Windows 7 Release Candidate Update
Posted by:
Brandon LeBlanc 05:37 PM Friday
Apr 24, 2009 100 Comments


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.

On behalf of everyone here, I would to thank all of our beta testers for helping us get to this point. You guys have been busy. At the peak of the feedback cycle, we were receiving a “Send Feedback” report every 15 seconds for an entire week. Since then, the engineering team has been busy analyzing the feedback, fixing bugs, and working hard to improve the overall experience. Many of your suggestions helped us refine the new and improved taskbar, the behavior of Aero Peek, Touch, Windows Media Player, and much more. In case you have missed the previous E7 blog entry outlining some of these changes in detail, you can read about them here and here.

Be sure to check back with us next week… And by the way, I had eggs for breakfast :-)

Earlier in the day, 32- and 64-bit versions of Windows 7 Build 7100, the one users and bloggers claimed Microsoft would ship as the RC, leaked to file-sharing sites. Both versions were being downloaded in large numbers.

I wouldn't install it and use it as my main OS for day to day computing

its very easy to run as a dual boot tho - so you can play with it wihtout ruining your main OS.. then when you are done you can just remove it and go back to XP or your OS of choice.

The RC will get crippled on March 1, 2010 with some mention that your system will shut down for certain periods of time.

RC completely expires on June 1, 2010.

Watch the calendar. The RC will expire on June 1, 2010. Starting on March 1, 2010, your PC will begin shutting down every two hours. Windows will notify you two weeks before the bi-hourly shutdowns start. To avoid interruption, you’ll need to install a non-expired version of Windows before March 1, 2010. You’ll also need to install the programs and data that you want to use

Microsoft releases free beta for Windows 7 upgrade advisor
While simpler than Vista advisor, it fails to tell users one potentially key thing
Eric Lai
May 8, 2009 (Computerworld) Microsoft Corp. on Thursday released the beta of a free app that helps users determine whether their PC is powerful enough to run the upcoming Windows 7 operating system.

The Windows 7 Upgrade Advisor gives a user's PC a pass/fail grade in four areas and checks to see whether there are any compatibility problems with hardware devices such as mice or printers or with applications.

The Advisor, which is available for download, requires PCs running Windows XP SP2 (with .Net 2.0), Vista or release candidate versions of Windows 7.

The Advisor software can also be run on Intel-based Macs under virtualization to test for Windows 7 compatibility.

It tests whether users' PCs meet the minimum requirements of:


A 1-GHz CPU
1 GB of RAM for a 32-bit Windows 7 and 2 GB for 64-bit Windows 7
16 GB free space for 32-bit Windows 7 (20 GB for 64-bit)
and a graphics card/chip powerful enough to run the Windows Aero graphical user interface.

Microsoft says users should plug in all of the external devices that they want to check for Windows 7 compatibility.

Unlike the Vista Upgrade Advisor, the Windows 7 Advisor does not recommend a specific version of Windows 7 to users based on the results of the scan. Windows 7 comes in six versions in the U.S., though Microsoft is emphasizing two main ones: Home Premium for consumers and Professional for companies.

The Advisor also does not tell users whether their computer can handle Windows 7's new XP Mode.

That compatibility feature requires PCs equipped with hardware virtualization. Intel Corp. and AMD Inc. slowly began releasing CPUs equipped with hardware virtualization more than three years ago. But some PCs shipping today, including many netbooks, lack either Intel VT or AMD-V.

Users wanting to check compatibility with XP Mode can download a free third-party utility called Securable.

Intel users can download a different free utility, while AMD users can download yet another one.

XP users whose PCs pass can buy upgrades to Windows 7, though they will still need to do a clean install of Windows 7. Vista users can buy and do an in-place upgrade to 7 that does not require a clean install. Generally, any PC that can run Vista should be able to run Windows 7, too, according to Microsoft.

Indeed, pre-release versions of Windows 7 have been widely praised for running faster and requiring less powerful hardware than Vista.

However, one test by PC World this week concluded that the overall improvement will be barely noticeable to most users.

