If you’ve been having issues printing since upgrading to Windows 7 from Windows Vista, Microsoft may have released a hotfix for you.

Microsoft today acknowledged and released a hotfix for a problem with the Windows print spooler that would occasionally cause single-processor computers to spike at 100 percent CPU usage. This issue affects 32-bit and 64-bit Windows 7 and Windows Server 2008 R2 systems, but not Windows Vista or Windows Server 2008 systems.

If you feel that your printing in Windows 7 is taking an especially long time, especially if you’re running on an older system or an Intel Atom-powered netbook (both of which are more likely to have single-core processors), open the Task Manager by right clicking on your taskbar and clicking Start Task Manager. Go to the Performance tab and print a test page while checking out the CPU Usage section. If the meter hangs at 100 percent for awhile, you should try installing the hotfix.

As always, though, Microsoft recommends downloading and installing the hotfix only if you’re experiencing the problem in question – it hasn’t undergone the thorough testing that normal security patches and hotfixes go through. For those who’d rather wait, Microsoft will probably release this and other hotfixes in Service Pack 1 when it comes out early next year.

Source: Microsoft

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Well isn’t this a coincidence, right after I wrote an article yesterday on the issue of piracy and Windows 7, Microsoft have gone ahead and announced an update to combat pirated copies of Windows 7. It appears that at least 25% of the copies of Windows 7 sold in Russia are pirated, and in China you can buy illegal copies of Windows 7 for as little as $10

Microsoft have said today, Thursday that it is planning an update to Windows 7 that will close a number of loopholes that counterfeiters have been using to thwart the operating system’s built-in antipiracy measures. The Windows 7 activation technologies update for Windows 7 will close off more than 70 “activation hacks”. The update will also check with a server periodically to see if there are further hacks that need to be addressed.

Joe Williams, General Manager at Microsoft of Microsoft’s Genuine Windows unit, responsible for anti-counterfeiting measures explained in an interview the dangers of using counterfeit software.

“We do see malicious code–everything from easily discoverable malware to keyboard recording,”"There’s all sorts of things we’ve seen that puts our customers at risk and their data at risk

The update will be available for manual download from Microsoft’s genuine Web site on Feb. 16 and from the Microsoft Download center the following day. Later this month, the update will also be offered through Windows Update as an “important” (but optional) update. This is strange as I thought Microsoft would have been eager to push this update and make it compulsory, as those running illegal copies of Windows 7 may well be aware of this update and choose not to install it.

Williams said that the update will certainly be optional and users may still continue to receive other updates if they wish. Personally I would have thought that Microsoft would force this update but Williams makes a fairly valid point.

“We are pretty realistic, People who are actively pirating will try to find ways to continue to pirate.”

I guess what he’s saying is true. Those who are aware of the fact they are running a pirated copy of Windows 7 will be smart enough not to update until they have found away around it. However it seems that with this update, Microsoft are aiming to catch out those who have purchased pirated copies of Windows 7 without actually knowing it.

Source:

Cnet

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We’re all used to Microsoft’s customary Patch Tuesdays, where Microsoft releases most of its security updates for its Windows and Office product families. It’s also not unheard of to see emergency out-of-band security updates, like the one released earlier this week to patch holes in Internet Explorer. Less common, at least outside of service packs, are patches that fix performance and reliability bugs, as do some patches released today.

The first patch, one that will apply to most if not all Windows 7 and Server 2008 R2 users, fixes the following:

• Keyboard function keys or keyboard shortcuts, such as mute or calculator, may not work correctly.
• The notification icon for an application may be moved or lost when the executable application is updated.
• On a computer that is running Windows 7, you configure the Screen Saver Settings to display the logon screen on resume. Additionally, you configure the computer to go to sleep. However, the computer may not go to sleep after the screen saver starts. Instead, a black screen is displayed. This problem causes the operating system to stop responding. You must restart the computer by holding down the power button.

I know I’ve been experiencing the second issue when iTunes has been updated, but I thought that was Apple’s problem and not Microsoft’s.

The second patch applies only to computers with this specific configuration, and only if the computer freezes or fails during a file copy operation:

• You have a computer that is running Windows 7 or Windows Server 2008 R2.
• The computer has an NVIDIA USB Enhanced Host Controller Interface (EHCI) chipset.
• The computer has at least 4GB of RAM.
• You try to copy data from the computer to an external USB storage device.

