http://support.microsoft.com/kb/914440

This tool is available to help you identify and fix connection problems. These connection problems may occur with computers on a home network that connect to the Internet by using a cable modem or by using a digital subscriber line (DSL) modem.

To diagnose network connectivity status, the Network Diagnostics for Windows XP tool analyzes the following tests:

• IP configuration test 
• Default gateway test 
• Winsock test 
• DNS test 
• Firewall test 
• Internet connectivity validation test
• Typically, a support professional will work with you when you run the Network Diagnostics for Windows XP tool to help diagnose network connectivity status.

Most home networks use one of the following methods to access or share a single high-speed Internet connection:

• A stand-alone router 
• A home gateway, such as a cable modem together with a router or a DSL modem together with router 
• A computer that is running Internet Connection Sharing or another form of Network Address Translation (NAT)

PortQry is a command-line utility that you can use to help troubleshoot TCP/IP connectivity issues. This utility reports the port status of target TCP and User Datagram Protocol (UDP) ports on a local computer or on a remote computer. PortQry version 2.0 also provides detailed information about the local computer's port usage. PortQry version 2.0 runs on all the following operating systems:

• Microsoft Windows Server 2003
• Microsoft Windows XP
• Microsoft Windows 2000

PortQry reports the status of a port in one of the following ways:

• LISTENING This response indicates that a process is listening on the target port. PortQry received a response from the target port.
• NOT LISTENING This response indicates that no process is listening on the target port. PortQry received one of the following Internet Control Message Protocol (ICMP) messages from the target port:
• Destination unreachable
• Port unreachable 
• FILTERED This response indicates that the target port is being filtered. PortQry did not receive a response from the target port. A process may or may not be listening on the target port. By default, PortQry queries a TCP port three times before it returns a response of FILTERED and queries a UDP port one time before it returns a response of FILTERED.

http://support.microsoft.com/default.aspx?kbid=832919

Detailed discussion describing how Microsoft IT uses Exchange Server 2003 SP2 and Windows Mobile 5.0 with the Messaging and Security Feature Pack to improve how it does mobile messaging. By using these new technologies Microsoft IT was able to manage mobile devices more easily, better secure mobile devices, and enable end users to take advantage of a more richer mobile messaging experience.

http://www.microsoft.com/downloads/details.aspx?FamilyID=67c06122-17b2-4268-9f71-a583ff7d5e17&DisplayLang=en

Exchange 2007 Beta 2 x64 ENU
http://download.microsoft.com/download/7/1/8/718114a6-c29b-4545-a49c-79dd8c8ad67d/exchange2007-beta2-x64-enu.exe

Exchange 2007 Beta 2 x86 ENU       
http://download.microsoft.com/download/7/1/8/718114a6-c29b-4545-a49c-79dd8c8ad67d/exchange2007-beta2-x86-enu.exe

System Requirements
http://www.microsoft.com/technet/prodtechnol/exchange/2007/productevaluation/sysreqs.mspx

Unified Messaging Language packs (additional)
http://www.microsoft.com/technet/prodtechnol/exchange/2007/productevaluation/sysreqs.mspx

FAQs
http://www.microsoft.com/exchange/preview/faq.mspx

Release notes
http://www.microsoft.com/downloads/details.aspx?familyid=2600CAB1-BF60-49BD-BEF5-CB80083275AD&displaylang=en

Exchange 2007 Management Shell - Introduction
http://www.microsoft.com/downloads/details.aspx?familyid=1DC0F61B-D30F-44A2-882E-12DDD4EE09D2&displaylang=en

Quick Reference for Exchange 2007 Management Shell
http://www.microsoft.com/downloads/details.aspx?familyid=01A441B9-4099-4C0F-B8E0-0831D4A2CA86&displaylang=en

Exchange 2007 Beta 2 Help
http://www.microsoft.com/downloads/details.aspx?familyid=555F5974-9258-475A-B150-0399B133FEDE&displaylang=en

Thinking of installing Exchange 12 CTP build into your production environment?
http://msexchangeteam.com/archive/2006/03/30/423691.aspx

Step by step Setup walkthrough for Exchange 2007 Beta 2
http://msexchangeteam.com/archive/2006/07/24/428424.aspx

ScatterChat is a secure instant messenging program which supports all major chat networks, second generation onion routing for anonymization, as well as end-to-end encryption for both chat and file transfers.

http://www.scatterchat.com/

It is a secure instant messaging client (based upon the Gaim software) that provides end-to-end encryption, integrated onion-routing with Tor, secure file transfers, and easy-to-read documentation.

