Newsletter Archives

• SyncToy 2.0

  Posted on August 16, 2008 at 21:15 CDT by woody • Comment in the Forums

  Microsoft has just released SyncToy version 2.0.

  I talk about SyncToy a lot in Windows Home Server For Dummies. Ends up that it’s the ideal way to sync TV shows between the Media Center machine that records them and your Windows Home Server.

  SyncToy, a free PowerToy for Microsoft Windows, is an easy to use, highly customizable program that helps users to do the heavy lifting involved with the copying, moving, and synchronization of different directories. Most common operations can be performed with just a few clicks of the mouse, and additional customization is available without additional complexity. SyncToy can manage multiple sets of folders at the same time; it can combine files from two folders in one case, and mimic renames and deletes in another case. Unlike other applications, SyncToy actually keeps track of renames to files and will make sure those changes get carried over to the synchronized folder.

  If you have similar or duplicated files scattered all over Hell’s Half Acre, SyncToy can be a lifesaver. It’s a great program.

  Windows News

• Windows Search 4.0 0x643 failures

  Posted on August 16, 2008 at 09:32 CDT by woody • Comment in the Forums

  For those of you who have been trying to install Windows Search (formerly Windows Desktop Search) on your Windows XP machines, this just in from the MS Update team blog:

  Windows Search 4.0 has been available on WU [Windows Update, and Microsoft Update] for a few weeks now, and we’ve been getting some questions about installation failures and error code 0x643. We’ve done some investigation and found out that the installation failure in this case may actually be caused by the computer configuration, which in most cases can be easily changed to allow for successful installation and functionality of Windows Search 4.0.

  In this case, when WS4.0 runs under Windows Server 2003 or Windows XP, it requires Terminal Services to be running. By default, Terminal Services are set to start automatically in Windows XP and Windows Server 2003; however, system administrator or third-party software may have chosen to disable them. In order to enable installation and subsequent functionality of Windows Search 4.0 on your machine, you need to have Terminal Services running first.

  If you can’t get Windows Search to install and you get an error code 0x643, hit the blog for details on cranking up Terminal Services.

  Personally, I use Google Desktop Search, the pioneer in the field, but it’s a toss-up as to which one is better.

  Windows News

• Windows Home Server Power Pack 1 released to manufacturing

  Posted on July 22, 2008 at 06:45 CDT by woody • Comment in the Forums

  Microsoft just released Windows Home Server Power Pack 1. It’s a substantial improvement over the original version of WHS, with:

  Fixes for the outstanding major bugs.

  Support for 64-bit versions of Windows running on your home computers;

  You can now back up Shared Folders on your server to an external hard drive;

  Significant improvements to the Remote Access feature;

  Lower power consumption.

  As I explained last month, the one feature that everybody wanted – the ability to back up your server’s backup files to an external hard drive – didn’t make it into the final product.

  Microsoft’s official description in KB 944289 says that PP1 will be pushed through automatic updates in a few weeks.

  In the interim, according to Terry Walsh on the We Got Served site, the English version is available for download now; the German, French and Spanish versions will be out early next month; and all other languages will be available by mid-August.

  Windows News

• The mysterious demise of Alohabob

  Posted on July 19, 2008 at 08:30 CDT by woody • Comment in the Forums

  Ed Bott reports that Microsoft’s “Windows Transfer Companion” (better known to insiders as Alohabob) is no longer available – and nobody seems willing to explain why.

  As I explain in Windows Vista All-In-One Desk Reference For Dummies and Windows Vista Timesaving Techniques For Dummies, Alohabob is what the Files and Settings Transfer Wizard should’ve been – an easy way to move settings and files from one computer to another. Windows’ original feature had problems galore. Microsoft bought the Alohabob company in March 2006 – along with their vastly superior transfer programs – and I predicted that Alohabob would be re-released with a Microsoft moniker shortly after, much like, oh, Windows Defender.

  Alas, that never happened, really. Microsoft re-packaged Alohabob and stuck it in an Internet backwater. You could use it, but there was no effort to make it half the package it could’ve been.

  Microsoft has officially pulled the program from its site. Ed speculates that MS may be building the feature set into Windows 7 – and if that’s the case I say “hurrah!” (followed by a swift “about time!”). But Alohabob’s future is by no means certain.

  Windows News

• New York Times could use a breath of fresh air

  Posted on July 1, 2008 at 09:37 CDT by woody • Comment in the Forums

  I started choking when I read the op-ed piece in yesterday’s New York Times called “Windows Could Use a Rush of Fresh Air.”

  The article is so…. not right. I can’t even begin to list all the erros. The idea that Microsoft Research – the home of several of my current and former friends – is “where scientists and their heretical thoughts are safely isolated” beggars even my imagination.

  I could start ranting here, but Ed Bott has done a

  thorough job.

  Word to the wise: if you have heart problems, or are easily swayed by self-appointed experts, skip the NY Times piece and go straight to Bott’s analysis.

  Windows News

• Five months later, Windows Home Server gets patched

  Posted on June 10, 2008 at 13:03 CDT by woody • Comment in the Forums

  I think.

  Microsoft has just announced that a Release Candidate for Windows Home Server “Power Pack 1” is now available for downloading.

  Power Pack 1 includes two new features (more about that in a moment), but by far the most important part of the Power Pack is a patch to the data-eating bug Microsoft first announced last December.

  Yes, it took that long to fix the bug. (No, for most people, the bug wasn’t a show-stopper.)

  The two new features: you can now run the Windows Home Server backup program (called the “Connector”) on PCs using 64-bit versions of Windows; and with Power Pack 1 you can back up the contents of shared folders, on an external drive. We were all hoping that PP1 would allow you to back up your WHS backup files, but that feature got the heave-ho.

  Given the WHS dev team’s track record (which is quite good), you might want to consider installing this beta.

  Windows News

• So how much is Vista worth?

  Posted on June 9, 2008 at 19:53 CDT by woody • Comment in the Forums

  I bumped into an interesting price comparison that might tickle your fancy.

  HP sells a new “Mini-Note PC” that competes with the Asus EEE. It’s small, easy to carry around, and surprisingly inexpensive.

  HP will sell you a version with Linux pre-installed, another version with Windows Vista Home Basic, and another with “Genuine Windows Vista Business downgrade to Genuine Windows XP Professional” – in other words, a version with Windows XP Pro installed, but a license to upgrade to Vista Business.

  So how much more do you have to spend to get Vista? Bzzzzzt.

  If I read this price comparison correctly, it appears as if the Windows XP Pro version (with Bluetooth) costs $130 more than the Vista Business version (without Bluetooth).

  Of course, the pundit pandits will note that the XP version includes a license for Vista, so if you buy the “downgrade” – and pay $130 more for it – you actually get two operating systems. Somebody must’ve stayed up late at night figuring out how to put a positive spin on that one.

  Windows News

• What little we know about Windows 7

  Posted on May 28, 2008 at 05:27 CDT by woody • Comment in the Forums

  After the truly vacuous interview that Steve Sinofsky granted to Ina Fried at CNet/CBS, I figure that any, uh, real news about Windows 7 would be most welcome.

  Well, we didn’t get much.

  Walt Mossberg’s D6 conference brought a demo from Gates and Ballmer that promises Windows 7 will incorporate Microsoft’s “Touch” interface – essentially a touch screen that recognizes two simultaneous inputs. It’s cool, it’s sexy, and the demos look fantastic. But will it change the way I compute? Will it help me get my work done, so I can get home earlier at night?

  That remains to be seen….

  Windows News
• « Older Entries

  Newer Entries »