The installation itself can be initiated in the old operating system. Windows XP users need to select custom installation in the process as described in the sheet that comes with the disks of the operating system.

Installation went fine and I was able to boot into Windows 7 in no time. I did encounter two problems with hardware that was not recognized by the operating system. One of the devices was unfortunately my Linksys network adapter which meant that I was not able to connect to the Internet until the problem was fixed. I thankfully had the driver ready and the device was recognized and installed in no time.

After that it took some time to download the latest device drivers and software programs to the computer system. Firefox and Thunderbird backups could be restored with Mozbackup and the rest of the process went smoothly as well. Here are a few tips for a Windows 7 Upgrade:

• Make Backups of everything that you consider valuable. Think about programs that you would like to use in the new operating system and do some research to find backup solutions. Make sure those backups are accessible in the new operating system
• Have the most important drivers ready before starting the installation, those are usually for the network adapter, video, audio and everything else that is required to run the system initially.
• Make sure you have enough time at hand for completing the process. A smooth installation and initial configuration can take up to two hours and a lot more if you run into troubles.
• If possible have another computer system ready for downloading files or troubleshooting issues

Did you make the switch to Windows 7 already? If so, what was your upgrade or installation experience?

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Everton from Connected Internet and I have created a Windows 7 blog some time ago where we closely followed the development of the operating system.

Here are the things that I personally like in Windows 7:

• Automatic digital camera (and other devices) recognition with proper actions displayed (e.g. copy photos from digital camera to the computer system). No driver installation or third party software needed to do that.
• The operating system feels more responsive and seems to run better on low-end hardware than Vista
• Better troubleshooting options
• The new taskbar. It takes a while to get used to the new features but they are very handy (e.g. pinning software to the taskbar) once you get used to them
• Light theme customizations without system file patching
• Search Connectors to search the Internet from within Windows Explorer
• Better 64-bit support (meaning developers who want a certificate need to provide 32-bit and 64-bit editions of their programs)
• Home Group feature for easier home network management and creation

Some say the differences between Vista and Windows 7 are not big enough to justify a migration to the new operating system. I say it solely depends on the situation. If you are happy with Vista or XP stick with it. It would make sense from a security standpoint to migrate from XP to Windows 7. There are other aspects that make a migration from XP to 7 desirable.

About the different editions that are available: Most users should be fine with Windows 7 Home Premium as Windows 7 Professional and Windows 7 Ultimate cater to a professional audience with features that are usually not requested and needed by home users (think of virtual hard disk booting, location aware printing, Windows server domain, remote desktop host, presentation mode or Branchache). Best of all it is a lot cheaper than the other two editions of Windows 7.

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One of these aces is the following tip. Most users who are searching for a specific file in Windows Explorer are doing it manually. They browse the folders and files until they find the file they are looking for. And since the files are usually sorted alphabetically it is usually not a problem to locate it.

Problems appear if the files are not sorted alphabetically or if there are many files with a similar naming pattern. Windows Explorer thankfully offers a way to quickly jump to files. This can be done if the file name is known to the user. All the user needs to do is to quickly enter the first chars of the filename in the active Windows Explorer window.

This will automatically select the first file matching the pattern. Multiple chars have to be entered in rapid succession so that Windows Explorer recognizes them as part of the same pattern.

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Students eager to buy Windows 7 for this price qualify if they have a valid email address from their educational institution and if they are enrolled in coursework (proof may be required). Microsoft has setup a simple site for US and UK students to enter their email address. An email will be send to the entered email address with information if it is eligible for the reduced price.

US students can apply right away while UK students need to wait until September 30 before the form is activated on the website. It seems that the number of licenses is – again – limited which means they are served on a first come first served basis. Microsoft has intentions to provide the service to students from other countries like Germany, France, Canada or Australia as well starting from October 22 (that’s the Windows 7 release date).

