Tag: configuration
October 14, 2009 by
Jason
Keeping Windows 7 and Windows Vista running under normal parameters takes much more work than is done in Redmond alone. Fact is that the ecosystems of software and hardware products designed to integrate with the Windows clients have to do this seamlessly, especially when dealing with solutions that hook into the core of the operating system. Driver update failures for example, can easily cripple Windows 7 and Windows Vista, causing the two platforms to no longer start.
“This problem may occur if any one of the following conditions is true: The new device or the driver causes conflicts with other drivers that are installed on the computer. A hardware-specific issue occurs. The driver that is installed is damaged,” Microsoft explained.
In case you performed a driver update for a device component of your computer and Windows 7 and Vista are acting up, then your best choice to resolve the matter is to roll back the changes. Reverting the driver update will cause the issues introduced by the refresh to go away. First you will need to boot into Windows.
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Posted in Windows 7 | No Comments »
October 12, 2009 by
Jason Before that the first and second part we continue to publish series of articles.
41. Go Live. Many applications installed on past versions of Windows have been removed. Starting with Windows 7, these applications (and a few others not typically installed with Windows) have been moved into the Live Essentials downloadable applications, at download.live.com. These applications include Messenger, Mail, Writer, Photo Gallery, Movie Maker, Family Safety and a few others.
42. Remove Apps. Although some applications have been moved off of Windows to become an optional download, other apps, such as IE8, Media Player, Media Center and DVD Maker are still included. In times past, especially when it came to IE, the applications were tied into the OS. However, in Windows 7 you can easily remove them if desired. Head to the Program and Features applet in Control Panel and select the “Turn Windows features on or off” link in the top left-hand corner. Then you can select the checkbox of the features you want to lose or add for your system. Read More»
Posted in Windows 7 | 3 Comments »
October 07, 2009 by
Jason Over a year ago, Microsoft revealed that it considered 15 seconds the ideal startup time for Windows 7 under laboratory conditions. While 15 seconds was half the time it took Windows Vista Service Pack 1 (SP1) to boot, some critics pointed that the 15-second boot was a pipe dream. Well, Windows 7 did manage to provide its fair share of surprises when it comes down to boot performance, and the latest involves a startup that takes just 10 seconds. Just watch the video embedded bellow in order to get an idea of just what is involved in getting from a cold boot to a fully functional Windows 7 desktop in just 10 seconds.
“At (…) Intel Developer Forum, a company called Phoenix debuted new BIOS technology that allows Windows 7 to boot up from black screen to desktop in only 10 seconds. Called “Instant Boot BIOS,” the Phoenix BIOS uses new UEFI technology to power on several system devices at once instead of one-by-one. It also runs only those processes that are necessary to hand control over from BIOS to OS,” revealed Channel 10’s Sarah Perez (initially reported by LaptopMag).
The boot speed improvements over Windows Vista became clear very early on in the development process of Windows 7, via the now famous boot drag race. Read More»
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Whether you’re dealing with users in your work environment or kids at home, being able to control what applications a user can use can prevent a lot of hassle and headaches. Windows 7 includes a new tool, called AppLocker, that lets you do just this by creating a policy to specify exactly what applications a user is allowed to run.
To access this feature, click start and enter Gpedit.msc. Then navigate to Computer Configuration | Windows Settings | Security Settings | Application Control Policies. Expand the Application Control Policies node and highlight AppLocker.
Here you can configure Executable Rules, Windows Installer Rules, and Script Rules. For example, highlight the Executable Rules node and right-click to select Create New Rule. You can then create a rule allowing or denying access to an executable based on such criteria as the file path or publisher.
And in case you’re in a hurry, AppLocker will let you apply default or automatic rules. There are a lot of options exposed in AppLocker—too many to cover in a short tip—so you’ll have to play around with it some to get a better idea of just how much this tool can do. Read More»
Posted in Windows 7 | No Comments »
The process of installing Windows 7 involves a stage in which end users need to Set a Network Location. The SNL dialog window can be revisited after deployment, and the settings altered. In this context, location is key. In order to simplify the network configuration, Windows 7, just as Windows Vista before it, allows users to set up a network connection in accordance to location. The SNL dialog offers three different network locations: Public, Work and Home. What it does is that when the computer detects a network connection, options are provided for the user to help define and apply appropriate network settings automatically.
User interaction is only necessary when choosing among Home, Work or Public locations, as Windows 7 does all the heavy lifting. But you can’t even tell there’s any heavy lifting involved as the configuration process is extremely fast, and I for example, have yet to see it fail even once, after countless installs of the platform in pre-Beta, Beta, RC and pre-RTM stages.
