Vista

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jethro's picture

Microsoft in right royal stuff up over Vista SP!

The gloves are off! The user forums and blog comments are running hot. The press is having a field day.

Microsoft officially announced Vista Service Pack 1 (SP1) was released to market (RTM) last week. However they have since decided to delay the distribution to MSDN and Technet subscribers. These are the people who need to get it first. Partners like myself should also be able to get it but we have also been relegated to the same category as the general public. I assume that means that I will be cautiously testing it as the same time my customers will be gleefully (more likely completely unknowingly) downloading it from Windows Update with no backups or way of recovering if it screws up. Who pays for that? Ultimately the customer does, because I have to support it and I charge them for it. Makes it hard to support something that you can't test.

jethro's picture

Building a 64bit Quad Core PC

I now have two quad core machines. The details are below, but first the reasoning behind the addition.

Research stage

I use PC's extensively for work and my main workstation has to be able to keep up with what I am doing. I have been frustrated with the Vista 32bit low RAM limits, maximum RAM being only between 2.75 and 3.5GB RAM. As I use virtual machines to do development work in, as well running a lot of applications simultaneously RAM is very important to me. As mentioned in my Why I need a quad core PC post recently my RAM usage is often over 80-90%.

So it seemed to me that 64 bit Vista was the only way I was going to improve my machine's performance and allow me to access the full 4GB or RAM or more.

I had been reading with interest Nick Hodges General Melchett Project, where he set out to build a machine with a Vista Performance index of 5.9, the highest available. Full story on the Channel 10 website. I had also been filing various bits of information about Vista 64 and limitations, things it would not do etc.

jethro's picture

Making a DVD library in Vista Media Centre

I posted yesterday about how to make a DVD library work in Vista Media Centre.

I followed Max's instructions, and it didn't work. I could not understand why. I had done everything he said - or I thought I had.

After reading through all the comments on his post I found this little trick on another website. When you add a folder for the DVD library you don't do it in the normal settings Library, add a watch folder area. Instead you go into the DVD library and right click anywhere in the screen and add the watch folder there. Bingo - it worked immediately.

Now I am busy re ripping my DVD collection as DVD format (not ISO) and the media centre picks them up as fast as they are pasted in.. The DVD's I only have as ISO's I can mount in Daemon Tools and then use the DVDFab HD Decryptor software to rip. Awesome!

 

jethro's picture

Vista Media Center can make the best DVD library EVER!

This is my project for this weekend.


If you'd like to avoid the bother of inserting a DVD into the Player and would prefer to browse you collection very easily all on ourTV/monitor and hit "play" read on.


According to Max all you need to make the best digital library is:


1) Windows Vista Home Premium or Ultimate (these are the versions that include the new Media Center that I am using)