Our colleagues on Winbeta.Org found a build of the upcoming Service Pack 1 for the new Server Familiy... Read more...

Just spotted this bit of Info at Winbeta.org:

Now, with the official Tech Refresh build #5329 out, many people have patched 4920 to update it to #5329. Well, rather than force you to download 4920 and then the patch, we decided a true iso of 5329 was in order. We gathered them up, tossed them in a rather large, leakproof (unlike the memory in LongHorn) cauldron, and a flick and swish of a wand with a clearly pronounced Combienus voila! We produce for your delight and testing, the AIO (All In One) cd containing the isos for all the #5329 products from Office System 2003.

Our colleagues at www.Winfuture.de found a new Patch for XP that fixes a problem with Outlook Express. Read more... Note: The Patch is only available in german at this time. If anybody has the english one, please inform us.

After months of speculations, if there could be a Longhorn Server Edition, we know the truth. Read more...

USBMan reports that USB 2.0 and Wireless Internet Connectivity for Windows 2000 are among the 650 + features and fixes of Service Pack 4 released to the public on Thursday, June 26, 2003. Microsoft and hundreds of Beta Testers have been working since October of 2002 on this project, testing no less than 5 refreshes of this the latest service pack. The culmination of of this 9 month joint effort is the Final Release Version of Windows 2000 Service Pack 4.

Just at this moment I received info from our colleagues at Winfuture.de that the German Final SP4 could also be downloaded by the Betatesters. It seems to be only a matter of time untill the public could download it. Read more...

There are five versions of the Jet 4.0 SP7 download. The first download is only for computers that are running Windows 98 or Windows NT 4.0. The second download is only for computers that are running Windows 2000. The third download is only for computers that are running Windows Millennium Edition. The fourth download is only for computers that are running Windows XP. The fifth download is only for computers that are running Windows Server 2003. Each download contains updated versions of several .dll files that are included with Access 2002, Microsoft Office XP Developer, Microsoft Visual Basic version 6.0 or later, and other Microsoft products that incorporate Jet database engine 4.0.

Microsoft has released a new build of Windows Media Player 9 - 9.0.0.3008. This was necessary to fix a security issue. With Windows Media Player 9 Series, a flaw in an ActiveX control might permit a Web page to gain access to your Media Library. An attacker who exploits this flaw can gain access only to manipulate the Media Library on your computer. The attacker cannot browse your hard disk and cannot gain access to passwords or encrypted data. Also, the attacker cannot modify actual files on the hard disk; the attacker can modify only the contents of the Media Library entries for those files.

Today we have a new patch for all Intel users that also run digital video cards, like the Hauppauge brand. It updates Stream.sys to build 5.3.2600.1164. It's last update was included in DirectX 9. Read more...

Just at the moment I received the information from an anonymous user, that Service Pack 4 for Windows 2000 is available from Microsoft. The Microsoft Homepage has not been updated yet.

According to NeoWin the Ntoskrnl.exe is v5.0.2195.6717. There are 2 different versions available:

Network Install (130 MB)
Express Install (600 K)
SP4 Fixlist

I brought you the Windows XP Network Fix, that was unleashed on June, 23rd by me. I now have a new Windows XP patch ready, which is also only available to MS Premium Support members. There were 3 older patches listed here, that I removed because you can get hold of newer versions via Windows Update. If you want you can download the new USB 2.0 update from my private account.

Right after we brought you the Windows XP Kernel Rollup Fix, that was unleashed on June, 20th by me, I found a new patch for Windows XP, that is also only available for premium support members. Today Warp2Search makes it available for you to download. It's a network fix, that fixes a problem with the network drive mapping, that is shown wrong by Windows XP. In this package the file Shell32.dll will be updated to version 6.0.2800.1161. Read more...

