Tag: program

Vista to Windows 7 Upgrades Program

May 27, 2009 by Jason

With the Release Candidate Build 7100 development milestone available for download since May 5th, 2009, and Windows 7 making its way toward RTM, Microsoft is also planning to debut the Tech Guarantee Program, now labeled Microsoft’s ‘Windows 7 Upgrade Option Program’ associated with the operating system. The Redmond company offered a similar program for Windows Vista, and it is now planning to do the same for Windows 7, starting June 26th, 2009. The marketing initiative is designed to offer free upgrades from Windows Vista to Windows 7 for customers who will not wait for the next iteration of the Windows client.

Microsoft has failed to offer any details related to its Technical Guarantee Program for Windows 7, but TechARP revealed that the Windows 7 Upgrade Option Program was planned for debut by the end of next month. PC manufacturer Acer has already begun promoting the initiative in Australia, by offering marketing materials advertising the debut of the program. “Beginning June 26, 2009, customers who purchase a qualifying ACER Vista-based PC will receive a comparable version of Windows 7 when available,” reads the message of a slip included with new purchased Acer computers. Read More»

IE8 Beta in Windows 7

February 13, 2009 by Jason

As is the case with any pre-release version of its software products, Microsoft has kept a close eye on Internet Explorer 8, monitoring the feedback delivered by end users, and tweaking the browser in accordance. The Redmond company has not only fixed bugs, but also delivered new features and changed the browser’s behavior following user input. And the message from Microsoft is to keep the feedback coming. In January 2009, Internet Explorer 8 evolved to Release Candidate stage for Windows Vista, Windows XP, Windows Server 2003 and Windows Server 2008. Windows 7 Beta Build 7000 releases came to the table with a post-Beta 2 but pre-RC Build of IE8. However, Windows 7 versions from the Release Candidate branch, including Build 7022 and 7032 feature IE8 RC.

“Please, be aware that the Internet Explorer 8 version on Windows 7 Beta is older than Internet Explorer 8 RC 1. So if you have an issue that reproduces on IE8 on Windows 7 and not on IE8 RC 1 then the issue has been fixed, unless it is an issue in an IE feature specific to Windows 7, Read More»

Windows Embedded XP SP3

December 28, 2008 by Jason

This December Microsoft has prioritized the update releases for Windows Embedded operating system. In this context, the company delivered the patches for security vulnerabilities in the platforms, but did not offer the package of optional refreshes. The explanation offered by the Redmond company indicated that the work poured into the finalization of Windows XP Embedded Service Pack 3 and Windows Embedded Standard 2009 caused the optional updates for December to be discontinued, according to Gina Bentley, the Servicing and Support program manager for the Vertical Industries and Embedded Windows (VIEW) group.

“We are putting the final touches on the December Security roll-ups to bring these products up to date with all security releases since they went into code freeze,” Bentley explained on December 12. “We want you to have everything you need to start creating your new device images built with Windows Embedded Standard 2009! We gave extra consideration to this roll-up release, and that, combined with holiday schedules, means that we opted to take a break and not release an Optional Update package for December.” Read More»

Windows 7 Upgrade Program

December 24, 2008 by Jason

Even with Windows 7 Beta 1 just around the corner, Microsoft is by no means focused exclusively on Build 6.1.7000.0.081212-1400, the unconfirmed version number of the first beta for the operating system. In fact, not only is the company reportedly moving onward with the Win7 development in the Release Candidate branch with Build 7004 (also unconfirmed), but, in accordance with the multi-faceted Windows business, the software giant is aligning its strategy with that of original equipment manufactures.

In this context, as early as December 10, 2008, even before the Windows 7 Beta 1 Build 6.1.7000.0.081212-1400 was reportedly signed-off internally, Microsoft approached OEM partners in an attempt to gather feedback for a Windows 7 Upgrade Program.

