Tag: Windows XP

Microsoft News Summary-2 May 2014

The big news yesterday was the general release of the new patch for IE on XP. Personally, I think this is a stupid mistake by Microsoft, and it will lead to some laggards to reason that Microsoft has reversed course on the end of support. Microsoft can comment all they want; most people never read blogs, press, or attend events. The mistake has been made, and it was one of the dumbest releases since Bob.

Today Is April 8th 2014 – The Day That Windows XP Died

There are those who are negligent. There are those who tried to think Microsoft would never let this happen (some would say these deniers are also negligent). Today is the day that we finally reach the end of support for Windows XP.

Think about it; Windows XP was released in 2001. That is 13 years ago! How computers and usage has changed since then. Battery life wasn’t an issue. Attacks on security were different. Touch was a thing you did with a loved one (I hope that’s not your phone!). Roaming was when your phone bill rocketed (OK, that hasn’t changed much).

And Windows XP was also greeted with much derision. People were going to cling to Windows NT 4.0 with their cold dead hands. XP was even called “Windows Telly Tubbies” (after the default wallpaper) and “Windows Fischer Price” (FP instead of XP). Admins hated that things had move around. “Oh! imagine the amount of user training that will be required”. Sound familiar? It took the eventual end of support for NT 4.0 to force people to upgrade, eventually to Windows XP. And in the end, the world kept turning, the earth didn’t swallow us whole, and businesses kept ticking along. Hell, I did a project in 2003 where we blasted away Windows NT 4.0 & Office 97 with Windows XP & Office XP (before Office 2003 was out) and we did very little in the way of user training.

So, bye bye Windows XP … except for you laggards who are clinging to this now dead OS in your career graves.

And no, I don’t care to hear sob stories about “I must use XP”.

And while we’re at it, we’re also bye bye also to a range of other products:

  • Office 2003, and all the sub-components
  • Content Management Server 2002
  • Exchange Server 2003
  • InterConnect 2004 Standard (no idea what it is!)
  • InfoPath 2003
  • FrontPage 2003
  • Project Server 2003
  • SharePoint Portal Server 2003
  • Virtual PC 2004
  • Visio 2003
  • Windows Services for UNIX 3.5
  • And yeah, Windows XP Tablet PC Edition. Yah suckahs … tell me that Apple invented the tablet!!! Jean Luc Picard was getting all touchy feely long before Apple copied the tablet concept (admittedly making is actually useful).

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    End Of Life Coming To Old Microsoft Virtualization Products

    Windows XP gets all the headlines, but some old Microsoft virtualization products are going end of life in the coming months too.

    Virtual PC 2004 gave us a desktop-based virtualization product from Microsoft. VPC came from the Connectix acquisition. It was a paid product at first and then went free. I ordered 3 copies of it for my team on the day it was released! I doubt many are using VPC 2004 any more, but extended support is ending on 8th April, 2014, the same day that Windows XP goes bye-bye. Something tells me there’ll be a few shots of whiskey consumed in a certain quiet corner in Redmond Smile

    Virtual Server 2005 was Microsoft’s first server-based virtualization product. VS2005 was also a paid-for product, and I also bought it on the first day of release to help the company I worked for at the time reduce the physical server count.  VS2005 and VS2005R2 became free products, and were eventually replaced by Hyper-V, a true type 1 hypervisor. If you are still using Virtual Server (2005 or 2005 R2) then you need to plan for extended support ending on 13th January 2015.

    In case you might be wondering, XP Mode is also going end of life. This Windows 7 “hack” for Windows XP compatibility runs Windows XP, and therefore it is also going EOL on April 8th 2014.

    BBC News Incorrectly Reporting That Support For Windows XP Was Extended

    I just got called over by a panicking sales person in the office who had been reading the BBC News site. The BBC incorrectly reported that Microsoft was extending support and patching for Windows XP, beyond the end date of April 8th (also the end of support for Office 2003).

    Let me repeat this:

    Support for Windows XP and Office 2003 ENDS on April 8th, 2014

     

    There will be no changes to this, no matter what some clueless intern in the BBC news department might have imagined up.

    The story links to an announcement by Microsoft that clarifies that support for Microsoft antivirus products on Windows XP will continue through to July 14, 2015. Some people will continue to use Windows XP beyond the end of support date and Microsoft will be providing them with a minimum level of security. They’ll still be vulnerable to attack via vulnerabilities that will be patched on Windows Vista and newer, but still exist in Windows XP.

