Windows Longhorn build 4074

Windows Longhorn build 4074 is the official WinHEC 2004 preview build of Windows Longhorn, which was released on 4 May 2004.

Setup
Setup overall is mostly very similar to previous builds of Longhorn.

User profile picture

 * The user profile picture has been replaced with a gray variant.

"Leaves" wallpaper
The default wallpaper has also been changed to "Leaves".

Aero

 * This build, unlike many other leaked builds, is the first build to have complete Aero effects in Explorer and Internet Explorer from the Desktop Window Manager, thanks to an early version of MILExplorer. However, a registry modification is required to extend the effect into the full UI of Explorer and Internet Explorer. The green translucent effect is used natively in this build instead of transparent "Glass". Further modifications such as a modified version of the build or a patched  file are required to replace the translucent borders with glass. The Jade theme also enables native Aero transparency, which has not been seen since build 4042 (however, full transparency will require you to put on the Desktop Window Manager and have the window small; if the window is maximized, then it will be opaque, like in Windows Vista RTM). See the Windows Aero page for instructions on how to enable Aero effects.
 * This build also contains Aero Stars, an animated desktop which shows stars bouncing around the screen. It is somewhat buggy, and some graphic adapters may have trouble rendering it.

Preview panes

 * This build has the preview and filter panes improved, especially the Preview Pane, which is more functional than in build 4066.
 * This build contains an Animated Preview Pane Aurora, but requires some modification to enable it.

Buddy Matchmaker
"Play A Game With Friends" was renamed to Buddy Matchmaker. However, it will throw out errors unlike in other Longhorn builds such as 4051 and 4093.

Other new features and changes

 * MSN Messenger has been updated to version 6.1, with a completely new interface.
 * This build contains numerous updates to general prompts, ranging from the Autorun prompts to "not responding" dialogs.
 * A new driver installation system is implemented. As a result, most drivers that worked on Windows XP will often have the driver installation fallback to a "pre-release mechanism" upon installation. If you get a pop-up notifying about the pre-release mechanism, simply press cancel.
 * IIS has been updated, but in Windows Components Wizard it says IIS 7.0; after installation it claims to be version 6.5.
 * Libraries have been updated and now have a majorly uplifted banner.

Do note the features related to .NET Framework, such as the sidebar, full Aero or Aurora, don't work on the x64 version. Basic DWM functionality is present, but can be enabled by directly calling relevant uxdesk.dll exports using rundll32 and a command prompt or extracting sbctl.exe from the installation media.

Installation

 * This build cannot be normally upgraded from a previous build, and can only be clean installed.


 * Setup might disallow installation on IDE drives if SCSI drives are installed in the system. However, this seems to be hardware specific.


 * The Checked/Debug compile of the x64 version has an assertion error in the IDE driver that results in a BSOD during "Completing installation" phase with an error code of 0x1E and 0xFFFFFFFF80000003 as there were no kernel debugger attached at that point. When this occurs, start WinDbg on the host, connect the debugger to the VM's virtual serial port (shut down the VM then add and configure one if there are none in your VM), then restart the VM and press the F8 key to select "Debugging Mode" and continue the setup. Once the "Assertion failed" message appears, type "ignore" or the letter I to the debugger command window. Repeat this on every message until the setup finishes.

No mouse driver in WinPE
On some computers and emulators, the mouse does not work in the WinPE for this build and subsequent builds. If the mouse doesn't work, you must use the keyboard to navigate the WinPE. This seems to be related to using a PS/2 mouse, as USB mice seems to work fine for the setup.

Timebomb
It is one of the several Longhorn builds that has a timebomb set to evaluation mode that triggers after 180 days, and as such it can be installed on the current date. Once the timebomb is triggered, Windows immediately logs you out and returns back to the logon screen if you try to logon.

Desktop

 * Showing hidden folders leads to a Search icon and a Help and Support icon appearing on the desktop. If the icons are removed from the Desktop namespace via registry editing, both aforementioned features would no longer be accessible.


 * Desktop icons tend to change their vertical spacing quite a lot even if icons are not being auto arranged. The Recycle Bin icon jumps randomly on the desktop as well and sorting options are not saved between reboots. The desktop has also been reported to rearrange other icons automatically in certain cases.

Themes
Upon changing themes, there are a few bugs you can encounter. One of which is the services theme can malfunction, causing the taskbar to have the classic theme visuals, and the start menu possibly being entirely black. This is generally easy to fix, however, since all it requires is restarting the Themes and Desktop Manager service in, or switch to the Windows Classic theme and then revert back to Windows XP Luna, Slate, or Jade themes. Another issue, which is more likely, is Explorer failing to render entirely. If possible, press the CTRL+ALT+DEL keys and open Task Manager to terminate explorer.exe, otherwise you're only left with restarting the system.

The Aero theme works with most of the existing visual styles, causing visual glitches especially when using the Classic theme, which usually crashes Explorer itself.

Aero

 * Performance might suffer greatly when DWM is running, even on fast computers.


 * Sometimes, the Aero Explorer may display the text overlapped.


 * TWIWMTB Aero theme is rendered incorrectly, leaving the bottom part without a frame when maximized.


 * This theme is incorrectly scaled when using the Windows Classic theme with large fonts and Aero.


 * Upon choosing a wallpaper, the desktop will glitch out if Aero is on.


 * Windows Media Player 9's automatic hiding of the system frame does not work with Aero. The user will not be able to open or close the player or click on any menu until the user presses CTRL+M key to show menu bar and then reopen Windows Media Player.


