Maximum PC hotfix RSS Feed

AMD Rolls Out Another Catalyst 10.1 Hotfix

Paul Lilly — Mon, 08 Feb 2010 11:30:48 -0600

AMD over the weekend released a new Catalyst 10.1 hotfix intended to alleviate the "gray screen and vertical line corruptions that may randomly appear during normal usage when using an ATI Radeon HD 5800 series graphics card."

In the last couple of weeks, some users have flocked to AMD's user forums to complain about gray screens, crashes, hangups, and other quirks associated with their swank new 5800 series videocards, although a few users also mentioned AMD's HD 4xxx series.

When we first reported the problem, ATI got in touch with us and said it was aware of the issue, noting that "initial tests indicate that a driver hotfix resolves" the problem and that it would be made available shortly.

You can download the hotfix, which is available for Windows 7, Vista, XP, and XP Media Center, right here.

ATI Releases Driver Hotfix to Improve Performance in Far Cry 2 and Stalker Clear Sky

Paul Lilly — Wed, 29 Oct 2008 14:15:17 -0500

ATI recently updated its Catalyst driver package, and now the company has released a hotfix to address problems gamers might have been having in Far Cry 2, Stalker Clear Sky, and Brothers in Arms: Hell's Highway. Specific fixes include:

Performance boost in Far Cry 2 with DX9 and CrossFire
Performance boost in Far Cry 2 with DX10 on both single-card and CrossFire setups
Performance boost in Stalker Clear Sky with DX10 and DX10.1 on both single-card and CrossFire setups when running "higher resolutions"
Addresses a corrpution issue in Brothers in Arms: Hell's Highway on the 'Black Friday' level

The hotfix applies to both 32-bit and 64-bit versions of Vista and XP starting with ATI's Radeon X1600 series and moving on up to the Radeon HD 4800 graphics cards.

Image Credit: Ubisoft

Survival Rates for Unpatched Systems Shrinking - Here's How to Fight Back

Mark Edward Soper — Thu, 17 Jul 2008 19:29:26 -0500

In a recent Handler's Diary entry on the SANS Internet Storm Center website, Lorna Hutchison points out that the survival time for unpatched systems is currently around 4 minutes. In other words, if you connect an unpatched system to the Internet without a router or firewall, it will probably be infected in about 4 minutes.

Why are unpatched systems connected to the Internet? Ms. Hutchinson blames the pressure of wanting to get a new system online right away, versus waiting until it's been patched. Whether you work in a large enterprise, small business, or are the network guru to your own home's PCs, the pressure to connect it right now can be overwhelming.

Here's How to Fight Back

If you want to get working with a PC right away without turning it into a bulls-eye, here's what you can do.

1. Even if you have only one PC, consider installing a router between your cable or DSL modem and your PC. The network address translation (NAT) feature in any router will provide some security against threat probes.

2. Before opening the new PC, have updated anti-virus, anti-spyware, and firewall software ready to install. If you prefer downloadable versions to packaged versions, copy the installers to a CD, DVD, or flash drive so you can install them as soon as the PC is out of the box.

3. If you are reusing an older version of Windows XP (pre-SP3) or Windows Vista (pre-SP1), follow the instructions on our site for making a slipstream version that contains the newest service pack and updates, and install the slipstreamed version. By doing so, your PC will be close to current from day one.

4. Each month, a few days after Patch Tuesday, Microsoft provides an ISO CD or DVD image of the current month's security releases for Windows. If you are responsible for patching different editions of Windows, or editions in different languages, downloading this and burning it to a disc might be easier than rounding up individual security releases. The July 2008 image, for example, is available here (2).

5. Follow the configuration settings recommended in the SANS white paper Windows Vista: First Steps; similar steps can be performed with Windows XP.

Basically, you should try to have any new system as close to 100% current before you connect it to the Internet. As Ms. Hutcheson points out, the usual result of putting an unhardened system on the Internet is this: "more time was spent playing clean up from it than if it was just done right the first time."

How Do You Cope With Threats to New Systems?

Do you have some additional tips and tricks for getting new (or reloaded) systems back on the Internet without getting them germed up with spyware and trojans? Tell us about them in the comments section.

Graph courtesy Sans.org.