It is also unclear why Microsoft is offering both Windows 7 Home Premium and Windows 7 Professional for the same price tag as there is virtually no reason to pick the Home Premium version which comes with less features than the professional edition (unless upgrades are an issue).

Students from various countries (including the US, UK and France) can furthermore buy a copy of Microsoft Office for $59 over at the Ultimate Steal website.

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Operating systems that are not affected include Windows XP, Windows 7 final and Windows Server 2003. No patch is currently available to fix the vulnerability. Microsoft has published workarounds to protect the operating system from possible attacks.

Disable SMB v2

To modify the registry key, perform the following steps:

Note Using Registry Editor incorrectly can cause serious problems that may require you to reinstall your operating system. Microsoft cannot guarantee that problems resulting from the incorrect use of Registry Editor can be solved. Use Registry Editor at your own risk. For information about how to edit the registry, view the “Changing Keys And Values” Help topic in Registry Editor (Regedit.exe) or view the “Add and Delete Information in the Registry” and “Edit Registry Data” Help topics in Regedt32.exe.

1. Click Start, click Run, type Regedit in the Open box, and then click OK.
2. Locate and then click the following registry subkey:
HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\System\CurrentControlSet\Services
3. Click LanmanServer.
4. Click Parameters.
5. Right-click to add a new DWORD (32 bit) Value.
6. Enter smb2 in the Name data field, and change the Value data field to 0.
7. Exit.
8. Restart the “Server” service by performing one of the following:
- Open up the computer management MMC, navigate to Services and Applications, click Services, right-click the Server service name and click Restart. Answer Yes in the pop-up menu.
- From a command prompt and with administrator privileges, type net stop server and then net start server.

Impact of workaround. Host will not be able to communicate using SMB2.

Block TCP ports 139 and 445 at the firewall

These ports are used to initiate a connection with the affected component. Blocking TCP ports 139 and 445 at the firewall will help protect systems that are behind that firewall from attempts to exploit this vulnerability. Microsoft recommends that you block all unsolicited inbound communication from the Internet to help prevent attacks that may use other ports. For more information about ports, see TCP and UDP Port Assignments.

Impact of Workaround: Several Windows services use the affected ports. Blocking connectivity to the ports may cause various applications or services to not function. Some of the applications or services that could be impacted are listed below:

• Applications that use SMB (CIFS)
• Applications that use mailslots or named pipes (RPC over SMB)
• Server (File and Print Sharing)
• Group Policy
• Net Logon
• Distributed File System (DFS)
• Terminal Server Licensing
• Print Spooler
• Computer Browser
• Remote Procedure Call Locator
• Fax Service
• Indexing Service
• Performance Logs and Alerts
• Systems Management Server
• License Logging Service

Users that are running one of the operating systems that are affected by the vulnerability are encouraged to use one of the workarounds to protect their computer systems. More information are available at the Microsoft Security Advisory page.

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A simple Registry tweak can remove these folders from the My Computer display. The system folders remain on the computer system and are not modified in any way by the following procedure. Only their links that are automatically added in My Computer is removed.

To remove the Shared Documents and user document folders from My Computer do the following:

Press the keyboard shortcut [Windows R] to open the run dialog box. Enter regedit and hit enter to open the Windows Registry editor. Now locate for the following Registry key:

HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SOFTWARE\Microsoft\Windows\CurrentVersion\Explorer\MyComputer\NameSpace\DelegateFolders\{59031a47-3f72-44a7-89c5-5595fe6b30ee}

This can be done by manually navigating in the Registry or searching for part of the key. Please check the complete key as it might appear several times in the Registry. Deleting that Registry key will remove the Shared Documents and user documents folder from My Computer. It is recommended to create a backup of the Registry key before deleting it. This can be done my selecting the key in the Registry editor and opening the Export option under the File header menu.

The changes are immediately visible although a refresh might be needed if the My Computer folder was open during the procedure. The changes can be undone by double-clicking on the Registry backup file that was created in the process. Another option is to simply created the Registry key manually using the information above.

