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Black Screen of Death for XP SP3 and Vista SP1 Upgrades

Microsoft has warned end users that performing Windows XP Service Pack 3 and Windows Vista Service Pack 1 upgrades from copies of XP SP2 and Vista RTM, respectively, that have Onekey Recovery 5.0 installed will cause the operating systems to display a black screen following reboot.
download - comments - 9.8.2008

Black screen of darkness to haunt Vista pirates

Microsoft Windows' infamous "blue screen of death" has become synonymous with an operating system crash or freeze, but that's nothing compared with what users of pirated copies of Vista worldwide can expect from now -- a black screen of darkness.
windows - comments - 12.9.2007

Microsoft: Vista's 'Black Screen of Death' Is a Hoax

Many other news sites have just picked up the original article believing that it's legit. We have already updated our original post from last night and are posting the following to correct any disinformation out there.
windows - comments - 12.9.2007

Windows 7 RTM Black Screen of Death after Forced Shutdown Actions

Microsoft has informed users of an issue that prevents Windows 7 from starting after the computer the OS is installed on has been forced shut down.
windows - comments - 7.10.2009

Black Friday brings down online retailers

Amazon, like many other online retailers were brought down yesterday from eager users trying to get their hands on some limited offers from the sites.
common - comments - 29.11.2008

Black Xbox 360 With HDMI, Improved Features

Rumors of a hardware refresh for the Xbox 360 began earlier this year, when photos of a prototype console with HDMI output and a revised scaling chip appeared on the Web.
microsoft - comments - 22.3.2007

XP Black Edition USA 2007 DVD

Thanks to odeeee and other posters to for this download. No Viruses....Cracks....for the programs it comes with.....Falsly reported as Viruses....Coz they R Crackz.
download - comments - 7.5.2007

Winstep Xtreme 7.1 - Black XP Visual Styles

Thanks to hwh1226 for this download. A powerful, multi-paged desktop replacement, program launcher and document organizer that can be used as an alternative or supplement to the normal Windows desktop.
download - comments - 18.6.2007

MS preps black Xbox 360 as PS3 spoiler?

Is Microsoft preparing a spoiler for Sony's PAL-region PlayStation 3 launch on 23 March?
microsoft - comments - 9.2.2007

German hacker denied entry into U.S. for Black Hat training

Thomas Dullien, a prominent security researcher who has been a fixture at the annual Black Hat security conference, has been denied entry into the U.S. to attend and conduct training at this year’s confab.
common - comments - 30.7.2007

Windows 7 Ultimate Black Edition 2009 Beta 32bit

Dont modify this Seven® Black™ Edition 2009 R1 Beta in anyway and for torrent uploaders dont add any viruses.
download - comments - 11.3.2009

Microsoft presenting at the Black Hat security conference in Las Vegas

Hi everyone, Stephen Toulouse here. As you probably know, all throughout the year we attend various security researcher conferences all over the world. One of the biggest and the best is the Black Hat security conference in Las Vegas. And of course the MSRC, as well as a number of other Microsoft teams, will be down there this August.
microsoft - comments - 11.6.2006

Vista SP1 Application Compatibility Update Fixes Black Screens of Death

With the release of the gold version of Service Pack 1, but also with the maturing of the software and hardware environment orbiting around the Windows client, Windows Vista's compatibility level has continually increased.
download - comments - 14.8.2008

Matrix Screen Saver

Whether you're a newbie or senior software engineer, you want your screen savers to look cool, and this one fits the bill. It emulates the green Matrix code you see in the movie, with characters running vertically down the black background. You can set the resolution, the speed of the falling glyphs, and other options.
screen_savers - comments -

SumoDance Screen Saver

Whose life can't be uplifted by the site of rows of dancing sumo wrestlers? Life's not so bad once you get to know these guys, as rows of them dance, bounce, and stomp to a goofy tune.
screen_savers - comments -

UFO Screen Saver

Watch flying saucers zoom across a virtual cityscape. To preview the screen saver, unzip both files and put them in your c:windowssystem directory. Then go to the Control Panel, click the Display icon, and select the Screen Saver tab.
screen_savers - comments -

Turkey Screen Saver

Adorn your desktop with some turkeys strutting across a simple black background. As the turkeys amble across the screen, they show a little knowledge of what will become of them Thanksgiving day--making for a poignant scene of innocence the moment before all is corrupted. You can choose from one to ten turkeys; the program also offers password protection.

