Windows Vista

Adding a network printer to a Vista workstation / desktop / notebook - The specified print monitor is unknown.

Michael J. Hamilton, Sr. — Sun, 29 Apr 2007 18:46:20 GMT

As a developer, one of the first things I did to my notebook (running Vista) is disable the UAC - I can't stand it - it keeps me from installing things like Virtual Server (which is not supported on Vista - but works perfectly fine), and is basically something I'm not worried about.

Until I want to add a printer that is a network resource on my LAN. I get the error that the printer cannot be added - "The specified print monitor is unknown."

Very informative - I know.

Well, believe it or not - this occurred because I set the value for the UAC to zero - or basically disabled it. The issue pops up because the network printer resource MUST install a driver on your local workstation - and if UAC is turned off, by default - MSFT has written into this - DO NOT install any foreign device - period.

To resolve - I open the registry HKLM\Software\Microsoft\Windows\CurrentVersion\Policies\System and set EnableLUA to a value of ONE "1" - reboot - and the printer adds just fine.

The question I'm sure you're asking yourself... "Do I have to leave UAC enabled???" - NO NO NO - and that's the nice part.

So, re-enable UAC - add the printer - disable UAC - and enjoy.

Hopefully this helps some other unsuspecting Vista lover...

Windows Vista and Microsoft Office 2007 - A New Experience

Michael J. Hamilton, Sr. — Sun, 19 Nov 2006 17:41:00 GMT

As a developer, I have really only 1 requisite - that I have a FAST machine. If I cannot compile 180K lines of code in less than 2 minutes, well, it's time for an upgrade!!!

On another note, as a MSFT developer, I have been involved in many beta (often more like alpha) programs. Vista and Office were no exception.

Office - very well done. The RTM is proving to be faster than the B2TR bits were - and I have not had a crash yet.

But the real cherry on this piece of pie is Vista - Vista Ultimate.

I setup a dual Xeon system w/4GB of RAMBUS RAM - 2 AverMedia video controllers and connected my cable. I've spent the past hour watching a concert - in HDTV. This is incredible!

Out-of-the-box (OOB) Vista Ultimate is really a new user experience - and my hat's off to MSFT on this one. I have never been a big gamer or video buff - just another chiphead that wants a fast computer. Well, you too will find Vista Ultimate to be the ultimate in experience!

That's my 2 cents worth - and MSFT? Thanks...

Visual Studio Team System - Visual Studio code-name "Orcas"

Michael J. Hamilton, Sr. — Sat, 04 Nov 2006 21:35:00 GMT

Visual Studio Team System - Visual Studio code-name "Orcas"

If you are heavy into .Net development and Visual Studio (VS) - you are already aware of VS's rich IDE and are probably familiar with some, if not many of the VS extensions, like Tools for Office (VSTO) and integration with other products like BizTalk and the Windows Workflow Foundation (get an intro to WWF and how to use it).

So what is Orcas? In a word, the latest offering for Vista and the 2007 Office System development platform.

Read the roadmap here. You have been hearing about the new features in Vista and .Net 3.0 - the Windows Presentation Foundation, the Windows Communication Foundation, and the Windows Workflow Foundation. Get ready for the tools to help you leverage these new extensions of the .Net Framework - and much more!

Learn more about how you can help create the experience for your customers, and leverage the latest in developer technologies.

Installing Virtual Server 2005 / Virtual Server 2005 R2 under Windows Vista Beta 2 bits

Michael J. Hamilton, Sr. — Fri, 04 Aug 2006 15:39:00 GMT

After a few attempts and much frustration, yes I can say that you CAN install Virtual Server 2005 R2 on Windows Vista B2.

I installed Vista Ultimate - July 2006 CTP

I went into gpEdit.msc and turned off UAP (User Account Protection) - I found a blog online that indicated that this could interfere with the setup of VS 2005, and I have tried the installation with it on and I ran into the blue screen of death a couple of times. After disabling UAP - I did not have this issue.

I found an excellent post on setting up IIS7/IIS6 Compatibility at http://www.pro-networks.org/forum/viewtopic.php?p=606840 - However, it did not address the fact that you need to turn on Windows and Integrated Authentication - and if you do not turn these on, VS 2005 will fail when you try to launch the admin console.

I found this blog too that was helpful regarding the credentials required to launch the admin console - http://blogs.msdn.com/virtual_pc_guy/archive/2006/07/24/675346.aspx

After a few tries - I'm happy to say this works great. Thank you all for the great posts.