1. Vista upgrade hangs at 62%
Windows 7 can start causing problems before it's even installed, as many people report their upgrade hangs forever at 62%. Which is annoying.
Reboot, and your PC should roll back to Windows Vista. You can then open the setup log file \$WINDOWS.~BT\Sources\Panther\setupact.log to view what happened. Microsoft say this is usually caused because the Iphlpsvc service has stopped responding, and just adding an environment variable to ignore it will fix the problem. Point your browser at http://support.microsoft.com/default.aspx/kb/975253 for the fix.
If this doesn't help (or your upgrade hangs at something other than 62%) then browse the setup log for other clues. And you might also try to boot and install from the Windows 7 disc, if possible, as that reduces the chance of any conflict with your existing Vista (or XP) setup.
INSTALL WINDOWS 7: Windows 7 upgrades are usually quick, but sometimes it doesn't install at all
2. DVD drive not found
In some cases your DVD drive may not be found by Windows 7, even if it's visible in the BIOS and using the standard driver.
The standard solution here is to run REGEDIT, browse to HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SYSTEM\CurrentControlSet\Control\Class\, then delete both UpperFilters and LowerFilters in the right-hand pane (UpperFilters.bak and LowerFilters.bak entries can be ignored).
No change? Resetting the drive letter has worked for some. Click Start, type Disk Management and choose the "Create and format hard disk partitions" link. If your optical drive is visible here then right-click it, select Change Drive Letter and Paths, click Change and choose a new letter. If the drive is now visible in Explorer, then repeat the process to change the drive letter back; if it's still not visible, reboot and it should appear.
3. Aero isn't running
If Windows 7 isn't looking its best - transparency has been turned off, say - then the Aero theme may not have been fully enabled on your system. Click Start, type Aero, choose the "Find and fix problems with transparency and other visual effects" link, and click Next to launch the Aero troubleshooting wizard. It'll try to identify and resolve and problems. And if it doesn't, then install the latest driver for your graphics hardware. That could be all your system needs.
Some Aero features may be disabled in the Registry, though. For example, if Aero Peek (the ability to make open windows transparent to display your desktop underneath) doesn't work for you, then launch REGEDIT, browse to HKEY_CURRENT_USER\Software\Microsoft\Windows\DWM and make sure EnableAeroPeek is set to 1, rather than 0.
NO AERO: Windows 7's troubleshooting wizards will fix many display problems while you watch
4. Aero Snap irritations
Windows 7's new ability to move and resize windows, all in one movement, can be a genuine productivity boost. But if you find windows moving around when you don't expect it then Aero Snap is more of an annoyance than anything else, though at least it's one you can disable in just a few seconds.
Launch Control Panel, click Ease of Access, and select either "Change how your mouse works" or "Change how your keyboard works". Then browse down to the "Make it easier to manage windows" section, check "Prevent windows from being automatically arranged when moved to the edge of the screen", click OK, and program windows now won't go anywhere unless you specifically command it.
5. iPhone won't sync in Windows 7
Irritated iPhone users are beginning to report major difficulties in getting their iPhone to sync with Windows 7 systems. Particularly 64-bit Windows 7 systems, based around the P55 chipset. The iPhone is usually (though not always) recognised, but iTunes then complains that it can't connect to the unit because of an "unknown error", usually (though again, not always) 0xE8000065.
Disabling USB power management appears to be one solution. Click Start, type DEVMGMT.MSC and press [Enter] to launch Device Manager, then click View > Devices By Type. Expand the Universal Serial Bus controllers section of the tree, right-click each USB Root Hub entry in turn, select Properties > Power Management, and clear "Allow the computer to turn off this device to save power".
Reboot your PC after this tweak and try again. This works for some, but if you're out of luck then check the Apple Discussions thread for other ideas.
SYNCING FEELING: iTunes on Windows 7 won't always see, or sync with, your iPod
6. Windows 7 themes change your custom icons
Windows 7 has some spectacular new themes - there's a great selection at the Microsoft site - but installing them can have one annoying side-effect. If you've previously changed a system icon like Computer or the Recycle Bin then that could disappear, replaced by the equivalent icon from the theme pack.