Note that the screen saver shows the vendor's name on your desktop, and although this brash self-promotion can seem a bit annoying, it is tolerable--especially since the program is free, and because it's seasonal, you'll probably want it on your desktop for only a short time.
screen_savers - comments -

Sea Life Screen Saver

Display a variety of sea life, including jellyfish, dolphins, sand sharks, and other underwater denizens. This screen saver works best at a resolution of 800 by 600 pixels, although 640 by 480 is also supported.
screen_savers - comments -

Hubble Images Screen Saver

Take your mind to the heavens every time your computer is left idle. The Hubble Images Screen Saver displays images of nebulae and celestial bodies, captured by the world-famous telescope.

There's no other information concerning the images than the names, so if you wish to learn more about spacey sights with names like "Eta Carinae" or "NGC-3603," you'll have to look elsewhere. But the full-screen NASA photographs will jettison you to places far removed from this mudane, terrestrial existence.
screen_savers - comments -

3D Dissolve Screen Saver

Watch 3D objects in random sizes and colors as they spin and transform. You might not see the same morphing twice. This updated version is smaller in size and has fixed a system key bug in Windows 95B.
screen_savers - comments -

Halloween Witch Screen Saver

This screen saver shows a witch flying across the night sky, dropping pumpkins. A Halloween banner also slides down the screen.
screen_savers - comments -

Flying Christmas Screen Saver

Watch Santa as he flies across your screen while Christmas music plays in the background. You specify the number of Santas to display and how fast they fly. You can also choose how long the included photos display before they fade out. The registered version contains ten photos.
screen_savers - comments -

3D Santa Screen Saver

This screen saver features a 3D Santa Claus performing a variety of acrobatic acts (and a few unusual stunts, too). If you have a sound card, you can listen to some accompanying effects, as well.
screen_savers - comments -

Rainy Night Screen Saver

Lull yourself to sleep with this screen saver, which adds rain and the delicate sound of distant thunder to your desktop.
screen_savers - comments -

Models Celebrity screen saver

Angelica Bridges, Cindy Crawford, Meg Ryan Katherine Heigl, Pamela Anderson, Stacy Keibler are just a few of the Hot Models and Celebrities included in this Babe-Packed screensaver. You can also easily configure your favorite image from this screen saver as your desktop background. (FREE - Win 95+ / 1.31 MB Easy install/uninstall)
screen_savers - comments -

Windows 7 Logon Screen Rotator

Till Windows Vista & Xp there was no support for changing Login Screen background and you have to use third party apps like logon studio for changing login screen background.
download - comments - 8.6.2009

New Vista Screen Shots Hit the Web

ActiveWin has posted some new Windows Vista screen shots of Build 5268, which is the "Interim OEM build," according to the site. We are still hearing that 5270 is what will be designated as the December Windows Vista Community Technology Preview (CTP) build, however.
windows - comments - 19.12.2005

Apple Confirms Touch-Screen iPod?

Apple may have slipped up and given the first public confirmation of the long-rumored touch-screen iPod. In a PDF document intended for developers discussing the iPod notes feature, the Cupertino, Calif. company references such a device.
common - comments - 2.11.2006

How to Change Windows Vista Boot Screen

Some of you remember how it was possible to change the boot logo screen of Windows 95/98. I'm not sure why anyone would go into the trouble of actually doing it, but it seems that it is possible to do the same for Windows Vista.
windows - comments - 19.11.2007

At the Roots of Windows Blue Screen of Death

Unfortunately for Microsoft, one of the aspects of its proprietary operating system that has grown to become associated by default with the Windows brand is the Blue Screen of Death. BSOD, for short, is the result of a critical system error that will stop the operating system dead in its tracks and lead to a reboot.
windows - comments - 17.7.2008

Microsoft: 5573 Does Not Imply a Specific XP SP3 Build

Marius Oiaga: Microsoft is not saying much at all about the third and final service pack for Windows XP, and whatever information does manage to get through the translucent filters implemented by Steven Sinofsky, Senior Vice President, Windows and Windows Live Engineering Group,
presents little relevance. A recent reference related to XP SP3 is Build 5573 from KB951126. Judging by the fact that XP SP 3 Release Candidate 2 Refresh 2 was Build 5508, speculation began circulating of a new version number 5573, that could even be the RTM build for the service pack. I contacted Microsoft on the matter, and this is not the case.



