Well, here we are; another
build of Longhorn to tinker with. Although not much different from the build
that was released at the PDC (4051), this one has some major improvements.
It is more stable and more responsive than Build 4051. Well… this is
atweak guide, isn’t it? So lets get busy!
Longhorn System Requirements
Minimum:
500MHz Intel Pentium III Processor or higher; AMD Athlon family of Processors
256MB of RAM
3.5GB of free hard disk space
Recommended:
800Mhz Intel Pentium III Processor or higher; AMD Athlon family of Processors
512MB of RAM
6GB of free hard disk space
WinFS Overview
1.WinFS is the code name for the next generation storage technology that will
be
integrated into Windows “Longhorn”. WinFS allows for faster searching,
easier
organization of files and much more (this is Microsoft's vision of WinFS at
least).
How does WinFS work? It's really quite simple. Say you have a ton of files
that
consist of movie clips, music, pictures, and documents as well as downloads.
All
you have to do is put them in the Storage folder and WinFS will automatically
sort
the files into the proper places (Music, Pictures, etc...).
2.Longhorn does have WinFS built in and WinFS does do all of the things we
mentioned above. But there is one problem. When working with WinFS, the
system becomes very slow and the WinFS engine consumes a lot of resources.
This will be fixed in time of course as Microsoft optimizes the code but for
now it is
best to disable WinFS to get a massive speed gain in Longhorn. Disabling WinFS
will break Outlook Express functionality because it relies on the database
storage
features of WinFS. You can leave WinFS on, or you can disable it, the choice
is
yours.
Sidebar Components
As with 4051, this build has the same number of tiles by default.
Clock:
This tile displays an analog clock along with the digital time below it and
the date.
When you click on this tile, a “flyout” appears with a Calendar.
Quick Launch:
This tile displays the items in your Quick Launch folder (which is located
at
%userprofile%\Application Data\Microsoft\Internet Explorer\Quick Launch).
Classic Tray:
This tile displays the items that were once next to the clock on the taskbar.
Some
icons may not display correctly (colors may appear distorted or elements may
be
missing) or they may not display at all. To access these icons, click on the
tile, and
a flyout will appear.
Slide Show:
This tile displays a slide show of all the pictures contained in your “My
Pictures”
folder. This is great to enable if you have family photos that you enjoy to
see,
albeit this tile is not very customizable in this build.
Sync:
This tile is used for file synchronization. Requires WinFS to be enabled to
work
properly.
If you have Visual Studio.NET “Whidbey” you can create your own
tiles.
Changes from Build 4051
1. The Windows Shell (“Windows Explorer”) does not leak as much
memory as it did
in previous builds.
2. Networking support has been fixed.
3. Some icons that displayed incorrectly previously now display correctly.
4. Internet Explorer’s download manager seems to operate correctly.
Known issues in this build
1. In Outlook 2003, when you click on “Personal Folders”, it displays
the HTML source
of Outlook Today instead of the rendered page.
2. If a menu overlaps the sidebar, it may remove the gradient from the sidebar
around the overlapped area. To correct this, resize a tile over the area and
then
resize it back to its original size. This will correct the issue.
3. If either Windows Explorer or Internet Explorer freeze up, you may catch
a
glimpse of the old style title bar from previous versions of Windows.
4. Your internet connection may run slower when using Longhorn.
5. Windows takes a while to boot up and shut down.
Frequently Asked Questions
Q: Where can I download Windows “Longhorn”?
A: From the places you would usually obtain such things. We will NOT be going
into any detail of where you can obtain Longhorn.
Q: What is the full build number of Longhorn?
A: Windows® Code Name “Longhorn”
For testing purposes only. Build 4053.main.031022-1720
Q: How do I change the “Registered User”
information?
A: Click Start, and then click Run. Type “regedit” (without the
quotes).
Navigate to HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SOFTWARE\Microsoft\Windows
NT\CurrentVersion
Edit the "RegisteredOwner" and "RegisteredOrganization"
keys to your liking.
Q: What Internet Browser do you suggest I use in Longhorn?
A: This is really up to your own preference. You could use Internet Explorer,
Avant
Browser, MyIE2, Opera, Mozilla, Mozilla Firefox, or other browsers.
NOTE: In Mozilla Firefox (and possibly Mozilla as well), check boxes, scroll
bars, etc
do NOT display correctly. This has been an issue since Build 4015.
Q: Why does Longhorn slow down after being logged on
after a certain
amount of time?
A: This issue is most likely caused from memory being swapped around. The
simplest way to solve this is to log off or reboot.
