Month: January 2007

Vista ….. No not again

by ucinfo, posted in !News, Flaphead, Windows

Okay so after yesterdays data loss, I thought I had learnt my lession. Doh I was VERY wrong.  It also seems that I have become very bitter and twisted over the last few weeks :-|

So at home I have an Elonex eXentia Media Centre PC, which I upgraded to Vista Ultimate a while back.  So I get home last night and start up Windows Update and see that I have the same updates to apply, plus one for my TV Card. So I say download.  Before I go to bed, I tell it to reboot.

So I wake up this morning and go to check out what the deal is.  I see Vista telling me that it has found a new device. YES I think, it has found my DVD drive .. at last.

I should be so lucky.  Instead, the “new” device is actually my OLD TV card.  So I follow the little wizard and it then says, err cant find the driver where can I get it?  I don’t bloody know .. it was working before this stupid update!.  So I point it at a share I have will my XP drivers and it and it says, NA CANT FIND THE DRIVER .. you are the weakest link, goodbye! 

So now in device manager I have two unknown devices, that are my TV card and no way to get them back.   Ah I think, driver roll back.  NOPE, the damm button is greyed out, so I am shagged as Media Centre doesnt work now!

Ah, how about removing the update!  So I go to “Uninstall an update” and NOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO!

So the state of play as of now 0900 UK time, 31st January 2007 is that my Elonex eXentia is Shagged.  It used to be a media centre pc but the DVD drive doesn’t work and neither now does the TV card.  I left this morning attempting to install the MCE2005 XP drivers from Avermedia and will see when I get home if my TV Card is working again.  If not, I will rebuild my Elonex on Friday and put XP back on!

SO WARNING: If you have an Elonex eXentia DO NOT INSTALL VISTA.  If you have DO NOT INSTALL THE AVERMEDIA update

Vista aggghhhh

by ucinfo, posted in !News, Flaphead, Windows

Okay so today is launch day, and Vista decided to install some updates on my laptop.

This is okay, but then WITHOUT a big centre of screen popup saying I am going to reboot it does .. and it does it really well, by terminating programs that are running and so ignoring the “save this document” dialog.

THANKS TO WINDOWS VISTA and MICROSOFT UPDATE I have lost my afternoons work

PLEASE PLEASE CHANGE THIS.  GIVE ME A BIG F84CK0FF DIALOG IN THE MIDDLE OF MY DISPLAY BEFORE YOU RUIN MY DAY!

2007 time zone update for SQL Server 2005 Notification Services and for SQL Server 2000 Notification Services

by ucinfo, posted in !News, DST2007, Flaphead

So SQL doesn’t escape the dreaded DST2007!!!

Source: http://support.microsoft.com/?id=931815

Starting in the spring of 2007, daylight saving time (DST) start dates and end dates for the United States will change to comply with the Energy Policy Act of 2005. DST dates in the United States 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).
The update that this article describes modifies the time zone data for SQL Server Notification Services to account for the United States DST change. This article applies to the following versions of Microsoft SQL Server Notification Services:

  • Microsoft SQL Server 2000 Notification Services 2.0
  • Microsoft SQL Server 2000 Notification Services 2.0 Service Pack 1 (SP1)
  • Microsoft SQL Server 2005 Notification Services
  • Microsoft SQL Server 2005 Notification Services Service Pack 1 (SP1)
  • Microsoft SQL Server 2005 Notification Services Service Pack 2 (SP2)

 

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Outlook DST2007 Tool

by ucinfo, posted in DST2007, Flaphead, MsExchange, MsOffice

Okay so I have an Exchange 2003 Virtual Server image and I thought I would see what the deal was.

So I created a reoccuring meeting request over the time change period.  Then Installed the Windows 2003 Patch with no problem. Next was the Exchange 2003 Patch.  That wanted me to close down w3wp.exe, MMC and MOMHost.  Interesting as the MMC wasn’t running :-|  I chose continue and the patch installed and wanted a reboot!

So next was the outlook tool.  It’s a mere 8.27mb in size, and you see how large the installed files are below.  It looks like a universal binary file that contains both the 32-bit and 64-bit versions of the tool in one package. Once you install the exe it drops two files into the folder below:

It will then run tzmove.exe and you get this:

 

If you click on the Icon in the bar on the top left you can select the about screen:

Choose the options you want and then click OK.  You will see the progress screen:

In my case it didn’t make any changes.  Don’t know why? and you get this dialog

It does have a command line too,  KB 931667 was updated on the 28th Jan 2007.  About 3/4 of the way down you see: Command-line parameter options.

On the downloadable package you have 3 switches

/extract, /quite and /?.  I suspect /quite will be the most used one.  It will do a silent install and run, and drops a log file in to %temp%.  It actually looks like it always generates a log file, even if you use the GUI!  The /extract switch extract the file to an MSI

Once you have installed the update, you have two switches to use.  /ONLYRECURRING and /MAXAPPTS.  Check KB 931667  for what they do, but it seems that the initiate the GUI.

