I am also going to wait for Service Pack 3 to be released to the general public before my next round of XP Services updates.
With my added time, I have been playing around with Linux Distros and been working with the following:
I am going to wait for Service Pack 1 to be released to the general public before my next round of Vista Services updates. However, I will be going through the XP Services information tonight and tomorrow. Stay tuned!
I have added four new polls in the forum section for members to vote on. The topics include:
Discuss and enjoy!
It has been a long time since I have posted a "Quick Rant", or any news for that matter, so here it goes:
Unfortunately, Massive Entertainment AB does not provide a direct contact for "support" and, as a result, I am going to rant here.
A little less than a month ago, I purchased World in Conflict and was extremely pleased with it (and still am). However, a particular issue has compelled me to write this.
I have progressed about halfway through the single player campaign. The game is awesome, I must say. I was also intrigued with dual monitor support. I tried enabling upon first purchase and found out that I had to have both monitors at the same resolution and scrapped the idea. I then read about patch 3 and the "fix" to allow different resolutions on each monitor. I paused my progress at that point to wait for the patch. Upon patch release, I was excited to finally enable this feature and continue playing.
I hit up the benchmark button after configuring once again for dual monitors and was totally blown away at the plain "cool factor" of it. Seeing the nuke on the second monitor bubbling with smoke is awesome. With that said... the game can get choppy, but it was something that I was going to deal with just to have the feature enabled.
I then loaded up my "resume campaign" and waited... only to be greeted with... nothing on the second monitor. Bummer, I thought... a bug was found. Well, it has been several days and I decided to finally research on the forums for a "fix" just to find out, with this topic and a couple others, that the support is only in multi-player and was a "design decision".
I understand possible technical problems related to the cut scenes causing strange things to appear on the mega map (cut scenes are rendered with the game engine) and I also understand that many other issues have a higher priority with greater impact, but I am at a loss as to understanding the "why" this feature is removed in single player due to a design decision. After all, any advantages that it has is canceled by hitting "M" and zooming out on the main display...
Anyway...
If anything, chalk up one more "please make it happen" in single player and thank you, Massive Entertainment AB, for making an outstanding game.
I have updated the following Windows Vista Service:
I have also added a new page: Windows Vista Strange Services that will be updated over time.
With the public release of the default service registry files for Vista, I will now work hard on updating the Service descriptions and "tweaked" configurations with service settings that provide function as well as performance while attempting to not break existing configurations for what ever you use your system for.
Windows Vista default service registry files are online as well as Windows Vista Custom Services Registry Tools. Enjoy!
The last thing that I wanted to do was toot a Microsoft horn, but I wanted to test out Windows Media Center with an Extender (XBOX 360) and stream TV. This test really is only for me to determine the minimum amount of service that need to be enabled/automatic for this function to work. This sounds like an easy task, but it took me several hours to finish it. (and several more months previously to jump into the task).
First off, my Xbox 360 does not have a wireless card in it, and sometime during our move, one of the cats or my wife ate the 100' Ethernet cable that I had, but I have known for a long time that the WRT54G v5 Linksys router is capable of doing so with dd-wrt.com updated firmware. This router was just sitting around doing nothing as I upgraded my main routers to Dlink 655's.
The warnings throughout the site say "you could make your router unusable," but in all honesty, I don't think I would have ever used the old wireless access point again, anyway, so a bricked router meant nothing to me... but a router that can act as a bridge for my Xbox 360 magically would become useful.
The guide I used (to the letter) to get updated firmware with additional features is here:
http://www.bitsum.com/openwiking/owbase/ow.asp?WRT54G5_CFE
After getting the system set up and working, it was just a matter of connecting up and *bam* the Xbox 360 has a connection to my PC as a Media Center Extender.
Several other obstacles I encountered were that my previous service settings in Vista were to strict and I had to set them all back to default. Thus the posting yesterday about needing a registry file to set them back to default. I did it the old fashion way and all worked after 30 to 45 minutes. Now I need to go back and narrow down what "really" is needed and not just what "works." There the trick stands.
Anyway, after much fiddling, I got the systems to hook up and now I can watch internet TV in my living room from my XBOX 360 directly connected to a Linksys wrt54g v5 using www.dd-wrt.com firmware (which, by the way, is the best router firmware I have ever used). Kudos to the team.
Windows Media Center has come a long way and it is pretty good, even in "internet TV Beta" state.
