August 2010 - Posts
Windows 7 has one of the amazing features that I have used and this feature make my life very easier. It’s called the Problem Steps Recorder (PSR.EXE).
What does it do? If you are an IT Pro, many people will ask you to fix problems on their computers
(get on with it.. this is life), at times it will not be feasible for you to fix issues without remote access or looking at the issues on what's happening on the screen.
When you type PSR on the instant search box, it will launch PSR tool through which you can record each click that you perform on the screen and the relevant step. The best part is that you can comment on these screen shots. Once it is done, PSR will compile all these in to a MHTML file and add to a zip file which will make it very smaller in size so that you can email the details.
Actually I Experienced this issue while accessing a SharePoint site today
So why does this occur? when a HTTP based object, like a picture, is published on a HTTPS page Internet Explorer displays the following warning message dialog box before displaying the content.
Now the problem is that if you click yes here it will not show the picture and if you click no it will show. Since most of us don’t read the warning message fully will definitely click yes on the first instance 
How do I fix this?
- Open IE
- Go to Tools
- Internet Options
- Security
- Security tab
- Click Custom Level
- Under the miscellaneous section change Display mixed content to Enable (by default its on prompt)
If you have a Windows Server 2008 installed, you will not find the Disk Cleanup utility by default. Even when you right click you’re my computer and right click any of the partitions, go into the properties page, still you will not get the option to run the disk cleanup utility.
Disk Cleanup is a feature which does not install on Windows Server 2008 by default like Windows Media Player, desktop themes etc.,
To enable and install these features,
- Open Server Manager
- Add Features
- Add the Desktop Experience Feature
- Restart the server
This should do the trick!
Click here to view a series of interesting Windows 7 How To technical videos and Windows 7 Web Casts.
The following video explains on how to configure your computer to boot from a Windows Server 2008 R2 or a Windows 7 VHD
This means, forget about dual boot (development and testing purposes)
To view the video click here
The next version of Microsoft Security Essentials which is the free light weight anti malware program offered by Microsoft is out and available for download at Microsoft Connect upon registration. This new version is still in its beta phase.
To access Microsoft Connect Security Essentials download page, click here
New features in the beta of Microsoft Security Essentials include:
- Windows Firewall integration – During setup, Microsoft Security Essentials will now ask if you would like to turn the Windows Firewall on or off.
- Enhanced protection for web-based threats – Microsoft Security Essentials now integrates with Internet Explorer to provide protection against web-based threats.
- New protection engine – The updated anti-malware engine offers enhanced detection and cleanup capabilities with better performance.
- Network inspection system – Protection against network-based exploits is now built in to Microsoft Security Essentials.
Have you downloaded the Windows 7 and Windows Server 2008 R2 SP Beta yet?
The Windows 7 and Windows Server 2008 R2 SP1 Beta helps keep your PCs and servers on the latest support level, provides ongoing improvements to the Windows Operating System (OS), by including previous updates delivered over Windows Update as well as continuing incremental updates to the Windows 7 and Windows Server 2008 R2 platforms based on customer feedback, and is easy for organizations to deploy a single set of updates.
The Windows 7 and Windows Server 2008 R2 SP1 Beta will help you:
o Keep your PCs supported and up-to-date
o Get ongoing updates to the Windows 7 platform
o Easily deploy cumulative updates at a single time
o Meet your users' demands for greater business mobility
o Provide a comprehensive set of virtualization innovations
o Provide an easier Service Pack deployment model for better IT efficiency
The public beta is best suited for IT pros, tech enthusiasts and developers who need to test the service pack in their organization or with the software they are developing.
In order to download and install the Windows 7 and Windows Server 2008 R2 SP1 Beta you must currently have a Release to Manufacturing (RTM) version of Windows 7 and Windows Server 2008 R2 already installed. The Beta is available in English, French, German, Japanese and Spanish.
To learn more about piloting, deploying and managing Windows 7, visit the Springboard Series on TechNet.
My notebook, most of the times will have more than about 10 windows opened on my desktop and at times its very crowded for me navigate through other programs, etc.
I find this shortcut very much useful for me when I want to minimize all my inactive windows. Just press Windows+Home which will minimize all other Windows except for the active Window. If you want to open them again press Windows+Home again and all the minimized Windows which were inactive will be restored.