Microsoft patches huge Windows 7 RC bug
Applications installed prior to bug fix may be crippled, Microsoft says
Gregg Keizer

May 8, 2009 (Computerworld) Just days after it launched Windows 7 Release Candidate (RC), Microsoft has released a fix for a major flaw that slipped through testing.

The patch, which Microsoft describes as an "Important" update when it appears in Windows Update, was released yesterday. Depending on Windows 7's Automatic Updates setting, the fix may have already been downloaded and installed.

According to the accompanying support document, the problem affects only the English-language version of the 32-bit edition of Windows 7 RC.

"The folder that is created as the root folder of the system drive (%SystemDrive%) is missing entries in its security descriptor," Microsoft acknowledged in the support article. "One effect of this problem is that standard users such as non-administrators cannot perform all operations to subfolders that are created directly under the root. Therefore, applications that reference folders under the root may not install successfully or may not uninstall successfully. Additionally, operations or applications that reference these folders may fail."

Users will see a generic "Access is denied" error message when some chores, such as deleting a folder, are attempted.

Microsoft said the root cause was that Windows 7 RC 32-bit "incorrectly sets access control lists (ACLs) on the root." ACLs are essentially lists of permissions.

While the hotfix pushed through Windows Update fixes the flaw, it doesn't repair already-installed applications that may have been crippled by the bug. In fact, Microsoft recommended that to play it safe, users who have already installed Windows 7 RC, and subsequently installed any applications, essentially take a mulligan and do it all over again.

"To make sure that this update does not affect your user experience, we recommend that you take the following actions," Microsoft said, as it urged users to start the PC from the DVD, reformat the drive or partition where Windows 7 will be installed, re-install Windows 7, and then immediately apply the hotfix via Windows Update before restoring any backups or installing any software.

Ed Bott, who blogs for ZDNet, was the first to report the hotfix's release.

Microsoft debuted Windows 7 RC to the general public late Monday night.

wow....big enough bug to recommend reinstallation of Windows 7 RC

If I've downloaded the RC prior, can I just install it and then do updates before installing anything else, or do I need to redownload the entire .iso?

You should be able to just reinstall and do updates.

Microsoft: Windows 7 on track for holiday sales
Posted on - Mon May 11, 2009 1:05PM EDT

SEATTLE - Microsoft Corp. says the next version of Windows will go on sale in time for the holiday shopping season.

The software maker published an almost-final version of Windows 7 last week, a sign it would be ready before the official January 2010 deadline.

Windows 7 will replace the much-maligned Vista, which launched too late for the 2006 holiday season.

Microsoft had guaranteed free Vista upgrades to people who bought new XP computers for the holidays. But Microsoft was criticized when it turned out some of those PCs weren't powerful enough to run a full version of Vista.

Having Windows 7 in time for the holidays may help boost PC sales, which have been stalled by the recession.

I Installed Windows 7 over the weekend and I'm really liking it. Why oh why couldn't Vista be like this? There are still some annoyances which I'll get into some other time, but overall I'm excited about 7.

Windows 7 Hits a New Low
By David Murphy - Fri Jun 19, 2009 7:35PM EDT

I've always wanted to get a modern operating system to work on my graphing calculator. And we're about there, thanks to the efforts of a fellow (or strangly named lady) on The Windows Club forum. A user by the name of "hackerman1" has installed Windows 7 on his PC, which in itself is nothing to write home about. The catch here is that he's gotten a bootable, working installation on no less than a Pentium II system. No, that's not a typo--Pentium Two. The extreme...ly old machine consists of a 266 MHz CPU, a whopping 96 MB of memory, and a next-generation 4 MB graphics card.

Like a stuntperson who just keeps tempting death by pushing the landing ramp farther and farther back, hackerman1 didn't just stop with that meager system loadout. He continued to alter the memory amount, achieving success with two of three setups: 128 MB and 96 MB. Unfortunately, Windows 7 didn't seem to enjoy only having 64 megabytes of memory to work with, marking hackerman's stopping point with that version of the experiment.

