Windows XP and Windows Vista will no longer be supported in future versions of CrystalIDEA apps. Server versions of these legacy systems will be discontinued as well (Windows Server 2003/2008).

Below is the list of last versions of our apps (plus download links) that are still compatible with Windows XP and Vista:

• Uninstall Tool v3.5.10 - Download (portable)
• AnyToISO v3.9.6 - Download (portable)
• Macs Fan Control v1.5.9 - Download
• SpeedyFox v2.0.30 - Download

Licensing concerns

Already issued licenses will continue to work normally on legacy systems. If you decide to upgrade your OS (e.g. Windows XP -> Windows 10) there’s no need to purchase a new license, simply uninstall the app from the old PC/OS and activate your license in the new OS.

If you purchase a new license and do really want to use it on a legacy OS, just just use one of download links above.

Some numbers

• Windows XP was released in 2001 and Microsoft officially discontinued its support in 2014.
• Windows Vista was released in 2006 and Microsoft officially discontinued its support in 2017.
• In 2021 both Windows XP + Vista users are 0.58% of the website audience (1 Jan - 4 May).

Some computers with different hardware may encounter BSOD (Blue Screen of Death) with KMODE_EXCEPTION_NOT_HANDLED error code when trying to upgrade to Windows 10 version 2004 from previous versions (1909).

We’ve recently noticed that dropbox.exe process appears in the list of apps that consume GPU resources:

Actually, quite many modern apps (e.g. Google Chrome or Mozilla Firefox) may also use GPU, but this behaviour can be turned off though not in the case of Dropbox Client, no command line switch exist either. While for most people this shouldn’t be an issue, some advanced guys would want to have full control over their working environment and resources.

We’ve received two reports from people running Windows who were infected by a Trojan (or some another kind of malware) by executing a file signed by our company (CrystalBit Solutions). More specifically this executable had the AnyToISO icon. How can this be possible?

Unfortunately, it is possible by using a common technique used by cybercriminals called - DLL Search Order Hijacking. In short:

NVIDIA GeForce RTX 2060 SUPER Founders Edition is a great looking card of premium build quality that performs on the same level as RTX 2070 (also with 8GB of GDDR6) with a competitive 400$ price tag. Dual axial fans provide outstanding thermal results and very quiet acoustics when gaming. But does it have some flaws? From our perspective:

• Idle fan noise
• No way of controlling LED RGB logo (GEFORCE RTX)

Mac Pro 2013 is still a beast of a machine. We still own one with the most balanced (from our perspective) custom CPU installed: 8 Core / 16 Threads 3.3 Ghz Base (4.0 Ghz Turbo) E5-2667 v2. It features same 130W TDP thermal design as with other CPUs that are officialy installed (12 core, for example).

The computer has a single whisper quiet fan but Apple traditionally prefers acoustics levels over actual thermals. In this post we demonstrate this behaviour and explain how to improve it.

Update: MacPro7,1 and iMacPro1,1 are supported in version 1.5.6.

Macs Fan Control wasn’t able to work under Windows on Apple computers equipped with the T2 security chip since its introduction in 2018. We honestly thought it wasn’t actually possible but now it is! We’re happy to announce that the program now flawlessly works in Windows 10 on modern Apple computers that have the T2 chip:

Unser extrem beliebte Macs Fan Control App wird jetzt noch besser: Es gibt jetzt eine Pro Version mit Voreinstellungen für erfahrene Benutzer, bedeutende UI Verbesserungen und mehr Stabilität.

Classic Mac Pro 5,1 (auch 4,1 mit Upgrade auf 5,1) hat normalerweise nur WLan 802.11n und Bluetooth 2.1. Hier finden Sie die Hauptgründe, wieso Sie das W-Lan auf 802.11ac und Bluetooth auf 4.0 upgraden sollten:

• Sie erhalten Continuity, Handoff und das neue AirDrop native
• W-LAN 802.11ac ist wahnsinnig schnell, Bluetooth 4.0 ist zuverlässiger, sicherer und deutlich schneller
• MacOS 10.15 Catalina unterstützt alte BCM94322MC W-Lan Karten nicht mehr, daher funktioniert W-Lan damit nicht mehr

Problem: Das neueste Windows 10 Update 1903 löst einen Blue Screen aus (BSOD, blue screen of death) mit der Fehlermeldung WDF_VIOLATION auf einigen MacBook Modellen (MacBook Pro 2010/2011, MacBook Air 2011, Mac Mini 2012, iMac 2010/2011 und ein paar weitere). Dieser schwerwiegende Fehler taucht auf, wenn Windows bereits geladen wurde und das System versucht das Apple Boot Camp Utility (BootCamp.exe) auszuführen. Dieses Tool ist verantwortlich für die Steuerung der Bildschirmhelligkeit, Lautstärke, Funktionstasten, Hintergrundbeleuchtung, usw. über die Apple Tastatur. Bei manchen Geräten passiert dieser Crash nur, wenn Sie versuchen unsere Macs Fan Control App zu starten.