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Windows and other products coming End of Support information

Microsoft has an industry leading support lifecycle for it's products with business software generally getting 10 years support and consumer products 5 years, but even then the end of support surprises some individuals and you need to be aware to ensure you are not caught out. Our support also requires people to adopt service packs within 12-24 months of them being released, depending on the products. here along with all the obsolete products here. Why do I mention all this now, after all, this is...

Published Thu, Feb 4 2010 8:26 AM by David Overton

Filed under: Windows 7, Vista and XP, Support and Tools, Windows Server 2003, Microsoft, Windows Client, Windows XP, Partner, Windows 7, Windows Vista and XP, Windows Vista
Windows 7 appreciation continues to grow

I saw these three articles and thought I would share. How are you getting on with Windows 7? And for those who say that Vista adoption was very poor, it was not statistically different to that of Windows XP, so you can't just say "oh, that was Vista, XP was much better!" Adoption of Windows 7 Continues to Swell Computerworld - February 01, 2010 Windows 7 took just three months to reach a penetration benchmark that Windows Vista needed almost a year to reach, according to a report by...

Published Wed, Feb 3 2010 8:23 AM by David Overton

Filed under: Windows 7, Vista and XP, Microsoft, Windows Client, Windows XP, Windows 7, Windows Vista and XP, Windows Vista
Need to buy a copy of Windows 7 or Office 2007 for someone in education - get an educational discount

HI, I've been asked this many times, so I thought I would blog on it. Microsoft offers great discounts for people in education (beyond those who work in education). The best options are: For university students: http://www.microsoft.com/student/discounts/theultimatesteal-uk/default.aspx - – Office £38.95, Windows 7 Pro - £30 For any age group in education - Office 2007 for around £39- £52 depending on which edition (Standard to Enterprise) and Windows 7 upgrades for £40-56 depending on the edition...

Published Thu, Dec 31 2009 12:58 PM by David Overton

Filed under: Windows 7, Vista and XP, Office System, Microsoft, Windows Client, Office 2007, Licensing, Academic, Windows 7
Server line-up for small businesses (and home) is increasing in options (or complexity for some) - SBS 2008, Home, Foundation, Windows Standard Server or BPOS - how do you choose?

This is a long running question that people ask me - how to position the various server options from Microsoft for small businesses. The more choice Microsoft offers, the more complex it can become if you do not have a starting point to find the right product for a customer. So, Home Server, Foundation Server and SBS - what is it all about, especially when you look at something like Windows 7 or BPOS too? N.B. To get a detailed feature comparison between SBS 2003 and SBS 2008 have a look at the excellent work...

Published Thu, Dec 31 2009 7:47 AM by David Overton

Filed under: Software as a Service, Windows Home Server, Microsoft, Windows Client, Software plus Service, Windows Server 2008, SBS 2008, Windows 7, Vista and XP
How to put Windows 7 (either purchased ISO or DVD) onto a USB stick for faster installation or installation onto a Netbook without a DVD drive

I've had to tell a few people about this recently, so I thought I should actually write a blog post on this. The options are very simple and easy. Buy Windows 7 on DVD and use or buy a 4GB (or larger) USB Stick and then make a USB stick bootable and copy the files to the stick. Details on how to make it bootable can be found here - http://www.techmixer.com/install-windows-vista-from-bootable-usb-flash-memory-drive/ . You literally copy all the files from the DVD to the USB stick for this...

Published Wed, Dec 30 2009 10:25 AM by David Overton

Filed under: Windows 7, Vista and XP, Microsoft, Windows Client, Tips, Windows 7
List of Windows 7 compatible applications that have been registered with Microsoft and how to get yours registered if you have an application

I’ve been asked a few times about what software is registered with Microsoft as compatible with Windows 7 or has a certified status with Windows 7. The answers can be found on either of these two web sites: http://www.microsoft.com/windows/compatibility/en-us/default.aspx – Web based tool to search for software http://www.microsoft.com/downloads/en/confirmation.aspx?familyId=890e522e-e39e-4278-aebc-186f81e29173&displayLang=en – Download an Excel spreadsheet with the information on it If...

Published Thu, Dec 24 2009 8:44 PM by David Overton

Filed under: Windows Client, Partner, Application Compatibility, ISV, Windows 7, Vista and XP
What are the legal options for Licensing Windows 7 or Windows Vista? Or how to avoid mis-licensing

I’m often told that Microsoft licensing is complex, but what I actually find are that this either translates to “I have too many choices - ahhhh!” or “I can’t license in the way I want to” or “I can’t find the information I want to”. Option 1 is always going to happen – the more choice, the more complexity in making the right choice. Option 2 is often “I don’t want to buy lose licenses, why do I have to..” and Option 3 is poor communications...

Published Thu, Dec 24 2009 4:08 PM by David Overton

Filed under: SBSC, Microsoft, Windows Client, Tips, Partner, Licensing, Windows 7, Vista and XP
Windows 7 adoption is storming

[Updated] I thought I would share two facts that show me just how good the take-up of Windows 7 will be. I was in York yesterday and while sat in the pub one of the ladies working there told me about her new laptop and just how fabulous it was with Windows 7. I’m not used to people telling me how great a product is from the “other side” of the bar. The second was when I started looking at the switch from Windows Vista and Windows XP on my web site – Over 20% of all visitors now are using...

