SAN FRANCISCO – If you’re running Windows 7 Release Candidate (RC), the end is near. Starting Feb. 15, people using Windows 7 RC, the free pre-release version of Microsoft’s latest PC operating system, will receive a notification that their trial software is about to expire, according to a post today by Microsoft blogger Brandon LeBlanc on The Windows Blog.
The bi-hourly notifications will remind Win 7 RC users that their PCs will “begin experiencing bi-hourly shutdowns” as of March 1. According to Microsoft Support, brave souls who ignore the reminders are in for some serious nagging. And then it gets worse. Here’s the breakdown:
Starting Feb. 15:
An expiration notification appears in the task bar once per day.
The Notification Wizard pops up once every four hours, and then once per hour.
Starting March 1:
The task bar nagging continues.
Your PC restarts every two hours
During shutdowns, your work won’t be saved.
Starting June 1:
Windows boots to a black desktop. Yikes.
A Windows Activation screen reminds you that your Win 7 copy isn’t genuine.
The two-hour reboots continue.
What’s missing? How about a message that reads: “Hey, you cheap %$*#&, isn’t it time you bought Windows 7?
Of course, you could avoid the escalating misery by moving to a released version of Win 7. Keep in mind, however, that you’ll need to do a custom (clean) install to replace the Release Candidate code. Microsoft provides installation instructions here.
And what if you decide to keep running Win 7 RC, despite the notifications and shutdowns? Well, you’re truly a masochistic soul.
SAN FRANCISCO – For the past month or so, I’ve been leisurely migrating to Windows 7–at my own pace. If you’ve been following along, thus far we’ve partitioned the hard drive and installed Windows 7 on a new partition, and then used a couple free programs to install favorite apps and copy over Firefox bookmarks. This week I’ll show you how to finish up the process by migrating your Apple iTunes library and copying over your data.
Move Your iTunes Library
Copying over your iTunes library is a drag-and-drop procedure, though it may take some time.
Start by making sure you’re running the latest version of iTunes in your original version of Windows (XP or Vista). Then boot to Windows 7 and install that same version of iTunes. Any mixing of old and new iTunes library files could lead to unpleasant results.
While still in Windows 7, exit iTunes, then click the Windows Explorer icon in your taskbar. (Wasn’t it nice of Microsoft to finally make Windows Explorer readily accessible?)
Browse into the Computer section; find your original Windows XP/Vista partition (on my system it was Drive D:, even though it appears as Drive C: when I boot to that partition); then navigate into the Users, Your Username, My Music, iTunes folder.
You should see various iTunes Library files and subfolders. Now, find the corresponding iTunes folder in your Windows 7 partition–but don’t open it. Instead, select all the files and folders from within the original partition’s iTunes folder, then drag them to the new partition’s iTunes folder.
Depending on how much music, video, apps, and the like you have, the copy process could take anywhere from a few minutes to an hour or more.
Along the way, Windows will likely notify you of a few duplicate files. Make sure to select the Copy and Replace option, as you want to overwrite the newer (and mostly empty) iTunes files with the ones from your original installation.
Once Windows has finished copying everything, start iTunes. Everything should be exactly as it was in your older OS. One cool exception: When you mouse over the iTunes icon in the Windows 7 taskbar, you’ll see Play/Pause and Skip controls you can use for music playback without needing to maximize the program.
Copy Important Data
It’s time to start wrapping up the process, installing any programs that didn’t get installed earlier, copying over data files, and setting up peripherals like printers. In other words, the time has come to start living under Windows 7′s roof, returning to XP or Vista only when necessary. Before you turn off the lights and lock the door, however, make a list of the programs you still need to install and the data you need to copy. Allow me to help with the latter.
Here’s a list of common data you’ll want to make sure you don’t leave behind:
Documents: Everything in your My Documents folder, and in any other folders you use to store Word files, spreadsheets, presentations, and the like.
Music: If you don’t use iTunes, or you keep your MP3s in a folder other than My Music, make sure to copy them over.
Photos: Most folks store them in the My Pictures folder, so all you have to do is copy the contents to the eponymous folder in Windows 7. Same goes for…
Videos: Most folks store them in the My Videos folder, so copy the contents to that same folder in Windows 7.