 * The title bar text will not update when under normal use in the Aero theme unless you maximize or restore down the window.


 * The Basket sidebar tile leads to an Explorer crash loop if Aero is enabled. The only solution is to remove the tile from the registry.


 * Using Aero increases the chance of Explorer crashing under normal use. There is a chance that Explorer won't load properly and instead the system would suffer tremendous lag requiring the user to hard reset the machine.

Creating folders
The option to create folders by right-clicking and selecting New doesn't work as the Folder entry is missing. Apply the following registry key to fix this problem:

Memory leak
As with most later Longhorn builds, this build's Explorer tends to leak memory after a while. Turning off the Sidebar reduces the effect of the memory leak.

WinFS and related services are also affected by major memory leaks. Disabling WinFS solves the problem.

WinFS
Windows Future Storage functionality is not enabled by default on this build. To enable WinFS, the user must set the startup type of the following services to Automatic:
 * SAM WinFS Account Store
 * Computer Data Synchronization Manager

Programs that are dependent on WinFS (such as Outlook Express) may crash if the services listed above are not enabled or running.

Faulty file browse UI
The main File Browse UI has two noticeable bugs. The first being that the Navigation Bar only allows for navigation by clicking on parent directories in the bar. The second being that the Filter and Preview panes may occasionally appear black or show parts of content behind the window.

Safe mode
Windows Explorer crashes in a loop by default under safe mode since the sidebar tiles are added by default. A prompt will appear titled "Desktop" and will ask to proceed to work in safe mode or start System Restore. Clicking either button will not perform any action and will bring up another exact prompt instead. The desktop will not appear with the prompt and Explorer may not launch. The only workaround is to remove all the sidebar tiles from the registry:
 * 1) Open the Registry Editor from Safe Mode with Command Prompt.
 * 2) Navigate to.
 * 3) Collapse the "Tiles" folder, and then remove all the sidebar tiles from the registry.

Additionally, when Windows Explorer is running in Safe Mode, clicking on Log Off from the start menu or initializing the Shut Down dialog box via Alt + F4 on the desktop with Safe Mode, it will bring up another exact prompt. So to log off, shut down, or restart, press the CTRL+ALT+DEL key and then click on "Log Off", "Shut Down", or the ">" button for more options.

Internet Explorer

 * The built-in download manager does not work, which leads to downloads not working at all.


 * Many websites hang under Internet Explorer even if they work under older versions of the browser.


 * The website URL is displayed as white by default which is difficult to read under the Slate and Jade themes.

Other bugs

 * DNS requests might not work properly on certain network configurations when a DNS server is automatically aquired via DHCP. Manual DNS configuration fixes this problem.


 * The spinning icon of the Autorun prompt might spin too fast on newer hardware.


 * On some multi-core configurations and at random times, Windows hangs significantly rendering the operating system almost unusable a few seconds after logging in. The only solution is a hard reset.


 * This build relies on Terminal Services and the User Profile Service to properly logon users. If Terminal Services are disabled or set to manual, the operating system hangs at a black screen with the build tag. If the User Profile Service is disabled or set to manual, the user will be able to logon but Explorer would not be able to load properly and profile specific settings would be lost.


 * Some services cause this build to hang at the logon screen for about one minute, which is unrelated to the Ctrl + Alt + Del requirement.


 * Pressing Ctrl + Alt + Del at the login prompt (when it is required/enabled) has a chance to either hang the system or cause a PAGE_FAULT_IN_NONPAGED_AREA or 0x8E bluescreen. This chance increases the more users have logged on and off. Disabling Fast User Switching increases the chance of bluescreens as well.


 * If a contact is pinned to the sidebar, an error message would be displayed on certain occasions that the contact cannot be updated. This error can be safely ignored.


 * Edits made to certain Explorer features such as the top bar are valid only for the open window and do not persist, even for the same folder.


 * Attempting to launch some Windows XP updates such as Internet Explorer 7 leads to immediate bluescreens even before extraction completes.

Itanium build specifics
Similar in manner to its feature set, the IA64 compile also contains all of the bugs and quirks the x86 compile has. However, there are some notable exceptions:
 * Because this build lacks WinFS, applications dependent on the framework (such as Outlook Express), alongside with WinFS-provided virtual folders/libraries, do not function. WinFS-related folders can be removed from the Computer system folder through the use of registry editing.
 * Due to the heavier nature of 64-bit binaries, Explorer will consume a copious amount of memory right after logging in, even with advanced features such as the Sidebar disabled.
 * Certain graphics driver versions will cause lag and hanging when .NET features (such as the sidebar) are enabled. It is best to turn these features off when trying driver versions.
 * Explorer works properly in Safe Mode. Clicking Yes on the Safe Mode information dialog dismisses it and Explorer starts normally.
 * If upgraded from a previous IA64 build, the registry will not be configured correctly. It is best to perform a clean install. If installing over a previous build, the hard disk must be completely wiped and the system's EFI firmware cleared of previously created Windows boot entries or the build will not boot due to an NVRAM related error. Entries and dual-boot installations on separate partitions created by later, RTM operating system builds (such as Windows Server 2008) may be left alone.
 * Explorer may randomly crash when opening folders with a.
 * Opening DirectX Diagnostics (or using any DirectX-related feature including the Autorun prompt) after changing display resolution will hang the system. It is best to restart immediately after changing the display resolution.

Aero themes
This build of Windows Longhorn includes 4 types of Aero themes, in which 2 of them are patched. The default Aero theme (seen in the first image in this section) is opaque.