[ it's my Windows ]

Microsoft is ready to deliver the first Beta for Windows 7. The company will move Windows Vista’s successor from pre-Beta stage into fully-fledged Beta in early 2009. However, indications from the Redmond giant reveal that Windows 7 Beta 1 is just around the corner.

In this context, Microsoft has already started sending out invitations for the Windows 7 Beta 1 testing program.

Be prepared to touch the new sparking wave of Windows iteration, n-this time Windows 7 gonna ROCK the world.

Windows 7

Probably a program was registered to launch automatically when you inserted a DVD, and that program was removed and when you insert any other DVD and try to launch a program, it prompts “Application not found.”

Its simplest trick that helps to get rid of such problem as well as initialize drive’s (including hard drives and DVD drives) context menu to default.

How to-

1. Run regedit (Registry Editor)
2. Navigate to: HKEY_CURRENT_USER\Software\Microsoft\Windows\CurrentVersion\Explorer\MountPoints2
3. Remove or delete MountPoint2 key completely and close Registry Editor.
4. Logoff or restart your PC to take effect.
5. Now check n double click on your DVD drives. Happy Windows computing.

How do I ?, Windows 7, Windows Vista

Windows 7 has lots of features over Windows Vista, that make the difference of the Windows revolution. Send Feedback tool is one among those features & tools. It is used to direct submission of suggestions & report bugs of Windows 7 to Microsoft.

Its link has been placed just before min|max|close button of Windows 7 explorer but sometimes its annoying so here is a small registry trick that helps to get rid of Send Feedback tool’s link.

It works all Windows 7 M3 build 6801 or later builds.(not tested)

How to-

1. Run regedit (registry editor) and navigate to: HKEY_CURRENT_USER\Control Panel\Desktop
2. Create or modify a DWORD value named FeedbackToolEnabled and set 0 and any even unsigned integer value (like 0,2,4…and so on) to hide or remove the link and set 1 or any odd unsigned integer value (like 1,3,5…and so on) to show or enable the Send Feedback tool link in Windows 7 explorer.
3. Logoff or Restart your PC to take effect.

How do I ?, Windows 7

You have read how to install Windows after installing Windows Vista, In the article you learnt how we can add Windows XP (ntldr based OS entry in BCD) and today here are few simple commands that help to insert Windows Vista, Windows Server 2008 and Windows 7 boot entry in BCD.

It helps to fix bootloader problems when we lost BCD based bootloader. So here we go…
How to:

1. First of all, boot from Windows Vista/7/Server 2008 DVD and choose regional settings according to your region.
2. Click on Repair your Computer. It scans and detects Windows Vista/7/Server 2008 based OSs in existing partitions, once it detects it’ll autmatically restore BCD bootloader and add Windows OS entry in BCD.

Above solution get rid of the problem, when your system unable to boot in any OS.

Now if we lost or missing any Windows Vista/7/Server 2008 entry in BCD, there few commands help you to add them.

1. Boot into Windows OS let it be Windows Vista or earlier version of Windows.
2. Open Command Prompt (In Vista, Run as Administrator) and navigate to the drive that contains the dead Windows OS files. lets take an example E: is the drive.
3. Now execute the commands one by one and follow output The operation completed successfully.

bcdedit /create /d “Windows Vista” /application osloader

It generates a ID that is GUID, a 16-byte (128-bit) number. Write down the ID.
As we know these all OS’s major verion is 6, so we just need to differ the description only like Microsoft Windows Vista, Microsoft Windows Server 2008 and Microsoft Windows 7

bcdedit /set {XXXXXXXX-YYYY-ZZZZ-AAAA-BBBBBBBBBBBB} device partition=C:
bcdedit /set {XXXXXXXX-YYYY-ZZZZ-AAAA-BBBBBBBBBBBB} osdevice partition=E:

bcdedit /set {XXXXXXXX-YYYY-ZZZZ-AAAA-BBBBBBBBBBBB} path \Windows\system32\winload.exe

bcdedit /set {XXXXXXXX-YYYY-ZZZZ-AAAA-BBBBBBBBBBBB} systemroot \Windows

bcdedit /displayeroder {XXXXXXXX-YYYY-ZZZZ-AAAA-BBBBBBBBBBBB} /addlast

The command adds the specified OS entry to the end of the boot manager display order
Optional commands

bcdedit /set {XXXXXXXX-YYYY-ZZZZ-AAAA-BBBBBBBBBBBB} nx OptIn

bcdedit /set {XXXXXXXX-YYYY-ZZZZ-AAAA-BBBBBBBBBBBB} locale en-US

Happy Windows Commputing

Windows 7, Windows Server, Windows Vista

OMG ! Lots of rumors were there…What is next ? after Windows Vista? and answer n “Windows 7″

Windows 7 is the next iteration of Windows operating system that Microsoft will release. It will be the successor of Windows Vista and was previously codenamed Windows Vienna. Well, Vienna is the history now. Microsoft named it as “Windows 7″ officially.

How Microsoft to the numver “7″? 

