Since September the monthly security updates for XP Embedded have been released in the form of a single CD image (.img) file. This is done in an effort to streamline the release process and to drive consistency across Microsoft. I know this might be painful, since you have to use a tool to access the updates in the .img file. But it does get the update to you faster! You can mount the image as a...

This is the first of two tutorials on the FBWF API. This tutorial will go over the steps to create your first FBWF application using Visual Studio. The API can be found at http://msdn2.microsoft.com/en-us/library/aa940917.aspx . I’ll present just one API in this tutorial focusing more on the setup of your environment to build the application. So let’s begin. STEP 1: Copy Header and Library ...

As some may be aware the Energy Policy Act of 2005 mandated that Daylight Savings time would be extended, starting in 2007. Last week a new patch was made available for XP Pro and Windows Server 2003 systems. For XP Embedded systems the Windows Sustained Engineering group is releasing the patch for Embedded systems in December, both the database version and the version that can be consumed by runtime...

A customer in the newsgroup kindly reported a bug when trying to build an existing configuration using ASP .NET 1.1, after they had upgraded their database to Feature Pack 2007. The error is not immediately obvious- this is what is seen when running a dependency check: Info 106: Adding component: ".NET Framework 2.0 [Version 5.1.2600.3333, R3333]", origin: "ASP.NET 1.1 [Version 5.1.2600.3333, R3333...

I received some great information last week with regards to the product lifecycle of XP Embedded from one of our Product Managers, Nic. I thought I would pass on the info to you, along with examples to illustrate different situations. Thanks, Nic! ____________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________ Windows XP Embedded support...

Well, it appears we probably could have done a better job in our uninstall process since we're seeing some questions in the newsgroup and elsewhere wrt developers trying to rollback from FP07 to SP2 and instead they're inadvertently uninstalling the entire tools suite. To be clear, it is possible to rollback, though it may not be intuitive and not easily discoverable. For that, you have my apologies...

Just in time for Thanksgiving, at least for the US folks. When you’ve finished up your turkey and ready to sit down and relax, wait a second before you fall asleep, try Image Diff. You will feel better right away! In this new download we improved the overall test coverage and quality of Image Diff while incorporating bug fixes and enhancements based on feedback from you ! To ensure that Image...

It's been about 4 months since I started working on the Customer Strike Team. I feel like it's a good time to introduce the "Customer Strike Team" concept here. The original Customer Strike Team actually was formed a few years ago before all the re-orgs happened. Some of you readers probably worked with the old Customer Strike Team. The *new* Customer Strike Team was brought back by our one and...

Windows XP Embedded Service Pack 2 Feature Pack 2007 introduces the new Embedded Enabling Feature Registry Filter that persists certain registry keys, for example, those for Terminal Services Client Access License (TSCAL) and Domain Secret Key. Since the introduction of the Registry Filter, you’ve asked us if the Registry Filter could persist other registry keys in addition to the aforementioned. We...

S ince the initial release of Windows XP Embedded Service Pack 2 Feature Pack 2007 and the new Embedded Enabling Feature USB Boot 2.0, you’ve asked us what USB Flash Drives we’ve used in development and testing. We’ve listened. Below is the list of UFDs we’ve used: 1. M-Systems uDOC 256MB/512MB/1GB/2GB 2. Super Flash 512MB USB2.0 USB Flash Drive 3. Memorex M-Flyer TravelDrive 512MB 4. Dane...

The Windows Embedded Design Review (WEDR) is currently in progress and is held this year at the Hyatt Regency hotel in Bellevue. This event runs over 3 days and is an opportunity for Microsoft to host over 200 Windows Embedded customers, partners, and MVPs who represent a cross-section of industries and device categories. Space is limited at this event and attendance is therefore by invitation only...

It's already time to start thinking about MEDC 2007, especially if you are interested in presenting a session or two! The XP Embedded team invites you to submit proposals to speak in the conference breakout sessions. We're looking for experienced conference presenters who have built and deployed XP Embedded devices and who can share their best practices and tips and tricks with all of us. This year...