Windows 7 Service Pack Blocker Tool Kit

Since Windows XP sp2 Microsoft makes Service Pack block tools available for organizations that would like to temporarily prevent installation of Service Pack updates through Windows Update.

I wonder if  Windows 7 SP1 will be released sooner than previously announced (Q1 2011) since they just released the blocker tool to the public. Maybe it is released to test blocking of the Release Candidate SP which can also be received through Windows Update with a registry setting.

A blocking tool is available for organizations that would like to temporarily prevent installation of Service Pack updates through Windows Update.

This tool can be used with:

• Windows 7 Service Pack 1 (valid for 12 months following general availability of the service pack)
• Windows Server 2008 R2 Service Pack 1 (valid for 12 months following general availability of the service pack)

This toolkit contains three components. All of them function primarily to set or clear a specific registry key that is used to detect and block download of Service Packs from Windows Update. You only need to use the component which best serves your organization’s computer management infrastructure.

• A Microsoft-signed executable
• A script
• An ADM template

1. The executable creates a registry key on the computer on which it is run that blocks or unblocks (depending on the command-line option used) the delivery of a Service Pack to that computer through Windows Update. The key used is HKLM\Software\Policies\Microsoft\Windows\WindowsUpdate.
   When the '/B' command line option is used, the key value name 'DoNotAllowSP' is created and its value set to 1. This value blocks delivery of a Service Pack to the computer through Automatic Update or Windows Update.
   When the '/U' command line option is used, the previously created registry value that temporarily blocked the delivery of a Service Pack to the computer through Automatic Update or Windows Update is removed. If the value does not exist on the computer on which it is run, no action is taken.
2. The script does the same thing as the executable, but allows you to specify the remote machine name on which to block or unblock delivery of Service Packs.
   Note that the executable and script have been tested only as a command-line tool and not in conjunction with other systems management tools or remote execution mechanisms.
3. The ADM template allows administrators to import group policy settings to block or unblock delivery of Service Packs into their Group Policy environment. Administrators can then use Group Policy to centrally execute the action across systems in their environment.

Please note that this toolkit will not prevent the installation of the service pack from CD/DVD, or from the stand-alone download package. This simply prevents the service pack from being delivered over Windows Update.

Download details Windows Service Pack Blocker Tool Kit

88% of businesses moving to Windows 7, 94% satisfaction rate

Today, at PDC 2010, Steve Ballmer took the stage to announce some exciting new products and updates to Windows, Azure and many more products.

During the announcement, Steve Ballmer talked about how Windows 7 has surpassed Microsoft's expectations and became the fastest selling operating system in history. One problem Microsoft has been facing is convincing businesses that Windows 7 is not Windows Vista and upgrading from the no-longer supported Windows XP (SP2 and lower).

During Ballmers keynote speech, he announced that 88% of businesses are moving towards upgrading to Windows 7 and 240 million licenses have been sold so far.

Ballmer also announced that Windows 7 has a 94% overall satisfaction rate, a significant improvement over Windows Vista. The next major announcement was that IDC predicts that 409 million PCs will ship with Windows 7 in 2011, the most PCs ever shipped in a single year.

Windows 7 Service Pack 1 RC Released

Microsoft have responded to a recent Windows 7 Service Pack 1 Release Candidate (or SP1 RC) leak by actually releasing it.

SP1 for Microsoft’s most popular Operating System brings plenty of bug fixes and enhancements.

Notable additions are Remote FX and incremental security updates and hot fixes.

Windows 7 SP1 RC can be downloaded via the Microsoft Website.  If you are already participating in the Beta go to Windows update and install the RC.
The x86 iteration of the SP is a heavy 514.7MB with x64 weighing in at a staggering 865.4MB.

A DVD ISO disk image can also be obtained which contains the standalone update packages for the public RC.

Expect the servers to be hit hard so some  links may appear broken but rest assured your itchy F5 finger will eventually lead to a download.

Make sure to uninstall the Beta before installing the RC.

Windows 7 SP1 RC

Update:

Windows 7 SP1 RC x86 Direct Download Link

Windows 7 SP1 RC x64 Direct Download Link

Happy Birthday Windows 7

Windows 7 celebrates its first birthday today, a year on from the retail availability of the fastest selling operating system of all time.

