Tag: Windows Vista

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Windows Vista, Windows XP Service Pack Previews Released, and I’m looking forward to both

A quick break for lunch and I saw this come across the news…



Windows Vista, Windows XP Service Pack Previews Released


IDG News Service – August 07, 2007



“Microsoft confirmed Tuesday that it released preview code for both XP SP3 but still would not say directly when the updates to each OS [Windows XP Service Pack 3 and Windows Vista SP1] will be released in their final versions.


“While Microsoft said it will have a beta of Vista SP1 available “sometime this year,” it won’t commit to a more firm date or speculate when the final release will be available. Some insiders had expected a beta to be available by now, though one has yet to materialize. As for Windows XP SP3, Microsoft said it is shooting for the first half of next year but called that date “preliminary” and declined to disclose more details.


“A third service pack for XP, which has been in the works for some time, may seem a moot point now that Vista has been available to consumers for about seven months and to business users for nine. However, there are many XP users, particularly business customers, that would find a third service pack for the OS valuable, said Samir Bhavnani, a research director at Current Analysis West.”


Moot point? Don’t think so. 


I am running Windows XP and Windows Vista at home (along with Office 2003 and 2007), and I have machines that will continue to run XP even after Vista SP1 is released. This not an issue of faith in our new OS, but being practical Ias I have written here previously, we have older client machines at home that run XP, namely older PCs with smaller than currently average memory footprints and hard drives. These are PCs that our kids are happy to use for various games (many running under Win98 compatibility mode!), and one of the computers I use at home is running XP SP2 (Media Center Edition, acually) along side two PCs running versions of Vista.


At the office all machines in my office are running Windows Vista Enterprise edition. At some point my PCs at home will be retired and we’ll move them to a new Vista PC, but at home for me it is not a sprint to Vista. 


Is more info needed on these updates? Sure, IMHO.  And it will come.


There are many millions of customers in the same situation, looking to Microsoft to release another free update for Windows XP that offers offers improved security and the features touted in Windowsx XP SP2: protection against viruses, hackers, and worms, and features like Windows Firewall, Pop-up Blocker for Internet Explorer, and Windows Security Center.


Of interest:


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MCP asks: Will you upgrade to Vista or are you waiting for “Windows 7”?

A quick post between meetings… in their current poll MCPmag.com asks readers (IT managers and network administrators… perhaps you, too) the question: will you be…



“Upgrading to Vista or waiting for “Windows 7”?“


You can choose one of the following answers:



  • I’ll eventually upgrade to Vista.

  • I’ve already upgraded to Vista.

  • Skipping Vista and going straight to Windows 7.

  • Not even considering Windows 7.

  • I’ll stick with XP as long as I can.

  • I’ve already moved on to a non-MS OS.  

So far a little more than 100 people have taken the poll.


Tags: Windows Vista, Windows Vista tips 

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Your questions: How do I run Windows XP compatible applications on Windows Vista?

I extracted this from a comment on a previous post, and a question I receieved this weekend from a neighbour:



“I upgraded to Vista, but found that some of my applications I used on Windows XP don’t work… How do I run Windows XP compatible applications on Windows Vista?”


With Windows Vista, there may be problems running some older versions of applications, but you can set the compatibility mode for many applications.


“If a program written for an earlier version of Windows doesn’t run correctly, use the Program Compatibility Wizard to change the compatibility settings for the program.” (See “Make older programs run in this version of Windows” on the Windows Help and How To site for more details.)


To Run the Program Compatibility Wizard…



  1. Open the Program Compatibility Wizard by clicking the Start button Picture of the Start button, clicking Control Panel, clicking Programs, and then clicking Use an older program with this version of Windows.


  2. Follow the instructions in the wizard. 

Setting the Compatibility mode to Windows XP (for apps you ran successfully under that OS) runs the program using the settings from Windows XP. I’ve had good success with this with most of the applications I have on Vista at home, even with kid’s games running from CD (which seem to be some of the most challenging). 


As noted on the Program Compatibility Wizard page:







Do not use the Program Compatibility Wizard on older antivirus programs, disk utilities, or other system programs because it might cause data loss or create a security risk.