Windows Vista Blog says:

The very first release of Windows was Windows 1.0, the second was Windows 2.0, the third Windows 3.0.
Here’s where things get a little more complicated. Following Windows 3.0 was Windows NT which was code versioned as Windows 3.1. Then came Windows 95, which was code versioned as Windows 4.0. Then, Windows 98, 98 SE and Windows Millennium each shipped as 4.0.1998, 4.10.2222, and 4.90.3000, respectively. So we’re counting all 9x versions as being 4.0.
Windows 2000 code was 5.0 and then we shipped Windows XP as 5.1, even though it was a major release we didn’t’ want to change code version numbers to maximize application compatibility.
That brings us to Windows Vista, which is 6.0. So we see Windows 7 as our next logical significant release and 7th in the family of Windows releases.
We learned a lot about using 5.1 for XP and how that helped developers with version checking for API compatibility. We also had the lesson reinforced when we applied the version number in the Windows Vista code as Windows 6.0– that changing basic version numbers can cause application compatibility issues.
So we decided to ship the Windows 7 code as Windows 6.1 - which is what you will see in the actual version of the product in cmd.exe or computer properties.

October 28th 2008, Microsoft unveiled Windows 7 at PDC’08. The date October 28th has its own improtance, it was birthday of Mr Bill Gates and he has turned 53. Microsoft shared pre-beta release of Windows 7 with PDC attendees. For me, one of the most exciting thing was that I was so lucky and got Windows 7 M3 Build 6801 with Microsoft show cased it to the world for the first time.

Here are few features that I have found so far and differ Windows 7 from Windows Vista. I might have missed something. Let me know if you found something new.

Getting Started: replaced Vista’s Welcome center n no longer appears the first time you boot into the Windows.

Windows 7 - Getting Started

Windows Solution Center: Its replacement of Windows Security Center with more security features, includes maintenace, trobleshooting and system restore. You’ll be get alert with message to take action.

Windows 7 - Windows Solution Center aka Action Center

Aero UI: In Windows 7, aero ui has been revamped with maximize transparent window, aero shake n lots of more (in PDC build). Now aero ui has become more responsive.

Start menu & taskbar: revamped with glassy start menu, orb logo, superbar (in PDC build) with shiny glow n rounded taskbar. Classic start menu has been removed from Windows 7.

Windows 7 - Start menu

Windows 7 - Taskbar

Libraries: User profile which includes documents, pictures, music, dowloads etc recalled with new identity “Libraries”

Windows 7 - Libraries

Windows Explorer: refined with iconless toolbars, more info in detail pane, preview pane, adjustable search box n new navigation pane holding Favorites, Liberaries, Computer and Network places.

Ribbon UI: Microsoft including Ribbon UI of Office 2007 as part of Windows 7. Paint & Wordpad have revamped with RIbbon UI including few more editing n customizing options.

Windows 7 - Paint with Ribbon UI

Caclulator: First impression of any Windows 7 app is lesser than its calculator with new UI n four functional modes, ie. Standard, Scientific, Programmer n Statistics.

Windows 7 - Calculator

DirectX: As in Windows Vista included DirectX 10 for enrich gaming experience, Windows 7 instroducing DirectX 11.

Windows Sidebar: Windows 7 hides sidebar n gadgets are integrated with desktop. This time Windows sidebar become more intelligent. It runs only if one or more gadgets are docked to desktop.

Personalize: The most common place, where every user perform Windows customization with wallpapers, visual styles, mouse pointers etc. Display settings has been separated from personalization.

Windows 7 - Personalize

Display Settings: As I see Display settings has been separated from personalization and placed into desktop context menu.

Windows 7 - Display Settings

Internet Explorer: Windows 7 inlcudes the latest version of IE, ie. Internet Explorer 8 (What’s new IE8)

Windows Media Player: Its my favorite app that is shipped with Windows and I get something different in every Windows release n this time WMP12 with lots of improvement over WMP11. Basically WMP has two views ie. Now Playing view and Liberary view. Full screen locking has been removed.

Windows 7 - Windows Media Player

XPS Viewer: Wise move by Microsoft, usually I work with XPS files and sometimes IE creates a lots of problem while working with multiple XPS files. Thanks to Microsoft ! for de-attached XPS viewing feature from IE and set it as Windows app ie. XPS Viewer.

Windows 7 - XPS Viewer

Windows PowerShell: A powering feature of Windows 7. Windows 7 ships with the Windows PowerShell 2.0 scripting environment and the Windows PowerShell Integrated Scripting Environment (ISE).

Windows 7 - Windows PowerShell

Create Recovery Disc: Its subset of System Restore, faciliates to create recovery disc of backup.

User Account Control: My favorite security feature since Windows Vista. Rumors are everywhere, Some says, “UAC is not a convienient security solution”. But I assure you, you can surf internet without antivirus, plug virus-infected removable drives n etc. You system won’t be affected. Windows 7 has revamped UAC, now no more restart to take effect UAC settings with supressing UAC prompts.

Windows 7 - User Account Control

Reviews, Windows 7

Hi big boys n gals
So Windows 7 M3 is out there officially @ PDC’08, Today I was playing with its registry hive and found a registry tweak that can help to change the background of Windows Media Player 12’s library view.

The registry tweak is so simple and can change 7 differenet backgrounds.

How to:

1) Run Registry Editor and navigate to: HKEY_CURRENT_USER\Software\Microsoft\MediaPlayer\Preferences

2) Search for a DWORD value named LibraryBackgroundImage

3) Change it to 0 to 7 and see the effect. only 0-7 are valid data for this DWORD value.

How do I ?, Windows 7