Update Teaches Vista to Spell "Friendster" and "Obama"

Mark Edward Soper — Wed, 09 Jul 2008 15:02:23 -0500

Tired of Windows Vista telling you you can't spell? Update KB955020 adds "Friendster," "Nazr," "Obama," "Klum," and "Racicot" to the system's spell-checker (the update also works for Windows Server 2008).

If you run automatic updates or have checked Windows Update manually today, you probably have this update already. But if not, or if you're terminally curious about exactly what gets changed in your system, go to the KB article for more information and links to updated files.

June 2008 Patch Tuesday Preview

Mark Soper — Fri, 06 Jun 2008 13:52:49 -0500

A Trio of Critical Updates for Bluetooth, IE, and DirectX Users

Critical updates typically refer to the potential for remote code execution exploits (aka "bad guys take over your PC"), and June's trio of critical updates are no exception.

- If you use Bluetooth devices on Windows XP SP2 or SP3, Vista and Vista SP1, or 64-bit versions of Windows XP or Vista, you're number one on the critical update list.
- What's at Number Two2? Anyone running Internet Explorer 5.01 SP4, IE6, or IE7 on Windows 2000 SP4 up through Windows Vista and Windows Server 2003 and 2008.
- Number Three affects DirectX 7.0, 8.1, 9.0 and above, so Windows 2000 SP4, XP, and Vista are affected, as well as Windows Server 2003 and some Windows Server 2008 installations.

Important Updates

Of the three updates listed as "Important" for June, the first one affects servers running the Windows Internet Naming Service (WINS), not desktops. However, the other updates (for Active Directory services and for the Pragmatic General Multicast [PGM] protocol for network multicasting), do affect Windows XP SP2/SP3 and Vista/SP1 systems as well as Windows 2000 Server, Windows Server 2003 and 2008-based systems. All three target elevation of privilege vulnerabilities.

Kill Bit (not Bill)

The final security update for June fixes a remote code execution vulnerability in Kill Bit for all desktop versions of Windows from 2000 SP4 through Vista SP1 as well as for Windows Server 2003 and 2008.

These updates will be available starting June 10th via Windows Update or manually: the June 2008 Security Bulletin page will have the links you need.

...And the Rest

June 2008's Patch Tuesday will also include the following updates, including:

- The monthly update for the Malicious Software Removal Tool (KB890830)
- An update for Vista that updates the Windows Customer Experience Improvement Program (KB939165 and KB931174)
- The monthly update for the Windows Mail Junk email filter for Vista (KB905866)
- Cumulative update for Windows Vista Media Center (KB950126)
- Update to fix restart loop on Windows XP SP3 systems running AMD or other non-Intel processors (KB953356)*

*AMD laptop users with Windows XP, this is the fix you've been waiting for.

Note that the KB articles referenced above will not be available until the updates are available via Windows Update or manually at the Microsoft Download Center. To search for these or other KB articles, visit the Microsoft Help and Support Center.

February's Patch Tuesday Is the Giant Economy Size Model

Mark 'Marcus_Soperus' Soper — Mon, 11 Feb 2008 19:47:18 -0600

February's Patch Tuesday is tomorrow, and, in what's become a pattern over the last few months, a quiet month (two patches in January) is being followed by a busy month, as there are 12 security updates to apply to affected systems.

Not Just Windows, This Time

This month, there are several important pieces of the Microsoft ecosystem other than Windows that get updated

Important Fixes For Corporate Propellorheads and the PCs They Love

Bulletin 1 fixes denial of service (DoS) attacks against Windows 2000 SP4 through Windows Server 2003 SP2 (but not Vista) when using Active Directory on Microsoft Windows (ADAM). Bulletin 3 addresses an elevation of privilege issue with most systems running Internet Information Services (IIS) version 5.x through 7.0 (only versions of Windows XP that use IIS version 6 are immune), while bulletin 4 deals with IIS versions 5.1 and 6.0 against a remote code execution exploit. IIS is an optional component in Windows 2000, Windows XP, Windows Server 2003, and Windows Vista.

Critical Fixes That Hit Close to Home

The majority (7 out of 12) of the vulnerabilities Patch Tuesday addresses this month are rated critical on most Windows versions, and they all revolve remote code execution. Bulletin 5 addresses these vulnerabilities in Windows XP SP2, Windows Server 2003, and Vista, while Bulletin 6 includes Windows 2000 SP4 as well as the others (as well as addressing a vulnerability in MS Office 2004 for MacOS and Visual Basic 6.0 SP6). VBScript 5.6, which is used by all Windows versions from 2000 up (except Vista) is the subject of Bulletin 7. Bulletin 8 deals with Internet Explorer 6 and 7 for all Windows versions from 2000 to Vista.