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Users who are interested in hosting a Windows 7 launch party can apply at Microsoft’s House Party website.

In order for you to be considered in the host selection process, you need to fill out the online application (which asks you questions about your knowledge of the sponsor brand, how you typically throw parties, whether you are an internet user and have a digital camera, etc). After completing the application, you will need to respond to the confirmation email by clicking on the link within it (to make sure our means of communicating with you works). From the group of applicants who confirm their email address and complete the application, we choose a pool of hosts who fit House Party’s and the sponsor’s host criteria.

A signup is required to the House Party service. This can be done by filling out the information manually or using an existing Facebook account to fill out most information. A short survey has then to be filled out afterwards. Microsoft has plans to host more than 1000 house parties which means that the chance is probably not that good to be selected as one of the hosts as there is no way to individualize the application.

Party hosts that are selected by Microsoft will not only receive a special signature edition of Windows 7 Ultimate edition but also a party pack for the party. Follow this link to the House Party website to apply to be one of the party hosts for the Windows 7 launch party.

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A Windows session would be locked by simply removing the connected USB drive from the computer system. Connecting the USB flash drive again would unlock the system. This without having to enter a password to do so.

Predator needs to prepare an USB flash drive before it can be used for that purpose. This process writes a keyfile on the USB device that is read by the software program whenever a computer needs to be unlocked.

The user needs to specify a backup password as well. This backup password can be used to unlock a session if the USB flash drive is damaged or not available at all.

Predator will not harm any files that reside on the USB flash drive during the process. It offers several additional options that are used to configure the process in more detail. This includes enabling support for multiple monitors, setting the screen darkness, hiding all desktop items or minimizing all windows.

The screen will go black whenever the user removes the USB drive from the computer system.

Predator will write events to a log file that can be used to analyze attempts to access the computer system. The software will also change the keys on the USB drives frequently to prevent that a copied keyfile can be used to access the system.

Predator can also be configured to sound an alarm whenever someone tries to access the PC. The software is a viable alternative for users who (have to) lock their Windows sessions frequently.

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A new proposal to display a browser ballot screen to users after installation was announced by Microsoft a month ago which turned all things upside down once again. Windows 7E got canned and Microsoft announced plans to ship the same Windows 7 editions worldwide. This meant that European customers were once again able to purchase Windows 7 Upgrades or full retail versions of the operating system.

Customers who have already pre-order Windows 7E in the European Union will now receive a full version of Windows 7 (which includes Internet Explorer). The price will remain the same for these customers and anyone else who is purchasing Windows 7 before September 1.

Microsoft mentioned in the same blog post that the Windows 7 Family Pack will be sold in seven European countries as well as the United States and Canada. The Family Pack ships with three Windows 7 Home Premium licenses that can be installed on computer systems in the same household. The European countries that will also receive the Windows 7 Family Pack are the UK, Ireland, Germany, France, Switzerland, Austria, the Netherlands and Sweden.

Windows 7N will still be sold in Europe. This version of Windows 7 comes without Windows Media Player. Good news for European customers. Anyone who has not pre-ordered Windows 7 yet should do so before September 1 to benefit from the reduced pricing for the full version of Windows 7.

via Windows Team Blog

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The Auslogics Task Manager portable has a size of 1.66 Megabytes and divides the information in the four different sections applications, processes, services and open files. The applications and process window uses a similar interface that is listing the name of the application or process, a security rating, cpu usage, memory and disk utilization, Internet traffic and priority. The security rating is gathered from Auslogics’ own File Inspect service.

The Services view will display the running Windows services again with a security rating, category and path. Open Files will display all files that are currently open in the operating system. It will display name of the file and the application that has locked it.

Cpu usage, memory usage, disk activity and Internet traffic are displayed in graphs at the bottom. A left click on any application or process will display the utilization of that specific program or process which can be a great way of finding the resource heavy applications and processes on a system.

