I read about some users having problems when installing Vista SP1. The problem i had with it was post it here.

Some users ran into problems because they had installed a language pack in windows prior to installing the service pack.

If this is your case, read the following article which describes the error and offers a solution.

I already tried a new disc image that microsoft released with an existing spanish language pack. It worked great but some items were not translated to spanish from the english disc image. This is because some things has changed in SP1 and microsoft will release updated language packs in the near future.

Microsoft published today a list of some applications that currently are having problems with SP1 installed.

Most notably, this list includes Trend Micro Internet Security, Zone Alarm Security Suite and BitDefender Internet Security. However the knowledge base article KB935796 states that there are newer versions on the developer’s websites.

If you use some of the applications, verify that you are running the latest version before installing SP1 in order to avoid incompatibilities or lost of functionality.

A week ago i got the RTM release of Windows Vista Service Pack 1. Its the stand-alone installer.

Today i made some backups in my laptop to install it but things got frustating enough. First, the setup ran for about 3 housr and in the end, i got this error code: 0xC004F013.

I unplugged my external hard disk drive and my wireless mouse, stopped some services of programs i use and tried the SP1 setup again. The installation ran for about 80 min and i got the same error code at the end: 0xC004F013.

After thinking this over and searching Microsoft KB for some information i ended without any hint of a solution.

I also ran Vista’s System File Checker tool and Vista’s Memory Diagnostics but nothing was wrong with my system.

Then, i read here that some guy was having the same problem as me. He uninstalled Update KB941649 and reported that the installation of SP1 went smoothly afterwards.

I read the installation logs and figured that the same update was preventing SP1 from installing correctly.

I uninstalled i tried the SP1 setup again. After almost an hour (average installation time according to numerous reports) the setup ended successfully.

Now that i have SP1 installed will make some benchmarks, try some programs and will post my experience.

After i return to my home (im visitting my parents this weekend) i will install it on my desktop computer but from a fresh install without updates being installed first to streamline the whole experience.

So, if you encourter this same error code, try uninstalling that update first and then try the setup again.

A few weeks ago, it happened to me that after doing some unattended installations, when i first ran IE7 (all installations were Windows Vista) the Runonce page didn’t show up as usual. Instead it was giving out an error like this:

An HTTP error occurred while getting:

http://runonce.msn.com/runonce2.aspx

Details: “connect timed out”.

The reason is yet to be known but apparently the site is having problems, as i read on some sites yesterday that the problems is growing and it is intermittent, meaning that sometimes it works, sometimes it doesn’t.

I have a quick fix if you are running new installations or running Internet Explorer for the first time.

Simply copy this text and save it as somename.reg and double click on the newly created file to merge its contents to the registry.

Windows Registry Editor Version 5.00

[HKEY_CURRENT_USER\Software\Microsoft\Internet Explorer\Main]
“RunOnceHasShown”=dword:00000001
“RunOnceComplete”=dword:00000001

Since the introduction of ICHR8 Intel made some core improvements to the new AHCI interface for SATA devices.

If you don’t know what AHCI is, it provides better power managements features, hot-plug functionality and other enhancements to SATA devides such as hard drives and optical drives. Even some sites claim that AHCI provides more performance over standard controllers.

Intel has more information about AHCI.

If your BIOS supports it, you can turn on AHCI mode, but if you are currently running windows you can get into trouble and your current installation won’t boot.

So, if you want to turn on AHCI mode, you first need to enable the AHCI driver in Windows Vista before changing it in the BIOS. Read how to enable it here.

Basically, you just need to change a registry key in order to avoid a BSOD with the message STOP 0×0000007B INACCESSABLE_BOOT_DEVICE when enabling AHCI.

I will enable it as soon as i get another HDD to use a RAID 0 for Vista.

A week ago i formatted my laptop with my unattended Vista installation DVD and all went smooth as usual.