It has been an incredibly successful year for Windows 7. Microsoft has confirmed that it has now sold over 240 million licenses of Windows 7 and that figure is expected to hit 300 million before the end of the year. Microsoft's success with Windows 7 began before the product was even widely available. Released in October 2009, the operating system has received praise from consumers, businesses and the media. In November 2009, Windows 7 managed to surpass Apple's Snow Leopard market share in just two weeks. In early February it was revealed that Windows 7 had reached 10% market share in just three months.

Windows 7 has also driven an uptake of 64-bit computing. According to ChangeBASE research, conducted with senior IT decision makers, more than 65% of businesses hoped to migrate to Windows 7 within 12 months of its release. Over 50% of those migrating will be choosing the 64-bit route. Microsoft confirmed in July that nearly half of all Windows 7 PCs run 64-bit versions.

Microsoft is currently readying its first Service Pack for Windows 7. A public beta version was made available earlier this year and Microsoft is currently compiling internal release candidate builds. We expect a release candidate to be available shortly, possibly in time for PDC 2010 next week. A final release is expected in the first quarter of next year.

Download OS X Snow Leopard Themepack With Icons And Cursors For Windows 7

Download Snow Leopard Theme (Full)

Download Snow Leopard Theme (Lite)

How To Hide Drives In Windows 7 Using Command Prompt

1. Type CMD in Start menu search area and hit Enter to launch Command Prompt. You can also find the Command Prompt under Accessories category in Start menu.

2. In the Command Prompt, type Diskpart and hit enter key. Click Yes if you are prompted with UAC (User Account Control) dialog-box.

3. And then type List Volume and hit enter to see list of all drives.

4. Select the drive that you want to hide. To do this, type Select Volume G (here, G is the drive letter) or Select Volume 8 (here 8 is the volume number)

5. To hide a drive, type Remove Letter G. Here, G is the drive letter than you want to hide.r

6. You are done.

To show the hidden drive, follow the steps given below:

1. Follow the procedure mentioned in step 1, 2, and 3.

2. Select the volume number for which you want to assign a drive letter and show in the explorer. Type Select Volume 8 (here, 8 is the volume number) and hit Enter key.

3. Once selected, type Assign Letter G and hit Enter key to see the drive in explorer(replace G with the drive letter that you have previously removed).

Windows 7 Professional and Office Academic Professional 2010 At Major Discounts

Calling all U.S. university students with a .edu email address.  Microsoft continues to offer a deeply discounted option for you to purchase Windows 7 Professional and/or Microsoft Office Professional Academic 2010.

If you have a qualifying email address or attend one of the listed schools and are carrying at least 0.5 credits worth of classes then your eligible to get these discounted prices.  Make sure you notice the caveat on the website though – you might get asked to prove your actively in class otherwise you may be liable for the normal price of these products.

The deal can get you Windows 7 Professional for $64.95 ($299.99 MSRP) and Microsoft Office Academic Professional 2010 for $79.95 ($499.99 MSRP).

Now those are some excellent savings for a college student!

Windows 7 and Office 2010 Student Discount Page

Download Best Of Bing 4 Theme For Windows 7 From Microsoft

It’s time to download another official themepack for Windows 7. After releasing Best of Bing 1, Best of Bing 2, and Best of Bing 3 themes, Microsoft has now released Best Of Bing 4 theme for the the latest version of Windows.

Best of Bing 4 theme contains 18 high-resolution (1920 x 1200) desktop backgrounds that were featured on the Bing search home page. Download the theme and double-click on the same to install and apply.

Download Best Of Bing 4

Windows 7 Home Premium Family Pack Available Again

Yesterday Microsoft started to offer the Family Pack Windows 7 Home Premium upgrade license via online retailers and the Microsoft Store.

This family pack is unique as it includes licenses to install Windows 7 Home Premium on three computers for just $30 more than it costs to buy a single Home Premium Upgrade license.

The asking price for this is $149.95 but Amazon.com is offering an even sweeter deal.  They are showing the Windows 7 Home Premium upgrade package for $139.99.

If you were ever thinking about upgrading to Windows 7 then this is the time to do it.  This offer will not run for ever and it is limited so if you want it then you should take advantage of it quickly. 

Even if you are not ready to upgrade today I still recommend buying it and having it available for later.

Windows 7 SteadyState

Windows SteadyState does not support Windows 7; however, many of its features can be replicated by using native Windows 7 features and free tools from Microsoft. This document is intended primarily for IT pros who configure shared-computer access in business environments, but partners who support shared-computer access in schools, libraries, and Internet cafes will also find the information useful.

