WARNING regarding Windows XP Service Pack 3 (SP3)

Quick heads up to anybody using an AMD (or other non-Intel brand) processor. If you have used a University or self-made XP-SP2 CD then you may have a horrific constant blue-screen-of-death approach to starting your computer which prevents you from even booting into safe mode.

The Microsoft-given response is 'don't install it' which is all well and good but you blatently already *have* installed it else you wouldn't be looking for the solution to the problem, would you?

UPDATE: Well, the stop error (the one I had was a 0x0000007e STOP error with no real description of what was wrong) is caused by one of three things:

1) You've got a sysprep'd disc, which is actually unlikely thinking about it, as sysprep is more of a 'disc image' than a 'installation'.
2) The installer has made a mess of your GDI32 driver.
3) You've got a slightly dodgy driver somewhere.
4) You have some slightly dodgy hardware somewhere.
5) You've got a RAID driver installed.
6) You're trying to install it on a computer with some kind of Christian Magic in it.
7) You just happen to be passing the computer at the time.

The main solutions are here:
Aumha.net
or by simply typing '0x000007e xp sp3 bsod' or words akin to that into Google.

However, personally after trying several of those, I took the coward's way out: I found the XP+SP2 install disc, clicked repair, gave it half an hour to revert back to the previous version and vowed not to install SP3. Problem solved.

UPDATE 2: Finally, somebody has produced a nice little script that fixes the problem. Get it here(ish), follow the instructions and be a happy AMD-loving bunny.

How to protect your Windows box - don't password it

Well, Microsoft have advised that to protect your computer from remote attacks, you're better off not setting a password at all rather than setting a weak one.

Madness? Well, there is a reason.

Turns out, if you set a blank password, Windows will disable all remote access to your machine - and thus if you set your password to 'password' or 'abc123' then you're at a greater risk.

[[via Digital Inspiration]]