One of the DQI packages, KB938464, in the September 2008 XPe securty update release fails to install on an XPe image properly. The installation succeeds however, the files are not copied. This is because of the presence of the MinimizeFootprint key in XPE images, which causes reduced SetupApi functionality. To install KB938464 on a XPe image, please follow this workaround. Start a command...

One of the biggest image footprint impact areas is in regards to “SWEnums” or “ Software Enumerated Devices ”. (pronounced “Swee-numbs”) “How do these get into my image?” you may ask? There’s a simple answer and a couple simple solutions or a more in-depth solution to this behavior. Please note – I’m not going to provide the end-to-end...

The September 2008 Windows XP Embedded Security Updates are now available on the ECE for Microsoft® Windows® XP Embedded with Service Pack 2, Feature Pack 2007, and/or Update Rollup 1.0.  The downloads are cumulative and include updates for the Desktop QFE Installer (DQI) Tool. The following new DQI updates are included in this release for September – please see the ECE for more...

The Embedded System Conference in Boston in taking place from October 26-30th, 2008. Currently our team is working on scoping the presentation sessions and labs for our Embedded Windows track. We aim to publish the descriptions for our sessions live on the web site in the next week or two. Our sessions will be spread out over two days- Oct 28th and 29th, so be sure to reserve some time in your calendar...

I’m one of the Program Managers working on the Windows Embedded team and am investigating the various deployment/boot scenarios that we would like to support moving forward. CD boot is something that we released for XP Embedded to satisfy some of our customers in the Gaming and Medical industries who, at the time, were using it due to regulatory needs. Other users also picked it up to create a more...

Back in June this year, I joined other members of the team and participated in the TechEd conference held in Florida. It was great to be able to contribute to one of the biggest events organized by Microsoft since I joined the company last year. I had a chance to talk to IT professionals from all over the world to understand their needs as well as pain points in using our products. Security was one...

The August 2008 Windows XP Embedded Optional Updates are now available on the ECE for Microsoft® Windows® XP Embedded with Service Pack 2, Feature Pack 2007 and/or Update Rollup 1.0. Note: Optional updates are separate from the Security updates and should only be installed after the Security updates for August 2008 have been installed to realize full functionality. The following updates are...

Yes you read it right - 3.11. According to the msdn blog by John Coyne OEM licensing for 3.1 will no longer be allowed as of November 1st, 2008. If you are wondering who cares about a 15 years old OS then the windows embedded industry is apparently not happy. The longer life of some of the embedded devices and the difficulty/non necessity of upgrades make it a challenge for embracing new OS as often...

For those of you that were too busy working (or maybe sleeping due to the timezone difference!) to join us for our latest MSDN chat session on August 28th, you can now read the transcript here: http://msdn.microsoft.com/en-us/chats/cc896558.aspx .  Thank you to everyone that was able to make it to the chat and especially to those of you that asked questions and provided feedback!  Most questions...

A companion device to the TV, Anobar is one of the first FED based devices that has been prototyped. The long, thin 640 x 94-pixel screen serves as a ticker displaying real-time information pulled in from the internet and even has a live chat about what is currently on TV. Anodos CEO Hideki Mori says the prototype device is meant for those watching television who want to catch up on information that...

I don't think there's a developer alive today who hasn't, at one time or another, struggled with a bug that, no matter how much you review your code and decide the code is correct, trace through it and debug it, you just can't figure it out.  A bug so insidious that you just swear there's gotta be something horribly wrong with your operating system, your debugger, your hardware, etc.  One...