Fixes Galore for Legacy Office versions

Microsoft knows that lots of us (including me) are still running versions of MS Office prior to 2007, and almost all of the remaining fixes (at varying levels of importance) are aimed at various security flaws in several Microsoft Office components. Bulletin 9 is aimed at various implementations of Microsoft Works 6 file converter in Office 2003 SP2 and SP3, MS Works 8, and MS Works Suite 2005. Bulletin 10 deals with vulnerabilities in Microsoft Office Publisher 2000, 2002, and 2003. Meanwhile, Bulletin 11 covers flaws in Office 2000 SP3, Office XP SP3, and Office 2003 SP2, and Bulletin 12 addresses vulnerabilities in MS Word 2000 SP3, Word 2002 SP3, Word 2003 SP2, and MS Office 2004 for MacOS.

Last But Not Least, Another Vista Update

Bulletin 2 addresses DoS vulnerabilities in Windows Vista.

So, tune in on Tuesday to the February Microsoft Security Bulletin summary for links to all the fixes - or, if you're the patient type, wait until Windows Update or Microsoft Update delivers them over the next few days.

Canon Rolls Out Another Reason to Use Big SDHC Cards...XP Fans, Are You Ready?

Mark Soper — Fri, 25 Jan 2008 17:22:46 -0600

New Digital Rebel XSi Leaves CF Behind

Canon has announced that a new Digital Rebel, the XSi, will be hitting stores in April. It features a 3-inch LCD with LiveView (my favorite "steal this feature" ever since Olympus 'stole' the idea from point-and-shoot cameras for its E-330 DSLR in 2006). The XSi is also bundled with another hot feature, an image-stabilized 18-55mm zoom. It also bumps up the resolution to 12.2MP with an improved sensor that features better low-light performance and improved color rendition, swipes face detection technology from point-and-shoot cameras for better shots under backlit conditions, and uses the latest DIGIC III image processor. Oh, and before I forget - the XSi also joins the race to SDHC, the 4GB and larger sibling of the popular SD flash media.

8GB and Larger SDHC Cards Are "Too Much of a Good Thing" for XP Users

Cameras like the Rebel XSi and an increasing number of other DSLRs and high-end point-and-shoot cameras that use SDHC media provide plenty of reasons to move to 8GB and larger cards. Here's why:

You need large cards if you want to shoot in RAW mode, which provides for better-quality images, or RAW+JPEG, which gives you both image types at the same time. RAW files are much bigger than JPEG, and if you shoot RAW+JPEG so you have a JPEG for immediate enjoyment and RAW for maximum image quality, you'll be blowing through your memory card's capacity in a hurry!

Windows XP + Big SDHC Cards = Problem!

The problem is that Windows XP isn't designed to work with SDHC cards larger than 4GB! For example, if you plug in an SDHC card with more than 8GB capacity, Windows XP may think you need to format it. Why? Some devices designed to use large SDHC cards might use the FAT32x file system. FAT32x supports drives larger than 32GB. If you reformat the card using Windows XP, XP uses plain FAT32 instead. After you format the card, Windows XP can read the card's contents, but there's nothing to read. All those wonderful digital photos, music downloads, etc. - gone! Good thing there's a solution, eh?

KB934428 = Solution!

Install the hotfix described in KB article 934428 to fix this problem. Follow the link in the article to request a link to the hotfix by email. Once you install the hotfix, XP will be ready to handle 8GB and larger SDHC cards from any digital camera or other storage device. Bring 'em on!

Make Vista Liveable

Christopher Null — Mon, 07 Jan 2008 16:39:55 -0600

We’re a year into Vista’s reign of terror, and by now most average users have resigned themselves to the fact that they’re stuck with Microsoft’s bloated, pokey, buggy OS. People simply feel powerless to fight the software juggernaut and PC vendors that happily play along by preloading Vista on everything that goes out the door.

Well, you’re better than that—you don’t have to take this nonsense lying down. Vista may never run as smoothly as good ol’ XP, but we’ve compiled an extensive collection of tips that will help you improve the OS considerably. We’ll show you how to enhance performance, ease frustrations, and turn Vista’s eye candy into something that at least does you some good.

