GeekwithEnvy

Windows XP

Windows XP Users, It’s Time To Move On

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xpLogo

 

Windows XP has stood the test of time quite well and has remained one of the most popular versions of Windows for over a decade. Many personal users and businesses are still using Windows XP right now, but that needs to change, and soon.

Why? Microsoft will be killing ALL support for XP on April 8th 2014. How does that affect you? The main reason is security or lack thereof. If Microsoft isn’t providing routine security patches to the operating system then it can quickly become vulnerable to attack. There’s no doubt that once the deadline passes, Windows XP will likely become a breeding ground for malicious code like viruses and spyware since XP will basically have a target on it’s back for not having official support. For this reason alone it’s worth it to upgrade to Windows 7 or 8.1 and unfortunately for some users that may mean buying a new PC.

Of course there are other reasons to upgrade as well including driver support, live technical support from Microsoft, newer applications that won’t run on XP, website compatibility,  and not to mention the fact that a newer PC running Windows 7 or 8 will likely be many times faster. Although Windows 8 got off to a rocky start because of criticism over it’s user interface design, it’s probably one of Microsoft’s fastest versions of Windows.

So don’t wait till after the deadline to make your changes, start the upgrade now or at least put together a game plan, especially if you’re a business.

How To Fix Windows XP Blue Screen During Install

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BlueScreenErrorIllustration

If you’re trying to install the mighty Windows XP onto your machine and you keep getting a blue screen with an error message on it, then we might just have the fix for you.

This blue screen error message usually occurs just after the Windows XP setup process finishes loading up and says “Starting Windows”.  If your PC utilizes SATA drives then what’s most likely causing the problem is a compatibility issue which can be remedied with a simple setting change in your PC’s BIOS.

  • Boot up your machine and immediately enter the BIOS. This is usually done by pressing a specific key just as your machine turns on (i.e. F2 or DEL).
  • Once in the BIOS Locate your configuration settings for your SATA (Serial ATA) connections.
  • Switch the option for all applicable drives (usually requires all of them) to IDE or “Compatibility” Mode. These are usually set to “AHCI” by default.
  • Reboot and attempt to run the install again.

Hopefully, your blue screen issue will be resolved! If not, you may have other hardware issues preventing the installation from continuing but most likely the issue is with your SATA drives.

How To Play Diablo II LOD on Windows 8

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Many of us are enjoying the recent release of Diablo III but some of us still love to play Diablo II Lord of Destruction, and with Windows 8, that can be a little problematic.

Diablo II Lord of Destruction is an outstanding game that became an instant classic when it was released on June 29th in North America. Even over a decade later, Diablo fans still play Diablo II LOD on Battle.net and in single player mode. However, the operating systems we use have changed quite dramatically over the years and with each new version usually comes a new set of problems for gamers who enjoy playing classic titles.

DII LOD Cover Art Diablo II Lord Of Destruction
Diablo II Lord of Destruction Cover Art (Blizzard Entertainment®)

If you have attempted to play Diablo II LOD on Windows 8 you will notice many issues, including some serious lag. Here are a few steps you can take to make sure your Diablo II LOD experience in Windows 8 is just as good, if not better, than it was back in 2001.

This quick “how to” assumes that you have already installed and patched the latest version of Diablo II LOD on your system. If you need patch information you can obtain it through Blizzard’s official patch site.

Before launching the game, right click on the game’s shortcut and select “Properties”, then select the “Compatibility” tab.

Once on the Compatibility tab, select the following options:

  • Check “Run this program in compatibility mode for” and set the value to “Windows XP SP 2/3”
  • Check “Reduced Color Mode” and set to “16-bit (65536) Color”
  • Check “Disable display scaling on high DPI settings”
  • Optional “Run this program as administrator”

Once you dial in these settings click Apply and then OK.

The next step is crucial if you want to reduce or eliminate all of the glitching and lagging that is known to plague Diablo II LOD on Windows 8.

Obtain an 3DFX Glide Wrapper, this is a little application that will allow you to use the Glide interface with Diablo II LOD. I have found that GLIDE3-to-OpenGL Wrapper by Sven Labusch seems to work the best out of any I have tried so far.

Download the files from Sven’s site and read the “ReadMe.txt” file. This will contain the most current instructions for installing and setting up the wrapper. Be sure to re-run the video test after the wrapper is installed and set it to use Glide.

** Note: You Will Also Need to apply compatibility settings to run the Diablo II Video Test (D2VidTst.exe) * *

 

That’s it! Hopefully you will be successful in your attempts to get Diablo running smooth. Just follow the directions closely and have fun!

A Walk Down Windows Memory Lane

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With all of this talk about Windows 8 and all of it’s new features I can’t help but think about how much Windows has changed over the years. Windows has maintained it’s dominance over the OS market for decades now and it didn’t just happen over night. So, let’s take a look at the evolution of Windows.Windows 3.0 Logo

Here’s something pretty cool. If you don’t feel like popping in a few floppy disks to experience the Windows of the past you can head to this cool website that emulates the Windows 3.1 Desktop.

