The Little Geeni

Are you just a Windows 7 user and and you need to use Ubuntu Linux programs? Well, maybe a software can help you…named VMware Player, a free software which lets you evaluate new or pre-release software contained in virtual machines. What’s more, it allows users easily run virtual machines on Windows 7, Vista, XP or Linux PC. Today we will take a look at how to run Ubuntu in Windows 7 with VMware Player.

 

Getting Started
Just download and install VMware Player (link below). Alought it is a free download, it requires registration.

Maybe you will see some prompts about installing drivers(but it is not absolute)…just approve them. Once finished installing, you will have to restart your computer.

 

 

Install Ubuntu

Once you have installed VMware Player and downloaded Ubuntu, you’re ready to setup Ubuntu. Just open VMware Player and click the link “Create a New Virtual Machine.”

 

Here you can install Ubuntu from a disk or directly from the ISO file you can download (link below). This is the simplest method if you just want to use Ubuntu in VMware Player. However, if you do have an Ubuntu disk, then feel free to choose that instead. Once you’ve selected your install media, VMware Player will automatically detect Ubuntu and will show that it will be installed with Easy Install. Simply click “next” to continue.

Type in your full name, user name, and password (which are required).

Note: The username can only have lowercase characters and numbers.

Note: Tthe password must be at least 8 characters long.

After that, choose a name for your virtual machine and select where to save it. Simply click “next” to accept the defaults.

 

You can adjust how large you want your virtual hard drive to be (the default is 20Gb, but you can choose a different size if you wish).

 

Note: Actually the entire 20Gb will not be used up on your hard drive initially. Ours only took up 3.6Gb with a clean install, but this will increase as you install programs and save files.

 

Now you can review your settings and change them if you wish, or simply click “Finish” to start installing Ubuntu…

Now VMware player will install Ubuntu without any further input. The window may show cryptic commands, but don’t worry, as you don’t have to do anything else to install Ubuntu.

During the installation, you may be prompted to download and install VMware tools for Linux. Just click “Download” and the tools will automatically download and install (though you may have to approve the UAC prompt).

Of course, VMware will continue installing Ubuntu even while the tools are downloading. You will be presented with your Ubuntu login screen after the install is finished. In this example, the full install took about 30 minutes.

Select your user name, then enter your password to access Ubuntu.

Welcome to your Ubuntu desktop!

 

 

How to Install VMware Tools

Generally VMware Player will automatically install the VMware tools into Ubuntu during the initial setup…but sometimes this doesn’t work. At least…in our test, the tools failed to install during the Ubuntu setup because our internet connection was down. So if it doesn’t, you should follow the following steps to install them.

 

In order to install the tools, click “VM” and then select “Install VMware Tools” in the menu.

 

In the File Browser window, double click on the VMwareTools icon (which looks like a box that says tar.gz on the front).

Then the compressed file will open. Click the “Extract” button at the top of the window.

Now choose where to save the files. Simply click “Desktop” on the left, and then click “Extract”.

This will take a moment…wait for a while patiently. When the files are extracted, click “Close”.

Then click the “Applications” menu at the top of the screen, choose “Accessories”, and then click “Terminal”.

 

Enter the following to access the files you unzipped before:

cd ./Desktop/vmware-tools-distrib

 

 

Now enter:

sudo bash

 

Then enter your password when prompted.

Note: Tthe password will not show while you are typing it in…just type it in and press Enter when completed.

 

 

Now we can install the VMware tools. To achieve this, enter:

./vmware-install.pl

and then simply press enter at the prompts to accept the defaults. It should ask a total of 5 questions, and just press enter at all of them.

 

Then it may ask the following questions about documentation files…just press enter again at each prompt.

Now the installation is completed. Since you will still need to configure the tools, simply enter “yes” at the prompt to automatically do that.

It may ask you to enable an experimental backup feature…simply entered “no” at this prompt.

It will want to setup the graphics configurations. Enter “yes” at the prompt. Your screen may flicker or go black momentarily while it is changing these settings.

