Windows Vista

Windows Genuine Advantage Blog

Validation Issue Fix

We’ve been receiving reports on our forum and through customer service starting last night that Windows Vista validations have been failing on genuine systems. It looks now as though the issue has been resolved and validations are being processed successfully.

Customers who received an incorrect validation response can fix their system by revalidating on our site (http://www.microsoft.com/genuine). We encourage anyone who received a validation failure since Friday evening to do this now. After successfully revalidating any affected system should be rebooted to ensure the genuine-only features are restored.

I held off writing an update until posts from a few users, who were still reporting problems after trying to revalidate, had abated.

Kudos to the WGA Team for resolving the issue quickly, although I am sure this incident will add fire to the already hot WGA debate.

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Today I received my copy of the latest issue, “Deploying Windows Vista, BDD 2007 Delivers Windows Vista On A Silver Platter.”

Although it’s nice to have the magazine, it’s also available to download as a standalone HTML Help file (.chm) TechNet

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Microsoft’s WGA server went down August 24th 2007, and installations were being flagged as counterfeit because they could not be validated.

Please see this topic:
ATTENTION - Vista Validation 0xC004C4A5 Errors - PLEASE READ (Or read the latest post for resolution steps) in the forums.

Until the situation is definitely resolved, I would advise against shutting down or rebooting your Vista machines.

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TechNet

Microsoft Security Bulletin MS07-048 - Important
Vulnerabilities in Windows Gadgets Could Allow Remote Code Execution (938123)
This important security update resolves two privately reported vulnerabilities in addition to other vulnerabilities identified during the course of the investigation. These vulnerabilities could allow an anonymous remote attacker to run code with the privileges of the logged on user. If a user subscribed to a malicious RSS feed in the Feed Headlines Gadget or added a malicious contacts file in the Contacts Gadget or a user clicked on a malicious link in the Weather Gadget an attacker could potentially run code on the system. In all attack vectors, users whose accounts are configured to have fewer user rights on the system could be less impacted than users who operate with administrative user rights.

This is an important security update for all supported editions of Windows Vista. For more information, see the subsection, Affected and Non-Affected Software, in this section.

This security update addresses the vulnerability by improving validation code within the Feed Headlines and Contacts Gadgets. The Inspect Your Gadget document outlines secure programming best practices that should be followed when building Gadgets. For more information about the vulnerability, see the Frequently Asked Questions (FAQ) subsection for the specific vulnerability entry under the next section, Vulnerability Information.

Recommendation: Microsoft recommends that customers apply the security update.

Known Issues: Microsoft Knowledge Base Article 938123 documents any currently known issues that customers may experience when they install this security update. The article also documents recommended solutions for these issues.

Please see full page and information:
http://www.microsoft.com/technet/security/bulletin/MS07-048.mspx

Source: Dana Epp’s Weblog

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Bill Pytlovany:

I am very pleased with the feedback I’ve received from everyone who helped test the newest version of WinPatrol. The new version is officially available today.
Everyone seems to really like our new Scotty icon. The last time I tried to change the main icon there was a rebellion of sorts. All our Vista users are glad that Scotty has his voice back.

More information and download at Bits from Bill

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From Bill Pytlovany, WinPatrol.

Vista Won’t Silence Scotty’s Bark
The new WinPatrol 2007 was designed to be Vista compatible as well as introduce a few other new features like Delayed Start. Much to my surprise the number one bug reported with the new version was that Scotty no longer barked on Vista machines.

Bits from Bill

Apprantly a new version of WinPatrol will be released by the end of the month, making a lot of fans happy to have Scotty barking again. Woof.

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The Windows Vista Cleanup tool enables you to clear your disk of unnecessary files. However, as I found out, if you check the hibernation file cleaner box for removal, you will no longer see the ‘Hibernate’ option in Power Options after the Disk Cleanup.

This affected not only Sleep Mode, but also my Backup Power Supply Unit, both of which were unable to save my work in the event of a blackout.

I found this handy kb at Microsoft.

Article ID: 928897
Last Review: March 15, 2007
Revision : 1.2
The hybrid sleep feature and the hibernation feature in Windows Vista may become unavailable after you use the Disk Cleanup Tool

SYMPTOMS
After you use the Disk Cleanup Tool in Windows Vista, you may experience the following symptoms:

• You cannot see the Hibernate option in Power Options.

• When you use the sleep feature, the computer does not recover its settings if power is lost.

CAUSE
This problem occurs when the Disk Cleanup Tool disables the hibernation file. The hibernation file must be enabled to access the hybrid sleep feature and the hibernation feature in Windows Vista.

When the hibernation file is disabled, and the hybrid sleep feature is enabled, a backup of open programs and open files will not be saved to the disk when you use the sleep feature in Windows Vista. Additionally, if the computer loses power while the Windows is in sleep mode, open programs and open files will not be recovered, and any unsaved work will be lost.

RESOLUTION
To resolve this problem in Windows Vista, run the powercfg -h on command at a command prompt to enable the hibernate feature and the hybrid sleep feature. To run this command, follow these steps:

1. Click Start, click All Programs, and then click Accessories.
2. Right-click Command Prompt, click Run as administrator, type powercfg -h on, and then press ENTER.

http://support.microsoft.com/kb/928897/
© 2007 Microsoft Corporation. All rights reserved.

Worked like a charm, however you will not see a confirmation message to indicate whether or not you were successful.

A simple way to check: Control Panel > Power Options > Change Advanced Power Settings.

Hibernate should be back in the Sleep menu.

At the Security Garden Corrine blogged Ed Bott’s ‘Vista Master Driver List‘, which she has added to Windows Vista Bookmarks

That led me to Robert McLaws: Windows Vista: Six Months In, Your Mileage May Vary

This may be news to Jessica Mintz of the Associated Press, but not every Vista user has been griping.

You can count me in, I have not encountered any driver problems with a Dell XPS which had Vista pre-installed. I did elect to go with a integrated sound card because the alternative was Sound Blaster. After my own experience with Creative after upgrading another machine to Vista Ultimate, I was not going to take that route again.

Of course some people will experience problems, that is to be expected when a new Operating System is released.

However it is a sweeping statement to imply this is a problem for everyone and his mother running Vista.

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Vista Team Blog

We’ve been pleased with the response to the program, which has enabled thousands of multi-computer families to upgrade more than one PC in their home to Windows Vista.

You can still take advantage of this offer until 11:59 PM Pacific Time on 30 June 2007.
Bring Home More “Wow”