Miko's Tech Blog

Most tech-savvy users know how to select multiple files: Hold down the Ctrl key while clicking each individual file. Of course, that can get a little tricky if you're working with a long list and/or a lot of files: It's too easy to mis-click and "lose" all your selections.

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Have you ever noticed that many of the hotfixes listed in the Microsoft Help and Support knowledge base aren't actually available for download unless you contact support? What you might not know is that there is a secret form on the MS site that allows you to fill out a request for that specific hotfix… it's just not easily accessible.

Click here for more info

Per Microsoft, copy the following text into a text file and rename the extension “.cmd” and you’ll have yourself a cmd file that you can pass around:
***********************************
@echo off

REM RegisterAdminPak.cmd
REM (c) 2006 Microsoft Corporation. All rights reserved.

set filelist=adprop.dll azroles.dll azroleui.dll ccfg95.dll
set filelist=%filelist% certadm.dll certmmc.dll certpdef.dll certtmpl.dll
set filelist=%filelist% certxds.dll cladmwiz.dll clcfgsrv.dll clnetrex.dll
set filelist=%filelist% cluadmex.dll cluadmmc.dll cmproxy.dll cmroute.dll
set filelist=%filelist% cmutoa.dll cnet16.dll debugex.dll dfscore.dll
set filelist=%filelist% dfsgui.dll dhcpsnap.dll dnsmgr.dll domadmin.dll
set filelist=%filelist% dsadmin.dll dsuiwiz.dll imadmui.dll lrwizdll.dll
set filelist=%filelist% mprsnap.dll msclus.dll mstsmhst.dll mstsmmc.dll
set filelist=%filelist% nntpadm.dll nntpapi.dll nntpsnap.dll ntdsbsrv.dll
set filelist=%filelist% ntfrsapi.dll rasuser.dll rigpsnap.dll rsadmin.dll
set filelist=%filelist% rscommon.dll rsconn.dll rsengps.dll rsjob.dll
set filelist=%filelist% rsservps.dll rsshell.dll rssubps.dll rtrfiltr.dll
set filelist=%filelist% schmmgmt.dll tapisnap.dll tsuserex.dll vsstskex.dll
set filelist=%filelist% w95inf16.dll w95inf32.dll winsevnt.dll winsmon.dll
set filelist=%filelist% winsrpc.dll winssnap.dll ws03res.dll

for %%i in (%filelist%) do (
echo Registering %%i …
regsvr32 /s %%i
)

echo.
Echo Command Completed
*********************************

Microsoft KB Link

After writing yesterday's article about creating a shortcut to the Safely Remove Hardware dialog, a number of readers mentioned to me that they'd like create a shortcut to immediately eject a specific drive, so we'll cover that here.

Using the built-in Windows dialog is more powerful and probably would suffice for most people, but for those of us that want complete control there's a small freeware utility called USB Disk Ejector.

Note: This utility only works for ejecting USB devices, so if you need to eject another type of device you'll have to use the Windows method.

Using USB Disk Ejector from the GUI

This utility is really quite slick… launch it and then either double-click or press enter on the usb device you'd like to eject. There's literally nothing else to it.

If you assign a hotkey to the executable through a shortcut, you can operate the entire thing from your keyboard. Quite useful for keyboard ninjas!

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Speed Up Network File Copying While Playing Audio in Windows Vista SP1

Windows Vista restricts network traffic to 10 packets per millisecond while playing multimedia to prevent skipping. Unfortunately this causes network speed to be pitiful on a gigabit network, especially during file copies over the network.

Service Pack 1 includes a new registry tweak that can be used to change the throttling percentage so you can at least partially fix this problem, but you should be careful to test it out, because you don't want your audio to skip either.

Note: This setting is only really useful if you are on a gigabit network - the default values should be fine for a Wireless network.

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Whenever a new version of a service pack for XP is released I always run it through the slipstreaming procedure to see if everything works as expected. Service Pack 3 (SP3) is the latest release so it was time for another round of testing. For those of you that have a copy of SP3 and want to give it a try the procedure I used is presented below. I experienced absolutely no problems with the procedure based on an original Gold Edition XP Professional CD. The slipstreamed CD booted and installed perfectly to a freshly formatted hard drive.

http://www.theeldergeek.com/slipstreamed_xpsp3_cd.htm

vLite is a tool for customizing the Windows Vista installation before actually installing it.

Main features are:

• hotfix, language pack and driver integration
• component removal
• unattended setup
• tweaks
• split/merge Vista installation CDs
• create ISO and burn bootable CD/DVD

Windows Vista from Microsoft takes a lot of resources, we all know that. vLite provides you with an easy removal of the unwanted components in order to make Vista run faster and to your liking.

This tool doesn't use any kind of hacking, all files and registry entries are protected as they would be if you install the unedited version only with the changes you select.

It configures the installation directly before the installation, meaning you'll have to remake the ISO and reinstall it. This method is much cleaner, not to mention easier and more logical than doing it after installation on every reinstall.

http://www.vlite.net/index.html

The Sysinternals web site was created in 1996 by Mark Russinovich and Bryce Cogswell to host their advanced system utilities and technical information. Microsoft acquired Sysinternals in July, 2006. Whether you’re an IT Pro or a developer, you’ll find Sysinternals utilities to help you manage, troubleshoot and diagnose your Windows systems and applications.