You will see the following message when the install is completed at last.

Finally restart Ubuntu by clicking on the button with your username at the top right, and then selecting Restart from the menu.

 

Login to Ubuntu as before and your setup is complete once your virtual machine has rebooted.

 

Integrate Ubuntu with Windows 7

Normally you can already use all of Ubuntu’s tools and features directly from the Ubuntu desktop in VMware Player. But you need to activate Unity mode if you would like to use your Ubuntu programs seamlessly in Windows. Click “VM” and then Unity Mode in the VMware Player Menu.

 

Now you will have an Ubuntu menu right above your Windows 7 Start button.

The Ubuntu windows will have a border and VMware logo on them by default.

In order to change this, click “VM” and then “Settings”, select the “Options” tab, and uncheck the boxes “Show borders” and “Show badges” .

Now the windows will look just like they do in Ubuntu.

You can run Ubuntu windows side-by-side with Windows 7 windows…and can copy and paste, drag-and-drop between the windows, and more…The Ubuntu programs’ icons show up in the taskbar the same as normal Windows programs.

Now you can access all of the files in your Ubuntu virtual machine from the Ubuntu menu. Click “Other”, and then click “Computer” or “Home Folder”.

 

Note: This would work the exact same on any modern version of Windows, including all editions of XP and Vista. In this tutorial we used Ubuntu 9.10, but other recent editions should work the same.

You can get more Windows 7 tips, Windows 7 Wallpapers, Windows 7 Software from http://www.Newton360.com

Information Technology Player, Ubuntu, VMware, Windows

What is VMWare Fusion?

VMWare Fusion is a Mac software that will let you run multiple operating systems on your Mac computer such as Windows, Solaris, and Linux. With VMWare Fusion, you can run other operating systems along side the Mac OS X even without rebooting your computer or laptop. It allows you to share information quickly and smoothly between two different OS environments.

NOTE: The VMWare Fusion Mac software usually comes free when you buy a new Mac from the Apple store.

Windows in a Mac Body

When you use the VMWare Fusion software, it’s like working on a familiar environment using a non-familiar platform. The drag and drop function of Windows still applies, but it is the Mac keyboard shortcuts that you have to use. It might require some getting used to, but at least you’re already done with the first half, especially if you’ve been working on Windows for too long now.

To launch the Windows application, use the VMWare Fusion Launch Palette or Spotlight. To switch to another operating system, use the Expose. Finally, to keep applications you like, use the Dock.

Freeze and Turn Back Time

The VMWARE Fusion software has an innovative feature called the Snapshot that lets you capture and save the exact condition of your application. Just in case your Windows system becomes unresponsive, you can use the software’s Snapshot feature to go back to the last known stable condition of the application.

Mac Hardware to Boost Your Windows OS

Because Mac computers are often equipped with hardware of the best performance and highest quality, they can boost the performance and flexibility of your Windows OS. You can take advantage of the 64-bit multi-core processor of your Mac computer to improve the action of other operating systems. With VMWare Fusion, running 64-bit OS such as the Windows Vista Ultimate Edition will be as easy as a piece of cake!

Not Just One, Not Just Two, But Multiple!

VMWare Fusion lets you run not just one or two operating systems but as many as you like or need. Even if you are already running Windows side by side Mac OS X, you can still Linux or Solaris alongside the two – with ease and comfort. Plus, with this powerful Mac software, you can easily copy and paste texts or drag and drop items between OS.

Bring Back the Familiar Face

While you have finally decided to move on and move forward by using a Mac computer or laptop, do not forget to bring back what you first learned and experienced. Get the VMWare Fusion software from Apple store now and bring back the old familiar faces of Windows and Linux on you’re your modern Mac computer!

Information Technology Fusion, Using, VMware, Windows

Another excellent tool that’s freely available to Windows Vista administrators (or anyone else, for that matter) is the Microsoft Baseline Security Analyzer (MBSA). This tool scans a system and quickly identifies security holes such as missing software patches or accounts with a blank or weak password.

