SAN FRANCISCO - I just installed Windows 7 on a Compaq laptop that was previously running Vista. It was a clean install, meaning I wiped the hard drive rather than simply upgrading the OS. (I had my reasons for doing so, but I won’t bore you with them here.)
The install went perfectly, with one exception: the display wasn’t running at its maximum, native resolution (which on this system is 1,200 by 800). Instead, it was stuck at a rather chunky 800 by 600, and when I went to increase it (by right-clicking the desktop and choosing Screen resolution), the only option was 1,024 by 768–still shy of optimal.
What happened? Simple: Windows 7 had failed to detect and download drivers for the laptop’s ATI Radeon video hardware. Thus, I had to grab them manually, which was surprisingly easy:
1. Click Start, type device manager, then press Enter.
2. Expand the tree for Display adapters. You should see an entry that says “Standard VGA” or something similar.
3. Right-click that entry, then click Update Driver Software.
4. Click Search automatically for updated driver software. Windows should be able to locate, download, and install the proper drivers for your video hardware, as it did on my Compaq.
When it’s all done, you’ll need to reboot. When Windows starts up again, your display should be running at its optimal resolution. If not, right-click somewhere on the desktop, choose Screen resolution, and choose your desired setting. Easy-peasy!
SAN FRANCISCO - Recently two of my relatives complained of the same maddening problem: They’d be typing along on their laptops when suddenly the cursor would jump, resulting in garbled text or even an unwanted mouse-click.
This is usually the result of your thumb or palm accidentally grazing the touchpad. Fortunately, there are ways to combat this problem, usually by tweaking Windows’ mouse/touchpad settings.
If those options aren’t available on your system or you’re still not getting the results you want, try TouchFreeze. This free utility serves one simple purpose: to disable your laptop’s touchpad while you type.
Actually, it disables touchpad tapping, which is what causes the aforementioned problems. (It doesn’t matter if your cursor moves while you’re typing, as long as that movement isn’t followed by a tap–the touchpad equivalent of clicking a mouse.)
I tested the utility on two laptops, one running Windows XP, the other, Vista. On both systems it worked as advertised: No amount of tapping while typing would actually register a tap.
If you’ve been tearing your hair out due to flaky laptop behavior, this handy freebie may just solve the problem.
SAN FRANCISCO - Judy Olson asked in what folder Windows Live Mail stores your inbox and other mail folders.
Windows Live Mail–part of Microsoft’s Windows Live series of free downloads–is the logical successor to Vista’s Windows Mail and XP’s Outlook Express (Windows 7 doesn’t come with a mail client). It works in XP and Vista as well as Windows 7.
If you’ve installed Windows Live Mail in Vista or Windows 7, chances are your email is stored in subfolders of C:\Users\yourlogon\AppData\Local\Microsoft\Windows Live Mail, where yourlogon is, of course, the name you use to log onto Windows.
If you installed Windows Live Mail into XP, the path is probably C:\Documents and Settings\logon\Local Settings\Application Data\Microsoft\Windows Live Mail.
You may run into trouble navigating Windows Explorer to either of those folders, however. That’s because several of the folders within those paths are hidden. But you can easily get inside the hidden folders via the command prompt. In Vista or Windows 7, click Start, type %homepath%\appdata\local, and press ENTER. In XP, click Start, then Run, type %homepath%\local settings\application data, and press ENTER. You’ll still have to drill down a few folders from there, but those folders will all be visible.
If the Windows Live Mail folder isn’t where I told you it would be, here’s how to find it: In Windows Live Mail, press ALT to bring up the old-fashioned menus and select Tools, then Options. Click the Advanced tab, then the Maintenance button. Click the Store Folder button. And there it is.
SAN FRANCISCO - BushPilot’s new wallpaper doesn’t cover his screen. He asked the Answer Line forum for advice.
Windows offers several ways to display your wallpaper (also known as your desktop background). You can tile the image, so that it fills the screen by repeating itself. You can center the image, leaving empty space around it if the image is too small or the wrong shape. Or you can have Windows blow up and stretch the image so that it fills the screen. (Windows 7 offers more options than these.)
If you only pick images that are the same shape as your screen and at least the same size, the options have no effect; all of these choices will result in a single image filling the screen. Only when you pick something smaller or of a different shape does it matter.
