Common Errors and Problems when Activating Windows Vista with KMS Server
Windows Vista Business edition and Windows Vista Enterprise edition can be activated by using a corporate KMS (Key Management Service) server, without contact or communicate with Microsoft.
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14.12.2006 Vista Loader 2.1.3 - Windows Vista Activator 2008 Support SP1 with No Boot String
Vista Loader is one of the most successful Vista activation crack available to date, second only to physical modify (hardmod) the BIOS to include SLIC table to make BIOS Vista activation-compliant.
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15.5.2008 Longhorn Server to be christened Windows Server 2008
To next to no one's surprise, Microsoft is going to christen Longhorn Server "Windows Server 2008." And it might do so as early as next week to coincide with the Windows Hardware Engineering Conference (WinHEC) in Los Angeles.
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10.5.2007 New Windows Server 2008-Based Server Products Available
Windows Essential Server Solutions are basically designed as a bundle of SQL Server 2008, Exchange Server 2008 and Windows Server 2008, along with additional Microsoft technologies, set up as an all-in-one IT offering for small and midsize customers.
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13.5.2008 An Introduction to Windows Server 2008 Server
Server is a new installation option that was introduced in Windows Server 2008. It provides the ability to install and configure a trimmed-down version of Windows Server 2008 which is designed to perform only certain server tasks.
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9.6.2009 Windows Server 2008 Is 45 Times Faster Than Windows Server 2003
Windows Server 2008, formerly codenamed Longhorn, is no leas than 45 times faster than its predecessor, Windows Server 2003, in terms of network transfer speeds.
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22.11.2007 Windows 7 Server vs. Windows Server 2008 SP2 – Performance Comparison
It’s that time again! Microsoft traditionally doesn’t allow the benchmarking of its products as long as the software is still in development, but both the Windows 7 client and Windows Server 2008 R2 have been released to manufacturing on July 22nd, 2009.
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18.8.2009 Windows Server 2008: Need to Know
After many months of waiting, Microsoft finally released the Beta 3 version of Windows Server 2008 (previously codenamed "Longhorn"), a major milestone pre-release version of the next version of Windows Server.
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31.7.2007 SQL Server 2008 CTP3 available
Finally, another version of SQL Server 2008 has been launched and is available for download.
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29.6.2007 What will run on Windows Server 2008 — and when
Now that Microsoft has released to manufacturing Windows Server 2008, the next obvious question is which applications will run on it — and when?
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4.2.2008 SQL Server 2008 CTP Released
Microsoft on Monday released the first community technology preview of SQL Server 2008, the official name for what was initially codenamed "Katmai." The announcement was made here at the Microsoft TechEd Conference in Orlando.
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6.6.2007 SQL Server 2008 gets a due date
Even though Microsoft is launching SQL Server 2008, code-named “Katmai,” in February 2008,
the SQL Server 2008 code won’t be released to manufacturing until Q2 2008.
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12.7.2007 Windows Server 2008 Beta 3 Download
Windows Server® 2008 Beta 3 helps IT professionals to increase the flexibility of their server infrastructure while offering developers a more robust web and applications platform for building connected applications and services.
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5.9.2007 Windows Server 2008 RC0 Downloads
Windows Server 2008 Release Candidate helps IT professionals to increase the flexibility and reliability of their server infrastructure while offering developers a more robust web and applications platform for building connected applications and services.
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26.9.2007 Users may need Vista to make most of Server 2008
Companies installing Windows Server 2008 may have to buy extra Microsoft software, such as Windows Vista, to use more advanced features, analyst firm Gartner has said.
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3.11.2007 How to Bypass Windows Server 2008 Activation
In Windows Server 2008 (and previous Microsoft operating systems) you must activate your computer in order to use it legally.
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9.3.2008 Windows Server 2008 Unleashed Promo
Thanks to dhan for posting about this in our Back Page News section. After the embarrassing Vista SP1 promo posted here earlier this week, it seems the sales team have got their act together and released a really cool promo for Windows Server 2008, called "Windows Server 2008 Unleashed".
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18.4.2008 Previewing Windows Server 2008 R2
Microsoft seems like the most unlikely company to ship products that really support Enterprise 2.0. After all, the company is the poster child for packaged software.
