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Brian's Buzz on Windows has changed its name to the Windows
Secrets Newsletter. Get the latest high-tech tricks with a free
subscription. Click here to subscribe
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APRIL 24, 2003 - Issue 4
I need your help to make this newsletter great. After 12
years of being published by InfoWorld, my Window Manager
column has been cut, along with several others, effective April 21.
To continue with my revelations about Windows,
I'm asking all my readers to make a contribution to
start receiving the new, paid version of Brian's Buzz on Windows.
The free version will continue. But I hope you'll upgrade.
I'll use your contribution to finance
new sections in the paid version that I hope you'll find
truly valuable:
- The alerts you really need. Each issue,
I'll describe for you the most important upgrades and bulletins from
Microsoft, so you won't have to wade through hundreds that are
irrelevant.
- Freeware that rocks. Every week, new programs are
released that can solve your technical problems without creating
holes in your budget. The paid newsletter will tip you off
to the best.
- New reports and software.
At least once per calendar quarter, I'll acquire the rights
to worthwhile stuff
and allow paid subscribers to download it for free.
- A true superset. The paid newsletter will still contain
all the tips that the free newsletter does.
I've established a flexible, sliding scale. You may contribute whatever
amount you feel is appropriate, in U.S. dollars, Canadian dollars,
British pounds, or E.U. euros
(to accomodate my readers in more than 35 countries).
To upgrade to the paid version, please go now to
WindowsSecrets.com/upgrade.
Thanks in advance. --Brian Livingston
TOP STORY - info you need to make Windows work
XP Service Pack 1 hoses CD-ROM and floppy-disk
access
By Brian Livingston
Microsoft's launch of its new Windows Server 2003 line is just
taking place as I write this, and my readers are starting to send
fascinating tips about its secrets. But while I'm compiling a new batch
of articles on that subject, the most interesting gotcha I've
heard of this week involves Windows XP with Service Pack 1
installed.
Jeffery Davidson, manager of information systems for the
ATP Oil & Gas Corporation, sent in the following
well-documented tale. Have a listen:
- "Last week, my company purchased two new Panasonic
Toughbook laptops
for some of our field personnel. I configured them with Windows XP and
Office XP, made sure that all of the patches and drivers were
installed, including XP Service Pack 1a, added all of the third-party
software they needed, and sent them out to the users.
"The users both came back yesterday and complained that they couldn't get
the floppy drives to work. After duplicating the problem, I spoke to
Panasonic's tech support, who told me that this was a problem with the
SP1 installation. He referred me to Microsoft's Knowledge Base article
811839
-- 'An I/O Device Error May Occur When You Access the Floppy
Disk Drive in Windows XP Service Pack 1.'
"Apparently, the problem is caused by Windows dynamically changing the
computer processor power state to a deeper idle state (from the C2
state to the C3 state).
"To fix the problem. the article referred me to another KB article,
811840
-- 'How to Change the PromoteLimit Value for the Transition
from C2 to C3 Power States.' This fix involved editing two strings of
four bytes in six binary keys in the registry, increasing the time that
must elapse from 100 milliseconds to 500 milliseconds before Windows
XP promotes the processor from a C2 to a C3 power state.
"When I changed the registry, the two laptops were able to access their
floppy drives successfully.
"All well and good. Here's where I started to get concerned. Late last
week, one user who had a Compaq EVO D510 desktop machine suddenly
started experiencing severe endless loop crashes. Unable to repair the
problem, I decided to wipe the drive and reinstall Windows XP.
Initially, I was unable to restore the system from Compaq's restore
disks. The technical support folks at Compaq decided the problem was a
bad restore disk. I was able to manually install XP, and then manually
install the hardware drives from the corrupt disk.
"After the installation, I again installed ancillary programs and
downloaded patches, including XP Service Pack 1a. After SP1 was
installed, I began to experience problems with the CD-ROM drive
intermittently not reading data from the different CD-ROMs I was
trying to install from.
"The error message I would get was 'An I/O error has occurred while
installing a file. This is usually caused by bad installation media or
a corrupt installation file.' I could either abort or retry. However,
retrying did nothing but repeat the error message.
