Download Windows 7 RC Today

Microsoft released Windows 7 RC (Release Candidate) for you to test and install. TechNet and Microsoft both links have pretty good installation documents.

Welcome to Windows 7 Release Candidate (RC) testing. We’re on our way to Windows 7, and the RC is a great opportunity for IT professionals like you to take Windows 7 and begin testing it in your real environment. You get to see what’s coming, and we get to see if our changes and fixes from the Beta testing are working correctly. We want to encourage you to install and actively test the RC code. This will help us ensure Windows 7 is the best possible release, and help you get ready for Windows 7 deployment.

Download Links:

http://technet.microsoft.com/

http://www.microsoft.com/

You can download x64 or x32 in various languages such as German, French, Japanese or Spanish.

Related Sources

• Exclusive: Windows 7 RC download goes live (Sean Bradford/Neowin.net) (techmeme.com)

Tips and Tricks How To Remove Conficker Worm

Conficker Worm is scheduled to be activated on April 1st (My birthday! No Joke) well as birthday party here is how to remove Conficker Worm with few tips and tricks.

First of all Conficker Worm only impacts Windows Operating System so Mac’s(Macintosh) and Unix/Linux users are safe!

Step 1: Open Internet Explorer Go to Tools>Windows Update make sure you are up to date with patches.

Step 2: Scan your pc Online with Microsoft Live Scanner

Step 3:Download Downadup Removal Tool from Symantic Website , Trend Micro’s Cleanup Engine, or Malwarebytes

Step 4:Download AVG antivirus free software from http://www.avg.com/free make sure to update your virus definition.

Well after these 4 steps above, you should be safe.

Please share this post with others as Conficker Worm is spreading around to millions of pc’s.

Click on button Share With Others below this text.

Windows 7 Without IE8 Confirmed

Yesterday I posted in our Español site about a rumor that Windows 7 would allow users the ability to uninstall (actually disable) Internet Explorer. The rumor was confirmed today in the Engineering Windows 7 blog, maintained by the project’s engineers.

Additionally to being able to disable IE, and all the options already offered in Vista, the following will also be available to be easily disabled.

• Windows Media Player
• Windows Media Center
• Windows DVD Maker
• Internet Explorer 8
• Windows Search
• Handwriting Recognition (through the Tablet PC Components option)
• Windows Gadget Platform
• Fax and Scan
• XPS Viewer and Services (including the Virtual Print Driver)

More info:

• Beta to RC Changes – Turning Windows Features On or Off - Engineering Windows 7

Dual Boot Your Windows 7 with Windows XP or Windows Vista

There are two ways I would recommend to dual boot your Windows 7 with an operating system such as XP or Windows Vista.

The easy way to dual boot is to download VirtualBox which allows you to be on your operating system as well as boot Windows 7 over without any real technical skills.

The other way to dual boot windows 7 is to make another partition on your PC and install Windows 7. You can read How to Dual Boot Windows 7 here by LifeHacker

Windows 2008 R2 Server Review and Download Link

Windows 7 Beta release is out but what about Windows 2008 Server (RS2 Beta) is it going to lean more toward Vista or Windows 7? Read the review. Download link is at the bottom of the text in case you want to test Windows 2008 Server.

Web Application Platform

Windows Server 2008 R2 includes many improvements that make this release the most robust Windows Server application platform yet. These improvements comprise new features in IIS 7.0, as well as other areas of Windows Server 2008 R2, to help applications run faster while using fewer system resources. The improved features also combine to help reduce the effort to administer and support Windows Server–based applications as well as improve availability, reliability, and scalability.

Improvements to IIS and the Windows Web platform which are included in Windows Server 2008 R2 include: reduced effort to administer and support Web-based applications, enhanced security for Web-based applications, improved file-transfer services, the ability to extend the functionality and features for Web-based applications, and improved availability and performance for Web-based applications and services.

Enabling Server and Desktop Virtualization

Virtualization is a major part of today’s data centers. The operating efficiencies offered by virtualization allow organizations to dramatically reduce operational effort and power consumption. Windows Server 2008 R2 provides the following virtualization types: Client and Server virtualization provided by Hyper-V and Presentation virtualization with Remote Desktop Services. Hyper-V virtualizes the system resources of a physical computer allowing you to provide a virtualized environment for operating systems and applications. Remote Desktop Services (formally known as Terminal Services) virtualizes a processing environment and isolates the processing from the graphics and I/O, making it possible to run an application in one location but have it be controlled in another. Presentation virtualization allows users to run a single application, or a complete desktop offering multiple applications.

Improving Power Management and Streamlining Management

The ongoing management of servers in the data center is one of the most time-consuming tasks facing IT professionals today. Any management strategy you deploy must support the management of both your physical and virtual environments. To help with this problem, Windows Server 2008 R2 has new features to reduce the ongoing management of Windows Server 2008 R2 and to reduce the administrative effort for common day-to-day operational tasks. And these administrative tasks can be performed on the server or remotely.