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13.6.2008 SQL Server 2008 Has Been Released to Manufacturing
SQL Server 2008 was launched on February 27, 2008 alongside Windows Server 2008 and Visual Studio 2008, but the platform was only released to manufacturing on August 6, 2008, and is available for download only to MSDN and TechNet subscribers.
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7.8.2008 Windows Server 2008 R2 still lives
What do you do with a blog post that is so messed up that you can’t even go in and edit it in order to fix it? That’s my dilemma with my post from August 15 about Microsoft skipping over Windows Server 2008 R2 and proceeding direct to Windows 7 Server.
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18.8.2008 Windows Server 2008 R2 revealed
Microsoft announced the second release of its Windows Server 2008 operating system at its Professional Developer Conference in Los Angeles this week.
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31.10.2008 Windows Server 2008 Foundation Launched
Today Microsoft announced the availability of Windows Server 2008 Foundation. For small businesses with 15 or fewer users, Windows Server 2008 Foundation puts the reliability, security and manageability of the Windows Server platform within the reach of all businesses at an affordable price.
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1.4.2009 Windows Server 2008 R2 SCONFIG
SCONFIG is a command line tool designed to streamline the work of system administrators that work with core deployments of Windows Server 2008 R2.
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8.7.2009 Windows Server 2008 R2 planned for 2009....
Microsoft is sticking to their promise of delivering a minor release after a major Windows Release.
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16.5.2007 Top 10 New Features in Windows Server 2008
There are a myriad of both subtle and fundamental differences in the basic architecture of Windows Server 2008, which could dramatically change not only the way it's used in the enterprise, but also the logical and physical structure of networks where it's the dominant OS.
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25.5.2007 Microsoft.com runs on Windows Server 2008 Beta 3!
this great story just arrived my inbox: "...we’re extremely proud to announce that the www.microsoft.com site is running 100% on our next generation web platform!!"
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14.6.2007 Windows Server 2008 launch set for February
Confirming what many had expected, Microsoft announced on Tuesday that the next version of its server operating system, Windows Server 2008, won't formally launch until next year.
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10.7.2007 FTP7 for Windows Server 2008 RC0 is released!
Today Microsoft released the newest version of our FTP server for Windows Server 2008 Release Candidate 0 (RC0)!
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27.9.2007 Top Overlooked Features of Windows Server 2008
Windows Server 2008 is on its way. With the first release candidate in the pipeline, it shouldn't be long before release to manufacturing and general availability.
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8.10.2007 Microsoft to Release 8 Versions of Windows Server 2008
Microsoft will release eight versions of Windows Server 2008 when it ships in late February 2008, three of which will include its hypervisor technology, Hyper-V.
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13.11.2007Vista tips and tricks: changing boot options on the fly
There are a number of boot options that can be used in Vista and Windows Server 2008 that can be a pain to modify (or not possible if you are in a
bugcheck loop), that can be done on the fly at boot time. These options are invaluable for diagnosing some problems you may experience on the system,
and modifying them in the OS may involve figuring out the bcdedit syntax, the right BCD store to modify, or rebuilding and burning a new install DVD
(if the problem is happening during install from media).
Some example boot switches you might want to use are...
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23.04.2008Home Computer Restore CD (Dual Boot) BETA now available
The Windows Home Server team would like to invite you to download a BETA version of the "Windows Home Server - Home Computer Restore CD (Dual Boot)"
from Microsoft Connect at
http://connect.microsoft.com/WindowsHomeServer. If you have not previously registered for the Windows Home Server connect site,
then you will need a Windows Live ID and need to follow the instructions on the Windows Home Server Connect home page.
The Home
Computer Restore CD (Dual Boot) is a new version of the Home Computer Restore CD that provides two options for you, depending on the amount of RAM in
the home computer you are trying to restore. The final version of the Home Computer Restore CD (Dual Boot) will be part of the Power Pack 1 scheduled
to be released later this year.
For more information or to ask questions, please see this
post on the Windows Home Server
community forums.
