Windows Phone 7 Changes the Way We Interact With Smart Phones

With the pending release of the Windows 7 Phone many users have been wondering about the functionality and interface of this new Smart Phone driven by Microsoft technology. Now with MIX 10 in session some of our questions are finally being answered… along with new questions being posed.

First off (for those who don’t already know) what is Windows Phone 7?

Windows Phone 7 series is the latest release of the Microsoft Windows Phone operating system. While the name implies similarities to Windows 7 the best way to look at this OS is that it was designed from the ground up, in the same way that Windows 7 was. At least this is the initial impression we are hearing from the guys over at Engadget.

With a hands-on demonstration their initial reports seem to show that they are impressed with the look and feel of the device, short of the initial limitations that are going to be imposed on the phone. The biggest concerns of many users being the lack of a “Copy & Paste” function in the Windows Phone 7 OS.

But haven’t we been down this road before?

I remember waiting in line to get my first Apple iPhone and the initial excitement I felt about the device kept me occupied for quite some time before I even realized I couldn’t copy and paste. The sheer number of things I COULD do with the phone made this a non-issue for many months.

Regardless of how you feel about this lacking feature lets look at some of the other things the Windows Phone 7 will allow you to do.

As you would expect with any Smart Phone now a days the Windows Phone 7 will allow you to email, go online, organize multimedia, offer access to audio and video with additional features like being able to update your Xbox Live profile on the go, and play games.

The development platforms for Apps on the new OS also show a lot of promise as they will be designed around XNA & Silverlight to offer rich, content oriented mobile computing.

Even now we are learning more details about the Apps platform for this phone along with the potential for developers. For now we will need to sit back and relax as all the details are released. But we can look forward to seeing this new OS in action around Q4 of this year.

Windows XP BSOD Error while Installing on an Intel Motherboard

Hey guys, here’s a quick one I ran across the other day that could give people massive headaches because it’s such an obtuse issue.

While installing Windows XP SP1 one onto an Intel motherboard I received a Blue Screen of Death error with a mention or IRQL in the dump.

I did a memory diagnostic test which came back error free. I reseated the CPU, and checked the cooler to make sure it was not overheating. I even tried a different hard drives and cables.

It turns out that many Intel Motherboards will Blue Screen if you are installing Windows XP with an old service pack. (In most cases SP1). A good way to identify if this is the case is that the error usually always occurs at the same point of the install. (Usually 1 min into the graphical portion of the Windows XP installation.)

If this is the case you can do a few things to resolve the issue:

1. Get a copy of Windows XP (Home or Pro depending on what you are trying to reinstall) that is Service Pack 2 (SP2) and up from a friend or coworker. Use your windows key when you reinstall and this should resolve the BSOD error.
2. If you cannot get a copy of an updated service pack version of Windows use a program like nLite to slip stream the service pack into your copy of Windows.

(You will need to the latest version of the .NET framework on the PC you create your slipstream disk on. http://www.microsoft.com/Net/Download.aspx)

To slipstream your disk simply run nLite and it will walk you through the process. You will need your original Windows installation disk, and a standalone executable of SP2 or SP3.

http://www.microsoft.com/windowsxp/downloads/default.mspx

When you run nLite it will ask for your installation disk. Put it into the system and nLite will copy your disk. Then it will ask you to point it to the executable you would like to slipstream into the disk. Point nLite to where you saved your service pack download and walla! You now have a slipstreamed disk that should help you avoid the BSOD error on Intel Motherboards.

My iPhone Won’t Sync on Windows 7 Due to an “Unknown Error”?

Lately a few friends have been asking me about their latest problem where they are having issues were their iPhones won’t sync with Windows 7. In the majority of these cases Windows 7 is reporting an “Unknown Error” when they try to sync the iPhone with iTunes.

From what we have seen from doing some research online this problem seems to be more common for users who are running Windows 7 64-bit, and also motherboards with the P55 chipset. In some cases users are reporting the Unknown Error message along with an error code 0xE8000065.

This problem actually goes back to some of the power management problems I discussed in a previous article entitled “How to Wake a PC from Hibernation / Sleep / Stand By on Windows” which discusses Power Management issues with Windows 7 and the USB ports on the motherboard.

