Windows 7 Clean Install

Are you excited of installing Windows 7 on your PC? Yes I am!

As I can remember windows installation from windows 2000 to it's latest windows 7 is considerably easy.


















Before you get this welcome screen from Windows 7 you may want to read below article.

A Windows 7 clean install simply means an installation of Windows 7 on an unused partition on your hard drive. In most cases, though, a clean install of Windows 7 means to remove an existing operating system (Windows XP, Linux, Windows 7... doesn't matter) and to replace it with a fresh installation of Windows 7.

After serious Windows 7 problems or during a new Windows 7 installation with an older operating system installed that you'd like to replace, it's best to wipe your primary hard drive partition clean and install Windows 7 from scratch - a procedure referred to as a "clean install" or sometimes as a "custom install".

Continue reading >> Windows 7 Clean Install
For Windows Driver Support go here >> Windows Driver

Windows 7 Driver Manager

If you've been reading my post here, you'll notice that "Windows Device Manager".

I like this windows facility for acting to be the central control system for compute devices drivers and resources. So how it looks like in Windows 7?

Here is what we got.



















OK, it looks fancier and eyes friendly but for functionality and features I guess it is mostly the same with windows XP and Vista.

So if you find something new please comment so we can add :)

I still love this feature for managing Windows Driver.

Laptop Search

I am a Computer System Engineer having hard time picking the best laptop for my wife. Ok here are my wife computer activities:

1. Everyday internet connection may be 10 hours at average.
2. Microsoft Excel and Word.
3. Average HDD size. Just for the Excel and Word files that she will accumulate as time goes by.

Laptop brand of my choice.

1. Dell, our official laptop choice, latitude series.
2. Lenovo, this is my personal choice.
3. Asus, I don’t have experience using this brand but I read many good reviews about it.

Option 1: Dell Inspiron 14 T4300 Win 7 Home
Proc: Intel Dual Core T4300 2.1GHz Processor,
Chipset: Intel GL40 Express Chipset,
RAM: 2GB DDR2 Memory,
HDD: 320GB Hard Drive,
Graphics: Intel GMA 4500M Graphics,
Display: 14.1" Widescreen LCD,
DVD: Super Multi DVD Dual Layer Drive,
Weight: 2.3kgs.,
Accessories: LAN, Wi-Fi, Bluetooth, Card Reader, Webcam,
OS: Windows 7 Home Premium Full Product.













Option 2: Lenovo G460 Core i3-330M Win 7 Home
Proc: Intel Core i3 330M (2.13GHz, 1066MHz, 3MB L2),
RAM 2GB DDR3 SDRAM,
HDD: 320GB HDD,
Display: 14.1" WXGA LED,
Graphics: Intel GMA HD Graphics,
DVD: DVD Super Multi Drive,
Weight: 2.2 kg.
Accessories: Stereo speaker built-in mic, LAN, Bluetooth, 0.3 Mega Pixel webcam, 1 ExpressCard, 3 Usb 2.0, 1 SATA, RJ45, HDMI, VGA, Mic, Headphone, 5 in 1 Multi-Card Reader,
Battery: 6 Cell Li-ion Battery,
OS: Windows 7 Home Basic Licensed.













Option 3: Asus K42F-VX020R Win 7 Home Basic
Proc: Intel Core i3 350M 2.26GHz Processor,
Chipset: Intel HM55 Express Chipset,
RAM: 2GB DDR3 Memory,
HDD: 320GB Hard Drive,
Graphics: Intel GMA HD Graphics,
Display: 14.1" HD Wide LED Display,
DVD: Super Multi DVD Dual Layer Drive,
Accessories: WEBCam, wireless b/g/n, 2.2kgs,
OS: Windows 7 Home Basic.

Prices differences are really negligible.

Here is the twist, this laptop should be for my wife alone but I cannot resist the temptation that I can experiment windows 7 on it so Windows Driver Support is really a big thing for me.

So what do you suggest!?
Thanks a lot.

Inside Microsoft's Internet Explorer Testing Lab

Until now I hate Microsoft Internet Explorer.
Here are my reasons:

1. My simple site cannot be loaded properly.
2. Its like "Welcome virus"
3. Plugins vs firefox.
4. Or I just like firefox? :)
   

But its new version is really looking good...
Read below story from Microsoft Internet Explorer Lab.

"When we were out at Redmond last week for an advance briefing on Internet Explorer 9, we also got a tour of Internet Explorer Testing Labs.

Partner Test Manager Jason Upton took a small group of tech journalists through the facility housed in Microsoft's Building 50. It's an impressive sight—aisle after aisle of desktops lined up like an army of digital soldiers. Upton told us that there were 948 PCs and 119 servers in the lab, each individually configurable through an automation system.

Why so many? Upton said that the lab's vast capabilities let Microsoft configure its browser testing to get the finest possible slices of data. He likened the capability to finding rarified baseball stats like "How left handed hitters do against right-handed pitchers during night games when the wind is blowing from the North." The computer equivalent might be something like how 2GHz AMD 64 PC's with 1GB of DDR2 RAM running Vista SP1 and IE7 perform"...

Read full story >> PCMag

Desktop PC Buying Guide: The Specs Explained

Once you've determined the type of desktop system you want--a compact PC, a budget system, a mainstream all-purpose model, or a performance crackerjack--you need to know what components to look for. The processor and graphics chip you choose will determine many of your machine's capabilities, as will the system's memory and hard drive. Understanding those components will help you get the performance you need, without paying for things you don't. (Our buying guide includes further shopping tips for purchasing a desktop PC.)

