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<Computer Tips page links: (part 1) (part 2)>
New
Daylight Saving Time & Time Zone Rules and Windows
Operating Systems:
Microsoft has
released updates for Windows XP, Vista and higher OSes that
contain new time zone and
daylight saving
time rules. Latest official TZ / DST update offered is
KB4487990 for XP POSReady 2009
[KB4487990
for WinXP Embedded POSReady 2009] and KB4519108 for
Windows Server 2008 SP2
[KB4519108 for WinServ 2008 SP2 > 32bit
& 64bit].
The latest TZ / DST updates for Windows 7, 8 & 8.1 are
included in the recent cumulative monthly
rollup updates, so there is no need to apply any individual
TZ/DST updates for these OSes. Also, any
recent monthly rollup updates released from March 2019 for
Windows Server 2008 SP2 also include
the current and previous TZ/ DST updates like the KB4468323
update [links to this update 32bit
& 64bit].
For Windows Vista SP2, latest official TZ update is KB4012864.
(32bit)
(64bit)
For Windows Server 2003 SP2, latest official TZ update is
KB3049874. (32bit)
(64bit)
For Windows XP (except for the "embedded" & POSReady
versions), latest TZ update is KB2935092.
For
non-supported OSes, get any of the following unofficial TZ /
DST updates below:
For Windows
2000, an unofficial KB2769756 update can be obtained here. Newer but
unofficial Win2k
DST/TZ updates
are available from the Windows Legacy
Update site (just search for them there).
For unofficial
Dec. 2011 DST/TZ updates for older Windows OSes > [Win95/98/ME]
[WinNT4]
(these patches
for Win9x/NT4 do not contain the new DST/TZ changes for year
2012 & later)
For Windows 10 & greater: install the latest cumulative
update available as the newest DST/TZ updates are
included in the cumulative updates for Windows 10 & newer
If you want to
adjust the time zone settings manually under Windows, see MS
KB article 914387.
Note: The Time Zone fixes from
the KB3077715 update for Win8.1 are not included in the
recent cumulative
monthly rollup updates for Win8.1. So Windows Update
may still offer the KB3077715 Win8.1 update if it
is not already installed.
To use or
not to use Advanced Power Management [APM]: (not
applicable for Windows XP, Vista & higher)
Many PCs made
from late 1998 up to now have power management features that
are much more reliable
than PCs made
before Windows 98 ever came out. Windows 95 OSR2
included several improvements
over previous
versions of Windows but Windows 98 allows users total control
over all APM features.
If your
computer supports either the Advanced Power Management [APM]
or the Advanced Configuration
and Power
Interface [ACPI] standard use it to its full potential but let
the Windows operating system control
power
management functions rather than letting the BIOS control
them. To do this, go into BIOS setup,
select the
power or power management feature and disable ALL timers (or
set them to their maximum
settings) BUT
have power management enabled (then save your settings &
exit BIOS setup). Putting a PC
into
'hibernation' mode shuts down the computer normally but when
the Power putton on the computer is
pressed to turn
on the PC, it will reload Windows and the desktop exactly as
you left it; it's better than
shutting down
the PC and turning it on again & going through the whole
boot process. Hibernation is best
used with
ACPI-based computers using Windows ME, 2000 or higher; some
laptop/notebook PCs may
include a
hibernation utility that can be used regardless of what
version of Windows is used (converting a
hard drive or
partition from FAT16 to FAT32 disk format may disable
hibernation). If problems occur when
power
management features are enabled simply turn off or disable
power management completely. If you
want to save
power on non-power management computers just turn off the
monitor while away from the
computer for a
short or long break. For those using Windows ME and are
having problems sending it into
hibernation
with 192 megs of RAM or more installed download & install
the WinME
Q296773 hotfix.
MS KB article
296773 is no longer available from the MS support site but
nevertheless, the Q296773
hotfix seems to
have elliminated the hibernation problem (or at least most of
the time) unlike the solutions
mentioned in
the Workaround section of support article no. 296773, which
were less effective than the
hotfix.
