Removing the status bar and standard buttons tool bar from the Remote Desktops MMC

Two things that have always bugged me with the Remote Desktops Administrative Snap-in was that there were no options on the menu to customize the view, specifically, the status bar and standard buttons toolbar. 

I’ve googled around trying to find a fix, then it dim 20W bulb went off in my head.  Look at a standard MMC console and make one how I want it and copy the config to the TSMMC file.

It was pretty simple.  The key line from the tsmmc.msc is:

<ViewOptions ViewMode="Report" ScopePaneVisible="true" NoStatusBar="true" NoStdButtons="true" DescriptionBarVisible="false" DefaultColumn0Width="200" DefaultColumn1Width="0"/>
    </View>

By adding NoStatusBar=”true” and NoStdButtons=”true” I was able to get more remote desktop “desktop”.

On my secondary monitor, my TS screen is now 1768×1000 vs. 1768×953.  Not a big deal on a 1920×1080 monitor, but 47 pixels on smaller screens makes a big difference.

Virtualization Deal! Parallels Workstation 6 for $49.99

http://www.parallels.com/landingpage/pcworld

Want to test Windows 8, the new Metro UI, and see what everyone is talking about? You don‘t want to install the Preview on the computer you use every day because you need to stay productive.
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Top features include:
• Windows-based & Linux-based applications on the same PC without rebooting
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• Automatically encrypt VMs to improve privacy and security
• Seamlessly move between virtual environments with SmartMouse features, adaptive hypervisor, cut and paste capabilities, shared folders and Windows drag and drop capabilities
And just for PC World readers, you can get Parallels Workstation 6 today for just $9.99!

The $9.99 deal is over, price is now only $49.99, $30 off the list of $79.99,

Hotfix for Windows Virtual PC and AMD Bulldozer based CPUs

If you have an AMD Bulldozer based CPU, you probably can’t install Windows VPC successfully. AMD Bulldozer based CPUs includes the new FX series (FX-8170, FX-8150, FX-8120, FX-8100, FX-6200, FX-6120, FX-6100, FX-4170, FX-4150, FX-4120, FX-4100)

Microsoft released a hotfix yesterday for this: http://support.microsoft.com/kb/2519949

You cannot install Windows XP Mode on a Windows 7-based computer that has an AMD Bulldozer-based multicore processor installed

SYMPTOMS

When you have an AMD Bulldozer-based multicore processor installed on a computer that is running Windows 7, you cannot install Windows XP Mode. Additionally, you receive an error message that resembles the following:

Could not complete Setup. Please try again.

CAUSE

This issue occurs because of a compatibility issue between Windows XP Mode and AMD Bulldozer-based multicore processors.

Hotfix information

A supported hotfix is available from Microsoft. However, this hotfix is intended to correct only the problem that is described in this article. Apply this hotfix only to systems that are experiencing the problem described in this article. This hotfix might receive additional testing. Therefore, if you are not severely affected by this problem, we recommend that you wait for the next software update that contains this hotfix.

If the hotfix is available for download, there is a “Hotfix download available” section at the top of this Knowledge Base article. If this section does not appear, contact Microsoft Customer Service and Support to obtain the hotfix.

NoteIf additional issues occur or if any troubleshooting is required, you might have to create a separate service request. The usual support costs will apply to additional support questions and issues that do not qualify for this specific hotfix. For a complete list of Microsoft Customer Service and Support telephone numbers or to create a separate service request, visit the following Microsoft website:

http://support.microsoft.com/contactus/?ws=support (http://support.microsoft.com/contactus/?ws=support)

NoteThe “Hotfix download available” form displays the languages for which the hotfix is available. If you do not see your language, it is because a hotfix is not available for that language.

Prerequisites

To apply this hotfix, you must be running Windows 7 or Windows 7 Service Pack 1 (SP1).

For more information about how to obtain a Windows 7 or a Windows Server 2008 R2 service pack, click the following article number to view the article in the Microsoft Knowledge Base:

976932 (http://support.microsoft.com/kb/976932/ ) Information about Service Pack 1 for Windows 7 and for Windows Server 2008 R2

Installation instructions

To resolve this issue for OEM partners, integrate the hotfix package into the installation image of Windows 7. To do this, follow these steps:

