by
Shijaz Abdulla on 10.06.2009 at 09:30
The Release Candidate (RC) for System Center Virtual Machine Manager 2008 R2 is now available for download on Microsoft Connect.
The major new features included with SCVMM 2008 R2 are:
- Storage Migration: Enables migration of a VM’s storage while VM is running both within same host (with no downtime) and across other hosts (with minimum downtime).
- Live Migration Queuing: By default Windows Server 2008 R2 can do only one Live Migration at a time. SCVMM 2008 R2 allows queuing of simultaneous live migration requests and retrying later on.
- Rapid Provisioning: Allows administrators to use new SAN technologies to clone a LUN containing a VHD and present it to the host. Saves a lot of time, as the network copy (BITS) is not required.
- Host compatibility Checks: Deep compatibility tests for testing hardware compatibility are included, which allows testing to be done before attempting migration (and subsequently failing). Also includes features that will make the VM compatible with the new host before migration.
- Support for 3rd party Clustered File Systems (CFS): Support for third party clustered files systems similar to Microsoft’s Cluster Shared Volume (CSV). Example: Melo from Sanbolic
- Support for Veritas Volume Manager: SCVMM 2008 R2 now recognizes Veritas Volume Manager disks as cluster disk resources.
Happy virtualization!
by
Shijaz Abdulla on 25.05.2009 at 19:07
Windows 7 Beta will begin bi-hourly shutdowns starting from July 1, 2009. The Beta will completely expire on August 1, 2009.
Windows 7 Beta users should do a clean install of Windows 7 Release Candidate (RC), which will expire on June 1, 2010. Bi-hourly shutdowns of the RC will start on March 1, 2010.
by
Shijaz Abdulla on 21.05.2009 at 13:34
You can now share an internet connection among multiple computers in your home, even if you do not have a wireless access point or wireless router hardware – as long as the computers are running Windows 7.
You can now set up a wireless ad-hoc network (computer-to-computer network) WITH internet connection sharing!
At home, I use a Nawras Huawei E220 3G USB modem, which can only be used to access the internet from the PC on which the modem is physically connected. Thanks to Windows 7, my wife and I can both use the internet at the same time using just one modem on two different computers without any wires or extra hardware! 
by
Shijaz Abdulla on 21.05.2009 at 13:09
Last evening, I installed Windows 7 Ultimate Edition x64 Release Candidate (RC) on my Lenovo W500 notebook. Since I was moving from Windows 7 Ultimate x32 Beta, this meant a complete re-installation, as there is no upgrade option from beta to RC.
The installation was pretty smooth and I did not have issues with drivers for the standard hardware on this notebook.
After installing the RC, I decided to try out Virtual Windows XP (or ‘XP Mode’ as the media calls it). Here’s how I went about doing it:
- Restart the computer and enter BIOS. Make sure Hardware Assisted Virtualization (HAV) is enabled. (Hint: Look under CPU options) This requires a processor that is HAV enabled with technologies like Intel VT or AMD-V, which is common on most of recent machines.
- Download Windows Virtual PC. This will require a restart at the end of the installation.
- Download XP Mode Beta. This is a 400+ MB download.
- Complete the installation, see screenshots below:
![clip_image002[7]](http://lh3.ggpht.com/_lSGuEfogrPw/ShUm11_KjBI/AAAAAAAABXc/Oqf7hzCqI8w/clip_image002%5B7%5D_thumb.jpg?imgmax=800 "clip_image002[7]")
![clip_image002[9]](http://lh3.ggpht.com/_lSGuEfogrPw/ShUnCYX8V2I/AAAAAAAABXk/oL1uBCH2tMU/clip_image002%5B9%5D_thumb.jpg?imgmax=800 "clip_image002[9]")
![clip_image002[11]](http://lh3.ggpht.com/_lSGuEfogrPw/ShUnE4uq2FI/AAAAAAAABXs/39-MIWXn5hE/clip_image002%5B11%5D_thumb.jpg?imgmax=800 "clip_image002[11]")
![clip_image002[13]](http://lh4.ggpht.com/_lSGuEfogrPw/ShUnIUOFkaI/AAAAAAAABX0/LUU6iF6L8fE/clip_image002%5B13%5D_thumb.jpg?imgmax=800 "clip_image002[13]")
- Check out the Start Menu, you will find Virtual Windows XP.
