As the beta cycle for 2008 is winding down, Microsoft will be having a few webcasts that talk about the new features built into Windows 2008 Terminal Services.

I have put together a list. If you can’t make the live webcast, Microsoft will be archiving them:

TechNet Webcast: The Significance of the Windows Server 2008 Terminal Services Release to Market
Thursday, November 8, 2007
8:00 A.M.–9:30 A.M. Pacific Time

TechNet Webcast: Windows Server 2008 Terminal Services Session Broker
Tuesday, November 13, 2007
1:00 P.M.–2:30 P.M. Pacific Time

TechNet Webcast: Deploying Remote Programs with Windows Server 2008 Terminal Services
Wednesday, November 14, 2007
8:00 A.M.–9:30 A.M. Pacific Time

TechNet Webcast: Remote Desktop Protocol as a Presentation Remoting Platform
Wednesday, November 14, 2007
1:00 P.M.–2:30 P.M. Pacific Time

TechNet Webcast: Terminal Services Easy Print
Tuesday, November 27, 2007
11:30 A.M.–1:00 P.M. Pacific Time

In our previous article about Windows Update we have shown you how to update your system and how to configure the automatic updates of your system. In this short tutorial we will show you how to uninstall updates installed via Windows Update.
To uninstall any Windows update you need to go to Programs and Features. There are several ways to find it. One of the simplest is to use the search box from the Start Menu.
In the Programs and Features window, click on the View installed updates link.
After a few seconds, Windows Vista will load the list of installed updates. Scroll down until you find the update you want to remove, select it with the mouse and then click on Uninstall.
Windows Vista will ask you to confirm that you want to uninstall the update you selected. Click on Yes and the uninstall procedure will start.
Depending on the size of the update, the uninstall procedure can take from a few seconds up to several minutes.
Wait until the above window disappears and then, if needed, reboot your PC. The update is now removed.

One of the small but annoying things in Windows Vista is the fact that the System Beep is enabled by default. Every time you encounter an error or you click through the menus of applications such as the AVG antivirus, you will hear a beep. In the beginning you might ignore it but after a while it becomes very annoying.

For those of you who want to get rid of the beep, in this tutorial we will show how to disable it.

First, go to your desktop and right click on the My Computer icon. From the drop-down menu select Manage.

In the Computer Management window go to System Tools -> Device Manager. If UAC is turned on, you will need to make some additional confirmations in order to access the list of devices.
Now you will need to go to the View menu and select Show hidden devices.
If you return to the Device Manager you will see a category of devices called Non-Plug and Play Drivers. Expand that list and select the Beep, as shown in the screenshot below.
Right click on the Beep and select Properties.
In the Beep Properties window go to the Driver tab. From the Startup scroll down list, select Disabled and press OK.
In the Beep Properties window go to the Driver tab. From the Startup scroll down list, select Disabled and press OK.

Speed:

Mr. Tobias Schonherr pointed out an error in my assembly of this new computer. Thank you Mr. Schonherr! I had misinterpreted the Intel manual on the DP35DP motherboard, and unwittingly installed the two memory modules in single-channel mode rather than dual-channel mode.

As I understand it, dual-channel mode enables the CPUs to make two requests on memory at one time, increasing overall memory throughput. See below. First the memory modules before and after, then the resulting Windows Experience Index before and after. The computer recognized 4 Gb of memory in each case, but you will notice that the memory sub-index jumped from 5.6 to 5.9, now as high as any other element of the system and higher than the dual-processor CPU.

Before	After

Heat:

Modern computers contain a host of self-monitoring devices, temperature monitors in particular. I installed the Intel Desktop Utilities, which takes advantage of those devices to provide readouts and to raise an alarm if some device goes outside its limit.

A few days back I returned to my computer to find an alarm on the screen. The CPU had exceeded its temperature limit of 68 degrees C for several minutes, going as high as 69 C (156 F). I downloaded a system-exerciser program called HeavyLoad and ran the CPU test, which is a repetitive graphics application, and the CPU temperature jumped right up to 70 C, CPU fan becoming very audible. Oops - problem.

I wondered if the thermal transfer between the CPU and its heatsink was OK. I had removed the heatsink once to re-check that the CPU was correctly loaded in its socket, thus disturbing the termal transfer compound. Also I had never felt good about the seating of the clips that hold the heatsink to the motherboard.

So I removed the heatsink once again, removed the old thermal transfer compound, and applied Arctic Silver compound in its place, evening it out with a credit card. Replacing the heatsink atop the CPU cover, I tried very carefully this time to apply equal pressure on all of the mounting clips, hearing a satisfying little click at each corner, an assurance that the heatsink is held down squarely. I also disconnected the internal case fan from motherboard control and connected it to full voltage so that it will always run full speed. It’s noiseless anyway.

Good results! The following measurements were made with HeavyLoad executing its graphic application (about 60% CPU utilization), and the hole pattern in the back of the case blocked, thus forcing air to come all the way through from the front). In each case, temperatures were allowed to settle for at least a quarter of an hour. The CPU fan is automatically controlled from the motherboard:

I wish it were cooler still, but the CPU is now well within specifications. Further, the speed of the rear exhaust fan doesn’t seem to make much difference in the temperatures, though it makes a lot of difference in noise. So I’m leaving the fan on low until there is a problem.

Noise:

I admit that my hearing isn’t what it once was, but this system is so quiet that I can’t always be sure I’m hearing it. A very low rumble from the disk drives is about all there is, and only when they are busy. But when the forced-air-furnace comes on I just can’t hear it at all. I LOVE that! Now about that furnace …

• Colasoft Capsa Now Supports Windows Vista x64 Edition
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Depending on your combination of processor and motherboard, you may also be able to change the actual internal frequency multiplier of the CPU itself, which multiplies the FSB speed to arrive at the actual speed of the CPU in GHz or MHz.

For example: an Athlon XP 3000+ ‘Barton’ processor has a multiplier of 13 and uses a FSB speed of 166Mhz. 166Mhz x 13 equals approximately 2.16Ghz. Change the multiplier to 13.5 and you get (166MHz x 13.5 =) 2.24 Ghz.

Although a small change to the multiplier has a larger proportional effect on your systems speed than increasing the front side bus a considerable amount, the actual performance advantage of increasing the CPU multiplier is not so simple. (more…)

benchmarks, cpu multiplier, ddr memory, frequency multiplier, fsb options, fsb speed, Hardware, higher frequency, internal frequency, overclock, overclocking, performance advantage, quality memory, voltage control, Windows, xp