Just if my readers were wondering "what" I actually do daily.... this is it. First was getting the PS3 to connect to my media server, now the XBOX 360 was an obvious extension (no pun intended) of this effort.
I will try and draft a more through "How To" outlining the exact steps that I took, but for now, I am going to go lay on the couch and... basically... chill and watch streaming TV.
I am working on a way to determine what services are required to ensure that all updates from Microsoft Automatic Update are being applied properly. Currently, some updates will fail if a particular service is not set to its default value or disabled. At this time, it is best for you to ensure that all services are set to the default values before updating your system. More then likely, I will make registry patches for the default settings of Vista to easily perform this task.
I have modified Vista service descriptions of the following:
I have modified Vista service descriptions of the following:
I turned my PS3 and TV into a really expensive CD player via sharing my music library over the network to the PS3 device and this is what I found:
The following services are required to perform this action and as I type this, my PS3 is spewing my networked library out of my TV and subwoofer by being connected to my desktop.:
They need to be set in Automatic mode. A reboot may be required.
This function works with the above configuration ensuring that you have previously shared your computers music library by doing the following steps:
After your system (make it be PS3 this time around) is able to connect, you must authorize its connection to allow it to be viewed on the network.
If you do not desire any of these Windows Media functions, the previously stated group of services may be safely disable.
The domain was offline a few minutes today while I fixed some forum issues:
Registration for new members has been broken.
Emails were not being sent out and the problem "should" be fixed.
Previous registrants "should" receive a new email to activate your account.
Thank you for your patience while I continue to work through the bugs.
I have modified Vista service descriptions of the following:
I have added the following Vista service descriptions:
I have also updated the DCOM Server Process Launcher dependencies listing.
I have now placed back online a big chunk of my old gaming information and also included a new page: World of Warcraft Character Listing. As with any major update, I could have overlooked something small or huge. Contact BV and report any errors that you find. It is appreciated.
I have now placed online a discussion forum. Feel free to check it out here: http://bbs.blackviper.com/index.php
I found out recently that one of my new co-workers knows who "Black Viper" is while we were casually talking about computers. This set a fire under my butt to try and update the site more and get more information current. In the coming days, I will update the XP and Vista information as well as put more pages online dealing with both. Stay tuned!
Long time and no updates. Do not worry, I am working on some in the next few days. Stay tuned!
The "Power User" and "Bare Bones" Windows XP Service Configurations are back. Enjoy!
Never be without BV again! I am now offering the complete web site on a CD! You will get a snapshot of the entire www.blackviper.com for you to browse offline with no ads to pester you!
California residents will be asked to pay 7.25% sales tax on your purchase.
All sales are final. Refunds are not authorized.
CD's are mailed by using the US Postal Service. Unconfirmed addresses may be denied.
Please wait 1 to 2 weeks for delivery of your CD.
If your CD arrives damaged, you may send it back for a replacement by mailing it to the address listed on the Contact BV page.
I have placed online my Windows Vista Install Guide. Enjoy!
I have brought my E-Mail server back online (I think), so you may now contact me at my domain address.
I have updated the Vista service configuration to include "Bare Bones" configuration. This configuration disables many built in features of Windows Vista as well as several security features. This configuration is not for a system that is directly connected to the internet as Windows Defender and Windows Firewall are disabled. This is not for a system that provides networked resources, such as printers, to other LAN connected computers. Use this configuration at your own risk. It is only provided here as a reference for me. If you wish to tweak your Vista OS, use "Safe."
I have updated the Vista service configuration to include "BV's Configuration" recommendations. This is the configuration that I currently am using at home and have not found any issues with it. This does not guarantee it will work for you. 56 service settings have been changed from the default annotated by an (*) asterisk. This configuration is a system that is still able to perform many LAN networking functions, such as file and print sharing and uses wireless networking (laptop) plus leaves several security related "features" like the Windows Defender, Windows Firewall and Windows Update active.
I have updated the following Vista service descriptions and modified the "Safe" recommendations accordingly:
I was asked by Mr. Carey Holzman to appear as a guest on ComputerAmerica.com for an interview! It was a pleasure talking with Carey Holzman about Windows XP Services among other things.
I have updated the Windows XP Services Custom Registry File Tool. Please contact me if you discover any errors or inconsistencies. Enjoy!
I have posted my Windows Vista Super Tweaks to include disabling annoyances like User Account Control and resource hogs like System Restore. Please contact me if you discover any errors or inconsistencies.