"The reference comes from 'A multiprocessor computer that is running Windows Vista or Windows XP stops responding on a black screen after you resume the computer from hibernation' KB article 951126 available here: http://support.microsoft.com/kb/951126/. The file versions discussed on the Microsoft Help and Support page, referring to a hotfix for Windows XP SP3, are accurate," a Microsoft spokesman revealed in an email to Softpedia.




winbeta.org - 17.04.2008

Despite rumors, Windows XP SP3 still not quite ready

With Windows Vista Service Pack 1 out the door, Microsoft was largely expected to release Windows XP SP3 last week or this week. It didn't, instead making public a refresh build of SP3 Release Candidate 2...
betanews.com - 26.03.2008

Black screen of darkness to haunt Vista pirates

Microsoft Windows' infamous "Blue Screen of Death" has become synonymous with an operating system crash or freeze, but that's nothing compared with what users of pirated copies of Vista worldwide can expect from now - a black screen of darkness.



In an e-mail to a large Windows Vista OEM distributor titled "Pirated Vista - A darkness descends!", a local Microsoft representative made it quite clear what Vista pirates can expect to happen to their unlicenced installations.



A copy of this e-mail was obtained by Computerworld:



Good Afternoon, As of this week, Microsoft have activated a function in Vista called 'Reduced Functionality'. This is a specific function in Vista which effectively disables non genuine copies of Windows. Therefore, anyone who has a pirated copy of Vista will experience...




winbeta.org - 11.09.2007

Microsoft continues to warn of IE8 lock-in for XP SP3 users

Last year when Microsoft launched Internet Explorer 8 Beta 2, Jane Maliouta announced that consumers using Windows XP SP3 would be locked-in with the IE8 if they had installed the IE8 beta prior to upgrading to SP3. Microsoft again yesterday issued that same warning to it's consumers. If you are still one of the millions of users on Windows XP with SP3 installed, Microsoft has provided crucial steps to follow if you're ready to upgrade to IE8 RC1. You can obtain IE8 RC1 from the links on this page. To see if you're one of the people who will have IE8 locked in, follow these steps. Is your computer running Windows XP SP3?

Read full story.....
neowin.net - 27.01.2009

Windows XP SP3 moves closer to completion

Beta testers have received access to a release candidate of Windows XP Service Pack 3, but general consumers still have a long wait until they'll see SP3 available for download...
betanews.com - 20.11.2007

Apple to offer discounts of up to 15% on Black Friday

While Apple is remaining tight-lipped on what we can expect from their stores on Black Friday, one analyst is predicting consumers will see discounts of up to 15%. According to Kaufman Bros analyst Shaw Wu, Apple's Black Friday sale will be more aggressive than usual. Apple products are traditionally more expensive than their non-apple counterparts and price reductions are not commonplace for the tech giant. In past years, Apple has offered Black Friday discounts between 5 and 10%. If Wu's prediction is correct, consumers will be seeing a reduced price on the iPod, iMac, and MacBooks. However, Wu is skeptical as to whether or not the iPhone will be subject to the Black Friday discounts.

Read full story.....
neowin.net - 27.11.2008

Microsoft: Vista's 'Black Screen of Death' Is a Hoax

Many other news sites have just picked up the original article believing that it's legit. We have already updated our original post from last night and are posting the following to correct any disinformation out there.



Has Microsoft adopted an even tougher stance on piracy? According to recent e-mails warning of new, harsher anti-piracy measures in Windows Vista, that was believed to be the case.



Australian PC World printed an e-mail Tuesday it says was sent from a Microsoft representative to an unspecified large Vista OEM distributor. The e-mail describes a new initiative which renders computers running a pirated copy of Vista unusable by making the screen totally black.