Its security features include resiliency against partial compromise through perfect forward secrecy, immunity from replay attacks, and limited resistance to traffic analysis... all reinforced through a pro-actively secure design.

In my testing - unreliable.  Simple UI things like having the messenger minimize to the tray are not enabled by default (the plugin has to be enabled) and I experienced strange disconnects - and random inabilities to reconnect.

The GUI was smooth - for the most part - but not polished.  The icons were huge - so my contact list goes on for pages... and there's no way to resize these icons from the provided configuration options.

There's inconsistent update notification - the GAIM plugin for updates tells me I'm running an old version, while the ScatterChat launcher tells me I'm running the latest version.

I had about 5 crashes after 8 hours of testing.

A future release will probably address these issues and more - in the meantime, I'm going back to my horribly insecure client - because it means I can use my IM again.  Do you remember that feeling?  After you switched off the bloated AOL ICQ client (official) to Miranda ICQ or Trillian?  That huge burden of bloat lifted from your shoulders? My switch back to the generic MSN client was a breath of fresh air after using ScatterChat for a day.  I appreciate the security and the proper application design, as they claim - but the impact on productivity was far too great for me.  And I don't feel I need to give up that much functionality and performance for security.  At least - not yet.

Office 2007 is angry at me.  "How is setup supposed to modify files while you have those files open," you ask.

Problem is... I don't have any programs open.  Suggestions?

• Replace lost, broken, damaged or defective Microsoft software disks.
• Purchase product upgrades.
• Replace broken or defective Microsoft hardware products.
• Check the status on support orders.
• Order downloadable service packs.
• Replace missing manuals.

Note The current owner must be in possession of the product and be able to provide proof of purchase of all products when making requests for replacements through the Supplemental and Replacement parts team. The Supplemental Parts team provides service for the United States (U.S.) and Canada only. Submit all foreign replacement part and service pack issues to the appropriate local subsidiary.

via http://support.microsoft.com/kb/326246/en-us
In the United States at (800) 360-7561, Monday - Friday, 5:00 A.M. - 7:00 P.M. Pacific time zone.
In Canada at (800) 933-4750, Monday - Friday, 5:00 A.M. - 7:00 P.M. Pacific time zone.

I was reading up on Intel's new processor technology today.

Via http://www.bit-tech.net/columns/2006/07/20/dont_upgrade_now_quad_core_is_coming_soon/:

So, Intel has just launched its new dual-core processors based on the Core microarchitecture, and they are set to be replaced by quad-core processors at the end of this year. This announcement will make Intel's Core 2 Duo processors obsolete before they've even had the chance to really penetrate the market in any substantial volumes.
...
"It now appears to make little sense to spend money on a Core 2 Duo too, unless you're planning on using the chip as a stop gap."
...
AMD says that you will be able to upgrade from two dual-core processors to a pair of quad-core processors when they launch. However, current reports suggest that AMD's quad-core architecture isn't due to launch until mid-2007.
...
Core 2 Duo will go on sale next week and if you are looking to build a system now, you should look no further than Intel's new processors as a starting point. However, with Kentsfield looking like a drop-in replacement, it might be worth making a conservative upgrade now in readiness for quad-core.

So this got me wanting more reading.  Got a nice list here - with some useful, in depth (reasonably!) documents.

