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Posts Tagged ‘ Windows XP ’

Microsoft to Windows XP: Please Die, Already

By Fei on October 27, 2011

By Jeff Bertolucci
October 27, 2011

SAN FRANCISCO – Microsoft is eager for Windows XP, its 10-year-old operating system, to fade into computing history. The sooner the better, in fact. But for that to happen, the Redmond company needs millions of XP users to drop creaky, old XP and migrate (hopefully) to Windows 7, or even to Windows 8, which won’t arrive until next year.

Windows XP’s demise may be proceeding steadily, but Redmond wants to pick up the pace. According to analytics firm Net Applications, XP finished September 2011 with a 50.5 percent share of all desktop operating systems, a drop of nearly 10 percent from just ten months earlier.

Microsoft has made it clear in recent weeks that it will be ending support for XP in April 2014, a hard deadline the company hopes will light a fire under enterprise customers still running XP on aging iron.
Redmond usually supports its operating systems for 10 years after their introduction. However, it made an exception in XP’s case, extending the OS’s lifespan by three years due to XP’s popularity in the enterprise market.

Your Daddy’s OS

If ominous support deadlines won’t do the trick, Microsoft is open to more subtle forms of persuasion too. In an October 25 post on the Windows Experience Blog, Microsoft’s Kristina Libby discusses how much our lives have changed in the past decade. She writes:

“Think about phones — would you even carry a flip phone now? Think about music– would you still claim that Destiny’s Child is your top favorite band (if you or your wayward self ever did)? Think about hair–are you still rocking the same cut? Why then are you still on Windows XP when Windows 7 is so much better?”

Subtext: You’re hopelessly behind the times, XP users. Libby’s post even includes a colorful infographic to drive the point home.

The secret to XP’s longevity probably has as much to do with the tepid–and in many cases, downright hostile–response to its successor, Windows Vista, as it does with XP’s own reliability and stability. Enterprise users largely shunned Vista, which suffered from security and incompatibility issues right out of the gate.

The arrival of Windows 7 in 2009 brought the rapid demise of Vista. Even better for Microsoft, the new OS provided a reliable upgrade path for its enterprise customers.

Windows 7 currently has more than 32 percent of the desktop operating system market, and its share is rising steadily, according to Net Applications.

Give Windows 7 (or XP) a Vista-Like Sidebar

By Fei on October 18, 2010

By Rick Broida
October 18, 2010

SAN FRANCISCO – One of the things I miss about Windows Vista–okay, the only thing I miss about Vista–is the Sidebar. Much as I applaud Microsoft’s decision to liberate its desktop gadgets, to make it so you can position them anywhere you like, did it have to be at the expense of the Sidebar itself?

Hear me out. You see, like most users these days, I have a widescreen monitor (two of them, in fact), and a lot of that extra width goes to waste. I liked the Sidebar because it filled that unused space with useful tools and information. And it was omnipresent, staying visible alongside other open programs. (Windows 7′s desktop gadgets can be set to stay “always on top,” but that’s not the same thing.)

There’s no easy way to revive the old Sidebar in Windows 7, but you can replace it with something similar. Desktop Sidebar is a freeware utility that–you guessed it–adds a Vista-like sidebar to Windows 7 (and, for the record, Windows XP).

The program comes with over a dozen “panels” (its lingo for gadgets) preloaded, but you can choose from about 75 more (including some skins) in the Extras library. All the essentials are here, everything from a clock/calendar and weather display to a photo slideshow and Outlook shortcuts (for things like your calendar, task list, etc.). And you can customize the sidebar in nearly every way imaginable.

In an ideal world, Desktop Sidebar would support existing Windows gadgets, but beggars can’t be choosers. Bottom line: if you miss the Sidebar, Desktop Sidebar is the next best thing.