To prevent this, right-click an empty part of the desktop, select Personalize > Change Desktop Icons, clear the "Allow themes to change desktop icons" box and click OK. Your icons will now be preserved, and the only way to change them will be manually, from the same Desktop Icons dialogue.
Credits: techradar.com Mike Williams
Call it the legacy of Microsoft's Vista operating system. PC users upgrading from Windows Vista to Windows 7 have run into a variety of hair pulling problems since last Thursday when Windows 7 launched. Complaints range from endless reboots to refusals by Windows to accept Microsoft's assigned product keys.
As of Monday morning, Microsoft had answered about 2600 questions that poured into support forum regarding upgrades. At last count, around 1400 questions remained unanswered.
Unable to Unpack
On Microsoft's support forum, users are complaining of receiving "unspecified errors" when unpacking Windows 7 Home Premium from the student download, and about getting the error message "We are unable to create or save new files in the folder in which this application was downloaded."
The problem was traced back to the third-party software distributor who was offering the upgrade download for Windows 7. It has to do with the way the files were downloaded to users' PCs. Microsoft has acknowledged the problem and suggests this work-around.
Endless Reboots
Users began to complain about endless reboots on Friday, posting messages to the Microsoft support forums stating that the Windows 7 upgrade would hang two-thirds of the way through the upgrade. Microsoft says it is investigating user problems regarding "endless reboots," but downplayed them as "isolated issues," according to reports.
Here is a sample complaint from the forums:
"On the last step of the upgrade (transferring files/programs/etc.), my laptop rebooted and came to a screen telling me the upgrade was unsuccessful and my previous [Vista] OS files would now be restored. My laptop is now in what seems to be a loop of restarting and trying to restore the files," wrote one user, JSchneider21.
Did Microsoft know about the reboot problems? In July Microsoft posted a document on its Web site outlining the problem and suggesting steps that users can take to address it.
Product Key Problems
Other angry users are saying that Windows won't accept product keys supplied with Windows 7 upgrade disks. "The product key is not valid. Please retype the product key," Windows 7 tells them.
Meanwhile, many users seem quite dissatisfied with Microsoft's responses to other Win 7 upgrade issues. As of this morning, Microsoft support reps were still replying to users' questions about product keys with a canned response citing "several reasons why a product key might not be accepted."
Essentially, either, "You mistyped it. The product key you typed doesn't match the key assigned to Windows on your computer. Microsoft has identified the product key you entered as counterfeit," or "the product key has already been used on another computer," according to Microsoft.
One person griped: "I Have been on the phone since 4 pm EST and I still don't have a valid product code. Thank you Microsoft! Thank you for wasting my valuable time! Time is money and this had been a flagrant waste of it," wrote thatguy38.
Users helping out other users on the Microsoft support forums are suggesting a common mistake is leading to upgrade product key problems. Forum users suggest product key rejections stem from users mistakenly wiping their system clean and trying to use an upgrade Windows 7 disk for a full installation. It is unclear whether this is indeed the source to user aggravation.
Users have been posting their own, rather convoluted workarounds to the product key conundrum on the Microsoft forum. But wouldn't it be great if Microsoft would give them a simpler answer?
Credits: pcworld.com Jacqueline Emigh
Microsoft yesterday blamed user confusion for the problems many have encountered trying to move from Vista to Windows 7 after buying a discounted upgrade offered to college students.
"Digital River and Microsoft are aware that some customers from the Windows 7 Academic Store had difficulties completing the download or installation of the product," said a Microsoft support engineer identified as "Michael" in a message posted Sunday to the company's support forum.
Digital River fulfills download orders for Microsoft's Windows 7 upgrade offer to students. Several hundred users have said that they were unable to upgrade from Windows Vista to the new operating system after purchasing, then downloading, a Windows 7 upgrade, from Digital River.