There are also other issues & problems with Windows 98
& ME, power management & with 512
megabytes of
physical RAM or more installed. See MS articles 253912
& 304943
on how to deal with
the memory
problems. Those using Windows 98 2nd edition on an
ACPI-ready computer, download &
install the Win98se
Q275873
hotfix. For those using Windows Millennium Edition
on an ACPI based
machine, get
the Q296883 patch from here.
Before
putting a computer to hibernation mode, close
as many
programs as possible if using a lot of programs under Win98
SE, 2000, ME or WinXP. The
Hibernation
feature in Win98 FE/SE is only possible under laptop computers
and is not available on
desktop
computers. Even if your laptop/notebook PC is using
Win98 FE or SE, you may have to setup
a "Suspend to
Disk" partition, then enable the Suspend-To-Disk power
management setting in the
BIOS/CMOS setup
program of your laptop and then use the FDISK tool to create a
normal partition &
perform a
'clean' install of Win98 with the Portable setup option.
If your computer and/or motherboard
has ACPI power
management ready features and you are installing any edition
of Windows 98, run the
Win98 FE/SE
setup program with the "/P J" option to install Win98 with
ACPI support. With Win2000
WinME, XP &
higher when you setup any of these OSes, if it finds a BIOS
date higher than Jan. 1999,
these OSes
should automatically install ACPI support. For BIOS
dates earlier than Jan. 1999, Win2k
and higher OSes
may not install ACPI support and will install APM support
instead.
Keep your
PC & monitor clean or close to being dust-free:
Whenever you
use your PC for a long time and there are dust & dirt on
the computer and/or monitor, take
some time to
clean the monitor screen [wipe it with a dry, moist but NOT a
wet paper towel]. Also try to
clean the
'inside' of your PC by using a can of compressed air or a
miniature vacuum cleaner to blow
away dust from
all the computer parts inside the PC.
To 'Flash'
(aka. upgrade by software) or not to Flash your BIOS on your
computer:
Most computers
now come with BIOS chips that can be upgraded by running some
software. To determine
what version a
BIOS is using, press a key that enters the BIOS setup program
when you turn on the PC or
when restarting
the PC. Check with the PC maker's web site on how to
upgrade the BIOS first before
actually doing
so because if it is done improperly the computer will never
boot and you'll have to get a new
one.
Upgrading the BIOS by running some software is necessary when
planning to upgrade to Windows XP
[or a newer
version of Windows like Windows Vista] on a PC that is a few
years old or to add support for
newer types of
devices. There are some BIOS tools listed at this Majorgeeks.com
BIOS page you can use
to check the
kind of BIOS and what version it uses. You can use the BIOS
Agent program to determine what
kind of BIOS
your computer is using [for very old and brand new
machines]. After downloading and
upgrading your
BIOS you must reset your BIOS settings because in some
BIOSes after being upgraded
you may
encounter 'invalid checksum' errors when your computer starts
up. So after updating the BIOS with
a flash
program, go into the BIOS setup program, load the default
settings, make a few minor changes if
necessary and
save settings to ensure your settings work correctly with the
updated BIOS version. Better
yet, download
and run the CPU-Z
utiliity to gather info about your RAM, CPU, motherboard and
BIOS.
Note: The
latest versions of the CPU-Z program only work with Win2000
& higher. Win98/ME users can
obtain v1.78 of
CPU-Z here
as it's the last version to support Win98/ME. If you have an
internet connection
available, you can use the BIOS Agent Plus tool to
obtain BIOS info and more.
How to Tell
Between a Fake and a Real Microsoft Security-Related Email
Message:
Click
here for information on how to tell whether an email
message sent by MS about a security problem
is real or
bogus.
Protect
Yourself from Online Identity Theft:
Go to the OnGuard
Online site on how to protect yourself from identity
theft.
How to Tell
the Difference Between Genuine and Counterfeit Microsoft
Software:
See this
Microsoft
page on how to determine whether you are using genuine
Microsoft hardware and/or
software or not.