![clip_image002[5]](http://lh4.ggpht.com/_lSGuEfogrPw/ShUnLfRhJUI/AAAAAAAABX8/Wa2wsTRiIUw/clip_image002%5B5%5D_thumb%5B1%5D.jpg?imgmax=800 "clip_image002[5]")
![clip_image002[15]](http://lh5.ggpht.com/_lSGuEfogrPw/ShUnOO_LovI/AAAAAAAABYE/f-DN9tRTKTg/clip_image002%5B15%5D_thumb.jpg?imgmax=800 "clip_image002[15]")
![clip_image002[17]](http://lh5.ggpht.com/_lSGuEfogrPw/ShUnhTuKixI/AAAAAAAABYM/GLS7ZJ6cqgQ/clip_image002%5B17%5D_thumb.jpg?imgmax=800 "clip_image002[17]")
![clip_image002[19]](http://lh3.ggpht.com/_lSGuEfogrPw/ShUnlyzOGrI/AAAAAAAABYU/FC2GGOJ5qMc/clip_image002%5B19%5D_thumb.jpg?imgmax=800 "clip_image002[19]")
![clip_image002[21]](http://lh5.ggpht.com/_lSGuEfogrPw/ShUnoIS_yXI/AAAAAAAABYc/bg5QDkRLEZo/clip_image002%5B21%5D_thumb.jpg?imgmax=800 "clip_image002[21]")
- When Virtual Windows XP starts for the first time, it will take a while. Once it has started, you will find the Windows XP Virtual PC instance as below:
![clip_image002[33]](http://lh4.ggpht.com/_lSGuEfogrPw/ShUn-Gx6jQI/AAAAAAAABYk/sE64IAId630/clip_image002%5B33%5D_thumb%5B1%5D.jpg?imgmax=800 "clip_image002[33]")
- Right click on the Windows XP Start menu and choose Open All Users.
![clip_image002[31]](http://lh5.ggpht.com/_lSGuEfogrPw/ShUoPECvjPI/AAAAAAAABYs/sX_M9tWFnAA/clip_image002%5B31%5D_thumb%5B1%5D.jpg?imgmax=800 "clip_image002[31]")
- Place shortcuts to the Windows XP programs that you want to publish in Windows 7 in this folder. All shortcuts you place here will automatically appear in the Windows 7 Start Menu! Let’s put Internet Explorer 6 as an example:
![clip_image002[39]](http://lh3.ggpht.com/_lSGuEfogrPw/ShUoR3aa74I/AAAAAAAABY0/KJ1uCYtwe6c/clip_image002%5B39%5D_thumb%5B1%5D.jpg?imgmax=800 "clip_image002[39]")
- Close the virtual machine. You cannot open a virtual Windows XP application while the virtual machine is open, and you will be prompted to close the machine.
- On your Windows 7 Start menu, point to Windows Virtual PC > Virtual Windows XP Applications. You will find the XP shortcuts you placed in Step 8 here!
![clip_image002[41]](http://lh4.ggph<br />
t.com/_lSGuEfogrPw/ShUoUhcga0I/AAAAAAAABY8/fWeCC8J9734/clip_image002%5B41%5D_thumb%5B1%5D.jpg?imgmax=800 "clip_image002[41]")
- Open your Windows XP application from the Windows 7 Start menu. See Internet Explorer 6 from Windows XP running side-by-side with Internet Explorer 8 from Windows 7!
