Escaped Character

So for weeks (or has it been months) my boss's boss, THE head of my organization, has been complaining about his computer's performance. He has a 1.5 year old pentium 4, XP SP2, Office 2000, and all the accessories. The symptom, opening a Word email attachment in Outlook created a bizarre delay, anywhere from 5 -15 seconds, and sometimes just dumped him back in his in-box without ever opening. Word is selected as the email editor. We could somewhat remedy the problem by turning that off, but as I said, he is THE boss, and he wants to use Word as an email editor.

So a couple of weeks ago I went up and personally gave his pc a tune-up. I'm pretty good at that, and the computer was working beautifully--until I went to open email attachments. Maybe it was the size of his mailbox -- three times the size of the next largest on our aging Exchange server. (Yes, mine is the next largest.) But logged in on his computer MY email did the same thing.

So we moved him to a 5 year old HP pentium 3 computer and had him open his email. Guess what? It worked flawlessly. Maybe some sort of hardware failure on his computer--oozing capacitors, etc.? We started building him a new computer, a P5 with XP, Office 2000, and all the added features. Guess what? It did the same damn thing.

When Word tried to start to show the attachment, it looked like the processor was being over-utilized--the area where the toolbars should be was blank and there would be a delay before everything slowly filled in. But in task manager the cpu and memory utilization stayed low. So on a lark I suggested--maybe it's the hyperthreading, since it happens on new machines with HT but not on older machines. We disabled it and the symptom went away.

We haven't made the config change on the boss's computer yet, but I'm confident we've found the source. On our test pc we upgraded to Office 2003 and were unable to duplicate with hyper-threading enabled. So there you go.

So it's been a while since we made config changes to disable hyperthreading on my Director's computer. Since then, he hasn't reported any additional occurrence of the weird problem with attachments. So it does appear that the problem was related to the hyperthreading technology.

On our test computer, also a P5 with HT, we were able to duplicate the problem and remedy it by turning HT on and off. Once we upgraded to Office 2003, the problem could no longer be dupicated.

So here's the final conclusion we came to. Until the director's computer was upgraded to Windows XP, 2000 just didn't try to implement the hyperthreading. So the problem, which logically seems to be with Office 2000 code not supporting HT, was just never manifested. After the upgrade HT came into play and we were able to see the results of Outlook and/or Word not working well in the HT scenario.

So if you're going to upgrade to XP on a computer with HT, and if you are going to continue to use Office 2000, don't rule out disabling HT as a solution to unusual performance issues.

So this is way off topic. I just wanted to briefly rant about Jessica Simpson. I happened to catch her on Letterman the other night singing her peppy little "These boots" cover. Then I started researching on the web hoping to be reminded who originally wrote and/or recorded it. In the course of my research I ran across and sadly actually watched TWICE (I couldn't believe it the first time and couldn't look away the second time) her video of O Holy Night.

I'm a real big advocate of free speech, but there ought to be a law against that. I thought it was the most disgustingly perverse excuse for sacred music I've ever seen. And she seemed so earnestly spiritual while licking her moist pink lips and belting out "o night, di-VINE". It really almost made me sick. She has a really nice voice, but the undertone of sexuality that polluted this cleavage-riddled insult to Dottie Rambo and Jesus was just way too much. I mean it--it almost made me sick.

That's all. Happy Friday. Back to technology next time, I promise.

L

Windows Vista: Day One

Well, first of all, this isn't really "day one." It is day three. But it is "day one" in that it's the first day that I've actually had Vista running on the computer I'm installing on. So, since it's really day three--let's get up to speed.

First of all, the box. It's a Gateway profile 4. P4 processor. 2.66 ghz, 512 mb ram, 80 gb hd, DVD drive. Why this box? It's a spare that I could have for Vista testing. One caveat: the drive is making an occasional clicking noise. But better to have it in use here in my office than out in the field.

Vista: 32-bit build 5270. I think it's the 3rd beta evaluation release, but I'm not really sure. It's the February 2006 release.

So, let's go back 2 days.

Wed. Mar 22. I prep the computer, which only means that I set it up on my desk and plugged everything in. Powered it on to find a highly modified 'public' build. That means all sorts of changes were made to file and registry permissions to protect the pc, which had been configured for public use in a library setting. But since I'm installing a new OS, that won't matter--or will it?

The pc has been removed from our domain so I log on as a local user. I insert the DVD and wait. Nothing happens. So I browse to the DVD drive and discover that the install disc contains an ISO image that must be unpacked and copied in bootable format before I can install. Not part of the Vista design, just a beta release deadline issue. After trying several options (the pc is currently running Windows 2000) I decide that I'm being hindered by: 1) the quirks of my reduced permissions, even as a local admin, on this custom build; 2) my lack of understanding of exactly what I'm supposed to do with this disc. One of the Microsoft recommended tools for unpacking the DVD is the "Microsoft Virtual CD-ROM Control Panel for Windows XP." So after  this much wasted effort I decide to try upgrading to XP and then downloading and using the control panel.

Well, that worked. Because of the options I chose, I now have both Windows 2000 and XP installed, but no worries--I'm getting ready to install Vista, and I'll reformat and start from scratch when I do that. Once I have the CD-ROM COntrol Panel installed, the Vista install goes easily enough. A couple of reboots--took about a half hour, but I didn't have to anything once it started.

So now it's Wed. Mar 22 and I have Vista running. I open the browser to verify network connectivity and I get a page not found error. Pinging gets no replies either. So now I need a CD with my NIC drivers on it. I find that and get connected to the network and now I'm making progress. I add the computer to the domain and log on as a domain admin. Since I've introduced the Vista pc onto the production network I just have one thing left to do before I can start test driving. So I browse out to the network and copy the source code for Symantec Client Security.