Presentations/Whitepapers/Datasheets of Interest
http://idfemea.intel.com/2006/cairo/download/DE03.pdf
http://idfemea.intel.com/moscow/download/keynotes_and_tis/Shukla_eng.pdf
http://idfemea.intel.com/2006/cairo/download/MOB02.pdf
http://www.intel.com/performance/resources/briefs/mobiletechnology.pdf
http://download.intel.com/design/mobile/datashts/30922104.pdf
http://developer.intel.com/technology/itj/2006/volume10issue02/art01_Intro_to_Core_Duo/vol10_art01.pdf

Printables
http://pc.watch.impress.co.jp/docs/2006/0531/kaigai274_3.pdf (mobile roadmap, June 2006)
http://pc.watch.impress.co.jp/docs/2006/0531/kaigai274_1.pdf (desktop roadmap, June 2006)

It should be easy to search for updated version of these using Google (when available):
"filetype:pdf site:pc.watch.impress.co.jp" followed by "desktop" or "laptop".

IBM T-Series Model List
http://www5.pc.ibm.com/us/products.nsf/0/01926a87ea92789a8725701e00105406
http://www5.pc.ibm.com/ap/me.nsf/webdocs-L/Personal+Systems+Reference:ThinkPad+Notebooks:English/$FILE/tabook.pdf
ftp://ftp.software.ibm.com/pc/pcinstitute/psref/tawbook.pdf (2000-2005 Withdrawn reference list)
ftp://ftp.software.ibm.com/pc/pcinstitute/psref/tabook.pdf (Current reference list)

ThinkCenter Desktops Reference
http://www5.pc.ibm.com/ap/me.nsf/webdocs-L/Personal+Systems+Reference:ThinkCentre+Desktops:English/$FILE/tcbook.pdf#search=%22psref%20site%3Aibm.com%22

Vista vs. Ubuntu? @ Thursday, July 20, 2006 11:55 AM
We switched over all our servers AND workstations from windows to ubuntu (dapper) about 6 weeks ago. The transition was ultra smooth, taking around 15 mins to install on each machine. The motivation was security - despite commercial firewalls and auto-updating anti-virus software we continuously found key loggers and viruses on the systems, probably gotten there via IE or outlook express. We exported our email history for use with kmail, which suits our purposes very well. OpenOffice supplies all the features we need for documents, and software development is done in netbeans. It hurt to think of all the money we poured in over the years for the windows add-ons (office, personal firewalls, visual studio, anti-virus etc) but that's over now.

via http://blog.eweek.com/blogs/eweek_labs/archive/2006/07/19/11663.aspx#11691

Posts like these, in public locations, amuse me.

Why, oh why, would you run your users as local administrators?  Would you log users into Ubuntu as root?

Interesting numbers there, too.  Let's say you have 3 servers and 15 workstations.  (3+15)x15 mins = 270 minutes.  4.5 hours.  So, come in at 8am, and you'd be done in time for lunch.  Brilliant.

I'm convinced.  Let's switch today.

I'm just finishing up a setup with multiple links to the internet, using ISA Server 2004 SP2 on Windows Server 2003 R2.  Without additional software.

It's not strict load balancing, but its configured to send specific types of traffic (to specific destinations) through a specific internet connection.  This permits me to do live, offsite backup traffic streaming through a secondary internet connection.

Perhaps I'll post more instructions (or at least an overview/general concepts) up if anyone is interested.

I got an email today telling me I could beta test the Yahoo! Messenger functionality in MSN Live Messenger.

I can't stand it when people can't spell.  I can't take these emails seriously.

I will have to double my efforts to make sure I don't make these kinds of mistakes.

Time for some more testing... =)

Microsoft on Monday released Windows Vista Beta Build 5472 to technical beta testers, TAP customers and MSDN subscribers. The interim update is intended to give testers a more recent build, and encourage application and device driver developers to accelerate deployment on Vista.

