Windows Generic Host Process Error

Although you must all be still enjoying the Latest built Windows 7 RC but those who are still using XP might find a error Windows Generic Host Process .This error breaks any Internet connection and you cant reconnnect disconnect or logoff.You can only get the Connection working again by restarting and reconnnecting.
I even searched for this problem and found a hotfix on Microsoft website.
http://support.microsoft.com/kb/894391
but it aint working for me and the pc i was troubleshooting that time.
So 2 avoid any chances of re-formatting the system i am adding few more tweaks that you can try and one of them would work for sure.

Solution# 1:'Run' and open 'Regedit' Navigate to: HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE > SYSTEM > CurrentControlSet > Services > Browser > Parameters Find the Key Name: IsDomainMaster and set Data: False Restart Your PC

Solution# 2: Go to 'Run' and open 'cmd' Type 'netsh' in command console then press enter Then type 'winsock' and press enter and then type reset Restart Your PC

Solution# 3: Get the LspFix and follow the steps as directed http://cexx.org/lspfix.htm

Solution# 4: Get the Microsoft Update Patches and apply it. http://support.microsoft.com/kb/894391 http://support.microsoft.com/kb/958644

Solution# 5:Download Generic Host Removal Tool, double click on this file after download, this will change the required Registry Vales to fix Generic Host Error. Your Antivirus Program may detect this removal tool as a potential threat, Ignore the warning in such case. Read more: "[ Fixed ] - Generic Host Process For Win32 Services Encountered A Problem and needs to close – Svchost.exe Error" - http://www.troublefixers.com/fixed-generic-host-process-for-win32-services-encountered-a-problem-and-needs-to-close-svchostexe-error/#ixzz0FmV9UoQm&A

Find Windows 7 Keys for all Versions

So you missed your activation CD Key for windows 7 and still clueless about that.
You can find it easily without registering for the Windows 7 DVD again and searching over the net.
Infact you can find the cd key of this version as well as few other versions of the Windows 7...
Here is how to get through it....
1.Extract the Windows 7 ISO.Its a tough one cause its a UDF Format and you would be requiring external software like CDExtractor or ISoBuster to do the workk.
2.In the DVD root folder there is a folder sources....open it....
3.Find a configuration file product.ini
4. open this file
5.Scroll till the end and you can find number of Various keys for versions like ultimate,professional,starter and many more....
Windows Vista RTM keys also do work with this as well as of Windows Server 2008 with the build 7100.

What do CTP, RC, RTM, RTW mean during Development ofa Software

I always wanted to find the precise meaning of the acronyms Microsoft uses to refer to the stage of a product in the software release life cycle. I found the most comprehensive explanation on mvark 's blog and copied it verbatim here for future reference.

Community Technology Preview/CTP

CTP stands for Community Technology Preview. It's generally an incomplete preview of a new technology in progress. These usually come out before beta and are a way to gather feedback from the community during the development of a product. This is similar to an Alpha release per Jeff’s hierarchy, except that at Microsoft, we generally do put CTPs in a public location.

Release Candidate/RC

RC's are pretty much like less buggy BETA releases. These are candidates to become the actual release and there is a very small chance of adding new features between the RC and the RTM. Any changes from an RC to an RTM are usually just bug fixes.

Released to Manufacturing/RTM

RTM stands for "Released to Manufacturing" and is a throwback to the days when software was mostly released as CDs. When a project went "Gold", it was released to manufacturing who then burned a bunch of CDs and packaged them up to be put on store shelves. True, this still goes on today believe it or not, but this mode of delivery is on the decline for certain types of software.

Released to Web/RTW

RTW is a related term that stands for "Released to Web" which is more descriptive of how software is actually shipped these days. For example, while we like to use the term RTM internally out of habit, ASP.NET MVC will actually be RTW.

Fully Supported Out-of-Band release

A Fully Supported Out-of-Band release is a release that is not part of the Framework (i.e. it's not included in an installation of the .NET Framework), but is fully supported as if it were. For example, you can call up PSS (Microsoft's Tech Support) for support on a fully supported OOB release.

One example of this was “Atlas” which later became Microsoft Ajax and was rolled into ASP.NET 3.5. ASP.NET MVC 1.0 will be an example of an OOB release.

Service Pack/SP

A Service Pack (or SP) is simply an RTM (or RTW) release of fixes and/or improvements to some software.

Windows GUI between 1981-2009

A Graphical User Interface (GUI for short) allows users to interact with the computer hardware in a user friendly way.

