Operating system | PC Tips

It is surely a lot cheaper to make an operating system upgrade instead of buying a new one altogether. But there are a few things to keep in mind before the upgrade exercise is carried out. It is important to check and find out if the hardware one has on his computer is compatible with the new operating system and see if it meets all the requirements to support the new OS that is yet to be installed. This is so, because the new operating systems come with higher processing power than the older ones and these ones need more space and efficiency to support the new software that is getting ready to be installed. The older hardware devices usually do not function in the new OS. This is also true for applications.

So one should make a list of all the hardware that has been connected to a computer and enlist all of them to compare it with the requirements that is demanded for the new OS. This list should include the CPU speed, RAM size, Hard Disk free space etc. They are among the prominent ones and a user should not leave any stone unturned to endure an exercise to go through their details and check up on them. They should meet all the requirements for the newer operating system. These details, if not available, with the user then can be accessed from the vendor’s website. It will have all the minimum hardware requirements for the new operating system. Usually this should ensure the upgrade but it is always better to back-up all data and copy it into a CD before the upgrade is made.

Install Windows Live Essentials on Windows 7

Gartner Group analysts are telling business users that they should look at Windows 7 as an all but Absolutely essential Windows release.Because typically more than half of an companies applications still require Windows and replacing Windows is not a short-term option.Gartner analysts Michael Silver and Stephen Kleynhans said that these opinions and more during an hour focused on giving business users with guidance about Windows 7 features, licensing and deployment.

Claims from the presentation:

• Windows 7 is a polishing of Windows Vista and not a major architectural release. Still, for businesses purpose, there are some better things to be had in Windows 7, including AppLocker, BitLocker to Go, BrancheCache, better User Account Control settings, an updated user interface and support for HomeGroups.

• Business users should be familiar of the downgrade or upgrade gotchas that are surrounding  Windows 7. Microsoft’s limits on downgrades to XP for those users who don’t have SA i.e Software Assurance contracts. This limit is 18 months from Windows 7’s release or until the time Windows 7 Service Pack 1 is launched and this could be problematic. If you don’t have SA i.e Software Assurance and don’t purchase new PCs with a Windows 7 license within this window, you could end up paying $120 to $200 per PC for an upgrade license if you aren’t ready to install Windows 7 right off the bat.

• While Windows XP’s extended support phase doesn’t end until 2014, third-party program support for a new operating system typically begins to downgrade two years after the end of mainstream support. This means that the XP danger zone is 2013 and beyond.

• You need not to wait for Windows 7 SP1 before starting to plan and test Windows 7 because Microsoft releases most fixes and updates regularly over Windows Update/Automatic Update which is basically a rollup of all these fixes. Microsoft officials are not saying when they are planning to release SP1 for Windows 7, but according to their charts, it will be some time in mid-2010.

• Organizations should budget 12 to 18 months to test and prepare for a new operating system release. Because Windows 7 had a good beta that period may be a little bit shorter. But you can expect a 12-month window between Windows 7’s release to manufacturing and maturity. In this case, maturity means that full ISV support; the availability of significant training resources and a sufficient amount of expertise to be built up in the market.

Another poll, which asked when Webcast participants planned to install Windows 7, found that 21 percent are planning to install in the first half of calendar 2010; 30 percent in the second half of 2010; 23 percent in the first half of 2011 and 20 percent some time after that.

Unlike customers, businesses have not been early adopters of 64-bit Windows 7 releases. Gartner’s online poll concerning business plans for 64-bit versions of Windows 7 found 34 percent still planning to stay with 32-bit Windows 7 and 25 percent are still undecided. Another 28 percent of those polled said they don’t know, but leaning toward a 64-bit Windows 7 variant and 13 percent saying they planning to go mainly 64-bit.

Troubleshoot iTunes for Windows 7

This article discuss video playback performance issues in Windows 7.

Check out these things to troubleshoot if, when watching a clip in iTunes for Windows 7, you notice that a video appears distorted, intermittently pauses, or has audio that is out of sync with the image on-screen.

