Lomonox

Windows 7 Might Come on PCs Before October 22

Redmond-based software giant Microsoft will launch on the market its latest operating system for personal computers, Windows 7, on October 22, this is something that we are all aware of, yet it seems that some system builders say they will ship the platform on devices prior to that date. According to a recent article on TechFlash, October 13 is the lucky date for those eagerly awaiting for Windows 7 to become available on the market.

“I dont think Ive ever been more prepared for an operating system launch than I have been with Windows 7,” Jon Bach, president of Auburn-based Puget Systems Inc., reportedly stated. According to him, Microsoft has announced small system builders that it will enable them to sell Windows 7 PCs the same day they will receive product keys, no later than October 13.

On the other hand, Microsoft says that system builders wont be ready to ship their products before the official general availability date of the platform. They will need the Windows 7 OEM Preinstallation Kit (OPK), as well as other tools to pre-load the client on new computers, and this is something they do not have at the moment, ZDNet reports. However, said system builder points at October 13, though it seems that it wont get to ship the PCs before October 22.

“October 12 is the date that Microsoft enables our Authorized Replicators to begin shipping Windows 7 to Microsoft OEM Authorized Distributors. As the fulfillment process through our supply chain takes time, we begin initial product distribution in advance of General Availability. Therefore, this represents our Release To Manufacturing (RTM) process for OEMs who purchase indirectly through Distribution,” is what a Microsoft spokesperson stated, adding that, “while in theory a System Builder could get Windows 7 product pre-GA, based on supply chain analysis, the intended timing for customers to receive Windows 7 PCs from System Builders should be close to GA, October 22nd. This represents the same process Microsoft managed with past Windows releases.”

The idea is that system builders will get their Windows 7 final bits from Microsoft’s authorized distributors, which, in turn, should get the OEM software from Authorized Replicators. While large computer vendors around the world receive their Windows 7 bits from Microsoft directly, system builders have to get through a longer supply chain for that, which suggests that PCs pre-loaded with the OS might not arrive on the market prior to October 22 after all.

Via : SOFTPEDIA

Go to link Download

Windows 7 PCs available early

Microsofts new operating system, Windows 7, is set to officially launch and become generally available to the public on October 22. Some custom computer builders, however, have now been given permission to start selling PCs with Windows 7 pre-installed a week or more before the launch date.

Some smaller system builders have been told by Microsoft that they can start selling PCs pre-loaded with Windows 7 as soon as they receive the product keys, TechFlash reports. The product keys - used to activate the operating system - are expected to be distributed to these system builders as soon as October 13, over a week before the official release of Windows 7.

Jon Bach, the president of custom computer builder Puget Systems who are based in the Seattle region, told TechFlash that he found out about the early release stance simply by speaking to Microsoft. He had been led to believe that the policy applies only to system builders who buy Windows 7 via the official distribution channels, and not to large OEMs or retailers.

"Im surprised this hasnt come out. It was freely shared with us, and confirmed in writing. We almost didnt believe it," Bach said of the arrangement. He added, "The way they said it was, This is your competitive advantage, make use of it."

Puget Systems are prepared to start selling Windows 7 machines as soon as they receive the product keys from Microsoft. Bach himself has been testing the operating system for the past six months and feels confident that they are ready for launch. His company has copies of the RTM version, ready for preconfiguring computers so that all they need to do is enter the product key before handing it over to the customer.

Via : neowin.net

Go to link Download

Why PCs crash

"Fatal error: the system has become unstable or is busy," it says. "Enter to return to Windows or press Control-Alt-Del­ete to restart your computer. If you do this you will lose any unsaved information in all open applications."

You have just been struck by the Blue Screen of Death. Anyone who uses Microsoft Windows will be familiar with this. What can you do? More importantly, how can you prevent it happening?

1 Hardware conflict

The number one reason why Windows crashes is hardware conflict. Each hardware device communicates to other devices through an interrupt request channel (IRQ). These are supposed to be unique for each device.

For example, a printer usually connects internally on IRQ 7. The keyboard usually uses IRQ 1 and the floppy disk drive IRQ 6. Each device will try to hog a single IRQ for itself.

If there are a lot of devices, or if they are not installed properly, two of them may end up sharing the same IRQ number. When the user tries to use both devices at the same time, a crash can happen. The way to check if your computer has a hardware conflict is through the following route:

* Start-Settings-­Control Panel-System-De­vice Manager.

