WINDOWS 7/HARDWARE SIG
MEETING NOTES
Date of
meeting:
SIG leader:
George Harding
Location:
George
Harding was unable to attend.
Francis,
Ken Sandock, Earl Newkirk, Jon Griebel,
and Les Stein did a great job of discussing various topics and fielding
questions from attendees:
TERMINATION
OF SUPPORT FOR "SERVICE PACK 2"
OF "WINDOWS XP"
Jon Greibel stated that Microsoft has terminated updates and
other support for the "Service Pack 2" version of the "Windows XP"
operating system, effective
See
http://windows.microsoft.com/en-us/windows/help/what-does-end-of-support-mean
and
and
http://www.computerworld.com/s/article/9179159/R.I.P._Windows_XP_SP2
and
for
details
Jon also
stated that some Microsoft or Windows updates will sometimes cause "blue
screens of death" for "Windows XP" computers that are still
running "Service Pack 2".
TESTING A
"WINDOWS 98" VIRTUAL MACHINE
Board
member Ken Sandock brought in a legacy "HP
Colorado 5GB" tape drive.
In a future
meeting of the "Windows 7/Hardware", Francis will to attempt to
install this tape drive into a "Windows 98" virtual machine, using
the bundled "Install Assistant" floppy disk and the
"Colorado" backup software CD.
SETTING UP
A "DESKTOP BACKGROUND SLIDE SHOW"
IN
"WINDOWS 7"
With
"Windows 7", you can now configure the "background photo"
of your Windows "desktop" to change a regular
photos.
For
example, one Tucson Computer Society member stated that she has the her "Windows 7" computer display a photo of a different
grandchild every 15 minutes.
Microsoft's
video on how to set up a "Desktop Background Slide Show" in
"Windows 7" can be viewed at
http://windows.microsoft.com/en-US/windows7/help/videos/making-a-desktop-background-slide-show
For
step-by-step instructions, see
EVALUATING
"WINDOWS 7
You can
download a trial copy of "Windows 7 Enterprise" at
http://technet.microsoft.com/en-us/evalcenter/cc442495.aspx?ITPID=wtcpgs
Detailed
instructions for installing this free evaluation of "Windows 7.." can be found at
http://aztcs.org/meeting_notes/winhardsig/win7eval/win7eval.htm
(html)
or
http://aztcs.org/meeting_notes/winhardsig/win7eval/win7eval.pdf
(pdf)
Step-by-step
instructions for installing this free evaluation of "Winhdows
7.." into "VMware
Player 3" are available at
http://aztcs.org/meeting_notes/winhardsig/win7intovmware/win7intovmware.htm
(html)
or
http://aztcs.org/meeting_notes/winhardsig/win7intovmware/win7intovmware.pdf
(pdf)
Step-by-step
instructions for installing this free evaluation of "Windows 7.." into "Oracle VM VirtualBox"
are available at
http://aztcs.org/meeting_notes/winhardsig/win7intovirtualbox/win7intovirtualbox.htm
(html)
or
http://aztcs.org/meeting_notes/winhardsig/win7intovirtualbox/win7intovirtualbox.pdf
(pdf)
Please read
and respect the Microsoft Evaluation Software License Terms for the
"Windows 7
A copy of
this document can be found at
http://aztcs.org/meeting_notes/winhardsig/win7eval/license/license.htm
(html)
or
http://aztcs.org/meeting_notes/winhardsig/win7eval/license/license.pdf
(pdf)
STRATEGY
FOR EVALUATING "WINDOWS 7" AND "LINUX"
With help
from Francis, board member Earl Newkirk devised a strategy for his laptop
computer:
Current configuration:
This
computer currently has a Linux-style "Grub 2" boot menu to
selectively boot between "Windows Vista" primary partition and a
primary partition for "Ubuntu 10.04 Ultimate
Edition". The primary partition for "Ubuntu.." contained a logical "EXT4" partition and a "Linux swap" partition.
Desired configuration:
Restore the
original "Windows Boot Manager" so that the computer boots into
"Windows Vista" automatically without offering any boot options.
Provide a means to evaluate/test "Windows 7" and "Ubuntu" within the "Windows Vista" operating
system.
Step-by-step tactics:
Step 1:
Use Windows
Vista's "Disk Management" to remove the primary partition for Linux.
Step 2:
Use Window
Vista's "Disk Management" to expand the existing NTFS partition where
"Windows Vista" resides to take advantage of the free space that was
created in "Step 1".
Step 3:
Use a
"Windows Vista" installation media DVD to repair the Master Boot
Record (MBR) in order to repair/restore "Windows Boot Manager":
Step 3A:
Boot up the computer with a "Windows Vista"
installation media DVD.
Step 3B:
When the "Repair you computer" button is
displayed, click on it.
Step 3C:
When the "System Recovery Options" box is
displayed, click on it's "Next" button.
Step 3D:
When the "Command Prompt" button is displayed,
click on it.
Step 3E:
At the "DOS-like" command prompt of the
"Command Prompt" window, type in
bootrec /fixmbr
Step 3F:
Press the <Enter> key of your keyboard once.
Step 4:
Download
and install the free "Oracle VM VirtualBox".
It runs as
a software application inside "Windows Vista".
Step 5:
Download
and install the free "Windows 7 Enterprise trial" as a guest
operating system inside a "virtual machine" inside "Oracle VM VirtualBox".
Step-by-step
instructions for installing this free evaluation of "Windows 7.." into "Oracle VM VirtualBox"
are available at
http://aztcs.org/meeting_notes/winhardsig/win7intovirtualbox/win7intovirtualbox.htm
(html)
or
http://aztcs.org/meeting_notes/winhardsig/win7intovirtualbox/win7intovirtualbox.pdf
(pdf)
Step 6:
Install
"Ubuntu 10.04.."
as a guest operating system inside a virtual machine inside "Oracle VM VirtualBox".
Step-by-step
instructions for installing "Ubuntu 10.04"
inside "Oracle VM VirtualBox" are available
at
http://aztcs.org/meeting_notes/linuxsig/ubuntuintovirtualbox/ubuntuintovirtualbox.htm