Application incompatibility is one of the aspects that have managed to deliver extensive damage to the adoption rate of Windows Vista. However, as Vista matured throughout 2007 and with Service Pack 1 in 2008, so did the ecosystem of software solutions orbiting around the operating system. Despite this, the actual perception of application incompatibility managed to survive, especially in corporate environments. If one end user can deal with a program that is incompatible with Vista rather easy, the same cannot be said about an enterprise dependent on a specific business application with tens of thousands of machines.
“Part of this is perception based on fact - Windows Vista is built on a new architecture that promises tightened security and reliability. Consequently, the applications that ride on top of Windows Vista need to communicate with the kernel in different ways. So what has helped fuel current perception around application compatibility? Why did many applications ‘break’ in the migration from Windows XP to Windows Vista?” Microsoft asked rhetorically.
And it seems that application compatibility issues consistently point to a single culprit: User Account Control. The watch dog Microsoft introduced in order to train both end users and developers to utilize and respectively build applications running with standard privileges for security reasons has come back to bite Vista uptake.
“Standard user mode limits file and registry access by applications on the computer. User Account Control exposes non-compliant actions, with permission prompts to standard and administrator users. Changes in permissions will cause most of the issues with earlier versions of applications, where administrative access was assumed during development and testing,” Microsoft explained revealing the first reason for Vista application incompatibilities.
But two additional sources of compatibility problems are also connected with the UAC. Microsoft pointed to Internet Explorer 7 Protect Mode killing web-based applications as well as the Windows Resource Protection preventing programs to writing to protected areas of the operating system. In the end, the Redmond company traded flexibility for security, and legacy applications tailored to Windows XP running with administrative privileges bit the dust.
Additionally, Microsoft informed that “operating system and browser version numbers change with each release, which might cause issues with applications that check for a specific version number upon installation. Application shims are available to fool the application into thinking the operating system or browser is the application-required version.”
And on top of it, the new driver model introduced in Vista, that enables the eye candy Aero graphical user interface, along with undocumented APIs, also caused compatibility issues. Over a year since Vista hit the shelves, the Redmond company claims that the operating system benefits from in excess of 15,000 signed devices and components and the advances brought on by Service Pack 1. In this context, Microsoft is not shy to put forward an invitation to give Vista, now with SP1, another try.
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Written by Jason on May 25th, 2008 with no comments.
Read more articles on 1426 and 1429 and 1673 and 169 and 2065 and 2157 and 401 and Compatibility and Contributors and Internet Explorer and Internet Explorer 7 and Legacy and Security and Top and Web and Windows Vista and administrator and aero and application and kernel and operating system and service pack 1.
Microsoft is gearing up for the next stage in the delivery of its first service pack for Windows Vista. The Redmond company has confirmed officially that the automatic distribution of Vista SP1 is just around the corner. Still, at this point in time, the deadline for the debut of Vista SP1’s serving through Automatic Updates has not been made public. Microsoft has stated all along that it plans to start the distribution of Vista SP1 through AU by mid-April, but offered no additional information to pinpoint the release.
Service Pack 1 was released to manufacturing on February 4, 2008, concomitantly with the gold version of Windows Server 2008. Only on March 18 did Microsoft manage to make the service pack available to end users via Windows Update and the Download Center. At that time, the Redmond company only released the English, French, German, Spanish and Japanese language versions of Vista SP1.
As of April 15, Vista SP1 in the remaining 31 languages was also released to manufacturing and put up for grabs. And yet, the availability saga of Vista SP1 RTM is not over yet. The initial five languages of the service pack will start being served to all Vista RTM users that have the Automatic Updates option enabled. The remaining 31 languages supported by Vista will not be receiving Service Pack 1 through AU at this point in time. And in this context, Microsoft has yet to wrap up the delivery of Vista SP1 to an estimated 130 to 150 million copies of Vista RTM on the market.
“We are excited about Windows Vista Service Pack 1 and the benefits it provides. We made all 36 languages of SP1 available on Windows Update earlier this week, and we’re planning to begin automatic distribution of SP1 in English, French, German, Spanish, and Japanese shortly,” a member of the Microsoft Update team revealed.
Windows Vista Service Pack 1 All Language Standalone CD ISO is available for download here.
Windows Vista Service Pack 1 All Language Standalone DVD ISO is available for download here.
The Windows Vista Service Pack 1 All Language Standalone packages are here.
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Written by Jason on April 18th, 2008 with no comments.
