- Visual Studio 2005 Service Pack 1 Update for Windows Vista Beta
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Posted by oVan on Thursday, December 21, 2006 | PermaLink | 0 commentsYes, you can download the Visual Studio 2005 Service Pack 1 Update for Windows Vista Beta if you hate that message box of VS2005 telling you it needs an update that is not yet available to run on Vista. The title of this package is a bit misleading, though. It is not an update for Windows Vista Beta, it's a Beta Update for Windows Vista. In fact, they'd better named it Visual Studio 2005 Service Pack 1 Update Beta for Windows Vista.
The final version of this update is expected in Spring 2007 if I remember correctly.Labels: 2007, beta, download, install, Microsoft, RTM, update, Vista, Visual Studio 2005, vs2005, Windows
- BUG: Windows Vista Sidebar
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Posted by oVan on Wednesday, November 22, 2006 | PermaLink | 0 commentsThe long-awaited Sidebar in Windows Vista is a bit flawed.
You can detach the gadgets so that you can place them anywhere on your desktop. Some gadgets, like the beautiful weather gadget, even give you a larger view when they are undocked.
The main problem is that upon every reboot, the gadgets will move a few pixels to the left. If you're like me and want to place them on a specific place (in my case: at the right edge of the screen), you'll soon notice that it's futile to resist. They'll march away a little bit everyday:
Some reasons why I want those gadgets to stay undocked:- When you dock them to the right side, they'll move to the top of the screen. I prefer them to the bottom of the screen.
- Also, there's no known way to make the sidebar larger/wider.
- Similarly, some gadgets show less information than when undocked (see weather gadget as example)
- Above the top gadget, you'll always see that plus sign and the double arrow. I know, it's a detail... but every bit counts.
Something I don't quite understand: when you close the Sidebar, when your active gadgets are floating on your desktop... why are there still two Sidebar.exe processes running? I thought I just closed one?
And why don't the docked gadgets expand when you click on them? That would make a lot of sense to me...
Oh well, I guess that will be stuff for SP1?Labels: bug, gadget, Microsoft, RTM, Sidebar, Ultimate, Vista, Windows
- FIX: SigmaTel AC'97 on Vista
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Posted by oVan on Wednesday, November 22, 2006 | PermaLink | 0 commentsFor all users of the dreaded SigmaTel AC97 audio chipset (a lot of notebooks use this), you will be greeted with Microsoft signed Vista drivers when you install the RTM of Vista.
However, that joy will fade away quickly: the ever-lasting problem of sound crackling and stuttering will soon make you angry again.
I do not understand why so many notebook manufacturers still keep using/implementing this piece of crap... the only reason I can think of is that it must be really cheap!
Enough whining, here are a few possible fixes:- You can try the RealTek AC'97 drivers for Vista
- You can also try the High-Definition Audio Codecs, also from the RealTek website.
- You can also scan for SigmaTel drivers on the Dell website here, maybe they'll release a new driver set also. In fact, even the older driver sets from 2005 that you'll find in this list, are more recent than the driver included in Vista. It's not the first time that Dell advises to revert to older SigmaTel drivers because they were far more stable..
Labels: AC'97, AC97, audio, codec, Dell, driver, HD Audio, high-definition, install, Microsoft, RealTek, RTM, SigmaTel, Vista, Windows
- Office 2007 classic interface on Vista: only blue!
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Posted by oVan on Saturday, November 18, 2006 | PermaLink | 0 commentsWhat idiot at Microsoft has decided to make the few Office programs still using the classic interface (like Office OneNote 2007) only show the blue interface?
Frankly, you don't want to run OneNote in MS-Optimistic-Blue! But that's all you've got on Vista, unless you choose the high-contrast display scheme, or the Vista Classic interface...
Why can we choose between silver and blue on XP but not on Vista?
- Windows Vista RTM available!
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Posted by oVan on Friday, November 17, 2006 | PermaLink | 0 commentsWindows Vista has appeared on MSDN & Technet as one big 2.5Gb DVD ISO file for x86 and another for x64 edition.
The product key will determine what version is installed. Currently the following keys are offered to MSDN subscribers:- Windows Vista Business
- Windows Vista Home Basic
- Windows Vista Home Premium
- Windows Ultimate
Some subscribers of MSDN & Technet reported only some of these keys were available, but that's probably solved by now.