The giant manufacturer is planning a remake of the Windows Vista Express Upgrade Program, but this time with Windows 7, according to MyDrivers. The project does not have an official name, the Redmond company referring to the initiative as the Windows 7 Upgrade Program. Read More»

Twenty Secrets about Windows XP

December 23, 2008 by Jason

You’ve read the reviews and digested the key feature enhancements and operational changes. Now it’s time to delve a bit deeper and uncover some of Windows XP’s secrets.

1. It boasts how long it can stay up. Whereas previous versions of Windows were coy about how long they went between boots, XP is positively proud of its stamina. Go to the Command Prompt in the Accessories menu from the All Programs start button option, and then type ’systeminfo’. The computer will produce a lot of useful info, including the uptime. If you want to keep these, type ’systeminfo > info.txt’. This creates a file called info.txt you can look at later with Notepad. (Professional Edition only).

2. You can delete files immediately, without having them move to the Recycle Bin first. Go to the Start menu, select Run… and type ‘gpedit.msc’; then select User Configuration, Administrative Templates, Windows Components, Windows Explorer and find the Do not move deleted files to the Recycle Bin setting. Set it. Poking around in gpedit will reveal a great many interface and system options, but take care  some may stop your computer behaving as you wish. (Professional Edition only). Read More»

Make Windows Startup Faster with Startup Blaster

November 21, 2008 by Jason

It is very common when windows users complain that their computer systems loaded with windows takes ages to get started and takes a hell lot of time to load some applications in the startup. So, in order to get an active running windows which can respond to user actions you need to give some minutes to the computer to load the startup programs first.

Windows users always say there computer were faster in the beginning and used to take very few seconds to get started and running, but with time they say it gets slow and take so much time to get started.

What is the reason behind slow startup on your old computer?

From the time you first start using a computer, you keep installing a various computer software, games and other applications and install various hardware devices drivers many of which create startup entries to run the following. Read More»

Installing Windows XP Using A USB Flash Drive

November 05, 2008 by Jason

Removable flash memory sticks are pretty much one of the most handy little pieces of technology to come along in the last couple of years. They come in various shapes and their storage size can range from a measly 128 MB to a whopping 32 GB. And you’re not restricted by what you are able to put onto these devices either. Which got me thinking today. I am regularly installing fresh copies of Windows onto new built PCs, so I look for any way to increase the speed at which my work gets done without compromising quality, of course.

So I thought, with the speed of flash drives today, it could be possible to install Windows XP onto those PCs in a much faster time than with optical media (CD/DVD). Plus with all the motherboards I use, I always make sure that the motherboards support booting from USB as it’s a very handy feature. So I decided to look into the various guides that can be found on the Internet. Originally meant for the EEEPC, I found a guide that I was able to understand. Because of the way it was written it took me longer than 10 minutes to understand the whole procedure and I’m sure the average geek would be completely confused before they had reached the second line, simply because of the total lack of explanation on the part of the guide’s creator for those who do not usually do this kind of thing. Read More»

Transferring files and settings from another computer

November 03, 2008 by Jason

You can transfer files and settings from one Windows computer to another by using a tool called Windows Easy Transfer. To use this tool, your old computer must be running Windows 2000, Windows XP, or Windows Vista, and your new computer must be running Windows Vista.

To find Windows Easy Transfer, click Start, and then type Windows Easy Transfer in the Search box.

Before we start, let’s look at what you can transfer. You can transfer:

• User accounts, which include passwords and personalized settings.

• Files and folders, including documents, photos, and music.

• Other information, such as Internet favorites, e-mail messages, and program settings.

During a transfer, you won’t be deleting anything from your old computer. Read More»

Windows Vista automatically shutdown at a certain time

October 21, 2008 by Jason

Right now, I am actually looking for some instructions on how to automatically shutdown the computer by using only the built-in components of Windows Vista, without any additional “shutdown computer” applications (oh boy, there are thousands or even billions of those). I am thinking about using Task scheduler in Windows to set up a computer shutdown command in some way. Any other ideas?

I try to always use built-in functions in Windows to do a task before I use “other” software. Using little applications to perform tasks opens the door to bugs and crashes. Most of the times there are built in functions to perform most tasks. Most people just don’t know about or how to use them. 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»