No, Vista still won’t be perfect when you’re done, so we’ve got a special treat in store for you if, after you’ve finished reading our tips, you still aren’t satisfied. Flip to page 48 and you’ll find complete instructions for downgrading to XP or setting up a dual-boot machine with both XP and Vista. See? Happy days are here again!

Throttle User Account Control

Spare yourself the headache of endless pop-ups.

You won’t get far in Vista before you start losing hair thanks to UAC, Vista’s overbearing security pop-up system. If you’re an even remotely sophisticated user, turning off UAC should be job one. It’s easy to do: Visit the User Accounts control panel and click “Turn User Account Control on or off,” then uncheck the box on the following screen. If you just want a little more control over UAC (without turning it off altogether), download TweakUAC (www.tweak-uac.com), which suppresses UAC messages whenever you’re logged in as an administrator.

End warning pop-ups with a single click.

Run Vista Command Line as Admin

Don’t let the OS limit command-line rights.

Typing cmd in the Start menu’s search box will bring up the familiar command-line window, but depending on your machine’s configuration, you might be stuck in a restricted mode even if you’re logged in as an administrator. To launch an unrestricted Admin command line, type cmd at Start, then press Ctrl-Shift-Enter. You can also do this by right-clicking the CMD.exe result in the search box and selecting Run as Administrator in the drop-down menu. You’ll notice you’re in Admin mode by the Administrator prefix in the window’s title bar. Now you can move and copy files and folders from the command line and run system tools such as msconfig; by default these privileges are locked out.

Two extra button clicks let you run the command line unrestricted

Refine the Registry with TweakVI

Give your PC a modest speed boost.

Look, we know you’ve been promised repeatedly that if you just tweak this one registry entry, your computer will never crash and it’ll run three times faster. And then you did it and nothing happened, right?

TweakVI, a downloadable application designed to fine-tune Windows registry settings, won’t turn a Celeron into a Core 2 Quad, but in our tests it did modestly improve general benchmark performance, in the range of 5 to 10 percent. Download and install the free version of the app from http://tinyurl.com/24yz6q. When you run it, you’ll want to focus your energy on the System Information and Tweaks section, then the CPU Tweaks... subsection under that.

Don’t expect miracles, but try running your usual benchmarks before and after installing TweakVI—you might be surprised. That said, a $50 yearly subscription to unlock all of TweakVI’s features is pretty much out of line; the free version should provide most everything you need.

Additional TweakVI fixes let you optimize IE, Firefox, and even font smoothing.

Next: Fix Vista Networking, Essential Hotfixes, and more!

Fix Vista Networking

Get PCs talking seamlessly

In the name of security, Vista wholly revamps the way networking operates. The Network and Sharing Center (part of the Control Panel) can be daunting and confusing when you want to share files on your local network. Here’s the easy way to get the job done.

First, make sure you use the same workgroup name on all PCs. In Vista, this setting is in the System control panel. Click Change Settings on the main page to join another workgroup.

Second, you’ll have a far easier time if you use the same username and password on all PCs you want to network. In Vista, you set up users in the User Accounts control panel. Administrator rights make this considerably easier, though it’s officially discouraged.

Now you’re ready to set preferences in the Network and Sharing Center control panel. Here’s how it should look:

• Network discovery: On This makes your PC visible on the network.

• File sharing: On The equivalent of installing File and Printer Sharing on XP. You need it to do anything.

• Public folder sharing: Up to you The Public folder is a special folder Vista creates in which you can put data you know you want to share across the network with multiple users. You might store your pictures, videos, and music here, for example. It’s just like any other folder, except it can be simply managed and shared with one click here. Turn it on (either read only or read/write) and you’ll see the Public folder in the Computer view directly under the Desktop folder.

• Printer sharing: Up to you Only if you want to print across the network.

• Password protected sharing: On This is the setting that lets users with a valid login on the Vista PC reach shared folders on that computer. Turn password-protected sharing off and users can do just about anything. Leave it on for better security.

• Media sharing: On This is largely useless, unless you stream music to your Xbox or another UPnP device, but leave it on, why not?

Your last step is to select and share folders. This process is much like it is in XP. Just right-click any folder and select Share. If you followed the above instructions, you can accept the defaults at the following menu: “Share to your username only and with owner rights assigned.” Click Share again to seal the deal!

When finished configuring the Network and Sharing Center, your interface should look about like this.