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05.04.2008Windows 7 695x boot screen revealed
Chris Holmes, Windows Enthusiast and blogger, has posted a short and somewhat blurry video of the new Windows 7 boot screen in action. The latest
sign of changes for Windows 7 signals a departure from the Vista boot up screen. Microsoft kept the boot screen simple with Vista after asking BIOS
makers, PC makers, and video card makers to remove product advertisement screens at system boot. Microsoft created a simple boot method which it
claimed took 6 seconds off initial boot compared to the more graphical boot that it had originally planned with the Longhorn betas.
Read full story.....
neowin.net -
04.12.2008Enable New Boot screen in
Vista Beta 2
Tired of the pathetic boot
screen in current Vista
builds? There is a new trick
that will allow you to see
what may be the new boot
screen for Windows Vista.
This new boot screen
is still not what we have been
expecting but is a move in the
right direction compared to
the white progress bar screen
currently used.
Enable New Boot Screen:
1. Click on the
start orb and type in
"MSCONFIG" in the textbox.
2. Once the
System Configuration tool
loads, click on the Boot tab.
3. Under Boot
Options check "No GUI
Boot".
4. Hit
OK and reboot to see the new
screen
More
tweaks at source!
jcxp.net -
12.05.2006Ubuntu targets 10 second boot time for 2010 release
In an email to developers of the Linux distribution Ubuntu, Canonical's Scott James Remnant explained how they hope to achieve a 10 second boot
time with Ubuntu 10.04, the version to be released in 2010, after 9.10 is released this fall. The projected speed improvements come with changes to
the kernel, such as making the X.org server, which controls the display elements in Linux, load up quicker. The boot process will divided into
sections with time budgets: two seconds for Kernal and initramfs, Plumbing (drive loader), and X.org server; and four seconds for the desktop session
and other services. "This benchmark time is to a fully logged in desktop (auto-login) with an idle CPU and Disk.
Read full story.....
neowin.net -
11.06.2009How Vista screws dual-booting
nirvana
Declan Kennedy at APC Magazine
has written an interesting
analysis looking at
Microsoft's suspicious
lack of advancement in OS boot
technique.
Put
simply, Vista will still
overwrite the master boot
record with no regard for any
other boot loader that may be
present.
But
Kennedy also describes how,
with the right boot loader
configuration, you can setup a
dual-boot system that allows
you to switch between Windows
and Linux without having to
reboot either OS, using
hibernation.
His
observations open up
interesting possibilities for
Mac users too. Boot Camp would
be considerably more useful if
it didn't involve closing
all applications and fully
restarting the system each
time. If it were just a case
of sleeping one OS to switch
to the other, it'd be the
next best thing to perfect
virtualisation. Will Apple
implement this in time for
Panther?..
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03.09.2006Windows 7 695x Boot Screen Video
Chris Holmes: So last week, winfuture posted about Windows 7 build 6954 having a new boot screen. Ever since then, people have been wanting to see
exactly what this new boot screen looks like. I can tell you it looks pretty nifty. It is basically 4 animating balls that come together and form a
glowing windows flag, making for a pretty cool effect.
I recently had a chance to film this boot screen in action, so without
further ado, watch the video of the new Windows 7 boot screen...
winbeta.org -
04.12.2008Windows Server 2008 is SP1. Adventures in doing things right
Ian McDonald: I had a bunch of people internally ask me why Windows Server shows it's version as Windows Server 2008 SP1
(for brevity - WS08). I will explain it, but I wanted to use the Writer feature that allows me to insert pictures. Who says anything beyond notepad
is a waste of time. Actually, that's me usually...
The history here goes back to problems we had form the split we had when we broke
Windows XP from Windows Server 2003 (WS03) way back in 2000.
At the time we had Windows 2000 (Win2k) out in the market & it was being very
well received. Especially on the client side which was doing well with corporate desktops. At the same time in the consumer side, we had Windows ME.
I never worked on WinME, I have never installed it, & I know nothing about it except what people have told me. I removed what i really think. If you
meet me, feel free to ask.
Read full story.....
neowin.net -
18.02.2008Engineering Windows 7: Boot Performance
Michael Fortin: For Windows 7, we have a dedicated team focused on startup performance, but in reality the effort extends across the entire Windows
division and beyond. Our many hardware and software partners are working closely with us and can rightly be considered an extension to the team.
