Registry Hack Allows Windows XP SP2 Patching

People still running the now-retired Windows XP Service Pack 2 (SP2) can trick the operating system into installing security updates, a researcher said Monday.

The hack requires an edit of a single key in the Windows registry, said Sean Sullivan, a security adviser with Helsinki, Finland-based antivirus vendor F-Secure, who spelled out the tweak in a blog post.

"It turns out that an SP2 system will think it's [Service Pack 3] if you edit this key: 'HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\System\CurrentControlSet\Control\Windows,' and edit the DWORD value 'CSDVersion' from 200 to 300, [then] reboot," said Sullivan.

According to Microsoft, CSDVersion specifies the name of the most recent service pack installed on the PC.

Windows XP lives

• Registry hack allows Windows XP SP2 patching


• R.I.P. Windows XP SP2


• Microsoft extends Windows XP downgrade rights until 2020


• How to keep Windows XP SP2 safer after Microsoft stops patching


• Most firms face security 'red alert' as XP SP2's retirement looms


• Windows XP SP2 retirement looms, puts users in tough spot


• Windows 7 SP1 means end of XP downgrade rights


• Microsoft pushes users to ditch XP with IE9 plans, says analyst


• New Microsoft support service offers XP users Windows 7 goodies


• Microsoft wins Windows XP downgrade lawsuit

More on Windows

In other words, Sullivan's hack disguises XP SP2 as SP3 when Microsoft's security updates determine whether the PC is eligible for a patch.

With the hack, Sullivan was able to force a Windows XP SP2 system to install the emergency patch Microsoft issued last week for a critical vulnerability in Windows' parsing of shortcut files.

That "out-of-band" update was officially denied to Windows XP SP2 PCs because the service pack was retired from support on July 13. By Microsoft policy, retired products no longer receive security patches.

After hacking the registry, Sullivan installed the shortcut patch -- which he had downloaded directly from Microsoft's site rather than via the Windows Update patching service -- and tested an exploit that has been used by attackers for several weeks to infect PCs.

"It did not infect the system after the patch," said Sullivan. "Cool."

The patch for the shortcut bug can be found on Microsoft's Download Center site.

Sullivan cautioned users that the registry hack is risky.

"Remember, this update is not officially tested or supported by Microsoft for SP2," Sullivan said. "Hacking the registry and applying updates is likely a very quick way to destabilize your system. You really should update to Service Pack 3 if at all possible."

Most users, in fact, steer clear of the registry, since as Sullivan pointed out, an editing error can cripple the computer. "Do so at your own risk," he added.

Sullivan admitted he had not come up with the registry tweak, but said he had remembered a similar hack touted by players of "Grand Theft Auto IV" a year and a half ago. A thread on the GTAForums.com site from December 2008 showed how the same hack could be used to fool the game into launching on a Windows XP SP2 system.

Microsoft has been pushing customers all year to upgrade from XP SP2 to SP3 -- or to move to the new Windows 7 instead -- and offers detailed instructions on how to get and install XP's third service pack on its site.

Source: computerworld.com

How to Use the Roll Back Driver

Use the device driver rollback feature to reverse the consequences of having installed an invalid, incorrect, or corrupted device driver by restoring the previously installed driver. This post provides Windows XP support to use Roll back Driver


To use the Roll Back Driver, follow these steps:

1. Click Start, and then click Run.
2. Copy and then paste (or type) the following command in the Open box, and then press ENTER:
devmgmt.msc
3. Expand the appropriate hardware category that contains the problematic device. Double-click the device for which you want to restore the driver.
4. Click the Driver tab, and then click Roll Back Driver.
5. Restart your computer.

Users keep Microsoft Windows XP alive

Last year Microsoft announced that they would be pulling the plug on Windows XP, users frustrated many who were not big fans of the Windows Vista operating system. However, since this story to many people still using Windows XP on PCs and laptops allowing downgrade rights to Windows Vista.

