native mode after the PCI root bus restarts.  http://support.microsoft.com/kb/959453 47) 959439. Hotfix. After you upload encrypted files from a computer that is running Windows XP, Windows Vista or Windows Server 2008 to a WebDAV share, the files remain encrypted.  http://support.microsoft.com/kb/959439 48) 959403. Hotfix. Windows Server 2008 may restart unexpectedly when you open the Hyper-V manager console to manage virtual machines.  http://support.microsoft.com/kb/959403 49) 959169. Hotfix. A hotfix is available that corrects an issue in the memory allocation logic of the Itanium-based version of Windows Server 2008.  http://support.microsoft.com/kb/959169 50) 959125. Hotfix. The User Profile Service (ProfSvc) crashes in Windows Server 2008 or Windows Vista SP1 systems when the service loads or unloads user profiles that contain compressed files or folders.  http://support.microsoft.com/kb/959125 51) 959087. Hotfix. A hotfix is available that enables Windows Server 2008 to support Corrected Memory Error notification through Corrected Machine Check (CMC) interrupts and through CMC polling.  http://support.microsoft.com/kb/959087 52) 958960. Hotfix. A Windows Vista-based or Windows Server 2008-based computer may stop responding during a storage stress test or under similar conditions.  http://support.microsoft.com/kb/958960 53) 958932. Hotfix. You receive a Stop error message and the computer automatically restarts after you move IIS logs directory to a mount point on a Windows Server 2008-based or Windows Vista SP1-based computer: "0x0000007E".  http://support.microsoft.com/kb/958932 54) 958909. Hotfix. It takes a long time to log on to a Windows Vista-based computer that has antivirus software installed, and you notice that the size of the Setupapi.app.log file is very large.  http://support.microsoft.com/kb/958909 55) 958868. Hotfix. Windows Server 2008 virtual machines stop responding during the restarting process when a third-party hypervisor solution is used.  http://support.microsoft.com/kb/958868 56) 958867. Hotfix. You receive a "Stop 0x00000050" or "Stop 0x0000000A" error message when you hot-replace memory on a Windows Server 2008-based computer.  http://support.microsoft.com/kb/958867 57) 958702. Hotfix. When you copy large files between two Windows Vista or Windows Server 2008-based computers in a high bandwidth WAN network environment, the copy speed may be very slow.  http://support.microsoft.com/kb/958702 58) 958690. Security. MS09-006: Vulnerabilities in Windows Kernel could allow remote code execution.  http://support.microsoft.com/kb/958690 59) 958687. Security. MS09-001: Vulnerabilities in SMB could allow remote code execution.  http://support.microsoft.com/kb/958687 60) 958685. Hotfix. A Windows Vista-based or Windows Server 2008-based portable computer does not resume correctly if you close the lid while the computer is asleep.  http://support.microsoft.com/kb/958685 61) 958483. Hotfix. List of the issues that are addressed by the Application Compatibility Update for the .NET Framework 3.0 SP2.  http://support.microsoft.com/kb/958483 62) 958315. Hotfix. A user encounters an offline file sync conflict shortly after a successful synchronization on a Windows Vista-based or a Windows Server 2008-based client computer.  http://support.microsoft.com/kb/958315 63) 958272. Hotfix. On a Windows Server 2008-based or Windows Server 2003 R2-based computer that hosts NFS shares, excessive I/O requests may cause a TCPZeroWindow condition, and the NFS connection cannot restart as expected.  http://support.microsoft.com/kb/958272