Q: What Anti Virus applications work with Longhorn?
A: Norton AntiVirus 2003 and higher most likely work (these have not been
tested
yet under this build). We recommend you use Grisoft AVG Anti-Virus Free Edition
6.0, which has real-time protection, and is light weight (does not use a lot
of
system resources). AVG 6.0 Free Edition is available from http://www.grisoft.com
Q: What versions of Microsoft Office work under Longhorn?
A: Microsoft Office 2000, XP, and 2003 work under Longhorn and have been tested
(Office 2000 may keep trying to reinstall itself though)
Q: What editions of Longhorn will be available when
it is completed?
A: We don’t know the answer to this as it is 4-6 years down the road.
But we
expect that there will most likely be a Home Edition, Professional Edition,
and
Media Center Edition.
Q: Where can I find a timeline of the Longhorn builds
& leak dates?
A: You can find these around the internet, simply by searching Google. But,
for our
readers’ convenience, we have compiled an easy to follow timeline with
most of the
information you need at the end of this guide.
Utilities
Add Device Manager to the Computer context menu
This INF file will add a link to the Device Manager to the context menu (“right
click”
menu) of “Computer” (formerly known as My Computer).
To install, download the INF file, browse to the location you saved it. Right
click on
it and then click “Install”.
Add Defragmenter, Disk Check, and Disk Check with Repair to your drives
context menu
This INF file will add links to “Defragment this Drive”, “Scan
for Errors”, and “Scan
and Repair Errors” to the context menus of your disks. This will provide
easy access
to disk tuneup tools.
Restart Explorer
This tool may come in handy if Windows Explorer is consuming large amounts
of
system resources. Using an extraction utility such as Windows’ Compressed
Folders
wizard, WinRAR, or WinZip, extract the files to %WINDIR%\SYSTEM32. Create
a
shortcut on your desktop, quick launch menu, start menu, or location of your
choice to the file “RestartExplorer.bat” (without the quotes).
When you click on the
shortcut, it will end the Explorer.exe process and restart it.
Un-installation: Delete the batch file and any corresponding shortcuts.
Make your own custom end task “kill”
script or restart script:
How to make a custom end-process (“kill”)
script:
You will need the file KILL.EXE located in C:\WINDOWS\SYSTEM32 before we
continue. You can download this file from the Restart Explorer tool above.
Once you have KILL.EXE placed in C:\WINDOWS\SYSTEM32, do the following:
Open Notepad (Start, Run, “notepad” – without the quotes).
You can use this as a base for your end-process script:
@kill.exe -f iexplore.exe
@ECHO [You can now safely close this window]
@pause >nul
Save the text in Notepad as a batch file (.BAT). The above will end any Internet
Explorer (IEXPLORE.EXE) processes running on the system. You can design a
script
for any application you wish, but it is wise to save any data in that program
if you
are ending a normal working process, as it will terminate it without giving
you the
chance to save.
To restart an application, you use this:
@kill.exe -f iexplore.exe
@iexplore.exe
@echo It is now safe to close this window
@pause >nul
That will kill all Internet Explorer processes, say it is safe to close the
window, and
immediately open a new Internet Explorer process. For multiple applications,
you
can use the following as a base:
The above will terminate the Internet Explorer, the Windows Shell (Explorer.exe)
and Windows Messenger processes, and then restart them.
You save your script as a .BAT file (File, Save As, and in the Save dialog,
under
“Save as Type”, choose “All Files”. In the filename
box, type ScriptName.bat
(Substitute ScriptName for the name of your batch file (it can be anything
of your
choice), but it MUST have the .BAT extension.
Performance Tweaks
Uninstalling Un-needed Components
First you will need to open SYSOC.INF and edit it. You can do this by clicking
the
Start button, and then clicking Run.
Type "notepad C:\WINDOWS\INF\SYSOC.INF" (without the quotes.)
Then delete all instances of the word HIDE by clicking Edit, Replace.
In the Replace dialog, type “HIDE” (without the quotes) in the
“Find what” box,
and leave the “Replace with” box blank. Apply these changes and
save the file.
Now, navigate to Add/Remove Programs in the control panel.
Once the Add/Remove Programs applet has loaded, click “Add/Remove Windows
Components”
Uncheck the following items and press next.
· %TabletPCRuntime_desc%
· Biometric Base Components
· Biometric Logon Support
· Outlook Express
· Windows Messenger
· Windows File System Services
· Windows Storage Full-text Index
Disable Un-necessary Services
Click Start, and then click Run.
