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Useful Facts on Windows


No great discovery was ever made without a bold guess. –Isaac Newton
Experience is the name everyone gives to their mistakes. –Oscar Wilde
Persistence and positive thinking to make things happen.

About this document:


This document is for educational and informational purposes only.
About the Author:
bcdalai, MCP, MCSE, MCTS: Windows Vista. The author is an IT pro working on Desktop,
Server and Networking - as system administrator, Tech. Support, software troubleshooter and
reviewer. He is available for tech. support in Microsoft forums, community and in other online forums
with the online name bcdalai. He can be reached at: http://bcdalai.blogspot.com or e-mail:
bcdalai2020@gmail.com.
License:
The subject matters are for system administrators and everyday computer users. This article
is completely free to read, distribute (through website, CD/DVD or magazines) or share without any
modification and may be reproduced in printable media with a link to this article. The article must be
distributed in “Microsoft XPS” or “Adobe PDF” format.
Disclaimer:
This document is for educational and informational purposes. THIS DOCUMENT IS
PROVIDED “AS IS”, WITHOUT WARRANTY OF ANY KIND, EXPRESS OR IMPLIED. It is assumed
that you will use the contents of this document in proper and productive way. All names, websites,
trade names and registered trademarks mentioned herein are the property of their respective owners.
Copyright © 2004-2010 by bcdalai.
Thanks:
I’m greatly thankful to all the readers for reading and sending feedbacks to me.

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© 2004-2010, bcdalai
bcdalai's Free Tech. Support Blog: [http://bcdalai.blogspot.com]

Useful Facts on Windows


1. Dynamic disks are not supported on portable computers or on Windows XP Home Edition
based computers.
2. In windows XP Home Edition the following features are not available: Group Policies,
Automatic Software Installation and Maintenance, Roaming User Profiles, Offline Files and
Folders, Remote Desktop, NTFS, EFS (Encrypted File System), joining a domain, dynamic
disks, IIS (Internet Information Services), Remote Installation Services (RIS), Windows
Management Instrumentation Console (WMIC), Microsoft's HTTP and FTP Server, Windows
Backup (ntbackup.exe), Automated System Recovery (ASR) and support more than one
processor.
3. Automated System Recovery is not a supported feature in Windows XP Home Edition using
Backup, but Backup is provided on the CD-ROM as additional value to help back up
critical system data. To Manually Install the Backup Utility: Double-click the Ntbackup.msi
file from the Windows XP Home Edition CD-ROM to start a wizard that installs Backup: CD-
ROM Drive:\VALUEADD\MSFT\NTBACKUP. Follow the wizard. When the wizard is
complete, click Finish.
4. Creating rescue disk feature is not available in Windows Server 2003.
5. You cannot format/create a partition more than 32GB as fat 32 file system.
6. You cannot see or access NTFS partitions in Windows 95/98/ME because these
operating systems don’t support NTFS file system.
7. You cannot run two Operating Systems simultaneously from one drive/partition; if you will do
this the last operating system you installed on that drive will only run.
8. If you install and run MSN Explorer version 6, your MSN POP3 e-mail account will be
migrated to an MSN Hotmail account. If you have Outlook and Outlook Express configured
for POP3, you will no longer receive your new MSN e-mail messages.
9. Deleting or reformatting any dynamic disk volume using the Recovery console's
DISKPART or FORMAT command or during Windows 2000 text-mode Setup, could
result in permanent data loss.
10. You cannot install Windows Vista on FAT/FAT32 file system. Installation of Windows
Vista in FAT/FAT32 file system is not supported except NTFS file system.
11. There is no Boot.ini file in Windows Vista. The Boot.ini file is used for legacy Windows
versions when dual-booting only.
12. You can’t run two or more instances of Windows Installer in Windows XP/2003 Server or
lower version of windows. Because running of two or more instances of Windows Installer in
Windows Installer v3.1 or lower is not supported. This feature is only supported in Windows
Installer v4.0 and later versions e.g. in OS like Windows Vista and later.
13. NetMeeting 3.02 (in Vista) does not support remote desktop sharing. Therefore, the
Remote Desktop Sharing option is not available on the Tools menu in NetMeeting 3.02.
14. The default workgroup name in windows XP Home Edition is “MSHome” and in XP Pro,
Windows Server 2003 and in Windows Vista it is “WORKGROUP”.
15. Windows Vista Starter and Basic Editions do not support control /name
Microsoft.Personalization command.
16. The former name of “Microsoft Dynamics products” is “Microsoft Business Solutions”.
17. The former name of “Windows SteadyState” is “Microsoft Shared Computer Toolkit”.
18. Windows Server 2008 is the last 32-bit OS from Microsoft. All future server OS from
Microsoft will be 64-bit e.g. Windows Server 2008 R2 (only 64-bit release).
19. The Fast Saves feature in Word 2003 no longer functions after you install Office 2003
Service Pack 3. The Allow fast saves check box still exists in the Save options in Word
2003. However, the functionality of the option has been disabled. The Fast Saves feature
speeds up the saving of a document by saving only the changes that are made to the
document. Additionally, documents that are saved when the Fast Saves feature is
enabled may contain content that you may not want to share with other people when you
distribute the document electronically. This information is known as metadata. Metadata is
used for a variety of purposes to improve the editing, the viewing, the filing, and the retrieval
of Office files. Because of the design of the Fast Saves feature, text or comments that
you delete from a document may remain in the document even after you save the document.
Therefore, Microsoft has disabled the functionality of the Fast Saves feature in Office 2003

