How To Really Reset Folder Settings in Windows 7

Sometimes, Windows 7 automatically updates explorer's columns. For example, if a folder has a mp3 file, columns headers will be artist, song, etc. This is really annoying for all other files of the same folder. Configuration is stored in registry. Deleting and creating again such a folder will not reset its configuration. You have to delete keys in registry. Here is the .reg file found on sevenforums.com :

Windows Registry Editor Version 5.00

[-HKEY_CURRENT_USER\Software\Microsoft\Windows\Shell\BagMRU]
[-HKEY_CURRENT_USER\Software\Microsoft\Windows\Shell\Bags]

[-HKEY_CURRENT_USER\Software\Microsoft\Windows\ShellNoRoam\Bags]
[-HKEY_CURRENT_USER\Software\Microsoft\Windows\ShellNoRoam\BagMRU]

[-HKEY_CURRENT_USER\Software\Classes\Local Settings\Software\Microsoft\Windows\Shell\BagMRU]
[-HKEY_CURRENT_USER\Software\Classes\Local Settings\Software\Microsoft\Windows\Shell\Bags]

[-HKEY_CURRENT_USER\Software\Classes\Wow6432Node\Local Settings\Software\Microsoft\Windows\Shell\Bags]
[-HKEY_CURRENT_USER\Software\Classes\Wow6432Node\Local Settings\Software\Microsoft\Windows\Shell\BagMRU]

Windows 7 sp1 [Solved]

Windows update fails to install service Windows 7 sp1. After downloading the 900 MB of windows6.1-KB976932-X64.exe (I also downloaded Windows_Win7SP1.7601.17514.101119-1850.AMD64CHK.Symbols.msi and Windows_Win7SP1.7601.17514.101119-1850.AMD64FRE.Symbols.msi, almost 300 MB each but I am still not sure about the requirement of these two), I tried to update manually. But this failed again : "L'installation n'a pas réussi", "l'assembly n'a pas pu être trouvé". "Détails" do not give a lot more info : "Erreur : ERROR_SXS_ASSEMBLY_MISSING(0x80073701)". There is a link to get more info ("Se connecter pour en savoir plus sur ce problème"), but this does not help me solve this problem.

Found the same problem here and here.

Looking deeper in C:\Windows\Logs\CBS\CBS.log (>250 MB) :

2011-03-12 22:11:26, Info                  CBS    Exec: Resolving Package: Package_43_for_KB976098~31bf3856ad364e35~amd64~~6.1.1.1, Update: 976098-91_neutral_LDR
2011-03-12 22:11:26, Info                  CBS    Exec: Resolving Package: Package_43_for_KB976098~31bf3856ad364e35~amd64~~6.1.1.1, Update: 976098-91_neutral_LDR, PinDeployment: amd64_8c41fc7eb0dbe2daefc621237184c0e3_31bf3856ad364e35_6.1.7600.20561_none_e8d566dacff1f5ff
2011-03-12 22:11:26, Error                 CSI    0000000c@2011/3/12:21:11:26.177 (F) d:\w7rtm\base\wcp\componentstore\csd_locking.cpp(324): Error STATUS_SXS_ASSEMBLY_MISSING originated in function CCSDirectTransaction::LockComponent expression: (null)
[gle=0x80004005]
2011-03-12 22:11:37, Error                 CSI    0000000d (F) STATUS_SXS_ASSEMBLY_MISSING #1573632# from CCSDirectTransaction::OperateEnding at index 0 of 1 operations, disposition 2[gle=0xd015000c]
2011-03-12 22:11:37, Error                 CSI    0000000e (F) HRESULT_FROM_WIN32(ERROR_SXS_ASSEMBLY_MISSING) #1573517# from Windows::ServicingAPI::CCSITransaction::ICSITransaction_PinDeployment(Flags = 0, a = 8c41fc7eb0dbe2daefc621237184c0e3, Version = 6.1.7600.20561, pA = PROCESSOR_ARCHITECTURE_AMD64 (9), Culture neutral, VersionScope = 1 nonSxS, PublicKeyToken = {l:8 b:31bf3856ad364e35}, Type neutral, TypeName neutral, PublicKey neutral, cb = (null), s = (null), rid = [77]"Package_43_for_KB976098~31bf3856ad364e35~amd64~~6.1.1.1.976098-91_neutral_LDR", rah = [1]"2", manpath = (null), catpath = (null), ed = 0, disp = 0)[gle=0x80073701]
2011-03-12 22:11:38, Info                  CBS    Failed to pin deployment while resolving Update: 976098-91_neutral_LDR from file: (null) [HRESULT = 0x80073701 - ERROR_SXS_ASSEMBLY_MISSING]
2011-03-12 22:11:38, Info                  CBS    Failed to resolve item[0] in Package: Package_43_for_KB976098~31bf3856ad364e35~amd64~~6.1.1.1, Update: 976098-91_neutral_LDR [HRESULT = 0x80073701 - ERROR_SXS_ASSEMBLY_MISSING]
2011-03-12 22:11:38, Info                  CBS    Failed to resolve execution update. [HRESULT = 0x80073701 - ERROR_SXS_ASSEMBLY_MISSING]
2011-03-12 22:11:38, Error                 CBS    Failed to resolve execution package: Package_43_for_KB976098~31bf3856ad364e35~amd64~~6.1.1.1 [HRESULT = 0x80073701 - ERROR_SXS_ASSEMBLY_MISSING]
2011-03-12 22:11:38, Info                  CSI    0000000f@2011/3/12:21:11:38.370 CSI Transaction @0x34c280 destroyed