Resolution

Check your system requirements

Make sure that your system meets the requirements to properly playback video in iTunes. These requirements are detailed on the iTunes download page Update your software.

 

Need to confirm if you have the latest video driver updates for your PC and any installed components. Let’s suppose, video driver software updates often offer enhanced graphics performance for your system.

Increase Display Color Quality

 

On the Start menu, click Control Panel.

Click Hardware and Sound in Control Panel. Then, click  Appearance and Personalization. select View by Category if you do not see the option for “Hardware and Sound” in Control Panel.

Or, in the Classic View of Control Panel, click Personalization.

Click Display and then Screen Resolution for Windows 7.

Choose the highest resolution setting.

Click OK.

Your screen may flash briefly and you will see a message asking you to confirm the settings. Click Yes if the image on screen visible.

Note: If the screen looks dark or distorted , wait 15 seconds for the screen to revert to it’s previous state.

Disable Direct3D video acceleration in QuickTime.

On the Start menu, click Control Panel.

Click Additional Options and select View by Large or Small icons if you do not see the QuickTime icon in Control Panel.

Click the Advanced tab.

Uncheck Enable Direct3D video acceleration in the Video section.

Disable DirectX in QuickTime.

On the Start menu, click Control Panel.

Start QuickTime from control panel or select View by Large or Small icons if you do not see the QuickTime icon in Control Panel.

Click the Advanced tab.

Select Safe mode (GDI only) in the Video section.

Modify your System Drive Configuration

The data communication method for your computer’s optical drives and hard drives may not be configured for optimal performance. If your system’s drives are capable of Direct Memory Access (DMA), ensure this feature is enabled. The steps given below to enable this feature.

 

Right-click on Computer in the Start menu and click Manage.

If Windows needs your permission to continue, click Continue.

Select Device Manager.

Click the plus sign next to IDE ATA/ATAPI controllers.

Right-click on the IDE bus that contains your hard drive, and in the shortcut menu, click Properties. Click the Advanced Settings tab.

Make sure the Transfer Mode for the devices on the bus is set to DMA if available, not PIO Only.

Repeat steps 4-5 for the of the IDE Channel devices listed under IDE ATA/ATAPI controllers.

Reboot your computer and play a movie in iTunes again. If you made any changes to the transfer mode for any IDE channel devices, you should notice improved playback performance.

Disable ReadyBoost on Flash-Based Drives

Windows 7 has a feature called ReadyBoost that can be used with USB drives. If you are having video playback issues with iTunes in Windows 7, disconnecting ReadyBoost enabled flash drives may improve video playback performance.  Follow the given steps to disable ReadyBoost:

Click the Windows Start button and choose Computer.

Right Click the icon for any USB drives and choose Properties from the shortcut menu.

Select the ReadyBoost tab.

Select Do not use this device and click OK.

 

iTunes may unexpectedly ends or become unresponsive or the computer may unexpectedly restart or display a blue screen. Standard IDE hard disks are unaffected by this issue. If your computer has a standard IDE hard disk, you can copy your video files to that disk and play those copies of the files in iTunes or QuickTime Player.

Increase Performance of Windows Vista and Windows 7 Without Upgrading RAM

Yes, you can get more speed on Windows Vista and Windows 7 without upgrading random access memory (RAM). In Windows Vista and Windows 7 has been made possible with the help of the ReadyBoost feature. The ReadyBoost helps to use a pen drive or any other flash drive as cache in addition to the available RAM on your computer system. The ReadyBoost feature saves the cost of upgrading the RAM. Only used the available space on a flash drive to use that as the RAM, therefore it is not necessary to remove the content available on your flash drive. The ReadyBoost feature increases the speed of your computer using the available space on your flash drive. Let us now perform the following steps to enable the ReadyBoost feature:

1. Connect a flash drive into the USB port of your CPU.

2. Select Start -> Computer on the agenda of the Windows Start menu. Computer window appears.

3. Click the drive and select Properties. The Properties dialog box.

4. Now select the ReadyBoost tab. Shows the following two buttons:

• Do not use this device: This option button is selected by default. Enabling this radio button means that you can not use a drive to add additional memory in your computer.
• Use this device: This button lets you use a flash drive as additional memory.

