All posts in Uncategorized

Since the release of Windows 2000 and XP, Microsoft included the limited Recovery Console which was used to diagnose and recover from serious errors which may be preventing Windows from booting successfully. The problem with Recovery Console (although it was very handy), was its complexity and use of the Command Line. Using it required remembering obscure commands and knowing how to apply them properly. If you were not careful, you could seriously cause further problems. With the release of Windows Vista Microsoft introduced significant improvements to diagnosing problems that might occur with a Windows installation, called the Windows Recovery Environment (WinRE), it features a graphical user interface with a wealth of options for diagnosing and solving problems. These include:

Full Article – http://adacosta.spaces.live.com/blog/cns!E8E5CC039D51E3DB!23982.entry

Starting this Tuesday (May 12th) we will release up to ten test updates to PCs running the Windows 7 RC in order to verify our ability to deliver and manage updating of Windows 7 in certain real-life scenarios. These updates do not deliver any new features or fixes. This is the second set of test updates we’ve released to test the updating mechanism for Windows 7 – the first set were released on February 24. For more information, see this post on the Microsoft Update Blog

Windows XP Mode for Windows 7 makes it easy to install and run many of your Windows XP productivity applications directly from a Windows 7-based PC. It utilizes virtualization technology such as Windows Virtual PC to provide a Virtual Windows XP environement for Windows 7.
Windows XP Mode provides a 32-bit Windows XP Professional Service Pack 3 (SP3) environment pre-loaded on a virtual hard disk. Client virtualization software, like Windows Virtual PC is a pre-requisite to use Windows XP Mode.

Download – http://www.microsoft.com/downloads/details.aspx?displaylang=en&FamilyID=0e8fa9b3-c236-4b77-be26-173f032f5159

Microsoft® Hyper-V™ Server 2008 R2 is a stand-alone product that provides a reliable and optimized virtualization solution enabling organizations to improve server utilization and reduce costs. With the addition of new features such as live migration and expanded processor and memory support for host systems, it allows organizations to consolidate workloads onto a single physical server and is a good solution for organizations who are consolidating servers as well as for development and test environments.
By having the ability to plug into existing IT infrastructures Microsoft Hyper-V Server 2008 R2 enables companies to reduce costs, improve utilization and provision new servers. It allows IT professionals to leverage existing patching, provisioning, management and support tools and processes. IT Professionals can continue to leverage their individual skills and the collective knowledge of Microsoft tools, minimizing the learning curve to manage Microsoft Hyper-V Server 2008 R2. In addition, with Microsoft providing comprehensive support for Microsoft applications and heterogeneous guest operating systems support, customers can virtualize with confidence and peace of mind.

Download – http://www.microsoft.com/downloads/details.aspx?displaylang=en&FamilyID=fdac7be8-1847-4839-991d-f84be95a33a0

Microsoft® Hyper-V™ Server 2008 R2 is a stand-alone product that provides a reliable and optimized virtualization solution enabling organizations to improve server utilization and reduce costs. With the addition of new features such as live migration and expanded processor and memory support for host systems, it allows organizations to consolidate workloads onto a single physical server and is a good solution for organizations who are consolidating servers as well as for development and test environments.
By having the ability to plug into existing IT infrastructures Microsoft Hyper-V Server 2008 R2 enables companies to reduce costs, improve utilization and provision new servers. It allows IT professionals to leverage existing patching, provisioning, management and support tools and processes. IT Professionals can continue to leverage their individual skills and the collective knowledge of Microsoft tools, minimizing the learning curve to manage Microsoft Hyper-V Server 2008 R2. In addition, with Microsoft providing comprehensive support for Microsoft applications and heterogeneous guest operating systems support, customers can virtualize with confidence and peace of mind.

Download – http://www.microsoft.com/downloads/details.aspx?displaylang=en&FamilyID=fdac7be8-1847-4839-991d-f84be95a33a0

Three months after releasing the final 1.0 version of its Silverlight-to-Linux port, the Moonlight team has posted a downloadable preview version of their 2.0 release.

Download – http://go-mono.com/moonlight-preview/

some roles and features, Windows Server 2008 or Windows Server 2003) from a remote computer that is running Windows 7 RC. It includes support for remote management of computers that are running either the Server Core or full installation options of Windows Server 2008 R2, and for some roles and features, Windows Server 2008. Some roles and features on Windows Server 2003 can be managed remotely by using Remote Server Administration Tools for Windows 7 RC, although the Server Core installation option is not available with the Windows Server 2003 operating system.
This feature is comparable in functionality to the Windows Server 2003 Administrative Tools Pack and Remote Server Administration Tools for Windows Vista with Service Pack 1 (SP1).

Download – http://www.microsoft.com/downloads/details.aspx?displaylang=en&FamilyID=f6c62797-791c-48e3-b754-c7c0a09f32f3

Windows 7 Release Candidate Announcement
Thank you very much for your help in testing the Windows 7 Beta. Your feedback is invaluable in helping make Windows 7 a high quality operating system. With your help, we have reached the next major milestone on the journey to Windows 7: the Release Candidate (RC).