![clip_image002[43]](http://lh3.ggpht.com/_lSGuEfogrPw/ShUoXnKnMjI/AAAAAAAABZE/-QYzHIJmzM8/clip_image002%5B43%5D_thumb%5B1%5D.jpg?imgmax=800 "clip_image002[43]")
Notice the Luna theme of Windows XP is maintained on the IE 6 window, even while it is running on Windows 7.
How does one end a process running on the Virtual Windows XP machine?
Simply by opening the Windows 7 Task Manager, the user can see both Windows 7 applications as well as Windows XP mode applications in a single interface. The user may end the Windows XP task (labeled ‘(remote)’) from the same Task Manager instance:
![clip_image002[45]](http://lh6.ggpht.com/_lSGuEfogrPw/ShUoaQF7vdI/AAAAAAAABZM/FHhcbJhq_2c/clip_image002%5B45%5D_thumb%5B1%5D.jpg?imgmax=800 "clip_image002[45]")
XP Mode is a really cool feature that will help organizations running Windows XP to make the move to Windows 7 much easier. Legacy applications that do not support running on Windows Vista or Windows 7 can still continue running on XP mode, just like we ran Internet Explorer 6 on Windows 7 in this example. The user simply clicks on a shortcut on the Windows 7 Start Menu or desktop and the Windows XP application opens, giving the end-user a seamless experience.
by
Shijaz Abdulla on 07.03.2009 at 14:22
The 32-bit and 64-bit release candidate versions of Windows Vista Service Pack 2, and Windows Server 2008 SP2 are available for download on the Microsoft website.
Below are some of the enhancements that are available with SP2:
- Support for Bluetooth v2.1
- Ability to write data to Blu-Ray discs
- Includes Windows Search 4.0
- Provides Hyper-V as a fully integrated feature of WS08, including one free guest OS with WS08 Standard Edition, 4 free licenses with Enterprise Edition, and unlimited free licenses with Datacenter Edition.
- and more
by
Shijaz Abdulla on 28.01.2009 at 08:43
January 28, 2009
On Monday, January 26 at 12pm PT, Internet Explorer 8 Release Candidate 1 (RC1) was be released to tech and consumer enthusiasts in a total of 25 languages.
RC1 marks an important milestone in the browser development that includes a number of bug fixes, user experience improvement and enhanced security, performance and compatibility.
Internet Explorer 8 RC1 will be available in 25 languages including: Arabic, Chinese (Traditional, Simplified and Hong Kong), Czech, Danish, Dutch, English, Finnish, French, German, Greek, Hebrew, Hungarian, Italian, Japanese, Korean, Norwegian, Portuguese (Brazil and Portugal), Polish, Russian, Spanish, Turkish and Swedish.
Internet Explorer 8 RC1 includes improvements to performance, stability and compatibility. With this build, there are also enhancements to the fit and finish of the user interface, additional investment in CSS 2.1 and security and privacy updates to help address today’s evolving threat landscape.
by
Shijaz Abdulla on 13.12.2007 at 07:28
Windows Vista is getting its first Service Pack while Windows XP is getting its last.
The release candidate of Windows XP Service Pack 3 is available for download. Service Pack 3 is more of a rollup of hotfixes and updates rather than a feature/experience enhancement. In short, it contains things that make Windows XP more secure, more reliable and faster. The user will not see noticeable change in the experience in general.
The Windows Vista Service Pack 1 Release Candidate is also available for download. There are large number of improvements for performance, security, reliability, interoperability, hardware compatibility, and deployment. There also some improvements for power consumption, desktop administration and is better geared for Windows Server 2008, the next version of Microsoft’s server OS.
Please note that Release Candidates are not the fully released versions and you will not receive support for it. Release candidates are for testing purposes. Please wait for the final release of the service pack before deploying to production systems.
