Vista

Connecting to UNIX shares from Vista

I have covered this before but because of recent changes to Vista (sp1) I have had to redo my LAN security to connect to shares on a local Buffalo Teratation. It looks like its these older devices only that are affected as my new Linux server and a new Terastation Pro 2 dont have this problem.

SO: If you have difficulty logging onto an older terastation with Vista try the following:

Click “Start -> Run.” Then, type in the Run field: “secpol.msc.” That will bring you to Vista’s security policy system. Once there, use “Go to: Local Policies > Security Options” and then find “Network Security: LAN Manager” authentication level. Once there, change the Setting from “Send NTLMv2 response only” to “Send LM & NTLM — use NTLMv2 session security if negotiated.”

Stephen

Microsoft Vista Service Pack 1

I have installed sp1 on my main retouching machine and have encountered no problems so far.
Improvements in network responsivness and file copying are certainly welcome.
The service pack is not in general distribution yet but may be available in the next few days. If I notice any problems I will report them here. Having said that your system will be in a different configuration than mine so dont assume that sp1 would do the same for you. Best to let the update mature for a few weeks so Microsoft can tune it.

As ever I need to be on the bleeding edge!

Stephen

Vista networking shares to a Buffalo terastation

Vistas increased security can cause problems with network shares on Buffalo terastations.

These cheap raid 5 storage solutions are ideal for backing up images so if you would like to use them from a Vista workstation do the following:

select: start menu > programs > administrative tools > Security and configuration management

Select > Local policies > security options > Network Security: LAN Manager Authenticating Level

Set it to “Send LM & NLTM, use NTMLv2 session if negotiated”

You should now have no problems connecting and accessing shares on the terastation.

Stephen

Wacom tablets and Vista

Its Vista month here at Copyrightimage!

Here are some tips for Wacom usage under Vista:
Although retouching is fine with the Wacom driver for Vista there are occasions where the naitive pen support in Vista can fight the Wacom driver for attention and occasionally cause a litte stuttering when cloning or healing, here is what to do:

In the control panel select “Pen and input devices” and untick all the boxes.

If you still have any problems then some people have found the solution to be:

Uninstall the wacom driver
Download this driver to your desktop:
ftp://ftp.wacom-europe.com/pub/WINDOWS/pro496-8_int.exe
right click on the downloaded file, choose the compatibility tab and select Windows XP SP2
(don’t run it yet!)
Reboot
Run the downloaded file

This should return you to XP speeds of retouching. Any other questions?
I’m in the middle of a big retouching job at the moment, will update the site next time I come up for air!

Vista, the good and the bad

Whilst I’m enjoying running the Photoshop CS3 Beta on Windows Vista there are a couple of things to watch out for with this new operating system:

1. Although my main screen is calibrated and colour managed my secondary screen is not due to the fact that Vista is not loading ( or allowing other programs to load) the secondary profile for that screen. I have only discovered this since rebooting my machine (the profile worked fine on the second screen after the calibration). This is not a show stopper in itself, just a bit annoying really. Will keep you informed when the fix appears.

2. Microsoft are reporting that using Vista to add metadata to images may make them unreadable in the cameras own software, more here:
http://support.microsoft.com/kb/927527/en-us
I wouldn’t recommend using any operating system utility for such an important task as adding metadata, you should be using at least Bridge to do this so its not really a problem. (It will annoy the general photographic audience though so hopefully Microsoft will sort it out.)

Monitor profiling under Vista

Gretag Mackbeth i1 Match 3.6.1 – Screen calibration works fine under Vista. Drag the program to the screen you wish to profile (if you have more than 1 screen). Vista manages the separate profiles for you.

Eizo Colornavigator, I use this for my main screen (an Eizo CG211). The software will fail to run under Vista straight off. You need to locate the Colornavigator program (usually in: c:program fileseizocolornavigator) right click on it and select properties. Then click on compatability and select Windows XP service pack 2 or Windows 2000 to emulate. The program will then work fine (phew!)

Installing Photoshop on Vista

I have been playing with the retail version of Windows Vista for a few days now and am pleased to report it has all gone quite smoothly, more on this later.
There is one slight annoying glitch – although Photoshop installs fine there is a registration dialog shown on each time the program is run. Even if you fill out the registration details it still appears the next time you start Photoshop.
To solve this problem do this: right click on the Photoshop icon and select “Run as administrator”, then either fill out the details once (or select “never register” if you already have). The registration screen will not be seen again.

Windows Vista Beta 2

I have installed Beta 2 of Vista on a spare machine here in order to test its suitability for imaging. I will report back after I have had chance to try it on real work.
Initial impressions are that the new interface looks nice but drains speed from the machine (A Pentium 4 2.53Ghz with 1.5GB Ram), It just may be that new high spec machines that come with Vista installed will be ok but there is no need to upgrade existing hardware to the new operating system.