Quality and performance enhancements are the primary changes in 5472, along with further tweaks to User Account Control. The new build is the second to follow Beta 2, and will not be released to Customer Preview Program participants. Microsoft expects to deliver the next public release of Windows Vista, Release Candidate 1, later this quarter.

http://www.betanews.com/article/Microsoft_Delivers_New_Vista_Beta_Build/1153157364

• Performance is good.  Runs like XP does on my T40 - quite a marked improvement.
• I've put it on my MCE as well in dual boot.
  • Hauppage 150 MCE PCI works fine
  • nVidia GeForce3 MX 440 AGP8x has basic support in Vista ONLY - advanced (Aero) visual effects disabled.
  • Cyberlink PowerDVD 6 isn't supported - grabbed myself PowerDVD7 and put that on.
  • Booting again into my XP OS caused chkdsk to fire up - and generate LOTS of errors on the Vista partition.  More on this once I figure out what happened.
  • My sound device worked fine.
  • Still no dual language VCD support - I've bugged this.
• Office 2007 Beta 2 installed fine.
• Much cleaner - and faster now.

I uninstalled PowerDVD6, and installed PowerDVD7.  Errors were generated when I tried to launch the app, and a popup in the tray told me to "Run chkdsk".  I fired the errors off to Microsoft.  The system then hung at shutdown.

After a cold restart, booting into XP caused chkdsk to trigger - where it found pages and pages of errors on the Vista partition.  It "repaired" them - but as I feared, Vista was damaged.  It no longer boots.  Loads into the GUI and BSOD and reboots.

The new User Account Control notification sound reminds me of the LCARS sound in Star Trek.  Every time the user account control dialog box opens, it makes me want to watch Star Trek: First Contact again. =)

I've put some screenshots up of Vista 5472.  I like the new Task Manager/Resource Monitor features, giving you a breakdown in areas like "Disk" and "Network" and allowing you to see which applications are using the network stack, for example.

http://photos.justinho.com/listpics.asp?dir=06.07.18.Vista

Daemon Tools 4.03 with SPTD update installs on 5472 - doesn't cause any BSOD - but it also doesn't work, spitting an error message.  "Unable to add adapter. Unable to open file in kernel mode."

Running as administrator doesn't help, obviously.

SSL problems with Vista 5472

1. Launch an Elevated Command Prompt (Start, All Programs, Accessories, right-click "Command Prompt", Run as administrator)

2. Type: "netsh int tcp set global autotuninglevel=disabled"

Outlook Web Access Parameters
Attachment Blocking
Freedocs
OWA Cookie Timeout
Enhanced Segmentation
Enabling Public Folder Replies
Outlook Parameters
Alias Matching
MAPI Compression Settings
RPC over HTTPS Polling
Outlook Version Blocking

Exchange Server Parameters
Controlling Out-of-Office Messages
Controlling Delivery Status Notifications
Reenabling the M: Drive
Backfilling the Public Folder

http://www.awprofessional.com/articles/article.asp?p=170892&seqNum=3&rl=1

http://www.microsoft.com/technet/prodtechnol/exchange/Analyzer/36e04508-7cd5-44e6-a6b5-551c4b98613c.mspx?mfr=true

To create the firewall rule:
Open F-Secure Internet Security.
Click on ‘Advanced…’ to open the advanced dialog.
On the left menu, select ‘Internet Shield’, and then ‘Firewall’.
On the firewall pane, select the ‘Rules’ tab, and click ‘Add’. The Firewall Rule Wizard appears.
In ‘Rule name’, type a name such as VNC.
For ‘Rule Type’, select ‘Allow’, and click ‘Next’.
Tick the box ‘Any IP Address’, and click 'Next'.
Select services for this rule by scrolling down the list and setting the following:
VNCTCP, tick the box, and then double-click between the computer and globe icon until it is a double arrow.
VNCUDP, tick the box, and then double-click between the computer and globe icon until it is a double arrow.
Click 'Next'.
For ‘Alert type’, select 'No alert', and click 'Next'.
Click 'Finish' to close the Firewall Rule Wizard.

via http://support.f-secure.com/enu/home/supportissue/fsis2006/firewall_q12.shtml

Media Center Karaoke Plug-in is designed for Microsoft Windows XP Media Center Edition. Media Center users can use this plug-in to select audio channels when playing VCD or DVD, can display lyrics included in WMA or MP3 music files, can remove vocals from the song, can also control microphone connected to the PC.