Read more articles on 401 and Contributors and ISO and Language and Microsoft Update and RTM and Updates and Vista service pack 1 and Windows Vista and dvd and microsoft and service pack 1 and windows and windows vista service pack.
Windows Vista RTM has had quite a rough ride throughout 2007, with Microsoft Chief Executive Officer Stave Ballmer acknowledging software and hardware incompatibility problems. And while Service Pack 1 is essentially designed to soften all the rough edges of the latest Windows client, Vista SP1 is not without problems of its own. In this regard, Microsoft informed of a glitch in the Configuration Data store on Vista SP1 and Vista RTM which when the user attempts to resume a copy of the operating system from hibernation is instead informed that the platform was shutdown.
“When you wake a computer that is running Windows Vista Service Pack 1 (SP1) from hibernation, you may receive the following error message: ‘System was shutdown unexpectedly’,” Microsoft explained. “This issue occurs when the Boot Configuration Data (BCD) store contains incorrect information for the Resume from Hibernate entry.”
In order to resolve the issue all you have to do is edit the BCD, which features all the boot configuration parameters and has complete control over how an operating system starts. Just enter cmd in the Search box under the Start menu and right click the highlighted result, choosing the Run as administrator option from the contextual menu that pops up. Type “bcdedit -enum all” (without inverted comas) at the command prompt and hit Enter. You now have to identify “Resume from Hibernate” segments and take note of the adjacent identifier.
Next you have to type the following command “bcdedit /deletevalue,” and make sure that you associate the Resume from Hibernate identifier, also adding inherit at the end, just as in the following example: “bcdedit /deletevalue {xxxxxxxx-xxxx-xxxx-xxxx-xxxxxxxxxxxx} inherit.” Just press Enter and you are done. Vista SP1 will no longer shut down unexpectedly instead of resuming from hibernation.
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Written by Jason on April 16th, 2008 with no comments.
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Keeping a close eye on Microsoft is not exactly an easy task, moreover since the company has entered a new era of translucency over transparency. But at the same time there are a variety of sources orbiting Microsoft and providing enough crumbs from the Redmond feast. The problem in this context is the centralization of information. In this regard, the Microsoft EvNet Dev Team has made available a collection of no less than five gadgets designed to integrate seamlessly with the Windows Vista Sidebar and deliver content from the main videocontent websites focused on the Redmond company.
“Check out this set of Windows Vista Sidebar Gadgets for keeping up to date with the latest content on Channel 8, Channel 9, Channel 10, TechNet Edge, and Mix Online. Features: automatic rotation of latest articles on the site allows you to quickly see what’s new and keep up to date without opening a browser, read articles and view videos right on your desktop or navigate directly to the post and the gadgets work with both Silverlight 1.0 as well as the SL 2 beta,” revealed Ronan Geraghty, a member of the Developer and Platform Group in Microsoft Ireland.
All the gadgets are delivered free of charge and enable Windows Vista RTM and Windows Vista Service Pack 1 to enjoy videos and news from Channel 8, 9, and 10 as well as TechNet Edge and Mix Online. Out of all five, the item designed for Mix Online is without a doubt hitting a peak of relevance during the conference, usually scheduled at the end of March the beginning of April. Edge Technet is a hotspot aimed at IT professionals and is updated with new content quite frequently.
“Channel 10 covers the latest news in new PC hardware and software, mobile gadgetry, photography, videography, and gaming. Keep up to date with the latest and greatest from the Channel 10 team right on your desktop. (…) Check out the latest videos and news from Channel8.msdn.com, Microsoft’s community site for technical students. Covering topics ranging from new programming languages to building a custom PC, C8 is worth a look. (…) Channel 9 is Microsoft’s developer community where you can learn about the latest technology and meet the people behind Microsoft products. Watch videos right on your desktop and hear about all the cool, new up-and-coming technologies,” read the descriptions of the Sidebar gadgets for Channel 8, 9 and 10.
The Windows Vista RTM and SP1 Sidebar Gadgets are available for download via the following links: Channel 8, Channel 9, Channel 10, TechNet Edge, and Mix Online.
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Written by Jason on April 15th, 2008 with no comments.
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Microsoft has updated and re-released Windows NT Backup on March 27, 2008, making it available as a free download. The move comes as the utility needs to keep up the pace with the evolution of the latest Windows client and server operating systems. Microsoft released both Windows Vista Service Pack 1 and Windows Server 2008 RTM/SP1 to manufacturing on February 4, 2008. Windows Server 2008 was launched officially at the end of the past month, while Vista SP1 was released to the general public on March 18.