Oops.

Installing the Symantec software broke the Vista install. I can only boot in safe mode, and in safe mode I can't uninstall the Symantec software. Hmmm. What to do?

I ended up reinstalling XP, this time as a clean install. Then downloading the CD-ROM control panel again, and then reinstalling Vista. Join to domain, firewall on, domain admin login . . . and now, 2 days later I have Vista running and can start my test drive. So that's where we are at 10:00 a.m. on Mar 24-- Day One. And the morning and the evening and next morning and the next evening and the next morning again were the first day.

"Hey ya'll . . . watch this."

L

So I finally got Vista installed and running on my test machine.

Or did I?

Everything looked to be in order, but something still didn't add up. From what I could tell, Vista was just an updated version of XP with a few nifty little changes. The two-tone taskbar was nice, but big deal. And the explorer window, really disorienting at first, became more manageable once I recognized it as a variation on the File Manager from Windows 3.1. Well, it reminds me of 3.1 anyway. But what about all the stuff I've been hearing folks fuss about--like the cool transparent windows and the revolutionary 3-d graphics?

Welcome to the future. I installed Vista on a two year old computer--see the last post for tech specs. And not only did the high end features of Vista NOT install, but the software didn't even tell me they were there. There are a lot of folks buying computers today that are not going to fully run Vista a year from now. And the primary culprit seems to be video memory. Up until now, if you weren't gaming that really didn't matter so much.

So, back to drawing board. With a help of a colleague we tried to swap the hard drive from my 2 year old pc into a 1 year old pc from the same manufacturer (Gateway). Ack. Different hard drive technology--so that won't work. So guess what? Yep--time to reinstall Vista. Again.

So this time, I get out a BRAND NEW computer. This one is an MPC Client Pro 414 All-in-One. 512 mb ram, p4 with HT, 2.8ghz, 32 bit, but only 128 mb on the graphics card.

I upgraded to XP, then had a smooth install of Vista. I logged in, and then starting customizing the environment. This time, there is a menu option that I didn't have previuosly. It allows me to select a color scheme that includes the transparent windows. I also find that alt-tab brings up the expected program switching tool. But this time it's got a totally different look to it. And now, the "Window Switcher" button on the quick launch toolbar is active. In the earlier installations it had been dead.

So now I've finally got the good stuff. Only now, it doesn't seem like such a big deal. So, after about a week of intermittent work to get Vista installed, I don't yet see anything I've "got to have." That's not to say it isn't fast--really fast. It's also visually appealing, so if asthetics are important to you, you're going to like this. But I want to know what's under the hood that can make my life better. So now that I have Vista running, that's what I'll start looking at. In future blog entires I'll select a new feature or two to highlight as I work my way through Vista seeing what all it will do.

Later,

LePlorg

I've been out of the office for a few days, so there hasn't been much
going on with the Vista testing. I can tell you that I've successfully
installed Symantec Corporate Security ed. 10 and it seems to be running
just fine. I've also gotten Firefox installed and have Shockwave
plugins for that working. The primary issues I am seeing with Vista simply
not working right appear to be related to websites trying to ID the
operating system, but being unable to. So, for example, I had to
manually download and install Shockwave. The same thing happened when I
tried to install Acrobat Reader--the Adobe site was just unresponsive
for several minutes while it tried to figure out which page to send me
too. It finally settled (of all things) on Windows NT 4.0 service pack
2. Isn't that crazy--service pack 2. So I manually selected Windows Xp
and downloaded and installed that. Haven't tested yet, but that will be
tomorrow.

I also installed Office 2003 Enterprise Edition. Installation was
straightforward and pretty quick--especially compared to some previous
Office installs. Not much testing of Office either--but I get the
feeling there's still time for that, eh.

So here's a non-Vista bonus. This is a Samsung site that I've got a
crush on. It features all sorts of innovative paraphernalia--everything
from artwork to a really nice looking new Lotus.

The common thread is that each item featured reinvents that particular
idea in some aesthetically and technologically satisfying way. Back
issues are available, but you might have to hack around a bit to find
them. This link takes you straight to the Spring 2006 issue.

Samsung Digitall online magazine

In response to a request from a reader, here is where you can find the download package for Vista Beta 2.

http://www.microsoft.com/windowsvista/getready/preview.mspx.

______________________________________________________
And also today, three disclaimers. Please read them really fast in a monotone voice.
1. I noticed the juxtaposition of the Ubuntu Linux avatar on my blog with the somewhat critical Vista reporting. So I thought I'd mention that I am a thoroughgoing Microsoft Windows loyalist--in the enterprise environment. On my home computer I am currently making a transition to Linux, currently Ubuntu. Given the economics and labor intensity of supporting Microsoft OS and applications in the home computing environment, I no longer believe it makes sense.
2. In the enterprise environment I work for an entity that qualifies for significantly discounted products from Microsoft.
3. I don't work for TechRepublic, though I have been known to socialize, drink, and sing in public with people who do.

Brought to you by Microsoft. Have a great weekend.

Interesting. My blog seems to have survived the migration to the new site design. So, I'll update and tell you that I'm currently running Vista Release candidate 1, build 5600. It's pretty stable, and while I haven't found a whole lot to do with it that can't be done in XP, there are a few nice benefits. I'll take a day or two to press my contacts at TR to see what's up. Obviously, I'm not going to add to a blog that is destined for cyber-limbo. But if this is going to hang around a while, I'll give it a go.

Lee