Windows Vista isn’t well liked by many computer users. The operating system has a reputation for consuming more resources than Windows XP did. The need for more resources to run Vista than many netbook computers offer led Microsoft to continue offering Windows XP alongside Vista.

Microsoft has announced today that it is extending the previous deadline for computer makers to move away from Windows XP that was set to retire on January 31, 2009. Microsoft has previously extended this deadline as well.

Microsoft says that distributors have until December 31 to submit XP forecasts for purchase. The distributors can take delivery on these forecast sales of Windows XP until May 30, 2009. This should mean that Windows XP is available until very close to the Windows 7 launch rumored to be in mid-2009.

CRN

written by NewsFeeder \\ tags: Microsoft, Windows XP

I like to keep my main drive running mainly the OS.

On my second drive I like to install the majority of my programs. However, windows always wants to install programs to “c:\program files” and changing it everytime can be a pain.

After you back up your registry, this is how you can change this default location.

1. Navigate to: HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SOFTWARE\Microsoft\Windows\CurrentVersion

2. Find ProgramFilesDir whose default should be C:\Program Files

3. Change this to whatever directory you wish. I changed it to D:\Program Files for example.

Remember you have to reboot for your changes to show.

written by TMP \\ tags: drive, General, Windows

Return Icons to the Smaller Classic XP Size

1. Right-click on a unused area of the desktop
2. Pick View
3. Select Classic Icons

Even more interesting is this little shortcut…

Hold the CTRL key and scroll up and down on your scrollwheel on you mouse. You can size the icons however you wish.

written by TMP \\ tags: icon, size, vista, xp

Normally if you try to log on to a remote computer running Vista using a blank password you receive an error message. You can, however, configure Vista to allow network users to log on to the computer with blank passwords (you should consider the security implications before doing so). To allow network users to use blank passwords: Click Start and click Control Panel. Click System and Maintenance, Administrative Tools and then the Local Security Policy. Within the console, expand Local Policies. Click Security Options. The various security options are displayed in the details pane. Double click Accounts: Limit Local Account Use of Blank Passwords to Console Logon Only. Select the Disabled option. Click OK.

written by TMP \\ tags: log on, netowrk, vista, Windows