Alexander’s Blog

I have been unable to select any files in Explorer in my Windows Vista Ultimate lately. I tried everything from CTRL-A, Shift-click, CTRL-click, etc. but nothing worked. I searched the Internet and discovered that this is a common problem that lots of users are experiencing. Some are experiencing in Vista x64, although I have experienced it on my 32-bit Vista (x86).

Microsoft have posted a KB article 934548 stating that “This problem occurs because certain applications add a key to the registry.” The resolution offered by the KB article is to reset the folders in Windows Explorer by going to Organize, Folder and Search Options, View tab and clicking Reset Folders. Unfortunately, Microsoft solution is not really a solution, it’s a temporary workaround to a bug in Windows Vista. The KB article makes it clear that the application may keep re-inserting the key in the registry so Microsoft’s resolution is to keep resetting the folders over, and over, and over again. Hmm? That’s a resolution? Are you kidding me? Usually Microsoft’s KB articles say something to the effect that this is a known issue and Microsoft is working on a solution. This KB article (last updated August 2007) refuses to admit that this is a bug in Windows Vista and the resolution posted seems to be the final resolution in Microsoft’s view.

Vista users are reporting on Windows forums that Microsoft’s solution is not totally correct and it has not been working for everyone either. Not to mention the fact that the problem can reappear. Here’s one solution that worked for me. I deleted the Bags and BagMRU keys in the registry to fix the problem. If resetting the folders doesn’t quite fix your problem then try the following solution.

1. Start the registry editor.
2. Go to HKCU\Software\Classes\Local Settings\Software\Microsoft\Windows\Shell folder.
3. Delete both the Bags and the BagMRU keys.
4. You don’t need to restart the computer. However, you may have to close and reopen the Explorer.

This issue can affect the following operating systems.
• Windows Vista Home Basic
• Windows Vista Business
• Windows Vista Enterprise
• Windows Vista Home Premium
• Windows Vista Ultimate
• Windows Vista Starter
• Windows Vista Enterprise 64-bit Edition
• Windows Vista Home Basic 64-bit Edition
• Windows Vista Home Premium 64-bit Edition
• Windows Vista Ultimate 64-bit Edition

Microsoft has made the Office 2007 Service Pack 1 available for download. For a list of issues that were fixed in SP1 check out Microsoft’s Knowledge Base article 936982: Description of the 2007 Microsoft Office suite Service Pack 1. Service Pack 1 will install even if a publicly available update has already been installed on your computer. The supported Operating Systems include Windows Server 2003 SP 1, Windows Vista and Windows XP SP 2.

Office 2007 SP1 update applies to the following programs:
Microsoft Office Basic 2007
Microsoft Office Enterprise 2007
Microsoft Office Home and Student 2007
Microsoft Office Professional 2007
Microsoft Office Professional Plus 2007
Microsoft Office Small Business 2007
Microsoft Office Small Business Management 2007
Microsoft Office Standard 2007
Microsoft Office Ultimate 2007
Microsoft Office Access® 2007
Microsoft Office Excel® 2007
Microsoft Office InfoPath® 2007
Microsoft Office Outlook® 2007
Microsoft Office PowerPoint® 2007
Microsoft Office Publisher® 2007
Microsoft Office Word 2007
Microsoft Office OneNote® 2007
Microsoft Office Groove® 2007

Click here to download Office 2007 SP1.

Here are a couple of useful links related to Microsoft’s Virtual Server.

1. For support provided by Microsoft for Windows Server System software running within a Microsoft Virtual Server environment check out the KB article
Microsoft Virtual Server support policy.

2. For Virtual Server 2005 Frequently Asked Questions click here.

If you are interested in cryptography, you might want to check out the Handbook of Applied Cryptography, by Menezes, van Oorschot, and Vanstone (CRC Press). This book is one of the recommended books for the modern cryptography course in the masters program at the University of Washington in Seattle. As of today, it is sold at Amazon.com for $83.95 but you can download it for free in PDF or Postscript format from Alfred Menezes’ Web site.

Alfred Menezes is a professor of mathematics in the Department of Combinatorics and Optimization at the University of Waterloo (Canada), where he teaches courses in cryptography, coding theory, finite fields, and discrete mathematics.

Microsoft Standard User Analyzer (SUA) tool enables you to test your applications and to monitor API calls to detect potential compatibility issues due to the User Account Control (UAC) feature in the Windows Vista. The tool is part of the Microsoft Application Compatibility Toolkit. It requires Application Verifier but if Application Verifier is not installed on your computer you will receive a prompt to download it.

For more information on how to use this tool, check out this TechNet article.