With the proliferation of physical computers in data centers, power consumption is of paramount importance. In addition to the cost-saving associated with reducing power consumption, many data centers are constrained by the number of computers they can support in their data center by the actual power available to the data center. Therefore reducing your power consumption also allows you to support more physical computers while using the same amount of power, or less power, than before.

Scalability and Reliability

Windows Server 2008 R2 is capable of unprecedented workload size, dynamic scalability, and across-the-board availability and reliability. A host of new and updated features will be available, including leveraging sophisticated CPU architectures, increased operating system componentization, and improved performance and scalability for applications and services.

Windows Server 2008 R2 is the first Windows operating system to be offered for only 64-bit processors. And Windows Server 2008 R2 can now support up to 256 logical processor cores for a single operating system instance, including enhancements in Hyper-V virtual machines which are able to address up to 32 logical cores in a single VM. These improvements not only guarantee more bang for your server hardware buck, but also offer better reliability with fewer locks and greater parallelism.

Making the Experience Better Together with Windows 7

Windows Server 2008 R2 has many features that are designed to specifically work with client computers running Windows 7, including simplifying remote connectivity for corporate computers by using the DirectAccess feature, Secured remote connectivity for private and public computers by using a combination of the Remote Workspace, Presentation Virtualization, and Remote Desktop Services Gateway features, and Improved performance for branch offices by using the BranchCache feature.

Download Windows 2008 RC2 Beta

Info via : Microsoft

How To Install Windows 7 Beta Without Partition Or OS Upgrade

I noticed on Twitter many people use their PC’s, Mac’s and Laptops to install Windows 7 Beta. There is two things people should consider when Installing Windows 7.

If you are curious how Windows 7 Beta looks and want to just test it I would suggest to download VirtualBox. With VirtualBox you can install W7B without making partition on your pc or waisting time finding your old PC/MAC.

I ran Windows 7 Beta on VB last night and I was very pleased with the speed and stability.

But if you are heavy-duty tech guy/girl and want to explore the true speed, stability and test Windows 7 Beta the way it will work after August 2009 then my suggestion is to do dual boot. Create partition and just run the ISO.

How To Get Product Key and Install Windows 7 Beta

Last night I was playing with the Installation of Windows 7 Beta but had no Product Key. This morning found out from LifeHacker the solution to Windows 7 Beta so I wanted to share with you all.

Step 1: Log onto [technet.microsoft.com] by clicking on “Sign in” in the upper right corner with your Microsoft Passport ID. (i.e.: Hotmail, etc.)

Step 2: Copy (don’t CLICK!) one of the links below to the address bar and press Enter.

32-Bit key: [www.microsoft.com] (Copy and Paste!)

64-bit key: [www.microsoft.com] (Copy and Paste!)

Tip: You can use the 64-bit during a 32-bit installation and a 32-bit key during a 64-bit installation. (It seems that getting a 64-bit key is faster!)

Step 3: If you receive an error, just press CTRL+ F5 (non-cache reload) to refresh. (I had to refresh more than 10 times before I received the key), if you’re being redirected then you didn’t follow the steps 1 and 2 correctly!

If you followed the steps correct you should see your key (depending on your version it could also say Windows 7 Beta 32-bit Product Key).

Download Windows 7 Beta Links

Today Microsoft released Windows 7 Beta for download but only for 2.5 million people and expires August 2009. Download Windows 7 Beta from these links:

TechNet

Oh and here is also explanation from Wired How to get Windows 7 Beta to Download

I will update this post with more links or if you have any share in comments section. Also I would advise you all that windows 7 beta is avaliable on bittorrents

Updates CST:

Per Wired download should start 12 PST!

How to boot and install Windows 7 from USB flash drive

The Windows 7 beta has been released for quite a while now. If you want to follow the crowd and test it in your system, but do not want to burn into a DVD, here is how you can create a bootable USB drive to install Windows 7 on your system.

Format USB flash drive to NTFS format

(For Win XP only. Vista users can directly format the USB drive to NTFS format) In your Windows, go to Control panel -> system -> hardware -> Device manager.

Under the disk drives section, right click on the USB storage drive and select Properties.

Go to the Policies tab, select optimize for performance. Click OK.

Open your Windows Explorer, you should see the USB storage drive in the inventory. Right click and select Format. Select NTFS from the drop down bar. Click Start.

For Windows XP,

Download MBRWizard. Extract the zipped files to your desktop.

Open a command prompt (Start –> Program –> Accessories –> Command Prompt).

cd Desktop/MBRWiz2.0/
MBRWiz /list

Record the USB flash drive disk number

Make the USB drive active.

mbrwiz /disk=X /active=X (X is Disk Number of your USB Drive)

For Windows Vista,

On the Start menu, navigate to the command prompt entry. Right-click and select Run as administrator.



Type

diskpart
list disk

Record the disk number of your USB flash drive.



Select the USB disk.

select disk X (X is the drive number of the USB flash drive)

List the current partition. Record the partition number.

list partition

Select the current partition and make it active.

select partition Y (Y is the partition number of the USB flash drive)
active



Creating bootable USB flash drive
Download Windows 7 iso (32-bit) file to your desktop.

Download and install WinRAR.