For information on How To fix the iPhone / Windows 7 sync issue, follow the instructions below:

1. First click “Start” and then “Right Click” on “Computer” and select “Properties”
2. Under the Properties window click on the “Device Manager” link in the upper left corner.
3. In Device Manager click on the arrow next to “Universal Serial Bus controllers”. Look for the entries labeled “USB Root Hub” and right click on the first one and select “Properties”.
4. Under Properties, click on the “Power Management” tab.
5. Under Power Management uncheck the option that says “Allow the computer to turn off this device to save power” and then click “OK”.
6. Repeat this process for each entry of USB Root Hub going down the list in device manager.

Once you have changed them the Power Management options of each entry of USB Root Hub reboot your PC and see if you are now able to sync your iPhone.

This issue is similar to the cases where Windows 7 will not come out of sleep mode when users have connected a USB keyboard or mouse which I discuss in the article I linked to above.

HELP! Windows 7 Automatically Moves and Resizes My Windows! How do I Turn This Off?

As soon users have discovered inadvertently Windows 7 now comes installed with a feature that can automatically move and resize your Windows depending on where they are dragged on the screen. This feature in Windows 7 is known as “Aero Snap” and was designed to increase productivity by allowing users to manage their windows easier.

Though in some cases this can lead to pure frustration for users, which is the case for many of the people who have emailed me asking how to fix this from happening.

If you prefer to manage your windows yourself and would like to disable Aero snap altogether simply follow these 3 easy steps:

1. First click “Start” > “Control Panel” and click on “Ease of Access”. Under Ease of Access Center select “Change how your mouse works”.
2. In the new window look for an option that says “Make it easier to manage Windows”.
3. Put a check mark next to the option that says “Prevent windows from being automatically arranged when moved to the edge of the screen”. Then click “Ok” to save your settings.

(The option above can also be set under “Change how your keyboard works” under the Ease of Access Center.)

You have now disabled the Aero Snap feature in Windows 7 and should no longer have to worry about your workspace being arranged automatically when you accidently move a window.

How to Fix Problems with Windows 7 Aero

One thing on Windows 7 that a lot of users have been emailing me about is Windows Aero. Aero is the 3D default Windows 7 theme that utilizes visual effects and transitions to make navigation more graphical in Windows 7.

In some cases Aero may not be functioning because it was not fully enabled on your system or various features are disabled.

To fix this do the following:

Click “Start” and in the Run / Find line type “Aero”.

In the bottom of the new window click on the “Troubleshoot problems with transparency and other Aero Effects” link.

This will open the “Aero” troubleshooting wizard. Click “Next” and follow the prompts to automatically resolve issues with Aero.

If the wizard finishes and does not detect or fix the problems you are having with Windows 7 Aero make sure you have the most updated video drivers for your system. This can be done by going to the video card manufacturer’s website and downloading the latest drivers. (In most cases this will be ATI or NVidia.)

If you are using onboard video you may need to check the motherboard manufacturer’s website for updated video drivers, or visit the website of the company that manufactured your computer if it is a gateway, HP, Dell, etc.

(If you are using onboard video and you continue to have issues with Aero not functioning correctly you may want to consider adding a video card to the system. It doesn’t need to be anything expensive, but just something that will give you dedicated video for the PC.)

If the above suggestions do not work you may be running into an issue with Aero features being disabled in the registry. One common feature that can be disabled is Aero Peek, which makes your windows semi transparent so you can see your desktop underneath the windows.

You can check for the this by clicking “Start” and in the Run / Find line type “Regedit”

Browse to the following registry key:

HKEY_CURRENT_USER\Software\Microsoft\Windows\DWM

And make sure that EnableAeroPeek is set to 1, and not 0 (1 being on, and zero being off)

Hopefully the above methods have helped you resolve any issues you may have been having with Windows 7 Aero.

Some Windows 7 users have reported issues lately where Windows 7 is not detecting their DVD Drive after they have installed Windows.

In most of these cases there are two things users can do to attempt to fix the problem.

The first fix involves removing two registry entries referencing the DVD Rom Drive. These two entries can be found in the following location.

Click the Start Menu > and in the “FIND” or “RUN’ field type “REGEDIT”.

In the Registry Editor go to:

HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SYSTEM\CurrentControlSet\Control\Class\

Once you have found this key, look in the right hand pane and remove the “UpperFilters” and “LowerFilters” key.

(Do not remove UpperFilters.bak and LowerFilters.bak)

If this does not correct the issue for you, other users have reported that renaming the Drive “Letter” has resolved the issue for them.

To rename the Drive letter right click on “Computer” and select “Manage”. Under the “Manage” window look for “Disk Management”

Under Disk Management right click on the white bar next to your optical Drive and on the menu select “Change Drive Letter”. Follow the prompt in the new window and it should take you to a drop down menu that will allow you to assign a new drive letter for your DVD Rom.