If these updates apply to your system, they can be downloaded automatically via Windows Update. They will also be included in Windows 7 Service Pack 1 when it releases later this year.

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A registry key embedded into a Windows 7 patch suggests that external testing of Windows 7 Service Pack 1 may be right around the corner.

Windows blogger Rafael Rivera discovered this registry key, which a Windows 7 system would require before allowing installation of SP1. A similar system was used with Windows Vista service packs before their release.

Courtesy WithinWindows.com

As you can see above, the registry entry in question ends in WindowsUpdateWin7SP1SPORTM, and while there is some debate as to what SPORTM stands for, my best guess is that it means “Service Pack One Release To Manufacturing.”

This registry entry does confirm that Service Pack 1 is on its way, just a few short months after the new operating system’s release. It also means that Microsoft is probably getting ready to pass early versions of the service pack along to its partners and to software developers for preliminary testing, which is in keeping with the long testing phase of the Windows 7 beta and release candidate builds.

End users will probably not see a version of SP1 posted by Microsoft for download until the Beta or Release Candidate phase, but as soon as SP1 is released to testers outside Microsoft I would expect to see it leaked. As always, we’ll keep an eye out for it.

I have written previously about why Microsoft needs to deliver a service pack for Windows 7.

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Windows 7 is, hands down, one of Microsoft’s best launched OSes, by which I mean, it’s the first Windows version that I have ever felt comfortable recommending to people on its release date. Both Windows XP and Windows Vista had numerous documented security and/or performance issues when initially released, and while subsequent patches eventually made both of these versions perfectly usable, it took a few months (if not years) for them to get there.

These XP and Vista milestones were normally delivered via service packs, giant Microsoft patch roll-ups that bring more substantial OS tweaks than normal run-of-the-mill patches. It is generally accepted that XP’s Service Pack 2 helped fix many of that system’s security issues, while most of Vista’s performance problems were cleared up by Service Pack 1.

My question: Since Windows 7 has no fundamental performance or security problems (at least, not on the level of its predecessors), does this OS really need service packs? Should service packs go the way of the floppy drive or the CRT monitor and be banished to the annals of computer history? In this editorial, I’ll try to explain exactly why Windows 7 needs service packs, even though it is Microsoft’s best launch OS ever.

Mental Roadblocks

This is, perhaps, one of the most important factors to consider – one of Microsoft’s firmest footholds is in offices and enterprises all over the world, and many of them have a “wait for the first service pack” mentality when it comes to evaluating and deploying new Windows versions. This mentality goes all the way back to the Windows NT days (NT 4.0 received no fewer than six service packs), and has been reinforced by every single business-level Windows release since.

So you can hardly blame some businesses for waiting, even if the press says good things about Windows 7. I’d say that this more than anything else influenced Microsoft’s decision to begin work on Windows 7 SP1 before Windows 7 RTM was even finished – it’s important for them to get that “Service Pack 1″ badge slapped on their new OS to ease fears among conservative IT shops.

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Resident editor Mike Halsey has just published on Windows 7 News, the latest post in his series ‘Looking Forward To Windows 8, What Microsoft Missed In Windows‘.  In part 5, he covers improvements he would like to see to Windows 7′s libraries and search  in Windows 8:

I’ve spoken before about Libraries being an excellent example of this. You can add folders to libraries, even on Homegroup connected PCs, but why can’t you filter those folder by content type, or have a library of all your Adobe Acrobat (.PDF) files? This is a very annoying omission and one that makes the otherwise excellent Libraries feature much less useful than Microsoft would like it to be.

To read the full post, click here.  Below you can find links to the earlier instalments in the series:

• Looking Forward To Windows 8, What Microsoft Missed In Windows, Part I
• Looking Forward To Windows 8, What Microsoft Missed In Windows, Part II
• Looking Forward To Windows 8, What Microsoft Missed In Windows, Part III
• Looking Forward To Windows 8, What Microsoft Missed In Windows, Part IV

Looking Forward To Windows 8, What Microsoft Missed In Windows 7, Part 5 was posted on Everything Microsoft - Latest Microsoft News, Guides, Reviews & Themes. If you are not reading this content in an email newsletter, it is being used without permission.