I think the important part is Package_43_for_KB976098~31bf3856ad364e35~amd64~~6.1.1.1. So I tried to download KB976098 for x64 and install it manually, but windows tells me it is already installed.

• sfc /scannow found nothing.
• System Update Readiness Tool (KB947821 [v14]) does not help either (cannot install).

I eventually managed to install SP1 thanks to Kris post : I had to remove 4 KB : KB976098, KB979306, KB981793 and KB979916. Problem solved !

Windows 7 Elevated Startup Shortcuts

Shortcuts in Windows 7 Startup folder configured with elevation (administrative privileges) will not be launched. You need to create a scheduled task with administrative (maximum) rights configured to start when you open a session.

Unable to add new components in Windows 7 [Solved]

I wanted to add IIS on my asus laptop with Windows 7 Pro x64 but it keeps failing miserably. I cannot add any new component. It fails with the error :

• French : Une erreur s'est produite. Certaines fonctionnalités n'ont pas été modifiées correctement.
• English : An error has occurred. Not all of the features were successfully changed.

It is not linked to my tuning of windows 7 professionnal as I have enabled back again services, tasks, auto run registry keys and startup shortcuts. I have also enabled again system restore for both C and D drives. Strangely, I had to temporarily rename the C drive to its original name (OS) to avoid strange errors when validating the new configuration. I found on the net that the following command line could help :

fsutil resource setautoreset true C:\

But it hasn't fixed my problem. Each attempt adds five Windows Error Reporting events in the Application events log like :

Récipient d’erreurs 660181886, type 5
Nom d’événement : CbsPackageServicingFailure2
Réponse : Non disponible
ID de CAB : 0

Signature du problème : 
P1 : 6.1.7600.16385
P2 : Microsoft-Windows-Foundation-Package
P3 : 6.1.7600.16385
P4 : amd64
P5 : unknown
P6 : 80073701
P7 : Resolve
P8 : Installed
P9 : Installed
P10 : Windows Optional Component Manager

Fichiers joints :
C:\Windows\Logs\CBS\CbsPersist_20100719145300.cab
C:\Windows\Logs\CBS\CbsPersist_20100720135637.cab
C:\Windows\Logs\CBS\CbsPersist_20100724175736.cab
C:\Windows\Logs\CBS\CbsPersist_20100724190432.cab
C:\Windows\Logs\CBS\CbsPersist_20100724202127.cab
C:\Windows\Logs\CBS\CBS.log
C:\Windows\servicing\Sessions\Sessions.xml
C:\Windows\winsxs\poqexec.log
C:\Windows\inf\setupapi.dev.log

Ces fichiers sont peut-être disponibles ici :
C:\ProgramData\Microsoft\Windows\WER\ReportArchive\Critical_6.1.7600.16385_12b152e0507da7dbac253e5d6773b3d790739076_02e58056

Symbole d’analyse : 
Nouvelle recherche de la solution : 0
ID de rapport : 48d9af65-9764-11df-89ff-9b9906ca6306
Statut du rapport : 0

or

Récipient d’erreurs 1105700561, type 5
Nom d’événement : WindowsWcpOtherFailure3
Réponse : Non disponible
ID de CAB : 0