    Another ZDNet blogger (some beardy dude I never heard of) was complaining that Microsoft will continue to allow people to activate Windows XP. I’m not even going to link to that click-bait article because it doesn’t deserve it. Of course activations will continue. People bought the product, still own it, and still have the legal right to use it.

    Geez! There really are only two tech journalists out there: Paul Thurrott and Mary Jo Foley.

    Tip: Legally Deploying Images Windows To OEM Licensed PCs

    As usual, I will not be answering licensing questions.  All emails and comments will be deleted without a response.  Please ask your reseller these questions instead – that’s why they add a margin to the license when they sell it to you, so make them work for it.

    You cannot legally deploy an image of an OEM media installation of Windows.  According to a Microsoft licensing brief:

    Organizations do not have the right to reimage by using OEM media.

    An OEM image can only be preloaded on a PC by the OEM during manufacturing. An image can be individually recovered by the organization (or a service provider it chooses) by using the recovery media. The OEM recovery media should match the product version originally preinstalled on the system; no other image can be used to restore the system to its original state

    That means a company that buys hundreds or thousands of PCs, intent on using the OEM license, cannot create a custom image from OEM media (assuming OEM media can even be acquired!).  Businesses hate OEM builds because they are full of crap-ware and unmanaged security vulnerabilities.  So what can you do to re-image these PCs?  Do you need to buy a VL for every single machine?  There are benefits to doing that, especially with SA attached, but that’s not for everyone.

    There is a little known legal trick that you can apply.  According to Microsoft:

    Reimaging is the copying of software onto multiple devices from one standard image. Reimaging rights are granted to all Microsoft Volume Licensing customers. Under these rights, customers may reimage original equipment manufacturer (OEM) or full packaged product (FPP) licensed copies using media provided under their Volume Licensing agreement.

    These finer points are detailed in the licensing brief.

    Basically:

    • Say you buy 2,000 PCs and want to use their OEM licensing for Windows 7/8 Pro
    • You want to deploy a custom build/image to these machines
    • You buy a single volume license for Windows 8 Pro (includes downgrade rights)
    • You use the MAK/KMS key to create and deploy an image of Windows 7/8 Pro
    • You’re legit!

    You must be sure that you understand:

    • The OEM and the VL license must be the same edition, e.g. you cannot deploy a Pro VL image to Home OEM licensed PCs using this licensing technique.
    • You must ensure that the versions are matched, e.g. the OEM license entitles you to Windows 7 (including downgrades) if deploying Windows 7 images.  For example, you can’t deploy a Windows 7 VL image to a PC with a Windows Vista OEM sticker/license using this licensing technique.
    • The languages must be matched as well.

    What if you company does not have a VL agreement?  You need to 5 products to start one.  You can buy a single copy of Windows (to get the ISO download and MAK/KMS keys) and 4 cheap dummy CALs – now you have a VL at minimum cost, and you can re-image your OEM-licensed PCs with an image made from your VL media.

    You Have 365 Days To Replace Windows XP

    Microsoft will end all support for Windows XP on April 8, 2014, which is one year from today.  Right now, it is in what is called extended support, the period during which you can call to get help and download security fixes.  In one year, all bets are off.  You are on your own.  No more support from Microsoft.  No more security fixes.  And logically from that, no more support from anyone else, e.g. antivirus, backup, etc.  Your apps that rely on IE 6.0 are a security risk to your company.

    MICROSOFT WILL NOT EXTEND THIS DEADLINE

     

    I’ve emphasized that for those people who get their IT advice from the voices in their heads and the drunk in the corner pub – you know who you are!

    I really couldn’t give a flying f**k about excuses so don’t bother posting them.  Harsh?  I don’t think so.  I’m tired of the race to mediocrity in the IT business and would love to see a cleanout when things blow up and people get fired.  This deadline should be no surprise.  Microsoft has emphasised it every time they’ve talked about desktop operating systems since the release of Windows Vista.  You now have 365 days to start replacing your business applications that rely on IE 6.0, dump the 12 year old desktop OS, and join the rest of us in this decade.

    I bet the ticking of that clock sounds oppressively loud now?  I bet you are wising you had started planning 2 years ago?  Maybe even 1 year ago?