Upgrade to Windows 7

By Fei on September 30, 2010

By Leo Waldock

September 30, 2010

LONDON – In the year or so since Windows 7 was launched, power PC users have embraced the operating system (OS). A survey by gaming service Steam found that 42.4 percent of its players are using either 32bit or 64bit Windows 7.

It replaces Windows XP (32.1 percent) as the Windows platform of choice. The survey also reveals a move from 32bit to 64bit computing. The migration from 32bit XP to 64bit Windows 7 makes sense. This mode of operation future-proofs our computers and lets Windows take advantage of RAM allocations larger than 4GB.

In the past you could upgrade from, say, Windows 98 to XP, simply by running the CD and crossing your fingers. The upgrade process to Windows 7 64bit throws all that in the bin. The only way to install Windows 7 is by performing what Microsoft calls a ‘custom’ installation. Also known as a ‘clean’ installation, a custom installation won’t preserve your programs, files or settings.

Before you can run a Windows 7 upgrade, Microsoft will verify that your current Windows licence is genuine. It then wipes your hard drive and begins the installation on a clean slate.

Provided that you aren’t switching from a 32bit to a 64bit OS, it’s possible to run an in-place upgrade from Vista to Windows 7. For most scenarios, however, you’ll need to reinstall your applications and transfer your program files, emails and browser bookmarks.

Microsoft’s free Easy Transfer utility helps ease this task. Install Easy Transfer, let it scan your PC, tell it where it should store your files – an external hard drive is ideal – and then let it work its magic. When it’s finished, disconnect the external drive, install Windows 7, plug in the drive and the software will transfer your files to the correct locations within your new OS.

With Windows 7 installed, you can begin the simple but time-consuming task of installing your applications. Reckon on at least half a day’s work to install the OS and get your software, email and documents back to where you expect to find them.

That’s Microsoft’s recommendation, anyway. We’d rather not leave it to chance that the Easy Transfer software will pick up every last file and setting we want to port to the new OS. And we reckon the £40 or so spent on an external hard drive is far better spent on a second internal drive (provided you have the space available). For the same money, you could get a larger-capacity, faster drive. You could even add in a quick-booting solid-state disk (SSD).

Buy some hardware at the same time as Windows 7 and you’ll qualify for the £75 original equipment manufacturer (OEM) version, rather than paying £119 for the full version of Windows 7 Home Premium or £85 for an Upgrade version. This could be the perfect time to buy a speedy SSD to run Windows and your applications from, and begin using your old drive as a secondary data drive.

Over the following pages, we explain how to upgrade from an older version of Windows (in our case XP) to Windows 7 using the Easy Transfer utility, and get your PC back to how you want it.

Step 1. Run the Windows Upgrade Advisor to check your current hardware is capable of running Windows 7. This tool does a good job, but note that it isn’t perfect: the software queried our graphics card and chipset, yet both work perfectly under Windows 7.

Step 2. Install Windows Easy Transfer and let it scan your PC. Three options are offered: if you’re moving to a new machine rather than upgrading your current OS, Easy Transfer lets you join the two with a special cable. You can also opt to transfer items to a network device or a USB drive – we chose the latter.

Get great deals on Windows 7 Windows 7 Advisor Windows 7 review Windows 7 videos Windows 7 news Windows 7 forum Windows 7 laptop reviews Group test: What’s the best portable hard drive?

As Windows 7 celebrates its first birthday, we think it’s the perfect time to enter the world of 64bit computing. Here, we use Microsoft’s free Windows Easy Transfer utility to upgrade from XP to Windows 7

Step 3. Allow Windows Easy Transfer to save your data. It decided that 22GB of the 76GB of data on our Windows XP PC should be transferred, although it gave us no indication of what those files were. Our external drive uses the FAT32 system, meaning the files were saved in 4GB chunks.

Step 4. Set the Bios to boot up from disc (rather than the PC’s internal hard drive) so it triggers the installation from your Windows 7 disc. If the PC doesn’t automatically offer to run the installation, restart, press F8 to enter the Bios, choose Advanced Bios features and tell Windows to boot from the DVD.

