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A lot of people think that if you virtualize, let’s say, a Windows 2003 Server, that virtualized system should be secure because it is completely separate from the VMware ESX Server operating system and it could be, potentially “protected” by VMware ESX Server. This is not true and there are a lot of things you…

What is Microsoft (or Windows) Product Activation (or WPA for short)? Windows Product Activation (or WPA) is Microsoft’s attempt to make sure that one copy of Windows XP is used on only one box. More specifically, to ensure that each CD-key is used to install Windows XP on only one box. It makes up a…

What is the Windows File Protection (WFP) in Windows 2000/XP/2003? A major cause of incompatibility and crashes in W2K/XP is the fact that an application might overwrite dynamic link library (DLL) files with a similar name belonging to other applications. Often, these are DLL files that get placed in the %systemroot%System32 folder during an application’s…

What is Windows ClearType Fonts? How can I get it to run? ClearType employs a technique developed long ago that uses the three color components of a pixel to make text appear sharper on the screen. ClearType separates out individual red, green and blue sub-pixels and manipulates them to make text look sharper. Microsoft ClearType…

How can I view the Public Folder Tree Type in Exchange 2000/2003? All MAPI clients can access the default Public Folders tree to read messages and store documents. When you create alternate public folder trees for applications or Web browsers to access, the alternate tree is not available to MAPI clients; however, applications and Web…

Beginning with Windows 2000, Microsoft has updated the Advanced RISC Computing (ARC) syntax in BOOT.INI to support the SIGNATURE() syntax, which offers a more accurate method for Windows 2000 to boot up in certain conditions. You will see this syntax, which is otherwise identical to SCSI(), if you install Windows 2000 on a hard drive…

What is the Recovery Console? How can I use it? What will it help me do? If safe mode and other startup options do not work, you can consider using the Recovery Console. This method is recommended only if you are an advanced user who can use basic commands to identify and locate problem drivers…

What is the Windows XP Password Reset Disk and how can I use it? To protect user accounts in the event that the user forgets the password, every local user should make a password reset disk and keep it in a safe place. Then, if the user forgets his or her password, the password can…

Microsoft Active Directory services in Windows 2000 replace the computer browser service used in earlier versions of Windows to provide the network basic input/output system (NetBIOS) name resolution. The browser service in Windows 2000 is provided for backwards compatibility with client computers that are running earlier versions of Windows. The primary function of the browser…

What’s the HCL? The hardware compatibility list (or HCL) provides a representative list of hardware peripherals that are compatible with the Microsoft Windows operating systems (e.g. Windows 98, Windows NT 4.0, Windows 2000, Windows XP and Windows 2003). Microsoft has validated the compatibility of the hardware peripherals on an x86-based Windows hardware reference platform. Microsoft…

What is System Restore in Windows XP? System Restore is a component of Windows XP Professional that you can use to restore your computer to a previous state, if a problem occurs, without losing your personal data files (such as Microsoft Word documents, browsing history, drawings, favorites, or e-mail). System Restore monitors changes to the…

What is the System File Checker (SFC) command on a Windows 2000/XP/2003 computer? The System File Checker tool gives an administrator the ability to scan all of the protected files to verify their versions. The System File Checker tool also checks and repopulates the %SystemRoot%\System32\Dllcache folder. If the Dllcache folder becomes damaged or unusable, you…