Things got bad as soon as i started to configure settings and installing some programs because i started to get BSOD after a few minutes of using the computer.

The error message: IRQL_NOT_LESS_OR_EQUAL.

I thought it was the latest Intel graphics drivers because that was the only thing i updated on my VistaUA (Vista Unattended) disc. I replaced them with the previous version and ran the installation again. Result: BSOD again in a few minutes.

I disabled drivers, startup programs and services but nothing seemed to fix it. I was formatting other computers and i unplugged my Western Digital 80Gb External USB hard drive to install programs on those computers.

I noticed that my laptop was able to function properly and longer without any errors. I plugged my HDD again, restarted windows to make a test and i got the same BSOD again.

I tried to boot my desktop computer with the same external drive connected and the same thing happened: BSOD after a minute or two.

If i connect the drive after Windows is loaded there is no problem and i can use the drive as i normally do.

I’ve searched the web for solutions but i didn’t find any real answers to the problem. I even looked at Microsoft Knowledge Base but came out empty.

So, if you’re having this particular problem (i haven’t tried my external hdd in WinXP) check to see if you have external devices connected. Maybe a windows update introduced this kind of behavior because i have been using this drive for about two and half years without any single issue.

If i find a solution i will post it for people that is suffering the same thing as me. If someone has some solution, please post it.

I was at my parents house the other day and was experiencing some connection problems with my laptop. The WiFi access was working well but i couldn’t browse. Other online-aware programs were fine but the browsing was gone. Since my laptop was the only device with this issue i though that somehow vista or other program - i install a lot of them - was causing this.

To make a long story short, i ended formatting my laptop. The problem was still there and i was very frustrated. During lunch i suddenly thought of making some tests and pings to the ISP dns servers.

Well, it turned out that one of the two DNS server was down and oddly enough my laptop was the only device being assigned that one on the network by the WiFi router.

If you ever find yourself in this situation, read the following lines to learn how to manually change the DNS server settings in Windows Vista or XP.

You need to know the DNS server addresses of your ISP in order to manually enter them. In this case, i just entered to the router’s configuration page and looked for the addresses under Connection Settings.

• Go to Control Panel - Networks - Network Connections.
• Right-click the network connection you are having problems with and choose properties.
• Select Internet Protocol (IPv4) and then click on the properties button.
• Manually enter the preferred and alternative DNS server addresses here. You can try and change the order.
• Click OK.
• Do the above step for IPv6 protocol.

You now should be able to browse normally if at least one server is working.

Take into account that this manual configuration will only work for the Internet connection that is having problems. If you need to connect to a problem-free connection, undo the steps and choose Automatic DNS settings.

Adobe newest Creative Suite 3 installs Apple’s Bonjour service even if you don’t install Version Cue. Its main goal is to provide zero-configuration connectivity between Version Cue server and the suite’s applications.

When installed by Creative Suite 3 applications, the name used by Bonjour for Windows in the services control panel is:

##Id_String2.6844F930_1628_4223_B5CC_5BB94B879762##

If you are using Version Cue, you can correct the service name just by running two commands at a run prompt box (Start - Run):

• “C:\Program Files\Bonjour\mDNSResponder.exe” -remove
• “C:\Program Files\Bonjour\mDNSResponder.exe” -install

The service will now be displayed with the correct name in the Services control panel.

But if you don’t need it, you can get rid of it easily. Just follow this simple steps:

• Open a Windows Run prompt box (Start - Run) and type the following command: “C:\Program Files\Bonjour\mDNSResponder.exe” -remove
• Navigate to the following folder in Windows Explorer: C:\Program Files\Bonjour
• Rename the mdnsNSP.dll file in that folder to mdnsNSP.old
• Restart your computer
• Delete the the Program Files\Bonjour folder

Note: Please take into account that if you are running Windows in other language, the path to Program Files maybe different.

Also remember that if the path to the file contains spaces, you need to enclose the command in ” “, or double quotes. Just as it is shown above.