Startup can be one of three experiences; boot, resume from sleep, or resume from hibernate. Although resume from sleep is the
default, and often 2 to 5 seconds based on common hardware and standard software loads, this post is primarily about boot as that experience has been
commented on frequently. For Windows 7, a top goal is to significantly increase the number of systems that experience very good boot times. In the
lab, a very good system is one that boots in under 15 seconds.
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30.08.2008Top Things to Break Applications on Windows Server 2008
Neil Hutson: We are getting pretty close to shipping Windows Server 2008. If you have not done already, please download the latest build of Windows
Server 2008 (see recent
post of
download instructions ) and test the applications which you have developed.
If your application does not work, there are lots of
great resources that we have built to help you understand what's wrong and what you can do to fix the problems.
Below is a list
of the top resources which I point developers to. At the bottom of the list, there is an offer of Lab space with our experts on the subject at no
charge too.
winbeta.org -
09.01.2008ASRock "4 second" Instant Boot for Windows
Want a way to boot up your Windows Vista PC from a full shut down in a matter of seconds? ASRock have the answer!
The solution is
technology that ASRock call Instant Boot. This is interesting technology because it leverages the S3 and S4 ACPI (Advanced Configuration and Power
Interface) features which normally enable the Sleep/Standby and Hibernation modes in Windows to cut boot times down to something like 4 seconds. By
calling S3 and S4 at specific times during the startup and shutdown process, Instant Boot enables you to boot up to your Windows desktop in a few
seconds seconds, even after a total shut down.
winbeta.org -
13.11.2008New Server and Tools Products Mark a Milestone on the Road to Dynamic IT
Q&A: Microsoft Senior Vice President Bob Muglia talks about todays launch of Windows Server 2008, Visual Studio 2008 and SQL Server 2008, and some of
the key trends that will shape datacenters in the next five years...
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27.02.2008Apple Releases Boot Camp 2.1 Update
Apple released Boot Camp 2.1 for
href="http://www.macrumors.com/c.php?u=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.apple.com%2Fsupport%2Fdownloads%2Fbootcampupdate21forwindowsxp.html&t=1209099301">Windows XP
Service Pack 3,
href="http://www.macrumors.com/c.php?u=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.apple.com%2Fsupport%2Fdownloads%2Fbootcampupdate21forwindowsvista32.html&t=1209099301">Windo
ws Vista 32 and
href="http://www.macrumors.com/c.php?u=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.apple.com%2Fsupport%2Fdownloads%2Fbootcampupdate21forwindowsvista64.html&t=1209099301">Windo
ws Vista 64.
This update addresses issues and improves compatibility with Microsoft Windows XP and Microsoft Windows Vista running
on a Mac computer using Boot Camp. It is highly recommended for all Boot Camp users.
Important: Installation of Boot Camp 2.1 is
required before installing Windows XP Service Pack 3 (SP3)
href="http://www.macrumors.com/c.php?u=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.apple.com%2Fmacosx%2Ffeatures%2Fbootcamp.html&t=1209099301">Boot Camp is a Apple's tool
to allow Intel Mac owners to boot dual boot Windows alongside Mac OS X. Running Windows under Boot Camp provides you with a fully compatible Windows
environment.
winbeta.org -
25.04.2008Upgrading a Laptop to Dual
Boot with Windows XP x64
Edition
Columnist Barb Bowman explains
how she upgraded a AMD64
laptop to a dual boot system...
WindowsXP/expertzone -
04.01.2006Boot Camp 1.3 Released
Apple released an update to
its Boot Camp dual-booting
application on Thursday,
including some new features as
well as tweaks to ensure
smooth operation...
betanews.com -
09.06.2007Turning a Mac Mini into a virtual Windows HPC Server 2008 Compute Cluster
Volker Will: Best thing you can do to a Mac Mini? No, wait, certainly not the right way to start this post.
I am going prepare a
Mac Mini in such a way that you will be able to install a 2 or more node HPC cluster and a head node. Once you followed the steps outlined in the
videos you will be able to install a fully functional HPC cluster environment, literally a cluster-in-one-box. This post covers all aspects from
reinstalling the Mac OS with fewer options, using less space on the disk to a Boot Camp installation of Windows Server 2008 and configuring Hyper-V.
