Applying tweaks

1. Skip Rearm: location has changed from HKLM\Software\Microsoft\WindowsNT\CurrentVersion\SL to HKLM\Software\Microsoft\WindowsNT\CurrentVersion\SoftwareProtectionPlatform
   
2. Defender: not listed in the start up list in msconfig. In the register, the value in HKLM\System\ControlSet001\Services\WinDefend Start was still set to 2 after I had set it to disabled in Services. I have now manuallychanged it to 4 (disabled)
   
3. Drivers: on a fairly new machine all hardware and peripherals were recognized and installed OOB.
   
   1. Mobile phone: not installed automatically, no updates on line. Pointed to the Vista:\Windows folder (I dual boot with Vista) and Windows Mobile Device Centre was installed
      
   2. Old (10 years!) TV tuner card: installed the W2K drivers when pointed to the correct folder
      
   3. Printer (old, 5-6 years): had a question mark, pointed to online update and it installed some newer driver
      

      
      

4. UAC: Start > Control Panel > All Control Panel Items > Windows Solution Center > User Account Control Settings in the left pane. There are 4 available settings
   
   1. Always on (Vista mode)
   
   2. I can do whatever I want, but let me know if a program wants to make changes
   

   
   

   
   3. As above but don't dim the desktop

4.Never notify

I've set it on 3, and will see how things go when I start installing apps.........

Windows 7: loads of new services - Part two

• Sensors MTP Monitor Service: This service allows MTP sensors to communicate sensor data. If this service is stopped or disabled, MTP sensors will no longer function.
  

 

In other words, this service monitors MTP (Media Transfer Protocol) sensors (such as a cell phone with a GPS receiver) to communicate sensor data to programs.

As it is, there are lots of problems with existing GPS devices connected to Windows:

1. Most devices usea NMEA proprietary format to provide information, Windows Location Platform gives free open APIs standard

2. These devices are connected via COM so only one app can use location data at one time. Windows Location Platform enables concurrent access to several apps at the same time

3. Location-aware apps do not work without GPS. Windows Location Platform has support for different location sensors (read providers):
GPS
IP Geo Location
Wi Fi Triangulation
Cell Tower Triangulation
Any new kind of a location provider

And if you do not happen to have any of the above solutions, you can still use "Default Location Provider" which enables user to enter his location into one place where it will be then used by every app

This service is absent from build 6952!

• Windows Biometric Service: The Windows biometric service gives client applications the ability to capture, compare, manipulate, and store biometric data without gaining direct access to any biometric hardware or samples. The service is hosted in a privileged SVCHOST process.
  

There is a comma absent in that text. What the mean is that the Biometric Service itself will not gain direct access to the biometric hardware; it will simply connect the corresponding software to the hardware. The point is to try to unify the way biometric sensors are installed and interact with windows/the user.

• WWAN AutoConfig: This service manages mobile broadband (GSM & CDMA) data card/embedded module adapters and connections by auto-configuring the networks. It is strongly recommended that this service be kept running for best user experience of mobile broadband devices.
  

Once again, if the device manufacturers implement the correct Windows APIs and instructions for drivers requirements, this will be a vast improvement over the existing situation where the user experience is a new one each time a new mobile broadband device is connected. This service will also simplify the task of roaming from one mobile broadband network to another, much the same as roaming between wireless networks has been improved: the user does not need to launch a new application and perform several steps in order to connect the device to the internet, all the user will be required to do is specify which device to use and if necessary enter appropriate credentials (username and/or password)

Windows 7 Build 6956 torrented

How can IT journalists not "get" the frenzy enthusiasts feel about a new build of a future operating system?

The article from the Inquirer states:

"some users have fiddled enough with the virtual disk image and the 6801 build install to create a fully installable ISO."
That would be the Chinese, again.

And further down:
"We still don’t know what the fuss is about, though. Once you’ve overcome the ISO hurdle, jumped over the activation timer and ran through the WGA protection gate, you get Windows 7 Beta 1 out in two weeks time reinstall... quite frankly, why bother?"

Because by that time you've had one month to pla with this buil. What works, what doesn't, start writing guides and how-tos. It is a VERY time consumming process, but it is what saved Vista in early days, when the only way to install some hardware was by using modified drivers, written by enthusiasts, or one specific version of an older driver that Vista would accept, once again which one determined by relentless and endless testing by enthusiasts. NVIDIA, printer manufacturers, SoundBlaster and others probably waited until the RC/RTM versions and were more than 6 months behind releasing truly vista-compatible drivers. Not to mention Microsoft who never quite got right the list of compatible software and devices, although wikipedia has had a continously updated list since Vista Beta 1.
In other words, we want to reassure all future Windows 7 users that we are hard at work testing hardware and software to ensure the will have a positive experience once Windows 7 finally hits their desktops (by which time we will be busy scouring the torrent sites for alpha builds of Windows 8 :))

Windows 7: loads of new services - Part one

No more ready boost: no loss at all, really.

3 services have been renamed:

• SL UI Notification Service is now SPP Notification service

• Software Licensing is Software Protection

• Windows Presentation Foundation Font Cache 3.0.0.0 is now Windows Font Cache Service

20 new services

• Adaptive brightness: This service monitors ambient light sensors to detect changes in ambient light and adjust the display brightness. If this service is stopped or disabled, the display brightness will not adapt to lighting conditions.
  