Here’s how to change this setting in XP, Vista, and Windows 7:
XP
Right-click the desktop and select Properties. Click the Desktop tab. If you want the image will fill the screen, select Stretch from the Position pull-down menu.
Vista
Right-click the desktop and select Personalize. Click Desktop Background. Select an option under How should the picture be positioned? The first one will fill the screen with the picture.
Windows 7
Right-click your desktop and select Personalize. Click Desktop Background near the bottom of the window, sort of to the left. In the lower-left corner, you’ll find a largish pull-down menu called Picture position. To fill the screen, pick either Fill or Stretch, depending on which result most pleases your eye.
Microsoft Windows 8 may be coming as early as 2012, based on a recent rash of comments and hints dropped by Microsoft personnel in official capacity and informal context.
Some are taking heart from a roadmap Microsoft was supposedly showing off during its recent Professional Developer’s Conference (PDC), according to electronista. The map (click to enlarge it for a closer look) refers specifically to Windows Server products, but suggests the plan would extend to Windows desktop systems as well.
Microsoft Speeds Up
According to the roadmap, Microsoft is trying to get into a regular pace of releasing major Windows upgrades every three or four years, with a significant update happening every two.
Windows 8 by 2012 is an admirable goal, but product delays seem inevitable when it comes to getting a new iteration of Windows out the door. Microsoft had a six-year gap between the major release of Windows XP in 2001 and then Windows Vista in 2007. Vista was originally scheduled for 2006, but Microsoft was forced to push Vista’s release to 2007. Then, after a poor reception for Vista, Windows 7 was rushed out to stores less than two years later. Microsoft may not want to have another six-year gap between OS releases, but it also needs to avoid another Vista-sized flop. Nevertheless, it’s a good bet that a Windows 8 release candidate will be available as early as 2011.
As a side note, the roadmap also confirms that Windows 7 was considered a release update to Vista, while Windows 8 would be a major release and therefore a significant upgrade from Windows 7.
Windows 8 Plans
Microsoft has been looking forward to the next iteration of its operating system, in at least a limited fashion, since early October, when job listings looking for Windows 8 program managers came to light.
There have also been a rumor that Windows 8 would boast 128-bit architecture. That rumor came to light after Microsoft employee Robert Morgan disclosed company information on his LinkedIn profile. Morgan said he was working on “research and development projects including 128-bit architecture compatibility with the Windows 8 kernel and Windows 9 project plan.”
Windows 8 Predictions
With Windows 7 being a done deal since July, some pundits have been busy making up wish lists and predictions for Windows 8. InfoWorld’s Randall Kennedy predicts that Win 8 will be the end of the 32-bit operating system–all the more likely if a 128-bit version is in the works. Computerworld’s Preston Galla wants a more simplified version of Windows Media Center and easier ways to network Windows, Mac OS X and Linux machines. Kennedy is also big on Live Mesh integration for Windows 8. Live Mesh is a Microsoft cloud-based service that allows you to sync documents across multiple computers, as well as access your files through an online desktop.
Speaking of the cloud, it will be interesting to see how pervasive online computing is among home users by 2012. By that time, Google’s Chrome OS will have been available for a year or two, and it should be clearer how effective or ineffective it is to use a Web-only operating system. Will the success or failure of Chrome OS influence Windows 8? I’m looking forward to finding out.
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 - Today I saw something that made my eyes go wide: A friend reached for the mouse, clicked the Start button, and then went back to the keyboard to type the name of the app he wanted to launch.
I asked him what I considered an obvious question: “Why didn’t you just press the Windows key?”
“The what key?” he responded.
Seriously? This isn’t common knowledge? Apparently not, because after a quick survey of some friends and family, I discovered that few people ever bother with the Windows key, and some don’t even know what it’s there for.
(The horror. Time to re-up your PC World subscriptions, people!)
Needless to say, a tap of the Windows key (which on most keyboards is just to the left of the Space Bar) takes you to the Start menu, where–in Vista and 7–you can start typing to dynamically search for apps, files, e-mail, and the like.
A lesser-known use of the Windows key is to launch apps in a flash. And don’t forget these three indispensable Windows-key shortcuts.
So stop thinking of that little key as some kind of wayward Microsoft marketing effort and start putting it to good use!
Watch out, Vista: Windows 7 may soon put your sales to shame.
Microsoft’s new operating system is showing strong early growth compared to past releases, some new data suggests. About 3.6% of Net-connected computers were sporting Windows 7 over the weekend — less than two weeks after its launch — according to the analysts at Net Applications.