Once you have renamed the drive letter check under “My Computer” or “Explorer” to see if the drive is now showing. If it is you can repeat the process to change the drive letter back to its original and it should still be detected by Windows 7.

If the above methods fail try rebooting the system after you have made the changes outline above and see if this corrects the issue.

I have had a couple people mention to me lately that they have purchased the Windows 7 upgrade from Vista and have run into some problems. Many users are reporting a case where the system will hang at 62% during the Windows 7 upgrade.

This can actually be caused by several factors. To determine what might be affecting your installation you should check in the “Setup Log”. To do this you need to reboot your PC > roll back to Windows Vista > and then check the following file:

\$WINDOWS.~BT\Sources\Panther\setupact.log

(You can open and view this file in Notepad)

This may give you a better idea of what happened that caused the system to hang at 62% during the Windows 7 upgrade / installation.

Microsoft has reported this issue can commonly be caused by a service called “lphlpsvc”. What this means to you as an end users is you should go to the Microsoft Support site and get the hotfix for this problem which can be located here:

http://support.microsoft.com/default.aspx/kb/975253

If the hotfix doesn’t correct the issue you may want to double check the Setup log for any clues as to other issues that may be causing the problem. This information can be helpful if you are familiar with PCs or are troubleshooting with tech support.

If all else fails I recommend attempting to do a clean install of Windows 7 as this is the least problematic way to upgrade to Windows 7. Just make sure you have all your data backed up beforehand as a clean install will format your hard drive.

Windows 7 Does Not Come Out of Sleep Mode (Hibernation / Stand By)

With Windows 7 Microsoft took the sleep mode / power saving options a little to the extreme. Because of this some users have been having issues getting their PC to come out of sleep mode. After working with Windows 7 for awhile I have come up with several common fixes that users can try if they are running into these problems.

Using the Power Button to Wake to the PC with Windows 7

In some cases with Hibernation / Sleep mode under Windows 7 waking the PC by jiggling the mouse or hitting any key on the keyboard will not wake the computer.

In these cases users should try hitting the power button on the front of the PC to bring the computer out of sleep mode.

When hitting the power button hold the button for the count of “One, One Thousand” and this should be enough to wake the computer up without sending it into an instant off.

Changing Power Saving Settings under Windows 7

In some cases this issue can just be so annoying that users prefer not to deal with it altogether. If this is the case you can change your power saving settings under Windows.

To do this, do the following:

1. Right Click on the Desktop and select “Personalize” from the menu.
2. At the bottom right hand corner of the Personalize window click the “Screen Saver” icon.
3. At the bottom of the Screen Saver window look for “Power Management” and click the “Change power settings” link.
4. In the new Window you should see an option that says “Balanced (recommended)” with a link that says “Change plan settings”. Click the Change plan settings link.
5. In the new window you will be given two options. (“Turn off the display” & “Put the computer to sleep”.) To prevent your computer from going into sleep mode change the settings to “Turn off the display: 20 minutes” and “Put the computer to sleep: Never”.
6. Once you have done this click the “Save changes” button. The click “OK” on the Screen Saver window.

Your system is now set to not go into Stand By

USB Keyboard and Mouse will not Wake PC in Windows 7

In some rare cases you may continue to experience issues with your computer not coming out of sleep mode. This may not necessarily be caused by the computer being in Stand By. But it may be that either the PC or Monitor is in Power Saving mode or the system won’t accept input from your USB Keyboard or Mouse to wake it.

This is because in Windows 7 the system may shut off power to USB devices to save power. In order to make sure this doesn’t happen you would need to do the following:

1. Click the Start Menu and then right click “Computer” and select “Properties”.
2. In the new window select the “Device Manager” link that is in the upper left hand corner.
3. In the Device Manager window look down towards the bottom of the window for “Universal Serial Bus Controllers”. Click the arrow to the left of this section.
4. In the drop down menu look for any instances of “USB Root Hub”. When you find the first one right click on it and select “Properties”.
5. In the USB Root Hub Properties window look for the tab in the upper right that says “Power Management”.
6. Click on “Power Management” and uncheck the option that says “Allow the computer to turn off this device to save power”. Then click “OK”.
7. Continue to do this for every instance of “USB Root Hub” in device manager.

What we have just done is make sure that the computer does not turn off power to the USB ports when it goes into a Power Saving mode. This should allow us to always wake the PC by use of the USB keyboard or mouse.