What the description doesn't say is that this service will only ever be useful if your PC comes equipped with said sensor. If you do have one though, below is a screen shot (borrowed from http://www.istartedsomething.com/) of how a map would look without and with this service enabled while viewed in outdoor settings.

• AppID service: Determines identity of an application.
  

OK, that was MicroSpeak for you: each word is simple and clear, all the words together form a correct sentence and you don't know anything more about the subject than you did before you started reading that sentence.

I know what appID is, I know of several was it is used and needed (licensing – related tasks mostly), but why does it have to be a service?

I'll have to do some digging on this one.....

Digging done: Disabling this service will prevent Application Control Policies from being enforced.

Still a bit of MicroSpeak, but seems more related to Group Policy Settings, like who is allowed to run which apps and with what type of credentials

• Encrypting File System (EFS): Provides the core file encryption technology used to store encrypted files on NTFS file system volumes. If this service is stopped or disabled, applications will be unable to access encrypted files.
  

This one is started, on Automatic, and if you try to stop it the computer will just reboot. SEE COMMENT BELOW

EFS has been around since W2K, never before was it a service. It has also gained the name "delayed recycle bin" due to the frequency with which users get locked out of their encrypted files. While data encryption is arguably a necessary evil in an enterprise, it is a disaster waiting to happen on a home PC.

Investigate if the service can be rendered harmless via GPO or other methods.

It has returned to being a normal kind of service that can safely be stopped and disabled.

• HomeGroup Listener: Listener Hosting service for HomeGroup.
  

• HomeGroup Provider: Network provider service for the HomeGroup.
  

Obviously related to the new "home group" flavour of network. Will probably prove helpful to home users who have had trouble configuring shares on the home network, and more geeky users might also use the feature as it really simplifies the sharing of files.

• Credential Manager Service: Provides secure storage and retrieval of credentials to users, applications and security service packages.
  

Only useful for logins to network resources that require a password. Potential security problem and most enterprises use smart cards/key-generators/short lived passwords.

• Disk Defragmenter: Provides Disk Defragmentation
  

Why is this a service all of a sudden? Check if Defrag still works in Vista with task scheduler disabled.

• Peer Distribution: This service caches network content from peers on the local subnet.
  

Kind of live offline files: network data is automatically cached locally. Useful on slow/busy networks, most useful though in enterprise settings where the first user retrieves the data from the far-away-server, but all subsequent users on the same subnet (location) will retrieve the data from the first user which is bound to be faster and to free server resources.

It seems this service is absent from the list until such time as offline files are created

• Pong Service for Wireless USB: The PngSvc service hosts the cable based association module for Wireless USB devices. Cable association involves establishing trust between a Wireless USB device and host by exchanging a secret key over a USB cable. If this service is disabled, then a Wireless USB device will not be able to perform cable based association with the host and hence will not be able to function. If you intend to use any Wireless USB devices, it is strongly recommended that you not disable this service.

Why is this a service all of a sudden?

• RPC Endpoint Mapper: Resolves RPC interfaces identifiers to transport endpoints. If this service is stopped or disabled, programs using Remote Procedure Call (RPC) services will not function properly.
  

Obviously this service is paired with the RPC Locator service. Is this Microsoft trying to break-down services/applications that call on too many functions in smaller chunks?

No longer present in more recent builds

• Secure Socket Tunneling Protocol Service: Provides support for the Secure Socket Tunneling Protocol (SSTP) to connect to remote computers using VPN. If this service is disabled, users will not be able to use SSTP to access remote servers.
  

That's half of the new services, the other half will be described in upcoming posts…..

(USD 2.64)

Testing Windows 7

First build to be released, 6801. And so the fun begins........
I have set up my "test lab". With limited resources one has to make do, so W7 got installed in a VM and as dual boot with Vista on my desktop PC and my laptop.

Lab setup:

VVM: Vista Ultimate running in VMWare on the desktop
W7VM: Windows 7 running in VMWare on the desktop
VD: Vista Ultimate on the desktop
W7D: Windows 7 on the desktop
VL: Vista Business running on an Asus R1F
W7L: Windows 7 running on an Asus R1F
Above machines on a network where VD/W7D are on a wired connection, VL/W7L are on a wireless connection and 3 other PCs run Vista Basic, XP Professional SP2 and XP Home SP2. All machines share a printer connected to the VD/W7D.
A second network is available if need be, wireless only.


Installation

All 3 installs went without incidents.
In VMWare W7 installed without any problems and VMTools have been installed and work. Sharing partitions, copy/paste from physical to virtual, connecting/disconnecting peripherals, everything just worked.
On the desktop the only device that was not recognized OOB was a very old TV tuner card. Pointed the driver update wizard to the folder with the XP drivers for that card and one reboot later no more unrecognized devices......Prett impressive for a pre-beta OS.
On the laptop there were 2 drivers not found, the touch chip driver and the biometric coprocessor. For the first one the built-in solution manager pointed to the correct download page for the driver, and for the second one I have pointed the driver update wizard to the Windows/System32/Driver Store folder on the Vista partition and once again no more unrecognized devices.
The only thing I never got to work in Vista, the software for my old HP PSC 2175 printer, doesn't work in W7 either. My accepted work around, Omnipage standard edition, installed and works in all 3 installs.