Better yet, it recommends corrective action. The only bad news of sorts is that it’s not built into Windows Vista. You have to download this one from the Microsoft web site. The newest version of this tool at the time of this writing was released in May of 2008, Version 2.1. This updated version provides additional features which are detailed at the Microsoft website.

However, legacy Microsoft products are not supported by MBSA 2.1. Because of this, Microsoft has teamed-up with Shavlik Technologies to offer a free companion tool for MBSA 2.1. This will allow users of MBSA 2.01 to still receive security updates.

For the MBSA 2.01, the install steps are straightforward; just follow the steps in the wizard. During installation, the MBSA places a shortcut on the desktop by default. To launch the tool and perform a scan, follow these steps:

Double-click the desktop icon, and then, from the MBSA home page, choose Scan a Computer. Note here that admins can also use the MBSA to scan multiple computers in a network from a central location. In the Computer to Scan page, you should see the local machine listed if you’ve chosen the “Scan a computer” option. (The other selection produces a page from which you can select a range of machines.) Furthermore, the options in this screen let you specify exactly what components get checked during the scan. Once you verify the machine to scan, click the “Start scan” link. You’ll now see a Scanning page with a progress bar that can take several minutes to complete. When the scan finishes, you’ll see a report screen.

As you can see, this provides extremely valuable information to administrators who are interested in doing everything they can to stop problems before they start. For example, the administrator of this machine has been very diligent about installing necessary software updates, it seems, and has gotten passing grades in most areas of computer security. But the MBSA scan generates a failing grade…how is this possible? The MBSA makes it easy to investigate the exact nature of the failing grade by clicking the “Result details” link, revealing the dialog box. In this case it reveales a very significant (yet usually hidden) threat: local user account passwords are weak, thus generating the failing grade.

If you’d like to get my book “Windows Vista Administration: The Definitive Guide” by Brian Culp, (or any of my other books and tutorials), you can pick it up at my website, www.TheAnswerHub.com or at most major book chains. In addition, I’m always happy to provide additional assistance for free (within reason, mind you…don’t go thinking this is some sort of a free ride). Visit me at my website and submit your questions to me. I’ll get back to you with an answer as soon as possible.

Up Next: in the conclusion of this 5-part series, we’ll be discussing the removal of malicious software using the Malicious Software Removal Tool within Windows Vista.

Troubleshooting Analyzer, Baseline, Microsoft, Part, Security, Troubleshooting, Using, Vista, Windows

We install programs and visit all kinds of websites everyday. Our system files fragment themselves and we tend to forget to do a regular troubleshoot scan. With all these going on, it wouldn’t be much of a surprise if you encounter a slow startup with your Windows XP. Once you notice that it takes more than five minutes for your computer to start running, there may be a problem with your computer system. A slow startup with Windows XP can be solved instantly though, and through these solutions you’ll have it running again in no time.

The first thing you should consider is that you system undergoes all kinds of processes. You install all kinds of new programs, not knowing that there are actually other small applications that are installed as well. These usually come in the form of extra applications from publishers that go with your new program or toolbars and other stuff that installs itself instantly or when you forget to uncheck the radio button. This can cause a slow startup for your Windows XP, minor as the issue may sound, so you should either try to do a disk cleanup by clicking on the Disk Cleanup tool or manually browse through your program list and uninstall those that are just sitting there unused and forgotten about.

Another solution you could try is by defragmenting your file system. Files get fragmented into clusters all the time, making it difficult for your computer to scan and function well. Though it may take some time to finish, your system may start running faster than before after defragmenting it. You can also try exiting autostart programs and disconnecting unused network connections to improve your slow computer. Autostart programs are usually activated upon startup of your computer and can eat up a lot of CPU space. Try browsing through your Task Manager, look for programs that you don’t need to use, and end their processes. That way, more disk space will be freed and the system can run a little faster than before. Disconnecting unused network connections with other computers can also help. Usually if your network connection is shared with one or more computers, the performance level of your computer goes down. If you don’t see the need to read and write files into other people’s computers, you can shut these down to get rid of a slow startup with your Windows XP.