Step 5. Microsoft asks a series of questions about the installation, such as your preferred language. Naturally we want English (UK) rather than English (US), but the process is otherwise fairly pain-free. You will also need to restart the PC during the process, which is an ideal time to reset the Bios to boot up from the hard drive.

Step 6. Next, Windows will format your hard drive. This is the point of no return. If you have any doubts, pause here, buy a second hard drive and install Windows 7 on that. You may need to switch over to SATA from IDE but you won’t need to format the new drive. Doing so will make the process tidier and save space, however.

Get great deals on Windows 7 Windows 7 Advisor Windows 7 review Windows 7 videos Windows 7 news Windows 7 forum Windows 7 laptop reviews Group test: What’s the best portable hard drive?

Step 7. The installation should take around 15 minutes. Your next priority is drivers. Windows 7′s default drivers for most current hardware are impressive, but we recommend using dedicated drivers. The latest versions can be found at your motherboard and graphics card makers’ websites. Also check online for any Windows updates.

Step 8. You’re now ready to let Easy Transfer copy over your old files. Plug in the external hard drive and browse its contents using Windows Explorer. The main Windows Easy Transfer file has a distinctive icon. Double-click it to set the installation process rolling. Our 22GB collection of files took 15 minutes to transfer.

Step 9. Once it’s finished, Easy Transfer can produce a report of what it has accomplished. If any software has been lost in transit and you have already formatted your old hard drive, you’ll need to reinstall it from the original CD. Luckily, we opted to use a second drive in step 6 and still have the software on our older drive.

Step 10. If you’ve also used a second hard drive, use the older one for backup. Start with the My Documents folder, which is simply named ‘Documents’ in Windows 7. Create a new folder in the root of your older drive and name it ‘Stuff’ or something equally memorable. Now copy the files over to the new folder.

Get great deals on Windows 7 Windows 7 Advisor Windows 7 review Windows 7 videos Windows 7 news Windows 7 forum Windows 7 laptop reviews Group test: What’s the best portable hard drive?

Step 11. Copy over your Outlook email and address book. In Office 2003 use the File, Import and Export menu to export a .PST file that can be saved on your backup drive. Use the same process to copy across your contacts. In Outlook 2007 and 2010 go to File, Data File Management and copy the .PST files from there.

Step 12. Export your Favorites and cookies in Internet Explorer using the File, Import and Export menu. In Firefox, head to Bookmarks, Organise Bookmarks, Import and Backup, Export HTML. Whichever browser you use, keep a list of your logins and passwords somewhere safe.

Step 13. To continue using the older drive as a secondary data drive, you should check in the Bios that the machine will boot into the newer drive rather than this one. If Windows Easy Transfer has missed any settings or applications that you need, you will still be able to find them on this drive.

Step 14. Your new Windows 7 PC should be up and running with all of your data present and correct. Run Windows Experience Index (Control Panel, System Properties) to check that all is well. You can also use Windows Experience Index to test your processor, RAM, graphics card and hard disk(s).

Battling desktops

By Fei on September 8, 2010

By Lincoln Spector
September 8, 2010

SAN FRANCISCO – Al Gruber asked why he appears to have two different desktops–the PC’s default screen and a Windows Explorer location.

Only two? Your PC may have four or more locations called desktop, and it may itself be a desktop. Here are five meanings of that overused word:

Windows’ Default Screen: The environment that you decorate with wallpaper and place windows on is called the desktop. (Talk about a mixed metaphor.)

The Top of the Drive/Folder Hierarchy: If you have XP or Vista, you’ll find this “desktop” at the top of Windows Explorer’s folder hierarchy, above My Documents and My Computer. This desktop contains all of the icons on the default screen described above, as well as everything directly below it in that hierarchy. Windows 7 lacks this desktop (and no one misses it).

