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Windows OS Version Numbers

Nirmal — Mon, 17 Aug 2009 15:31:56 +0000

Each version of Windows OS released by Microsoft has a particular version number and these version numbers are important for application developers while building application with compatibility. The OS version numbers actually contains different sections which are mentioned in OSVERSIONINFO structure in windows. OSVERSIONINFO contains three parts namely Major Version (dwMajorVersion), Minor Version (dwMinorVersion) and Build # (dwBuildNumber).

Here is the list of all Windows OS from Microsoft and their version numbers.

Operating System	Version Number	Other Information
Windows 1.0	1.04
Windows 2.0	2.11
Windows 3.0	3
Windows NT 3.1	3.10.528
Windows for Workgroups 3.11	3.11
Windows NT Workstation 3.5	3.5.807
Windows NT Workstation 3.51	3.51.1057
Windows 95	4.0.950
Windows NT Workstation 4.0	4.0.1381
Windows 98	4.1.1998
Windows 98 Second Edition	4.1.2222
Windows Me	4.90.3000
Windows 2000 Professional	5.0.2195
Windows XP	5.1.2600	Current SP3
Windows XP Professional x64 Edition	5.2.3790
Windows Vista	6.0.6000	Current Version changed to 6.0.6002 with SP2
Windows 7	6.1.7600	RTM

Version numbers are very important while developing application and wrong version number can cause compatibility issues. More information on Version Checking here.

Thanks to MSIGeek for this Information.

Windows Vista SP2 Blocker Tool Kit

Nirmal — Fri, 29 May 2009 02:53:18 +0000

Few days back Microsoft has announced the public availability of Windows Vista SP2 and Windows Server 2008 SP2. Service Pack 2 would be available through Windows Update, but a blocking tool is available for organizations/individuals who would like to temporarily prevent installation of Service Pack updates through Windows Update. Once installed, the Blocker tool will prevent SP2 through Windows Update and it will be valid for 12 months following general availability.

This blocker toolkit contains three components. All of them function primarily to set or clear a specific registry key that is used to detect and block download of Service Packs from Windows Update.

This tool writes an entry into the registry to ensure that the SP2 is not delivered through Windows Update. The key used in registry is HKLM\Software\Policies\Microsoft\Windows\WindowsUpdate.

Important thing to note is that this toolkit will not prevent the installation of the service pack from CD/DVD, or from the stand-alone download package. This simply prevents the service pack from being delivered over Windows Update and is valid for 12 months from the general availability of SP2.

Download SP2 Blocker Tool Kit

Get Ribbon Features for Wordpad in XP and Vista

Nirmal — Fri, 05 Dec 2008 05:14:03 +0000

Previously we had covered Notepad 2008 which brought the ribbon features to the notepad in Vista and XP. This was developed by Devianart user Solo-Dev. The same developer has updated his previous application with more features and released it as WordPad 2008. WordPad 2008 has ribbon like features which are by default available in the upcoming Windows 7.

WordPad 2008 is a portable application which does not require any installation. .Net framework is required for this application to function properly.

Features of WordPad 2008;

Preview of fonts in selection box
Drag and drop Text files to open
Drag and drop images
Featuring new Windows 7 Icons

Download Wordpad 2008 [Via AskVG]

Windows Vista SP2 Beta Download

Nirmal — Tue, 02 Dec 2008 17:42:32 +0000

Windows Vista SP2 Beta is available for download for Technet and MSDN subscribers today and will be available for public download on Dec 4th. SP2 supports new types of hardware and emerging standards that will grow in importance in the coming months and years. Vista SP2 also improves the administration experience and eases certain management and support challenges. Windows Vista SP2 builds on the solid foundation laid by Windows Vista SP1.

Features inside Vista SP2;

Emerging Hardware Support

SP2 contains Blue tooth 2.1 feature pack supporting the most recent specification for Blue tooth technology
Ability to record data on Blu-Ray media,
Adds Windows Connect Now (WCN) Wi-Fi Configuration to Windows Vista SP2,
exFAT file system now supports UTC timestamps, which enables correct file synchronization across time zones.
SP2 provides support for new form factors, such as ICCD/CCID.
New form factor support –example USB form factor as opposed to PCMCIA.
Support for the new VIA 64-bit CPU

Security

SP2 includes all previously released security updates, and builds on the proven security benefits of Windows Vista
Secure Development Lifecycle process updates, where we identify the root cause of each security bulletin and improve our internal tools to eliminate code patterns that could lead to future vulnerabilities
Reliability
SP2 addresses previously released reliability updates, as well as addressing crashes, caused by Microsoft code, discovered since the launch of SP1

Performance

Resume performance when Wi-Fi connection is no longer available after resume from sleep
Inclusion of Windows Search 4 for improved indexing performance, improved relevancy in search, broader indexing scenario inclusion, as well as new Group Policy integration for Windows Search
Improvements to the RSS feeds sidebar gadget to improve update performance and responsiveness,

Application Compatibility

Previously released Application Compatibility updates are included in Windows Vista SP2.
Spysweeper and ZoneAlarm now working with POP3 email accounts

Administration and Support Improvements

Customers installing .net framework 3.5 service pack 1 will notice shorter download and installation times with Vista service pack 2 or Windows 2008 service pack 2 already installed,
Service Pack Clean up tool (Compcln.exe): This tool helps restore the hard disk space by permanently deleting the previous versions of the files (RTM & SP1) that are being serviced by Service Pack 2.
Single installer for both Vista & Server 2008
Ability to detect an incompatible driver and block service pack installation or warn users of any loss of functionality
Better error handling and providing more descriptive error messages where possible
Better manageability through logging in system event log
Componentization for Serviceability of the installer