In these cases, visit your vendor’s site for more details on application compatibility with Windows Vista.


To change settings for a program manually, use the individual program’s Compatibility tab: find the application’s .exe and then right click on the icon. Next, select the Properties and click on the Compatibility tab.


There’s a helpful page on the How-To-Geek’s site on using Windows Vista Compatibility Mode – see the Geek’s site for more helpful tips, a great general tech help site.


Also see…


  • What is program compatibility?
  • Program Compatibility Assistant: frequently asked questions

    • Tags: Windows Vista, customer support, Windows Vista tips 

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    Connecting an HP scanner with Windows Vista is much easier than with Windows XP

    This evening I came home and decided to go through the chore of attaching my old scanners and printers to my family Windows Vista machine. I was ready to bid adieu to the family for the rest of the evening and resolve myself to the home office until dark.


    A previous quick trip to the HP web site noted that drivers were available for my MFP at the office, an Officejet 6110, and I found in place the old somewhat long-winded instructions (download and install drivers, attaching the USB cable at a particular time, but not while the peripheral is on, and after the USB cable is connected to the PC…), a very simple instruction: 



    “The driver solution for this product is included in your Windows Vista operating system and is already on your computer. There is no need to download anything. Follow the steps below to quickly and easily get your product working with Windows Vista.”

    Huh? I told the kids to head on outside with our friend’s dog without me… it seems this is a simple process…

    Installing the printer driver

  • Verify that the printer is turned on.


  • Connect the Universal Serial Bus (USB) cable to the printer and to the computer.


  • A Your devices are ready to use window might display on the screen. If the window displays and does not close automatically, close the window.


  • Print a test page to verify that the printer is working correctly.





      • And it was just that simple, complete in a matter of a few minutes. Installing the drivers for my laser printer at home was almost as easy (but Brother’s drivers weren’t as easily discovered by Vista as HP product drivers). 


      HP driver installation in Vista


      Surely, the installation procedure for the Scanjet 4670 document scanner would be more convoluted than that… and I’d booked the time off to handle investigating the hardware configuration, rolling back drivers and setting some arcane switches only accessible via the command line. You get the picture.


      But throwing caution to the wind and walking the tightrope without a net (so to speak), I went ahead and connected the scanner directly to the USB port and what do you know…


      It worked. All I did was plug in a cable and it worked. In Windows XP, it took the better part of 15 or 20 minutes when I first brought home the scanner… but now, with Windows Vista, I was scanning in less than five minutes. Once again, HP jumped through hoops for me as their customer.


      There is a disclaimer on the HP site…



      “This is the minimum driver required for basic WIA functionality. This driver enables scanning with the Windows Photo Gallery on Windows Vista or the Scanner and Camera Wizard on Windows XP. Scanning can also be done with a variety of 3rd party scanner enabled applications.


      “You might find that some features are no longer available when using this basic driver. We are sorry to inform you that a full feature driver for Windows Vista or Windows XP Professional x64 Edition will not be available for your HP product in the future. You can upgrade to an HP product that is fully compatible with Windows Vista or Windows XP Professional x64 Edition if additional features are necessary.”


      Well, I haven’t run into any major issue or limitation. So far so good, the scanner works like a charm.


      Kudos to HP and the Windows Vista team. Following the investment of a few minutes after dinner, all’s well that ends well.


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      Spiceworks IT Desktop now on Windows Vista

      Spiceworks IT DesktopA few weeks ago I noted that Spiceworks IT Desktop — a very cool and free utility — really works on Windows XP… but at the time of my post it did not run on Windows Vista. (PC Magazine said in a recent article that this is one of their favourite free small business tools.)


      I recently received a post fofrm Jay Hallberg at SpiceWorks, who informed me that “on June 25 (just a couple of days after your post) we released Spiceworks 1.6 which now runs on Vista.”


      I’ll be downloading it tonite (late… as the weather is pushing 100 degrees today) and trying it out, managing a network of PCs and IP devices on our home network.