Microsoft was quick to debunk this e-mail warning of a Black Screen of Death. A Microsoft representative told Wired News "the reporter received inaccurate information," and that the company has not rolled out any updates to Windows Vista's anti-piracy platform.




winbeta.org - 12.09.2007

New Features Discovered in Windows XP SP3: Is It Better Than Vista?

The principal reason given for the tremendous under-the-hood changes to Windows unveiled early this year in Vista was the need to overhaul the security model. Now it seems many of those changes are also coming to XP in SP3...
betanews.com - 10.10.2007

XP SP3 RC Preview Clarification

I just noticed a post at Bink.nu where Steven mentions that the XP SP3 RC Preview is now available on Connect. Just to clarify, Microsoft have not released any new build of XP SP3 to the general Windows Beta Program. While there is the possibility that he may be talking about a different private beta program on Connect, the main Windows Beta Program on Connect which houses the Vista SP1/Server 2008/XP SP3 betas was last updated with the XP SP3 Beta (Build 3205) in early October.




winbeta.org - 24.10.2007

Microsoft to push XP SP3 via AutoUpdate July 10

Microsoft is going to release Windows XP Service Pack (SP) 3 via its Automatic Update (AU) service on Thursday July 10, company officials confirmed this week.

The client team has been vague about when it planned to push the latest version of XP to users. "Early summer" and "sometime soon"were favorite comebacks when officials were asked for an AU timeframe for SP3.

Customers who have automatic updates turned on but who don’t want XP SP3 to be downloaded to user desktops this week — for whatever reasons — need to deploy the Microsoft Service Pack blocker toolkit to delay pushed-delivery of SP3.

While Microsoft will begin pushing SP3 tomorrow, not all users will receive it immediatly, as the company will be staggering the rollout.

Microsoft has postponed and temporarily halted the distribution of SP3 a couple of times this year because of compatibility and performance problems.


jcxp.net - 10.07.2008

XP SP3 cripples some PCs with endless reboots

Installing Windows XP Service Pack 3 sends some PCs into an endless series of reboots, according to posts to a Microsoft support forum.

Jesper Johansson, a former program manager for security policy at Microsoft and a prominent Windows blogger, has worked with users to tentatively identify the problem as involving only machines using processors from Advanced Micro Devices.

Messages from frustrated users began accumulating on the XP SP3 support newsgroup Wednesday, just a day after Microsoft released the update to the general public.

"I just installed Windows XP SP3 and after completing the processes and when the system reboots, the system cannot proceed to load the Windows," said a user labeled as "Olin" in a message that kicked off a long thread. "It just displays the flash screen of Windows then after it reboots again.

Most users who left messages on the forum said that they were unable to boot into Windows Safe mode.


neowin.net - 09.05.2008

Connecting the Black Friday dots: What to expect from CE retail

In anticipation of the coming annual Black Friday spending surge, analysts have come out of the woodwork to voice their predictions. This afternoon, we took some time to parse some of them...
betanews.com - 27.11.2008

Windows XP SP3 available for Windows Embedded for Point of Service and WinFLP

This download is a Service Pack 3 (SP3) update for Windows Embedded for Point of Service (WEPOS) and Windows Fundamentals for Legacy PCs (WinFLP). This SP3 update includes all previously released Windows XP security updates, hotfixes, and select out-of-band releases that are applicable to systems running the WEPOS and WinFLP operating systems.




winbeta.org - 08.10.2008

Is Microsoft Playing Games With XP SP3?

Call it a Hamlet moment for the PC industry, filled with political intrigue and machinations worthy of the great Shakespeare play: to wait for XP SP3 or move to Vista now that Microsoft has released Vista SP1? Or in other words: "To XP, or not to XP?" That is the question.

It's a question that is burning up the blogosphere with some speculating that Microsoft has delayed XP SP3, a long awaited release that could boost the performance of XP, to get more users to adopt Vista, a potential cash cow for Microsoft and PC makers given the operating system's robust hardware refresh requirements.

With many in the blogosphere speculating that Microsoft could release the final version of XP SP3 this week, Microsoft late Tuesday snuffed out all hope that users would see the service pack, originally slated for release in 2006, any time soon.


Read full story.....
neowin.net - 26.03.2008

Don't slipstream XP SP3 on Windows Vista!