Microsoft has released a Windows 7 Application Compatibility Update that “that improves the compatibility experience in Windows 7″. Three different kind of problems can be resolved with these updates including incorrect installations, system instability and software that is not working correctly after installation.
The August 2009 update lists the following applications that have been included by Microsoft in the update:

• Alcohol 52%
• Altiris and Symantec Virtual Software up to version 6.1.499.x
• ZoomText version 9.18
• Dell Printer Driver (Models-V105, V305 and V505)
• Trend Micro Internet Security 2007
• Trend Micro Internet Security 2008
• Trend Micro Internet Security 2009
• YiDongFeiXin version 2.2.x and version 3.5.x
• PGP Desktop up to version 9.x
• Trend Micro VirusBuster 2008
• Windows Live Photo Gallery

The update is available for Windows 7 and Windows Server 2008 R2. It can be downloaded for 32-bit and 64-bit editions of Windows 7 directly from the Knowledge Base article at the Microsoft website.

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Microsoft has released the System Update Readiness Tool for the Windows 7 Release Candidate that is fixing a problem that was discovered in the Windows servicing store which could prevent the successful installation of updates, service packs and software. The tool checks the computer system for these problems and tries to fix them if they are found.

Users can download the System Update Readiness Tool directly from Microsoft. The download of the 32-bit tool has a size of 8.9 Megabytes, the 64-bit client a size of 32 Megabytes.

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Microsoft will run a series of up to ten test updates to computer systems running the Windows 7 Release Candidate to verify that the delivery and management of updating Windows 7 is working properly. They call it real-life scenarios and note that these updates will not deliver fixes or new features. Previous users of Windows 7 Beta might have experienced the first test run of the updating mechanism in Windows 7 that Microsoft released in late February of 2009.

Many of the updates will install automatically, and a few will not. One of the updates will test a new update notification feature that provides detailed information about available updates that need to be installed manually. Windows 7 RC users will be prompted to install this update and provided more information about this feature –it will not install automatically. Users will need to go to the Windows Update control panel and manually start installation of the updates that don’t install automatically, and the updates will be clearly marked as test updates.

via Microsoft Update Team Blog

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The German online magazine Winfuture got their hands on build 7032 of the Enterprise edition of Windows 7 which has the build string 6.1.7032.0.winmain.090129-1812. There are not that many visible changes in that build compared to the previous builds 7022 and 7000. Build 7032 was compiled on 29.01.2009 which means about 14 days after build 7022.

The release candidate of Internet Explorer 8 is integrated in this release (like it was in 7022). One of the main changes is the addition of the two themes Architectures and Characters which can be activated in the theme browser. There have also been some additional visual changes like a new icon for Homegroup or Control Panel. Other minor changes have been applied to Windows Media Player 12 and Microsoft Paint. The User Account Control on the other hand has not been changed in build 7032.

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Microsoft has created so called feature walkthroughs for Windows 7 that explore new and updated features in Windows 7. While the feature walkthroughs target IT professionals they can be interesting and useful for pretty much anyone. Each feature walkthrough consists of a 2-3 minute video in wmv format and a short description.

Currently six Windows 7 feature walkthroughs are available at the Microsoft Technet website, they are:

• AppLocker
• Deployment Image Servicing and Management
• Enterprise Application Compatibility
• Problem Steps Recorder
• BitLocker and BitLocker to Go
• Windows PowerShell 2.0

Interested users can subscribe to a feed that gets automatically updated whenever a new feature walkthrough is posted on the website.

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The Windows Hardware Engineering Conference (WinHEC) 2008 will be one of the few events that Microsoft will talk about Windows 7. The conference will be held from November 4 to Novemeber 7 2008.

Microsoft published details about WinHEC 2008 Sessions and there are several interesting references about the upcoming Microsoft operating system Windows 7. The sessions that explicitly mention Windows 7 are:

• Building a Communication Device in Windows 7
• PC and Device IDs in Windows 7: What You Need to Know
• Windows 7 Device Experience Overview
• Windows 7 Logo Program and Design Considerations for Network Infrastructure Devices
• Windows 7 Power Management Overview
• Video Improvements in Windows 7
• DirectX: Core Graphics for Windows 7
• Windows 7 Logo Program for TV Tuners and Remotes
• Working with the Windows 7 Graphics Architecture
• Connecting Projectors and Using Docking Stations with Windows 7
• Multi-touch in Windows 7 Overview

This promises lots of information about Windows 7. Microsoft: It’s about time!

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