By Dennis O’Reilly

Windows Secrets has always encouraged as many people as possible to get the paid version of our content by not charging a fixed fee.

Instead, we allow anyone to make a contribution of any amount, whatever they feel it’s worth, allowing people of modest means as well as those more well-off to receive the information.

Now, the Mar. 6 edition of the Puget Sound Business Journal, a weekly magazine, has profiled the way this works to sustain our newsletter. The publication compared our pay-what-you-wish model to the way the band Radiohead’s allowed fans to download its latest album, “In Rainbows,” for any amount.




Figure 1. The Puget Sound Business Journal article on Windows Secrets was also carried in the related TechFlash.com blog. (Click the image to open the TechFlash article in a new window.)

In an article and a related interview with editorial director Brian Livingston for the TechFlash blog, PSBJ writer Todd Bishop calls Windows Secrets’ pricing policy a potential lifeline for the publishing industry:

• “The name-your-own-price approach isn’t new, and online publishers caution that people won’t be willing to pay for all types of content. But as the economy cuts into advertising budgets, the experiences of Livingston and others may provide lessons for newspapers and bloggers seeking to build viable businesses in online media.”
  

For the full story, read the article and interview at the TechFlash blog.

Downgrading Vista to XP may need driver search

When WS contributing editor Scott Dunn researched last week’s Top Story on switching from Vista to XP, he tested two different systems: one that shipped with Vista and one that had been upgraded from XP to Vista. In both cases, the transition went smoothly. Unfortunately, like most things that involve tweaking Windows, the Vista-to-XP process isn’t painless in every case.

The most common speed bump is finding XP drivers for your network adapter, graphics card, and other peripherals. Tom Gueth was one of several readers who shared their frustration in finding drivers for their downgraded Vista machines:

• “[Downgrading Vista is] not always as easy as the article makes it sound.
  
  “1) The biggest issue is drivers. Although it has gotten better lately, in many cases the XP disc doesn’t have all the needed drivers. In fact, in most cases it doesn’t have them. Trying to automatically find them usually doesn’t work. So users can expect to spend a lot of time at vendor sites trying to find an XP driver. This can be a lot of work, especially just trying to find out what hardware is installed. Laptops are the worst.
  
  “2) Recommend that, rather than wipe the old drive, readers buy a new hard drive. Do a completely fresh install. A 160GB drive [costs only] $50 [and] is worth it. Then if XP is a major problem, you only need to put the original drive back in and boot. At least then you can still use the computer. Also, no backup [is] required (even though everyone should be doing it), as you just put the second drive in as a secondary drive or buy a USB box for $30 and drop it in there to get the data files.
  
  “3) Especially for laptops with SATA drives, the standard XP install disk may die during its startup because it doesn’t have the required SATA drivers (example: HP laptops with SATA). One can download the needed driver. Another option is that the BIOS may allow you to make the hard drive look like a PATA drive. This worked on two HPs I have done. [There's a] minor loss of performance, but the user never noticed. XP loaded like a dream — although as noted above, I had to go digging for drivers for many of the devices.”
  

In his July 31, 2008, Top Story, Scott reviewed several driver-update services that support both Vista and XP. The article includes a description of the free version of RadarSync, which Scott reports does a great job in finding XP drivers. For more info, see RadarSync’s download page.

This Microsoft patch doesn’t know when to quit

Susan Bradley reports that many Windows XP users are being offered over and over and over again the AutoRun update described in Microsoft KB article 967715. Susan found that one possible cause is Roxio’s CD-burning software, which may prevent the Registry key in question from being reset as it should be. In the AumHa Forums, Microsoft security MVP Steve Wechsler provides some suggestions for rectifying the situation.

The workaround involves installing the patch in Safe Mode and then manually setting the necessary Registry keys. Your system is probably already patched with the updated version of the shell32.dll file. However, some software may be blocking the corresponding Registry key, preventing the update from setting it. When the update fails to see the key, it offers the patch to you again.

If the workarounds in the AumHa post don’t remedy the situation, call Microsoft’s support line. In the U.S., the number is 1-866-PCSafety. Once the update is no longer nagging you, follow the instructions provided in the Mar. 12 Insider Tricks column for changing the Registry settings in question.

Reader Tom Gueth will receive a gift certificate for a book, CD, or DVD of his choice for sending a tip we printed. Send us your tips via the Windows Secrets contact page.

The Known Issues column brings you readers’ comments on our recent articles. Dennis O’Reilly is technical editor of WindowsSecrets.com.

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