Financial records: If you use Intuit Quicken or Microsoft Money, your best bet is probably to use either program’s built-in backup option, saving the backup file(s) to an easy-to-find spot on your Windows 7 partition (the Documents folder, for example), then run the program in Windows 7 and restore the backup.
E-mail: If you use Gmail, Yahoo, or another Web-based e-mail service, you’re golden. Just sign into your accounts as usual using your browser. However, things are a lot trickier if you hang your e-mail hat in Mozilla Thunderbird or Microsoft Outlook, Outlook Express, or Windows Live Mail. Because I can’t cover the migration steps for all those programs here, I advise you to do a little Google searching and find the instructions you need. They’re out there.
As I’ve noted before, the beauty of this slow migration is that if you forget something, no problem: You can copy it over as needed.
At some point, perhaps after a month or so, you can make this move more permanent by shrinking the partition for the old OS and enlarging the one with Windows 7. I’ll cover that at a later time.
SAN FRANCISCO – Thomas Wensel wants to install Windows 7 while keeping his older version.
This is a great idea if you have enough spare hard drive space. It allows you to move to the new OS without burning your bridges.
And it’s surprisingly easy to do. In fact, the hardest part is shrinking the existing hard drive partition to make room for a new one, and that’s still pretty easy.
Before you begin, make an image backup of your hard drive. This is a must before resizing a partition or upgrading Windows, so it’s a double must if you’re doing both. I recommend the free version of Macrium Reflect for image backup, although other programs will do. You’ll need an external hard drive at least as large as the used space on your drive.
Backed up? Good. Let’s get on to the partitioning.
I’ve yet to find the perfect partitioning program–one that’s easy, reliable, versatile, non-destructive (meaning it can resize a partition without erasing it), and free. So I’m going to recommend three, all non-destructive, and tell you about their shortcomings.
EASEUS Partition Master: This one is extremely easy. You install it, launch it, and see exactly what to do. But the free Home Edition doesn’t support 64-bit versions of Windows. So if you live in the x64 world, you’ll have to shell out $40 (on sale as I write this for $32) for the Professional version or use another program.
Vista ‘s Computer Management program: Windows Vista has it’s own tool for resizing partitions. To access it, click Start, right-click Computer, and select Manage. Click Disk Management in the left pane, under Storage. Right-click your C: drive in the resulting map and select Shrink Volume. You can figure out the rest. But this program may not let you shrink the partition as much as you would like–it has some strange ideas about how much space your current partition needs. And it’s not an option if you’re using XP.
GParted Live: You can download this free, open-source Linux program as an .iso file, which you then burn to a CD. (Don’t just copy the file to a disc. If double-clicking the .iso file doesn’t launch a disc-burning program, download and install the free ISO Recorder.) When you boot from that CD, Linux and GParted Live will load, and you’ll be able to resize your partition. But this program isn’t easy. Depending on your video setup, the font may be so small it’s virtually unreadable, and it’s hard to know when it’s done altering your drive.
Whatever program you use, I recommend you shrink your existing XP or Vista partition by at least 40GB. That will leave more than enough room for Windows 7. You don’t need to create a partition–the installation program will do that for you.
When the partitioning is done, boot from the Windows 7 DVD and start the installation process. When it asks what type of installation you want, select Custom (Advanced). When it asks “Where do you want to install Windows?” select the Unallocated Space. See How to Upgrade to Windows 7 for more information.
The install program automatically sets up a dual-boot system. When you boot, it will ask you which version of Windows you want to load. Whichever you pick, the other partition will be visible as another drive, so you’ll be able to access all of your files in both versions of Windows.
SAN FRANCISCO – If this is part of Redmond’s alleged scheme to steal the Mac’s look, it’s got the wrong idea.
Microsoft has announced plans to peddle Windows 7 desktop space to advertisers, who’ll create Windows UI themes–customized backgrounds, audio clips, and other elements–that highlight their brand, Computerworld reports. In fact, some advertiser themes are already available in the Windows 7 Personalization Gallery, including desktop pitches for soft drinks (Coca-Cola, Pepsi), autos (Ducati, Ferrari, Infiniti), and big-budget Hollywood blockbusters (Avatar).
