Tag: Microsoft
October 19, 2009 by
Jason
Microsoft is making use of the time it still has ahead of the October 22nd general availability deadline of Windows 7 to deliver some last-minute finishing touches to the operating system. The latest iterations of the Windows client and server platforms were released to manufacturing on July 22nd, 2009, and, since August, have been available to specific customer segments including MSDN and TechNet subscribers. On October 13th, the Redmond company made available for download updates for both Windows 7 RTM and Windows Server 2008 R2 RTM designed to boost the stability and reliability of the two platforms.
“An update is available to resolve issues that affect some computers that are running Windows 7 or Windows Server 2008 R2. These issues are reported by customers who use the Error Reporting service or Microsoft Customer Support Services,” Microsoft revealed. “This update improves the stability and reliability of Windows 7 and of Windows Server 2008 R2 in various scenarios.”
This is not an uncommon practice with Microsoft. In fact, ahead of Windows Vista’s GA in January 2007, Jim Allchin, the then Windows boss, told customers that the first thing they would have to do after installing Vista and running the operating system for the first time was to update the brand-new platform. Read More»
Posted in Windows 7 | No Comments »
October 19, 2009 by
Jason Following the release to manufacturing of Windows 7 and Windows Server 2008 R2, Microsoft is slowly setting in place all the software pieces that traditionally accompany new client and server platform releases. An illustrative example in this regard is the WinHlp32.exe download. The utility is designed to enable users running Windows 7 and Windows Server 2008 R2 to access Help files, easily identifiable after the “.hlp” file name extension.
According to KB917607, titled “I cannot open Help files that require the Windows Help (WinHlp32.exe) program,” “At this time, there is no WinHlp32.exe download available for Windows 7 or for Windows Server 2008 R2. However, separate downloads for Windows 7 and Windows Server 2008 R2 will be offered after the RTM versions of these products are available to public.”
However, Microsoft has failed to wait for the October 22, 2009 general availability deadline of Windows 7 and already released the 32-bit (x86) flavor of WinHlp32.exe. Before Windows Vista and Windows Server 2008, the Redmond-based company allowed third-party developers to include WinHlp32.exe with their Windows programs. This is no longer the case, and the utility is now available exclusively as a standalone download from Microsoft. WinHlp32.exe is set up to integrate with both the 32-bit and the 64-bit editions of Windows 7, as well as with the exclusive x64 version of Windows Server 2008 R2. Read More»
Posted in Windows 7 | No Comments »
October 15, 2009 by
Jason It has by no means been a slow month as far as Microsoft security bulletins go, with no less than 13 patch packages being released by the company for a range of products. In total, the Redmond company patched no less than 34 security holes across Windows, Internet Explorer, Silverlight, Microsoft Office, Developer Tools, Forefront and SQL Server, revealed Christopher Budd, security response communications lead, Microsoft. October 2009 is also the first month in the software giant’s security patch cycle when updates were made available for the gold version of Windows 7. October 2009 marks yet another first, namely the first time that patches for Windows 7 RTM have been included into a company Security Release ISO Image.
At the bottom of this article you’ll be able to find a download link for the October 2009 Security Release ISO Image. The ISO package brings to the table all of the security updates made available for supported Windows operating systems, including Windows 7, Vista, Windows XP, Windows Server 2008 R2, etc. Read More»
Posted in Windows 7 | 1 Comment »
October 15, 2009 by
Jason On October 13th, 2009, Microsoft started serving to Windows users patches for no less than 34 vulnerabilities, releasing the most security bulletins in the company’s history. The 13 security bulletins made available are designed to offer fixes for a range of security issues affecting Windows, Internet Explorer, Silverlight, Microsoft Office, Developer Tools, Forefront and SQL Server. Microsoft underlined that, despite the large number of patches, all security updates had been thoroughly tested, and only received the green light for broad release once they met specific quality standards.
Out of the total 13 security bulletins released, eight have received Microsoft’s maximum severity rating, namely Critical, indicating that they are designed to patch severe vulnerabilities that could allow for remote code execution in the eventuality of a successful attack. The remaining six patch packages have all been deemed Important, a less severe rating. However, customers should apply the patches offered by the Redmond company immediately. The simplest way to access the security updates is through Windows Update. Users with Automatic Updates enabled will have all patches automatically downloaded to their machines.
Microsoft revealed that no less than seven security bulletins with a maximum severity rating of Critical out of the total eight also had an exploitability index of 1. The highest possible exploitability index: 1 is indicative of the fact that Microsoft considers the possibility of exploit code becoming available in the wild for the seven flaws extremely likely, perhaps even within the first 30 days since the patches were released. This just in case you needed additional incentive to deploy the security updates. Read More»
Posted in Computer | 1 Comment »
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.