The final steps necessary to install the HPC cluster software are outlined in
Giovanni’s document on
windowshpc.net.
winbeta.org -
20.03.2008SQL Server 2008 to be Released Months After Launch
Microsoft is taking a new
approach to product launches
it seems, announcing it would
release SQL Server 2008 to
manufacturing in the second
quarter of 2008, months after
the product is supposed to
officially "launch"
alongside Windows Server 2008
and Visual Studio 2008 on
February 27...
betanews.com -
13.07.2007Windows Home Server on a virtual machine
jaybaz WebLog: Here at Microsoft, when we talk about Windows Home Server, one
of the things that comes up pretty often is a question about hosting WHS in a virtual machine under Virtual Server. Most often people want this
because they already have one always-on machine (a doman controller, a media center PC, etc.), and they don't want another.
In
discussing the problem, a few key bits of advice have come up, and I thought it would be a good idea to write them down here.
One
of the key problems appears when you consider using the WHS to back up the host. It can certainly be done, but when the host goes down, restoring it
is a catch 22.
Dedicate whole drives
Take whole drives & put only one file on each - the .VHD. Make it as
large as possible.
Use external drives
Make all of WHS's drives external. Consider putting them all in a
single enclosure for convenience. eSATA w/ port multipliers may be a good choice.
Have a 2nd physical machine ready
It should already have Virtual Server or Virtual PC installed. A laptop is fine. Make sure it has appropriate ports for the WHS drives.
Recovery strategy
When the regular host goes down:
- Unplug the WHS drives
- Carry them to the 2nd host, and plug in
- Boot the WHS virtual machine. (You may need to create a new VM with the existing
.VHD files.)
- Restore the primary host
- Unplug the WHS drives
- Carry them back to the primary host, and plug
in
- Boot the WHS virtual machine
winbeta.org -
18.10.2007Windows Server 2008: Need to Know
After many months of waiting,
Microsoft finally released the
Beta 3 version of Windows
Server 2008 (previously
codenamed Longhorn), a major
milestone pre-release version
of the next version of Windows
Server. (More recently, a CTP,
or Community Technical
Preview, version was
distributed to beta testers in
June 2008.) Windows Server
2008 has evolved quite a bit
over time, and though the
project hasn't suffered from
the many feature drops and
problems that dogged Windows
Vista, there are certainly a
few surprises in Beta 3 and
the June CTP. Here's what you
need to know about Windows
Server 2008.
Windows Server 2008 will be
a major Windows Server release
with dramatically improved
functionality when compared to
its predecessors. Enhanced
scripting and task automation
via the new Windows
PowerShell--a surprise
addition to Beta 3, given that
PowerShell was originally not
going to ship as part of this
product--and improved
roles-based installation and
management capabilities will
give administrators more
control than ever, Microsoft
says. Indeed, the roles-based
installation and management
features now extend to Server
Core, a new lightweight and
safer version of the
server.
neowin.net -
30.07.2007Windows Server 2008 is 20% faster than Vista
It seems Microsoft may have a successor (or replacement) for Vista after all and it’s already been released. Windows Server 2008 isn’t
easy to configure as a desktop operating system but when done correctly can be 20% faster than Vista while retaining most of the same features.
Windows Workstation 2008 is not a product sold by Microsoft and must be configured from a copy of Windows Server 2008. It seems this version
of Windows lacks the “bloat” that is part of Vista. However, I am not sure what the author is referring to (but is likely talking about
unnecessary services). Of course this version of Windows was designed with developers in mind who covet speed above all else. Workstation 2008
includes IIS and Hyper-V for creating virtual machines.
A
Microsoft
employee and
third party website have created tutorials on how to
use Windows Server 2008 as a desktop operating system. This is what I’ve been referring to as Windows Workstation 2008. Keep in mind that this
will have the same driver problems as Vista does, meaning, if a Vista driver doesn’t exist for a piece of hardware you still won’t be able
to use it with Server or Workstation 2008.
neowin.net -
12.03.2008