Some Specific Fixes/Additions Include:

Inclusion of Hyper-V
Event logging support in SPC
DNS Server now listens over ISATAP address
Fixes DRM issues from WMP upgrades
Windows Vista Feature Pack for Wireless
Reduction of resources required for sidebar gadgets
Improved power settings for WS08

Source: Microsoft

Ultimate Windows Vista Tweaker

Nirmal — Wed, 19 Nov 2008 13:40:14 +0000

Ultimate Windows Tweaker is a Tweak UI Utility for tweaking and optimizing 32-bit & 64-bit Windows Vista. This freeware application is released by WinVistaClub and written by Ramesh Kumar, a fellow MVP. The application release was done by Howard Lo, Microsoft’s Regional Team Manager (APAC) at MVP South Asia Open Day at Goa. The utility features 130 registry tweaks, but is only 370 KB in size. It does not require any installation and can be run from the USB drive as well.

The application allows you to create a system restore point before doing any tweak. The tweaks are classified under seven categories and can be accessed through a common interface, just like your Windows Vista Control Panel.

Personalization,
User Accounts & UAC,
System & Performance,
Security,
Internet Explorer (IE7 / IE8)
Network Optimization
Additional Options

You can check out the complete list of tweaks available in various categories from here. Ultimate Windows Tweaker is developed for Windows Vista and supported in all available editions under 32 and 64 Bit and this application is not supported on earlier version of Windows – Windows 95, 98, ME, NT and XP.

Ultimate Windows Tweaker is a must have application for all Vista users specially for the fact that its light weight and also portable.

Download Ultimate Windows Tweaker

Get Windows 7 Aero Snap in Vista

Nirmal — Thu, 13 Nov 2008 03:15:09 +0000

Aero Snap is a new feature which was added to Windows 7, where in you can drag any window to the top of your screen to maximize it or take it to the left or right to snap it to the side and re-size by 50 per cent and when you drag it back to the last position, the window size will be restored. This feature is now available for XP and Vista. AeroSnap is a simple but powerful application that allows you to resize, arrange or maximize your desktop windows with just drag and drop. Aero Snap supports both Windows XP as well as Vista.

You can see Aero Snap in action in the video below.

Aero Snap

The application is currently in beta, so you might get some bugs while using it. You will also need .Net Framework 2.0 or higher for running Aero Snap.

Download AeroSnap [via]

Get Windows 7 Calculator in Vista

Nirmal — Tue, 11 Nov 2008 02:31:15 +0000

One of the noticeable changes in Windows 7 was the revamped look of calculator. The new calculator was available in the pre-beta build of Windows 7 and the good thing about this calculator is that it works with Windows Vista as well. Windows Vista users who want to try out the more advanced Calculator program from Windows 7, can download the calculator of Windows 7 and use it with Vista.

Note: Please take a back up of the existing files before modifying as this calculator is from pre-beta build.

You can use the calculator in two ways, either run separately as Windows 7 Calculator or replace the default Vista Calculator.

Steps (Run as Windows 7 Calculator):

1. Download the Windows 7 Calculator

2. Run the file Calc.exe to get the Windows 7 Calculator

Steps to replace Vista Calculator

1. Download and extract the files.

2. Copy calc.exe to \Windows\System32\, and calc.exe.mui (in en-US folder) to \Windows\System32\en-US\ folder. You will need to take ownership of these files to overwrite it and do not forget to take a back up of the existing file.

Thanks WinVista Club

Windows Vista to have Ribbon Features Soon

Nirmal — Fri, 31 Oct 2008 13:10:06 +0000

Ribbon was one of the highlighted features of Windows 7 which was unveiled at the PDC 2008. Looks like the ribbon features are coming to Vista also as Microsoft wants everyone to use it. In a session at PDC, Microsoft outlined Ribbon development and also urged developers to include it in their applications. Windows 7 will have the ribbon features in-built and Vista will get ribbon features through a redistribution package.

Img Credit: Neowin

Windows Ribbon for Vista will be available next year for use within applications too.

7 Beautiful Dark Themes for Windows Vista

Nirmal — Thu, 23 Oct 2008 19:00:45 +0000

Previously we had written about 7 beautiful themes [visual Styles] to spice up Windows Vista. Here we are presenting another set 7 beautiful, but Dark themes for customizing Vista. Please not that before installing any theme, check the instructions provided by the theme author, also check the compatibility of the themes with different versions of Vista. All credit to the authors o f the theme.

1. Wabittness

Download

2. Next Level

Download

3. Vista SP1 Shell32 TOP Details : This is a shell32.dll file which has all the display at the top instead of bottom for normal themes.

Download

4. Fleur-de-lys

Download

5. Project X2

Download

6. The Emerald Forest

Download

7. Dark Style for Vista

Download

Hope you liked these theme, if you any more of dark themes, do share it in comments.

How to Disable Vista’s Built-In CD Burning

Nirmal — Wed, 15 Oct 2008 23:00:53 +0000

There are lots of free application with good features for CD/DVD burning in Vista, so you can turn off Vista’s in built CD burning function. This can be easily done through a registry entry. To do this Click Start- Run- Regedit. This opens the registry editor of Vista. In registry editor navigate to HKEY_CURRENT_USER\ Software \ Microsoft \ Windows \ CurrentVersion \ Policies \ Explorer.

NB: Please take a back up of Registry Editor before making any changes. Author will not be responsible for any damages caused to the registry.

Right click and create a new DWORD (32 bit) key NoCDBurning.

Double click on the newly created DWORD value and enter value data as 1.

Click OK and close the registry editor. Now log off Vista and log in again to see the effect. Default CD burner will be disabled in Vista.