You'll also want to consider details like the layout of the case, which can also make the difference between a pleasant workstation and a nightmare PC.

Windows Driver is not much of a problem for these new computers, they are well supported I presume.

Read full guide >> PCWorld

Troubleshooting RealTek AC97 Drivers

Audio drivers for your computer can come in many different types depending on the computer and operating system you are using. One typical audio driver that is often found on many PC systems is the Realtek AC 97 Audio driver. When there are problems with sound from your PC, you will need to troubleshoot your sound card to find the cause. This can involve many steps so to help with the process of troubleshooting RealTek on your system we have compiled the following steps:

Read full guide here:Troubleshooting RealTek AC97 Drivers

Windows Driver Troubleshooting Guide

Windows driver is a common issue for computer enthusiasts/technicians like me. Based on my experiences it happens most of the time during:

1. New hardware installation
2. Change of windows version
3. Windows update
4. Computer Virus infections
5. Windows driver corruption

This is what your device gonna look like in device manager if you have driver issue.

If any of these things happens to you, your hardware performance will be affected, read windows driver. Don’t panic you may be able to fix it on your own, just follow basic Windows Driver Troubleshooting Guide here.

Step 1. Identify what device is having problem. Windows Device Manger is our best option to deal with it. Read: Windows Device Manger

Step 2. Check device manufacturer’s support site for updated driver. Most of computer devices now a day have excellent support sites.

Step 3. Windows Update. Sometimes Windows default driver is ok, I used default drivers for HDD, Monitor, Keyboard, mouse and others.

Step 4. Automated tool, Finally if you cannot find it then let the 3rd party do the dirty works for you. Most of the time they are better than us, is their job to find us required Windows Drivers.

Acer Aspire 5610z Windows 7 and XP Driver Support

I got another side job in the office, my officemate have Acer Aspire 5610z. Last week he was playing with his windows 7 installer given by his older brother. So he immediately installed it to his Aspire upgrading from windows vista home without considering windows driver support from Acer. To make story short, he was disappointed that his Aspire are not completely compatible to windows 7. So downgrading is necessary, but this time he wants it to be windows XP.

So he asked me to help him do it this time. While windows XP clean install is going I have my computer busy downloading all its XP drivers on Acer site.

Acer driver support is good that it will give you all drivers you needed as per your OS version requirement. BUT not the latest :)

So windows XP installation was fast and easy, its now time for windows driver installation. After installing all drivers I am left with one unknown “PCI device”. I am guessing it’s the modem but driver don’t recognizes it so I am giving it until tomorrow searching for driver if none then he may take it home with one unknown device.

Dell Inspiron 10 Mini Windows driver support.

Last night another friend of mine ask me to setup his new Dell Inspiron Mini 10 wireless connection. I was excited to see his new toy and help him connect his new mini to their existing wifi which I also setup.

Ok, when I have the computer on hand was immediately looked for the wifi manager (windows default) to no avail, then I started to dig deeper and to my surprised that no drivers has been installed, everything was just windows vista default driver. So I rush to my desktop and download windows vista driver for his mini.

I was very happy after installing all driver and setup his laptop to connect to their wifi, drivers and 100% compatible! and everything was ready with only one reboot. Thanks for Dell excellent windows driver support.

CD drive or DVD drive is missing in Windows Vista

Q. Help, my CD drive or DVD drive is missing?

A. I am taking this to mean your CD/DVD drive is not recognized, so you can’t play a CD or DVD.

You probably have either corrupted or deleted Windows registry entries. To solve this problem, you need to use the Registry Editor. ***Note: By using Registry Editor, you are modifying the registry. Serious problems might occur if you modify the registry incorrectly. Make sure that you follow these steps carefully. For added protection, back up the registry before you modify it. For more information about how to back up and restore the registry, click here to read the article in the Microsoft Knowledge Base.

Make sure you are logged into your computer as a administrator.

1. Click Start
2. Click Accessories, and then click Run.
3. Type regedit, and then click OK. If you are prompted for an administrator password or for a confirmation, type the password, or click Allow.
4. In the navigation pane, locate and then click the following registry subkey: HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SYSTEM\CurrentControlSet\Control\Class\{4D36E965-E325-11CE-BFC1-08002BE10318}
5. In the right pane, click UpperFilters.
   *Note – You may also see an UpperFilters.bak registry entry. You do not have to remove that entry. Click UpperFilters only. If you do not see the UpperFilters registry entry, you still might have to remove the LowerFilters registry entry. To do this, go to step 8.
6. On the Edit menu, click Delete.
7. When you are prompted to confirm the deletion, click Yes.
8. In the right pane, click LowerFilters.
   *Note – If you do not see the LowerFilters registry entry, unfortunately this you will need to contact Microsoft for additional support.
9. On the Edit menu, click Delete.
10. When you are prompted to confirm the deletion, click Yes.
11. Exit Registry Editor.
12. Restart the computer.
13. Click Start button, click Computer, and then see whether the drive is listed.

If you can’t play or access a CD or DVD, you might have to reinstall some programs. Some programs might not be able to use your CD or DVD drive until you reinstall those programs. If the problem occurs again when you install or uninstall those programs, check to see if the manufacturer of the program has an update available. Some examples of programs that might be affected are:

• iTunes software by Apple
• Nero software by Nero Inc
• Roxio Creator software by Sonic Solutions
• Zune software by Microsoft

Read full details >> Windows Driver