Hope some of these suggestions help!

Installing a New Copy of Microsoft Windows XP on a PC

As with any type of OS installation make sure that prior to doing this you have backed up any important data you do not want to lose.

Once your data has been backed up you are ready to do a clean install of Windows. Whether you are reinstalling over your old Windows installation or installing Windows onto a new computer you just bought or built, this guide will walk you through the process in the easiest way possible.

Follow These Steps to Do a Clean Installation of Windows XP

The first thing you need to do is make sure the boot order is set correctly in your BIOS. You want to make sure the CD-Rom is set to boot before the hard drive. Here is a guide on how to check the Boot Order in the BIOS.

Once the boot order is set correctly, put your Windows XP disk into your CD-Rom and boot the computer.

A message will come up telling you to “Hit any key to Boot from CD”. Hit any key on the keyboard to start the Windows Setup process.

The computer will go to a black screen that tells you it’s starting the Windows Setup Process.

Now it will switch to a blue screen that has a grey bar at the bottom. In the grey bar you will see the status message “Copying Files”. Let the computer do its thing and it will eventually take you to a new screen.

The new screen will give you 3 options, Setup, Repair and Quit. You will want to hit “Enter” to choose the “Setup” option.

The next screen is the Windows licensing agreement. Click “F8” to agree and move on.

The screen you are at now will show you any partitions that are located on the drive. If you were doing a “Windows Repair” you would do it from this screen using the Repair an Existing Windows Installation option.

How to Do a Windows XP Repair (coming soon…)

The screen will show you any partitions that are located on your computer. If you are using one drive you should only see 1 partition. (In most cases) If you have multiple partitions make sure you are not choosing a secondary drive or partition that has information on it or you may lose data.

You also have the option of creating multiple partitions from this screen by choosing the “C” option.

I recommend using the full partition size for your installation. If you are trying to create multiple partitions this is something I may cover in a future guide entitled:

Creating Multiple Partitions on a Windows XP Installation (coming soon…)

For our purposes we are doing a “Clean Install” of Windows so we will select our partition and hit “Enter” to setup a new Windows installation.

The next screen it takes us to will normally give you a couple options. It will give you the option to create a FAT or NTFS file system for your installation, and it will also give you the option for standard or “Quick”.

NTFS is the recommend file system as FAT has become obsolete for most purposes. NTFS also offers better use of hard drive space, there are no 2+ gb file limitations, and security features that are not present in FAT.

I recommend selecting the option to format your drive using the NTFS file system and choosing the (QUICK) option. This will setup your drive and get you up and running as quickly as possible.

The Windows Setup process will now show you a screen where it is formatting the hard drive, setting up the file system and installing system files. Once this is done the system will reboot and will enter the Graphical portion of the Windows XP Installation process.

Click Here for Part 2 – Windows XP Graphical Installation Setup Process (coming soon…)

How to Set the Boot Order in Your BIOS

I have had several people asking me lately about how to setup the Boot Order in the BIOS.

This is important to do because many installation disks, diagnostic utilities and other programs require a specific boot order to operate.

The main thing you need to do is make sure the CD-ROM is setup to load before the hard drive in your system. This way you can boot disks, and diagnostic tools prior to loading into Windows.

This is important if you are reinstalling Windows or doing a Memory Diagnostic on your system.

To Set the Boot Order in Your BIOS Do the Following:

1. The first thing you need to do to setup the boot order in the BIOS is go into your BIOS.
2. When you computer boots up hit the “DEL” key or whatever other key is specified on the POST screen to “Enter Setup”
3. Once you are in the BIOS you want to look for a menu that is normally labeled “BOOT” but in some cases the section we are looking for can be under “Advanced”.
4. You are trying to find a section that says “Boot Order” or “Boot Device Priority“
5. Once you have found this take a look at how it is currently setup. By default it is usually set to:

FLOPPY
HARD DRIVE
CD-ROM

• We actually want to change this so that the CD-ROM boots before the hard drive.
• Use your keyboard to highlight the “Hard Drive” option and hit enter. This should pop open a new window where you can select CD-Rom and you will see the two flip places in the boot order.
• In some BIOS screen you need to use the + (plus and minus) and – keys to change the order of these options.
• Once you have it setup like this:

FLOPPY
CD-ROM
HARD DRIVE

You are now ready to boot from your diagnostic disk or installation disk.

Hit the F10 key and select “Y” when it asks you to save configuration changes and exit.

Congratulations you have now set the Boot Order in your BIOS.