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    Altaro Giving Away 50 Free PC Backup Licenses To All Hyper-V Administrators!

    I’ve gotten some very exciting news from Altaro, makers of Altaro Hyper-V Backup (that supports Windows Server 2008 R2 Hyper-V and Windows Server 2012 Hyper-V).  Altaro wants to give away for free 50 copies of their desktop backup product, Oops!Backup, to each Hyper-V administrator that can prove that they run Hyper-V.  Here’s the press release:

    Altaro Software, a fast-growing developer of backup solutions for Microsoft Hyper-V, today announced that it is giving every Microsoft Hyper-V administrator 50 free licenses of Oops!Backup, their desktop backup solution.

    “Following the success of our Hyper-V Backup solution this year, we wanted to give something back to the Hyper-V community during the holiday season” commented David Vella, CEO of Altaro. “Hyper-V admins can give out these licenses to their colleagues, friends and family, for use at work or at home.”

    Oops!Backup is a popular desktop backup solution that allows users to preview & restore versions of their files from different points in time.

    Any network administrator who uses Microsoft Hyper-V is eligible for the free license keys, they simply need to visit the Altaro website, send in a screenshot of their Hyper-V Manager and expect an email with their respective keys.

    To claim the 50 free licenses go here. Thanks Altaro!

    Note: Giveaway expires on Monday December 24th. Licenses are Not-For-Resale (NFR) keys.

    Expanded Supported Guest Operating Systems on WS2012 Hyper-V

    The support for Windows Server 2012 guest OSs has been expanded by Microsoft.  On the server OS side the changes are mostly on the Linux side; OpenSuse and Ubuntu are now listed as supported. Previously they were not supported but they worked.

    Guest operating system (server)

    Maximum number of virtual processors

    Notes

    Windows Server 2012

    64

    Integration services do not require a separate installation because they are built-in.

    Windows Server 2008 R2 with Service Pack 1 (SP 1)

    64

    Datacenter, Enterprise, Standard and Web editions. Install the integration services after you set up the operating system in the virtual machine.

    Windows Server 2008 R2

    64

    Datacenter, Enterprise, Standard and Web editions. Upgrade the integration services after you set up the operating system in the virtual machine.

    Windows Server 2008 with Service Pack 2 (SP 2)

    8

    Datacenter, Enterprise, Standard and Web editions (32-bit and 64-bit). Install the integration services after you set up the operating system in the virtual machine.

    Windows Home Server 2011

    4

    Edition information is not applicable. Install the integration services after you set up the operating system in the virtual machine.

    Windows Small Business Server 2011

    Essentials edition – 2

    Standard edition – 4

    Essentials and Standard editions. Install the integration services after you set up the operating system in the virtual machine.

    Windows Server 2003 R2 with Service Pack 2 (SP2)

    2

    Standard, Web, Enterprise, and Datacenter editions (32-bit and 64-bit). Install the integration services after you set up the operating system in the virtual machine.

    Windows Server 2003 with Service Pack 2

    2

    Standard, Web, Enterprise, and Datacenter editions (32-bit and 64-bit). Install the integration services after you set up the operating system in the virtual machine.

    CentOS 5.7 and 5.8

    64

    Download and install Linux Integration Services Version 3.4 for Hyper-V.

    CentOS 6.0 – 6.3

    64

    Download and install Linux Integration Services Version 3.4 for Hyper-V.

    Red Hat Enterprise Linux 5.7 and 5.8

    64

    Download and install Linux Integration Services Version 3.4 for Hyper-V.

    Red Hat Enterprise Linux 6.0 – 6.3

    64

    Download and install Linux Integration Services Version 3.4 for Hyper-V.

    SUSE Linux Enterprise Server 11 SP2

    64

    Integration services do not require a separate installation because they are built-in.

    Open SUSE 12.1

    64

    Integration services are built-in and do not require a separate download and installation.

    Ubuntu 12.04

    64

    Integration services are built-in and do not require a separate download and installation.

    Note that Linux (physical or virtual) requires numa=off in the grub file if you have more than 7 CPUs or 30 GB RAM in the (virtual) machine. That’s a Linux thing, not a Hyper-V or virtualisation thing.