Have a play and let me know how you get on

 

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Vista Updates

by ucinfo, posted in !News, Flaphead, Windows

This is quite funny.  While looking for the outlook DST20007 patch I discovered a few vista patches.  Wonder why that would be?  Oh, it’s released today! 

Windows Update will do the job of downloading them for you!

Source: http://www.microsoft.com/downloads/results.aspx?freetext=vista&productID=&categoryId=&period=120&sortCriteria=date&nr=50&DisplayLang=en

  • Release Notes for Windows Vista: Release Notes containing known issues for the Microsoft Windows Vista operating system.
  • Update for Windows Vista (KB925528): This is a reliability update. Install this update to resolve reliability issues with some USB hardware devices and controllers.
  • Update for Windows Vista (KB928089): This update resolves a performance issue with the Internet Explorer Phishing Filter when visiting web pages that contain multiple frames or when multiple frame navigations occur quickly.
  • Update for Windows Vista (KB929427): Install this update to address a set of known application compatibility issues with Windows Vista.
  • Update for Windows Vista (KB929615): Install this update to address an issue with Windows Media Center which may prevent you from receiving audio in the desired language on channels that utilize a secondary audio channel.
  • Update for Windows Vista (KB929685): Install this update to address an issue that may prevent high-definition audio devices from initializing after resuming the system from a sleep or hibernation state.
  • Update for Windows Vista (KB929735): Install this update to resolve an issue that prevents Windows Search from returning a complete set of results when a search is performed using the date option and a non-Gregorian calendar is in use.
  • Update for Windows Vista (KB929761): Install this update to resolve an issue where installing a Microsoft Update (.MSU) using the /quiet switch fails if the update contains a new or updated EULA.
  • Update for Windows Vista (KB929762): Install this update to resolve an issue which may cause the system to crash while resuming from hibernation while an IEEE 1394 hard drive is connected.
  • Update for Windows Vista (KB929763): Install this update to address issues in the Mongolian Baiti font that prevent correct display of Mongolian-language text.
  • Update for Windows Vista (KB929777): Install this update to address an issue in storport.sys which results in a system crash when certain hardware configurations exist.
  • Update for Windows Vista (KB930163): Install this update to resolve an issue where connecting to a remote network using VPN after you switch from an active wired connection to another wired or wireless connection fails.
  • Update for Windows Vista (KB930857): Install this update to fix an issue with Windows Error Reporting that may cause some information about application errors to be sent to Microsoft without notifying you.
  • Update for Windows Vista (KB931573): Install this update to resolve an issue where you may be prompted to activate a pre-installed copy of Windows Vista.
  • Update for Windows Vista for x64-based Systems (KB925528): This is a reliability update. Install this update to resolve reliability issues with some USB hardware devices and controllers.
  • Update for Windows Vista for x64-based Systems (KB928089): This update resolves a performance issue with the Internet Explorer Phishing Filter when visiting web pages that contain multiple frames or when multiple frame navigations occur quickly.
  • Update for Windows Vista for x64-based Systems (KB929427): Install this update to address a set of known application compatibility issues with Windows Vista.
  • Update for Windows Vista for x64-based Systems (KB929615): Install this update to address an issue with Windows Media Center which may prevent you from receiving audio in the desired language on channels that utilize a secondary audio channel.
  • Update for Windows Vista for x64-based Systems (KB929685): Install this update to address an issue that may prevent high-definition audio devices from initializing after resuming the system from a sleep or hibernation state.
  • Update for Windows Vista for x64-based Systems (KB929735): Install this update to resolve an issue that prevents Windows Search from returning a complete set of results when a search is performed using the date option and a non-Gregorian calendar is in use.
  • Update for Windows Vista for x64-based Systems (KB929761): Install this update to resolve an issue where installing a Microsoft Update (.MSU) using the /quiet switch fails if the update contains a new or updated EULA.
  • Update for Windows Vista for x64-based Systems (KB929762): Install this update to resolve an issue which may cause the system to crash while resuming from hibernation while an IEEE 1394 hard drive is connected.
  • Update for Windows Vista for x64-based Systems (KB929763): Install this update to address issues in the Mongolian Baiti font that prevent correct display of Mongolian-language text.
  • Update for Windows Vista for x64-based Systems (KB929777): Install this update to address an issue in storport.sys which results in a system crash when certain hardware configurations exist.
  • Update for Windows Vista for x64-based Systems (KB930163): Install this update to address issues in the Mongolian Baiti font that prevent correct display of Mongolian-language text.
  • Update for Windows Vista for x64-based Systems (KB930857): Install this update to fix an issue with Windows Error Reporting that may cause some information about application errors to be sent to Microsoft without notifying you.
  • Update for Windows Vista for x64-based Systems (KB931573): Install this update to resolve an issue where you may be prompted to activate a pre-installed copy of Windows Vista.
  • Windows Vista Upgrade Advisor: Windows Vista Upgrade Advisor is designed to help Windows XP users identify whether their PCs are ready for an upgrade to Windows Vista, which edition of Windows Vista meets their needs, and which features of Windows Vista will be able to run on their PCs.