Signature du problème : 
P1 : 6.1.7600
P2 : base\wcp\componentstore\csd_locking.cpp
P3 : CCSDirectTransaction::LockComponent
P4 : 321
P5 : c015000c
P6 : 0x05f3852f
P7 : 
P8 : 
P9 : 
P10 : 

Fichiers joints :
C:\Windows\Logs\CBS\CbsPersist_20100719145300.cab
C:\Windows\Logs\CBS\CbsPersist_20100720135637.cab
C:\Windows\Logs\CBS\CbsPersist_20100724175736.cab
C:\Windows\Logs\CBS\CbsPersist_20100724190432.cab
C:\Windows\Logs\CBS\CbsPersist_20100724202127.cab
C:\Windows\Logs\CBS\CBS.log
C:\Windows\servicing\Sessions\Sessions.xml
C:\Windows\winsxs\poqexec.log
C:\Windows\System32\LogFiles\Scm\SCM.EVM
C:\Windows\Logs\CBS\FilterList.log
C:\Windows\Temp\WER6622.tmp.hdmp
C:\Windows\Temp\WER66ED.tmp.mdmp

Ces fichiers sont peut-être disponibles ici :
C:\ProgramData\Microsoft\Windows\WER\ReportArchive\Critical_6.1.7600_61fd7aaf67694893e820b3fd1752ddf4faf4e84_06197a3e

Symbole d’analyse : 
Nouvelle recherche de la solution : 0
ID de rapport : 48d9af64-9764-11df-89ff-9b9906ca6306
Statut du rapport : 0

Extract from C:\Windows\Logs\CBS\CBS.log (with telnet client component) :

