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 use a new hard disk

If you’ve installed your new hard disk correctly, your computer should recognize it. When you turn on your computer, the basic input/output system (BIOS) should automatically detect the new hard disk.

If you plan to use the new hard disk as the primary partition that contains Windows, then you’ll have to install Windows on the disk before you can use your computer. You’ll need a Windows 7 installation disc to do this. For more information, search Help and Support for “Installing and reinstalling Windows.”

If you plan to use the new hard disk as a secondary disk (one that does not contain Windows), you should be able to see the new hard disk drive the next time you start your computer and log on to Windows. After Windows starts, click the Start button , click Computer, and then look for your new drive. The letter assigned to the drive will depend on your computer’s configuration. If you don’t see the new hard disk drive, try looking for it in Computer Management.

1. Open Computer Management by clicking the Start button, clicking Control Panel, clicking System and Security, clicking Administrative Tools, and then double-clicking Computer Management.‌ Administrator permission required If you are prompted for an administrator password or confirmation, type the password or provide confirmation.

2.In the left pane, under Storage, click Disk Management, and then look for the new drive.

You’ll probably have to format the hard disk before you can use it. For instructions, see Formatting disks and drives: frequently asked questions. Follow these same instructions to format an old hard disk that contains data you want to erase.

How to enable the NUM LOCK key for the logon screen?

The status of the NUM LOCK key is specific for each user, and NUM LOCK is disabled by default. If you want the NUM LOCK key enabled for use before a user presses CTRL+ALT+DEL to log on, you must use Registry Editor to change the default behavior.

You have to modify the registry to enable. However, serious problems might occur if you modify the registry incorrectly. Therefore, make sure that you follow these steps carefully.

To enable NUM LOCK before a user logs on, follow these steps:

1. Run Registry Editor.
2. Move to HKEY_USERS\.Default\Control Panel\Keyboard.
3. Change the value for InitialKeyboardIndicators from 0 to 2.

For more technical assistence go through operating system support services

How to Upgrades Your Computer Memory to Boost Performance

Now a day’s computer is one of the common gadgets which has take the front seat on everyone’s work place in whole world and is used in almost all the fields from educational to corporate or to common home users but using the computer and managing the computer, both are two different sides of the coin. Anyone can use the computer, but managing and computer troubleshooting are different things. We need a strong knowledge of the hardware and operating system and the application software’s for this thing.

Some of the common issues with the computer are the slow performance .It’s very common that the computer performance decreases with the age of the computer. There are a lot of people who says that their computer works fine, when they bought it but with the time its performance decreases.

There can be several possible reasons this few of them are, with the time new software’s such as the antivirus, operating system, ms office and several other application software are released in the market with the improved hardware requirement. But if we use these new software with old hardware i.e. low Ram. Disc, if will surreally decrease the computer performance, Low disk space and several other As we all are in habit of using fast computer we want everything to be open on a click of the mouse. Few important and simple steps to optimize your computer and make it fast are,
We must use proper antivirus.

Our hard disk should be defragmented.

And last but not the least we should delete the temporary and junk file from the computer.
These file are basically unwanted files we get accumulated in our computer’s, to remove these files open the Run and type temp .a window will pop up having temporary files in it , delete them . Then type %temp% again a window will pop up delete all files from that window.

There are issues concerned with the hardware i.e. with the RAM and hard disk space; firstly we need to understand what the Ram is ram stands for random access memory. Not going into the technical aspect of this. I would to explain that this ram is required when we are using or opening multiple windows it’s the ram which manages that i.e. ram manages the multitasking in the windows. We prefer to get minimum ram when we buy the computer. We to make the computer fast. We must upgrade our computer. Normally it’s a very experience that after using a computer for 2- 3 year .stops working on it and consider it as a waste.

But we can improve our computer by upgrading it once in a year or two. We can upgrade the RAM and hard disk space. Thus it will help to improve computer performance and make our work easy

Source: http://EzineArticles.com/?How-to-Upgrades-Your-Computer-Memory-to-Boost-Performance&id=2457399

How to set Registry for Windows File Protection

Today In this post I am going to discuss how to set the registry to protect windows file.The following registry key is the primary location for registry settings for Windows File Protection/System File Checker:
HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SOFTWARE\Microsoft\Windows NT\CurrentVersion\Winlogon
In addition, Windows File Protection/System File Checker settings may also be located in the following registry key:
HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\Software\Policies\Microsoft\Windows NT\Windows File Protection

When Windows starts up, the Windows File Protection service synchronizes (copies) the WFP settings from the following registry key
HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\Software\Policies\Microsoft\Windows NT\Windows File Protection
to the following registry key:
HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\Software\Microsoft\Windows NT\CurrentVersion\Winlogon
Therefore, if any of the following values are present in the HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\Software\Policies\Microsoft\Windows NT\Windows File Protection key, they will take precedence over the same values under the HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\Software\Microsoft\Windows NT\CurrentVersion\Winlogon key.