This is typically useful for cheap VCDs that have two languages embedded in the left and right channels.  By default, stereo or 5.1+ channel surround sound output causes obvious problems.  This plugin permits selection of audio input, as in many set top boxes.

http://www.download.com/Media-Center-Karaoke-Plug-in/3000-11444_4-10448603.html via
Microsoft Windows Marketplace - Media Center Plugins
http://www.windowsmarketplace.com/content.aspx?ctid=163

This plug-in doesn't seem to work very well - I'm quite disappointed.  This issue was first reported in MCE2004 as per the MSKB, "When you play a dual-language VCD, both language audio vocal channels play at the same time in Windows Media Center 2004" but it seems they still haven't corrected this problem, properly.

This plugin can be accessed by a 'shortcut' key of '9' during playback - but this shortcut key needs to be re-enabled EVERY TIME!  (Start, Programs, Karaoke Plugin.)

Anyone have a better solution to this problem?

Plugins

http://thegreenbutton.com/forums/thread/20347.aspx

http://msdn.microsoft.com/smartclient/default.aspx?pull=/library/en-us/dnxpmce/html/positionchangeraddin.asp

http://www.htpcnews.com/index.php?option=com_content&task=category&sectionid=4&id=23&Itemid=44

http://mymovies.name/mce/forum/Default.aspx?g=posts&t=1965

http://msmvps.com/blogs/chrisl/archive/2004/12/02/22045.aspx

http://www.mperfect.net/mceWorldWind/

http://blogs.msdn.com/mcreasy/archive/category/4594.aspx

http://www.wmplugins.com/

Issues encountered while building custom install CD/DVD/RIS image for deployment to 2007-62U IBM Lenovo ThinkPad T60/p

Administrative Deployment Tools

http://www-307.ibm.com/pc/support/site.wss/document.do?lndocid=TVAN-ADMIN
http://www-307.ibm.com/pc/support/site.wss/document.do?sitestyle=lenovo&lndocid=TVSU-UPDATE

Device Manager Shows ? Unknown Device After All Drivers on IBM Site Extracted Into Deployment Image

on Intel(R) 82801GBM (ICH7-M) LPC Interface Controller - 27B9
PNP ID ACPI\ATM1200\4&38462492&0
ACPI\ATM1200
*ATM1200

This is the Atmel TPM chip.  Get this driver: http://www-307.ibm.com/pc/support/site.wss/document.do?lndocid=MIGR-58054

Device Manage Shows ? PCI Device After all Drivers on IBM Site Extracted Into Deployment Image

The system should also have no sound drivers installed; the audio device is on the HDA bus, and these drivers are provided by Microsoft as a QFE patch only.  This is referenced by IBM in document MIGR-62575.

835221 - Universal Audio Architecture (UAA) High Definition Audio class driver available for Windows Server 2003, Windows XP, and Window 2000.
888111 - Universal Audio Architecture (UAA) High Definition Audio class driver version 1.0a available for Windows XP, Windows Server 2003, and Windows 2000

This is resolved by grabbing MSKBQ888111.  This is packaged by me, here.  You can then install audio and modem drivers once this OS support is available.

QFE888111.rar (227.53 KB)

ACHI (Intel) Storage Drivers Are Not Included in Windows XP - "There are no hard drives found" Error

Slipstream the Intel Matrix Drivers into the XP install.  Alternatively, change the BIOS to "compatibility" mode (for SATA device) before setup.

Errors with RIS Deployment Images

http://www.collosumus.net/amd64/addhw_3.html
http://forums.us.dell.com/supportforums/board/message?board.id=pw_raid&message.id=770

RIS Deployment

http://labmice.techtarget.com/articles/computernaming.htm

Allowing Custom Computer Name Specification During RIS Setup

Active Directory Users and Computers
Select your domain and view the properties.
On the Group Policy tab, edit the default domain policy
Inside the policy, expand User Configuration - Windows Settings - Remote Instalaltion Services.
Double click on Choice Options and set the Custom Setup option to Enabled.

During RIS setup, select Custom setup.