Tag: Windows8

Categories
Windows

Have GWX showed up on your PCs yet?

同一記事の日本語版
Update information      Edit(Jun.11)

   Hey guys! Have GWX (Get Windows 10) showed up on your PCs yet? I have a Windows 8.1 Pro PC and two Windows 7 HP PCs. On Win8 I already had GWX. But I have nothing on Win7 PCs.

   Anyway, all I need is to wait July 29. And of course, “To upgrade or not to upgrade, that is the question.” (^_^;)

Edit(Jun.11):
   Yesterday, GWX showed up one of the Win7 PCs after Windows Update, that is a Let’snote ― a Panasonic product and a kind of Toughbook ― as my mobile PC. CF-J10TYAHR.

Categories
Windows

Memorandum #5.

同一記事の日本語版
Update information      Edit(Aug.28)
  1. I found their announcement of PHP 5.6.0 GA on the article about RC4, wow! I can’t wait.
  2. I updated Apache 2.4.10 (httpd-2.4.10-win32-VC11.zip) which was built with openssl-1.0.1i. The reason is this advisory, OpenSSL Security Advisory [6 Aug 2014]. I knew this news but Steffen replied “Coming days the builds here at Apache Lounge are going to be upgraded. It has not that priority and severity ～” to Jan-E. So I waited to be upgraded.
  3. I read a lot of articles about the troubles with Windows Update 2014 Aug. Though I had no trouble with my own PCs, I uninstalled the following updates that were installed on my PCs. Because I heard they suggested to uninstall KB2982791, KB2970228, KB2975719 and KB2975331 even if currently no trouble.
    • Windows8.1(x86) on NJ2100
      KB2982791
      KB2975719
    • Windows7 SP1(x64) on CF-J10
      KB2982791
      KB2970228
    • Windows7 SP1(x86) on xw4200
      KB2982791
      KB2970228
    • Windows Vista SP2(x86) on KeyPaso
      KB2982791

    In the past, Windows update gave us troubles almost every time, but I feel this was the first mess in quite a while. How about your feelings? (^_~)

Edit(Aug.28):
   Hey! We have new MS14-045 update KB2993651. See Microsoft Security Bulletin MS14-045 – Important.

Categories
Windows

After all, I’ve updated to Windows8.1 Pro(x86) on the NJ2100.

同一記事の日本語版
Update information      Edit    Edit2(Jun.23)    Edit3(Jul.7)    Edit4(Jul.24)

   In my previous post, I wrote “Tried Windows8.1 Pro on the laptop PC (NJ2100), and failed”. But I’ve updated to Windows8.1 Pro(x86) on the NJ2100 after all.

   Before starting update from Store, I deleted the SiS Mirage 3 Graphics driver based on R529_Logo.zip. If not deleting, I would have the error “0xC1900101 – 0×30018”. As I deleted the driver, I was able to finish the update. But I would have the trouble again if I install the driver after updating. So, I cannot use the monitor resolution 1440×900 now. I use the the MS Basic Display Adapter driver and take the monitor resolution 1280×768. See the Edit4.

   After updating, I also found the Realtek High Definition Audio was disabled. So, I visited the Realtek official site, downloaded a 32bit_Win7_Win8_Win81_R275.exe and installed it. The latest driver version is 6.0.1.7246. But I had terrible noise again. Therefore I replaced ver. 6.0.1.7246 by ver. 6.0.1.5506 which is an NJ2100’s genuine driver for VISTA by EPSON. See the Edit.

   Now, I can use Windows8.1 Pro(x86) on the NJ2100 without problems.

   By the way, I have frustration about the way of 8.1 distribution. MS says Windows 8.1 for Windows 8 is equal to service packs for other windows. But we have the only way of its update from Store. Its size is very large, so its download takes very long time. If failed, we have to start again from very beginning. In early times, we can download the ISO file of 8.1 without an 8.1 product key, but now it is very difficult. Why do they give us a DVD or something?

   Another complaint I have is the way of ‘Sign in’. I hate to use MS account to log in my PC. We can still use a local account when we log in our PC and can avoid MS account when we update to Windows8.1. But it is more difficult to find its steps. What does MS have in mind?

Edit:

   Every reboot gives me the Realtek High Definition Audio Codecs ver. 6.0.1.5506 disabled. I’ve tried re-installations several times, but I finally give it up. Now I use the High Definition Audio Device driver by MS. So I cannot use some of the device features, like stereo mix. I have no hope about it.

   I had a DRIVER_POWER_STATE_FAILURE. I did “bcdedit /set disabledynamictick yes” again. At this moment, I feel better of it and expect this is continuing.

Edit2(Jun.23):

   After my update to 8.1, I have a trouble with USB External Hard Drives which are unconnected from the PC very often. I change values about two of Power Options.