Hot on the heels of Q815227 - Performance Degradation Occurs in the UnmapViewOfFile Function which we discovered on Sunday June 15th and which The Tech-Report evaluated in a benchmark suite we now bring you the Windows XP Kernel Rollup Hotfix Package which is a complete Windows XP kernel update. As a reminder the original Q815227 hotfix updated the kernel files to build 5.1.2600.1178 to fix a bug in the Windows XP Hyperthreading support. The new kernel hotfix rollup package includes the most recent versions 5.1.2600.1224. Patches are available in english and german language versions. Thanks to our editor BILDZeitung for digging these up. Read more...

Just got word from our friends at Neowin.net that MSN Messenger 6, is available beginning today June 18th, at 11 a.m.

MSN Messenger 6, available beginning today at 11 a.m. PDT from http://messenger.msn.com/download/v6preview.asp, helps users create their own online identities through customized display pictures, backgrounds and emoticons. They also can share more of themselves - silly or serious - with IM contacts by competing at live online games, sending photos to their friends, or sharing animated emoticons that breathe life into that sad old :). In addition, MSN Messenger 6 lets users connect in fresh, new ways - via a webcam, a multitude of mobile devices or a Tablet PC - while blocking spam and helping protect privacy.

We first reported on the Q815227 update for Windows XP on Sunday, where a program that uses large mapped file views to share information between two processes may experience a significant performance decrease on Intel Hyper-Threading capable CPU's. In the meantime a lot has happened on the Windows XP knowledge base article site. The article has been updated this Monday, June 16th. There is no change content wise, however Microsoft has siginificantly downgraded the file version numbers within the patch. While the original article stated the patch would upgrade the kernel files to build 1202, it now shows build number 1178 to be included. Kinda strange if you ask me. Read more...

Microsoft has released a knowledge base article that describes that the company has updated the Windows XP kernel to accomodate a fix for Intel Pentium 4 HyperThreading capable CPU's. According to the article, a program that uses large mapped file views to share information between two processes may experience a significant performance decrease. The performance degradation occurs in the UnmapViewOfFile function. This problem occurs if you install Windows XP Service Pack 1 (SP1) on an Intel Pentium 4 computer that has more than one logical processor. The kernel files are updated to version 5.1.2600.1202 once installed. Unfortunately the update is not yet publicly available. Should you obtain information on how to get it, please leave a comment.

MSFN.org sends word that they've snagged Windows Messenger 5.0 Beta 2 Build 0230.

Keep in mind this is a version of Messenger only for Windows XP, with the added features of corporate IM functionality such as the SIP Communications and Exchange Messaging services which is not present in MSN Messenger. But... it doesn't contain the new features of MSN Messenger 6, so take your pick

This just in from Betas.intercom.net ... Our good friend Keyser Soze informs us that he has released a Windows XP Pre-SP2 Security Pack.

This pack includes security hotfixes which are essential to Windows XP. If you have just installed Windows XP and havent visited Windows update, this pack will save you tons of time. It must be stated that this is not supported by Microsoft, this is an unofficial Service Pack for Windows XP.

Ever wanted to quickly and easily define your own keyboard layout for a language Microsoft doesn't support? Or define your own keyboard layout so you can quickly and easily enter your favorite symbols with a simple keystroke? Well, want no more: the Microsoft Keyboard Layout Creator is here!

Microsoft have relaeased a new version of the Microsoft Baseline Security Analyzer v1.1.1, which includes a graphical and command line interface that can perform local or remote scans of Windows systems. MBSA runs on Windows 2000, Windows XP, and Windows Server 2003 systems and will scan for common system misconfigurations in the following products:

Windows NT 4.0, Windows 2000, Windows XP, Windows Server 2003, Internet Information Server (IIS) 4.0 and 5.0, SQL Server 7.0 and 2000, Internet Explorer (IE) 5.01 and later, and Office 2000 and 2002. MBSA will also scan for missing security updates for the following products: Windows NT 4.0, Windows 2000, Windows XP, Windows Server 2003, IIS 4.0 and 5.0, SQL Server 7.0 and 2000, IE 5.01 and later, Exchange 5.5 and 2000, and Windows Media Player 6.4 and later.