GrofLuigi

I can't start Minesweeper, from Procmon tracing it looks like it asks for CLSID {E77CC89B-7401-4C04-8CED-149DB35ADD04} which is Parental Controls (as I found out from Google). I deleted it long time ago as I'm a sole user of my computer and don't need it and don't want it back. Any way to circumvent this restriction or patch it? Is there more information somewhere about this? I searched and it's not mentioned anywhere. GL

You can rename them, for example Oem21.inf to Oem5.inf, Oem21.cat to Oem5.cat and in the registry: [HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SYSTEM\CurrentControlSet\Control\Class\{GUID}\00XX] infpath=oem5.inf [HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SYSTEM\CurrentControlSet\Enum\XXXX\VEN_XXXXDEVXXXX_XXXXXXXXXX\XXXXXXXX] DeviceDesc='@oem5.inf,%... Mfg='@oem5.inf,%... Just search oem21 in registry and replace it with oem5, using common sense. I do it regularly with VirtualBox drivers and some codec infs, I haven't used it on real devices since I haven't feel the need to, but I don't see why it shouldn't work. Maybe it wouldn't on some very complex drivers. On Win 7+ (or Vista?) you have to deal with the Driver Store using RAPR. GL

Metro strikes again! http://support.mozilla.org/en-US/questions/942316 GL

I would turn to Nirsoft for my needs. GL

I did this, but now I can't find the exact page which explained it step by step. This looks close enough. It was something with BCDEDIT, for sure. GL

Well, you need to turn it on http://technet.microsoft.com/en-us/library/cc742433.aspx But I think it logs only dropped/passed packets, not creation of rules. GL

Now that you mentioned it, there might be something in the firewall log (if you enable it first), but I'm almost sure there will be something in the event log (if you manage to find the event ). GL

Yes, I know, but I'm not sure it's possible. GL

In the registry it is the key: HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SYSTEM\CurrentControlSet\services\SharedAccess\Parameters\FirewallPolicy\FirewallRules You can export that key to .txt format with regedit to see the last write time (for the entire key). If you export it to .reg format, on the bottom will be the last created values (but it's not guaranteed). There are other registry tools that can read and display last write time of keys. I don't know if any of them can do the same for values (but I haven't looked hard). It might be impossible. RegScanner from Nirsoft can search registry (keys only?) by date. GL

I suggest submitting this app to the App store (with properly satisfied requirements and documented evidence of the whole process). If they refuse it, go to the press and make a big deal out of it. Reward: free publicity. If they accept it, even better. Reward: free publicity and satisfaction from the irony. GL

Although it may be solved, I found an explanation of the mechanism. *edit: oops, direct linking is blocked, sorry GL

I don't think you can empty the list before the first login, when it is pre-populated by Microsoft entries.My link GL

You need to master WPCREDIT (PCi Configuration Register Editor), which was a big deal back then. More often than not, because of the "quality" of VIA chipsets. GL

General observations/question (sorry if they are too obvious, but I see you're not making progress): - Does Fn + left Ctrl (or Shift) + whatever work? (Maybe it also controls other keys besides Fx keys. Some laptops have BIOS option to reverse the function of the Fn key.) - Have you tried togging NumLock? - I read Sony has a hotkey program. Have you tried with/without it? (install if you haven't used it, uninstall if you did) GL

11. (but should be between 4 and 5 according to its usefullness to me): bcdedit /set useplatformclock true Instructs Windows to use HPET as its only timer (clock), increasing snappiness for me. Some report the opposite. Can also be useful when changing FSB/BCLK from within Windows and the state is not synchronized with what Windows had seen at boot. GL

My observations from intensive usage of Regshot x64 over past few months: 1. It's very slow, especially with filesystem (although I have/use it on SSD). 2. The GUI (right click) for adding registry exclusions doesn't work quite right (it adds entries in incorrect form, needs "=1" at the end, but puts something at the beginning). Can be edited, but it's boring. 3. No GUI for adding filesystem exclusions (paths). Can also be worked around by editing, but... 3a. I think files cannot be excluded, only dirs (I might be deeply wrong here). 4. Opens IE at the end, not my default browser (or nothing). But otherwise, it does its job well and it's clean - writes only to its own .ini file and the report. Still, I'd like to try another such utility for x64 to compare. Any suggestions? GL