Often if a device has a problem a yellow ! appears next to its description in the Device Manager. Highlight Computer (in the Device Manager) and press Properties to see the IRQ numbers used by your computer. If the IRQ number appears twice, two devices may be using it.

Sometimes a device might share an IRQ with something described as IRQ holder for PCI steering. This can be ignored. The best way to fix this problem is to remove the problem device and reinstall it.

Sometimes you may have to find more recent drivers on the internet to make the device function properly. A good resource is www.driverguide­.com. If the device is a soundcard, or a modem, it can often be fixed by moving it to a different slot on the motherboard (be careful about opening your computer, as you may void the warranty).

When working inside a computer you should switch it off, unplug the mains lead and touch an unpainted metal surface to discharge any static electricity.

To be fair to Microsoft, the problem with IRQ numbers is not of its making. It is a legacy problem going back to the first PC designs using the IBM 8086 chip. Initially there were only eight IRQs. Today there are 16 IRQs in a PC. It is easy to run out of them. There are plans to increase the number of IRQs in future designs.

2 Bad Ram

Ram (random-access memory) problems might bring on the blue screen of death with a message saying Fatal Exception Error. A fatal error indicates a serious hardware problem. Sometimes it may mean a part is damaged and will need replacing.

But a fatal error caused by Ram might be caused by a mismatch of chips. For example, mixing 70-nanosecond (70ns) Ram with 60ns Ram will usually force the computer to run all the Ram at the slower speed. This will often crash the machine if the Ram is overworked.

One way around this problem is to enter the BIOS settings and increase the wait state of the Ram. This can make it more stable. Another way to troubleshoot a suspected Ram problem is to rearrange the Ram chips on the motherboard, or take some of them out. Then try to repeat the circumstances that caused the crash. When handling Ram try not to touch the gold connections, as they can be easily damaged.

Parity error messages also refer to Ram. Modern Ram chips are either parity (ECC) or non parity (non-ECC). It is best not to mix the two types, as this can be a cause of trouble.

EMM386 error messages refer to memory problems but may not be connected to bad Ram. This may be due to free memory problems often linked to old Dos-based programs.

3 BIOS settings

Every motherboard is supplied with a range of chipset settings that are decided in the factory. A common way to access these settings is to press the F2 or delete button during the first few seconds of a boot-up.

Once inside the BIOS, great care should be taken. It is a good idea to write down on a piece of paper all the settings that appear on the screen. That way, if you change something and the computer becomes more unstable, you will know what settings to revert to.

A common BIOS error concerns the CAS latency. This refers to the Ram. Older EDO (extended data out) Ram has a CAS latency of 3. Newer SDRam has a CAS latency of 2. Setting the wrong figure can cause the Ram to lock up and freeze the computers display.

Microsoft Windows is better at allocating IRQ numbers than any BIOS. If possible set the IRQ numbers to Auto in the BIOS. This will allow Windows to allocate the IRQ numbers (make sure the BIOS setting for Plug and Play OS is switched to yes to allow Windows to do this.).

4 Hard disk drives

After a few weeks, the information on a hard disk drive starts to become piecemeal or fragmented. It is a good idea to defragment the hard disk every week or so, to prevent the disk from causing a screen freeze. Go to

* Start-Programs-­Accessories-Sys­tem Tools-Disk Defragmenter

This will start the procedure. You will be unable to write data to the hard drive (to save it) while the disk is defragmenting, so it is a good idea to schedule the procedure for a period of inactivity using the Task Scheduler.

The Task Scheduler should be one of the small icons on the bottom right of the Windows opening page (the desktop).

Some lockups and screen freezes caused by hard disk problems can be solved by reducing the read-ahead optimisation. This can be adjusted by going to

* Start-Settings-­Control Panel-System Icon-Performanc­e-File System-Hard Disk.

Hard disks will slow down and crash if they are too full. Do some housekeeping on your hard drive every few months and free some space on it. Open the Windows folder on the C drive and find the Temporary Internet Files folder. Deleting the contents (not the folder) can free a lot of space.

Empty the Recycle Bin every week to free more space. Hard disk drives should be scanned every week for errors or bad sectors. Go to

* Start-Programs-­Accessories-Sys­tem Tools-ScanDisk
Otherwise assign the Task Scheduler to perform this operation at night when the computer is not in use.

5 Fatal OE exceptions and VXD errors

Fatal OE exception errors and VXD errors are often caused by video card problems.