"I decided to search the Microsoft knowledge base for 'I/O Errors' and
promptly saw the same KB articles I used yesterday to fix the laptops.
I decided to try the same thing on this desktop, even though I hadn't
experienced problems with the floppy drive.
"Surprisingly enough, it worked. But that's what bothers me. Why is
XP SP1 causing these problems with different kinds of I/O operations?
This has now occurred on three out of the 60-odd machines I'm
responsible for, so it's widespread enough to want Microsoft to come
up with a better solution than manually editing several binary strings
in the registry. For that matter, I'd tell them myself, but they don't
have a great feedback system, as you probably know."
I'm sending reader Davidson a certificate for a free book, CD, or DVD
of his choice for being the first to submit a comment I printed.
To send me more information about this, or to send me a tip on any other
subject, visit
WindowsSecrets.com/contact.
RECOMMENDED READING - a few page views to boost your knowledge
The Ultimate Windows Server 2003 System Administrator's Guide
With the release this week of Windows Server 2003,
it's a great time to look into this book from Robert Williams and
Mark Walla. The new volume is a complete revision of their earlier
admin guide to Windows 2000, which many reviews still point to as an
"omnibus" reference work. Whether your company has already decided on
Server 2003 or is just considering it, you'll ultimately need the
kind of detail that this tome has.
More info
Microsoft Windows Server 2003 Administrator's Pocket Consultant
Being from Microsoft Press, this little 400+ page guide is sort of
the official cheat sheet for Server 2003 basics.
It's not exactly a "secrets" kind of book, but it doesn't try to be.
"Just the facts, ma'am," is more the idea here. The Pocket Consultant
appears to have gone to press just before Microsoft changed the
branding of the OS from Windows .NET Server to Windows Server 2003,
but the naming switcheroo doesn't affect the usefulness of the content.
At 8" x 5.5" (20 cm x 14 cm), you'd have to be a kangaroo
to have a hip pocket big enough to tuck this into. But you may not
mind tossing it into your kit bag of resources.
More info
WINDOWS GIZMOS - the best new stuff
Award-winning Wi-Fi and power-line combo becomes more affordable
If you have a small cluster of users who sit where Wi-Fi doesn't
reach very well, you can easily extend your LAN to them wirelessly
using power-line networking. The Siemens SpeedStream 2521 handles
this problem well by sharing an Internet connection using both the
electrical wiring of the office (or home)
and the wireless technology of 802.11b.
This spec has enough bandwidth for a small group, which is one reason
it recently earned the CNET Editor's Choice award. It's just dropped below
$60 at CompUSA.com, the lowest price I've seen (list is more like $130).
More info
Good-sounding speakers you can take anywhere
Projecting a business presentation or enjoying the latest tunes from
a CD, DVD, or MP3 player often means carrying portable speakers
around. One of the smallest setups that fills this need with
decent audio is the Sonic Impact SI-5 2.1 Portable Flat Panel system.
The whole shebang weighs less than 2 pounds (1 kg), the speakers
clip together for packing, and they claim 15 hours of battery life
(or power them off a USB port or an optional AC adapter). Rock on,
dude.
More info
FORWARDING INSTRUCTIONS - news gains value when it's shared
Please share this information with your colleagues
You're encouraged to refer your friends and colleagues to this free
newsletter. Because most e-mail programs don't correctly display a formatted
message that's been forwarded, simply call people's attention to
the permanent Web address of this issue:
BriansBuzz.com/w/030424.
THE WEIRD WIDE WEB - playing for you the Internet's greatest bits
New ruler of liberated nation will be determined by Fox TV reality show
There isn't much funny about Iraq right now, but humor rag The Onion
found an angle by reporting that the country's new leader would
be chosen by audience members of a new Fox series,
"Appointed by America."
"A panel of celebrity judges will help eliminate two contestants
each week, leaving one lucky winner the undisputed leader of Iraq
at the end of the season," the site says. Viewers will
be able to participate by casting phone-in votes, although
the program's director notes that "voting is
restricted to calls originating from within the continental U.S."
You know they couldn't say it on the Internet if it weren't true...
More info
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