With the release of Windows 7 scheduled Oct. 22, perhaps this is the end for Windows XP, unlike Windows Vista requirements 7 is not particularly good hardware necessary to install and run the operating system as well.

From the July 21 order OEM downgrade rights, it seems that ending the life of Windows XP, the only way you can get a license of XP will be the purchase from a supplier who still has a balance of it, demand XP license retailers will probably have to sell.

Microsoft is said to still offer XP for Netbooks, this is because some Netbooks hardware will not run any more advanced operating systems sufficiently.

How to manually configure Windows XP in Clean Boot State

Manually starting XP with a clean boot (advanced user only) This section is intended for advanced computer users. If you are not comfortable with advanced troubleshooting, you might want to ask someone for windows help or contact Support

Step 1: Start the System Configuration Utility

1. Click Start, click Run, type msconfig, and then click OK.
2. The System Configuration Utility dialog box is displayed.

Step 2: Configure selective startup options

1. In the System Configuration Utility dialog box, click the General tab, and then click Selective Startup.
2. Click to clear the Process SYSTEM.INI File check box.
3. Click to clear the Process WIN.INI File check box.
4. Click to clear the Load Startup Items check box. Verify that Load System Services and Use Original BOOT.INI are checked.
5. Click the Services tab.
6. Click to select the Hide All Microsoft Services check box.
7. Click Disable All, and then click OK.
8. When you are prompted, click Restart to restart the computer.

Step 3: Log on to Windows

1. If you are prompted, log on to Windows.
2. When you receive the following message, click to select the Don't show this message or launch the System Configuration Utility when Windows start check box, and then click OK.

Notes

• You have used the System Configuration Utility to make changes to the way Windows starts.
• The System Configuration Utility is currently in Diagnostic or Selective Startup mode, causing this message to be displayed and the utility to run every time Windows starts.
• Choose the Normal Startup mode on the General tab to start Windows normally and undo the changes you made using the System Configuration Utility.

Step 4: Optional step to disable features
If the clean boot fixed the error, you do not have to perform this step.

Important If your problem is not fixed and you do have to follow this step, it permanently removes all restore points from your computer. The System Restore feature uses restore points to restore your computer to an earlier state. If you remove the restore points, you can no longer restore Windows to an earlier state.

This step temporarily disables Microsoft features such as Plug and Play, networking, event logging, and error reporting.

1. Click Start, click Run, type msconfig, and then click OK.
The System Configuration Utility dialog box is displayed.
2. Click the General tab, click to clear the Load System Services check box, and then click OK.
3. When you are prompted, click Restart to restart the computer.

If these steps helped you start your computer in a clean-boot state, you are finished. If these steps did not help, go to the “Next Steps” section. If you have to return your computer to a normal startup state, go to “Steps to configure Windows to use a Normal startup state”.

How to copy music to and from an audio CD in Windows XP

This post describes how to copy music from an audio CD to the computer's local hard disk by using Windows Media Player (WMP). You can then copy the data back to an audio CD if you want to. This post provide windows media player support to copy data from CD to Hard Drive.

Copy music files from an audio CD

1. Insert the Audio CD and start Windows Media Player.
2. If WMP is in Skin mode, press CTRL+1 to view WMP in Full mode.
3. Click Copy from CD. Or, on the File menu, you can click Copy, click Copy from Audio CD, and then choose the drive from which you want to copy.
4. Click to select each audio file that you want to copy. By default, all files that you have not already copied are selected.
5. Click Copy Music. This copies the file into the My Documents\My Music folder by default.


Copy audio files from the hard disk to an audio CD

1. In Windows Explorer, choose the files that you want to copy to the audio CD, and then click the Copy to Audio CD Web View task.
2. In WMP, verify that the files that you wish to copy are in the playlist and that they are selected.
3. Click Copy Music.

Note: You can copy .wma, .mp3, and .wav file types to an audio CD.