Your Private Desktop: This is an actual folder, probably located at C:\Documents and Settings\logon\Desktop if you’re using XP or C:\Users\logon\Desktop in Vista or Windows 7 (replacing logon with your logon name, of course). It contains some of the files and shortcuts on the default screen–specifically, the ones visible to you but not to other users of the PC.

If the PC has other users who log on separately, each has their own private desktop folder.

The Public Desktop: This folder contains icons and files that appear on every user’s default screen. You’ll probably find the folder at C:\Users\Public\Desktop (Windows 7 or Vista) or C:\Documents and Settings\All Users\Desktop (XP).

Your Physical Desktop: If you can’t close your computer, stick it in a shoulder bag, and take it through airport security, it’s probably a desktop.

Windows Phone 7 Marketing: Message More Important than Money

By Fei on August 31, 2010

By Tony Bradley

August 31, 2010

SAN FRANCISCO – Microsoft is reportedly set to spend half a billion dollars on a marketing blitz to promote the upcoming launch of Windows Phone 7. For the sake of the success of Windows Phone 7, hopefully Microsoft understands that getting the right message in front of the right people is more important than randomly filling media with advertising.

Truthfully, $500 million isn’t that much–at least not for Microsoft. It spent $500 million pushing the launch of Windows XP, and that was a decade ago marketing an operating system that was almost guaranteed to be a success anyway. Adjusting for inflation, and throwing in some intangibles for the competitive state of smartphones, and Microsoft’s current place in the market, $1 billion would be reasonable.

But spending money alone will not ensure the success of Windows Phone 7. If Microsoft spends half a billion dollars running quirky, enigmatic ads for Windows Phone 7 on MTV and Nickelodeon, starring Bill Gates and Jerry Seinfeld, it may as well just flush the money down the toilet (or give it to me–e-mail me for the mailing address).

A bad message with a huge marketing budget can get some traction just based on buying sheer volume, but an awesome ad with virtually no budget can become a self-propagating, viral marketing message. The awesome ad has to strike a chord with the right audience, though. Then that audience will remember it, and share it, and act on it.

Windows Phone 7 appears to be a worthy next-generation smartphone platform from what has been revealed thus far. It also seems that Microsoft has thrown out its own playbook, and even steered away from a simple “me-too” approach to developing yet another iPhone-esque platform, and has actually developed some innovative elements that can set Windows Phone 7 apart from the competition.

The main reason that Microsoft has managed to hang on to 13 percent of the smartphone market despite having nothing compelling or innovative to offer for years is its foothold on backend servers, the desktop operating system, and–most importantly–office productivity. Businesses already have an investment in a Microsoft infrastructure, and a smartphone that integrates natively with that infrastructure makes more sense.

Other smartphones recognize the importance of Microsoft integration. Exchange push capability is a basic prerequisite for any business smartphone aside from a BlackBerry–and that is because BlackBerry Enterprise Server connects with Exchange on the backend and manages delivery of messages to the device.

It isn’t just about Exchange either. The Microsoft Office Suite is the core productivity software in a majority of businesses. Other smartphone platforms have remote desktops, or apps that are capable of emulating compatibility with Microsoft Office on some level–but they’re not Microsoft Office. Most of these implementations are functional, but are clunky and cumbersome compared with simply using Office. It’s like trying to fit a square peg in the round hole by tacking on apps after the fact that pale in comparison.

Business is Microsoft’s forte. Most Microsoft efforts at being cool, or trying to capture the consumer market have been abysmal failures–like the Kin. It is fair to recognize that all employees and business owners are also consumers, and to have a healthy respect for the success that Apple has had in working from the bottom up model–targeting consumers and sparking a revolution that forced business to take the iPhone seriously, but Microsoft is not Apple.

Microsoft should invest heavily in launching Windows Phone 7. It needs to give people a reason to care that Microsoft is getting back in the game, and some incentive for businesses to take a chance on the new mobile OS.