    The client OS list now is:

    Guest operating system (client)

    Maximum number of virtual processors

    Notes

    Windows 8

    32

    Integration services do not require a separate installation because they are built-in.

    Windows 7 with Service Pack 1 (SP 1)

    4

    Ultimate, Enterprise, and Professional editions (32-bit and 64-bit). Upgrade the integration services after you set up the operating system in the virtual machine.

    Windows 7

    4

    Ultimate, Enterprise, and Professional editions (32-bit and 64-bit). Upgrade the integration services after you set up the operating system in the virtual machine.

    Windows Vista with Service Pack 2 (SP2)

    2

    Business, Enterprise, and Ultimate, including N and KN editions. Install the integration services after you set up the operating system in the virtual machine.

    Windows XP with Service Pack 3 (SP3)

    2

    Professional. Install the integration services after you set up the operating system in the virtual machine.

    Windows XP x64 Edition with Service Pack 2 (SP 2)

    2

    Professional. Install the integration services after you set up the operating system in the virtual machine.

    You can see the supported list of guest OSs for the legacy versions of Hyper-V (2008, 2008 R2) here.

    Microsoft Updates The Free Security Essentials Antivirus

    According to Neowin, Microsoft has released a new version of Microsoft Security Essentials (MSE), their free antivirus protection for PCs.  It supports:

    • Windows XP Service Pack 3 (SP3)
    • Windows Vista (Service Pack 1, or Service Pack 2)
    • Windows 7

    Yes, Windows XP and Windows Vista are both still supported for this new development, even though they are both in extended support.  You can understand this exception when you consider the reason for MSE’s existence.  It exists to help prevent the spread of malware on PCs that otherwise would not be protected:

    • People who get free 90 days of AV with an OEM PC but never buy the subscription
    • People who can’t afford to or won’t buy AV

    One of the best stories we have of MSE locally was when we did a community launch event for Windows 7 in Belfast.  We talked about MSE and how it could help defend against Conficker which was all the rage with unpatched PCs at the time (and unfortunately still is thanks to negligent [IMO] admins/managers).  Irish DPE, Dave Northey, saw a photographer was taking photos on behalf of the venue and asked for a copy of some of the photos.  The photographer came over at the end of the event with a USB stick.  Dave joked that he hoped that Conficker wasn’t on the stick – MSE was on Dave’s laptop and screamed about finding Conficker on the photographer’s USB device Smile

    You might ask about support for Windows 8.  Good question.  Windows 8 comes with Defender built in (more later).  Defender in Windows 8 is not the Defender of old.  It actually is anti-spyware and antivirus, meaning that you don’t need to download/install MSE on it.

    Built-in AV, eh?  Imagine what Symantec’s lawyers, the EU, and so on will think of that!  Many of us are presented with a browser chooser when we setup Windows 7 for the first time.  I wouldn’t be surprised if we see something similar for AV.  Personally, I’d stick with Windows 8 Defender, but there’s nothing to stop you from choosing an alternative.  I wouldn’t be surprised if OEMs continue to ship subsidised trial copies of AV and retail stores continue to push AV boxes on customers with their PC/laptop/tablet purchase.  You still have a choice, but at least with Windows 8, you have protection by default.

    Mastering Windows 7 Deployment is Published

    I’ve just recived an email from Sybex to say that the third book that I’ve been involved with, Mastering Windows 7 Deployment, has just started shipping from their warehouse(s).  Right now, Amazon.com is still on preorder but that will likely change in the coming hours or days.  The Wiley (Sybex is part of the Wiley group) site is live right now.

    Who contributed?  Me, Darril Gibson (trainer/consultant, also of Mastering Windows Server), Kenneth van Surksum (Dutch MVP and well known blogger), Rhonda Layfield (deployment MVP, author, speaker, trainer), not to mention deployment MVPs/gurus Johan Arwidmark and Mikael Nystrom.  It was quite a cast to work with!  Big thanks to anyone I worked with on the project, especially those in Sybex who worked on the project.

    The book takes a very practical look at how to do a Windows 7 deployment project.  It starts out by doing the assessment using MAP.  From there, issues with application compatibility are dealt with.  You learn about WAIK, using WDS, MDT, user state transfer, and even how to do zero touch installations using System Center Configuration Manager 2007 (including R2/R3).  I’d buy it if I wasn’t one of the contributors 🙂