![clip_image002[7]](http://lh3.ggpht.com/_lSGuEfogrPw/ShUm0kz7_qI/AAAAAAAABXY/A9ynCQ4sdrA/s1600-h/clip_image002%5B7%5D%5B2%5D.jpg "clip_image002[7]")
![clip_image002[9]](http://lh6.ggpht.com/_lSGuEfogrPw/ShUm3c0HEgI/AAAAAAAABXg/hT6YaeFlqHo/s1600-h/clip_image002%5B9%5D%5B2%5D.jpg "clip_image002[9]")
![clip_image002[11]](http://lh4.ggpht.com/_lSGuEfogrPw/ShUnDgo4x7I/AAAAAAAABXo/g8SBzmt1dZY/s1600-h/clip_image002%5B11%5D%5B2%5D.jpg "clip_image002[11]")
![clip_image002[13]](http://lh4.ggpht.com/_lSGuEfogrPw/ShUnF0w7TrI/AAAAAAAABXw/VoERx1gnhQI/s1600-h/clip_image002%5B13%5D%5B2%5D.jpg "clip_image002[13]")
![clip_image002[5]](http://lh3.ggpht.com/_lSGuEfogrPw/ShUnJd6gtCI/AAAAAAAABX4/Ds8qRPhzZxQ/s1600-h/clip_image002%5B5%5D%5B3%5D.jpg "clip_image002[5]")
![clip_image002[15]](http://lh4.ggpht.com/_lSGuEfogrPw/ShUnM73_6QI/AAAAAAAABYA/4x99w6ND7YU/s1600-h/clip_image002%5B15%5D%5B2%5D.jpg "clip_image002[15]")
![clip_image002[17]](http://lh3.ggpht.com/_lSGuEfogrPw/ShUnPow_TgI/AAAAAAAABYI/stVLblXrJ3A/s1600-h/clip_image002%5B17%5D%5B2%5D.jpg "clip_image002[17]")
![clip_image002[19]](http://lh3.ggpht.com/_lSGuEfogrPw/ShUnkLxRXDI/AAAAAAAABYQ/-bce4hVVpBU/s1600-h/clip_image002%5B19%5D%5B2%5D.jpg "clip_image002[19]")
![clip_image002[21]](http://lh4.ggpht.com/_lSGuEfogrPw/ShUnnDGyQNI/AAAAAAAABYY/K-yDRL6t-tE/s1600-h/clip_image002%5B21%5D%5B2%5D.jpg "clip_image002[21]")
![clip_image002[33]](http://lh3.ggpht.com/_lSGuEfogrPw/ShUn7mWrWTI/AAAAAAAABYg/pBvjQQe_WVc/s1600-h/clip_image002%5B33%5D%5B3%5D.jpg "clip_image002[33]")
![clip_image002[31]](http://lh6.ggpht.com/_lSGuEfogrPw/ShUoND6QjkI/AAAAAAAABYo/ld5E73sOT-o/s1600-h/clip_image002%5B31%5D%5B3%5D.jpg "clip_image002[31]")
![clip_image002[39]](http://lh3.ggpht.com/_lSGuEfogrPw/ShUoQGnpGyI/AAAAAAAABYw/6GSanEhEr2c/s1600-h/clip_image002%5B39%5D%5B3%5D.jpg "clip_image002[39]")
![clip_image002[41]](http://lh6.ggpht.com/_lSGuEfogrPw/ShUoTrc6_OI/AAAAAAAABY4/oBB48q0uR2g/s1600-h/clip_image002%5B41%5D%5B3%5D.jpg "clip_image002[41]")
![clip_image002[43]](http://lh5.ggpht.com/_lSGuEfogrPw/ShUoV8iQMUI/AAAAAAAABZA/Uu6NZQGCVAM/s1600-h/clip_image002%5B43%5D%5B3%5D.jpg "clip_image002[43]")
![clip_image002[45]](http://lh3.ggpht.com/_lSGuEfogrPw/ShUoYgHDLRI/AAAAAAAABZI/hpev_1rh-J4/s1600-h/clip_image002%5B45%5D%5B3%5D.jpg "clip_image002[45]")