Prevx blames Microsoft for black hawk screen down

Microsoft’s most recent release of security patches is causing some computers to freeze and display a, er, black screen of death. The glitch is affecting Windows 7, Vista and XP operating systems, according to software security firm Prevx. The UK-based company warned its users on Friday that Microsoft’s latest patches were …

[FFred]

Sooo

Back is the new blue ?

On a semi related topic, I've been trying to "downgrade" my Windows 7 prerelease which is a Windows "all included" version to Windows home (which I actually bought directly from Microsoft.

Except downgrading is not allowed. So I theoretically have to re-download all of my Steam games (which is what the Windows partition is for).

I'm still working on it (there are apparently hacks around this, some of which don't seem to work) but this is one of the many reasons that have kept me off Windows for the past 15 years (working with the MS people at the time and knowing a number of inside things was another...)

So I run Linux and it works for me (I also worked with the Apple people). I'd still like to be able to run my games and I'm really not into consoles, so unfortunately I still dedicate a disk to our evil overlords and spin it up every now and then.

[Al fazed]

I feel the same about Linux

Don't get me wrong, I hate Microsoft Operating Systems, having been using them since the first GUI of those Win 3.1 days.

Unfortunately, I seem to have even less satisfaction when it comes to running Linux Ubuntu. I've been trying since version 6 and still encountering problems which mean I cannot use this as my every day desktop, even though I would really love to. With my current Ubuntu 9.04 install, I am dragging my arse through the mud as the display is falling apart, close, minimise and maximise buttons are suddenly missing from every GUI application I have been using. Control panel is today just a white sace on the screen.

I really really wish I was one of those people who never ever have any problems with Linux, but I am not. I am one of those people who have lots of problems each time they try a new release, in the hope the bugs in the last release will have been fixed. Unfortunately, for would-be Linux Ubuntu users, (I can't speak about the other distro's) Linux developers are just like Microsoft's developers, the fasion is not for fixing stuff that's broke, just making more broken stuff.

Regards

David Urmston

[Gary Heard]

Linux problems

David Urmston wrote:-

"Unfortunately, I seem to have even less satisfaction when it comes to running Linux Ubuntu. I've been trying since version 6 and still encountering problems which mean I cannot use this as my every day desktop, even though I would really love to. With my current Ubuntu 9.04 install, I am dragging my arse through the mud as the display is falling apart, close, minimise and maximise buttons are suddenly missing from every GUI application I have been using. Control panel is today just a white sace on the screen."

Hi David,

If you are running Gnome I had the same problem with Suse. KDE ran without problem. I must admit I upgraded to teh latest Desktop by Gnome and now everything works. But I prefer KDE anyway

[abigsmurf]

Let me guess...

More developers using undocumented, unsupported features coming unstuck when they've written code designed around these? Security software is among the worst for using rootkit techniques or other questionable methods for embedding themselves in windows.

[Peter Kay]

@FFred

Downgrading isn't relevant. You're trying to change from a pre-release to a release. This is never, ever supported.

Back all your data up and reinstall. That's the price of using a beta.

[Anonymous Coward]

PervX?

I heard that company has some great applications.

(More sleep is obviously needed (postgrad degrees are a bummer), but I thank El Reg for supplying me with my procrastinational needs)

[Henry Wertz 1]

Steam? No sweat

"Except downgrading is not allowed. So I theoretically have to re-download all of my Steam games (which is what the Windows partition is for)."

I'm not 100% sure, but I think you can backup your Steam data directory, after you reinstall you can reinstall Steam, then put your data directory back. Steam will likely burn some major cycles verifying your data files (running checksums and such and comparing them against the copies on their end I assume), but you then won't have to download GBs of stuff.

[Mr Ian]

Steam can be backed up

Just google for "Backup Steam games" or something and you should find a lot of articles about it. If anything is widely used, and could prove to be an annoyance, you're pretty much guaranteed someone's found a way around it

[J. Cook]

This does not surprise me...

Microsoft has had a fairly long track record of arbitrarily changing APis, DLLs, and other things that developers reply upon.

I'll wait until the first service pack comes out for windows 7, thanks.

[Anonymous Coward]

BSOD

Would that be black text on a black background?

<thinks> hhgttg </thinks> Cool.........

[Matt W 1]

@FFred

The important directory is the 'SteamApps' folder under Steam in the program files. Copy this to a safe place. Then , re-install a new steam client to the new machine/drive/whatever and copy/replace the new 'SteamApps' folder with your old one.

You will have to re-login to Steam on the new client. When you do, all your old games data will be there.

[Cod]

What - no retraction?

So now PrevX are saying 'oops, we made a mishtake - it's nothing to do with the MS updates after all'.

Stop giving these idiots free publicity - then again, a few more tantrums like this one and their business is going to need all the publicity, good or bad, they can get.

Rubbish.

[ThaMossop]

Regarding Steam backups

If you keep your operating system on a separate drive/partition to Steam, after reinstalling Steam, it should pick up all the Steam downloads from before without any trouble.. Worked for me anyway. :)