Read More»
Posted in Windows 7 | No Comments »
October 14, 2009 by
Jason Microsoft has made available for download a tool designed to ensure that software installed on top of various Windows operating systems gets updated correctly. The Patch Registration Cleanup Tool is a utility offered by the Redmond company free of charge with a rather self-explanatory name. Designed to clean the patch registration errors, the tool went live on the Microsoft Download Center on October 12th, 2009 and is currently up for grabs for all users of Windows XP, and later releases of Windows, including the latest iteration of the Windows client.
“On a computer that has a Windows Installer based product installed, you may receive an error while installing an update for the product and the installation of the update may fail. Installation errors caused due to incorrect patch registration may be corrected using this tool,” Microsoft informed.
According to the Redmond company, end users will be able to run the Patch Registration Cleanup Tool not just on Windows 7 RTM, but also on older Windows platforms. The software giant pointed out that the following Windows operating systems are supported by the tool: Windows 2000; Windows Server 2003; Windows Server 2008; Windows Server 2008 R2; Windows Vista and Windows XP. Read More»
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 12, 2009 by
Jason Users that upgrade Windows Vista OEM computers to Windows 7 might find that the recovery applications set in place by the original equipment manufacturer are no longer accessible. This scenario is valid for some OEM machines that were acquired with Windows Vista pre-installed, the Redmond company explained. OEMs, in certain cases, will preload the Windows Recovery Environment inside the operating system. In this regard, users would be able to benefit from the System Recovery Options right in the graphical user interface (UI) and help topics.
“You have a computer that is preinstalled with Windows Vista by the computer manufacturer. After you upgrade from Windows Vista to Windows 7 on this computer, you notice that manufacturer-specific recovery applications are no longer available on the System Recovery Options menu,” Microsoft explained.
It is not uncommon for OEMs to customize the System Recovery Options. Original Equipment Manufacturers will in fact tailor Windows platforms to their specific needs, and always present custom build copies of the operating system along with their new computers. In this context, the Windows RE tools are customized in accordance with different OEMs. Read More»
Posted in Windows 7, Windows Vista | 1 Comment »
October 09, 2009 by
Jason The purchase of a record-breaking windows 7 operating system to make it faster, better one day before the start of the second series I share with you.
21. Presentation Nirvana. Press Windows+P to access the new Presentation mode, and easily turn on your projector and laptop screen at the same time. No more messing with vendor-specific utilities and arcane keystrokes. (Windows+X accesses the Mobility Center, with additional presentation options.)
22. Cut the Clutter. Press Windows+Home to minimize all but the current window, removing background clutter and letting you focus on that report your boss has been bugging you about.
23. Be a Mouse-Click Administrator. Windows 7 makes it easy to gain admin rights with a keyboard shortcut. Click on Ctrl+Shift on a taskbar-locked icon, and voila! You’ve launched it with appropriate admin rights.
24. Faster Installations. If your computer is capable of booting from USB, try this: XCopy the Windows 7 installation DVD to a sufficiently large USB drive, boot from that drive, and install Windows from there. It’s faster than a spinning platter.
25. Burn Discs with a Click. Or two; double-click an ISO file to burn it to your CD or DVD writer. Read More»
Posted in Windows 7 | 2 Comments »
October 08, 2009 by
Jason
Windows 7 may be Microsoft’s most anticipated product ever. It builds on Windows Vista’s positives, and eliminates many of that OS’s negatives. It adds new functionality, too all in a package that is less resource-hungry than its predecessor. And whether or not you’re upgrading from Vista or skipping it altogether and moving up from Windows XP, you’ll need to know how to make the most of it in your environment.
1. Pick Your Edition. Most business users do not need the more expensive Ultimate Edition; stick with Professional unless you specifically need BitLocker.
2. Upgrading? Go 64-bit. As the second major Windows release to fully support 64-bit, the x64 architecture has definitely arrived on the desktop. Don’t buy new 32-bit hardware unless it’s a netbook.
3. Use Windows XP Mode. Yes, it’s only an embedded Virtual PC with a full copy of WinXP but it’s an embedded Virtual PC with a full copy of Windows XP! This is the first profoundly intelligent use of desktop virtualization we’ve seen and a great way to move to Windows 7 without giving up full Windows XP compatibility.
4. Use Windows PowerShell v2. More than just a shell, this is the administration tool you’ve always wanted: Parallel, distributed processing for administrative tasks! Manage 100 machines literally as easily as you manage one with the new Remoting feature. Windows PowerShell v2 ships for the first time in Windows 7, and within six months will be available for older versions of Windows. Read More»
Posted in Windows 7 | 4 Comments »
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