As many of you know, the 2.0 and 3.0 versions are installed as OS components on Windows Vista and do not appear in the Programs and Features (formerly known as Add/Remove Programs) control panel.

If you run into problems using .NET Framework applications on Windows Vista, and you suspect that files or registry entries that are a part of the .NET Framework 2.0 or 3.0 are corrupt, you can use the instructions listed below to attempt to repair them.

Repairing .NET Framework 2.0/3.0 files on Windows Vista

1. Click on the Start menu, choose All Programs, then Accessories, then right-click on the Command Prompt item and select Run as administrator
2. Click Continue to authorize opening a command prompt with administrative privileges
3. Run this command in the cmd prompt: sfc /scannow
4. The cmd prompt should list text stating “Beginning system scan. This process will take some time.”
5. Wait for the scan to complete (this can take several minutes so be patient)
6. When the scan completes, the SFC tool will indicate whether or not it found any integrity violations and offer you the chance to fix any that are found

Unfortunately, there is not an easy way of repairing the registry keys/values that are installed by Windows Vista like there is for files. If you want to try to repair the registry keys/values that are a part of the .NET Framework 2.0 and 3.0, you will need to run Windows Vista OS setup again and repair the OS.

Source: Aaron Stebner’s WebLog

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.

If you use the Quick Launch bar for storing your most frequent programs, you can have large icons displayed instead of the smaller ones that it have by default.

To make it possible just follow this easy instructions:

• Unlock the taskbar by right-clicking on it and unchecking Lock the Taskbar.
• Go to an empty space in the taskbar and right-click on it to select View - Show Large Icons.
• Lock the taskbar by right-clicking on it and checking Lock the Taskbar.

Now it will show 32×32 pixels icons instead of the default size, which is 16×16.

This is an easy tip, but many people doesn’t know this already.

This is an interesting read about a teenager who broke into Media Defender’s servers and stole information. Media Defender is a company that monitors p2p traffic looking for ways to stop sharing of particular files, be it movies, songs, etc. Recording and Motion Picture companies hires them.

It shows that every effort made by the industry is frustrated by hackers and pirates around the world.

I think that instead of suing users and trying to fill the network with bogus files of their products, they need to rethink their strategy when it comes to online stores, digital rights management and so on.

Read Article

If you are looking for or need a software firewall, there a few choices when it comes to freeware.

Comodo Firewall Pro is the best free firewall i have tested. I has a nice set of features, the interface is good and has options for averyone. I read also that it has passed some standard tests before so it can protect you against know network attacks.

Download

New version. This time is 1.85.

If you experience problems with drivers, use Guru 3D Driver Sweeper after you have uninstalled your current drivers to clean the system before installing the new ones. You can do this right in you windows session or in Safe Mode.

Unattended usage:
setup.exe -s -f2<path\LogFile> -z[-rp<path\LogFile>]
example:
setup.exe -s -f2C:\mylog.log -z[-rpC:\RHDSetup.log]

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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.

Sorry for the lack of updates in the past 2 weeks but i have been doing other things and i couldn’t find the time to write to the site.

That is over now and will begin updating the site now with a few posts and tomorrow i will post more articles.

Hopefully tomorrow i can get back on track with all the posting as usual.