1. Download all the necessary files and tools. To do this, follow these steps:
   1. Install the Windows 7 OEM Preinstallation Kit (OPK).
   2. Copy the hotfix package to a folder on the computer. For example, copy the package to the folder C:\Test\Updates.
   3. Copy the Install.wim file from the Windows 7 installation media to the computer. For example, copy the Install.wim file to the folder C:\Test\Images.
2. Add the hotfix to a Windows 7 image. To do this, follow these steps:
   1. Click Start, click All Programs, click Windows OPK, right-click Deployment Tools Command Prompt, and then click Run as administrator.
   2. At the command prompt, retrieve the name or the index number for the image that you want to change. To do this, type the following command, and then press Enter:
      Dism /Get-WIMInfo /WimFile:C:\test\images\install.wim
   3. Notice the index number or the name of the Windows 7 image to which you will add the hotfix.
   4. Use a DISM command to mount the image by using the index number or the name that you noticed in step 2C. For example, the index number of the image to which you will add the hotfix is 3. The following command mounts Index 3 to a folder that is named “offline” in the test directory:

      Dism /Mount-Wim /WimFile:C:\test\images\install.wim /Index:3 /MountDir:C:\test\offline

      Note You must create the C:\Test\Offline folder before you mount the image.

   5. At the command prompt, type the appropriate command to add the hotfix, and then press Enter.

      For x86-based versions of Windows 7:

      Dism /Image:C:\test\offline /Add-Package /PackagePath:C:\test\updates\Windows6.1-KB2519949 -x86.msu

      For x64-based versions of Windows 7:

      Dism /Image:C:\test\offline /Add-Package /PackagePath:C:\test\updates\Windows6.1-KB2519949 -x64.msu
   6. At the command prompt, type the following command to commit the changes and to unmount the image, and then press Enter:
      Dism /Unmount-WIM /MountDir:C:\test\offline /Commit

Registry information

To use the hotfix in this package, you do not have to make any changes to the registry.

Restart requirement

You do not have to restart the computer after you apply this hotfix.

Hotfix replacement information

This hotfix does not replace a previously released hotfix.

File information

The global version of this hotfix installs files that have the attributes that are listed in the following tables. The dates and the times for these files are listed in Coordinated Universal Time (UTC). The dates and the times for these files on your local computer are displayed in your local time together with your current daylight saving time (DST) bias. Additionally, the dates and the times may change when you perform certain operations on the files.

Windows 7 file information notes

• The files that apply to a specific product, milestone (RTM, SPn), and service branch (LDR, GDR) can be identified by examining the file version numbers as shown in the following table:
  Collapse this tableExpand this table

  Version	Product	Milestone	Service branch
  6.1.760 0.16xxx	Windows 7	RTM	GDR
  6.1.760 0.20xxx	Windows 7	RTM	LDR
  6.1.760 1.17xxx	Windows 7	SP1	GDR
  6.1.760 1.21xxx	Windows 7	SP1	LDR

• GDR service branches contain only those fixes that are widely released to address widespread, very important issues. LDR service branches contain hotfixes in addition to widely released fixes.
• The MANIFEST files (.manifest) and the MUM files (.mum) that are installed for each environment are listed separately in the “Additional file information for Windows 7″ section. MUM and MANIFEST files, and the associated security catalog (.cat) files, are very important for maintaining the state of the updated components. The security catalog files, for which the attributes are not listed, are signed with a Microsoft digital signature.

For all supported x86-based versions of Windows 7

Collapse this tableExpand this table

File name	File version	File size	Date	Time	Platform
Vpcvmm.sys	6.1.7600.16782	296,064	17-Mar-2011	04:44	x86
Vpcvmm.sys	6.1.7600.20926	296,064	17-Mar-2011	06:58	x86
Vpcvmm.sys	6.1.7601.17580	296,192	17-Mar-2011	04:40	x86
Vpcvmm.sys	6.1.7601.21685	296,192	17-Mar-2011	06:57	x86

For all supported x64-based versions of Windows 7

Collapse this tableExpand this table

File name	File version	File size	Date	Time	Platform
Vpcvmm.sys	6.1.7600.16782	360,704	17-Mar-2011	05:19	x64
Vpcvmm.sys	6.1.7600.20926	360,704	17-Mar-2011	05:19	x64
Vpcvmm.sys	6.1.7601.17580	360,832	17-Mar-2011	05:29	x64
Vpcvmm.sys	6.1.7601.21685	360,832	17-Mar-2011	05:06	x64

How to access XP Mode’s Network Settings

Changing the Networking settings from Shared Networking (NAT) to the host’s physical network card (NIC) comes up a lot in the forums for XPmode-WinVPC, here are a couple ways to do it.  The XP Mode settings or any WinVPC virtual machine are accessed from Windows 7.  When selecting the NIC you want to use, make sure you select your active NIC.  Your active NIC is the one that is connected to your local network and is how you access your network.  The active NIC can be wireless or wired, or in some cases both your wireless and wired connections may be active.