These can often be resolved easily by reducing the resolution of the video display. Go to

* Start-Settings-­Control Panel-Display-S­ettings
Here you should slide the screen area bar to the left. Take a look at the colour settings on the left of that window. For most desktops, high colour 16-bit depth is adequate.

If the screen freezes or you experience system lockups it might be due to the video card. Make sure it does not have a hardware conflict. Go to

* Start-Settings-­Control Panel-System-De­vice Manager
Here, select the + beside Display Adapter. A line of text describing your video card should appear. Select it (make it blue) and press properties. Then select Resources and select each line in the window. Look for a message that says No Conflicts.

If you have video card hardware conflict, you will see it here. Be careful at this point and make a note of everything you do in case you make things worse.

The way to resolve a hardware conflict is to uncheck the Use Automatic Settings box and hit the Change Settings button. You are searching for a setting that will display a No Conflicts message.

Another useful way to resolve video problems is to go to

* Start-Settings-­Control Panel-System-Pe­rformance-Graph­ics
Here you should move the Hardware Acceleration slider to the left. As ever, the most common cause of problems relating to graphics cards is old or faulty drivers (a driver is a small piece of software used by a computer to communicate with a device).

Look up your video cards manufacturer on the internet and search for the most recent drivers for it.

6 Viruses

Often the first sign of a virus infection is instability. Some viruses erase the boot sector of a hard drive, making it impossible to start. This is why it is a good idea to create a Windows start-up disk. Go to

* Start-Settings-­Control Panel-Add/­Remove Programs
Here, look for the Start Up Disk tab. Virus protection requires constant vigilance.

A virus scanner requires a list of virus signatures in order to be able to identify viruses. These signatures are stored in a DAT file. DAT files should be updated weekly from the website of your antivirus software manufacturer.

An excellent antivirus program is Bitdefender.Another good one is Kaspersky as it is easy to get its key file.

7 Printers
The action of sending a document to print creates a bigger file, often called a postscript file.

Printers have only a small amount of memory, called a buffer. This can be easily overloaded. Printing a document also uses a considerable amount of CPU power. This will also slow down the computers performance.

If the printer is trying to print unusual characters, these might not be recognised, and can crash the computer. Sometimes printers will not recover from a crash because of confusion in the buffer. A good way to clear the buffer is to unplug the printer for ten seconds. Booting up from a powerless state, also called a cold boot, will restore the printers default settings and you may be able to carry on.

8 Software
A common cause of computer crash is faulty or badly-installed­ software. Often the problem can be cured by uninstalling the software and then reinstalling it. This will also remove references to the program in the System Registry and leaves the way clear for a completely fresh copy.

The System Registry can be corrupted by old references to obsolete software that you thought was uninstalled. Use Reg Cleaner by CCleaner or TuneUp Utilities to clean up the System Registry and remove obsolete entries.


Often a Windows problem can be resolved by entering Safe Mode. This can be done during start-up. When you see the message "Starting Windows" press F8. This should take you into Safe Mode.

Safe Mode loads a minimum of drivers. It allows you to find and fix problems that prevent Windows from loading properly.

Sometimes installing Windows is difficult because of unsuitable BIOS settings. If you keep getting SUWIN error messages (Windows setup) during the Windows installation, then try entering the BIOS and disabling the CPU internal cache. Try to disable the Level 2 (L2) cache if that doesnt work.

Remember to restore all the BIOS settings back to their former settings following installation.

9 Overheating

Central processing units (CPUs) are usually equipped with fans to keep them cool. If the fan fails or if the CPU gets old it may start to overheat and generate a particular kind of error called a kernel error. This is a common problem in chips that have been overclocked to operate at higher speeds than they are supposed to.

One remedy is to get a bigger better fan and install it on top of the CPU. Specialist cooling fans/heatsinks are available from www.computerner­d.com or www.coolit.com

CPU problems can often be fixed by disabling the CPU internal cache in the BIOS. This will make the machine run more slowly, but it should also be more stable.

10 Power supply problems

With all the new construction going on around the country the steady supply of electricity has become disrupted. A power surge or spike can crash a computer as easily as a power cut.

If this has become a nuisance for you then consider buying a uninterrupted power supply (UPS). This will give you a clean power supply when there is electricity, and it will give you a few minutes to perform a controlled shutdown in case of a power cut.

It is a good investment if your data are critical, because a power cut will cause any unsaved data to be lost.

Go to link Download