By default, only users with Administrator or System rights can modify these settings.

Registry Values
SFCDisable (REG_DWORD)
0 = enabled (default)
1 = disabled, prompt at boot to re-enable
2 = disabled at next boot only, no prompt to re-enable
4 = enabled, with popups disabled

NOTE: For options 1 and 2: Both of these options require a kernel debugger to be hooked up for those options to become useable. If a kernel debugger is not hooked up, Windows File Protection is not disabled.

SFCScan (REG_DWORD)
0 = do not scan protected files at boot (default)
1 = scan protected files at every boot
2 = scan protected files once
SFCQuota (REG_DWORD)
n = size (in megabytes) of dllcache quota (default is 0xffffffff or approximately 300 MB)
FFFFFFFF = cache all protected system files on the local hard disk
SFCDllCacheDir (REG_EXPAND_SZ)
Path = local or network location of dllcache folder (default is %SystemRoot%\System32)

NOTE: Network shares for the dllcache directory are no longer supported.
SFCShowProgress (REG_DWORD)
0 = System File Checker progress meter is not displayed (default)
1 = System File Checker progress meter is displayed

NOTE: The Windows 2000 source files location information is stored in the following registry location and can be modified to point to the drive letter of a volume that has an I386 flat folder of the installation files or change the SourcePath value in the registry to point to a Universal Naming Convention (UNC) path instead of a mapped network drive.

The SourcePath value is located in the following registry key:
HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\Software\Microsoft\Windows\CurrentVersion\Setup
Example:

If the I386 directory is at C:\I386, the SourcePath value would be C:\.

If the I386 directory is at \\Servera\w2kflat\I386, the SourcePath value would be \\Servera\W2KFlat.

After you restart the computer, WFP and SFC /SCANNOW uses the new source path instead of prompting for the Windows 2000 installation CD-ROM.

How to Work with System Image Backups in Windows 7

This post helps you to take data backup support and Image Backup support to prevent your data. Today I discuss in this post for computer support to make Image backup in your Microsoft windows vista.  In this section we discuss windows 7 support to work with System Image Backups. System images are exact images of the drive that Windows is installed on and are used by Windows 7’s Backup and Restore tool. You can read more about Windows 7’s Backup and Restore in my Backup and Restore in Windows 7 – What it should have been in Vista! and Restoring Files with Backup and Restore in Windows 7 articles. A system image includes Windows and system settings, programs and files. You can use a system image to restore the contents of your computer, or the drive that Windows is installed on, if your hard drive or computer ever stops working. When you restore your computer from a system image, it is a complete restoration and you can’t choose individual items to restore, and all of your current programs, system settings, and files are replaced.

Note: Although this type of backup includes your personal files, remember that because of the fact that they cannot be used to restore individual items to restore, I strongly recommend that you regularly back up your files using the Backup and Restore.
Note: If you have more than one drive or partition on your computer, a system image is only made of the drive or partition that Windows is installed on.
Note: Remember, Windows 7 is still under development. The version I’m working with to grab screenshots from is beta build 7000, and things might (and probably will) change by RTM comes along.

Open Backup and Restore by going to the Control Panel and typing “backup” in the search box. One of the results will lead you to it.

Windows 7 RC Free Download Starts Today

Consumers who want to be the first on their block to try Microsoft (NSDQ: MSFT)’s new Windows 7 operating system can get their hands on a free copy of a nearly final version of the OS as soon as Today.

That’s when Microsoft plans to make Windows 7 “Release Candidate” available to the general public. Last week, the company began offering Windows 7 RC to professional users who belong to its TechNet and MSDN communities.

Windows 7 RC contains most of the features that will be included in the final version of the OS, and it’s been tested for compatibility with hardware and software from most major vendors through a months-long beta program. Still, Microsoft typically warns computer users not to use prerelease software for critical tasks or in business production environments.

Windows 7 RC will function until June 1, 2010. After that, users will need to upgrade to a full, paid version of the operating system.

If Microsoft is following a timetable similar to that employed for Vista development, then it’s highly possible that the company is eyeing a September release date for Windows 7.

The first version of Windows Vista RC dropped in September 2006, about five months before the final version shipped. A similar five-month incubation period for Windows 7 RC would point to a commercial release in September — possibly in time for the critical back-to-school shopping season.

Microsoft’s official position remains that Windows 7 will drop about three years from the time Vista debuted. The company launched Vista in January 2007.