Microsoft just needs to make sure that it is saying the right thing, in the right way, to the right audience–or the marketing will just be a waste of time. And, all marketing aside, the success or failure of Windows Phone 7 will ultimately come down to how well-engineered and innovative the new platform really is.

Quickly Determine Which Version of Windows You Have

By Fei on August 9, 2010

By Rick Broida
August 9, 2010

SAN FRANCISCO – You probably know if your PC is running Windows XP, Vista, or 7–but do you know which version of Windows it is? For example, is it XP Home? Windows 7 Ultimate? And is it the 32-bit or 64-bit variety?

Knowing the answer to the last question is increasingly important these days, as you can’t run 64-bit software on a 32-bit OS. Likewise, if you do have 64-bit Windows (often referred to as “x64″), you should always opt for 64-bit versions of your favorite applications (when available).

Windows doesn’t paste this information anywhere in plain sight, but it’s easy enough to find. In Vista and 7, right-click your Computer icon and choose Properties. Presto: all the information you need in one handy box.

You can also click the Start button, type version, and then click Show which operating system your computer is running.

Five Secrets to Windows 7 Success

By Fei on August 4, 2010

By Tony Bradley
August 4, 2010

SAN FRANCISCO – According to Net Applications, it’s been a good month for Microsoft. Internet Explorer 8 gained more market share to continue dominating the browser market, and Windows 7 surpassed its predecessor–Windows Vista–in market share for the first time. So, what exactly is driving the success of Windows 7?

1. Management. With integrated support for PowerShell 2.0, Windows 7 provides a superior infrastructure for IT admins to be able to automate common tasks and manage the desktops more efficiently.

IT admins can create powerful scripts with PowerShell 2.0. PowerShell uses the Windows Management Interface (WMI), and can call command-line tools–making it a very versatile tool for IT admins.

2. Troubleshooting. For some IT admins, helping users troubleshoot problems takes up a significant amount of time and gets in the way of other tasks that might improve the network for everyone. Troubleshooting problems remotely can be a uniquely difficult task challenging the patience of both the user and the IT technician.

Windows 7 provides Troubleshooting Packs that enable users to conduct their own troubleshooting for many common issues. IT admins can also create custom Troubleshooting Packs for recurring issues or internal applications.

For remote troubleshooting, Windows 7 has the Problem Steps Recorder feature. The Problem Steps Recorder lets users record the screenshots illustrating–click-by-click–the steps they are performing that seem to be causing the problem. The ability to replay the exact problem scenario greatly enhances the ability of remote IT technicians to identify and resolve the issue.

3. Security. Windows XP–which is still by far the most used operating system–is far behind Windows 7 when it comes to security controls. Windows 7 has security controls–like ASLR (address space layout randomization), DEP (data execution prevention), and UAC (user account control), and PMIE (Protected Mode IE)– that don’t exist in Windows XP.

Windows 7 also has AppLocker which lets IT admins set policies restricting which applications or scripts are allowed to run on the PC. Controlling which software can run on the desktop provides better security, as well as simpler system management.
BitLocker and BitLocker to Go enable IT admins to ensure that sensitive data is protected with encryption, and it can be easily managed via Group Policy.

4. It’s Not Vista. The reputation of Vista is more a Microsoft marketing failure than the result of any real issues with Vista. While Windows 7 is not “Windows Vista R2″ as some have suggested, but it is does have many of the same core elements that Vista has.

The launch of Windows Vista was marred by a lack of drivers and vendor-support–something Microsoft should have proactively addressed prior to launching a major new OS. Many of the other issues of Windows Vista, though, were actually misunderstood features that Microsoft allowed competitors like Apple to exploit in attacking Vista in marketing.