Published Fri, Oct 30 2009 11:17 AM by David Overton

Filed under: Microsoft, Windows Client, Windows 7, Vista and XP
It has been a while on the blog

Well hello again, I've been away for quite some time - work has been very time consuming and two members of my family have required some dedicated attention while they have not been feeling well (and no, no swine flu). I'm hoping to start finding more time to "do" the blog and potentially a "tips and tricks" section for SBS 2008 based on my learning's to date. I do still have quite some work backlog, but I'll try to post some of the blog backlog too - I have hundreds of items...

Published Wed, Jul 22 2009 8:08 AM by David Overton

Filed under: Windows 7, Vista and XP, Community, Personal, SBSC, Microsoft, Windows Client, Small business, Windows Server 2008, ISV, SBS 2008, Windows 7
How to copy or archive files by year using the command line and robocopy

I got this question via e-mail and decided I would post the answer here in a blog. I want transfer all files created in Office Word 2003 by year (annual batchs - ex: 2005, 2006, etc.) to external HD. How can to do this? I will appreciate your answer. Edgar To do this via the command line you can use Robocopy which is present in Windows Vista and Windows 7. If you have Windows XP download the Server 2003 Resource Toolkit and install it. Robocopy will be part of the install and found in the install...

Published Wed, May 6 2009 11:26 AM by David Overton

Filed under: Windows 7, Vista and XP, Office System, Microsoft, Windows Client, Windows XP, Office 2007, Word, Tips, Office 2003, Windows 7, Windows Vista and XP, Windows Vista
UK event to learn more about Windows 7 (London, Birmingham, Leeds and Edinburgh)

With the launch of Windows 7 coming this year I thought you might like to know what Microsoft is saying about it. We have four events around the UK to help partners understand more. Event Overview With the launch of Windows 7, within three years of general availability of Windows Vista, we are delighted to invite you to an event so you can experience for yourself the buzz and excitement of Windows 7. The Windows 7 team will show you how you can protect and grow your revenues between now and the launch date and...

Published Mon, Apr 27 2009 7:17 AM by David Overton

Filed under: Event, Microsoft, Windows Client, Partner, Windows 7
How to encrypt backups and optionally the system disks on Windows Server 2008 and SBS 2008 and Windows Vista too

Hi, someone asked in the forums how if the backups on SBS 2008 and Windows Server 2008 were encrypted and the answer is no, even if the drives being backed up are BitLocker protected ( more details here ). However you can get encrypted backups with a bit of effort. To do this you will need to at least BitLocker enable your removable drives and optionally your system disk. I used the information at http://blogs.msdn.com/askdavid/archive/2007/06/08/enabling-bitlocker-on-removable-drives-usb-flash-drives-usb-hard...

Published Sun, Apr 26 2009 11:34 AM by David Overton

Filed under: Security, Microsoft, Windows Client, Documentation, Small business, Windows Server 2008, SBS 2008, Windows Vista and XP, Windows Vista
Preparing for Windows 7 with ask the expert sessions for technical and sales success for sales people

I saw this internally and thought I had better share via the blog - a number of ask the expert technical and sales events! Are you ready for Windows 7? The industry is preparing itself for one of the most exciting launches - Windows 7. The press is already buzzing with the launch of Windows 7 – are you ready? “ …it starts up relatively quickly, drivers already exist to make to make peripherals such as scanners and printers work with it, and it does clever things that XP, the version of Windows...

Published Sun, Apr 5 2009 10:50 PM by David Overton

Filed under: Windows 7, Vista and XP, Community, Event, Microsoft, Windows Client, Marketing, Training, Partner, Windows 7
Windows 7 and VHDs – it can mount them and can even be installed into one and booted from!

Windows 7 is the theme while I am away and thought I would share this little nugget with you. Windows 7 has a lovely feature where it can mount and read / write VHD virtual hard disks. Now this is good, but you can create one and install Windows 7 inside it. You can then boot it up as normal, but it is portable at this point, so it is easy to backup, copy or examine on another system. How to do this… well, look here - http://www.iishacks.com/index.php/2009/01/11/install-and-boot-windows-7-beta-or-windows...

Published Thu, Feb 12 2009 5:45 AM by David Overton

Filed under: Microsoft, Windows Client, Windows Server 2008, Windows 7
Hyper-V Security and Management from Windows 7

[modified 2/11/09 with new link] I’ve seen two Hyper-V announcements this week. One is about the new Security Guide and the other is how to manage Hyper-V from Windows 7. Security Guide Hyper-V Security Guide–Beta Now Available! Are your customers concerned about attacks on their virtualized servers? Help them secure their virtual environments with the Hyper-V Security Guide. The Hyper-V Security Guide , now under development, has tested guidance and best practices to boost the security of virtualized...

Published Tue, Feb 10 2009 1:40 PM by David Overton

Filed under: Microsoft, Windows Client, Windows Server 2008, Hyper-V, Windows 7, Vista and XP

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