HelpWithWindows Newsletter

01. Microsoft Releases Vista Performance Fixes

by Arie Slob

Hello Windows users,

In the second week of August Microsoft released two 'rollup' patches for Windows Vista. The two patches resolve a number of reliability, compatibility and performance issues that have been reported frequently over the past few months.

The compatibility and reliability update resolves the following issues:

The screen may go blank when you try to upgrade the video driver
The computer stops responding, and you receive a "Display driver stopped responding and has recovered" error message. You can restart the computer only by pressing the computer's power button
The computer stops responding or restarts unexpectedly when you play video games or perform desktop operations
The Diagnostic Policy Service (DPS) stops responding when the computer is under heavy load or when very little memory is available. This problem prevents diagnostics from working
The screen goes blank after an external display device that is connected to the computer is turned off. For example, this problem may occur when a projector is turned off during a presentation
A computer that has NVIDIA G80 series graphic drivers installed stops responding
Visual appearance issues occur when you play graphics-intensive games
You experience poor playback quality when you play HD DVD disks or Blu-ray disks on a large monitor
Applications that load the Netcfgx.dll component exit unexpectedly
Windows Calendar exits unexpectedly after you create a new appointment, create a new task, and then restart the computer
Internet Connection Sharing stops responding after you upgrade a computer that is running Microsoft Windows XP to Windows Vista and then restart the computer
The Printer Spooler service stops unexpectedly
You receive a "Stop 0x0000009F" error when you put the computer to sleep while a Point-to-Point Protocol (PPP) connection is active

Downloads:

32-bit (x86):

Download [English - 2.1 MB]
Other Languages

64-bit (x64):

Download [English - 3.6 MB]
Other Languages

For more information about this update, read Microsoft Knowledge Base Article 938194.

The performance update resolves the following issues:

You experience a long delay when you try to exit the Photos screen saver
A memory leak occurs when you use the Windows Energy screen saver
If User Account Control is disabled on the computer, you cannot install a network printer successfully. This problem occurs if the network printer is hosted by a Windows XP-based or a Windows Server 2003-based computer
When you write data to an AVI file by using the AVIStreamWrite function, the file header of the AVI file is corrupted
When you copy or move a large file, the "estimated time remaining" takes a long time to be calculated and displayed
After you resume the computer from hibernation, it takes a long time to display the logon screen
When you synchronize an offline file to a server, the offline file is corrupted
If you edit an image file that uses the RAW image format, data loss occurs in the image file. This problem occurs if the RAW image is from any of the following digital SLR camera models
- Canon EOS 1D
- Canon EOS 1DS
After you resume the computer from hibernation, the computer loses its default gateway address
Poor memory management performance occurs

Downloads:

32-bit (x86):

Download [English - 9.9 MB]
Other Languages

64-bit (x64):

Download [English - 14.1 MB]
Other Languages

For more information about this update, read Microsoft Knowledge Base Article 938979.

02. Microsoft Windows Security Bulletin Summary for August, 2007

The security update for August 2007 includes five updates for Microsoft Windows, and two for Internet Explorer.

Severity Rating: Critical

Severity Rating: Important

03. Windows Updates

Microsoft issued a number of updates for Windows Vista and Windows XP in the past weeks:

Windows XP

Windows Vista Upgrade Advisor 1.0
KB932596 - Update to improve Kernel Patch Protection included with x64-based Windows operating systems.

Windows Vista

KB932596 - Update to improve Kernel Patch Protection included with x64-based Windows operating systems.

04. Recent Support BBS Postings

My laptop wont hibernate since doing disc cleanup - Windows Vista
How to view .dmp file after "serious system error" - Windows XP
NTFS file system corruption - Windows Server System
Need Security Software For Vista laptop - General Security
HELP is my hard drive dying? - Hardware

05. Newsletter Schedule

Many of you are having a summer break in the coming weeks, and I'm trying to take some time off too. I will reduce the newsletter publication frequency in the next few weeks.

Here is the planning so far:

Month	Publication Date
September	15 & 29

Returning to the bi-weekly schedule starting with the September 15 issue. Have a good & safe summer!

06. Windows Vista Hardware Assessment

The Windows Vista Hardware Assessment solution accelerator is an inventory, asessment, and reporting tool that will find and determine if computers on a network are ready to run Windows Vista or the 2007 Microsoft Office system.

Supported OS: Windows Server 2003 R2 (32-Bit x86); Windows Vista; Windows XP SP2

07. 08. How To Force Users to Quit Programs and Log Off After a Period of Inactivity in Windows XP

Workstations that are left logged on may represent a security risk for an organization. Many networks allow users to leave programs running and to remain logged on to their computers for an undefined time period. The Microsoft Windows 2003 Resource Kit includes the Winexit.scr tool that you can use to automatically quit a user's programs and to log the user off of the workstation.

Supported OS: Windows XP

09. Latest Microsoft & Windows News from around the Internet

Latest Microsoft & Windows News from around the Internet

10. Windows SteadyState

Whether you manage computers in a school computer lab or an Internet cafe, a library, or even in your home, Windows SteadyState helps make it easy for you to keep your computers running the way you want them to, no matter who uses them.

Supported OS: Windows XP

11. Windows Vista Upgrade Advisor 1.0

Windows Vista Upgrade Advisor will help you determine if your current PC is ready for an upgrade to Windows Vista. It will also help you to choose the edition of Windows Vista that's right for you. Download the Upgrade Advisor to run an analysis of your current PC and use the detailed feedback to ensure that your PC is ready for the edition of Windows Vista that you want.