A right-click will open a context menu with additional options. It is for example possible to open the File Inspect website to retrieve in depth information about the selected process, application, service or file.

The file menu is providing quick access to Windows system tools like Computer Management, Control Panel or the Services manager.

Auslogics Task Manager Portable can be downloaded from the Auslogics website.

source Lee at Download Squad

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It includes demonstrations, presentations and hands-on labs that help developers learn how to create applications that are compatible with Windows 7. The target group of the Windows 7 training kit for developers are software developers who want to make sure that their applications are compatible with Windows 7 and make use of Windows 7 specific features like the new taskbar.

The Windows 7 Training Kit for Developers includes presentations, hands-on labs, and demos. This content is based on Windows 7 RTM and it is designed to help you learn how to build applications that are compatible with and shine on Windows 7 by utilizing key Windows 7 features such as:

* Taskbar
* Libraries
* Multi Touch
* Sensors and Location
* Ribbon
* Trigger Start Services
* Instrumentation and ETW
* Application Compatability

And Application Compatibility topics such as:

* Version Checking
* UAC Data Redirection
* Session 0 Isolation
* Installer Detection
* User Interface Privilege Isolation
* High DPI

Microsoft has posted system requirements that need to be matched to take full advantage of the training kit. Mentioned are Windows 7, the Windows 7 SDK, Visual Studio 2009 and the windows Code Pack Api for the Microsoft .net Framework.

The Windows 7 training kit for developers comes as a single self-extracting executable that will uncompress the contents to a selected folder. The contents can then be accessed with a modern web browser. Software developers can download it from the Microsoft website.

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Advanced System Care divides the computer maintenance process in three different categories that are named Maintain Windows, Diagnose System and Utilities.

Maintain Windows includes a spyware checker, Registry cleanup tool, privacy sweeper and junk file cleaner. This category comes closest to the popular CCleaner application. The program will automatically scan the system for problems upon startup. Findings are displayed in red indicating problems and Megabytes that can be saved if the repair button is pressed.

It is furthermore possible to click on a function to take a closer look at the problems and files that have been found during the scan. This makes it possible to remove entries from the repair. Advanced System Care will also remind the the user if System Restore is disabled.

A click on the repair button will initiate a backup before the problems are fixed on the computer system.

The diagnose system window offers system optimization, security defense, disk defragment and security analyzer functions. A scan will display detected problems offering the same functionality as the maintain windows menu to view them in detail, remove some and repair them.

The system optimization menu scans for problems in various categories including network connections, Windows services or troubleshooting. Not all recommendations should be accepted right away as the optimizer might suggest corrections for enhancements made by the user. A simple example would be the suggestion to change the time it takes to show the start menu from 1 to the recommended value of 200.

Users should take a look at all the settings before they press the repair button.

The same can be said for the security defense scan in the same category and the suggestions made by the security analyzer. This does mean that it takes additional time before the remaining problems can be repaired but it is important to avoid complications and other problems.

The utilities category offers quick access to tools offered by the Windows operating system and Iobit including an Internet and Game Booster, Registry defragmentation or a startup manager.

Advanced System Care Free is an interesting program that provides access to many computer maintenance scans that can improve a systems reliability, security and stability. It is recommended to check the scan results thoroughly before proceeding with the repair.

via Online Tech Tips

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The second issue that the Internet Recovery Kit addresses is broken SSL support which usually comes in the form of not being able to connect to HTTPS websites properly. This too can be problematic as many financial websites and shopping websites use https for improved security.

Rizone’s Internet Recovery Kit can be used to fix both issues that have been described in the last two paragraphs. All the user needs to do is to press the right button in the software program to initiate the fix. While there is no guarantee that the program can fix the problem the chance is good that it can.

Users who want to repair Windows Update and Automatic Updates on their computer system can press the Repair WU/AU button to do so. The program will display the progress in the log at the bottom of the interface. The log can also be used to analyse what has been done to fix the problem. The Repair SSL / HTTPS button on the other hand will initiate the repair of these components in the Windows operating system.

