List of Windows client OS versions and their Windows Server equivalents

Here’s a list of Windows versions and their Server equivalent:

Windows client version	Windows Server version
Windows XP	Windows Server 2003
Windows Vista	Server 2008
Windows 7	Server 2008 R2
Windows 8	Server 2012
Windows 8.1	Server 2012 R2

--Neno

Windows Update Cleanup

Just recently I discovered an option in the Disk Cleanup feature of Windows 8 and Windows Server 2012 to clean up Windows updates.

In all cases I tried Windows Update cleanup freed up more than 2 GB.

However, be advised that the cleanup can take quite a while.

--Neno

How to fix: IE keeps asking for credentials

On a computer, where you have all necessary permissions, IE presents you the credentials prompt every time you try to open a site on that machine.

You have probably already tried one of the following:

• Turned off User Account Control (UAC)
• Turned off Internet Explorer Enhanced Security Configuration (IE ESC)
• Added the URL to Trusted Sites in Internet Options

Try this:

1. In IE, open Internet Options, Security tab, click on Sites.
2. Unselect “Automatically detect intranet network” and check all checkboxes (so that it matches the following screenshot):

3D Pinball Space Cadet works on Windows 8

In case you wondered, 3D Pinball for Windows, aka Space Cadet, (which was introduced in Microsoft Plus 95 and part of Windows NT 4 by default) works great on Windows 8.

Link: More info & how to get it

Syncing any folder with SkyDrive

The issue:

The SkyDrive desktop app for Windows only allows synchronizing a single directory (by default C:\Users\<Username>\SkyDrive) between your hard drive and the cloud.

The workaround:

Using NTFS junction points you can “create a symbolic link to a directory which then functions as an alias of that directory”.

The command to execute in the SkyDrive folder is:

mklink /J <name-of-alias> <path-to-existing-folder>

(e.g. mklink /J Photos D:\Skype\Photos)

More information can be found in these articles:

• Sync any folder to SkyDrive
• Sync any folder to Dropbox, Skydrive or Google Drive using Junction

Warning: Unfortunately, if you create junction points in the SkyDrive folder itself, SkyDrive will not correctly monitor for changes (see here). As a workaround you could move the original folders into the SkyDrive folder, and create junctions at the old locations to point at the same data. This way SkyDrive monitors the folders as expected.

Updates to this blog post:

• Updated (March 4th, 2013): Added warning regarding SkyDrives monitoring (see here).
• Updated (March 15th, 2013): Added workaround to to get the monitoring to work with junctions (an idea found here).

How to fix: Your current security settings do not allow this file to be downloaded (IE)

When trying to download a file in IE you receive the following error message:

“Security Alert: Your current security settings do not allow this file to be downloaded.”

Steps to fix the problem (found here):

1. Start Internet Explorer.
2. Click Tools » Options.
3. Click on the Security tab.
4. Select the Internet Zone.
5. Click on the Custom Level button and then scroll down to Downloads.
6. Make sure to set File download to Enable.
7. Click OK.

Windows reports its missing a required driver or certificate in order to use a smart card

When trying to use a smart card, you receive the error message:

A smart card was detected but is not the one required for the current operation. The smart card you are using may be missing required driver software or a required certificate.

Steps to resolve:

1. Go to the Microsoft Catalog and download the driver required for your smart card (I searched for "Gemalto" and found the Gemalto Minidriver for .NET, which worked for me).
2. Unzip the downloaded file.
3. Right-click the .INF file and click “Install”.
4. Done. You can use your smart card now. :-)

More information (thanks to Ben and Daniel for those articles):

• Smartcard Needing Drivers In Order To Be Smart
• Connecting a Smart Card to a Windows 7 virtual machine

Windows 8 setup: black screen during install after restart

If you are stuck at a black screen (blinking cursor) after the first restart, this can have several reasons.

How to solve it

In case you are installing from a USB stick, use the DVD instead.
Source: answer on this forum post

Other possible reasons:

• Verify UEFI settings in system BIOS

Windows 7 Backup fails after a few seconds

If you observe the following behavior:

Windows 7 Backup fails after a few seconds with an “Insufficient Space" message and error code 0x81000033

Error Message:

“Windows Backup skipped backing up system image because one of the critical volumes is not having enough free space. Free up some space by deleting unnecessary files and try again.
Error code: 0x81000033”

Reasons:

The problem is caused by lack of free space in the hidden ‘system reserved’ partition (that Windows created).

How to fix:

Enlarge the hidden ‘system reserved’ partition (e.g. to 350 MB).

Further information:

• For a more detailed description and step-by-step instructions how to resolve this, refer to this article: http://www.pagestart.com/win7br0x8100003301.html

Windows 7 Backup: Cannot backup to network share

When using Windows 7 Backup (also available as part of Windows 8), you receive the following error message when trying to store the backup on a network location:

“The validation information class requested was invalid.”

Workaround (found in this forum post):

In the username field, specify the username as “DEVICE\username”, where DEVICE is the network device where you are trying to store the backups to.

Enjoy!

 

PS: The German version of the error message is: “Die Überprüfungsinformationsklasse war unzulässig.”