Info    CBS    Perf: Resolve chain started.
Info    CSI    0000000b@2010/7/24:20:44:42.885 CSI Transaction @0x69300e0 initialized for deployment engine {d16d444c-56d8-11d5-882d-0080c847b195} with flags 00000002 and client id [101]"TI1.30092144_4010074112:2/Microsoft-Windows-Foundation-Package~31bf3856ad364e35~amd64~~6.1.7600.16385"
Info    CBS    Exec: Resolving Package: Microsoft-Windows-Telnet-Client-Package~31bf3856ad364e35~amd64~de-DE~6.1.7600.16385, Update: TelnetClient
Info    CBS    Exec: Resolving component from existing package; passing NULL manifest path to PinDeployment and hoping things haven't been scavenged.
Info    CBS    Exec: Resolving Package: Microsoft-Windows-Telnet-Client-Package~31bf3856ad364e35~amd64~de-DE~6.1.7600.16385, Update: TelnetClient, PinDeployment: amd64_microsoft-windows-t..oyment-languagepack_31bf3856ad364e35_6.1.7600.16385_de-de_c3c58e4b573d9172
Error   CSI    0000000c@2010/7/24:20:44:42.913 (F) d:\w7rtm\base\wcp\componentstore\csd_locking.cpp(321): Error STATUS_SXS_ASSEMBLY_MISSING originated in function CCSDirectTransaction::LockComponent expression: (null) [gle=0x80004005]
Error   CSI    0000000d (F) STATUS_SXS_ASSEMBLY_MISSING #238072# from CCSDirectTransaction::OperateEnding at index 0 of 1 operations, disposition 2[gle=0xd015000c]
Error   CSI    0000000e (F) HRESULT_FROM_WIN32(ERROR_SXS_ASSEMBLY_MISSING) #237957# from Windows::ServicingAPI::CCSITransaction::ICSITransaction_PinDeployment(Flags = 0, a = Microsoft-Windows-Telnet-Client-Deployment-LanguagePack, Version = 6.1.7600.16385, pA = PROCESSOR_ARCHITECTURE_AMD64 (9), Culture = [l:10{5}]"de-DE", VersionScope = 1 nonSxS, PublicKeyToken = {l:8 b:31bf3856ad364e35}, Type neutral, TypeName neutral, PublicKey neutral, cb = (null), s = (null), rid = [96]"Microsoft-Windows-Telnet-Client-Package~31bf3856ad364e35~amd64~de-DE~6.1.7600.16385.TelnetClient", rah = (null), manpath = (null), catpath = (null), ed = 0, disp = 0)[gle=0x80073701]
Info    CBS    Failed to pin deployment while resolving Update: TelnetClient from file: (null) [HRESULT = 0x80073701 - ERROR_SXS_ASSEMBLY_MISSING]
Info    CBS    Failed to resolve item[0] in Package: Microsoft-Windows-Telnet-Client-Package~31bf3856ad364e35~amd64~de-DE~6.1.7600.16385, Update: TelnetClient [HRESULT = 0x80073701 - ERROR_SXS_ASSEMBLY_MISSING]
Info    CBS    Failed to resolve execution update. [HRESULT = 0x80073701 - ERROR_SXS_ASSEMBLY_MISSING]
Error   CBS    Failed to resolve execution package: Microsoft-Windows-Telnet-Client-Package~31bf3856ad364e35~amd64~de-DE~6.1.7600.16385 [HRESULT = 0x80073701 - ERROR_SXS_ASSEMBLY_MISSING]
Info    CSI    0000000f@2010/7/24:20:44:45.042 CSI Transaction @0x69300e0 destroyed
Info    CBS    Perf: Resolve chain complete.
Info    CBS    Failed to resolve execution chain. [HRESULT = 0x80073701 - ERROR_SXS_ASSEMBLY_MISSING]
Error   CBS    Failed to process single phase execution. [HRESULT = 0x80073701 - ERROR_SXS_ASSEMBLY_MISSING]
Info    CBS    WER: Generating failure report for package: Microsoft-Windows-Foundation-Package~31bf3856ad364e35~amd64~~6.1.7600.16385, status: 0x80073701, failure source: Resolve, start state: Installed, target state: Installed, client id: Windows Optional Component Manager
Info    CBS    Failed to query DisableWerReporting flag.  Assuming not set... [HRESULT = 0x80070002 - ERROR_FILE_NOT_FOUND]
Info    CBS    Failed to add %windir%\winsxs\pending.xml to WER report because it is missing.  Continuing without it...
Info    CBS    Failed to add %windir%\winsxs\pending.xml.bad to WER report because it is missing.  Continuing without it...
Info    CBS    Reboot mark refs: 0
Info    CBS    Enabling LKG boot option
Info    CBS    Exec: End: nested restore point - complete.
Info    CBS    Restored system sleep block state: 0x80000000
Info    CBS    Client aborted the install. [HRESULT = 0x800f0821 - CBS_E_ABORT]
Info    CBS    Exec: Processing complete.  Session: 30092144_4010074112, Package: Microsoft-Windows-Foundation-Package~31bf3856ad364e35~amd64~~6.1.7600.16385 [HRESULT = 0x80073701 - ERROR_SXS_ASSEMBLY_MISSING]
Error   CBS    Failed to perform operation.  [HRESULT = 0x80073701 - ERROR_SXS_ASSEMBLY_MISSING]
Info    CBS    Session: 30092144_4010074112 finalized. Reboot required: no [HRESULT = 0x80073701 - ERROR_SXS_ASSEMBLY_MISSING]

A few notes :

• STATUS_SXS_ASSEMBLY_MISSING : Culture is wrong ! Why the hell is it looking for German (de-DE) packages on my French laptop ?
• The log tells Reboot required: no but it asks for reboot anyway (even if nothing is installed!)

I have downloaded System Update Readiness Tool (100 MB) even if the ERROR_SXS_ASSEMBLY_MISSING error might not be fixed by this tool (not listed in the error table). After 25 min execution, no error were detected in C:\Windows\Logs\CBS\CheckSUR.log. Sytem File Checker tool (sfc /verifyonly) found nothing (aucune violation d'intégrité). Google search :

• An error has occurred. Not all of the features were successfully changed. : 8.000.000 results
• on microsoft.com only : 3.200 results
• with CbsPackageServicingFailure2 event only on microsoft.com : 2 results
• with WindowsWcpOtherFailure3 event only on microsoft.com : 1 result
• with WindowsWcpOtherFailure3 event : 20 results (including this blog)

Running the package manager by hand is a bit more explicit (I use the same name as in my French graphical user interface):

pkgmgr /iu:"Client Telnet"