Rizone’s Internet Recovery Kit is compatible with Windows XP, Windows Vista and Windows 7. It is a fine addition for every computer repair toolkit thanks to its portable nature, ease of use and success rate.

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Super Alt F4 has been designed to be an alternative to Alt F4’s polite request to terminate a process. The program will kill the process immediately without waiting for feedback from the process itself. The active process can be killed by pressing CTRL ALT F4. The downside of this method is that the process will be killed instantly which could mean that work will not be saved.

The developer of the software program has added another option to kill processes. The keyboard shortcut Windows F4 will turn the mouse cursor into a skull cursor. A left click on any program window will terminate that window immediately. A right-click will cancel the action and return the original cursor.

Super Alt F4 uses roughly 5 Megabytes of computer memory while running in the background. It will display a system tray icon by default which can be hidden by right-clicking the icon and selecting that option.

It probably makes sense to install Super Alt F4 (via Freeware Genius) on computer systems that tend to hang a lot because of unresponsive applications, windows and processes.

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You find a good mixture of established artists in the list including songs by Bif Naked, Underoath or Warren G but the majority of songs comes from artists that most visitors probably never heard of. This does not necessarily mean that this is bad music. It is actually a good way of discovering new artists that are not that in the focus of mass media.

The downloaded songs have been encoded with 192 Kbit and it is likely that all songs are encoded in this bitrate. Music can be sorted by letter or genre which helps to find the right music genre or artist.

There is no word yet on the duration of this promotion. Thanks goes to jagslive for sending us the tip.

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Google Voice has a ton of great features, and in a lot of ways fundamentally changes the way you’ll use your phone. A lot of things suddenly become easier with Google Voice – checking your voicemail, sending text messages, and more – and they’re all best dealt with through your computer.

But, as of now, Google Voice doesn’t inherently let you make calls from your computer. I mean, I’ve got a microphone and speakers on my computer, as well as a fast Internet connection – why shouldn’t I be able to make calls, ideally for free?

Well, as it turns out, I can – with a little legwork. Here’s how to set it up (I did this on a Mac, so PC directions might be slightly different – the same rules will apply, though).

Disclaimer: This is all assuming you’ve already got a Google Voice account. They’re sending out invites at lightning-speed, so if you don’t have one, go get on the list!

1. Download and Install Gizmo5 (create a free account, with no call credits – you won’t need them!).
2. Open Gizmo. In the “Home” tab of the application, click “Edit My Profile.”
3. In the tab that pops up, you’ll see, filled in, a number for “SIP number.” Copy that number (everything before the @ sign).
4. In Google Voice, click “Settings”, and then “Phones.”
5. Click “Add Another phone” and paste the SIP number from Gizmo (again, only what’s before the @ Sign) into the box.
6. Name the number “Gizmo” or whatever you want, and then Save it.

Now, to make calls:

1. Open Google Voice, and click “Call”
2. Enter the number you want to call
3. Make sure the Gizmo phone (whatever you called it) is selected as the “Phone to Ring”
4. Click “Connect”
5. You’ll get a pop-up from Gizmo, with your Google Voice number on the caller ID. Answer it!
6. Google Voice will automatically dial and connect the other person, and you’ll be chatting from your computer!

The whole process only takes about five minutes, and doesn’t cost a nickel. Because you’re using a SIP number, all the data is transmitted over your cable connection rather than your phone network. That means you’ll need fast Internet to really make this work, but also means it doesn’t cost a thing!

I’m not sure how long this will be around (I’m sure carriers won’t be fans), but for now it’s a fantastic solution for making calls directly from your computer.

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Sticking to standards can therefore lead to issues with certain web browsers, which lack support for the latest tags or render pages wrong.