5. Select the Use this device radio button. Now, you need to reserve disk space for use as cache. The space reserved for use as cache memory can not be used to store items in the unit connected.

6. Move the slider to the left or right to specify the disk space you want to reserve the cache.

7. Click the Apply button.

8. Click the OK button.

A ReadyBoost cache file is created in the pen drive using Windows Vista as additional cache memory. This file does not harm any other files on your computer. When you remove the pen drive of your computer and reconnect, Windows Vista automatically uses it as additional cache memory. If you do not want to use the flash drive as cache memory for more, that do not use this radio button of the device before removing the unit from the pen.

How to reset Internet Protocol in Windwos XP

This post provides windows xp support to fix internet protocol problems, It contain mannual steps to reset your (TCP/IP) internet protocol. ne of the components of the Internet connection on your computer is a built-in set of instructions called TCP/IP. TCP/IP can sometimes become damaged or corrupted. If you cannot connect to the Internet and you have tried this methods to resolve the problem, TCP/IP might be causing it.

Use a manual method to reset TCP/IP

Note This section is intended for advanced computer users. If you are not comfortable with advanced computer troubleshooting, ask someone for help or contact Support. For information about how to contact Support, see the Microsoft Help and Support contact information Web site:
http://support.microsoft.com/
The reset command is available in the IP context of the NetShell utility. Follow these steps to use the reset command to reset TCP/IP manually:

1. To open a command prompt, click Start and then click Run. Copy and paste (or type) the following command in the Open box and then press ENTER:
cmd
2. At the command prompt, copy and paste (or type) the following command and then press ENTER:
netsh int ip reset c:\resetlog.txt
Note If you do not want to specify a directory path for the log file, use the following command:
netsh int ip reset resetlog.txt
3. Reboot the computer.

Microsoft Windows Users and iYogi Predict a Surge in Tech Support for Windows 7 Upgrades

New York, NY (PRWEB) September 16, 2009 — iYogi, the on-demand tech services company with a unique global delivery model, announced today the results of a consumer poll regarding support concerns and predictions for the upcoming launch of the new Microsoft Windows 7 operating system. Based on responses from more than 1,000 Windows XP and Windows Vista users, 52 percent think that moving to a new operating system and moving their data is a hassle, suggesting some real frustrations on the near horizon. Nearly half (47 percent) think upgrading to Microsoft Windows 7 may require a call to technical support – potentially causing a huge backlog of support needs, as up to 40 million copies of Windows 7 are expected to be sold in 2009, according to IDC.

“We predict that more than 40 percent of XP users will generate support calls and inquiries globally this year and even more in 2010 as mass adoption kicks in and people face the prospect of dealing with an entirely new interface,” said Vishal Dhar, President Marketing & Co-founder of iYogi. “We estimate twice as many support calls for current Windows XP users than Windows Vista users, since Microsoft Windows XP users will require a ‘clean’ install including migrating applications, settings and drivers–a potentially arduous, time-intensive task.”

We predict that more than 40 percent of XP users will generate support calls and inquiries globally this year and even more in 2010 as mass adoption kicks in and people face the prospect of dealing with an entirely new interface

Additional survey findings reveal:

* 58 percent of users think they will or may upgrade to Windows 7, an encouraging number considering some of the backlash surrounding Vista

* Only 39 percent of users are aware that Windows 7 is launching soon, suggesting an increased flurry of help questions in the coming months as more people become aware of the upgrade options

iYogi has more has more than 90,000 annual subscribers and provides thousands of single incident sessions every day on a 24/7 basis. Its Global Delivery Platform delivers on the highest customer satisfaction benchmarks in the industry and gets smarter with every customer interaction, building a powerful knowledge base that provides unique customer insights on predictive needs to tech support.