If none of these solutions seem to work, then you may have to troubleshoot your system for a virus attack, which is one of the most significant reasons why your system is slowing down. After scanning, try restarting your computer and see how long it would take for the system to finish. This is a good way in knowing if any changes have been made. You may have to backup your files first in case you have to reformat or perform serious action with your computer. To backup your files is not overreacting; anything can happen now that new and improved viruses are spreading all over the Internet. A slow startup with Windows XP could result to a lot of difficulties, so make sure to check once in a while.

Troubleshooting Problem, Slow, Startup, Windows

These commands are tested only on full versions only i.e., some commands may not work on unattednded editions,third party releases,etc.

Commands:

1. Accessibility Controls – access.cpl
2. Accessibility Wizard – accwiz
3. Add Hardware Wizard – hdwwiz.cpl
4. Add/Remove Programs – appwiz.cpl
5. Administrative Tools – control admintools
6. Automatic Updates – wuaucpl.cpl
7. Bluetooth Transfer Wizard – fsquirt
8. Calculator – calc
9. Certificate Manager – certmgr.msc
10. Character Map – charmap
11. Check Disk Utility – chkdsk
12. Clipboard Viewer – clipbrd
13. Command Prompt – cmd
14. Component Services – dcomcnfg
15. Computer Management – compmgmt.msc
16. Control Panel – control
17. Date and Time Properties – timedate.cpl
18. DDE Shares – ddeshare
19. Device Manager – devmgmt.msc
20. Direct X Troubleshooter – dxdiag
21. Disk Cleanup Utility – cleanmgr
22. Disk Defragment – dfrg.msc
23. Disk Management – diskmgmt.msc
24. Disk Partition Manager – diskpart
25. Display Properties – control desktop
26. Display Properties – desk.cpl
27. Dr. Watson System Troubleshooting Utility – drwtsn32
28. Driver Verifier Utility – verifier
29. Event Viewer – eventvwr.msc
30. Files and Settings Transfer Tool – migwiz
31. File Signature Verification Tool – sigverif
32. Findfast – findfast.cpl
33. Firefox – firefox
34. Folders Properties – control folders
35. Fonts – control fonts
36. Fonts Folder – fonts
37. Free Cell Card Game – freecell
38. Game Controllers – joy.cpl
39. Group Policy Editor (for xp professional) – gpedit.msc
40. Hearts Card Game – mshearts
41. Help and Support – helpctr
42. HyperTerminal – hypertrm
43. Iexpress Wizard – iexpress
44. Indexing Service – ciadv.msc
45. Internet Connection Wizard – icwconn1
46. Internet Explorer – iexplore
47. Internet Properties – inetcpl.cpl
48. Keyboard Properties – control keyboard
49. Local Security Settings – secpol.msc
50. Local Users and Groups – lusrmgr.msc
51. Logs You Out Of Windows – logoff
52. Malicious Software Removal Tool – mrt
53. Microsoft Chat – winchat
54. Microsoft Movie Maker – moviemk
55. Microsoft Paint – mspaint
56. Microsoft Syncronization Tool – mobsync
57. Minesweeper Game – winmine
58. Mouse Properties – control mouse
59. Mouse Properties – main.cpl
60. Netmeeting – conf
61. Network Connections – control netconnections
62. Network Connections – ncpa.cpl
63. Network Setup Wizard – netsetup.cpl
64. Notepad – notepad
65. Object Packager – packager
66. ODBC Data Source Administrator – odbccp32.cpl
67. On Screen Keyboard – osk
68. Outlook Express – msimn
69. Paint – pbrush
70. Password Properties – password.cpl
71. Performance Monitor – perfmon.msc
72. Performance Monitor – perfmon
73. Phone and Modem Options – telephon.cpl
74. Phone Dialer – dialer
75. Pinball Game – pinball
76. Power Configuration – powercfg.cpl
77. Printers and Faxes – control printers
78. Printers Folder – printers
79. Regional Settings – intl.cpl
80. Registry Editor – regedit
81. Registry Editor – regedit32
82. Remote Access Phonebook – rasphone
83. Remote Desktop – mstsc
84. Removable Storage – ntmsmgr.msc
85. Removable Storage Operator Requests – ntmsoprq.msc
86. Resultant Set of Policy (for xp professional) – rsop.msc
87. Scanners and Cameras – sticpl.cpl
88. Scheduled Tasks – control schedtasks
89. Security Center – wscui.cpl
90. Services – services.msc
91. Shared Folders – fsmgmt.msc
92. Shuts Down Windows – shutdown
93. Sounds and Audio – mmsys.cpl
94. Spider Solitare Card Game – spider
95. SQL Client Configuration – cliconfg
96. System Configuration Editor – sysedit
97. System Configuration Utility – msconfig
98. System Information – msinfo32
99. System Properties – sysdm.cpl
100. Task Manager – taskmgr
101. TCP Tester – tcptest
102. Telnet Client – telnet
103. User Account Management – nusrmgr.cpl
104. Utility Manager – utilman
105. Windows Address Book – wab
106. Windows Address Book Import Utility – wabmig
107. Windows Explorer – explorer
108. Windows Firewall – firewall.cpl
109. Windows Magnifier – magnify
110. Windows Management Infrastructure – wmimgmt.msc
111. Windows Media Player – wmplayer
112. Windows Messenger – msmsgs
113. Windows System Security Tool – syskey
114. Windows Update Launches – wupdmgr
115. Windows Version – winver
116. Wordpad – write