More Windows Vista information to include expanded services coverage coming (real) soon as well as my custom registry file tool for XP. Lots of updates ahead!
I have updated the Windows XP Service Pack 2 Services Registry Files. Please contact me if you discover any errors or inconsistencies. The pages have the full default service values for each flavor of XP and my description modification to place my information in the services.msc utility. "Safe" start values as well as custom registry file creation coming soon.
I have updated the Windows XP Services Configurations and Windows XP Services 411 to reflect current information. All services are broke out into their own page now for easier management. Registry files coming soon.
I have updated the Windows XP Services Configurations to reflect default settings for Windows XP Media Center Edition 2005 and Windows XP Tablet PC Edition.
More services are listed in my Windows Vista Services Configurations pages to include Vista Ultimate defaults.
I have updated the Windows XP Services Configurations to reflect default settings for Windows XP Professional x64 Edition. All flavors of XP/Vista are being ran through and I "will" post all the information that I have figured out as well as registry files for default, safe, etc. However, I have a lot to sift through (5 flavors of XP, 4 flavors of Vista, 90 to 130 services each) and will get everything online as soon as I can.
I added a desperately needed Search Page today utilizing Google. Even though they put ads in the results, it is the quality search for my readers that matters to me. Tomorrow, I plan to work more on the Vista server defaults and see if I can get some defaults for other flavors of XP to include Media Center and Tablet Edition.
More services are listed in my Windows Vista Services Configurations pages to include Vista Business defaults.
I have updated the Windows XP Services Configurations to reflect "Safe" settings for 2007 and corrected several errors in the Windows XP Services 411. More Vista information coming soon.
For several years, I have been advising people on how to tweak their systems for performance. I have also been challenged many times over my advice. In 2007, this is no different. Sometimes people laugh, cry or plain get angry over my recommendations... but in all instances, they are looking at it from the wrong perspective. Read more...
More services are listed in my Windows Vista Services Configurations pages to include Vista Home Premium defaults.
I have posted my Windows Vista Services Configurations and Windows Vista Services Information pages. Many services still need to be added (only have A through part of D) and the only configurations I am currently listing is Vista Home Basic and "Safe" until I finish further testing.
The use of Javascript is back to change the look of the pages. Cookies are also in use to remember your selection between pages. Enjoy!
Black Viper is back! Yes, this is the "real" Black Viper. Soon, the world will know exactly what happened to me as well as many questions I am sure everyone has. Until then, here is some answers to questions that people may be asking themselves:
No, I did not. Even though I have searched several times on Google in the past (almost) two years as to what people thought happened to me, nobody but me actually knew the truth. In any case, if you have read any "stories" or forum posts, etc with regards to my "real" situation, it is false. Any other people claiming to be "Black Viper" wandering around the internet giving advice and such is also false. The people that know the "real me" also know that anything I would put publicly available will be on this domain. With the exception of a handful of posts on my old World of Warcraft guild forums, you will not find me posting anything anywhere else.
Yes, however... this will take time. I am starting to get back into the swing of things and plan on doing exactly what I did before: provide accurate information and opinions. I have used Vista for several months (I have a MSDN subscription) and will update everything as time allows.
All three of them are just fine. A new photo of them and I taken by my wife on March 9, 2007. The oldest (and largest) is eight years old and the other two are four years old. Additional kitty photos are also online.
No.
Pretty much nothing. In time, the "well intended" people will remove the copies of my information and link, once again, to the real pages on this domain. The people that ripped my information and called it their own know whom they are and my dedicated readers will spread the truth.
I am currently attending a local community college full time and have been unemployed since October 2005, when I quit my Electronics Tech. job, sold the house and moved with my wife and three kitties to Northern California to be closer to my family. The reason the domain has not been brought back sooner are many (including time and scope of my effort on here), but one of the reasons is money. My savings account is dwindling and money is extremely tight. Not many technical jobs in the local area and employment is slim.
For many years, I helped countless people with their computer issues and never asked anything in return. I have spent thousands of hours (as well as dollars) on this domain and am very proud of it. However, recent events have compelled me to reach out to my loyal readers for support. Previous donations while the domain was online have long gone. If you can spare any amount of money to keep this web site online, consider a donation!
My real name is Charles M. Sparks and I currently live with my wonderful wife and three kitties in Yreka, California.
My current contact information is located on the Contact BV page.
"Have you tweaked your OS lately?"
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Windows Service Configurations!
Includes explanations of each service and advice on which services you can safely disable!