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© 2004-2010, bcdalai
bcdalai's Free Tech. Support Blog: [http://bcdalai.blogspot.com]

SP3 to increase the security of Word 2003 documents.


20. Office files that are saved in (e.g. .html, .mht, .rtf, .xml) no longer contain the version
number of Office after you install Office 2003 Service Pack 3. This is because this behavior
was changed in Office 2003 SP3 to improve the security of Office 2003 documents.
21. Microsoft Office 2010, codenamed “Office 14” will also be the first version of Office to ship
in both 32-bit and 64-bit versions.
22. Microsoft Office 2010 will not support for Windows XP Professional 64-bit, and Windows
Server 2003.
23. XP Mode is supported on Windows 7 Professional, Enterprise and Ultimate editions only.
24. BitLocker, BitLocker To Go, Boot from VHD disk image and MUI multiple languages (35
languages) support is only available for Windows 7 Ultimate edition.
25. The Windows Package Manager (pkgmgr.exe) is used to install and uninstall Windows
optional features; it replaces sysocmgr.exe, which was available in Windows XP and
Windows Server 2003.
26. The version of Office 2010, “Office Starter 2010” will replace the low-end home productivity
software, “Microsoft Works”.
27. Local Group Policy Editor is only available in Professional (Business), Enterprise and
Ultimate Editions of Windows 7 and Windows Vista. Users of Windows 7 or Windows Vista
Starter, Home Basic and Home Premium will not get Local Group Policy Editor.
28. Windows Service Pack Release Dates:
Windows XP:
Service Pack 1 (SP1): 9th September 2002
Service Pack 1a (SP1a): 3rd February 2003
Service Pack 2 (SP2): 6th August 2004
Service Pack 3 (SP3): 21st April 2008
Windows Server 2003:
Service Pack 1 (SP1): 30th March 2005
Service Pack 2 (SP2): 13th March 2007
Windows Server 2003 (x64) and Windows XP Professional x64 Editions:
Service Pack 2 (SP2): 12th March 2007
Windows Vista:
Service Pack 1 (SP1): 18th March 2008
Service Pack 2 (SP2): 26th May 2009
Windows Server 2008 Editions:
Service Pack 1 (SP1): Included with RTM on 27th Feb 2008
Service Pack 2 (SP2): 26th May 2009
29. Upgrading from the following language versions of Windows XP to the matching
language of Windows Vista is not supported:
a. Windows XP with the following Language Interface Packs installed: Bulgarian,
Croatian, Estonian, Latvian, Lithuanian, Romanian, Serbian-Latin, Slovak, Slovenian,
Thai, or Ukrainian.
b. Windows XP Media Center Edition: Traditional Chinese (Hong Kong), Traditional
Chinese (Taiwan), Czech, Danish, Finnish, Norwegian (Bokmål), Polish, Portuguese
(Portugal), Russian, Spanish, Swedish, or Turkish.
c. Windows XP Tablet PC Edition: Czech, Danish, Dutch, Finnish, Hungarian, Italian,
Norwegian, Polish, Portuguese (Brazil), Portuguese (Portugal), Russian, Spanish,
Swedish, and Turkish.
If you have one of these operating systems, you will need to perform a clean installation of
Windows Vista.
30. The following features are not available in Windows Vista:
a. Active Desktop
b. HyperTerminal
c. Luna Visual Theme
d. MSN Explorer
e. NetMeeting (replaced with “Windows Meeting Space”)