Gestionnaire de package Windows Echec de l'opération avec 0x80073701 L'assembly référencé n'a pas pu être trouvé. Well this is the ERROR_SXS_ASSEMBLY_MISSING error found earlier in Component Based Servicing log (CBS.log). After some research with Process Monitor, it seems that TrustedInstaller.exe fails to open the registry key HKLM\COMPONENTS\DerivedData\Components\amd64_microsoft-windows-s..oyment-languagepack_31bf3856ad364e35_6.1.7600.16385_de-de_08eb0375be2e567f. I can confirm this with regedit : the de_de key is missing, I only got these versions : el-gr, en-us, es-es, fr-fr, he-il, it-it, nl-nl, pt-pt and zh-tw. Note: HKLM\COMPONENTS might be missing on Windows 7. In this case, it would be generated completely if you launch Windows package manager UI. These keys matches files under C:\Windows\winsxs. I cannot find the de-de files in this folder. This is what Andre Ziegler told me in the forums. He also confirmed that I need to reinstall Windows 7 (again :( ). If I look into C:\Windows\System32\catroot\{F750E6C3-38EE-11D1-85E5-00C04FC295EE}, I can find all language files, and the German file in particular (like Microsoft-Windows-Shell-InboxGames-Package~31bf3856ad364e35~amd64~de-DE~6.1.7600.16385). As adviced in Win7 Inside Out - WinSxS, I have launched language packs setup application lpksetup but German pack is not installed (as expected : manifests are missing). Note: WinSxS = Windows Side by Side assemblies. Thanks to mydigitallife, I have downloaded German MUI pack : windows6.1-kb972813-x64-de-de_399ac15b2d55fd5dea0770d98825d7e75f4ad533.exe. To install this pack :

• Run pack exe to extract lp.cab file
• Download vistalizator
• Choose add language
• Select lp.cab file
• Validate language installation
• Make German the new display language : no !

It is now possible to add new features. Victory !

How to read ext2 / ext3 partition under Windows 7

Ext2IFS works ! You must enable Vista compatibility mode (I have chosen Vista SP2). Then you can assign drive letters in the control panel (IFS Drives Control Panel Item in Icon mode). Unfortunately, it seems that you need to shutdown your computer to properly unmount the drive (hibernation improperly unmounts partitions).

How to disable UAC for an application

It is possible to disable UAC consent prompt for some applications with Microsoft ACT. References :

• http://www.vista4beginners.com/Disable-UAC-for-certain-applications
• http://dailyapps.net/2008/01/hack-attack-disable-uac-for-certain-applications-in-vista/

But unfortunately, this does not work on Windows 7 Pro x64. I failed to disable UAC consent prompt for Process Explorer.

Windows Media Network Sharing Service Memory Usage

Windows Media Network Sharing Service can consume a lot of memory, like 2.5 GB. WTF ?! AFAIK, I have nothing to share. What is consuming all this memory ? Hopefully, I still have 1 GB free.

Windows 7 fait rebooter la freebox

Depuis que j'ai acheté mon asus u30jc-qx010x, la freebox ADSL (Firmware 1.6.6) reboote régulièrement. Ce soir, ça redémarrait plusieurs fois par heure jusqu'à ce que je l'éteigne. Pistes déjà éliminées :

• Ce n'est pas lié à un navigateur en particulier (IE, Firefox ou Chrome)
• Désactiver ipv6 sur la carte wifi et sur la freebox ne change rien.

Après un peu de recherche, il s'avère que désactiver les services suivants provoque un redémarrage de la freebox après avoir surfé un certain temps :

• BFE (Moteur de filtrage de base)
• IKEEXT (Modules de génération de clés IKE et AuthIP) : dépends de BFE
• PolicyAgent (Agent de stratégie IPsec) : dépends de BFE

Windows 7 Search

If you want to index all C: content, some folders are excluded by default :

• C:\$Recycle.Bin
• C:\ProgramData
• C:\ProgramData\Microsoft\Search\Data
• C:\ProgramData\Microsoft\Windows\Menu Démarrer
• C:\Utilisateurs (C:\Users)
• C:\Utilisateurs\*\AppData
• C:\Utilisateurs\*\Favoris
• C:\Utilisateurs\*\AppData\Local\Temp
• C:\Windows
• C:\Windows\CSC (hidden)

Temp folders are not listed in exclusion list.

