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I was trying the other day to make someone switch to gaim. It looks like the best feature people like about messenger is something about adding pictures of yourself.
I find that reason amazing, in addition Messenger comes pre-installed and is a hell to uninstall.
Anyway I do use gaim, and we're lucky there is a windows version. Thank you

no, you don't do a clean install then go on the net to download the patches. you download the full patches, burn those to disk, or if you are able to follow instructions, you slipstream sp1 & sp2 onto a bootable window xp disk, then you don't have to worry about the firewall or patching it after you do the clean install.

for info on the slipstreaming, check out: http://www.windows-help.net/WindowsXP/winxp-sp2-bo otcd.html I have nothing to do with that web site, I just found it using google http://www.google.com/search?hl=en&ie=UTF-8&q=slip stream+windows+xp+sp2+how+to&btnG=Google+Searc h it was the first link, there are many others.

Also, the utility Nlite http://nuhi.msfn.org/ will slipstream service packs and updates onto a disk image for you. It will also remove stuff off the windows disk, like drivers you don't need, apps you don't need, even Internet Explorer. Personally, I like that you can take MSN Explorer, Messenger, and other non need programs that are security risks. I haven't used the program yet, but it seems like a very nice one. You can also put the cdkey in the install program so you don't have to enter it when your installing. sweet.

Let me see if I can do my best to google up some of the news artcles and links that recommended against installing SP1 so perhaps you can understand the reasons why...

Windows XP SP1 problems
Windows XP Update crashes some PCs
XPdlite (contains an SP1 caution)
Forums

Hopefully that gives a general idea on the subject. I would have liked to have stuck to news sites only... but ancient articles of the web aren't as easy to find as one might expect.

> 2. Use a Win2000 disk to format and install Win2000 by itself. Install any SCSI/RAID drivers here if you have to.
> 3. Install SP4 BEFORE you install anything else (including drivers).

why dont you just Slipstream (instructions are for XP, but they are the same on Win2000) SP4 into the Windows CD?

1) No support from MS. It's your OEM who's supposed to support OEM versions, but in this case you'll kinda be the OEM. This doesn't matter for home users, I suppose, as there're plenty web forums, magazine articles, MS' public newsgroups, et cetera.

2) Something about warranty. Dunno.

3) The main difference, however, is in the license and thereby the (lack of) generosity of product activation. An OEM version is supposed to be tied to the computer'S BIOS, though this might not happen unless the OEM pre-installs and -activates it for you in some special, convenient but ultimately annoying way. This is a.k.a. SLP ("System-Locked Preinstallation"). With SLP, you won't have to activate at all - you can rebuild your entire computer as long as the motherboard continues to 'match'. Or so they say.

I don't know how to install XP that way, though, nor whether I'd want to considering how outdated this no-name mainboard is. So I didn't.

Either way, you're not supposed to transfer an OEM license to a different machine, unlike the retail version. (Still not on two computers at the same time, naturally. That'd be too useful.)

Furthermore, it seems you can't update OEM versions (not talking about patches or service packs, only migrations to new versions of Windows or perhaps from XP Home to XP Professional; but of course you don't want XP Home in the first place)

I've been told that after 4 months (some say 6?) of no reinstalling (shouldn't be a problem, usually), I should be able to install my OEM version on a new computer (might have to beg for it on the phone and explain my computer went up in flames, though, so still no way to use it on two machines without crackzzz).

In my experience, WPA isn't that restricting. I never had to re-activate, and I upgraded RAM, removed and installed CD/DVD drives, changed video cards, and so on. But this whole thing still ticks me off so much I think I'm gonna go with Win2K next time, bells 'n whistles be damned.

More WPA details here

Sorry, that posting of mine was incomplete - I was part way through writing that and then a thunderstorm hit. I simply pressed 'submit' and powered everything down.

Then England started playing Croatia and I sort of lost interest in the whole discussion. 4-2 :-)

Now it is time to drift ontopic again, although I'm not sure where I got the link, it may well have been this discussion.

Vlad

Even better, I would get a hardware firewall, so that none of the ports that worms travel through are even open.

Basic security from automated attacks isn't particularly hard, you know. Why is this even on slashdot?

Have you considered creating a Slipstreamed CD?

Still I don't recall the option to enable the firewall by default during setup, it's possible I did and decided not to as I was planning on buying some new basic protection software the next day (a.v., firewall, etc.).