Windows 7 Market Share
For only 10 days into Windows 7’s life, 3.6% isn’t too shabby of a number. Compare for yourself: More than a month after its debut, Vista claimed only 2.04% of the operating system market, gauging by Net Applications’ measurements at the time. It didn’t hit 3.74% until May of 2007, four months into its release. And that’s following a launch absolutely jam-packed with “wow.”
Granted, the new Win 7 data is based only on computers that accessed the Web over Saturday and Sunday, and that number may rise or fall as the week moves forward. Still, it’s the first time the software has cracked the 3% mark, so it’s a milestone well worth noting.
Personally, I suspect all those wild Windows 7 launch parties had something to do with it. Plus, you’ve gotta imagine plenty of people dressed up as “unspecified errors” for Halloween — that’s free marketing right there.
All joking aside, though, let’s hope the “Save Vista” campaigns don’t kick in anytime soon.
Microsoft has long said, and we have reminded users, that DirectX 11 is not just a Windows 7 technology. The company promised that DirectX 11 will be available for Vista around the same time as the release of its latest and greatest operating system.
And so it has come to pass. Vista users who check Windows Update should see a rather generic “Platform Update” with the reference KB971644. The update is available for Windows Server 2008 as well. In addition to adding DirectX 11, this update adds and XPS document printing library, the Windows Automation API, and an update to the Windows Portable Devices Platform.
Note that DirectX 11 adds DirectCompute, which comes in three flavors - DirectCompute shader model 4.0, 4.1, and 5.0. The 4.0 version contains features allowing it to be run on most DirectX 10 graphics hardware. The 4.1 version is similar, but for DX 10.1 hardware. The 5.0 version of DirectCompute shaders requires DX11 hardware, and is far more robust.
My point is, this update could be useful for Vista users even if you don’t have one of those nifty new Radeon 5000 series graphics cards that will run DirectX 11. You’ll need it to run DirectCompute accelerated apps (when they start to appear) even on DX10 hardware, and the update contains some other nice updates.
By the way, the update is listed as “Recommended” and may not be automatically applied if you have Windows Update set only to apply critical updates. You may want to check manually.
Too harsh a judgment? Perhaps. To some Vista wasn’t so bad, but a loud and vocal group of Vista haters never let us forget the much maligned OS’s shortcomings. Still, there’s no denying that Vista has had more than its fair share of woes, and that Microsoft was wise to replace it less than three years after its debut.
Here are five things we won’t miss about Vista:
1. Too much nagging
Vista’s User Account Control(UAC), designed as a security feature to prevent security breaches, did its job a little too well. Its pop-up warnings, preceded by screen blackouts, appeared when users attempted even mundane tasks, such as setting the system clock. Newbies were scared; experts were annoyed. There were workarounds, of course, but most users didn’t bother. Windows 7 will be considerably less pesky.
2. Slow, slow, slow
Vista had some cool graphics and utilities, including the slick Aero interface and handy Sidebar applets, but all that excess code was a drag on performance, particularly if you were foolish enough to run Vista on a PC that met the minimum system requirements. Microsoft says Windows 7 is faster, but the verdict is still out. One developer claims Win 7 boots slower than Vista. The PC World Test Center reports that Win 7 is faster overall, but not by much.
3. You never liked my hardware
Users often grumbled about Vista’s lousy driver support, and industry analysts questioned the thoroughness of Microsoft’s driver-testing process. Will Windows 7 be any better? Some early testers have managed to get Win 7 running on decrepit, XP-era hardware, but not without the occasional driver glitch. Hopefully, Win 7’s trimmer code means it’ll run better than Vista on older PCs.
4. Blasé backup
Vista’s File Backup utility was too feeble. It wouldn’t let you backup specific files and folders, and it bypassed files it thought were part of the OS. Window’s 7 improved Backup Center correct these deficiencies, and also lets you backup to a network volume (but only in the Professional and Ultimate versions).
5.Too many garbage apps
Say, Vista users, when’s the last time you fired up Windows Movie Maker or Windows Mail? As every Windows user knows, apps bundled with the OS generally aren’t very good. As part of its slimmer, trimmer approach to Windows 7, Microsoft has left out these two lackluster utilities, as well as the equally forgettable Windows Photo Gallery. Still want them? Go to Windows Live Essentials. They’re free to download.