Windows 7 pictures

Default user pictures are stored in C:\ProgramData\Microsoft\User Account Pictures. The format is a bitmap 128x128. Default login screen backgrounds are stored in C:\Windows\System32\oobe\background.bmp and C:\Windows\SysWOW64\oobe\background.bmp. The format is bitmap 1024x768. You can change the default background if you create C:\Windows\System32\oobe\info\backgrounds\backgroundDefault.jpg. 96% quality (cf. gimp) is not supported but 85% quality is OK. Then it is possible to keep the same background for the login screen and your desktop. You might need to set HKLM\SOFTWARE\Microsoft\Windows\CurrentVersion\Authentication\LogonUI\Background\OEMBackground value to 1 (dword).

Asus FastBoot

Asus FastBoot delays the start up of applications configured to start automatically in the registry through Microsoft/Windows/CurrentVersion/Run keys. It is handled by the AFBAgent service. Keys are moved from Microsoft/Windows/CurrentVersion/Run keys to HKLM/SOFTWARE/Microsoft/Shared Tools/MSConfig/startupreg. Application delayed by default on an Asus U30JC-QX010C :

• Adobe Reader Speed Launcher ("C:\Program Files (x86)\Adobe\Reader 9.0\Reader\Reader_sl.exe")
• ASUS Screen Saver Protector (C:\Windows\AsScrPro.exe)
• CLMLServer ("C:\Program Files (x86)\CyberLink\Power2Go\CLMLSvc.exe")
• RtHDVCpl (C:\Program Files\Realtek\Audio\HDA\RAVCpl64.exe -s)

Asus U30JC-QX010X : Tuning Windows 7 Part 4 : Auto Run

Many programs are configured to start automatically. Note that a couple of x86 applications are configured in the x64 registry. I prefer to remove the keys and keep the application installed, just in case... It is still possible to reset the keys afterwards. You must disable Asus FastBoot to find some applications listed below. Keys than can be removed safely : HKCU\SOFTWARE\Microsoft\Windows\CurrentVersion\Run :

• Sidebar (C:\Program Files\Windows Sidebar\sidebar.exe /autoRun)

HKLM\SOFTWARE\Microsoft\Windows\CurrentVersion\Run :

• AmIcoSinglun64 (C:\Program Files (x86)\AmIcoSingLun\AmIcoSinglun64.exe) : Alcor Micro USB Card Reader. Not needed to read USB of SD cards.
• ASUS WebStorage (C:\Program Files (x86)\ASUS\ASUS WebStorage\SERVICE\AsusWSService.exe MySyncFolder) : No free 20 GB account is available for this Asus.
• IgfxTray (C:\Windows\system32\igfxtray.exe) : Intel Graphics Tray Icon. I rarely need to modify these settings.
• NvCplDaemon (RUNDLL32.EXE C:\Windows\system32\NvCpl.dll,NvStartup) : NVidia startup utility. Does not prevent the NVidia control panel to start. Seems useless ?

HKLM\SOFTWARE\Wow6432Node\Microsoft\Windows\CurrentVersion\Run :

• Adobe Reader Speed Launcher ("C:\Program Files (x86)\Adobe\Reader 9.0\Reader\Reader_sl.exe")
• ATKMEDIA (C:\Program Files (x86)\ASUS\ATK Media\DMedia.exe) : To configure a media key to launch Windows Media Player but no such key exists on my laptop.
• ATKOSD2 (C:\Program Files (x86)\ASUS\ATKOSD2\ATKOSD2.exe) : Driver for the missing fingerprint reader. Also provides pretty UI for Fn function keys. When disabled, Fn keys still work, but with a classic UI.
• CLMLServer ("C:\Program Files (x86)\CyberLink\Power2Go\CLMLSvc.exe") : Cyberlink Media Library.
• HControlUser (C:\Program Files (x86)\ASUS\ATK Hotkey\HControlUser.exe)
• RemoteControl9 ("C:\Program Files (x86)\CyberLink\PowerDVD9\PDVD9Serv.exe") : DVD Remote Control.
• Setwallpaper (c:\programdata\SetWallpaper.cmd) : Batch is missing !
• UpdateLBPShortCut ("C:\Program Files (x86)\CyberLink\LabelPrint\MUITransfer\MUIStartMenu.exe" "C:\Program Files (x86)\CyberLink\LabelPrint" UpdateWithCreateOnce "Software\CyberLink\LabelPrint\2.5") : DVD printing startup utility. WTF ?
• UpdateP2GoShortCut ("C:\Program Files (x86)\CyberLink\Power2Go\MUITransfer\MUIStartMenu.exe" "C:\Program Files (x86)\CyberLink\Power2Go" UpdateWithCreateOnce "SOFTWARE\CyberLink\Power2Go\6.0") : DVD burning startup utility. WTF ?