1. Goto the virtual machines directory on physical computer via explorer, or paste the path below in run or search:

C:\Users\%username%\Virtual Machines

Click once to select XP Mode.  Next, click Settings from the menu bar.    Select Networking.  From the Adapter 1 drop list you can select the host’s active  NIC to allow XP Mode to be on your local network.  You will need an available IP address for XP Mode. 

2. From the XP Mode window, click the Tools menu on the XP Mode window menu.  Select Networking. From the Adapter 1 drop list you can select the host’s active NIC to allow XPMode to be on your local network. You will need an available IP address for XP Mode. 

 

In this case, the active NIC is a Broadcaom NetXtreme 57xx Gigabit controller.  Your NIC may not be the same.

Click OK to close the window.

Once the setting is changed, you need to trigger XP Mode to release the old IP address can get a new one. If you have DHCP you can: simply reboot XP Mode or drop to a command prompt in XP Mode and do the following commands

ipconfig /release

ipconfig /renew

If you do not have a DHCP server, then you will manually need to enter a unique IP address for XP Mode in the same way you did on your Windows 7 computer.

Troubleshooting:

If you get a 169.x.x.x IP address in XP Mode, there are several things that could be the issue:

1. The network card selected is not the active NIC

2. There are no DHCP servers available to lease an IP address or there are no available IP addresses on your network.

Caught! The elusive XP Mode password window!

After reading dozens of threads where the poster says there was a never a prompt for them to enter a password for XPMode, I’ve finally tracked down this elusive beast while setting up my new work laptop.

Behold!

Notice how the Next button is grayed out?  You can’t proceed with the install until you enter a password.

Default installation folder is:

C:\Users\%username%\AppData\Local\Microsoft\Windows Virtual PC\Virtual Machines\

Looking for gadgets? Sorry, wait until Windows 8

I was trying to set up my new laptop today for work and it really seems like Microsoft does want to find new ways to frustrate you.

Gadgets: Sorry, unless you want one of the 30 we kept, the rest are gone, quote” In order to focus support on the much richer set of opportunities available for the newest version of Windows, Microsoft is no longer supporting development or uploading of new Gadgets”  http://windows.microsoft.com/en-US/windows/downloads/looking-for-gadgets

 

Script to attach a USB device to a virtual machine [VPC]

Ben posted this a long time ago, but it’s still important for WVPC

# Connect to Virtual PC
$vpc = new-object -com VirtualPC.Application
# Get VM name
$vmName = Read-host "Specify the name of the virtual machine that you want to use"

# List available USB devices
write-host "The following USB devices are available:"
$vpc.USBDeviceCollection | select -ExpandProperty DeviceString
# Get the USB device name
$usb = Read-host "Enter the name of the USB device that you want to connect to the virtual machine"
# Get the VM object
$vm = $vpc.findVirtualMachine($vmName)
# Get the USB object
$usbDevice = $vpc.USBDeviceCollection | ? {$_.DeviceString -eq $usb} | select -first 1

# Attach the device - this will fail if the VM is not running
$vm.AttachUSBDevice($usbDevice)

Get all the details at Ben’s blog: http://blogs.msdn.com/b/virtual_pc_guy/archive/2011/01/18/script-to-attach-a-usb-device-to-a-virtual-machine-vpc.aspx

You can also download the script from Ben’s page

 

 

nVidia Geforce 270.61 drivers released!

Updated Windows Virtual PC Installer

This is a little old, but I’ve been meaning to get this post up.

This is the direct download for the updated Windows VPC installer.  It works with Win7 SP1 and includes the No VT patch.

http://www.microsoft.com/downloads/details.aspx?FamilyID=2b6d5c18-1441-47ea-8309-2545b08e11dd

nVidia, the dreamcrusher

Everytime nVidia releases a new version of the video card drivers, I keep up the hope that it will fix the “Display driver NVIDIA Windows Kernel Mode Driver, Version XXX.XX stopped responding and has successfully recovered.”

I was hoping 260.99 would be the one…after all this has only affected every driver release since at least 195.62 which was back in December 2009.  Unfortunately, less than 24 hours after updating my drivers, the first error popped up.  Since this is on my Dell laptop, I’ve got no option for swapping out the video card.