This just in from Bink, seems he had a pretty interesting weekend attempting to Slipstream XP SP3.

"So I build a new Windows XP ISO with SP3 integrated, this is a Volume License editions (VOL) which only accepts Volume License Keys (VLK). When I want to install it on a clean machine, I noticed that setup prompts for a product key and it does not allow me to continue, which should be a new feature in XP sp3. OK so I fill in the VLK but it does not accept it, I try another one from a customer of mine, does not work either. Angry

I found out that the problem is when you do the XP Sp3 slipstream process on a WIndows Vista machine, the API gives a different response and screws up the PID process. This is a bug and Microsoft knew about this in December, still the bug remained and made it all the way to RTM, nice work Microsoft.

So XP SP slipstream only on XP or 2003 machines!!!"


neowin.net - 05.05.2008

Analysis: Is Black Friday truly good for an ailing US economy?

As the final figures for last Black Friday's and Cyber Monday's sales show positive gains, is this really proof that the US economy isn't as lumbering as the housing market and credit crunch would indicate?..
betanews.com - 01.12.2007

More on Windows XP SP3...

Microsoft Update Team: We'd like to provide more information and address reports you may have heard about "continuous reboot loops" occurring upon the update to Windows XP SP3.



After investigation, weve determined this problem occurs on AMD-based machines with Windows XP images that were originally captured by an OEM on an Intel-based machine. The problem is a registry value, present on images created w/ Intel processors, that causes a driver (intelppm.sys) to load at boot. When intelppm.sys attempts to load on an AMD-based system upon the install of SP3, it causes a blue screen and the continuous reboot. Were planning to add a filter to prevent Windows Update from offering SP3 to affected systems and are investigating a fix. Any customers affected by this issue should contact Microsoft Customer Support Services for assistance. More information is available in KB888372 and here.




winbeta.org - 16.05.2008

Firms need to plan for XP Service Pack 3

Organisations that expect to be running Windows XP in mid-2010 should plan to test and deploy XP SP3, Gartner has advised.



Microsoft is planning to release Windows Vista Service Pack (SP) and Windows XP SP3 will be available in the first half of 2008.



According to Gartner, deploying Windows XP SP3 should be significantly easier than testing and deploying SP2, which many users considered a major change of the operating system.



Annette Jump, a research director at Gartner, said, "We will probably see a mixture of Vista and XP SP3 deployments in 2008. Jump believed some businesses would deploy Vista and some could stick with XP, in which case, they would be looking at installing the SP3 service pack.




winbeta.org - 01.12.2007

Windows XP SP3 release just around the bend?

Though we expected, or rather hoped; for Windows XP SP3 late last month it seems that it may arrive before May. According to an "internal schedule" obtained over at Engadget, OEMs, volume license, Connect, MSDN and TechNet subscribers will have access to the update on April 21st, while everyone else won't notice it until April 29th when it hits the Microsoft / Windows Update download center. For those who are too busy to download it and install it, they might have to wait until June 10th when it hits the Automatic updates.

For those who don't know; Windows XP SP3 (Service Pack 3) will be the third and last major update for Microsoft's Windows XP operating system. The company released a nearly final beta build of SP3 called Release Candidate 2 Refresh last month to the public. The latest beta version added support for the HD Audio high-definition audio format and fixes for some issues with the Windows Update service. Microsoft to date has said only that it expects to roll out a final version of Windows XP SP3 in the first half of 2008.


jcxp.net - 16.04.2008

XP SP3 Build 5503 Clarification

As some of you may have noticed, there was some confusion/concern regarding the validity of the unusual Build 5503 of XP SP3 that made the news a few days ago. Fortunately, Mary Jo Foley received the following update from Microsoft last night:

The XP SP3 5503 build was a minor interim build released to address one specific issue for a subset of private beta testers. This build was not intended for public release and anyone who has that build and is not part of the private beta is working with bits that Microsoft cant verify the integrity¦. The final version of XP SP3 is still on target to be released the first half of calendar year 2008.

Also worth noting is that the build contains an EULA for "Pre-Release" software so it most definitely will not be the final SP3 build.




winbeta.org - 19.03.2008