So you don’t need rush to make sure you get your copy. When you’re ready to download the RC, it’ll be waiting for you.
To get the RC please use one of the following links:

Today we are announcing the Release to Manufacturing (RTM) of Service Pack 2 (SP2) for Windows Vista and Windows Server 2008. SP2 represents the latest step in Microsoft’s commitment to continuous improvement. It includes all updates that have been delivered since SP1, as well as support for new types of hardware and emerging hardware standards. 

As we have mentioned before, here are some of the key benefits of Windows Vista SP2:

• Windows Search 4.0 for faster and improved relevancy in searches
• Bluetooth 2.1 Feature Pack supporting the most recent specification for Bluetooth Technology
• Ability to record data on to Blu-Ray media natively in Windows Vista
• Adds Windows Connect Now (WCN) to simplify Wi-Fi Configuration
• Windows Vista SP2 enables the exFAT file system to support UTC timestamps, which allows correct file synchronization across time zones.

Full Article – http://windowsteamblog.com/blogs/windowsvista/default.aspx

The 2007 Microsoft Office Suite Service Pack 2 (SP2) provides customers with the latest updates to the 2007 Office suite (the products that are affected by this update are listed below). This download includes two types of fixes:

• Previously unreleased fixes that were made specifically for this service pack.
  • In addition to general product fixes, this includes improvements in stability, performance, and security.
  • You can find out more information in Knowledge Base Article 953195, where product-specific changes are described.
• All of the Public Updates, Security Updates, Cumulative Updates, and Hotfixes released through February 2009.

Before installing this service pack, you are strongly encouraged to read 953195, which describes some big improvements introduced by SP2, and also calls out some important information that you should be aware of before installing.

Download http://www.microsoft.com/downloads/details.aspx?displaylang=en&FamilyID=b444bf18-79ea-46c6-8a81-9db49b4ab6e5

Back in February, I wrote an article, Windows 7 Product Editions, in which I discussed the various SKUs (stock keeping units, or product editions) that Microsoft would provide with its next operating system. Now, with nearly fully-functional versions of each product edition available to the public, I thought I’d provide a series of tables comparing each Windows 7 product editon, similar in scope to the work I did documenting Windows Vista. It’s early yet, and things will no doubt change, so I’ll be updating these tables as needed going forward. But even at this early stage, I believe these tables will help you pick which Windows 7 product edition makes the most sense for you, based on your needs and wants. Let’s dive right in.

Full Article – http://www.winsupersite.com/win7/win7_skus_compare.asp

There certainly has been a lot of discussion about Windows 7 in the last few weeks. A lot of folks want to know when they can get their hands on the official RC, when we are going to RTM, and what I had for breakfast.

I’m pleased to share that the RC is on track for April 30th for  download by MSDN and TechNet subscribers. Broader, public availability will begin on May 5th.

Full Article – http://windowsteamblog.com/blogs/windows7/archive/2009/04/24/windows-7-release-candidate-update.aspx

Windows XP Mode is specifically designed to help small businesses move to Windows 7. Windows XP Mode provides you with the flexibility to run many older productivity applications on a Windows 7 based PC.

All you need to do is to install suitable applications directly in Windows XP Mode which is a virtual Windows XP environment running under Windows Virtual PC. The applications will be published to the Windows 7 desktop and then you can run them directly from Windows 7.

Full Article – http://windowsteamblog.com/blogs/business/archive/2009/04/24/coming-soon-windows-xp-mode-and-windows-virtual-pc.aspx

This article is intended for use by administrators of Windows Server Update Services (WSUS), Windows Update, and Microsoft Update services. This article contains a cumulative list of content changes that have been made available for WSUS, Windows Update, and Microsoft Update. Administrators can use this list both as a quick reference to content changes that have been made during routine synchronizations and as an explanation of these changes. This information will be updated either during our regular update releases on the second and fourth Tuesday of every month or whenever an unscheduled update is released. This article lists changes that were made on or after January 13, 2009. It does not list changes that were made before that date. For more information about changes that occurred before January 13, 2009, see the “References” section.

Full Article – http://support.microsoft.com/kb/894199/en-us

Depending on your background, you may find different sections of the newly published Microsoft Security Intelligence Report (SIR) to be of more interest.  In today’s post, we would like to highlight the section on infection rates based on the operating system (OS) version and the service pack level.  Microsoft has consistently observed that machines with newer OS and with more recent service packs are less likely to be infected by malware.  The graph below shows the number of computers having malware removed per 1,000 executions of the MSRT on that OS/SP during the second half of 2008 (2H08).

Download – http://blogs.technet.com/mmpc/archive/2009/04/21/malware-distribution-across-operating-systems.aspx