Ad-themed desktops are new for Microsoft, which has long allowed PC manufacturers to customize the desktop. Hardware vendors like Acer, Dell, HP, and Sony often muck up the Windows UI with background logos and countless icons for trial apps and other crapware. (Those trial apps provide an additional revenue stream, an ugly necessity in the low-margin world of Windows PCs.) Too often the hardware guys’ appalling makeover turns an aesthetically appealing UI into a tacky swap meet.
The advertiser themes are different, however, in that they won’t be foisted on unsuspecting users. Rather, you’ll have to download and install the ad pitch yourself. As a result, I doubt many Windows 7 users will gripe about ad themes. Hey, if you’re a Preparation H fan, why not devote the desktop to your favorite ointment?
Nevertheless, I think ad themes are a bad idea. They may boost Microsoft’s bottom line a bit, but they run counter to Redmond’s grand scheme of creating an elegant Windows 7 experience.
Microsoft may have refuted the claims of its blabbermouth employee who told a British publication that Windows 7 cribbed its sleek appearance from Mac OS X. (Bad career move there.) But any casual observer can tell that Windows has borrowed more than a few UI concepts from Apple over the years. I don’t see why things would change now.
Redmond’s situation is complex. Unlike Apple, it doesn’t control the entire Windows ecosphere. It makes the software but not the hardware. Consumers typically obtain Windows via a third party–the the PC vendor, which works its toxic voodoo on the desktop. Furthermore, Microsoft and its OEM partners don’t enjoy Apple’s generous profit margins, and therefore must find creative ways to boost revenues.
If Microsoft truly wants a Mac-like experience for Windows 7 users, it should lock down the desktop. Non-commercial themes are OK, but tacky ads, movie promos, and other cheese ball garbage must go.
SAN FRANCISCO – It was a notable accomplishment when Windows 7 was not impacted in any way by the vulnerabilities addressed in the six Security Bulletins released by Microsoft for the November Patch Tuesday. It would be even more impressive if Windows 7 proved invulnerable to the zero-day exploit that hit the next day.
This newly found bug was discovered by Laurent Gaffie and details were posted on the Full Disclosure mailing list. Microsoft is investigating the reported flaw which basically crashes a Windows 7 system when exploited. The issue is in the SMB (Server Message Block) protocol that forms the backbone of Windows file sharing. When triggered, the flaw results in an infinite loop which renders the computer useless.
Tyler Reguly, Lead Security Research Engineer with nCircle, explains “Exploitation of this vulnerability occurs when a user attempts to browse to Windows Share hosted on the malicious server. On Windows 7, the DoS (denial of service) will occur as soon as you type ‘\\\’ in the search box. ”
The vulnerability actually impacts both Windows 7 and Windows Server 2008 R2. There are currently a couple different proof-of-concept exploits circulating, but there are no reported attacks in the wild at this point. Because the flaw only enables an attacker to crash the system, and doesn’t provide any unauthorized remote access that could lead to compromising information or performing other malicious activities, the odds of the exploit being actively used by attackers is fairly slim.
With some SMB-based bugs, you can minimize the risk of exposure by blocking SMB traffic at the router or firewall–essentially making sure that no outside source would be able to attack systems on your network. Blocking TCP ports 135 through 139, and port 445 will prevent outside SMB traffic from entering the network.
With the firewall blocked, the threat still exists internally, but ostensibly the systems on the internal network should be more trusted than those on the Internet and hopefully nobody on the internal network would intentionally launch such an attack. You could block those ports on the internal network as well, but then systems would be unable to access file and folder shares on the network.
With this particular bug though, the firewall will not protect you completely from outside attacks. Reguly says “There is an Internet Explorer-based attack vector. By including a file stored on a share in the HTML of the web page the flaw can be triggered. But, once again the result is a denial of service.”
Until Microsoft completes its investigation of the issue and releases a patch, you will just have to be vigilant about avoiding suspicious or malicious links on web pages. Because of the limited value of a DoS for the attackers, odds are good you won’t see any attacks from this.
Microsoft has described Windows 7 as the most secure operating system it has yet developed but ‘most secure’ doesn’t mean impervious. Windows 7 is still significantly more secure than Windows XP, but news of the Windows 7 vulnerability certainly overshadows the fact that Windows 7 wasn’t impacted on Patch Tuesday.
A number of issues can slow down a once fast PC. Here are some of the most common.