Over the years a range of GUI’s have been developed for different operating systems such as OS/2, Macintosh, Windowsamiga, Linux, Symbian OS, and more.

We’ll be taking a look at the evolution of the interface designs of the major operating systems since the 80’s.

I should mention that this article showcases only the significant advances in GUI design (not operating system advances) and also not all of the graphical user interfaces and operating systems existing today.

The first GUI was developed by researchers at Xerox Palo Alto Research Center (PARC) in the ’70s. This research opened a whole new era of computer graphic innovations.

The first personal computer which used a modern graphical user interface was the Xerox Alto, developed in 1973. This was not a commercial product and was intended mainly for research at universities.

Windows 1.0x (released in 1985)

In this year Microsoft finally caught up with the whole graphical user interface craze and released Windows 1.0, its first GUI based operating system (although no one would dare to refer to it as one). The system featured 32×32 pixel icons and color graphics. The most interesting feature (which later was omitted) was the icon of the animated analog clock.

Windows 2.0x (released in 1987)

In this version, the actual management of the windows had significantly improved. The windows could be overlapped, resized, maximized and minimized.

Windows 3.0 (released in 1990)

By this version, Microsoft had realized the real potential in GUI’s and started to significantly improve them.

The operating system itself supported standard and 386 enhanced modes, which made use of higher memory capacity than 640 KB and hard disk space, resulting in the ability to use higher screen resolutions and better graphics, such as Super VGA 800×600 and 1024×768.

Also, Microsoft hired Susan Kare to design the Windows 3.0 icons and to add a unified style to the GUI.

Windows 3.1 (released in 1992)

This version of Windows included TrueType fonts which were pre-installed. This effectively made Windows a functional desktop publishing platform for the first time.

Previously, it was only possible to achieve such functionality in Windows 3.0 using the Adobe Type Manager (ATM) font system from Adobe. This version also contained a color scheme named Hotdog Stand, which contained bright hues of red, yellow and black.

This color scheme was designed to help people with some degree of color blindness see text/graphics on the screen easier.

Windows 95 (released in 1995)

The user interface was completely re-designed since version 3.x. This was the first Windows version where a small close button was added to each window.

The design team gave states (enabled, disabled, selected, checked, etc.) to icons and other graphics. The famous Start button appeared for the first time.

This was a huge step forward for Microsoft regarding the operating system itself and the unified GUI.

Windows 98 (released in 199

The icon styles were almost the same as in Windows 95, but the whole GUI could use more than 256 colors for rendering. Windows Explorer changed almost completely and the “Active Desktop” appeared for the first time.

Windows XP (released in 2001)

As Microsoft tends to change their GUI completely with every major operating system release, Windows XP was no exception. The GUI itself is skinnable, users could change the whole look and feel of the interface. The icons were 48 x 48 in size by default, rendered in millions of colors.

Windows Vista (released in 2007)

This was Microsoft’s response to their competition. They also included quite a lot of 3D and animation. Since Windows 98, Microsoft has always tried to improve the desktop. With Windows Vista they released widgets and a somewhat improved replacement of the Active Desktop.

Windows Seven (RC released in 2009)

The RC includes some new features such as Remote Media Streaming which "enables highly secure, remote Internet access to home-based digital media libraries from another Windows 7-based PC outside the home.It will also contain more refined navigation in the taskbar, JumpLists, and search



Windows 8 (In pipeline)

Although Win 7 RTM is not out but still the planning for the next version has already been started.lets see what we have this time

Article includes extracts from Wiki,webdesignerdepo,Microsoft Communities

Microsoft's 'Gazelle' browser to be more secure

Microsoft Research is developing a new Web browser that they say could offer a far greater degree of security than Google's Chrome, Mozilla's Firefox or Microsoft's own Internet Explorer. The browser, called Gazelle, relies on a "browser kernel" (5,000 lines of C# code) that helps enforce security rules to prevent malicious access to the PC's underlying operating system.

Gazelle's Browser Kernel is an operating system that exclusively manages resource protection and sharing across web site principals. This construction exposes intricate design issues that no previous work has identified, such as legacy protection of cross-origin script source, and cross-principal, cross-process display and events protection. "Gazelle is different from some other browsers in that it considers each part of a Web site, such as iframes, subframes and plug-ins, as separate elements. Sometimes those elements can pull in malicious content from other Web sites. Google's Chrome runs a Web page and its elements in a single process."

News source: Microsoft Research.
Download: .pdf Paper.