* All these commands have been tested on WIn XP SP2 Original and found to be working.

Troubleshooting Commands, Important, Windows

Computer and Internet without any doubt has made our lifestyle easier and accessible round the globe, but with this boon there is always a threat which has taken the front sheet in out conscious threats regarding the security. Each and every minute if you use your computer for your business presentation, financial details, communicating with your client and what so ever a security concern always raises the alarm. Here in this article we are going to take on the issue and try to explore the ways as of how we can play it safe with Microsoft Windows XP Administrative Tools.

There are several operating system available in the market but the commonly used one is the Microsoft Windows XP. Microsoft Windows XP has 2 versions Microsoft Windows XP Home and Microsoft Windows XP Professional, Microsoft Windows XP professional has more administrative tools as compare to other the one.

There are several Administrative Tools in Windows XP which can be used to impose security on your computer support system lets see them one by one but before that here is a list
User Account .
Computer Management
Event Viewer
Device Manager
Services
Group Policy Management
Microsoft Management Console
Registry Editor

Here is a brief about them

User Account:
One of the major Administrative feature of the Microsoft Windows XP is the User account, only the user with the administrative account has right to create or provide privileges to different user accounts on the computer system ie the Administrator has right to make accounts having administrative privileges. So manage the computer users according to their precedence and what short of rights and privileges to grant.

Computer Management:
Computer management is one of the common admin tool , having a lot of features in it, For Example Event Viewer, Shared Folder , Local Users and Computers, Performance Logs and Alerts, Devices Manager . Here is a brief about Event Viewer and Device Manager

Event Viewer:
With the Event Viewer the Admin can keep track of the event occurring in the computer. This feature helps in keeping track of all this issue , with the computer, suppose the computer gets freeze while installing or doing anything , we can keep track of the possible reason for the issue. And start the troubleshooting according to that.

Device Manager:
This is the another feature available with the Microsoft Windows XP , with the device manager we call keep track of the hardware in the computer , and Troubleshoot possible issues with the hardware for example cases with drivers , etc

Services:
All the applications need some sort of services to work, these services work in the background, we can access this by Run >> services.msc, In a popup windows you will find all the services present in the computer. For Example consider the case of windows update, for windows update there are several services needed, for example RPC ( remote procedure call ) & for the printer services are print spooler . So you can track each and every service running on your system from here and handle any unauthorized or suspicious one. One can also free some memory and CPU usage with checking the services way of starting which can be either set manually or with the windows startup. Starting them manually save your resource allocation for the time frame you don’t demand them.