"We are aware that consumers are encountering difficulties installing Windows 7 where the customer is currently running a 32-bit version of Windows such as Windows Vista, but purchased the 64-bit version of Windows 7," Michael said.
Last week, users reported that an error message prevented them from unpacking files downloaded from Digital River. The message read: "We are unable to create or save new files in the folder in which this application was downloaded."
"This error occurs when you are in the unloading phase of the 64-bit Windows 7 download process and are running a 32-bit version of Windows such as Windows XP or Windows Vista 32-bit," Michael added. "This is by design, as you cannot launch setup for the 64-bit version of Widows 7 while running a 32-bit operating system."
According to Microsoft, users can conduct "in place" upgrades that retain all data, settings and applications only from Vista 32-bit to Windows 7 32-bit, or from Vista 64-bit to Windows 7 64-bit. The company had spelled out the in place upgrade paths last summer, before it released Windows 7.
"If you want to move from Windows Vista 32-bit to Windows 7 64-bit, or if you are running Windows XP, you have to do a "Custom" or clean installation that must be started by booting off the Windows 7 64-bit DVD," Michael stressed.
A Windows 7 custom upgrade, called a "clean" install by some, requires users to back up data and settings from Windows XP or Vista, install Windows 7, then restore the data and settings before finally reinstalling all applications.
Students who mistakenly downloaded the 64-bit edition of Windows 7 from Digital River should request a refund, Microsoft's Michael continued, then pay for and download the 32-bit version instead. He pointed customers to a page on Digital River's site where they could request a refund. "In the web form, select the Order question option in the drop down menu and include 'Refund and Request 32-bit' in the first line of the problem description," Michael recommended.
His advice runs counter to the policy listed on the Digital River support site, which says that there are no refunds for the student discount Windows 7 upgrade.
Michael claimed that Digital River has identified and contacted customers who have been affected by the download error. "Digital River has been making every effort to make it right for these customers," he said. The Microsoft engineer also said Microsoft would not handle support questions about Windows 7 unless customers were able to reach the initial installation screen. All issues prior to that step were to be directed to Digital River.
On Saturday, users blamed both companies for their problems, and were irked that neither had stepped up to accept responsibility or provide answers. "This problem is not being resolved by anyone," complained a user tagged as "tatguy6" on the same support thread Saturday. "Someone is to blame. I guess we are just gonna have to wait for someone to pull their heads out of their butts and do something for us to resolve this."
"I [have] had enough," added "arkavat."
Tatguy6, arkavat and several others said that they were, or had, filed complaints against Digital River with the Better Business Bureau.
Digital River has yet not responded to a request for comment made last Friday.
Credits: Gregg Keizer | Computerworld US
Microsoft hopes that the release of Windows 7 will solve problems ranging from desktop clutter to what Vista did to Microsoft's public reputation. But the toughest challenge may be to win over the group of people that arguably represent the software giant's biggest obstacle to success: Windows XP users.
The Windows 7 pitch, to date, takes direct aim at Vista's reputation as a bloated resource hog. As developers and members of the general public begin to tinker with the Windows 7 public beta, Microsoft is framing it as a lean and lithe OS, with the flexibility to run on all types of computers, from netbooks to high-end gaming laptops.
The new and streamlined user interface features of Windows 7 are well-documented at this point. A cleaned-up taskbar, the sleek Aero Peek GUI, mouse-hover Jump Lists and multi-touch capability have generated interest from users whose Windows desktops have been cluttered for too long.
Quicker, easier, more organized. Those were the buzzwords about Windows 7 features that Parri Munsell, Microsoft's Director of Consumer Product Management for Windows, used repeatedly in a recent interview from CES (Consumer Electronics Show) in Las Vegas.
"Our goal was to make the UI in Windows 7 much easier to navigate. We'll let the beta speak for itself but we have a high degree of optimism in it," Munsell says.
As for fastest growing segment of the PC market, netbooks, Munsell says that Microsoft has made it a priority to run Windows 7 on small form-factor notebooks.