Add Tabs to Explorer

Browse multiple folders in a single window

Your web browser has tabbed browsing, so why not your file browser, too? Add tabbed browsing to Explorer with the free QT TabBar (http://tinyurl.com/2r9yj8). Download, extract, and install (right-click to run as administrator), log off and on again, then hop into Explorer. Right-click the menu bar and add both QT TabBar and QT Tab Standard Buttons to the display. Tabs work much like they do in Firefox, with some new tricks available: Dragging a file from one window to another tab in order to move it to another folder is an especially nifty convenience.

Tabbed file browsing puts an end to cascading Explorer windows.

Essential Hotfixes

Make Vista crash and burn less often

Don’t just twiddle your thumbs waiting for Service Pack 1 to arrive. Take matters into your own hands: One or more of these fixes may solve problems you’ve been having with Vista. None of the fixes has been publicly announced or delivered via Windows Update, so you’ll have to install them manually.

• http://support.microsoft.com/kb/929451: A Vista machine may register old IP addresses if certain changes are made to the networking setup.
• http://support.microsoft.com/kb/931671: Errors may occur when trying to put your PC to sleep with a live PPP connection.
• http://support.microsoft.com/kb/932649: Poor video quality in interlaced mode.
• http://support.microsoft.com/kb/940646: Slow performance with 3G WWAN connections.
• http://support.microsoft.com/kb/941542: Connecting to a network printer may fail.

As well, all users will benefit from a couple of general Vista performance and reliability hotfixes that have been pushed out through Windows Update (as recommended updates) and can provide dramatic improvements on some PCs. Check in the Installed Updates section in the Programs and Features control panel to make sure they are installed (look for the KB numbers in the URL). If they aren’t already installed, install them manually.

• http://support.microsoft.com/kb/938194
• http://support.microsoft.com/kb/938979

You can also find additional early fixes, including a prototype of Vista SP1, at www.thehotfix.net.

Upgrade the Sidebar

Turn Vista's eye candy into a useful tool

A selection of intelligent upgrades turns the Sidebar from eye candy into brain candy.

Sure, you thrill at the sight of the weather report and that analog clock, but how about putting some genuinely useful apps into the Vista Sidebar? Here are a few power-user favorites:

App Launcher: It’s just like the Quick Launch toolbar, but considerably more manageable.

ClipboardManager: Gives you quick and easy access to current and recent clipboard contents.

Memory Meter: A simple look at how full the ol’ DIMMs are and how well your CPU cores are clocking along.

Mini Outlook Inbox: Outlook junkies can keep tabs on their inboxes without clogging up the screen.

Network Utilization: Keep an eye on your bandwidth with this simple graphical display.

Next: Delay Vista Activation, Maximize Nvidia Performance, and more!

Delay Vista Activation for a Year

That's 25 fewer characters that you have to type

When you install Vista, you don’t actually need to input a license key. Vista will give you 30 days before requiring the key before throttling down to Restricted mode. But you can extend that eight times with this simple fix, allowing you to make major hardware upgrades without having to reactivate the OS.

This simple registry hack will give you a year of no-license-key operation.

To reset the timer to 30 days, open a command-line window in Administrative mode (see tip on page 40), then type slmgr -rearm. This starts the 30-day countdown anew, no matter how much time is left on your first countdown. You can do this three times (for 120 days total) before it won’t work any more.

You can give yourself another 240 days by making one registry tweak. Type regedit in the Start menu search box and press Enter; then navigate to HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SOFTWARE\Microsoft\Windows NT\SL. In the right pane, right-click SkipRearm and click Modify. Change the 0 to a 1. You should now be able to do the rearm trick above eight more times.
Note: We make no promises that Microsoft won’t patch this behavior before day 360 rolls around.

Fix Nvidia-Specific Performance

Upgrade your GeForce gaming

Running an Nvidia GeForce 6, 7, or 8 series videocard? If you’re seeing abnormally low frame rates or system crashing while gaming (especially noticeable in Battlefield 2142, Half-Life 2, and Rainbow Six Vegas, among other titles), a patch can help considerably. Grab it here: http://support.microsoft.com/kb/940105. A similar fix is available for Vista users running SLI rigs at http://support.microsoft.com/kb/936710. This hotfix improves (or enables) the use of a secondary graphics card under DirectX 10.

Gaming under Vista might choke with late-model GeForce cards, but a quick download can fix you right up.