Right-click on the Windows 7 iso file and select Extract files. Extract the files to a folder (you can name the folder any name you want, but for illustration purpose, I name it win-7) in your desktop.

In your command prompt, cd to the windows 7 folder.

cd Desktop/win-7 (Change the destination to the folder that you have extracted)
cd boot
bootsect /nt60 X: (X is the drive latter of your USB drive )



Now, copy all the files from the Windows 7 folder to the USB flash drive.

Reboot the computer. Remember to change the first boot device to your USB drive in the BIOS.

You should be able to install Windows 7 from your USB flash drive now.

Original Post: MakeTechEasier

Download Free Windows 7 Themes, Gadgets and Wallpapers from Microsoft

If you are using Windows 7, you can download lots of FREE themes, Desktop gadgets and wallpapers from Microsoft official website.



Right-click on Desktop and select “Personalize“. Now click on “Get more themes online” link:



It’ll open following a webpage in your browser:



Windows 7 Beta: Personalize your PC

You can directly open the above site in your browser.

You’ll see lots of themes available on that page:

Click on any theme which you want to download. It’ll download a .themepack file. Double-click on the file and Windows will automatically install and apply it.

PS: The site is new and there will be lots of updates in coming days. So keep visiting the site.

Original Post: ASKVG.com

How to install Windows 7 on a Virtual Machine with VirtualBox

Earlier this month, Microsoft made the Windows 7 beta available for anyone to download and test drive it. Unless you have a spare computer, it can be somewhat inconvenient to test out new operating systems on your main system. Although it is possible to dual boot Windows 7 with Vista or XP, you may still prefer to install it on a separate machine. VirtualBox is just the separate machine you’ve been looking for, and it’s free.



VirtualBox is a free and open source virtualization program. Essentially, it is like having a complete and separate computer within your computer. You can install any operating system on it, including Windows 7. The latest version of VirtualBox (2.1.2) has support for Windows 7, which makes it very easy and convenient to install.

First, you’ll want to download VirtualBox and install it. VirtualBox is available for multiple platforms: Windows, OS X, Linux, and Solaris. During the installation on a Windows system, you may receive a warning that untested software is being installed. Be sure to click continue when those boxes appear, as essential components for VirtualBox to function properly are being installed.



You’ll also need to download the Windows 7 beta. It is a large file, so it may take quite a while to download depending on your connection. The file you will download is a CD disk image. Fortunately, since you’re going to use it on a virtual machine, you won’t have to actually burn it to a CD to use it.

Once you have VirtualBox installed and you have the Windows 7 beta CD image, you’re ready to create your virtual machine. Launch VirtualBox and create a new machine. Be sure to select Windows 7 as your operating system.



Click Next. On the following screen you will select how much memory you would like the virtual machine to have. I believe the minimum requirement for Windows 7 is 1GB of RAM, so be sure to set it to at least 1024MB.



Click Next. On the following screen you will create a new virtual drive for the system. I would recommend using the default option of a Dynamically expanding storage. This way you won’t use any more disk space (on your main system) than necessary. Since you’re using a dynamically expanding drive, the size of the disk is somewhat arbitrary. You just want to be sure not to make it too small, so set it to 100GB to be safe.

Once you’re done creating the virtual machine, you’ll need to configure it to use the Windows 7 disk image you downloaded. Select your virtual machine, click Settings, and navigate to the CD/DVD-ROM section. Check the Mount CD/DVD Drive checkbox and click the ISO Image File radio button. Then click the folder icon and then browse to where you saved your ISO image and select it.



If you have a multi-core processor, there’s an option you’ll want to enable to speed things up on the virtual machine. Go to the General section and on the Advanced tab enable the Enable VT-x/AMD-V checkbox. This allows VirtualBox to take advantage of machine virtualization capabilities of your processor, and improves the performance of the virtual machine.

You may also want to add sound to the virtual machine as well. Go to the Audio tab, and click the Enable Audio checkbox and select Windows DirectSound for the Host Audio Driver. Once you have the machine configured, click the Start button to turn on the virtual machine.

You should see the Windows 7 installation begin. Just follow all the prompts and install Windows. If you need to get back to your main computer at any time, the hotkey to release control of the virtual machine is the Ctrl key on the right side of your keyboard.

Once you’ve installed Windows 7, you can install the guest additions. The guest additions will provide better video and audio support to the virtual machine. The guest additions also allow you to better integrate the virtual machine with your main system.

To install the guest additions, press the right Ctrl key on your keyboard, go to the Devices menu and select Install Guest Additions…



During the guest additions installation, when prompted if you would like to install drivers, click the Install button. Once you’ve installed the guest additions, reboot the virtual machine. Upon rebooting, all of the virtual devices should be working.

Now that you have the guest additions installed, you will be able to share the clipboard, access to files on the main system, and move the cursor seamlessly in and out of the virtual machine. You can press the Right Ctrl-F and see the virtual machine full screen. What a pretty fish!

Have you tried Windows 7 with other free virtualization programs? If so, let us know which ones and what sort of hacks were required to get it to work.

Original Post: MakeUseOf