I said - I am

I just had to puzzle the title. Here's the thing, I said that the only way that I can help with Windows 7 is by sending error reports. And now, this is one of those important moments.

My computer suffered another BSoD due to a completely different cause; the screen didn't give me much info, however, the report is big... And by big I mean BIG.

Thats the percentage at the time of writing after eating my dinner. Instead of blabbing about techy mumbo jumbo, I shall describe the error with a end-user point of view.

-I inserted a blank CD

-It starts identifying it

-SUDDENLY!

-BSoD

This one is pure randomness. And yes, it can read blank discs... But this is the charm of using an OS in development! IT DOESN'T CEASE TO AMAZE!

And now time to recreate my wonderful logon... (I lost it in a format) To Photoshop, AWAAAAAY!

(The % is at 19 at the time of finishing this post)

Windows 7 Build 6801 – Quick Overview

I got my hands on the released Windows 7 build over at PDC 2008. (Even though I did it the old fashioned way) I’m not much of a beta tester even though I LOVE betas, but at least I can send all of the error reports I can generate to Microsoft.

I am just going to lay things out that can be viewed by an inexperienced user (with betas, that is.)

First off, the installation went really smooth and the change from green aurora to blue shine/light is REALLY sweet. Maybe it’s because I’m a sucker for blue, but it’s a nice change from green. No issues or complications here.

For those who used Longhorn Betas, prepare to have an EASY TIME. This has to be the most stable piece of beta software that I have used! (on a scale as big as an OS) This build instantly takes you to the Vista lookalike experience once it finishes setting up, however, there ARE noticeable changes. First off, Aero has been slightly modified, giving it more color and a new blur which successfully blurs text without making images look ugly.

The Welcome Center seems to be awaiting deletion, it has been untouched since the first 7 Build and it doesn’t pop up on the first logon. Personally, I’d get rid of it.

UAC has been GREATLY improved on. By default, it only notifies you of external programs doing something “important”. I am STILL using it which is a WORLD RECORD for me with UAC. The only time I had to turn it off was to install AppLocale. But there is a bug in it that I think I found a workaround. Trying to launch something with “Run as Administrator” opens up a window asking you to log on as another user (in which I still have not set up another user). I enabled the built in Admin account and it ran without asking me. I re-disabled the account and now it won’t ask me again, it’ll just launch it like it was in Vista with UAC disabled. Which is how I think it should be. Hint to any Microsoft employee that actually managed to read this: this is something that needs checking.

Still at the first boot, 7 felt a bit unstable. All that was needed is that I insert my driver CD and it used Vista’s drivers just fine. After that, it works flawlessly.

The Start Orb sometimes opens up the Start Menu when you click AFTER the shine animation finishes. Just a minor quirk.

Folder navigation has been improved and thumbnail generation is now significantly faster.

Programs install just fine. However, Windows Live OneCare failed along with programs that use Windows Installer to specify which OS they want it to install.

There are also some major fixes in Windows itself and I am saying this because I have never seen Photoshop install so fast on my computer.

Also, a little extra found by Rafael from Within Windows, is that he found how to enable the Superbar from the new build shown at PDC. It works great, but it doesn’t have Aero Peek and the thumbnail popup has a delay that needs to be sped up. I think this one can be achieved with the registry.

 

Overall I am very happy with the experience I’ve had with Windows 7. It really is a promising OS and Microsoft really amused me this time (and people who know me knows that it’s hard to amuse me).

As a side note, I’d like to say that users need to be cautious with the current version of AVG. The compability issues are minor, and it works, but it can cause Blue Screens. So I recommend that AVG users wait for at least the next version.

I know that I may have missed alot of info and that it’s not as much as other sites, but atleast I try.

Windows Live Wave 3 Beta Installer for Windows Server

Update: There's a newer post containing the final version of Windows Live Essentials. Head over along the Newer Posts buttons and go get it!

Just noticed the lack of a messenger installer for any of the Windows Server OS'es. Hopefully, this shall rectify the problem.

Download Link

Logon Screen Customization on Windows Server 2008 = YES, IT IS POSSIBLE!

I knew that one day someone would find a way to get rid of that annoying blue thing covering our precious logon screen in Server 2008. Luckily, the people present in this topic (this link), remanaged to find a way to do it.

However, I can make a quick summary of what needs to be done.

1. Find authui.dll in Vista, x86 and x64 respectively (depending on your Server architecture).
2. Replace Server's file with Vista's
3. ????
4. PROFIT!

Anyway, a HUGE thanks is deserved for the people who worked hard in order to figure out this thing. Now I can finally stick to Server... after I find my logon...

Changes in the WLMv9B3

I WAS going to put a list of changes in the new Windows Live Messenger, but dwergs at Mess.be pretty much sums it up.

{Insert some free time here}

Installing Windows Live Messenger 9 on Windows Server 2008

Update: New post with Final installer... posted! Refer to a newer post to download it.

It’s a good thing I had reinstalled Server 2008 because I would crash into so many troubles if I were busy by the time WLM 9 went gold.

This process is similar to what was done with WLM 8.5 in the previous wave (Hint: Mess.be). This was really useful because it only installed –THAT- and worked in Server.

However, not everything was a walk in the park. Having installed Server 2008 on both my Desktop and Laptop I was pretty much screwed. BUT! I had a Plan B! (god, I love plan B’s). {Intermission: Hold on, some ZUN music change at time of writing} Ok, I remembered that I installed XP via Virtual PC while I was in my electronics class, so I installed it there.

I really dig the new installer and it’s MUCH faster than Wave 2 (according to my experience) (And I installed 3 products too…). Anyways, so I let it download and install the products that I wanted.

Due to 8.5 experience, I quickly went to look for a .MSI file, but all I found were temp. files. Not very useful although they did show Messenger’s file size. I tried changing the extension to .msi and .exe, but both failed. So I Plan B-fied and took a look into the –big- log. In that log there were scattered installation URLs that the installer used. I ”quickly” found the one belonging to Messenger and downloaded it. HOWEVER the work is not done.

Attempting to install Windows Live Messenger with just the installer will cause a corrupt installation that can’t sign in with error 8000FFFF (not to mention that there’s no entry in the Programs and Features list). So, I applied Plan B to this step too (sorry folks, I don’t reach Plan C). I searched and downloaded all URLs that I found relevant to Messenger. Entries like Contacts, WlLogin, etc. And a catalog.xml file for luck (I really don’t know why I downloaded this anyway…).

I opened up each installer and allowed them to install. After I finished with all of them, I re-opened WLM’s installer, and it WORKED!

I wasted about an hour figuring this out, so I hope this helps other Windows Server 2008 users who also wants to use this.

I should be able to do a post with the end-user noticeable changes near the weekend. (If I don’t do it later today).

Thoughts on the supposed WPF the leaked Windows Live Messenger build uses.

Well... I pretty much broke alot on my blog while testing...





Anyway, I'm taking this chance to write about what I've seen about the design of the now old leak.





These are the two types of display that can be seen. Left is Aero and right is Basic and XP. Looking at the Aero version, the window isn't hold by a hideable frame. Instead, the frame is the edge of everything. Next we look at the right, Aero-less windows look just like it did before, with a hidden frame. Just as my printscreen detected, it works just like it did in 8.5.

This shows how WPF is being implemented. I know, nothing fancy and not even close to what Yahoo! Messenger did. But I do know that it feels more stable while in Aero (specially while dragging). This piece of coding that was added has a big potential... But how much is used is up to the developers.

Now, to try to get rid of the "undefined" text and the ad from here!