Keep Tabs on Vista Via Email

Get instant alerts when something’s amiss

Rather than manually checking the boring old Event Viewer, how about getting Vista to email you when something’s gone wrong? To set up email logging, open the Event Viewer (it’s in the Administrative Tools control panel), open a log, and find an event for which you want to be notified. In the pane on the right, click “Attach Task to This Event...” and walk through the wizard, specifying the server from which email should be sent and the address it should go to. (Be careful with this, you might end up spamming yourself.)

The security log is likely the most useful source for logging via email.

Boost SATA Drive Performance

Enable SATA’s latest high-test features

Risk-takers can get a little hard drive performance boost by turning on two options in Vista that are disabled by default. In Device Manager, find your hard drive (under Disk Drives), right-click it, click Properties, then click the Policies tab. Select “Optimize for performance” and check both “Enable write caching on the disk” and “Enable advanced performance.” Be warned: With the latter two options turned on, you may risk losing data if you lose power or have a catastrophic crash, so make sure you use a universal power supply and run regular backups. The specific performance boost depends on the make and model of your drive; don’t expect the moon.

Vista doesn’t automatically take advantage of some of SATA’s performance features.

Kick Vista Defrag to the Curb

Upgrade your defragger to something less useless

Vista’s disk defragmenter is a giant leap backwards. Run a defrag manually and what you get isn’t the helpful, animated progress window you know from XP, but rather that evil, spinning, blue wheel and the notice “Defragmenting hard disks... This may take from a few minutes to a few hours.” Wow, informative!

Reclaim the visual look at your hard drive's fragmentation with Diskeeper.

To get a better defrag system, you’ll have to install third-party software. Without a doubt, the best is Diskeeper 2008 Pro Premier ($100, www.diskeeper.com), which offers an exhaustive collection of defragging options, including file sequencing based on usage patterns, boot-time defragging, and barely noticeable background operation. The $50 Pro (non-Premier) edition is exactly the same, sans the file-sequencing feature.

Next: Fed Up? Downgrade to WinXP

Downgrade to WinXP

Head back to what actually works

You saw this one coming. After all that work, you may very well find that Vista still isn’t your cup of tea and you’d like to go back to Windows XP. We don’t blame you; we pretty much feel the same way.
If push comes to shove, here’s how to return to XP.

1. Sadly, you can’t just pop in an XP disc while you’re running Vista and hit Install. Your first step is to determine whether you want to dual boot Vista or simply wipe out Vista and replace it with XP. If you’re going to dual boot, use the DiskPart tool on the Vista installation disc (details here) to create a second partition, or use a third-party tool such as GParted (http://gparted.sourceforge.net/) to do the same thing. If you’re wiping out Vista, you can use the same tools to erase the Vista partition and start with a clean slate or just reformat while booting and installing from the XP setup disc.

2. If you’re using a bleeding-edge PC, XP will likely choke when it comes time to start copying files, as it won’t be able to see your hard drive. Why? XP can’t handle AHCI mode on SATA drives, which most newer PCs have enabled. In your PC’s BIOS, turn off AHCI mode (which should turn on ATA emulation) to make your installation easier. Or just load the drivers via floppy F6 drivers at boot. Alternately, you can slipstream AHCI drivers into a Windows XP installation disc, but this is a huge hassle.

3. With a blank partition ready and AHCI turned off, boot from an XP setup disc, preferably one with Service Pack 2 preloaded on it. Install the operating system normally. (If dual booting, Vista will remain on the C: drive; XP will show up on E: or another drive letter. The two OSes will be able to see each other, so be cautious when selecting the proper drive when installing apps.)

4. If you plan to dual boot, you’ll need to repair the Master Boot Record, as XP overwrites the Vista-created MBR, which prevents Vista from loading. To fix it, boot from a Vista DVD and select “Repair your computer” on the Install Now screen. Select Startup Repair to finish the job.

5. Last step: Set up dual booting. Any boot manager will do the job, or try the free (and Vista-friendly) EasyBCD. Boot into Vista (you won’t have a choice), install and run EasyBCD, then click Add/Remove Entries. Change the drive letter to E: (or whatever drive letter you set up in Step 3), and then change Type to Windows NT/2k/XP/2k3. Click Add Entry, then Save. Reboot and the bootloader will now automatically appear.

Your final step in setting up a dual-booting Vista/XP machine with EasyBCD should look like this.