Mike's Window : Vista

Happy third birthday..

Mike Hall — Wed, 18 Nov 2009 03:49:40 GMT

Three years ago today, I was excitedly installing Microsoft Vista Ultimate and Microsoft Office Ultimate 2007. My computer is still running very well, just as it did during that heady night, except that Vista has morphed into Windows 7, and the only part...(read more)

Windows 7 has landed..

Mike Hall — Thu, 22 Oct 2009 18:16:24 GMT

.. and is now available to the general public finally. This is the Microsoft Canada website.. http://www.microsoft.com/canada/windows/default.aspx There is a link on the web site for the heavily discounted Windows 7 Home Premium Family Pack which includes...(read more)

It’s the fault of the testers..

Mike Hall — Wed, 21 Oct 2009 23:32:09 GMT

Own up now please. Were you a Vista tester? If so, why didn’t you tell Microsoft about the problems? Forgotten what they were already? UAC.. you ask nicely and are still told ‘NO’.. DRM.. Listen to music? On your own MP3 player? Hahahahaha Calculating...(read more)

You have your downloaded .ISO file. Now what do you do?

Mike Hall — Wed, 14 Oct 2009 19:29:20 GMT

Level – Beginner First, store it somewhere safe. An external hard drive is an excellent choice. Create a folder for it and label it in a way which will remind you NOT to delete it. If you don’t have an external drive, burn it to a DVD and label it ‘name...(read more)

Windows 7 - My protest didn’t last long..

Mike Hall — Mon, 12 Oct 2009 16:34:25 GMT

When I first downloaded the Win 7 beta, I was disappointed to find that there was no classic menu. In the forums, I made the point that it was missing and that it should be present. As the versions rolled in, there was still no sign of the classic menu...(read more)

In case you didn’t know..

Mike Hall — Wed, 30 Sep 2009 18:53:38 GMT

Microsoft Answers lives here.. http://social.answers.microsoft.com/Forums/en-US/categories Windows Live, XP, Vista, 7 and Microsoft Security Essentials are covered now, and I am presuming that the list will encompass other Microsoft products before too...(read more)

How to avoid the snakes..

Mike Hall — Sun, 27 Sep 2009 19:55:43 GMT

During the last week of October, there are going to be many computer users upgrading their systems. I wonder how they will all work out? If it is buggy now.. It still will be after an ‘in place’ upgrade, so you need to do a bit of work before you start...(read more)

Win 7/Vista/XP networking – a possible solution

Mike Hall — Thu, 24 Sep 2009 12:09:07 GMT

Ever since switching from XP to Vista, I have had problems maintaining a local network. It set up without issue, but after a short period, one could guarantee that Vista would lose sight of any computer within the network. Sometimes, even the XP machines...(read more)

Windows 7 – It works..

Mike Hall — Fri, 18 Sep 2009 03:05:37 GMT

I have been using Win 7 since it was released to techs and, apart from the substantial annoyance of no classic menu, it is very much the same experience as using Vista, XP, W2K, ME, 98, 95, 3.1, 3.0. What I am trying to say is that it is just an operating...(read more)

Classic menu revisited – Part Two

Mike Hall — Mon, 14 Sep 2009 01:18:38 GMT

Apologies for the gap in transmission. Like some early OEM Vista installations, I have been working but maybe not as well as expectations. In fact, at one point, I screwed everything up so bad to the point where I was considering starting over. Messing...(read more)

Classic menu issue revisited – Part One

Mike Hall — Fri, 21 Aug 2009 17:20:30 GMT

I think that I am beginning to understand one of the reasons why the Windows 7 Start Menu/Taskbar defaults to the way it is. Touch screen usability The oversized, widely spaced icons on the taskbar and in the Start box all point to ease of use on a touch...(read more)

The Vista Lifecycle and effects on the end user..

Mike Hall — Wed, 19 Aug 2009 14:29:41 GMT

In case you don’t already know: Mainstream support for Business and Enterprise versions of Microsoft Windows Vista will end on April 10th, 2012 Extended support for Business and Enterprise versions of Microsoft Windows Vista will end on November 11, 2017...(read more)

Windows 7 is installed

Mike Hall — Fri, 07 Aug 2009 04:25:00 GMT

It took just 30 minutes from start to finish. The computer rebooted at 7:45 pm into the desktop, and I have been working since then to set up the computer to much the same state as it was when running Vista. A video card upgrade in Vista just prior to...(read more)

In a few hours..

Mike Hall — Thu, 06 Aug 2009 04:42:21 GMT

I will be downloading Windows 7. That will be the most tedious part, watching the download speed go up and down. Burning the ISO will take but a few minutes, turn off the computer, disconnect the other hard drives, boot from the DVD drive, and in less...(read more)

August 6

Mike Hall — Thu, 23 Jul 2009 15:34:57 GMT

Some of us are going to be busy come the day. Apparently, the English versions of Windows 7 RTM will appear on MSDN and TechNet servers. Just like November 17 2006, we will all be pressing F5 to refresh the download pages, eager to get the final version...(read more)

Waiting for 7?

Mike Hall — Sun, 12 Jul 2009 22:35:38 GMT

I know that RC is good until July 2010, but do I feel like setting up an RC with all that I run just to do it again at some point in the not so distant future? I would have to install Office 2007 Ultimate which is already installed in Vista 64 SP2 and...(read more)

Keyboard/mouse drivers..

Mike Hall — Fri, 19 Jun 2009 20:10:01 GMT

Microsoft have released Version 7 drivers of the Intellipoint/Intellitype drivers for their range of keyboards and mice, and guess what? The scroll wheel on my Optical Desktop Elite keyboard is working properly for the first time in almost two and a half...(read more)

Best Buy says..

Mike Hall — Fri, 05 Jun 2009 22:45:28 GMT

.. that Vista doesn’t work, that computer users should take advantage of their free Windows 7 upgrade offer, available if you buy a computer on or after June 26th which has installed on it an operating system which doesn’t work. Best Buys words, not mine...(read more)

Windows 7 RTM’ed by August?

Mike Hall — Tue, 12 May 2009 00:17:00 GMT

It’s all here.. http://windowsteamblog.com/blogs/windows7/default.aspx I wonder how long it will be before Vista is wheeled out to the dumpster. Judging by the content of the above blog, it will be at around the same time that the leaves are falling...(read more)

Vista and keyboard scroll wheels.. part 2

Mike Hall — Sat, 11 Apr 2009 01:36:48 GMT

How to disable the keyboard scroll wheel after having gotten it to work by installing the Win 7 driver until the next reboot. BTW, this is the ultimate detrimental side effect. Depress the SLEEP key.. Now, when one wakes the computer by swishing the mouse...(read more)