An overloaded and fragmented hard drive. If your drive is too full (more than about 80 percent), or too fragmented (the two often go together), it could be slowing down your PC, especially if you don’t have much RAM.
Defragging is the easiest solution, so you should try that first. To defrag in XP, select Start, then My Computer. Right-click your C: drive and select Properties. Click the Tools tab, then Defragment Now. Vista defrags automatically–or at least it does so in theory. See Vista Defrag Problems for details. Or you can go with a third-party defragger. Forum regular Flashorn recommends the free MyDefrag, which looked pretty good when I checked it out.
If your drive is getting full and defragging doesn’t help, you may have to make hard decisions about what you can delete or off-loaded to an external drive. Or you could replace the drive with a larger one.
Avoid new programs. Software has a way of cancelling out Moore’s Law–as hardware gets faster, software gets slower. (I attended a programming conference once where Bill Gates advised programmers to write for the most powerful PC currently available, because that would match a normal PC when their product was released.) So if you keep buying the latest office suite or photo editor, performance will suffer.
Watch your security software. You can avoid upgrading Office and Photoshop, but you have to keep your security software up to date or you risk infection. Major security suites like Norton and McAfee use a lot of resources, and keep using more with each major upgrade. They can seriously slow down an older PC. Consider switching to smaller, sleeker (and often free) alternatives. See Can You Trust Free Antivirus Software? and What Free Security Programs Can Protect My PC? for product suggestions.
Reduce the autoloaders. Your security programs probably aren’t the only ones that load automatically each time you boot and stay in memory, although they may be the only ones that should. Any number of programs you’ve installed may have inserted a piece of themselves into Windows’ Startup list, and could thus be slowing you down. See Why the Slow Boots? for more information.
You could be infected. See Remove a Virus or Other Malicious Infection for details.
And remember, when it comes to upgrading your hardware, adding RAM is relatively cheap and usually very effective.
Businesses planning a move to Windows 7 need a more rigorous planning and assessment tool than the consumer-grade Upgrade Advisor. The early success of the operating system notwithstanding, you need to do some due diligence up front to determine if the existing hardware and software you rely on will work with the new operating system. If you only have a handful of systems to assess the Windows 7 Upgrade Advisor should do the trick. For larger deployments, the more appropriate tool is the Microsoft Assessment and Planning Toolkit 4.0–or MAP.
MAP is a Solution Accelerator from Microsoft that allows you to inventory and analyze the systems in your organization without requiring any sort of agent software to be installed on the endpoints. MAP leverages existing Microsoft technologies such as Active Directory Domain Services, the Remote Registry Service, and the Computer Browser Service to gather information and produce informative reports to help guide your IT planning.
MAP analysis and reports can help with a variety of IT planning scenarios. MAP can help inventory servers and clients on the network, identify physical servers that are not being utilized effectively, and make recommendations for consolidating servers and virtualizing roles using Hyper-V. In this case though, we’re mainly interested in the ability of MAP to determine hardware compatibility and readiness for upgrading to Windows 7.
MAP identifies systems running earlier versions of Windows like Windows XP and Windows Vista, then compares the MAP scan results against Windows 7 minimum and recommended system requirements. Systems that do not meet the needs of Windows 7 for things like memory, free disk space, or processor speed are identified, and MAP makes specific recommendations for actions to take to make the system ready for Windows 7.
The resulting Windows 7 Readiness Summary report provides a simple overview of the number of systems that are ready for Windows 7, the number that are not ready, and the number that will never be ready. The MAP results deliver the information you need to get your hardware up to speed for Windows 7.
MAP is great, but it actually only tells half of the story compared with the Windows 7 Upgrade Advisor. You also have to consider the software you rely on and whether those applications will work in Windows 7. Microsoft has another Solution Accelerator to fill that need–Application Compatibility Toolkit (ACT).
Similar to MAP, ACT will scan the systems on your network and identify any software that is incompatible with Windows 7. Most applications should be able to run under Windows 7. For those critical applications that don’t work in Windows 7, Microsoft provides XP Mode to bridge the gap and let you continue to run them in a virtual Windows XP system within Windows 7.
Armed with MAP and ACT results, you can plan your upgrade to Windows 7 to make it as efficient and hiccup-free as possible. A little due diligence and planning goes a long way to ensuring a smooth migration experience for your organization.
