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Filed under: OS Updates, Windows, Microsoft, Beta, Windows x64

Installers and updates crashing in Windows 7? Here's your fix.

Despite all the shouting about Windows 7 being good enough to run as an every day OS, here's another reminder that there's still work to be done.

Many users are reporting crashes during install operations, including Windows Update. Rafael Rivera of Within Windows has found the issue arises from a problem with the Software Quality Management Client. How ironic.

The problem only seems to occur when machine throttling is enabled in the registry and when the Customer Experience Improvement Program is running.

If you've experienced this problem, Microsoft has a workaround. Open regedit, navigate to HKLM\Software\Microsoft\SQMClient\Windows\DisabledSessions and delete anything other than the default value.

If you don't see the MachineThrottling value, run gpedit.msc and click Computer Configuration > Administrative Templates > System > Internet Communication Management > Internet Communication Settings and double click Turn off Windows Customer Experience Improvement Program. Tick enable and click on OK.

Don't forget to submit your bugs via the Send Feedback tool. If you're excited about the Windows 7 beta you've been using, you may as well take a few seconds now and then to help improve it!

[ via NeoWin ]

Filed under: Utilities, Windows, Freeware

Open up almost any file with Universal Extractor

Universal Extractor
One of the first applications we install on every Windows PC and portable flash drive is 7-Zip. This handy little application has never met a ZIP, RAR, or otherwise archived file that it can't extract. But one thing 7-Zip can't handle is archived files that it doesn't think are archives. That's where Universal Extractor comes in handy.

Universal Extractor lets you peek inside the contents of EXE and MSI files. Once you install this free utility you can launch it to peek inside those hard to open archives. Or you can choose to add Universal Extractor options to your Windows context menu.

It's not that often that you really need to know what files are packaged in an EXE, but it's nice to have the option when you need it.

[via TechnoBuzz]

Filed under: Developer, Security, Windows, Microsoft

Dev Chair : The Vista Tax


As regular computer user, I don't have much interest in migrating to Vista in the immediate future. I don't think it offers any great leap in usability or functionality over XP. UAC (User Access Control) is definitely much needed and will improve security overall but it can be annoying as hell for average users. Aero Glass UI is nice to look at but does nothing to actually let you work more efficiently. Added to which, there are still doubts on how well Vista performs as a home media center or gaming platform.

On the other hand as a .Net software developer, Vista is both a blessing and a curse. I want every single Windows user migrated to Vista as soon as possible because having the .Net framework included as part of Vista's standard installation is a very big deal. This means that application installers will no longer need to check for the presence of the .Net framework or provide a method to automatically download and install it if absent. This is a huge time and effort savings for the user as the framework is a large download. Also some users are turned off by the mere idea of downloading yet another component in order to run an application in XP. With the framework part of the OS, users will have one less thing to worry about.

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Featured Time Waster

The World's Hardest Game 2.0 - Time Waster

So, just how good at time waster games are you? Think you've got the stuff? Well, The World's Hardest Game 2.0 doesn't think you do. Yes, amazingly, it's possible to have a sequel to a game called "The World's Hardest Game". It doesn't seem logically possible, since if the first one was actually the world's hardest, how could another one come along and share the moniker? It made me doubt the name in the first place. That is, until I tried the game. The mechanics of the game are very simple. You are a small red square, ...

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