The document set includes:

• Creating a Steady State by Using Microsoft Technologies (this document), which describes the native Windows 7 features and free tools from Microsoft that you can use to create a steady state on computers running Windows 7.

• Group Policy Settings for Creating a Steady State, which is a reference that describes Group Policy settings that you can use to configure computer and user settings and prevent users from changing those settings.

• The SteadyState Reference worksheet (.xlsx file), which you can use to look up and filter settings that this document and the reference describe. For example, you can quickly find information about settings that are related to Start Menu restrictions.

Download details Creating a Steady State by Using Microsoft Technologies

Download details Group Policy Settings for Creating a Steady State

Download details Windows SteadyState Reference Spreadsheet

Microsoft Releases Update to Fix Unexpected Shutdown or Blue Screens While Using USB Video Device in Windows 7

Microsoft has released a new update for Windows 7 and Server 2008 R2 users.

You should install this update to prevent unexpected shutdowns or bluescreens when you are using a USB video device. After you install this item, you may have to restart your computer.

Symptom:

On a computer that is running Windows 7 or Windows Server 2008 R2, you may receive one of the following Stop error messages:

Stop 0x0000007E (parameter1, parameter2, parameter3, parameter 4)
SYSTEM_THREAD_EXCEPTION_NOT_HANDLED

Stop 0x00000050 (parameter1, 0 or 1, parameter 3, 0)
PAGE_FAULT_IN_NONPAGED_AREA

This behavior occurs when you unload a USB video device or when you shutdown the computer.

Cause:

This issue occurs because of a race condition in the USB Video driver when a USB video device is unloaded.

Solution:

Download and install the required update using following link:

Download Update

Windows 7 leading to higher customer PC satisfaction

Consumers are responding positively to Microsoft's Windows 7 operating system, and thus their satisfaction of their PCs has also increased, the most recent edition of the American Customer Satisfaction Index. The effect is being compared to the "halo effect" of Apple's iPod music player, which was thought to have engendered positive feelings about the Mac computer.

Dell's satisfaction score was up three points over last year to a 77, while HP, Acer, and a general "all others" category was up four points also to a 77. The only manufacturer not to see gains was Compaq, which remained at a 74 out of a possible 100. Apple remained on top with a score of 86, which was two points higher than last year. The Cupertino company has led the survey every year since 2004.

Regardless of Apple's good performance, the focus was on the PC segment, whose near-universal gains indicated that Windows 7 is definitely being well received by the general computing public.

"Windows-based manufacturers made large gains in the second year of Microsoft's release of Windows 7, marking a recovery from the problems associated with the Windows Vista software," ACSI director Claes Fornell said.

ACSI had watched satisfaction scores drop during Vista's tenure as Microsoft's flagship operating system. Following Vista's release in 2007, scores plummeted as consumers ran into the many annoying quirks and bugs that marred the operating system's experience.

Nothing could have been made more evident of this issue than last year, when netbooks -- which manufacturers pre-installed Windows XP on -- helped the "all others" category to gain. ACSI at the time said brisk sales of the devices had much to do with that jump.

It may not all be Windows 7, though. PC prices are again on their way down, and obviously consumers are happier when they can spend less money. The economy has forced many manufacturers to reevaluate their pricing strategies and even lower prices to stay competitive.

Hide User Accounts from the Welcome Screen in Windows 7 and Vista

1. Click Start.

2. In the Search field, type regedit and press Enter.

3. Locate the following registry key: HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\Software \Microsoft\Windows\ CurrentVersion\Policies \System.

4. In the right pane, double click the DontDisplayLastName and set its value to 1.

5. Click OK to confirm.

6. Restart the computer for the change to take effect.

If the above hack doesn’t work, try this:

1. Go to your Windows registry and locate this key: HKEY_Local_Machine \SOFTWARE\Microsoft\ Windows NT\CurrentVersion\ SpecialAccounts\UserList

2. Now, right-click the UserList folder located on the left pane and from the menu, select New – DWORD (32-bit) Value

3. Name the new DWORD as the username you want to hide and click OK.

4. Restart the computer for the changes to take effect.

5. Upon restaring your computer, you should see that the account you wanted to hide won’t disappear on the welcome screen!

