I just read this article in TorrentFreak. It is interesting because many people using eMule get to download server lists from suspicious sites.

Connecting to a bad ed2k server can have some nasty consequences. They monitor your activities and report to anti-p2p outfits. They direct you to non-existent files, corrupted fakes and hide files which others genuinely want to share. Learn how to protect yourself.

Read the article to learn how to avoid this and to get some addresses that are reliable for updating the server lists in eMule client.

Read the full article Source: TorrentFreak

If you ever encounter yourself stuck in a file operation that cannot be completed, like moving or deleting a file or folder this program can help you. It is called Unlocker and it adds an entry to the shell context menu.

When you try to delete or move a file or folder and windows says it cannot do it because another process or person is accessing it, you right-click the file or folder in question and choose Unlocker.

It opens a windows where you can see which process are locking the item. You can either kill the process or unlock it. The latter works great for 99% of the cases. If you still can’t do it, well, kill the process and you are ready to go.

Its freeware

Website Download

If you want to use third party themes in Windows Vista, you have to modify some system files before you can use those themes. That is because Vista, as well as XP, accepts only themes that are digitally signed.

For unsigned themes, you have to modify three files in system32 folder. Here’s a link to those already modified files. You just need to take ownership of those files before you can replace them.

For an easy to way to take ownership of file, you can use VistaTweaker and check the option that puts a Take Owneship entry in the righ-click context menu. You can search the internet for  instructions on how to do that manually.

Download Modified Files

Since Microsoft released XP back in 2001, they don’t allow third party themes to be used because they must be digitally signed, making tons of great themes useless just because of this limitation.

But there’s a way to enable the use of unsigned themes. There are some files that must be patched (changed), a thing that is as easy as it can get. Back in those days, a little patched called UxTheme Multi-Patched was used to modify the requiered files.

Now you can use them in unattended installations, because the patched files are freely available in the internet, Also, a new patched for the latest SP3 can be downloaded, making the process easier for non-tech users of windows XP.

Note: If you want to use the modified file, just replace it in Sytem32 folder.

Download SP3 UxTheme Patcher | Patched Files

Important!: It appears that if you make the slipstreaming in a Vista machine, an unattended setup of XP will stop at the Key Input screen and it won’t accept any kind of key.

I just read in the TechNet forums. I will make some research and i will posts my findings.

Meanwhile, please slipstream SP3 in a computer with XP if you plan to do an unattended setup.

As i posted yesterday, you can download Windows XP SP3 from torrent sites (and now from Microsoft as well) without waiting for Microsoft to publish it in their download center or via automatic updates.

I already slipstreamed it to my Windows XP SP2 media. Here’s a simple guide if you want to do it on your own. This way, you can have your own SP3 media in no time.

You need the following:

• Windows XP SP2 media or disc image. We will use the files in the disc/image and update them with SP3.

• An application to extract ISO files in case you are using the spanish release of SP3 or you have your Windows XP SP2 as an image file. You can use 7-Zip which is free and a great file archiver.

• nLite to make a bootable cd image from the updated SP3 files.

Note: At the end of the guide you will fin a link to download it as a PDF file if you want to print it or take it with you.

1.- Copy/Extract the contents of your SP2 disc/image to something like D:\XPSP2

If you are using a cd/dvd, just select all the files and copy them to a location of your choice.
If you have a Windows XP SP2 disc image file, use 7-Zip or other program to extract all the files to a location of your choice.

2.- Copy/Extract the files from the downloaded SP3 release to something like D:\XPSP3

If you are using the english release of SP3 you need to copy the installer to this location.
If you are using the spanish release, you need to use 7-Zip to extract the files to this location. Open the image file you downloaded and extract its contents.

3.- Run the SP3 installer with a command-line switch to update the files

I use Launch, my own program, to run files with switches. If you don’t want to use Launch, use the Run box in the start menu, but make sure you have administrator privileges.

The command-line switches are:

WINDOWSXP-KB936929-SP3-X86-ESN.EXE /integrate:D:\XPSP2
WINDOWSXP-KB936929-SP3-x86-ENU.EXE /integrate:D:\XPSP2

After you run it, the installer begins to update the files in the folder you specified. Wait until it finishes and you should see a dialog that tells you that everything went fine.

4.- Use nLite to make a bootable disc image with the updated files

Open nLite and point it to the folder where the updated files are and click Next.

In the Task Selection window select Create: Bootable ISO and click Next.

In the next window write a label for the disc image or leave it as it is. Click the Make ISO button and choose where to save the disc image nLite will generate. Wait until it finishes and click Next.

Then exit the program.

5.- We are done now

You can now burn the image file to a cd/dvd and use it to install Windows XP SP3 just like you did with earlier versions.

Download the guide as a PDF file. English/Spanish available.

As promised, here are the links to download Windows XP SP3. You need a BitTorrent client in order to download them. I recommend getting uTorrent or Deluge. They are free and easy to use.

Both links are for the final, RTM version of the SP3 intaller which you can use to slipstream it to your current disc of SP2 or to upgrade your current installation.

I just finished taking screenshots of the slipstreaming process and i will upload the guide later today.

Edit: Microsoft now has XP SP3 English release in windows update site. Here’s the link also.

Edit2: Microsoft now has XP SP3 available in several languages. It is believed that tomorrow they will be available in Microsoft download center. Meanwhile, here are the official links.

Spanish English French German Hebrew Italian Japanese Korean Russian Czech Chinese (Hong Kong) Chinese (Simplified) Chinese (Traditional)

Windows XP SP3 English RTM Torrent Download
Windows XP SP3 Spanish RTM Torrent Download

It seems that more often than not, we encounter ourselves with internet connection problems, computers that can’t see each other on the local network and problems that appear suddenly after everything was working well.

There is an easy way to try something before checking something else or calling for help.

This is called Power Cycling and can help you with your internet connection, booting problems and local network issues. It consists of turning off/on your equipment exactly in order. Follow this steps to do a complete Power Cycle:

• Turn your computer(s) off. It is important to unplug the power cords. If you have a laptop, unplug it and remove the battery for a few seconds.
• Turn off your router(s) and/or internet modem. Unplug the power cords, it is important.
• After you have all your equipment turned off, wait from 30 to 60 seconds for any residual power to drain from your devices.
• Now you have to turn on, in order, all your devices. Turn the internet modem on and wait for all its status lights to show that a connection has been established successfully. Turn the router on and wait about 30 seconds for it to initialize properly. Then turn on your computer(s).

Now you should be able to connect to the internet or see other computers on the network. Do this everytime you experience slow speeds, intermittent signal on the wireless network and local network computers can’t see each other after they were fine.

If this does not solve your problem, you will have to contact tech support or call someone to help you out.

I wasn’t aware that Microsoft didn’t include the Telnet client by default on all Vista installations until i needed to test some things with my new router and the open source firmware i choose to install on it.

So, to enable the client you just need to follow this easy steps:

1. Go to Control Panel - Programs
2. Under Program and Features click Turn Windows features on or off
3. Thick the checkbox Telnet Client
4. Click OK and wait for the installation to finish