I am Microsoftie 4 ever (18+ years) working in Windows Services and Content team in the UK, my blog is mainly focused on the Windows family of products and trying to provide help pointers and resources for customers on our products.
Even though i know Microsoft Onecare is going sometime in the new year, I recommended my dad to renew anyway as he was happy with the product and comfortable using it. So rather than do the online billing at £37 I suggested he buy a brand new copy at somewhat less from Amazon.co.uk (around £24 ISTR)
Anyway as one of my regular jobs whilst visiting is sorting out the family pc problems he asked me to update his onecare with the new one. So put the disk in and got a wonderful error message 0006-80004005 and bascially some text that said I would couldn't have 2 copies of Onecare on the same machine and I would have to uninstall the current one and then re-install. I feared doing this would loose all the settings and maybe screw up a whole bunch of other things and the get more help option was not. So after a bit of research I came across this http://www.vistax64.com/live-onecare/139278-retail-box-version.html on the Vista x64 forums that told me how to fix the problem (copied below)
Don't reinstall OneCare.Purchase the retail box copy and then go to http://billing.microsoft.comSign in with the subscription LiveID (Help/About in OneCare will show you theSubscription ID)Select the renew link in the billing entry for OneCare.Select the option to renew with a retail PIN or token.Follow the wizard for this and proceed with renewal. You can do this at anytime, not just when you are due for renewal.It can take up to 24 hours to reflect the new subscription status in OneCare.
But what stumped me was the term Retail Pin or Token, now going through the billing process it was clear it was asking for what I think is more commonly termed a product key... So why is it called a Retail Pin or Token and not at least adding or Product Key (as it is actually called on the box)
As someone once sang Confused you will be
Rob
Currently doing the rounds and embedded below - enjoy
Using Virtual Earth 3D, Map Cruncher and Caligari trueSpace, Microsoft has built a Santa Tracker and Village at the North Pole Check it out: http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/28146841. Not only that, but they also created a 3D version of Santa’s Village at The North Pole.
You will need to navigate to the north pole and then zoom in on the push-pins to see Santa
Track Santa from the North Pole and beyond with Virtual Earth 3D
Note you will need to download the Virtual Earth 3D plug-in
Also staying on the Christmas theme the Microsoft mapping team created a Christmas card to show off Virtual Earth – enjoy it here: http://www.msmaps2008.com/microsoft
If you are still need help assistance with the IE issue from the last week then you might want to read:
You might have heard in the news about a vulnerability in Internet Explorer versions 5, 6, and 7 that allows hackers to gain access to your computer and data if you go to certain websites. This problem, officially known as “Pointer Reference Memory Corruption Vulnerability,” is a way for hackers to craft web pages that enable them to run code or programs on your computer. This creates a risk to your privacy and the security of any information you have on your computer.
The good news is that there is a fix. The official name is the Microsoft Security Bulletin MS08-078, but here’s how to get the fix without wading through a sea of technical documentation.
Urgent security update for Internet Explorer
Its important to keep updated and all you applications up to date
Thanks to the GetSafeOnline site for this:
Twelve Phishers phishing Eleven Spammers spamming Ten Bots a’ herding Nine Virus writers coding Eight Snoopers snooping Seven Worms a’ spreading Six Crackers cracking Five Tro-jan Horses Four Logic bombs Three Software patches Two Denials of Service And a hacker at your back door!
Just really pointing out this blog (http://blogs.msdn.com/askie/), if you have any questions about IE then this could be the place to start
‘This Blog will be used to discuss "all things" Internet Explorer. We hope to provide topics from a Core IE perspective, such as the IEAK and Group Policy all the way to programming techniques and solutions related to Internet Explorer. These blogs will come from Microsoft Support Engineers who specialize in Internet Explorer’
http://blogs.msdn.com/askie/
not to be confused by the ascii blog :S
and if you cannot decide then you can always let the Windows Gadget Guru help you out with your decision
‘When it comes to choosing your new laptop or smartphone, you can't just rely on Santa to make the right choice. Give the old fella a little assistance using the Windows Gadget Guru – we'll help you pick a new laptop or mobile phone by answering your questions, cutting through the jargon and recommend a gadget that'll meet all of your needs. ‘
http://www.microsoft.com/uk/windows/gadget-guru/default.aspx
Over on the Windows Live writer blog they have just announced the release candidate of Windows Live Essentials that includes a new version of Windows Live writer (version 14.0.8050.1202)
I am a big fan of live writer using it for my multiple blogs and have been using it for a number of years, you can read all about the latest improvements on the blog Windows Live Writer 2009: Release Candidate - Windows Live
But you will also see (later in the post) 3 additional plugins for Live writer, I have been using the first 2 for a while, you may have spotted the digg buttons and also for those on my twitter feed the updates…
DIGG THIS Automatically adds a DiggThis badge to your blog post after you publish it from Writer. there are several designs in the setup as well
TWITTER NOTIFY Automatically generates a TinyURL and sends a Tweet about your blog post after you publish it from Writer.
FLICKR UPLOAD Uploads an image to your Flickr account and inserts an inline picture into your post.
updated with correct Digg link
Hot on the heels of the UK Windows Vista Community Page is this new (i think site) called Windows Vista Answers…
Where you can get ‘answers to the most common Windows Vista questions.’
you can either search or browse from the existing set of answers and questions as well as asking the community where you can ‘Tap into the expertise and enthusiasm of Windows Vista customers and Microsoft support professionals worldwide.’
Currently the 5 most helpful answers to questions are
and rather nicely you can subscribe to the most helpful answers feed by clicking the rss button
Thanks To Blake on The Road to Know Where for the link
If you fancy getting into the festive theme with Windows Live Messenger then download these emoticons from MSN Italy
http://intrattenimento.it.msn.com/emoticon/natale08
My Italian is a bit rusty but hit the big red button to Get free Christmas emoticons
Thanks to the WinVistaClub for the spot and link.