"Windows 7 has been optimized and engineered to work with anything: from the smallest netbook to the most loaded laptop or desktop," he says.
A lot is expected of Windows 7, but can it do what at times has seemed impossible-win back the trust of XP users who have shunned Vista?
The software giant has stated outright that Windows 7 will not make significant architectural changes from Vista and will run most if not all the applications that run on Vista.
Yet just 21 percent of Windows users currently run Vista, according to Web metrics company Net Applications. Most Windows users (65 percent) still run XP; they like it and they are wary of the compatibility issues that have plagued Vista.
Credits: Shane O'Neill | CIO.com
Users have been complaining on internet forums about the "black screen of death", which causes the screen of their Windows 7 machine to turn black and the computer to crash when a user logs on.
Microsoft confirmed that it was investigating the possibility that a security update, released on Thursday, could be the root of the problem but later said that it was not the cause.
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"Microsoft has investigated reports that its November security updates made changes to permissions in the registry that that are resulting in system issues for some customers," a statement read.
"The company has found those reports to be inaccurate and our comprehensive investigation has shown that none of the recently released updates are related to the behavior described in the reports."
It added: "Our support organization is also not seeing this as an issue."
The "black screen of death" also appears to affect other Windows operating systems, including Windows 7's predecessor, Windows Vista, as well as Windows XP. When users log on, they see a completely black screen instead of the usual start menu, desktop icons and system tray.
According to the software firm Prevx, which has issued a patch to resolve the problem, millions of computer users could be affected by the "debilitating" glitch.
"Users have resorted to reloading Windows as a last-ditch effort to fix the problem," said the company in a blog post.
"The cause appears to be a change in the Windows operating system lockdown of registry keys," said Dave Kennerley, a support engineer with Prevx. "This change has the effect of invalidating several key registry entries if they are updated without consideration of the new ACL (access control list) rules being applied."
Microsoft advised those affected by the problem to contact its customer service line. A spokesman said the problems didn't match any existing known issues. Microsoft is yet to release a patch to resolve the problem.
Credits: Claudine Beaumont, Technology Editor telegraph.co.uk
I leapt to the Mac OS.
Could Windows 7 lure me back?
Windows 7 was built to fix the problems that plagued Vista, and it unquestionably succeeds in doing that. It's a bit less bloated, and it runs a bit faster. The annoying security alerts from User Account Control have been quieted. And the compatibility issues with third party software and hardware device drivers have largely been ironed away; after all, it's been two and a half years since Vista debuted. Windows 7 even includes a virtual "XP mode" for running legacy programs.
Apple launches server diagnostic tool for Snow Leopard | Apple Snow Leopard eats user data | Apple's motion to include Snow Leopard in Psystar case dismissed | Microsoft blames users for Windows 7 problems
Windows 7 goes a few steps beyond merely repairing Vista. It borrows, and improves on, tricks from the Mac's playbook to make it easier and faster to organise files and launch programs. Like Apple's operating system, Windows 7 not only looks good, but it has tools and shortcuts that help you work more efficiently. If there were ever a Windows that could challenge Mac OS X, Windows 7 is it.
Still, once you've had Mac, can you ever go back?
Mac OS X Leopard received rave reviews for good reason, and Snow Leopard further improved OS X. Although the changes to the GUI are minimal (why mess with success?), there are important improvements under the hood, including a recoded, 64-bit Finder that takes better advantage of multicore processors. Snow Leopard also makes the Mac a better fit with PC oriented businesses with integrated Mail, Address Book, and iCal support for Microsoft Exchange Server 2007.
After spending a few weeks with both new operating systems and exposing each to my geek's gauntlet of everyday tasks, email, instant messaging, web surfing, blogging, creating and editing Office documents, web page creation, and audio, video, and photo editing, I have to call Snow Leopard the winner. All considered, from starting up to backing up, Mac OS X still offers the best overall user experience. The competition was close, though, far closer than it's been in quite a while.
Credit: Curtis Franklin Jr. | InfoWorld
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