Installing Windows Media Player
7.1 under Windows 95 & NT4:
Since the Media Player 7.1 setup file
refuses to install WMP 7.1 under Win95 or NT4 if the program
file
detects either of those versions,
just download the modified WMP 7.1 package
for Win95 & NT4 and just run
the EXE file to install Media Player
7.1 under either Win95 or WinNT4. NT4 users should install
SP6a first
before running the modified WMP 7.1
setup package.
Note: When
installation begins, uncheck the 'CD Burning' option when
trying to install WMP 7.1 under NT4
as the CD
burning feature of WMP 7.1 does NOT work properly
under NT4 but works fine under Win95. You
will be able to
install updates for WMP 7.1 but that will prevent you from
removing WMP 7.1 under Win95/NT4
as installing
the WMP 7.1 patches overwrite the setup_wm.exe file with the
7.1 version. To un-install WMP 7.1
under
Win95/NT4, overwrite the setup_wm.exe file with the 7.0
version and run that file with the '/uninstall'
switch to
remove WMP 7.1 (or you can un-install WMP 7.1 from the
Add/Remove programs control panel app).
Do NOT try this
with WMP 9 as that version requires Win98 SE, 2k, ME or XP and
is NOT compatible
with Win95
& NT4.
Caution: Win95
& NT4 users must install at least IE 4.01 and/or DCOM95
for the setup_wm.exe file to work.
If you keep on
getting an error message that WMP7 requires IE 4.0 or DCOM95
to be installed after running
the
setup_wm.exe file, re-install IE 4.x/5.x/6.x (under WinNT4) or
re-install DCOM95 (under Win95) and then
re-run the
setup_wm.exe file.
Un-installing Windows Media
Player 9.0 Completely: (do NOT use this tip with
Media Player 10 & higher)
Click
here to view my wmp9del.htm file on how to remove WMP9
completely under Win98, 2000, ME & XP.
The tip can also be used to uninstall
WMP9 under WinME or WinXP without having to use System Restore
to revert back to the older version
of WMP. You can also use the tips there to uninstall Media
Player 7.1
under WinME since WMP 7.1 will not
show up in the Add/Remove Programs control panel app in WinME.
Warning: Do NOT
try this under Win2003 or WinXP with SP2 or SP3
installed. Because WinXP SP2 and
XP SP3 contain
updated & "bug fixed" versions of WMP9, you cannot remove
it without removing the whole
SP2 or SP3
pack. To uninstall WMP9 under XP SP2/SP3, uninstall SP2
or SP3. WinServ 2003 contains
an embedded
version of WMP9 and can not be removed unless you have the
LitePC applet installed.
Installing Windows Media Player
6.4 version 6.4.07.1121 (NOT build 1112) under Win95, 98, ME
& NT4:
I now have two
methods of installing Media Player 6.4 build 1121.
First method is for Windows 95, 98 or NT4 users that
have the IE 5.01
or 5.5 setup installer file (ie5setup.exe) and is NOT needed
for those using IE 6 SP1. Before trying
out the 1st method
you need Winzip, the two iesetup.cif files from both IE 5.x
& IE 6.0 SP1 AND your IE 5.x installation
files must be on
the hard drive and not the CD drive. If you don't have
the IE 6 SP1 iesetup.cif file, download the
IE6 SP1 installer
(ie6setup.exe), view that file in Winzip and extract the
iesetup.cif file onto a temporary folder. The
second method is
to simply create a batch file that automatically installs
WMP 6.4 build 1121 but requires that at
least IE 5.0 or
higher is already installed. Follow the directions
carefully. If you are doing this under WinME, use
a third party tool
such as CoolKill or WinKill to close the STMGR.EXE file and
use the MSCONFIG tool to prevent
'Statemgr' from
running at Startup. You may have to restart the
computer after installing WMP 6.4.07.1121 with
either
method. WinME users should use method 2 as it's the
best way to install WMP 6.4 build 1121. After doing
this with WinME,
you can re-enable 'Statemgr' from the MSCONFIG tool.