Other keys : HKLM\SOFTWARE\Microsoft\Windows\CurrentVersion\Run :

• ETDWare (C:\Program Files\Elantech\ETDCtrl.exe) : Smart-Pad.
• HotKeysCmds (C:\Windows\system32\hkcmd.exe) : Hot Key Commands from Intel graphics driver.
• Persistence (C:\Windows\system32\igfxpers.exe)
• RtHDVCpl (C:\Program Files\Realtek\Audio\HDA\RAVCpl64.exe -s)

HKLM\SOFTWARE\Wow6432Node\Microsoft\Windows\CurrentVersion\Run :

• ASUS Screen Saver Protector (C:\Windows\AsScrPro.exe)

When playing with these settings, the ELAN Smart-Pad can be disabled. Actually, it was running until I enter my password to open a session. Then, it was disabled. I needed to open the mice parameters in the control panel, open ELAN tab and enable the device. The laptop might also fail to detect the usb mouse. In this case, open the Device Manager, right click (with the touchpad) on the mouse section and scan for hardware changes. Edit 2010.08.14 : Asus Web Storage.

Asus U30JC-QX010X : Tuning Windows 7 Part 3 : Tasks

More than 40 scheduled tasks are configured under Windows 7 Professional on my Asus laptop. Task scheduling has been greatly improved. It is now possible to configure a task so that it starts when some user open a session. These tasks are responsible for many processes running in the background. Task are also organized hierarchicaly. Some of these tasks are configured with the Administrators group which does not exist on my French laptop. I must fix the task user first to be able to disable the task. The following tasks can be disabled :

• \ACMON (bad user) : Asus Splendid Video Enhancement Technology
• \ASUS Live Update (bad user)
• \ASUS SmartLogon Console Sensor (bad user) : Face identification with webcam
• \ASUSControlDeck (bad user) : Asus Control Deck application
• SidebarExecute : Might be the nuisance responsible for automatically resizing (some) windows by reserving the right of the screen.
• \WC3 (bad user) : Asus Wireless Console 3

Requirements :

• \ASUS P4G (bad user) : Power 4 Gear. This task must be running to launch Power 4 Gear (BatteryLife.exe). But this task can be annoying : it automatically disable transparency and force some white asus wallpaper when running on battery.

Asus U30JC-QX010X : Tuning Windows 7 Part 2 : Services

More than 70 services are started by default on my Asus laptop with Windows 7 Professional. Many services can be disabled. Home Group management :

• FDResPub (Publication des ressources de découverte de fonctions)
• HomeGroupListener (Écouteur HomeGroup)
• HomeGroupProvider (Fournisseur HomeGroup)
• p2pimsvc (Gestionnaire d’identité réseau homologue) : Remote assistance and Home Groups
• p2psvc (Groupement de mise en réseau de pairs)

Network :

• BITS (Service de transfert intelligent en arrière-plan) : required for Windows update.
• CscService (Fichiers hors connexion) : usefull to synchronize files between computers.
• Dnscache (Client DNS)

Network security :

• BFE (Moteur de filtrage de base)
• IKEEXT (Modules de génération de clés IKE et AuthIP)
• MpsSvc (Pare-feu Windows)
• PolicyAgent (Agent de stratégie IPsec)
• WinDefend (Windows Defender)

Security :

• wscsvc (Centre de sécurité)
• wuauserv (Windows Update)

Window manager :

• Themes (Thèmes)
• UxSms (Gestionnaire de sessions du Gestionnaire de fenêtrage)

Others :