Version 1.0 of Windows NT Backup dropped on March 27 is tailored to both Vista SP1 and Windows Server 2008. The utility is designed to enable users of Vista SP1 and Windows Server 2008 to restore backups that were created on the previous versions of the operating systems, namely Windows XP and Windows Server 2003. In the move from XP and Windows Server 2003, Microsoft has evolved the backup infrastructure of the two platforms. (more…)
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Written by Jason on March 29th, 2008 with no comments.
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The long awaited, highly anticipated Windows Vista Service Pack 1 (SP1) will finally be available by Microsoft. For many, SP1 is the promise land for fixing those annoying performance, compatibility and slow file copy problems that have plague Vista since it’s release.
Only time will tell.
Regardless of what happens, pre-cautions should be taken to ensure a successful upgrade to Vista SP1.
Below are five steps you should follow BEFORE installing SP1, that should help with achieving a successful upgrade and ensure no data is lost. (more…)
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Written by Jason on March 15th, 2008 with comments disabled.
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Everything else has not failed… Well, maybe the Wow… So, when on the remnants of the failed Wow, Microsoft is now bringing in the Windows Vista Service Pack 1 cavalry. With Mark Russinovich, Microsoft Technical Fellow in the Platform and Services division at the lead, the Redmond company offered the Springboard Live! Interactive Virtual Roundtable the past week. Keyword being live, at this point in time, you can consider that you missed it. But not entirely. You can no longer participate in the roundtable, and as such the interactivity label is nothing but a label, but you can access the entire event via this link.
“Join Mark Russinovich and a panel of experts for a live, interactive discussion on adopting Windows Vista into a desktop infrastructure. (more…)
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Written by Jason on March 11th, 2008 with comments disabled.
Read more articles on Mark Russinovich and RTM and Vista service pack 1 and Windows Vista and microsoft and service pack 1 and sp1 and windows and windows aero and windows vista service pack.
As it promised, Microsoft Corp. yesterday started sending Windows Vista users an update that identifies illegal copies of the operating system installed with cracks that the company will disable when it distributes Service Pack 1 (SP1) in two weeks. Last Thursday, Microsoft announced the update, which detects two common cracks used to activate pirated copies of Vista, and said it would hit Windows Update (WU) within a week. Users who have left Vista’s recommended WU settings alone will receive the update automatically. Others, said Microsoft, must enable Automatic Update within Vista or manually call up WU from the Start menu.
A document posted to the company’s support site spelled out the details. Among other things, it promised that the 3MB update “does not affect the functionality of your operating system.” (more…)
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Written by Jason on March 1st, 2008 with comments disabled.
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Microsoft officially confirmed the Windows Vista Service Pack 1 downloads at the end of the past week. On February 21, 2008, the gold bits of Windows Vista SP1 were offered for download via Windows Update. The move was a derail from the timetable set for the delivery of the RTM Build of Vista SP1, initially planned for general availability starting with mid-March 2008, according to Mike Nash, Microsoft Corporate Vice President, Windows Product Management. Nash announced on February 4 that the final bits of Vista SP1 would find their way to end users through Microsoft Update, Windows Update and the Microsoft Download Center in mid-March, and then through Automatic Updates beginning with mid-April.
But the fact that the end users of Vista got the short straw without even participating in the draw does not mean that the Redmond company did not release Vista SP1 RTM. (more…)
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Written by Jason on February 25th, 2008 with comments disabled.
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Windows Vista Service Pack 1 is designed to evolve the RTM version of the latest Windows client from Microsoft, made available in November 2006 to business customers, and in January 2007 to the general consumers. Essentially, Vista SP1 is not a repeat of Windows XP Sp2, and outside of minor changes to the fabric of the operating system such as an overhauled Desktop Search mechanism, support for the Extensible Firmware Interface (EFI) and kernel tweaks designed to bypass the PatchGuard (Kernel Patch Protection) security mitigation, the original architecture of Vista RTM remains unchanged.
In this context, the built-in super administrator account in Vista has survived to the first service pack. “In Windows Vista, the built-in administrator account is disabled by default. In previous versions of Windows, an Administrator account was automatically created during Out-of-Box-Experience (OOBE) with a blank password. An Administrator account with a blank password is a security risk. To better protect the system, the built-in Administrator account is disabled by default in all clean installations and upgrades of Windows Vista,” Microsoft informed. (more…)
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