Windows 1.0 (1982-1985)

 

Windows1.0
Windows1.0

Code named “Interface Manager”, this was the first version of what was later renamed Windows before it was released. It’s important to note that prior to Windows, MS-DOS (Microsoft Disk Operating System), was the primary OS used on PC’s. MS-DOS was powerful during its heyday and I used it all of the time to play some of my favorite games, even after Windows was released. Windows aimed to make using your computer much easier by incorporating a GUI (Graphical User Interface).

Some people thought that Windows would never catch on, little did they know what it would become.

 

Windows 2.0 (1987-1990)

Windows 2.0
Windows 2.0

Windows 2.0 aimed to take advantage of newer, more advanced hardware that had greater memory capacity. UI design improvements continued as well.

 

Windows 3.0 (1990-1994)

windows 3.0
Windows 3.0

Computers are getting much faster and graphics are improving as well. Windows 3.0 supported 16 bit graphics and introduces the new file management applications Program Manager and File Manager. Printing was made easier with Print Manager. At this time MS-DOS is still being used along side with Windows as many programmers continued to write for DOS instead of Windows.

Windows 95 (1995-1998)

Windows95
Windows 95

How could we forget Windows 95 and the introduction of the Start Button and taskbar, which offered a great way to organize and easily access all of your programs. At this time the internet was just beginning to take over the world . Windows 95 brought us into 32-bit computing and much faster and better looking graphics. The cd-rom becomes commonplace in computing and Weezer makes an appearance on the Windows 95 installation disc. Programmers begin to embrace Windows more than ever.

Windows 98 , Windows 2000, Windows ME (1998-2000)

Windows 98 brings us the Quick Launch bar and increased performance. USB is becoming extremely popular and Windows 98 takes advantage of this new technology. Windows ME brought us System Restore and Windows 2000 was the upgrade of choice for businesses from all previous versions of Windows. Software developers are taking full advantage of Windows and applications that run on DOS are becoming less prominent.

Windows 98
Windows 98 (Microsoft)

 

Windows 2000
Windows 2000 (Microsoft)

 

Windows ME
Windows ME (Microsoft)

 

 

 

Windows XP

The Windows kernel has forever changed and is now based on Windows NT. 64-bit systems are supported and security enhancements continue to be made. Wireless 802.11 support and remote assistance are added to the mix. Windows XP was hugely popular and is still used even to this day. Windows XP is very stable and extremely fast, it’s one of the best releases of Windows. DOS is starting to fade away and becomes more of a hidden feature that is only used for specific tasks.

Windows XP Desktop
Windows XP Desktop (Microsoft)

 

Windows Vista

Windows gets a cleaner look and UAC or user account control makes it’s debut in order to make Windows more secure. This version of Windows wasn’t well received due to consumers complaining about it’s stability issues.

Windows Vista
Windows Vista (Microsoft)

Windows 7

Windows 7 features live thumbnail previews and new ways to size and control windows. After many, many security updates and patched since Windows Vista, Windows 7 becomes very stable and unlike Vista, gets a thumbs up from consumers.

Windows 7
Windows 7 (Microsoft)

Windows 8 / 8.1

The new Xbox dashboard style desktop makes it’s debut. The Microsoft Store makes finding and buying applications very easy all while keeping your computer safe from malware by having a certification process in place that developers must pass in order be featured in the store. At this time some developers are a bit weary of using the new sandbox type system while others embrace it. The now “old” style desktop is a shell of what it used to be, but is still available in order to run legacy Windows applications.

Win8_1StartScreen
Windows 8.1

 

 

Ninite Can Make Your Transition to Windows 8 Much Easier

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If you’re upgrading to Windows 8 from XP or if you just plan on doing a clean install anyway, it’s time to consider how you’re going to get all of those wonderful applications you use re-installed on your system.Ninite Screenshot 1

If you’ve done a clean install, you know how much of a hassle it can be re-installing everything you need. In some cases it can take hours to get back up and running. With Ninite, you can take advantage of a set-it and forget-it mentality. Ninite is super easy to set-up and use, it is truly amazing.

To setup Ninite, simply head over to the Ninite website and choose your platform at the top of the page. Once you select which OS you use, you can begin selecting applications.ninitescreenshot4

After you have selected all of the applications you want installed, head to the bottom of the page and click “Get Installer”. Once the download is complete, just open the installer and you’re done! Yep, you can walk away and do whatever you need to do and Ninite will do all of the work, it really is that simple.Ninite Screenshot 4

What if you don’t see one of your applications in the list?

Ninite offers the ability for you to suggest applications for inclusion into the list.

What about Add-ons and toolbars, does Ninite have them? Does it allow applications to install third-party products on my system?

The short answer here is no, it bypasses all of the garbage. It installs apps just like you would have had you installed these apps yourself. Ninite itself is a legit program that runs without installing adware or spyware. So if you have apps to install, I think this one is a no brainer.