How to prevent XP from creating a bridge between networks
Windows XP has a feature called network bridging that allows you to connect two networks together. If you attach two networks to your computer (for instance, you have a wired Ethernet adapter and a wireless network adapter installed on the computer), by default XP will bridge the networks so you can access one from the other. This is convenient but less secure, so you may want to prevent bridging. Here’s how:
- When you run the Network Setup Wizard, you’ll get a message that your computer has multiple connections. Click “Let me choose the connections to my network.”
- Click Next.
- In the “Select the connections to bridge” dialog box, uncheck the boxes for all but one of the listed network adapters.
- Click Next and finish the wizard. A bridge will not be created.
Update: See this comment for more information.
How to change the location for Office source files
If you installed Microsoft Office from a share on a network server instead of a local installation CD, the path from which you installed will be remembered and this is the location Office will look for source files if you later need to do a repair or reinstallation or add a feature that you didn’t originally install. If the source files have moved or that server is down, you’ll get an error message when you try to perform any of those operations. If the Office source files are at another network location now, you can change the path. Here’s how:
- On the client machine, log in as an administrator.
- Click Start | Run.
- In the Open box, enter: MSIEXEC /i admin pathMSI file REINSTALL=ALL REINSTALLMODE=vomus /qb
- Click OK.
Note: “admin path” is the full path where the new installation source files are located. “MSI file” is the Windows installer file for Office. It’s also possible to do this programmatically. For information, click here.
What is svchost.exe, anyway?
If you’ve ever taken a look at the running processes tab in your XP Task Manager (or better yet, use Sysinternals Process Explorer), you’ve probably seen at least one instance of a process called svchost.exe. Sometimes there’ll be several running at once. What is it and what does it do? If you always wondered, wonder no more. Instead, go to KB article 314056 and read “A description of Svchost.exe in Windows XP Pro.”
Temporarily deactivate the kernel mode filter driver
To help you troubleshoot certain file-related problems such as problems copying or backing up files, or program errors that happen when you work with files from network drives, you may need to deactivate XP’s filter driver that runs in kernel mode. Note that this should be done only temporarily, because it loosens security and makes you more vulnerable to attack. For more information and instructions on how to disable the filter drivers, see KB article 816071.
USB devices don’t work after restart
If you have one or more USB devices attached to the USB port or a USB hub attached to your XP computer, you might find that some or all of the devices don’t work after you restart the computer and you don’t get any kind of error message. This can happen when the device(s) need more power than the USB port/hub can provide. For some tips on how to correct the problem, see KB article 885624.
Deb Shinder