Microsoft released the final version of Windows 7 Upgrade Advisor today. This is a essential utility that can help you prepare for a smooth upgrade to Windows 7.

Brief Description

Download and run the Windows 7 Upgrade Advisor to see if your PC is ready for Windows 7. It scans your hardware, devices, and installed programs for known compatibility issues, gives you guidance on how to resolve potential issues found, and recommends what to do before you upgrade.

Overview

Before you begin: Be sure to plug in and turn on any USB devices or other devices, such as printers, external hard disks, and scanners, that you regularly use with the PC you're checking.
The Windows 7 Upgrade Advisor scans your PC for potential compatibility issues and lets you know about your Windows 7 upgrade options. Within minutes, you'll get a report that tells you if your PC meets the system requirements, if any known compatibility issues with your hardware, devices, and installed programs are found, and gives guidance on what to do to before installing Windows 7 on your PC.

You can download it here

Related:

Upgrading to...ur Migrating to Windows 7 from Windows XP
Troubleshooting Hero's in Windows 7
Improved Recovery Options in Windows 7
Windows Easy Transfer: Starting the Move to Windows 7 Release Candidate
Windows Easy Transfer: Lessons Learned

 

• [ Kill the Process, Use Killbox if your Access Denied ]

[In Windows Vista Run As Administrator, After Execution System Will Restart]

• %Windows\autorun.inf
• %Windows\BackUp\explorer.exe
• %Program Files\explorer.exe
• %Program Files\{17350501621331}.exe
  
• %Windows root drive\RECYCLER\explorer.exe
  [ No Exact Information about Files, search above related files in Program files Folder ]
  If you have any of these files in running process from task manger, end the process before removal.
  Note: if task manager is disabled, Download the following file, Click to Download - Enable Registry.reg[ Right Click - Save Target As/Linked Content As ]
  Open it with Regedit.exe [%system32\regedit.exe], then it Confirms Add to registry Yes or No, Confirm Yes, then click Ok.
  

Once you have the software management settings configured, you’re ready to start working with the actual software updates. This section walks through how to use the graphical Update Manager tool to check on, retrieve, and install updates on your Ubuntu workstation.


The Update Manager
The Update Manager provides a quick interface for downloading and installing all updates for your Ubuntu workstation. You can start the Update Manager by selecting System -> Administration -> Update Manager from the Panel menu. The main Update Manager window.

If you configured the Software Source settings to automatically check for updates, the Update Manager may already have a current list of the updates available for your installed software packages, depending on when it last checked for updates. You can manually force Update Manager to check the configured repositories by clicking the Check button. The Update Manager connects to all of the remote repositories you configure in the Software Sources and checks for updates to all software packages installed on your specific Ubuntu distribution. If updates are available, they appear in the Update Manager main window.

From the main window you can view the title and summary for each update available for installation. Click on an individual update to highlight it, then click the Description of Update link at the bottom of the window to view a more detailed explanation of the update.

By default, all available updates are selected for download and installation. If there are any updates you don’t want to apply, just remove the check mark from the check box.
To begin the update process, click the Install Updates button. The Update Manager produces a progress dialog box, that indicates the download progress.

After the Update Manager downloads all of the updates, it processes each package update individually, applying the update to the installed software package.

Sometimes, certain updates are required to be installed before other updates can
process. Therefore, after you run an update you should manually check again
for additional updates. If additional updates are still available, install them, then
manually check again for more updates. Repeat this process until there are no
more updates available to install.


Using the Update Manager Applet
By default, Ubuntu installs the Update Manager Applet in the top panel. If you’ve configured the Update Manager to retrieve updates automatically, the Update Manager Applet monitors the status of the Update Manager as it works in the background on your workstation.
The Update Manager Applet icon displays a quick status of the Update Manager:
• Gray sun: Update Manager is checking for updates.
• Orange sun: Software updates are available to download and install.
• Gray down arrow: Update Manager is checking for security updates.
• Red down arrow: Security patches are available to download and install.
• Circling blue arrows: A reboot is necessary after an update installation.

If the orange sun or red down arrow icon appears, Update Manager has determined that updates are available for your installation. Clicking the Update Manager Applet icon in the top panel starts the Update Manager window and displays the updates available to install. As with the manual method, click the Install Updates button to begin downloading and installing the selected updates.

Source of Information : Wiley Ubuntu Linux Secrets

Hello again! It’s Mark Relph from the Windows Ecosystem Team here at Microsoft.  There is a lot of excitement for the launch of Windows 7 and we know many of you are looking for information as you think about upgrading. To help you, we are announcing the availability of two great tools today – the Windows 7 Upgrade Advisor and the Windows 7 Compatibility Center.

Both these tools are available at www.windows.com/compatibility- your place to go for any Windows 7 compatibility questions you might have. Not only will you find links to the Windows 7 Upgrade Advisor and Windows 7 Compatibility Center, you’ll also get compatibility help from experts in the Microsoft Answers Forums and the Windows Help & How-to team.

Now let me tell you a little bit more about what we are releasing today…

The Windows 7 Upgrade Advisor scans your PC to see if it’s ready for Windows 7. It checks to see if your PC meets the system requirements, lets you know if your processor is capable of running 64-bit versions of Windows 7 and gives guidance on your upgrade options. It also tells you about any known compatibility issues with the most commonly installed software programs and devices connected to your PC. If an issue can be resolved, it suggests next steps for you to take before installing Windows 7.