• AFBAgent (AFBAgent) : Asus FastBoot agent
• DPS (Service de stratégie de diagnostic) : Might be usefull to ease automatic network reconfiguration.
• iphlpsvc (Assistance IP) : IPv6
• LanmanServer (Serveur) : Share file and print resources, Home Groups
• PNRPsvc (Protocole PNRP) : Required for remote assistance and Home Groups
• SeaPort (SeaPort) : Microsoft Search Enhancement Applications
• ShellHWDetection (Détection matériel noyau) : Autoplay hardware events
• Spooler (Spouleur d'impression)
• SysMain (Superfetch)
• TrkWks (Client de suivi de lien distribué) : Maintain shortcuts for moved NTS items accross the network
• upnphost (Hôte de périphérique UPnP) : Manage hosted upnp devices
• WerSvc (Service de rapport d'erreurs Windows) : Error reports.
• wlidsvc (Windows Live ID Sign-in Assistant)
• WMPNetworkSvc (Service Partage réseau du Lecteur Windows Media) : Share windows media player libraries with upnp
• WSearch (Windows Search)

Two more services could have been disabled :

• NlaSvc (Connaissance des emplacements réseau) and netprofm (Service Liste des réseaux) but they must be enabled for the Scheduled Task Manager to work properly (if they are disabled, opening the Conditions tab of a scheduled tasks crashes as it throws an exception.)
• lmhosts (Assistance NetBIOS sur TCP/IP) is said to be legacy support for NetBIOS over TCP/IP, but I do not known how to access other shares (e.g. NAS) with this service disabled.

References :

• http://www.speedyvista.com/windows7/services5min.php
• http://wiki.blackviper.com

Todo :

• ASLDRService (ASLDR Service) : Asus ...
• ATKGFNEXSrv (ATKGFNEX Service) : ATK Generic Function Service.

Asus U30JC-QX010X : Tuning Windows 7 Part 1

Bluetooth Disable bluetooth :

• Panneau de configuration / Centre réseau et partage / Modifier les paramètres de la carte / bluetooth (F5 might be necessary)
• Désactiver
• Propriétés / Bluetooth / Paramètres Bluetooth / Désactiver la carte Bluetooth
• (elevated) net stop btwdins
• (elevated) net stop bthserv
• (elevated) sc config btwdins start= disabled

Enable Bluetooth :

• (elevated) sc config btwdins start= auto
• (elevated) net start btwdins
• (elevated) net start bthserv
• Bluetooth tray icon / Activer l'adaptateur
• Panneau de configuration / Centre réseau et partage / Modifier les paramètres de la carte / bluetooth (F5 might be necessary)
• Activer

More coming soon... Edit 2010-07-31 : It is also possible to enable and enable bluetooth device with devcon utility from Windows Driver Kit (WDK) :

devcon find *|sort
devcon enable "USB\VID_0B05&PID_1788"
devcon disable "USB\VID_0B05&PID_1788"
devcon status "USB\VID_0B05&PID_1788"

Digging into Windows 7 (Professional)

When you are used to Windows XP and you do not really know Vista, you got a few surprises as you start browsing folder in Windows 7. Windows 7 annoyances :

• Contextual menu of folders has no Search entry. You are encourage to use Windows Search and the input box in the toolbar.
• Access to many (hidden) items in your personal folder (jonction folders) is denied (like Application Data, Cookies, Local Settings, Start Menu, Models, Recent, SendTo...) Well, actually, you have access to the target folder (somewhere in AppData like AppData\Local\Microsoft\Windows or AppData\Roaming\Microsoft\Windows).
• You realize that the folder tree in the Explorer is not the underlying folder tree on your hard drive. In French version, the Explorer shows you a C:\Utilisateurs folder whereas it is C:\Users actually.
• Window manager ignore elevated Windows (when arranging windows with Tile, Cascade, etc.). Same problem with Alt-Tab.
• No dock tool bar for your shortcuts. You must attach your programs in the task bar. Nevertheless, you cannot attach two copies (as a normal user and elevated) of the same program. Cygwin entry is conflicting with command prompt. There is no option to run attached applications as elevated.

Windows 7 : 2 days to get first BSOD

I do not have Windows 7 Professional for a long time and it took me only 2 days to get my first BSOD. ma config info :

• Bug Check Code : 0x000000C2
• Bug Check String : BAD_POOL_CALLER
• Date du crash : 14/05/2010 22:38
• Source du crash : fltmgr.sys+8F0B
• Chemin : C:\Windows\system32\drivers\fltmgr.sys
• Description : Gestionnaire de filtres de système de fichiers Microsoft
• Version du produit : 6.1.7600.16385

Secunia PSI might be to blame.