Group policy Management:
Group policy Management, is one of the most common administrative feature which enable us to impose any of the restrictions at the group level .To get this feature follow the steps Run >> gpedit, this will bring you with a windows popup which has entries like allow or disable to be imposed .this feature is only available in the Microsoft Windows support
.

Microsoft Management Console:
MMC is one of the features which can be used to track and get back any of the default features of operating system which has been uninstalled or has been lost by any of the means. We can access this feature by Run >> mmc >> file >> Add snap in

Registry Editor:
Registry is among one of delegate thing in the operating system and amongst the most important administrative tool in the Microsoft Windows XP. Whenever we are adding or removing any program from the computer either the entry in the registry is created or removed.

Security and threats can be handled and maintained if we are using these admin tools properly.

Troubleshooting About, administrative, Microsoft, Tools, Windows

What is it?

 

In simple terms a windows stop error happens when Windows stops in order to avoid damaging your computer. These are almost always hardware related errors.

 

STOP errors are displayed in an eight-digit hex  code but they are often shown in a shorthand format; e.g. a STOP 0x0000000A could be written as “Stop 0xA”.

 

Four additional 8-digit numbers may often appear in brackets. These are unique to your computer and the particular error and situation.

 

What causes Windows stop errors?

 

Almost always, stop messages are caused by hardware issue. In many cases, the drivers found in the computer registry does not correspond to the actual hardware found on your PC. Hardware is often a good place to start the troubleshooting process.

 

How do you troubleshoot a stop error

 

1 – Particularly on older computers, memory modules tend to creep out of their sockets due to the heat caused by the processor. This is called memory creep. Open your computer box and ensure that all your hardware parts are properly inserted on the PC motherboard.

 

2 – Open the Event Viewer and see in the “System” and “Application” logs if there were similar past errors. This that can give you clues on the cause of the error you are now experiencing.

3 – The event viewer can be viewed by typing “EventVwr.msc” on the Run box in your start menu. Another way of accessing it is by going to Control Panel – Administrative tools – Event viewer.

4 – Remove any recently installed hardware and reboot your computer to see if the stop errors is resolved.

5 – Use the vendor’s hardware diagnostic tools to check for any possible conflicts and errors.

6- Check if you have the most recent device drivers. If that is not the case, download and update them. If however stop errors cropped up after the installation new drivers, you may have to revert to the older version or get new drivers from a different source.

7 – Get a BIOS update.

Troubleshooting Errors, Stop, Troubleshoot, Windows

Each time you encounter a significant error using Windows Vista, you’ll be asked whether you want to send the information to Microsoft. You might think this is just a one-way street, where you’re providing information that will help Microsoft write software in the future that will prevent whatever problem you’re having.

If you think about it for a moment, that must be one huge store of information being generated by the planet’s users of Windows computers. So, why should one entity be the only beneficiary? Surely there must be a way for ordinary users to leverage this information as well, right? Surely some other user in another corner of the computing globe is – or has had – the same difficulty as you. Right? The answer is yes, and yes. Users can use the information gathered from other users to try to troubleshoot issues, using a utility called Problem Reports and Solutions. If there’s a known solution to a known problem, you can use Problem Reports and Solutions to easily retrieve the fix. Here’s how to put it all to work:

Open the Control Panel, and then open Problem Reports and Solutions. As always, you can type problem from the Start menu. You’ll see the Problem Reports and Solutions window. In this window are several tasks on the left pane and a status area on the right. To see a list of problems that Vista has detected, click the View Problem History link. You’ll see a dialog box. You can view further details about each problem using the links herein. After visiting the Problem History page, you can run a check for solutions by navigating back to the Problem Reports and Solutions home page and clicking the Check Now button. Vista then checks online for any available solutions. If it finds one, you’ll see a dialog box. From there, simply follow the “Solution found” link for instructions on how to resolve the detected issue. Most times, it will involve a software download and install.