Make sure to enter the advanced/custom networking setup (the exact wording escapes me), where you can enter an IP number.
In TCP/IP properties, click Advanced, then go to the Options tab, click on TCP/IP filtering, properties, check enable, and select "permit only" for all protocols.

You don't need to fill in anything in the TCP section, because TCP/IP filtering (not quite a firewall, but at least it comes standard) simply blocks incoming connections, not outgoing connections. Port 53 is useful to allow in the UDP section (for DNS).

TCP/IP filtering is present in NT 4.0 (no service pack required) and upwards.

It will protect you from the usual worms that would otherwise get you before the windows update patching cycle is complete.

An alternative would be to "slipstream" any servicepacks and patches (that support it..) onto the installation media. That means copying the original setup CD to a harddrive, running update.exe with the /s:c:\cdcontents flag, and then burning the updated cd contents to a new, blank cd, but to make it bootable you'd need the bootsector from the original setup cd (though that's been ripped aplenty and is available through the magic of google).

linky

Still with the anoying endless stream of reboots involved in setting up a windows system a kind of numbness does set in.

If you slipstream SP1, you're up and running in 2 reboots, with maybe an additional one or two for any remaining windows update patches (notice that often even WU updates that can only be selected exclusively do NOT require a reboot, if you simply enter windows update again you can install more patches. DirectX is a notable exception, but then some systems can go without it.)

It's still annoying as heck though. Add to that that you can't easily mirror the windows update site. What are they smoking?

these

or this shit

Perhaps this summary would do, you tools.

But who cares, I don't need this crap, I use better OS.

Windows Update is nice for keeping up to date with all the patches for windows as they are released. But using it to patch a series of machines doing fresh installs is silly.

At the height of the Blaster worm, I had to reinstall Windows for a friend of mine. I connected to the net in order to update Window XP, and her machine was reinfected within five minutes of connecting: before the machine could be patched.

I learned my lesson. Here is a guide on how to slipstream an installation of Windows XP and SP1.

Although I wouldn't recommend it, you can also slipstream a copy of Windows SP2 Beta 1. When SP2 is finalized, I fully intend to create a slipstream version of that for the next time I have to reinstall windows somewhere.

See, this is why service packs are a Good Thing (TM).

Here is a way to get the Windows 2000 search screen in Windows XP.

You're welcome. :)

Nathan

Then, in the event that your hard drive fails, you can use the Automated System Recovery to completely restore your system to the state it was in the last time you backed up... including all programs and settings. Basically, what it does is do a minimal Windows install, then boots into Windows and prompts you for your backup media, and promptly restores it. I have yet to try the restore, but this site describes the process in detail with screenshots.

Note that this is for XP Pro... I don't know about XP Home or 2000.

Microsoft also will so patent the ability to turn error reporting off.

Thus, you'll have to pay to use it... or pay to not.

The good news is that slashdot will soon we patenting the right to slam microsoft. Due to the grant demand... slashdot will be rich beyond its wildest dreams and give free subscriptions to us all.

Davak

- double-clicking a taskbar icon will iconify that application. great for getting stuff out of your way.

So does Windows (98 onwards)

- right-clicking a taskbar icon gives you a menu which includes 'iconify other windows', which is really handy since I usually have like 14 Konsoles, 11 Netscapes, GAIM, XMMS, Quanta+ and StarOffice open simultaneously.

Windows has 'Minimize All Windows' which is functionally similar, but for one mouse click.

- Right click on desktop gives you a menu which includes 'Logout'. I find that much easier to deal with than windows, which requires you to hit Ctrl-Alt-Del or click on the Start button.

Or Alt-F4 when the root window is focused.

- Alt-F2 brings up a little input field which I can use to start an app quicker than using the menus. It keeps a history too, so I can cycle through previous commands.

Windows Key + R

- Rotating desktop wallpapers. I have a directory of about 450 hi-color psychedelic 1024x768 wallpapers, and I have KDE set to switch to a random one every 30 seconds. Keeps things interesting

3rd party freeware will do this in Windows. Additonally, you can use a simple JScript or VBScript in an HTML page, and use that in active desktop. If you like rotating wallpapers, I have a feeling you don't give a shit about preformance =)

Also, you can get X-style focus-follows-mouse using TweakUI, as well as a few other goodies (they provide an interface for the long-standing Tab Completion registry hack that's been in Windows since the start of NT4).


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