Method 1 - Installing WMP 6.4 with the IE 5.01
or 5.5 setup program:
1. Place each
iesetup.cif file onto separate directories. For example,
if using IE 5.5 SP2, open the ie5setup.exe file in
Winzip and extract the iesetup.cif file inside to a temp
folder like 'c:\temp\ie55sp2', then open the ie6setup.exe file
in
Winzip and extract its iesetup.cif file onto a different
folder like 'c:\temp\ie60sp1'.
2. Launch two copies
of the Notepad program. Open the IE 5.x iesetup.cif file
in one Notepad window and the IE 6 SP1
iesetup.cif file in the other window.
3. Copy the entire
[mediaplayer] section of IE6 SP1's iesetup.cif file and
overwrite the [mediaplayer] section of the IE 5.x
iesetup.cif file using the Copy & Paste method. If
you are trying this under Win95, change the Platform line that
says
'Platform=Win98,NT4' to 'Platform=Win95,Win98,NT4'.
4. Close both Notepad
windows and save changes to the modified IE 5.x iesetup.cif
file.
5. Run the IE 5.x
setup program to view the License Agreement dialog box but do
NOT proceed any further. From this
point, copy the modified iesetup.cif file onto the
'c:\windows\temp\ixp000.tmp' folder and click Yes to overwrite
the file.
(the ixp000.tmp folder is created when the IE setup program is
run and deleted when the installer is done).
6. Perform a Custom
install and select the Windows Media Player and cilck the Next
button to install WMP 6.4 build 1121.
Method 2 - Using a batch file (*.bat) to
install or upgrade WMP 6.4 to version 6.4.07.1121:
1.
Open the mplayer2.cab file in Winzip or any archiving
utility and extract all the files inside onto a temporary
folder
(for
example 'c:\temp\mplayer2'). For those using WinME, be
sure to disable System File Protection by closing
STMGR.EXE
with a 3rd party tool such as CoolKill or Niresoft Task
Manager and then run the System Configuration
Utility
[msconfig.exe] and prevent 'Statemgr' from running at
Startup. Don't reboot yet after closing Msconfig.
2.
Create a batch file in Notepad with the following lines:
@echo
off
start
/w RUNDLL32.EXE ADVPACK.DLL,LaunchINFSection
amov4ie.inf,DefaultInstall
start
/w RUNDLL32.EXE ADVPACK.DLL,LaunchINFSection
mplayer2.inf,DefaultInstall
cls
3.
Save the file as an 'install.bat' file and place it onto the
temporary folder where you store the Windows Media Player
6.4
setup
files.
4.
Double-click on the INSTALL.BAT file to install Windows
Media Player build 1121 and you're all set. If you are
using
WinME,
restart the computer and delete the wininit.log file after
WinME reloads. Then you can use msconfig.exe to
re-enable
the 'Statemgr' startup entry and reboot for the change to
take effect.
You may want
to read Zach's
Windows Media Player mini FAQ on how to setup and use
any version of
Windows Media
Player, including newer versions (WMP 11 for WinXP/Vista &
WMP 12 for Win7/Win8x).
Having
problems accessing your CD burner or DVD burner in Windows
2000, XP, Server 2003 & Vista
after removing
the CD burning program? Does Device Manager show yellow
exclamation marks next
to your CD/DVD
drives or if Device Manager does not detect any CD/DVD drives
in Win2000, XP,
Server 2003,
Vista & higher? See MS article 982116 on
how to fix the problem.
For users who
got new computers with pre-installed Windows 8 or higher and
want to install the Windows 7
operating
system, the "secure boot" option must be turned off in the
BIOS setup and the "legacy boot"
option (if
available) must be turned on in BIOS setup. Click on the
following links on how to turn off the
"secure boot"
option. [MS
Technet
- Disabling Secure Boot] [Disable
UEFI
and Enable Legacy Boot]
[How
to Dual Boot Pre-installed Windows 8 with Windows 7]
Note: the option to turn off Secure Boot may not be available
on certain computers with pre-installed Windows 10.
[click here to go to part 1 of My Computer Tips for Windows page]
[click here to go to my Main page]
Copyright © 1999 -
2022 Noel Piring [aka. the ERPMan]
Warning: Do NOT copy
part or the entire page without my permission.