Type “services.msc” (without the quotes) and press OK.
Double click on each item listed below, and set the “Startup Type”
to DISABLED.
· Automatic Updates
· AvRtSvr
· Base Firewall Engine
· Biometric Resource Manager
· Castle Service
· Digital ID Management Service
· Error Reporting Service
· Font Cache Service
· FontCacheService
· ICF/ICS - Firewall and connection sharing
· IPSEC Services
· Logon Hours
· NS$ShellSubscriptions
· Offline Files Service
· Parental Control Auditing
· Software Licensing Service
· Universal Plug and Play Device Host
· WindowsEventForwardingService
· WinFSSync
Performance Options
Right click on “Computer” in the start menu and click “Properties”.
Click the Advanced tab. Under “Performance” click the Settings
button.
Uncheck the following items (ones labeled VERY IMPORTANT are crucial to
disable)
· Animate Windows when Minimizing and Maximizing
· Fade or slide menus into view
· Fade or slide tool tips into view
· Fade out menu items after clicking
· Show preview and filters in folders (VERY IMPORTANT)
· Show shadows under menus
· Slide open combo boxes
· Slide taskbar buttons
· Smooth edges of screen fonts
· Smooth-scroll list boxes
· Use a background image for each folder type
Folder Options
Click Start, and then click “Computer”.
Click “Tools” and then click “Folder Options”
Uncheck the following items:
· Use Domain Folder Sharing wizard
· Use Simple File Sharing
Check the following items:
· Launch Folder Windows in a separate process
Bug Fixes
Sidebar Tile Uninstaller
One of the reasons that the Windows Shell (explorer.exe) leaks memory with
the
sidebar enabled is because when you load a sidebar tile, and then remove that
same tile, it doesn’t actually unload the tile. It just hides it. And
when you re-add
that tile, it copies the tile to the TEMP folder in your user profile. What
then begins
to happen is that the sidebar loads the same tiles over and over, even if
they are
not enabled, which causes memory consummation. So we’ve created a simple
little
batch script that will delete the temporary tile DLL’s from your user
profile.
WARNING: This deletes all DLL’s in the base TEMP folder. Use extreme
caution
when using this “uninstaller”.
MSN Messenger Automatic Sign-in
Just like in Build 4051, MSN Messenger does not log on automatically, even
when
you set it to remember your login information. This may be caused by a problem
with the .NET Passport Wizard or some other networking feature.
To fix this issue, follow these instructions:
1. Open C:\Program Files\MSN Messenger
2. Right click on MSNMSGR.EXE and click “Properties”.
3. Click on the Compatibility tab. Under “Compatibility mode”,
select Windows
2000.
4. Check “Allow non-administrators to run this program”.
5. Click OK to close the Properties window.
6. Run MSN Messenger. It may appear to reinstall itself, don’t worry
about
this.
7. Click “Sign In”. The old style logon box will appear. Type
your Passport
information, and check “Automatically sign in….”.
Winamp 5 Installation Instructions
If you install Winamp 5 with the default settings, it will crash when you
try to start
it. To fix this, uninstall Winamp, and reinstall it, WITHOUT the Media Library.
Longhorn Timeline
Build 3683 – First public leak of Windows “Longhorn”. Lab_06N
Build; contained extras
from the Avalon lab that are not seen in other builds (new display properties
dialog box,
etc). Some features were broken, such as Internet Explorer downloads.
Build 4008 – Second leak. Contained a cleaner version of the “Plex”
visual style; Internet
Explorer downloads fixed, more sidebar tiles.
Build 4015 – Third Leak. We prefer to call this the build from hell.
Not much different
from 4008, except the new style taskbar was enabled by default and could only
be
disabled by turning off the sidebar. This build consumed HUGE amounts of memory
in
very little time.
Build 4029 – Fourth leak. Displayed the beginnings of the new style
Explorer windows,
contained a new sidebar clock.
Build 4051 – Released at the Professional Developer Conference, this
build was supposed
to be quite stable, as it was the first developer preview of Longhorn, but
it ended up
being horrible as far as being able to develop and test sidebar tiles went.
It just leaked
too much memory which hindered the ability to do anything useful with it.
Introduction
of the “Slate” theme, “Plex” was removed.
Build 4053 – Latest leak. Explorer memory leak seems to have been fixed
for the most
part. More responsive than 4051.
Longhorn Programming Resources
Longhorn SDK – provides samples of code
for Longhorn and information on the new
technologies contained within the operating system.