Uninstall and Remove Software in Safe Mode in Windows

If you have installed software on your computer and for any reason it gives you issues, the best thing to do is to uninstall it. Period. But what happen if such a piece of software keeps restarting your Windows operating system or worst, disables certain services so that you won’t be able to performs some important operation anymore ? In this case Windows will help you with a special feature called Safe Mode.

Basically, in Safe Mode you will be able to troubleshoot your computer in order to fix issues. However, if you need to uninstall and remove some software, you have to know that this kind of “limited state” Mode has the Windows Installer Service completely disabled. Let’s see how to turn it on and uninstall everything… even in the Safe Mode configuration. Windows Installation Service is responsible for the installation and uninstallation procedure.

If you try to access it in Safe Mode you will get the following message: “The Windows Installer Service could not be accessed. This can occur if the Windows Installer is not correctly installed. Contact your Support Personnel for assistance”. The following tutorial will teach you how to turn the Windows Installation Service in Safe Mode:

1. Click Start

2. In the Search field, type regedit and press Enter.

3. Locate the following registry key: HKLM\ SYSTEM\CurrentControlSet\ Control\SafeBoot\ Minimal\

4. Right-click on the Mininal key and from the menu select New – Key. Now name the new key MSIService and change the value to Service by double-clicking it.

5. If you are in the Safe Mode with Network Mode, repeat the above steps for the following registry key: HKLM\ SYSTEM#92;CurrentControlSet\ Control\ SafeBoot\Network\

6. The newly created MSIService will make available the Windows Installation Service in Safe Mode. However, I want to remind you that it is necessary to turn the new service on.

7. To do it, exit regedit, click Start and in the Search field type: services.msc and press Enter.

8. From the list, locate Windows Installer. Right-click it and select Start.

9. If the procedure to turn on Windows Installer doesn’t work try this one:

10. Click Start.

11. In the search field, type cmd. Do not press Enter.

12. Right click the Command DOS icon and click the Run it as Administrator link.

13. In the command prompt, type net start msiserver.

At the end of the whole procedure do not forget to restart your computer for the changes to take effect.

Internet Explorer 9 to require Windows 7 SP1

Last week Microsoft released a public beta of its next generation web browser, Internet Explorer 9. The browser was met with great enthusiasm and received postive early reviews for a beta product. Microsoft has also been using some new, obscure feedback gathering mechanisms -- such as Reddit -- to let ordinary users have a say in the new browser.

Ars Technica is reporting that the final edition of Internet Explorer 9 will require Windows 7 Service Pack 1 to be installed, according to the IE9 Beta FAQ;

When Microsoft releases Internet Explorer 9, will it require Windows 7 Service Pack 1?

Yes. Internet Explorer 9 will require Windows 7 Service Pack 1 (SP1). Therefore, organizations must plan, pilot, and deploy Internet Explorer 9 as part of or after a Windows 7 SP1 deployment.

The FAQ also says that business' should not hold back from deploying for it, and reassures that IE9 will integrated with Windows 7 flawlessly:

Should enterprises wait for Internet Explorer 9 before deploying Windows 7?

No. Microsoft recommends that organizations do not disrupt ongoing deployment projects but continue deploying Windows 7 and Internet Explorer 8. Investments made in this effort will carry forward when they deploy Windows 7 SP1 and Internet Explorer 9 at a later date. With Internet Explorer 8 in place, they will be in a good position to rollout Windows 7 SP1 and Internet Explorer 9 with minimal effort.

Microsoft continues to push that it's not essential for businesses to wait for SP1 and IE9, but to deploy now and roll out these updates later, when they are released. Microsoft explained on The Windows Blog why users shouldn't wait for SP1 or IE9 to upgrade.

This gives an estimate of when a final IE9 release is expected, since Windows 7 SP1 isn't due out until some time in the first half of 2011, but no specific date has been announced. A beta of Service Pack 1 is currently available.

Turn off Remote Differential Compression in Windows 7

Windows 7 has a feature called Remote Differential Compression, which is used to computes the difference between sizes of files over a networks and moves them with as little bandwidth as possible. This is useful and saves bandwidth only if you are on a local area network and share files over it. For a home user, this service only consumes system resources. You can turn it off if you want it. Here is how :

1. Press the keyboard combination Windows logo key + R to bring up the Run dialog.
2. Type OptionalFeatures.exe in the Run dialog and press Enter.
3. This would open the Windows Features window. Scroll down and un-check the checkbox labeled Remote Differential Compression,
4. Click OK to save the settings.

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