Let the hunt for driver updates begin...Labels: Business, Home Basic, Home Premium, key, Microsoft, MSDN, RTM, TechNet, Ultimate, Vista, Windows
- Office 2007 Product Key Fun
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Posted by oVan on Monday, November 13, 2006 | PermaLink | 0 commentsDid anyone notice that the developers at Microsoft have chosen special product keys for the Office System 2007?
When traversing the registry for remains of the beta versions that were blocking the install of the RTM version (see previous post), I noticed that the product keys all end in "0000000FF1CE" (e.g. 30120000-006E-0409-0000-0000000FF1CE).
At first sight, nothing special to see... however, if you read it in the language many hackers use for their patches, warez and keygenerators, it reads "OFFICE" with the O replaced by zero and the I replaced by a 1.
Just thought it was fun...
Btw: If you still can't install Office 2007 after removing all the products mentioned in my last post, you should scan the registry for "-0000-0000000FF1CE". By manually removing those entries, setup should start without any problems. No warranties of course, you're on your own there...Labels: 2007, B2TR, beta, install, key, keygen, Microsoft, Office, patch, product, Professional, registry, RTM, System, warez
- Office 2007 RTM: Installation Problems
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Posted by oVan on Monday, November 13, 2006 | PermaLink | 0 commentsMicrosoft Office 2007 Professional has been released to manufacturing (RTM), and is available for MSDN and TechNet subscribers as of today.
When installing Office 2007, you may encounter the following problem:
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Setup Errors
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Setup is unable to proceed due to the following error(s):
The 2007 Microsoft Office system does not support upgrading from a prerelease version of the 2007 Microsoft Office system. You must first uninstall any prerelease versions of the 2007 Microsoft Office system products and associated technologies.
Correct the issue(s) listed above and re-run setup.
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OK
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According to the Installation Read Me page (the cd doesn't contain up to date information, only a link to this page at the Office website), this may be caused by the Office 2003 Web Components. Here's the explanation:
The Office 2003 Web Components feature installed with Office 2007 Beta2 causes the Office 2007 product to block its installation. Users should use Add Remove Programs in the Windows Control Panel to Remove the Office 2003 Web Components, and then install the final Office 2007 product.
However, after uninstalling this product, you can still get the same error message. Googling further on the Microsoft website, I came across the following list on this page of programs that you should remove also:- 2007 Microsoft Office Add-in: Microsoft Save as PDF or XPS (Beta)
- 2007 Microsoft Office Add-in: Microsoft Save as PDF (Beta)
- 2007 Microsoft Office Add-in: Microsoft Save as XPS (Beta)
- Microsoft Expression Web Designer Beta 1
- Microsoft Expression Web Designer CTP1
- Microsoft Office Compatibility Pack for Word, Excel, and PowerPoint 2007 File Formats (Beta 2 Technical Refresh)
The above list is not mentioned on the ReadMe page, so I doubt a lot of users will find this information. Hey, maybe we should just remove all programs? :-)
APPLIES TO- Microsoft Office Professional Plus 2007
- Microsoft Office Enterprise 2007
- Microsoft Office Ultimate 2007
- Microsoft Office Professional 2007
- Microsoft Office Standard 2007
- Microsoft Office Home and Student 2007
- Microsoft Office Basic 2007
- Microsoft Office Groove 2007
- Microsoft Office Access 2007
- Microsoft Office Excel 2007
- Microsoft Office OneNote 2007
- Microsoft Office Outlook 2007
- Microsoft Office PowerPoint 2007
- Microsoft Office Publisher 2007
- Microsoft Office Word 2007
- Microsoft Office InfoPath 2007
- Microsoft Office Project Professional 2007
- Microsoft Office Project Standard 2007
- Microsoft Office Visio Professional 2007
- Microsoft Office Visio Standard 2007
Keywords: kbuninstall kbsetup kbexpertisebeginner kbtshoot kbprb KB927222Labels: 2003, 2007, B2TR, beta, Expression, install, KB, Microsoft, MSDN, Office, PDF, Professional, RTM, System, TechNet, Technical Refresh, web components, Web Designer, XPS