ABOUT IYOGI
iYogi is a global on-demand services company that provides personalized computer support for consumers and small businesses in United States, United Kingdom, Canada and Australia. iYogi’s unique model, including proprietary technology iMantra and highly qualified technicians, is designed to eliminate computer-related stress and keep millions of digitally dependent consumers and small businesses always protected and productive. Only iYogi — with its proven global expertise delivery model, intelligent customer insight systems, easy-to-use self-help tools and automated PC optimization and computer support services – offers users a simple yet comprehensive path to digital serenity. iYogi has perfected the remote technical support model to overcome the current limitations of in-store, on-site, or call center services to become the fastest growing provider of support in the industry. Major resellers and technology companies are increasingly turning to iYogi to improve customer satisfaction, reduce return rates, and deliver a compelling new-value added offering to customers. For more information on iYogi and a detailed list of technologies supported, visit: www.iyogi.net.

Windows 7 RTM reviewed

Windows 7 is Vista done right, but you cannot deny that is based on the Microsoft operating system, at war. Despite improvements made in two service packages, users never had to Windows Vista.

Although Windows 7 Release Candidate is available for consumers to try the final version of Windows 7 aims to correct real and perceived flaws of its predecessor. The attraction of the new interface is undeniable, and should compete well against Apple’s OS X, but even with modern features such as native support touch-screen Windows 7 is actually better XP? Read the full review and find out.

How to Increase Virtual Memory Usage

The virtual memory is a disk space reserved on a computer hard drive that may be used as the extension of the random access memory (RAM). Windows operating system utilizes the virtual memory storage if running applications exceed the physical size of RAM. The increase of the virtual memory usage is achieved by increasing the allowed size of the corresponding system file (“pagefile”). This post provide computer support tips to increase your virtual memory usage in windows operating system.

Steps to Increse Virtual Memory Usage

• Log in to an administrator account in Windows Vista and click “Start.”
• Click “Control Panel” and then choose “System and Maintenance.”
• Click “System” and select “Advanced system settings” on the left panel.
• Select the tab “Advanced” and click “Settings” in the field “Performance.”
• Select the tab “Advanced” again and read the current size of the virtual memory in the field “Virtual memory.” For example, “Total paging file size for all drives: 2096 Mb.”
• Click “Change” and uncheck the box “Automatically manage paging file size for all drives.” Select the radiobutton “Custom size.”
• Type the desired virtually memory size (in Megabytes) in the fields “Initial size” and “Maximum size.” Enter the same amount of memory in both fields to increase the system performance.
• Click “OK.” When prompted click “Yes” to restart the computer.

How to Change the Order of Preferred Networks

This post provide windows xp tech support to Change the order in which Windows XP will attempt to automatically connect to preferred wireless networks.

Windows XP may automatically connect to preferred networks unless you have configured a network in Windows XP for on-demand connection only. If you have several preferred networks and wish one of them to take higher priority over another one if multiple are in range, perform the following tip:

1. Right-click on the wireless network icon in the Windows Taskbar and choose “View Available Wireless Networks”.

If this icon is not available, re-enable the network icon in the System Tray area of the Windows XP Taskbar.

2. When the “Wireless Network Connection” window appears, click “Change the order of preferred networks”.

3. The “Wireless Network Connection Properties” or similar dialog box should appear. Note that if “Use Windows to configure my wireless network settings” is unchecked, you may not be able to use this tip – refer to your proprietary wireless network connection software.

4. Underneath “Preferred networks”, click on a network and then the “Move up” button to make connecting to it a higher priority, or click the “Move down” button to give the network a lower priority.

5. When done, click “OK” to close the wireless network connection properties dialog box.

How to Remove Quick Launch Icon

This post provides operating system support to Delete shortcuts on the Windows XP Taskbar to software programs you rarely access.

The Quick Launch area on the left side of the Windows XP Taskbar displays links to programs such as Internet Explorer and other software you may frequently use. However, as you install more software on your system, icons to programs may appear that you rarely ever access. If these are clogging up the Quick Launch area, you can delete a shortcut icon by right-clicking it and choosing “Delete”.

Note that if you have a lot of icons, you’ll need to click on the double-arrow button on the right side of the Quick Launch area to view them all. You can delete icons here by right-clicking them and selecting “Delete” as well.

For further assistance go to http://www.iyogi.ca/