 

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Microsoft Office Outlook Tool: Time Zone Data Update Tool for Microsoft Office Outlook

by ucinfo, posted in DST2007, Flaphead, MsExchange, MsOffice

At last!  This slipped out over night.  All we need now is the Exchange version. Source: http://www.microsoft.com/downloads/details.aspx?FamilyID=e343a233-b9c8-4652-9dd8-ae0f1af62568&DisplayLang=en

In order to address time zone changes, this tool will help adjust calendar items in Outlook after the operating system has been updated with new time zone definitions. While this tool is being released in advance of the U.S. Daylight saving time rules change in 2007, it can be used for general adjustments of calendar items based on changes in time zone definitions saved in Windows or by the user making a permanent move to another time zone.

Specifics:

  • In existing recurring appointments, Outlook has encoded the current DST rules: Instances of recurring appointments that occur during the delta period will appear one hour earlier than they should.
  • For existing single-instance appointments and reminders, Outlook already calculated the universal time coordinate (UTC) value upon appointment creation: If a user creates an appointment while Windows is configured for the old DST rules and the appointment itself occurs during the “new” DST weeks, the appointment will appear one hour earlier than it should.
  • Existing all-day events are associated with 24 specific hours instead of a given date: For the reasons described above, all-day events will appear to shift and thus span two days during the “new” DST weeks.

 

 

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Support WebCast: The impact of daylight saving time on Microsoft Exchange Server and Microsoft Office Outlook

by ucinfo, posted in !News, DST2007, Flaphead, MsExchange, MsOffice, Training

If you use Exchange and Outlook, then YOU NEED TO watch this WebCast! Why oh Why do the damm times for these WebCast SUCK of everyone outside of the US? This one is at 2100-2200 on Friday 2nd Feb 2007

Source: http://www.microsoft.com/events/EventDetails.aspx?CMTYSvcSource=MSCOMMedia&Params=%7eCMTYDataSvcParams%5e%7earg+Name%3d%22ID%22+Value%3d%221032327505%22%2f%5e%7earg+Name%3d%22ProviderID%22+Value%3d%22A6B43178-497C-4225-BA42-DF595171F04C%22%2f%5e%7earg+Name%3d%22lang%22+Value%3d%22en%22%2f%5e%7earg+Name%3d%22cr%22+Value%3d%22US%22%2f%5e%7esParams%5e%7e%2fsParams%5e%7e%2fCMTYDataSvcParams%5e

This Support WebCast will help you understand how Microsoft Exchange Server and Microsoft Office Outlook are approaching this transition. It will provide more details about which versions of Exchange and Outlook versions are affected. The WebCast also talks about the requirements and considerations you should be aware of when installing the fixes. It will also discuss the most common scenarios that Exchange Administrators could face in getting ready for the change.

 

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Burns Night

by ucinfo, posted in !News, Flaphead

So today is Robert Burns birthday (25th Janaury) and tonight is Burns Night so you can enjoy a Haggis. Haggis achieved literary fame through “To A Haggis” by Scotland’s bard, Robert Burns in the 18th century. It is largely through the celebrations of Burns’ birthday each year that eating haggis has become a certain ritual.

Burns now world-famous address “To A Haggis” is recited at Burns Suppers all over the world. It is largely because of the enduring popularity of Burns that the much loved haggis has such a strong Scottish identity.

A traditional Burns Night has a format that is followed.  Have a look here: http://www.macsween.co.uk/burnsnight/content.asp?PageID=25b and the haggis is piped in with the chef carrying the haggis to the top table. The host or invited guest then recites Burns’ address To a Haggis. At the line, “an’ cut you up wi’ ready slight”, the haggis is cut open with a sharp knife. It is customary to applaud when the speaker is finished the address and for the company to stand and toast the haggis with a glass of whisky

Haggis is typically Lamb offal, beef fat, oatmeal, water, onion, salt, peppers and spices.  Depending on how big your haggis is, it will take from 45 mins to poach.

It is traditional to serve with tatties & neaps (aka mashed potato and swede/turnip mix) and wash down with a wee dram. 

If your after a haggis, MacSween of Edinburgh make the best I have tried.  Check out the website to see where you can buy your one

 

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TechNet Flash: Next Up, Windows Server “Longhorn”

by , posted in Flaphead, Windows

Received my TechNet Flash today and it said:

The Windows Server code-named “Longhorn” beta program will be kicking off soon, and that means it’s time to pre-register to get your hands on the next generation of the Windows Server operating system. When you Register for Windows Server code-named “Longhorn” beta through the Beta Central program, you will be notified when the beta is available. You’ll also be notified as the additional resources are available, such as Web forums, virtual labs, and other e-learning tools. In the meantime, acquaint yourself with all that’s new in Windows Server “Longhorn”, including improvements in networking, advanced security features, remote application access, centralized server role management, performance and reliability monitoring tools, failover clustering, deployment, and the file system.

 

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