I made the mistake of trying to install Microsoft Messenger on a Vista machine. First, I have a shit-ton of problems just trying to install the software. May or may not have been Vista's fault; I don't really know, because I don't really know how I fixed it. Past that, I go to run Messenger. Vista says, Windows Messenger has stopped working. Would you like to find out the problem? Indeed I would, I say. To help protect your computer, Data Execution Protection has shut down your program. No explanation why, or what the hell that even is. But it does give you the option for changing DEP settings. Okay, let's do that. After five minutes of navigating, I'm given this Sophie's choice of: Turn on DEP for essential Windows programs and services (currently selected), or turn on DEP for all programs except those I select. So I've got to potentially spread this application-cancelling bullshit to every application on the machine and then deselect it just for Messenger, or I can just give up now. (Notice that disabling DEP outright is not an option.) So, I go option two, again navigate for five minutes, and when I finally find and select Messenger, I'm told This program must run with data execution protection enabled. You cannot turn off DEP for his program. Really? REALLY? Thanks so much Microsoft Vista for saving me from other nefarious Microsoft programs. You stupid, stupid, piece of shit operating system.
... that two people were instrumental in my joining Twitter. First, Isha . She sent out an article on it when the application was still brand new. (And I remember thinking, "Screw that noise. Like I need more online commitments.) Second was Rebecca . She joined up just a short while ago, claiming she hadn't met a bandwidth she didn't like . (And then she disappeared entirely from the internets .) It looked nice and pretty over there on her sidebar, and then I got a little jealous. The rest: history. And for those unobservant among you ( Jorge ), the Twitter feed is right there on my sidebar, replacing the old Radio 3 player that I loved, but that I think scared the bejezus out of a lot of people. Also, everyone should join Twitter. I'm needing some diversions , people.
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Due to the way Windows Vista's boot editor has been created, it is now harder to disable DEP / No Execute Protection. However, after some amount of research, it would seem that some of the random Windows Explorer crashes that users are experiencing is caused by this technology. You will need to disable it and reboot, which should cure some of the crashes:
1. Click Start, All Programs, Accessories, right click on "Command Prompt", and click "Run as administrator".
2. If asked for permission to run Windows Command Processor, click on Allow.
3. At the command prompt, type in "bcdedit.exe /set {current} nx AlwaysOff" (without the quotes).
4. You should receive a message saying "Operation Completed Successfully".
5. Restart the computer, DEP / No Execute should now be disabled
1) Windows Messenger (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Windows_Messenger)
2) Windows Live
(http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Windows_Live_Messenger)