  1. About USB selective suspend setting —> Disabled.
    1. Control Panel
    2. System and Security
    3. Power Options
    4. Change Plan Settings
    5. Change advanced power settings
    6. USB Settings
      • USB selective suspend setting
        1. On battery —> Disabled
        2. Plugged in —> Disabled
      • Click Apply, then click OK.
  2. About Turn on fast startup (recommended) —> Uncheck.
    1. Control Panel
    2. System and Security
    3. Power Options
    4. Choose what the power button does
    5. Change settings that are currently unavailable
    6. Shutdown settings
      • Turn on fast startup (recommended) —> Uncheck
    7. Click Save changes
Edit3(Jul.7):

   The above customization did not work for me. I still had the same trouble.

   Yesterday, I found the page “Help! After installing Windows 8.1, my USB drive disappears or file transfers stop unexpectedly…“. The first half of the page told me I already did but the last half gave me new information. I tried and it is working well until now. See the page:
To disable suspend on idle for this device:
1. Obtain the hardware ID of the USB storage device.
2. Change the device setting in the registry.

   By the way, the author added the note about 2014/4/8 Windows Update, but this reverting did not work for my USB HDD.

   Oh, I almost forgot to write. I wasn’t able to find VID-PID at Hardware Ids. They were showed up at Parent.

Edit4(Jul.24):

   After upgrading, I couldn’t watch WOWOW メンバーズオンデマンド. I had 6030. I installed and uninstalled Silverlight5 again and again. I deleted all things ( i.e. cache folder and mspr.hds) under ProgramDataMicrosoftPlayReady. But nothing useful. I thought really hard about why 6030 occurred. I doubted the MS basic display adapter driver. This gave the Generic Non-pnp monitor driver to NJ2100. Maybe Silverlight5 requires more than the Generic Non-pnp monitor for its DRM.
   I could not give up WOWOW メンバーズオンデマンド because I enjoyed it before upgrading. So I decided to install the SiS driver from R529_Logo.zip. But this driver probably gave me ‘0xC1900101 – 0×30018’ on my first attempt to upgrade. So, I made a full backup image before my act.
   Then I did install. Bingo!! I can watch WOWOW メンバーズオンデマンド now. And I have the 1440×900 resolution. Besides, I have no blue screen at this point. I hope this continues.

   Yesterday I installed the SiS driver from R529_Logo.zip. I was comfortable to use the NJ2100 last night, and I went to bed.
   Today I found a serious problem. When I turn on the PC, the mouse cursor has disappeared. It has never come back until I give up the SiS driver. This is a big trouble. Oops!!

Categories
Windows

Tried Windows8.1 Pro on the laptop PC (NJ2100), and failed.

同一記事の日本語版

   Yesterday, I changed my OS from Windows8 Pro to Windows8.1 Pro on NJ2100. By the way, NJ2100 is an Epson Direct product in Japan. But, I think an ASUS product X51C and this are the same in specs.

   First I backed up my Win8 Pro by AOMEI Backupper.

   Second, I accessed the Store from the Metro UI and tried to update.

Windows8.1 #3
Windows8.1 #3
Windows8.1 #2
Windows8.1 #2
Windows8.1 #1
Windows8.1 #1

   The downloading maybe takes several hours, of course, though it depends on the environment.

   When ending the downloading, it shows us the reboot message. So, reboot the PC.

   I had no problem until this point. However, even after several hours, the installation did not end, the monitor displayed nothing and the HDD indicator never lighted up. I gave it up, and turned off the PC. When I turned it on, the PC restored Windows8 Pro and gave me an error code “0xC1900101 – 0x30018”. According to information on the Internet, the error seems to happen the PC has driver(s) which is older than Windows8.1 Pro requires. As my six sense told me the driver was the driver for “SiS Mirage 3 Graphics” (^_^;), I removed it and tried again.

   This time, I reached the goal. I tried to use the Windows8.1 Pro. The monitor resolution was 1024×768, so I installed the driver for “SiS Mirage 3 Graphics” again. But after that, I had a lot of freezes. Besides, I felt the High Definition Audio driver version 6.0.1.5506 did not work well, either. These two drivers are very necessary for comfortable using NJ2100. I can still use my Windows8 Pro. So, I decided that I kept my Windows8 Pro until updating to Windows8.1 Pro was absolutely required.

   I backed up the new Windows8.1 Pro because I didn’t want to waste my time again, and restored the old Windows8 Pro to my NJ2100.

Categories
Uncategorized

NotScripts on Google Chrome.

   Recently, I have a problem with my Firefox on Windows8 PRO, NJ2100. On the Net, I found out someone had the same issue, but cannot find the resolution. I don’t understand exactly when I have the problem or not. So, I decided to change my main browser from Firefox to Google Chrome on my Win8.