5. It’s Still Supported. Although Windows 7 has surpassed Windows Vista, Windows XP still has more than twice the market share of both Windows 7 and Windows Vista combined. Those that have applied Windows XP SP3 are still being supported by Microsoft, but Microsoft no longer supports Windows XP SP2, or earlier OS versions such as Windows 2000.

Windows XP was a phenomenal success. The familiarity and comfort level of Windows XP, combined with tighter budgets and the fumbled launch of Windows Vista have all contributed to the extended success of the legacy OS.

Now that Windows 7 is in town, though, most companies are looking at finally refreshing hardware and upgrading the operating system to catch up with this decade and take advantage of the benefits listed here, as well as the hardware and software technologies that have come along that the archaic Windows XP is simply not compatible with.

Safely dual-boot Windows 7 and XP

By Fei on August 4, 2010

By Chris Byers
August 4, 2010

LONDON – QUESTION My PC dual-boots Windows XP 32bit and Windows 7 Ultimate 64bit. Every time I work in XP I lose all my restore points in Windows 7. Geoff Turner
HELPROOM ANSWER You can’t keep System Restore points if you dual-boot with an earlier operating system. XP will delete the Restore Points when it reboots, since the Windows 7 disk structure is incompatible with the way XP reads the hard drive. A workaround is available, but this can create its own problems.

If you want to continue running Windows XP on your computer, you’d be better off doing so in the free Virtual XP mode. Click here to download Windows XP Mode.

Stop Windows 7 taskbar icons from ‘disappearing’

By Fei on June 17, 2010

By Rick Broida
June 17, 2010

SAN FRANCISCO – Reader Noel just made the move to Windows 7, and a certain aspect of the OS is driving him crazy:

“When I start an application (like Firefox, for example) from a pinned shortcut on the taskbar, the Firefox icon disappears and transforms into its taskbar button for as long as Firefox is running. How do I keep the icon there, even while the application is running?”

You’re right, Noel: This Windows 7 “feature” can be quite annoying. It took me a while to get accustomed to it, and even now I occasionally find it unintuitive.

Before I offer up a workaround, however, consider a few of the advantages of this approach. For starters, it leaves more space on the taskbar than you’d normally get if Windows continued to reserve space for icons.

Also, these newfangled icon/button thingies afford access to Jump Lists, one of Windows 7′s truly spiffy features.
Finally, you noted that if you have, say, Firefox open and want to open another Firefox window, you have to click File, New Windows, instead of just clicking the Firefox icon (which has disappeared).

That’s not entirely true. If you middle-click the Firefox taskbar button, you’ll get a new window, just as you describe. And don’t forget the keyboard shortcut: Ctrl-N.

All that being said, there is a way to restore the XP/Vista-style Quick Launch toolbar, which I think is what you’re after. It’s a little complicated, but it works.
What do you think, fellow Windows 7 users? Is the new taskbar annoying, or does it just take a little getting used to?

Find drivers for your hard drive

By Fei on June 8, 2010

By Chris Byers
June 8, 2010

LONDON – QUESTION I backed up my Windows XP PC to a portable hard drive. This drive appears in Device Manager and Disk Management, but not in My Computer. My Creative sound system failed at the same time. The Hardware Wizard was unable to locate new drivers for the hard drive, USB ports or sound entries in Device Manager. Ken Robinson

HELPROOM ANSWER Start by updating the Bios and motherboard drivers, a process that can often fix bugs and even add extra features. The motherboard manufacturer’s website will offer any new versions.

It’s possible that Windows is trying to allocate a drive letter that’s already in use to your external drive. Plug in the drive, then click Start, Run and enter compmgmt.msc. Click Disk Management, then right-click the USB drive and choose ‘Change Drive Letter and Paths’. Click Change, then click on the ‘Assign the following drive letter’ drop-down menu. Choose a drive letter you’re sure is not in use. Click Ok, Yes, then reboot the PC.

If you’re still experiencing problems, your USB ports may be malfunctioning or not getting enough power.

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