Tag: documentation

Windows 7 RTM Driver Kit

August 18, 2009 by Jason

With the releasing to manufacturing of Windows 7 on July 22nd, 2009, Microsoft has started updating all the resources adjacent to the operating system also to the RTM milestone. It is the case of Windows Driver Kit Version 7.0.0. Developers are now able to grab an updated version of Windows Driver Kit Version 7.0.0 specifically tailored to the gold development build of Windows 7. Starting with the first half of August 2008, software developers have available the resources necessary to build drivers for Windows 7 RTM Build 7600, but also for previous releases of the Windows client and server operating systems.

“The Windows Driver Kit (WDK) Version 7.0.0 contains the tools, code samples, documentation, compilers, headers and libraries with which software developers create drivers for Windows 7, Windows Vista, Windows XP, Windows Server 2008 R2, Windows Server 2008, and Windows Server 2003. This development kit does not contain device drivers for your personal computer,” reads an excerpt from the overview for Windows Driver Kit Version 7.0.0.

But in addition to the WDK, Microsoft has also updated the documentation made available for developers in order to better leverage the resource. While WDK for Windows 7 RTM has been live for a few weeks, the updated documentation was only offered to devs on August 14th, 2009. The Windows Driver Kit documentation is currently available for download and integration with Windows 7. Read More»

Windows 7 Downgrades

June 22, 2009 by Jason

With the advent of Windows 7, Microsoft is making sure that it will keep Windows XP available for an additional 18 months after October 22, 2009, the official launch deadline for the operating system. Through the Windows 7 downgrade rights, customers with select licenses and SKUs of the next iteration of the Windows client will be able to downgrade and run older releases of the platform. In this regard, Microsoft explained that Windows XP would be given priority over Windows Vista. What this means is that the option to downgrade from Windows 7 to Windows Vista goes live only after XP downgrades are discontinued, namely after the 18-month period that will kick in on October 22 will come to an end.

Starting with the launch of Vista’s successor on October 22, 2009, customers with OEM/Software Assurance/Volume Licensing will immediately be able to buy Windows 7 but downgrade, deploy and use XP. According to the software giant, companies will need one of the following licenses to access downgrade rights: Select License and Open License; Licenses Enrolled in Software Assurance or OEM End User License Agreement (LICENSE TERMS). It is important to note that the licenses referred to by the software giant as the Full Packaged Product (FPP) End User License Agreements for the retail boxed versions of Windows 7 do not come with downgrade rights. Read More»

Windows 7 Driver Kit Documentation

March 06, 2009 by Jason

With the availability of Windows 7 Beta, Microsoft is also offering developers the necessary tools and resources to start building and adapting software and hardware products to the next iteration of Windows. One illustrative example in this context is the Windows Driver Kit (WDK) Beta for Windows 7 Beta Build 7000. In addition, the Redmond company is also delivering extensive documentation accompanying the latest WDK release for Windows 7 Beta, in an effort to provide developers with the necessary resources to help them tailor their drivers to Windows Vista’s successor.

“You’ll be pleased to know that you can now download the Windows 7 Beta WDK documentation in either hxs or chm format. Both downloads contain the same documentation bits that shipped in the Windows 7 Beta WDK.

Alternatively, you can access the Windows 7 Beta WDK documentation online,” Ted Hudek, Sr. content publishing lead, Microsoft. “Releasing in chm format is an experiment for us, and as such is currently just a one-shot. If we get feedback that folks like it, we’ll probably go ahead and refresh the chm at major OS milestones.” Read More»

Windows 7 IT Pro Guides

March 04, 2009 by Jason

Microsoft is offering not only pre-release versions of Windows 7 but also resources accompanying the development milestones designed to highlight the best aspects of the next iteration of the Windows client. An illustrative example in this regard is a set of guides offered for the IT professional audience of Windows 7. Which is not to say that the documentation is not available to all users to read and get an idea of what Windows Vista’s successor will bring to the table. Via the Windows 7 IT Pro Guides, Microsoft is offering the Windows 7 Manageability and Windows 7 What’s New resources for download.