   As I’ve used the plug-in ‘NoScript’ on Firefox since 2 and a half years ago, I look for the same features plug-in I can use on Google Chrome. I think the plug-in ‘NotScripts’ gives me similar features, so, I install it.

   The biggest difference between ‘NoScript’ and ‘NotScripts’ is a password. After adding ‘NotScripts’ to CHROME, you have an alert page. At the first time, you need to set your password in the file CHANGE__PASSWORD__HERE.js. The file exists in the NotScripts folder,
%userprofile%AppDataLocalGoogleChromeUser DataDefaultExtensions
odjhifogjcknibkahlpidmdajjpkkcfnversionNO.
After that, the plug-in is activated.

Categories
everyday life

A clean install of Windows8.

Update information      Edit(Dec.26)   Edit2(Dec.28)

   Yesterday, I finally had a windows8 upgrade DVD package.

   After this, I made an additional order of the Package because I found the information we would be able to have a clean install of Windows8 if we upgraded from the older 32 bit Windows to the 64 bit Windows8. I did it on Dec. 6th, Japan time, and they sent a shipping advice by email on Dec. 10th. Now, 25th. It took tooooooo long despite it was via AirMail.

   Anyway I got it, so, I wanted to have a clean install for my laptop. Of course, if you want the same thing as me, you need to know your pc supporting 64 bit or not before your installation. Probably, you can find the supporting information at your pc system property, on the manual, or on the laptop bottom label. You can’t find the information, then you could use Windows 7 Upgrade Advisor. Maybe, it tells you your pc supporting 64 bit or not.

   I know my laptop, an Endeavor NJ2100, supports 64 bit. But I found a severe issue. Its BIOS does not support Memory Remap Feature. The vender does not supply the newer BIOS anymore. I think its main-board probably an ASUSTeK product. But the vender, Epson Direct, never tells us about it. If I have no exact knowledge about it, to update my BIOS is very dangerous. So I gave up to install the 64 bit windows8 to my pc.

   I booted my laptop from the upgrade DVD 32 bit version.

   If you do the same thing, you can see two install options, Upgrade and Custom. You must select the option, Custom. Then, you must delete your old Windows system partition first. After that, you can go the next step of the installation. Your clean install of Windows 8 does not depend on 32 bit version or 64 bit version. You can do it for either case.

   My installation finished without hitch.

   After first login of my Windows8, I made the Safe mode entry for being on the safe side when an incident happens.

  1. Start cmd.exe as an Administrator.
    bcdedit /enum /v
  2. bcdedit /copy {default windows loader guid} /d “Safe Mode”
    Close cmd.exe
  3. [Win]+[r] and start msconfig
    Select Boot
    Select Safe Mode
    Select safeboot minimal
    Apply
    OK
    Reboot OS

Now, I can use “Safe Mode”. Then I installed my custom drivers.

   About Ricoh xxx Host Controllers and High Definition Audio, I installed the drivers by the NJ2100 vender. For SiS Mirage 3 Graphics driver, I installed R529_Logo.zip from SiS DOWNLOAD CENTER.

   That’s it.

   By the way, you need some software to watch a DVD Video on Windows8. Until Jun.31st, you can get a Windows Media Center product key for free. You have it and can watch the DVD video on your pc. (^^)

Edit(Dec.26):
   I forgot to write.
   When I booted from the upgrade DVD, it did not start if the laptop didn’t have the older version Windows on its hard disk. The reason was only I was clumsy, or, at the boot time the DVD might have some program to check. The DVD is for a upgrade version, so, this behavior might be natural for itself, I guess.

Edit2(Dec.28):
   After upgrading Windows8, I had an issue about the sound on my laptop. When I watch a video or listen to music, my Win8 stops responding. Today I found the page (http://support.microsoft.com/kb/2727113) saying about it (now already deleted – 2013.5.16). The page says “This problem is resolved in the release versions of Windows 8 and Windows Server 2012.”. But on my laptop, it is NOT fixed. They provide an update, but, I cannot use it for my laptop because this is only for Windows 8 Release Preview or Windows Server 2012 Release Candidate. So, I did a workaround the page says.

         Start cmd.exe as an Administrator
         bcdedit /set disabledynamictick yes

   That’s all. Now, my laptop multimedia processes do not hang anymore. Happy!!

Categories
everyday life

Upgrading from WinVista to Win8 Pro.

Update information      Edit(Dec.8)    Edit2(Dec.9)    Edit3(Dec.15)    Edit4(Dec.28)

   On Dec. 5th, as Windows8 has quite a reputation, I decided to upgrade my laptop OS from WindowsXP Pro to Windows8 Pro. The laptop is an Endeavor NJ2100 and my main pc. Its WindowsXP is a Downgrade version of Windows Vista. I bought it on March, 2008. The vender says nothing about Windows8 on NJ2100 though I visited its site. So, I made my preliminary preparation carefully for upgrading.