That's not to say that he's planning on stopping for good, however. Next up? A Pentium I machine featuring a 166 MHz CPU paired with a 1 MB graphics card. After that, maybe hackerman1 can break inject some Aero graphics into his trusty abacus. Although he didn't say how long it took him to install or boot the operating system, other forum users have chimed in and timed the installation for a Pentium III-based system at a low 17 continuous hours. And the boot time? 17 minutes.

There is a rumor that Newegg plans to begin accepting pre-orders for Win7 at at the $49.99/$99.99 prices at 9:00PT tonight.

How many Intel CPUs will fail the XP Mode test in Windows 7?
Posted by Ed Bott @ 11:27 am


For the background on this issue, see page 1.

The table below incorporates data about Intel’s mobile CPU families from the Intel Processor Spec Finder. (For a corresponding chart covering Intel’s desktop CPU families, see page 2.)

Find your CPU model under its family, and then look in the column to the right. YES means the CPU models in that row all support Intel VT; NO means VT is not supported.

Disclaimer: I believe this information is accurate, but it is possible that some mistakes may be present in the following tables. caused by inaccuracies in Intel’s documentation or by editing and composition errors. I urge you to do your own research before making any buying decisions. Even if a specific CPU appears to support Intel VT, make sure that the PC’s BIOS manufacturer allows this feature to be enabled.

Mobile CPU products
Core 2 Duo Mobile
L7200/7300/7400/7500 YES
P7350/7450 NO
P7370 YES
P8400/8600/8700/9500/9600 YES
SL9300/9400/9600 YES
SP9300/9400/9600 YES
SU9300/9400/9600 YES
T5200/5250/5270/5300/5450/5470 NO
T5500/5600 YES
T5550/5670/5750/5800/5850/5870/5900 NO
T6400/6570 NO
T7100/7200/7250/7300/7400 YES
T7500/7600/7700/7800 YES
T8100/8300 YES
T9300/9400/9500/9550/9600/9800 YES
U7500/U7600 YES
Core 2 Extreme Mobile
QX9300 YES
X7800/7900 YES
X9000/9100 YES
Core 2 Quad Mobile
Q9000 YES
Q9100 NO
Core 2 Solo
SU3300/3500 YES
U2100/2200 YES
Core Duo
L2300/2400/2500 YES
T2050/2250 NO
T2300/2400/2500/2600/2700 YES
T2300E/2350/2450 NO
U2400/2500 YES
Core Solo
T1300/1400 YES
T1350 NO
U1300/1400/1500 YES


The table below incorporates data about Intel’s desktop CPU families from the Intel Processor Spec Finder. (For a corresponding chart covering Intel’s mobile CPU families, see page 3.)

Find your CPU model under its family, and then look in the column to the right. YES means the CPU models in that row all support Intel VT; NO means VT is not supported.

Disclaimer: I believe this information is accurate, but it is possible that some mistakes may be present in the following tables. caused by inaccuracies in Intel’s documentation or by editing and composition errors. I urge you to do your own research before making any buying decisions. Even if a specific CPU appears to support Intel VT, make sure that the PC’s BIOS manufacturer allows this feature to be enabled.

Desktop CPUS
Core 2 Duo
E4300/4400/4500/4600/4700 NO
E6300/6320/6400/6420/6540/6550 YES
E6600/6700/6750/6850 YES
E7200/7300/7400/7500 NO
E8190 NO
E8200/8300/8400/8500/8600 YES
Core 2 Extreme
QX6700/6800/6850 YES
QX9650/9770/9775 YES
X6800 YES
Core 2 Quad
Q6600/6700 YES
Q8200/8200S/8300/8400/8400S NO
Q9300/9400/9400S YES
Q9450/9550/9550S/9650 YES
Core i7/Core i7 Extreme
I7-920/940 YES
I7-965 YES
Pentium D/Pentium EE
805/820/830/840 NO
915/925/935/945 NO
920/930/940/950/960 YES
955/965 YES
Pentium for Desktop
E2140/2160/2180/2200/2220 NO
E5200/5300/5400 NO

So is THIS true?

Does the Win7 XP mode only work with certain processors?

I can't believe I missed this post. Anyway, replying 4 months later......yes, it's true. The processor needs virtualization technology or XP Mode will not work.