The W3C therefore has its own web browser and editor which adheres to standards more than many browsers and supports certain new technologies others don’t, such as RDF annotation. This browser is Amaya, an open-source and cross-platform browser.

Amaya can handle a wide-range of open file formats, including HTML, CSS, XHTML, SVG and MathML.

The software integrates the browser and web editor: when you go to a web page, it can be edited inside the browser. It also instantly displays syntactic errors.

It also integrates the mark-up languages. For example, in a web page, one can write formulae utilising MathML or add SVG shapes inside the software.

Amaya is a reasonable WYSIWYG editor and a good web browser for developmental purposes. It is also good to produce rich web-pages, which include other pieces of mark-up than HTML.

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I got it in the form of the Illustrated Dual Boot site. As the name suggests, the site is packed with tutorials to assist people with dual-booting their computer to run both Windows and Ubuntu. The tutorials help install Ubuntu versions right from Gutsy Gibbon to Karmic Koala (the upcoming release). For Windows versions, there are installation tutorials for everything from Windows 98 to Windows7.

What makes the Illustrated Dual Boot site so good? It’s the fact that the tutorials are really well written. Any tutorial you choose has exactly what you need to get a dual-boot system up and running, right from beginning to end. Within the tutorial is some information on the tools required for the dual-boot as well as some basic checks before you begin.

Every step within a tutorial is illustrated. This is extremely important because often a step might not make much sense but if you can actually see how it takes place, it becomes easier to do it yourself. Some steps are also accompanied by possible errors you might encounter and how to solve them, another necessity for an installation.

I used the Jaunty Jackalope / Windows7 Graphical Installation ‘C’ tutorial to successfully dual-boot Jaunty and Windows XP. The clear instructions in simple language were easy to understand and implement with no problems whatsoever.

Tech experts probably don’t need someone to tell them how to set up a dual-boot on a machine. However, the vast majority of people using computers are not tech-savvy and having a resource like the Illustrated Dual Boot site reduces their dependence on others to do things for them. This site is also perfect for people who want to take the plunge into Linux but are being held back by the fear of having to install their own OS.

Have you used the Illustrated Dual Boot site anytime? Do you know of any similar resources? What do you think of computer novices using online tutorials to install an OS? Let me know in the comments.

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Many users are already running a beta or release candidate build of Windows 7. Some even on their main computer system as Windows 7 has proven to be very stable and reliable. These users might be interested in the following news. Microsoft is offering Windows 7 Upgrades to give users running specific Windows XP or Windows Vista operating systems the opportunity to upgrade. Windows XP users will have to do a clean install but can purchase the Windows 7 Upgrade editions which are cheaper than the full retail editions.

Microsoft recently confirmed that it is also possible to upgrade a pre-RTM version of Windows 7 with a Windows 7 Upgrade edition. This means that users who are already running Windows 7 RC (or another build) can buy a Windows 7 Upgrade edition and get a full installation of Windows 7 this way.

There are some limitations on the other hand. No data will be taken over. The installation will move the old data into the folder windows.old from where the files are accessible. Most programs on the other hand will not work unless they are portable.

It also has to be noted that a clean install at a later time requires a Windows XP or Windows Vista installation (or a new installation of a pre-RTM build of Windows 7).

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New Folder Wizard is a portable software program for the Windows operating system. It requires the Microsoft .net Framework 2.0, runs on both 32-bit and 64-bit editions of the operating system and can be downloaded directly from the developer’s homepage. The software itself comes with a set of interesting features to aid the user in the folder creation process.

The configuration of the software is handled in the main interface. The user needs to select a target folder which becomes the root folder for the folders that are created. It is furthermore possible to add folder prefixes and suffixes, starting and ending numbers and steps for those numbers.

Another option is to load a text file containing names into the program to create folders based on these names. The process can be previewed so that the user knows how the folders will be named. The generated folder names can be copied to the clipboard for external processing.

New Folder Wizard is an interesting lightweight application for the Windows operating system.

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