In all fairness, the Windows 7 client comes with an additional option for network location, namely Domain. However, Domain is reserved for enterprise environments and is out of the reach of end users. The option is controlled entirely by a network administrator, users cannot opt to take advantage of Domain by themselves or alter the configuration. Read More»
Posted in Windows 7 | No Comments »
With the advent of Windows Vista, Microsoft praised the boost in energy consumption efficiency in comparison with Windows XP. Still, there are exceptions to every rule. And while Vista indeed uses less energy over XP, users of the operating system can still experience excessive power use. One such example involves Vista SP2 and earlier during sleep or hibernation, and the HD audio controller, the Redmond-based company explained. The software giant has noted that there are two scenarios in which Vista SP2 sucks more power than it should.
“If you put the computer to sleep or into hibernation when it is running on AC power, the high definition (HD) audio controller continues to use power. Additionally, even after the computer transitions to DC power while the computer is asleep or in hibernation, the HD audio controller still uses power. This behavior persists even though you disable the ‘Allow this device to wake the computer’ option in the HD audio controller properties,” Microsoft explained.
In addition, the company has revealed that there is also an issue associated with the Wake on Ring properties not responding to the configuration introduced by users. “After you disable the ‘Allow this device to wake the computer’ option in the HD audio controller properties, the Wake on Ring feature still wakes the computer from sleep or hibernation,” Microsoft stated. Read More»
Posted in Windows Vista | No Comments »
As Windows 7 advances toward RTM, the operating system is accompanied by a range of resources focused on the next iteration of the Windows client. An illustrative example is the software development kit, designed to streamline the development of native (Win32) and managed (.NET Framework) applications. Proof that the Windows 7 SDK is evolving comes from the Redmond company’s Visual C++ Team. A member noted that an issue related to Windows 7 SDK RC and Visual Studio 2010 had already been dealt with in the RTM version of the software development kit.
“If Win7 SDK (RC) is installed SidebySide with Visual Studio 2008 RTM before Visual Studio 2008 SP1 is installed, x64 and Itanium platform will not be available from the New Platform drop-down list. Build targeting x64 and Itanium will also fail. Note that the issue has been fixed in Win7 SDK RTM,” the Visual C++ team representative stated.
The problem was initially signaled on June 15th, by the Windows SDK team. At that time, Microsoft warned that installing Windows 7 SDK (RC) and Visual Studio 2008 RTM could disable VC++ configuration platform options. In this specific scenario, the Itanium and x64 listings will be missing from the New Platform drop-down lists of both the New Project Platform and New Solution Platform dialogs in Visual Studio IDE. Read More»
Posted in Windows 7 | 1 Comment »
To disable unneeded startup services for a safer, faster XP, use the “Services” Admin Tool (Control Panel > Administrative Tools > Services). If you are a single user of a non-networked machine, you can disable the following items, with no ill effect.
- Alerter
- Clipbook
- Computer Browser
- Fast User Switching
- Human Interface Access Devices
- Indexing Service (Slows the hard drive down)
- Messenger
- Net Logon (unnecessary unless networked on a Domain) Read More»
Posted in Windows XP | No Comments »
The Windows Automated Installation Kit for Windows 7 RC has accompanied the Release Candidate development milestones of Windows 7 client and Windows Server 2008 R2. The latest release of the Windows AIK is specifically tailored to the next iterations of the Windows client and server operating systems. Microsoft is offering the kit in an effort to streamline deployment of both Windows 7 and Windows Server 2008 R2. According to the Redmond company, the Windows Automated Installation Kit allows for the customization and deployment of the successors of Windows Vista and Windows server 2008.
“The Windows Automated Installation Kit (Windows AIK) is a set of tools and documentation that support the configuration and deployment of Windows operating systems. By using Windows AIK, you can automate Windows installations, capture Windows images with ImageX, configure and modify images using Deployment Imaging Servicing and Management (DISM), create Windows PE images, and migrate user profiles and data with the User State Migration Tool (USMT). Windows AIK also includes the Volume Activation Management Tool (VAMT), which enables IT professionals to automate and centrally manage the volume activation process using a Multiple Activation Key (MAK),” Microsoft informed. Read More»
Posted in Windows 7 | 1 Comment »
With the availability of the Release Candidate for Windows 7, Microsoft has also made public the system requirements for the operating system. The good news? Users who have already moved to a Windows Vista-tailored machine will not need to upgrade their hardware yet again just to accommodate Windows 7. In fact, the system requirements for the next iteration of Windows are roughly the same as for its precursor, with Beta testers indicating that Windows 7 outperforms Windows Vista on the same hardware.
Without further ado, the System Requirements for Windows 7 are “1GHz or faster 32-bit (x86) or 64-bit (x64) processor; 1 GB of RAM (32-bit)/2 GB of RAM (64-bit); 16 GB of available disk space (32-bit)/20 GB (64-bit); DirectX 9 graphics device with Windows Display Driver Model 1.0 or higher driver,” according to Microsoft.
The Redmond company emphasizes that the system requirements presented above represent the bare minimum required to run Windows 7. Read More»
Posted in Hardware, Windows 7 | No Comments »
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