 

The Windows 7 Compatibility Center helps you easily check the compatibility of thousands of devices and software programs for 32-bit or 64-bit versions of Windows 7. Usually, you won’t need to do anything to ensure compatibility. If you do, the site goes beyond just telling you what will or will not work. It also provides links to drivers and software updates to help get your PC running with the latest software.

These tools draw on an expansive database of product information that is the result of the work I described in my post on our progress with statements of support for Windows 7 for an ever expanding universe of products all around the world. We have thousands of products listed and will continue to add thousands more over the coming months. As a result, the Windows 7 Compatibility Center and Windows 7 Upgrade Advisor will be regularly updated with more products. If you don’t see a product listed on the site, please suggest an addition! If you are a hardware or software partner, be sure to tell us about your products using the Partner Submission page.

Windows 7 has been built for compatibility and we hope these tools help you as you prepare to upgrade. See you on October 22^nd for the launch of Windows 7!

Last month, Gavriella Schuster discussed the features you will see in the Microsoft Desktop Optimization Pack (MDOP) 2009 R2 and today I’m pleased to announce its availability! Over on the MDOP Team blog, Ran Oelgiesser provided details about what you can expect with the latest release and today he shares some of the customer and partner feedback, so below I’ll just touch on the highlights.

If you’re not using MDOP, we recommend you take another look because it can provide immediate savings with little IT investment, especially when integrated into your Windows 7 plans. For example:

• By using Application Virtualization, you can optimize your Windows 7 deployment by reducing PC provisioning time, simplifying application delivery and update, and increasing productivity with user roaming
• You can enhance your Windows 7 manageability by addressing common system/application failures (with DEM), repairing unbootable PCs (with DaRT), and controlling Group Policy change (with AGPM).

If you are an MDOP customer, you can now download MDOP 2009 R2 through Microsoft Volume Licensing Site (MVLS).  If you want to evaluate MDOP 2009 R2, the MDOP software is available at MSDN and TechNet (in accordance with your MSDN or TechNet agreements, except for AIS).

Beyond MDOP 2009 R2, the MDOP roadmap includes:

1. Microsoft Enterprise Desktop Virtualization (MED-V) V 1.0 SP1 – This updated tool will support Windows 7 and enable enterprise deployment of virtual Windows XP environments to support incompatible applications. A Beta version of MED-V 1.0 SP1 will be available by the end of 2009 and final release is scheduled for the first quarter of calendar year 2010.
2. Asset Inventory Service (AIS) 2.0 – AIS 2.0 can track your existing assets to improve Windows 7 deployment planning and will have a series of enhancements that customers have requested: Enhanced hardware inventory, new Silverlight-based user interface, scale to 100,000 PCs, improved volume license reconciliation and ability to track virtual applications. The AIS 2.0 beta is now available (registration closes by October 24th) and the final release will be available in H2 CY2010.

Encouraging feedback

Already MDOP has been licensed for over 21 million desktops worldwide and more customers are looking forward to MDOP 2009 R2 and Windows 7! Below are a few quotes from some of our top customers who are seeing real and immediate value with MDOP:

BMW completed a proof of concept of application delivery with Application Virtualization. “We expect cost savings on desktop support once we start deploying App-V with Windows 7,” said Mr. Bernhard Huber, Head of IT Workplace Systems at BMW. “We are also considering AGPM [Advanced Group Policy Management] and MED-V [Enterprise Desktop Virtualization] at a later stage of Windows 7 deployment.”

Heinz Koehler, VP of Infrastructure for E.O.N., Power and Gas Company with 85,000 desktops that are being upgraded to Windows 7, talks about MDOP: “We also expect to use App-V to help reduce the packaging and testing costs of applications and use MED-V to help resolve any application compatibility issues.”

“…MDOP, specifically App-V, has been a hidden gem our customers have found to help them quickly deploy, and then easily manage and maintain their applications in an efficient manner.  In an economy when they are being asked to do more with less, the timing couldn’t have been better for MDOP 2009 R2 to help our clients meet their IT initiatives…,” said Rand Morimoto, President of Convergent Computing.

In addition, Answers Research recently surveyed 1000 IT pros across five countries (commissioned by Microsoft) and we found out that:

• 66% of MDOP customers deployed three or more of the MDOP products
• 52% of them deployed MDOP across more than half of their PCs
• 94% of MDOP customers said they would recommend MDOP to a colleague
• When comparing MDOP and non-MDOP customers, customer satisfaction with Software Assurance increases by 25%

To sum up, MDOP 2009 R2 is available today and it’s there to help you save money and reduce complexity, especially with your Windows 7 deployment. We look forward to hearing your thoughts on this new release!

In the Windows 7, click the Start button -->the Control Panel --> Network and Internet --> Network and Sharing Center --> On the left hand panel, Click the "Change adapter settings " link --> You will see a list of adapters present on your computer --> Double-click the Local Area Connection --> Select the Internet Protocol Version 4 (TCP/IPv4) and click on properties button --> Check the change the Obtain DNS and fill the DNS server boxes. You can use the following OpenDNS ip:

Typing 208.67.222.222 in the Preferred DNS server boxes.
Typing 208.67.220.220 in the Alternate DNS server boxes.

Then click OK button to apply.