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© 2004-2010, bcdalai
bcdalai's Free Tech. Support Blog: [http://bcdalai.blogspot.com]

f. Telnet.exe is no longer installed by default, but is installable feature through


“Programs and Features”.
g. The network Messenger Service (Winchat.exe).
h. Windows Messenger
i. WinHlp32.exe, used to display 32-bit .hlp files (help pages, replaced by .chm files)

More Useful Stuffs


Major Versions of IIS
Versions OS Platforms Year Released
1 Windows NT 3.51 1996
2 Windows NT 4.0 1996
3 Windows NT 4.0 Service Pack 3 1996
4 Windows NT 4.0 Option Pack 1997
5 Windows 2000 1999
5.1 Windows XP Professional 2001
Windows XP Media Center Edition
6 Windows Server 2003 2003
Windows XP Professional x64 Edition
7 Windows Vista 2006
(Business, Enterprise, Ultimate Editions)
7 Windows Server 2008 2008
7.5 Windows Server 2008 R2 2009
Windows 7

CHANGED NAMES: In Vista, Server 2008 and Windows 7 etc.


Note: Including the features, technologies, components and services. The names are changed and the
functionality of some items has been enhanced and moved or consolidated with other items in a new item.
NEW / CHANGED NAME
FORMER NAME LATER NAME
SL. WINDOWS 2000, XP, SERVER 2003 etc. WINDOWS VISTA (Client OS)
01 Accessibility Options Ease of Access Center
02 Add or Remove Programs Programs and Features
03 Address Book Windows Contacts
04 Automated System Recovery (ASR) Windows Complete PC Restore
05 Computer Browser Network Discovery Protocol (NDP)
06 Documents and Settings Users
07 Error Reporting Windows Error Reporting (WER)
08 Files and Setting Transfer Wizard Windows Easy Transfer (WET)
09 Local Security Settings Security Configuration Management
10 Microsoft Synchronization Tool Sync Center
11 My Computer Computer
12 My Documents Documents
13 My Music Music
14 My Network Places Network Places
15 My Pictures Pictures
16 My Recent Documents Recent Documents
17 My Videos Videos
18 NetMeeting Windows Meeting Space
19 NTBackup (Windows Backup Utility) Backup and Restore Center
20 Outlook Express Windows Mail
21 Performance Monitor Reliability and Performance Monitor
22 Prefetch Superfetch
23 Regional Settings Region and Language
24 Remote Assistance Windows Remote Assistance
25 Remote Installation Services (RIS) Windows Deployment Services (WDS)
26 Run As Run As Administrator
27 Scheduled Tasks Task Scheduler
28 Stored Use Names and Passwords Credential Manager
29 System File Checker (SFC) System Integrity Check and Repair
30 System Restore System Protection
31 Tour Windows XP Getting Started or Welcome Center

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© 2004-2010, bcdalai
bcdalai's Free Tech. Support Blog: [http://bcdalai.blogspot.com]

