Mike's Window : Windows 7

Remember the ‘wow’ factor?

Mike Hall — Fri, 04 Dec 2009 05:59:51 GMT

How quickly it turned into the ‘Whoa’ factor? I have been working the Microsoft Answers forum for a while now, and there is one forum group, Hardware and Drivers, which demonstrates the above very quickly. The basic claim is that Windows 7 will run on...(read more)

After a bad day..

Mike Hall — Sat, 28 Nov 2009 19:48:34 GMT

.. essentially any day which ends with the letters ‘….day’, what better than to fire up Halo in a trainer and just shoot everything to pieces. This is what I have used as a stress reliever since the game first appeared in 2001/2002. Windows XP handled...(read more)

There is a marked difference..

Mike Hall — Fri, 20 Nov 2009 21:51:26 GMT

Yesterday, I un-installed Microsoft Office 2007 from my Vista installation. Wow, did that take a time to complete or what. The purpose was to install the newly released Office 2010 Beta. First attempt – please uninstall FrontPage 2003 and Access server...(read more)

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)

Extra Extra.. read all about it..

Mike Hall — Thu, 12 Nov 2009 15:29:47 GMT

.. well, at least two ‘Extras’ are making a comeback, except that they will not be Ultimate this time. They will be Windows 7 all versions this time because they will be released to all Windows 7 users. So, are you on the edge of your seats at the...(read more)

The search for drivers..

Mike Hall — Sun, 08 Nov 2009 22:52:05 GMT

I watched a video of a Windows House Party. The organisers put on a great show, and I was impressed, especially with the six year old PC which is running Windows 7 well, presumably the 32-bit variant. I have a six year old Intel G845WN. Lets take a look...(read more)

Windows 7 – In the forums - Part 2

Mike Hall — Sun, 25 Oct 2009 15:56:40 GMT

Upgraders to Windows 7 are not all having an easy time of it. Why? Some seem to be under the belief that upgrading to Windows 7 will make a Vista computer work better. It can, but.. There is a mistaken belief that Windows 7 is more compatible than Vista...(read more)

Windows 7 – In the forums..

Mike Hall — Fri, 23 Oct 2009 01:54:02 GMT

There are way too many spurious little problems, and on newish hardware too. I have an aging single core AMD 939 motherboard complete with aging peripheral devices, and Windows Vista 32 and 64-bit variants worked well as does Windows 7 64-bit. I have...(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)

Compatibility worries..

Mike Hall — Sat, 15 Aug 2009 20:13:02 GMT

I wrote a brief piece about FrontPage 2003 and Windows 7, about how FrontPage files will not keep the association with the parent program. Well, ICQ doesn’t allow me to sign in either, but ICQ will release a version which will work, but Microsoft have...(read more)

That darn start menu..

Mike Hall — Fri, 14 Aug 2009 21:04:00 GMT

For the months leading up to the release of Windows 7 RTM, I have been working out ways to try to emulate the old Classic menu. It was an important feature of earlier Windows versions. I like stuff in small compartments, and being able to create folders...(read more)