Note that much of this problem-checking behavior is completely automated by default. Administrators can govern this, however, by following the “Change settings” link on the left. After clicking this link, you will be able to toggle automatic reporting either on or off, and you will be able to configure a few other options.

Administrators can set exceptions if they have a program that they want Vista to ignore when it reports a problem. It should also be noted here that one user’s setting doesn’t necessarily have to be the setting for other users. If you’re changing the reporting settings for all users, you will be asked for administrative confirmation if User Account Control is turned on.

If you’d like to get my entire book “Windows Vista Administration: The Definitive Guide” by Brian Culp, Publisher: O’Reilly, ISBN-13: 978-0-59-652959-8 (or any of my 20+ other books and tutorials), you can pick it up at my website, www.TheAnswerHub.com or at most major book chains. In addition, I’m always happy to provide additional assistance for free (within reason, mind you…don’t go thinking this is some sort of a free ride). Visit me at my website and submit your questions to me. I’ll get back to you with an answer as soon as possible.

Up Next: in part 4 of this 5-part series, we’ll be discussing the new Microsoft Baseline Security Analyzer in Windows Vista.

Troubleshooting Automatic, Essentials, Part, Problem, Resolution, Troubleshooting, Vista, Windows

You should probably view Vista’s Automatic Updates the same way you view a yearly physical checkup. It’s just something that you should do to prevent as many issues as possible before they become issues in the first place. The Windows Update engine handles two kinds of updates:

Critical updates: Can help speed up your system, secure it, and keep it from crashing Recommended updates: Will address noncritical problems and help enhance your computing experience

A third kind of update, the optional update, is not downloaded automatically. You must get these updates manually by running the “Check for updates” task in the Windows Update Control Panel application.

By default, Windows Updates turns on the Automatic Updates feature, so it’s very likely that this is something you’ll never have to do in your administrative career. It’s still a good idea to know where to look, though. Here’s what to do:

Open the Windows Update Control Panel application by typing update at the Start menu. It’s under the System and Maintenance grouping if you’re going through the Control Panel. In the list of tasks on the left, click “Change settings.” From the dialog box, choose the desired update options. Click OK to commit your changes. You may be asked for administrative confirmation by User Account Control.

Additionally, if the Automatic Updates feature is ever turned off, the Vista Security Center will yell at you (assuming that the Security Center notifications about Automatic Updates defaults haven’t been changed). Once you’re in the Security Center, you’ll see a “Change settings” button, that will take you right back to the Automatic Updates settings dialog box.

The Windows Updates are applied to the computer, and therefore affect all users of a particular system.

Sometimes during troubleshooting, you will want to double-check to confirm that a particular update has been installed. If this is the case, you can choose the “View update history” link on the right side of the Windows Updates dialog box.

If you’d like to get my entire book “Windows Vista Administration: The Definitive Guide” by Brian Culp, Publisher: O’Reilly, ISBN-13: 978-0-59-652959-8 (or any of my 20+ other books and tutorials), you can pick it up at my website, www.TheAnswerHub.com or at most major book chains. In addition, I’m always happy to provide additional assistance for free (within reason, mind you…don’t go thinking this is some sort of a free ride). Visit me at my website and submit your questions to me. I’ll get back to you with an answer as soon as possible.

Up Next: in part 3 of this 5-part series, we’ll be discussing the process of automatically checking for solutions to problems encountered by Windows Vista with Problem Reports and Solutions.

Troubleshooting Automatically, Part, Troubleshooting, Updating, Vista, Windows

Windows XP Safe Mode was designed to help users troubleshoot boot up and system issues. There are actually three versions of Safe Mode. Depending on your problem, you may choose one over another. Safe Mode essentially boots up your computer with minimal functionality, not loading all the different drivers or system functions to allow you to make changes.