These documents include:

1) A What’s New in Windows 7 Guide, covering many new and changed Windows 7 features of interest to IT professionals, including DirectAccess, BranchCache and other networking technologies, VHD boot and other deployment technologies, and AppLocker, Biometrics, and other security technologies.
Read More»

Network Access Protection for XP SP3 and Vista SP1

October 14, 2008 by Jason

Network Access Protection is designed to permit a high degree of control over client computers across a network. A critical feature of Windows Server 2008, NAP is now also supported by Windows Vista
RTM and Service Pack 1 and Windows XP Service Pack 3. But deploying NAP is not exactly an effortless task. However, Microsoft is offering the necessary resources to help network administrators, infrastructure specialists and system architects. An illustrative example of this is the Network Access Protection Design Guide available via TechNet.

“The Network Access Protection Design Guide, authored by our very own technical writer and NAP Forum hero Greg Lindsay, is now live! The NAP Design Guide explains the advantages, disadvantages, requirements, recommendations, and design considerations for deploying NAP for the IPsec, 802.1X, VPN, and DHCP enforcement methods. (…) Huge thanks to Greg for his authoring efforts over the last year and to many NAP product team reviewers for helping to ensure that the content is technically accurate and complete,” revealed Joe Davies, NAP Senior Program Manager. Read More»

Vista and IE8 Application Compatibility Toolkit

September 09, 2008 by Jason

From the perspective of a platform developer, Microsoft has to maintain an equilibrium between the innovation it introduces with its software products and support for legacy applications. Both Windows Vista and Internet Explore 8 offer an ample example of the Redmond giant struggling to achieve such a balance. This is why the company is lending a helping hand to customers migrating to its latest products. In this regard, the Microsoft Application Compatibility Toolkit 5.0 is designed to sniff out and permit the mitigation of incompatibility issues. The collection of tools, as well as the adjacent documentation included in the toolkit, are tailored to Windows Vista releases via Windows Update and Internet Explorer.

“ACT helps customers lower their costs for application compatibility testing, prioritize their applications, and deploy Windows Vista more quickly. You can use the ACT features to: verify an application’s compatibility with a new version of the Windows operating system, or a Windows Update, including determining your risk assessment; become involved in the ACT Community, including sharing your risk assessment with other ACT users; and test your Web applications and Web sites for compatibility with new releases and security updates to the Windows Internet Explorer Internet browser,” reads an excerpt from the toolkit’s description. Read More»

Free Vista SP1 and XP SP3 Support

June 15, 2008 by Jason

Windows Vista Service Pack 1 stand-alone packages may not bring to the table the updated SP1 Help documentation, but at the same time Microsoft is offering a much better deal to users of its latest Windows client planning to install the first service pack. One year’s worth of free Windows Vista SP1 support. This means that between March 18, 2008, and March 18, 2009, Vista users will be able to tap the Redmond company for unlimited installation and compatibility, free of charge. The move is a standard practice for Microsoft when it comes down to the Service Pack policy for all its operating systems. And in this context, it will also be made available for Windows XP SP3, once the third and last service pack for XP will be released.

All Vista users “needing technical support regarding your installation of Windows Vista SP1 – please go to the following URL and choose the bottom option that says ‘Windows Vista Service Pack 1 (All Languages).’ You have a variety of options you can choose for support – all of which will NOT cost you any support fee. I repeat: support for SP1 will NOT cost you anything – as long as you choose the correct option for support. We can only point you in the right direction in hopes of having your issue taken care of. However I am relaying as much feedback you give here to the folks internally at Microsoft regarding SP1 so your feedback is most certainly not falling on deaf ears. I will continue to relay feedback moving forward,” stated Microsoft’s Brandon LeBlanc. Read More»

Microsoft Offers TCP/IP Fundamentals for Windows

June 02, 2008 by Jason

TCP/IP, an acronym for Transmission Control Protocol/Internet Protocol, is a suite of protocols supported by Microsoft with the Windows family of platforms. Essentially, through its components, TCP/IP is used for communications on both private networks and on the Internet. As far as the world wide web is concerned, the most common aspects of TCP/IP are IPv4 (Internet Protocol version 4) and IPv6. The Redmond company is offering extensive documentation on TCP/IP as it is supported in Windows Vista, Windows Server 2008, Windows Server 2003 and Window XP. TCP/IP Fundamentals for Microsoft Windows is available for download.

“This online book is a structured, introductory approach to the basic concepts and principles of the Transmission Control Protocol/Internet Protocol (TCP/IP) protocol suite, how the most important protocols function, and their basic configuration in the Microsoft Windows Vista, Windows Server 2008, Windows XP, and Windows Server 2003 families of operating systems,” revealed Keith Combs, Microsoft IT Pro Evangelist, citing an excerpt of the documentation’s description. Read More»