  1. I accessed the page “お得にアップグレードしましょう“, of course, the page exists for each locale you use.
  2. I downloaded the file Windows8-UpgradeAssistant.exe and ran it. This gave me an information file. It said bla bla bla, I found no serious issues in it, then I made the next step forward.
  3. I made a backup image file of the system drive on the pc. To stay on the safe side even if I fail to upgrade.
  4. It was no need to do a clean install of Windows Vista but I thought it was good opportunity as the pc had a lot of trashes because I did not do its recovery for a long time.
    • Murmuring — According to the net surfing after my upgrade work, I found we can have a clean install of Windows8 by an upgrading DVD if the old and the new have different architectures. OOPS!

    Anyway, I did the clean install of Windows Vista.

  5. I ran Windows8-UpgradeAssistant.exe again, bought the downloading file (￥3300), and installed a Windows8 Pro which needs about 16GB free space at least. I was patient for a while (^^;). Wow, it worked!
  6. I logged in the Windows8. First, I updated Windows8 system files and used the tool Disk Cleanup. The tool has a new option, System files Cleanup, so you can delete the old windows files automatically and get huge free space (^^).
  7. One of them I worried about is my printer which is a Canon, MP950. This vender also says they do not support the printer for Windows8. But, fortunately, Windows8 has the driver and it also worked by the driver for Windows7. Lucky!!
  8. Win8 doesn't have the drivers for them.Windows8 does not have the drivers of Ricoh xxx Host Controllers (See the right image), so I used my Vista driver’s CD that I had burned drivers from the vender partition of the hard drive on the pc.
  9. Now, I write this post by Windows8 on the Endeavor NJ2100 and it runs smoothly than my expectation. Happy!!

   I’ll show you my laptop specifications. Please take a look at the table below.

OS MicroSoft Windows 8 Pro (x86)
CPU Intel(R) Core(TM)2 Duo CPU T8300 @ 2.40GHz
Chipset SiS M672 + SiS968
Memory PC2-5300 DDR2 SDRAM 1GBx2
Display Adapter SiS Mirage 3 Graphics (128MBx2)
HDD 120GB S-ATA 5400rpm
BIOS AM8-216-DG3 2008/10/27
Optical drive MATSHITA DVD-RAM UJ870QJ
Secure Boot Non support
PAE Support (Satisfying Windows8 requirement)
NX Support (Satisfying Windows8 requirement)
SSE2 or later SSE3 (Satisfying Windows8 requirement)

High_Definition_Audio1Edit(Dec.8):
   Today, I found I couldn’t use the stereo mixer, and at that time my High Definition Audio driver had its provider and version as the image right indicates.

   It botherd me, so, I downloaded the file Vista_Win7_Win8_R270.zip from the Realtek official site and updated my High Definition Audio driver. Now I can see my stereo mixer like this.

Edit2(Dec.9):
   After upgrading, the best resolution I’d use was 1280×800. Before that, I had used it as 1440×900. So I looked for the newer SiS Mirage 3 Graphics driver. Then, I downloaded R529_Logo.zip from SiS DOWNLOAD CENTER and updated my driver. Now I get the resolution 1440×900.

  • [I accept to the above.](check) >> [Windows 7](Still now, Win 8 does not exist.) >> [IGP Graphics Drivers] >> [SiS671 & SiS672 series]

   Besides, my Windows experience index score of Graphics improved from 2.0 to 2.6. Still low, but ……

Edit3(Dec.15):

   I downed my High Definition Audio driver version from 6.0.1.6662 to 6.0.1.5506 because of having terrible noise recording after upgrading to Win8. Both of them were made by Realtek. Ver. 6.0.1.6662 is the current latest driver. Ver. 6.0.1.5506 is older and for Windows Vista driver, but it is the genuine driver of my NJ2100 vender. For a security problem the latest is best. But, for sound quality it is a complete different story. This time again, I have good result by this downing version. The noise has gone.

Edit4(Dec.28):

   After upgrading Windows8, I had an issue about the sound on my laptop. When I watch a video or listen to music, my Win8 stops responding. Today I found the page (http://support.microsoft.com/kb/2727113) saying about it (now already deleted – 2013.5.16). The page says “This problem is resolved in the release versions of Windows 8 and Windows Server 2012.”. But on my laptop, it is NOT fixed. They provide an update, but, I cannot use it for my laptop because this is only for Windows 8 Release Preview or Windows Server 2012 Release Candidate. So, I did a workaround the page says.

         Start cmd.exe as an Administrator
         bcdedit /set disabledynamictick yes

   That’s all. Now, my laptop multimedia processes do not hang anymore. Happy!!