32 Windows File Protection (WFP) Windows Resource Protection (WRP)


33 Windows Messenger Windows Live Messenger
34 Windows Picture and Fax Viewer Windows Photo Gallery
35 Windows Services for Unix Subsystem for Unix-based Applications
Windows Vista Windows 7
36 Backup and Restore Center Backup and Restore
37 Network Places Networks
38 Pen and Input Devices Pen and Touch
39 Printers Devices And Printers
40 Problem Reports and Solutions Action Center
41 Regional and Language Options Region and Language
42 Welcome Center Getting Started
43 Windows Marketplace Get Programs (Online)
44 Windows Photo Gallery Windows Photo Viewer
45 Windows Security Center Action Center
46 Windows Sidebar Desktop Gadgets
WINDOWS SERVER 2008 (Server OS)
47 Computer Management Server Manager
48 Error Reporting Problem Reports and Solutions
49 NTBackup (Windows Backup Utility) Windows Server Backup
50 Windows Firewall Windows Firewall with Advanced Security
OTHER TECHNOLOGY / FEATURE
51 Data Protection Server System Center Data Protection Manager (DPM)
52 Live Mesh Windows Live Sync
53 Live Search Bing
54 MDAC (Microsoft Data Access Components) Windows DAC
55 Microsoft Business Solutions Microsoft Dynamics products
56 Microsoft Installer Windows Installer
57 Microsoft Internet Explorer (till IE6) Windows Internet Explorer (IE7 onwards)
58 Microsoft Office Groove Microsoft SharePoint Workspace
59 Microsoft Office Outlook Microsoft Outlook
60 Microsoft Operations Manager (MOM) System Center Operations Manager (SCOM)
61 Microsoft Shared Computer Toolkit Windows SteadyState
62 Microsoft Virtual PC Windows Virtual PC
63 MshFX Live Framework
64 MSN Butterfly Windows Live Butterfly
65 MSN Search Windows Live Search / Live Search
66 System File Protection Windows File Protection
67 Systems Management Server (SMS) System Center Configuration Manager
68 Windows Genuine Advantage (WGA) Windows Activation Technology (WAT)
69 Windows Live Folders Windows Live SkyDrive
70 Windows Live FolderShare Windows Live Sync
71 Windows Live OneCare Family Safety Windows Live Family Safety
72 Windows Photo Gallery Windows Live Photo Gallery
73 Windows Scripting Host Windows Script Host
[Note: The word “My” is removed from all commonly used folder names from Windows Vista. Some
features are also renamed.]
Original CD/DVD Volume Labels for Windows OS CD/DVD (Used by Microsoft):
SL. OPERATING SYSTEM / SOFTWARE CD/DVD LABELS
01 Windows 98 SE Win98SE
02 Windows Millennium Windows Me
03 Windows NT4 NTWKS40A
04 Windows 2000 Professional W2PFPP_EN
05 Windows 2000 Server W2SFPP_EN
06 Windows 2000 Advanced Server W2AFPP_EN
07 Windows 2000 Datacenter Server W2DFPP_EN
08 Windows XP Home (Retail) WXHFPP_EN
09 Windows XP Home (Corp) WXHVOL_EN
10 Windows XP Home (OEM) WXHOEM_EN
11 Windows XP Pro (If nothing specified) WXPCCP_EN
12 Windows XP Pro (Retail) WXPFPP_EN
13 Windows XP Pro (Corp) WXPVOL_EN

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© 2004-2010, bcdalai
bcdalai's Free Tech. Support Blog: [http://bcdalai.blogspot.com]

14 Windows XP Pro (OEM) WXPOEM_EN


15 Windows XP Media Center Edition MRMPFPP_EN
16 Windows XP Tablet PC (Corp) VRMPVOL_EN
17 Windows Server 2003 (Corp) (VLK) ARMEVOL_EN
18 Windows Server 2003 (Standard) NRMSFPP_EN
19 Windows Server 2003 (Web) NRMWFPP_EN
20 Windows Server 2003 (Enterprise) NRMEFPP_EN
21 Windows Vista Home Premium VISTA_32_PREMIUM
22 Windows Vista Enterprise (RTM) (DVD) LRMEVOL_EN_DVD
23 Windows Vista Ultimate (RTM) (DVD) LRMCFRE_EN_DVD
24 Windows Vista x64 Editions N/A
25 Windows XP Professional x64 ARMPXVOL_EN
26 Windows Server 2003 R2 N/A
26 Windows Server 2003 x64 N/A
28 Windows Home Server N/A
29 Windows Server 2008 (RTM) (DVD) KRMSVOL_EN_DVD
30 Windows 7 (RTM) (DVD) GRMCULFRER_EN_DVD
31 Windows Server 2008 R2 (RTM) (DVD) GRMSXVOL_EN_DVD
[Note: “N/A” means “Not Available” for now. If you know tell me.]

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© 2004-2010, bcdalai

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