Maximum PC update RSS Feed

AVG Update Inadvertently Cripples Windows XP

Paul Lilly — Wed, 12 Nov 2008 09:06:05 -0600

Thanks to a borked update, some PC users running AVG's free antivirus were in for a long and frustrating weekend. The virus definition update, which was released on Saturday, erroneously detected the "user32.dll" file for the Trojan Horse PSW.Banker4.APSA instead of recognizing it as a critical Windows component. Once the scanner went active, users found their AVG software recommending that they delete the quarantined file. Doing so caused systems to either stop booting or enter into a continuous reboot loop. Whoops!

The misinformed update affected both AVG 7.5 and AVG 8.0 installations on Windows XP. Vista users appear to be in the clear, though a spattering of user comments around the web have indicated otherwise. In any event, another update has corrected the error. For those who already deleted the critical system file, AVG is providing step-by-step instructions on how to restore your system back to a working state. Whether or not it restores your faith back in the program is another question altogether.

Hit the jump and let us know what security software you're using.

DirectX Package Gets Minor Update for November, Nothing to Write Home About

Paul Lilly — Tue, 11 Nov 2008 10:02:36 -0600

Microsoft has released its DirectX November 2008 update as part of the company's loosely followed bi-annual update schedule. The last DirectX update was served up in August.

A number of enhancements mostly of interest to developers come packaged in the November DirectX SDK, as well as a Direct3D 11 technical preview with associated components and tools. As far as gamers are concerned, we found little information as to what possible bugs and performance enhancements the new update addresses.

If you're experiencing unexplained wonkiness while gaming and have been unable to troubleshoot the problem, you may want to give the November update a spin. Otherwise, you'll likely receive the update as a pre-packaged install on a new game at some point.

Zune's New Music Suggestion Technology Packs a Punch

Pulkit Chandna — Fri, 12 Sep 2008 08:41:28 -0500

Wired is running a story about music recommendation features in the upcoming Zune 3.0 update, which it believes will put iTunes’ much vaunted Genius functionality in the shade. According to the article, one of the killer features of the Zune 3.0 software will be a music recommendation function called MixView.

A particular artist, album or user will be graphically depicted in the center of the screen and will be surrounded by related icons of those artists, albums or users that have influenced it. The Zune 3.0 software, MixView included, will be available to all window users for free – owning a Zune or Zune Pass subscription not required. More on Zune 3.0 when it comes out on September 16th, 2008.

Windows Home Server Power Pack 1 Hits the Street

Mark Edward Soper — Mon, 21 Jul 2008 22:16:58 -0500

Windows Home Server Power Pack 1, in beta since early June, is now available. It rolls up several previous updates, and also fixes a major data-corruption bug affecting systems with multiple hard disks. You can get it right now from KB944289.

However, there's more than bug fixes in Power Pack 1. To find out more about what's new in Power Pack 1, and to learn how to grab updated documentation, see us after the jump.

YouTube Has Landed on Tivo at Last

Chris Moody — Thu, 17 Jul 2008 11:58:18 -0500

Tivo’s long awaited YouTube player goes live today, it was first announced back in March. This lets Tivo users stream YouTube videos right to their boxes. It is part of the Tivo 9.4 update that is going out to all Tivo’s this month, but you have to have Series 3 or better to get the feature. Series 2 owners are left out in the cold.

Right now you can't log into your YouTube account but there is a minor update coming in 2 months will incorporate that feature. Tivo says in a press release, “Soon, users will also be able to log into their YouTube accounts directly through the TV to access their videos, channels and playlists, making the experience even richer.”

Now, if Tivo would just make it so I could Stream my TV to my laptop over the internet, like on Slingbox, I’d be in heaven!

Windows Vista Compatibility Center Helps Users Determine What Works

Mark Edward Soper — Mon, 14 Jul 2008 16:32:42 -0500

Microsoft has long offered hardware compatibility information for different versions of Windows, including Windows Vista. Remember the Hardware Compatibility List (HCL)? Until now, though, Microsoft has dropped the ball on making software compatibility easy to determine. With a renewed emphasis on marketing and customer satisfaction this summer, Microsoft has now created an easy-to-use one-stop shop for determining which hardware and software products will work with Windows Vista, the Windows Vista Compatibility Center.

For a quick tour of the WVCC, and to learn how you can make it even better, see us after the jump.

New Time Zone Update Helps Windows Knows What Time It Is

Mark Edward Soper — Thu, 10 Jul 2008 15:30:37 -0500

The August 2008 cumulative time zone update for Windows XP, Windows Vista, Server 2003, and Server 2008 is now available at KB951072. New time zone changes include the Arabic, Argentina, Iran, Morocco, Pacific SA, and Pakistan time zones, but it also includes all previous changes.

If it's been a while since you updated your system's time zone information, it's time to bring your PC up to date. For more information and for download links, go to KB951072.

Patch Tuesday Update Breaks ZoneAlarm on Windows XP - Updated!

Mark Edward Soper — Wed, 09 Jul 2008 16:59:03 -0500

Bad news for ZoneAlarm users running Windows XP: the MS08-037 security update for DNS (aka 951748) released Tuesday breaks ZoneAlarm and knocks XP users off the Internet. If you're running recent versions of ZoneAlarm on Windows XP, you should avoid the KB951748 update for now. Grab a list of workarounds (and now, solutions) here.

For what went wrong, and how to fix it if you've already been bitten, catch us after the break.