@ganesh61: You can try this old trick for shutdown. Worked for me a looooong time ago when I changed HALs... edit (clarify): You need to install manually NT Apm/Legacy Interface Node (step 5). GL

Maybe there are problems with PL in the name? Link GL

What if I told you I successfully transplanted spellchecking dlls for my language from O2010 into O2003? But it probably won't work for most languages, mine is weakly supported (only through LIP - Language interface pack) and two dlls which only needed to be renamed and overwritten. The interesting thing was, the dlls had different company names in their version resource (both not Microsoft) and they work flawlessly after replacement. I checked with Dependency Walker, they had the same exports (or whatever the function names are called). But it's only simple spellcheck, and bad for that matter - many words missing or wrong for my language. That's the way it has always been with my language. GL

I agree with Jaclaz, the issue of RAM far outweighs any other pros/cons. For me, the breaking decision point has always been the amount of RAM machine has. Every "generation" of computers has some "sane", "reasonable" amount of RAM it's made for and works best with. Right now that value seems too be 8 Gb (2x4 Gb dual channel). And I'm not talking about RAM prices, that's a different thing. Just for kicks, on such a machine (8 Gb RAM) I tried WinServer2003 Enterprise (it can see and use all the ram, but individuval limit of 2Gb per application still remains). So the RAM stays empty most of the time (not using it as server) and there is no real difference from what the usage would be if the OS would see just 4 Gb. Another example, on an underpowered laptop with 2 Gb RAM I tried Win7 x64 and it was smothered. Worked much better with Win7 x86 (or XP x86, for that matter ). As for your question, I've never seen (but haven't looked hard) a difference of more than 20% between x64 and x86 version of an application (with same RAM usage). About the OS, it depends on the generation. If you're wondering about Win7 x86 vs. Win7 x64, there is not much difference, so I'd say go for it. If it's XP x32 vs. XP x64, ditto. But if it's about XP x32 vs Win7 x64, that's a tougher one (although it's the most common upgrade path). There are some (general) improvements in the OS vs much bloat. I'd say, again, the bottom line is the amount of RAM the computer has. It makes no sense to install x64 on less than 4 Gb and x32 cannot see more than that. And I don't think ramdisks are worthwhile long-term solution. And you have to define 2-D video. Editing, watching, transcoding? GL

Try this. Crucial and Micron are the same company (or, at least, their SSDs are the same). *Edit: It might not apply fully to your situation, but you have nothing to lose... GL

This is what I have... For IE8 (on XP): REGEDIT4 [HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SOFTWARE\Policies\Microsoft\Internet Explorer\Suggested Sites] "Enabled"=dword:00000000 [HKEY_CURRENT_USER\Software\Policies\Microsoft\Internet Explorer\Suggested Sites] "Enabled"=dword:00000000 For IE9 (on Win7 x64): REGEDIT4 [HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SOFTWARE\Policies\Microsoft\Internet Explorer\Suggested Sites] "Enabled"=dword:00000000 [HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SOFTWARE\Wow6432Node\Policies\Microsoft\Internet Explorer\Suggested Sites] "Enabled"=dword:00000000 [HKEY_CURRENT_USER\Software\Microsoft\Internet Explorer\Suggested Sites] "Enabled"=dword:00000000 [HKEY_CURRENT_USER\Software\Policies\Microsoft\Internet Explorer\Suggested Sites] "Enabled"=dword:00000000 And I think it works, because I don't remember seeing Suggested Sites on rare occasions when I fire IE. GL

I think MHDD and Victoria had options to scan and remap "slow" sectors. I've never used them. *Edit: same time as Jaclaz, who as usual has a better answer. GL

Yeah, a lot of problems with that Zenoghraphic dlls... I had problems with LJ 1020 and zspool.dll, but luckily a new version of the driver fixed it. GL

I'm surprised noone has mentioned this: What about your mousepad? Have you tried changing it/cleaning it? I've seen different mice "disagreeing" with particular kind of background (light, dark, glossy, matte etc.) while working perfectly on another type. And yes, one of the symptoms is drift. GL