If your computer fails to boot up, gives you an error message, or just hangs, the first step in troubleshooting is to try to get into Safe Mode. When your computer is booting up, if you press the F8 key, you will be shown the Windows Advanced Options Menu. The first three options are your Safe Modes:

Safe Mode -

The most basic version, nothing lodes but the bare minimum processes

Safe Mode With Networking -

This version allows network access and the Internet if connected

Safe Mode With Command Prompt -

This version will put you into the MSDOS mode at a command line

The primary purpose of Safe Mode is to bypass boot issues with startup applications, video or other hardware drivers, and malware or spyware. You can change settings to stop these offending applications or drivers from loading, erase files that would normally be in use (if the file is open it is normally locked and you can’t delete it), or make system changes.

When Windows XP was first released, Safe Mode was designed to deal with video issues and other hardware drivers. Safe Mode uses the most basic video settings (640 X 480 and 16 colors) and a generic VGA.sys driver.
The first choice also loads the minimum system processes which also may eliminate startup application problems. *If you still can’t boot into Safe Mode you probably have issues with your primary boot files, and you should use the Recovery Console to address any file replacement.

If you need to access updated or new versions of hardware drivers, the second Safe Mode option will allow you to connect to the Internet to download and install these files. This may also be a good choice if you have some malware or adware on your system that prevents you (when booting normally and starting the offending program) accessing the anti-virus or malware software to remove these programs. One of the favorite tricks these programs do is to prevent you from accessing any software known to remove them.

The third choice of Safe Mode, which boots you to an MSDOS Prompt, allows you to run utilities in MSDOS mode. Most of the advanced system adjustments and programs designed to run diagnostics will run in this mode. Since many of the major system files are not loaded, you can delete and replace this files in MSDOS.

Warning, if you have a USB mouse and keyboard, Safe Mode will not load USB device drivers. If you have a newer computer (say 2007 and forward), your computer bios may have the ability to mount any USB devices automatically. If your computer came with a USB mouse and keyboard, that’s a good indication your bios will perform the auto-load function for USB devices. You can go into your bios setting make sure USB legacy is enabled. Or you can borrow a standard mouse and keyboard if that option is not available.

You can also access a utility called MSCONFIG from the start menu in Safe Mode using the run command. MSCONFIG has the ability to run in diagnostic startup (only loads minimal processes) or selective startup. This can be helpful to get you to be able to boot up in normal mode. And that means if you have not backed up important data files, do it first. Current backups give you the absolute best fall back position. Make sure you have a current backup of any essential data files before doing anything else. That’s your first priority.

Once you have a current backup, you can try the following methods to get your computer back up and running in normal mode.

If you know where the offending files are of any malware or adware, you can easily delete them to stop the automatic loading when your computer boots up. You need to be careful when deleting files in MSDOS mode, if you accidentally delete a required file for booting or running critical system processes, your computer may not reboot. Always exercise caution and be sure you know that the file you are deleting is not a system file.

Many times if you simply start your computer in Safe Mode and then reboot loading problems can be eliminated. I cannot tell you why, only that it works about 25% of the time. If there is a file that may not have closed properly or got out of the proper boot sequence, Windows XP does a clean boot from Safe Mode and that may be why it corrects minor boot issues.

One of the often over looked quick fixes in Safe Mode is to do a System Restore. System Restore is a utility under System Tools. If you click on start, all programs, Accessories, then System Tools you will see the System Restore selection. You want to pick a Restore Point that is well before the time your current problems started. If some renegade software has been installed, it will restore your computer back to a point before this install.

You should also run any ant-virus, malware or adware, or root kit removal software whenever possible from Safe Mode. This keeps the offending software from preventing or stopping any removal activity. Many of the newer versions of these rogue programs have a self protecting feature that may prevent removal software from running in normal mode.

Windows XP Safe Mode can help you resolve many boot up problems. Always boot up in Safe Mode first and try to determine if your problem is with any boot files or device drivers. It’s the best first step in troubleshooting any boot issues.

Troubleshooting Mode, Safe, Tips, Tricks, Windows