Microsoft is counting on Windows 7 to help it recover from the Vista flop. Vista failed to catch on with mainstream computer users and businesses have shunned it outright. Many users have complained about Vista’s hardware requirements, intrusive security measures, and lack of compatibility with older applications. Windows 7 is said to be lighter and easier to use than its predecessor.

If you facing any problems with windows 7 installation kindly contact to microsoft support Center.

System Requirement For Windows 7

Link for Download

Technet Downloads:

Windows 7 RC (x86) – DVD (English)
Windows 7 RC (x64) – DVD (English)
Windows 7 RC Language Pack (x86) – DVD (English)
Windows 7 RC Language Pack (x64) – DVD (English)
Windows 7 RC Checked Build (x86) – DVD (English)
Windows 7 RC Checked Build (x64) – DVD (English)
Windows 7 RC Release Notes (English)

MSDN Downloads:
Windows 7 RC (x86) – DVD (English)
Windows 7 RC (x64) – DVD (English)
Windows 7 RC Language Pack (x86) – DVD (English)
Windows 7 RC Language Pack (x64) – DVD (English)
Windows 7 RC Checked Build (x86) – DVD (English)
Windows 7 RC Checked Build (x64) – DVD (English)

US-CERT warns of another variant of Conficker worm

The U.S. Computer Emergency Readiness Team (US-CERT) warns that researchers on April 9 discovered a new variant of the Conficker worm that updates earlier infections via its peer-to-peer network.

The worm, also known as W32.Downadup, also is resuming its scan-and-infect activity, searching for unpatched systems that can be exploited.
“With the discovery of a new variant, it is even more important for users to remain watchful in detecting the Conficker worm and thoroughly cleaning systems of these infections to prevent potential, future cyber events,” US-CERT warned.

Although Conficker/Downadup has infected upwards of an estimated 10 million computers, it so far does not appear to have been engaged in overt malevolent activity. Because the malicious code can be detected and removed, the number of currently infected computers is estimated at several million.

The most recent variant appears to download additional malicious code onto compromised systems, possibly including copies of the Waledac Trojan, a spam tool. This could indicate an interest in using a Conficker botnet for spamming. Waledac has previously spread via e-mail messages that contain malicious links.

The original W32.Downadup.A exploited only the MS08-067 vulnerability in Windows XP Service Pack 2 and Windows 2003 Service Pack 1 operating systems, for which Microsoft issued an unusual patch outside of its regular monthly patching cycle. The more recent .B variant has added password guessing and the ability to copy itself to USB drives to its capabilities, giving it a wider dissemination throughout a network once it is inside. The authors of the malware appear to be trying to gather low-hanging fruit in a network.

On April 1 a .C variant was scheduled to become active that would provide additional protection for the worm’s command and control network. The worm uses an algorithm to generate a pseudo-random list of domains for its command and control network, which its infected clients check daily for instructions. Symantec analysts who examined the new code said that the variant would use a new algorithm to determine what domains to contact. It went from generating 500 domains a day to 50,000 domains with the new algorithm. Because a command and control server can be a weak spot whose elimination can disable a botnet, this could make Conficker/Downadup more difficult to attack.

One of Conficker’s defenses is blocking access to sites providing detection and cleanup tools. This also makes it relatively easy to detect a possible infection. US-CERT advises that a simple test for the presence of Conficker/Downadup infection is to visit security solution Web sites.

http://www.symantec.com/norton/theme.jsp?themeid=conficker_worm&inid=us_ghp_link_conficker_worm
http://www.microsoft.com/protect/computer/viruses/worms/conficker.mspx
http://www.mcafee.com

If a user is unable to reach any of these Web sites, it may indicate a Conficker/Downadup infection,” US-CERT says. “The most recent variant of Conficker/Downadup interferes with queries for these sites, preventing a user from visiting them. If a Conficker/Downadup infection is suspected, the system or computer should be removed from the network or unplugged from the Internet in the case for home users.”

Instructions and information on how to manually remove a Conficker/Downadup infection from a system have been published by several security vendors, which offer free tools to verify the presence of a Conficker/Downadup infection and remove the worm. They include:

Symantec: http://www.symantec.com/business/security_response/writeup.jsp?docid=2009-011316-0247-99
Microsoft: http://support.microsoft.com/kb/962007
http://www.microsoft.com/protect/computer/viruses/worms/conficker.mspx

For more about Confickr worm virus removal you can visit on Remove Virus Online to directly Contact technical expert

General Computer Health Checkup Tips

Go further on and load everything at Windows startup that you want to be normally running every time you launch your computer — but no more! Excessive program launching at Windows startup has (minor) several bad side-effects. For example, it prolongs the startup process; in Windows 9x it predepletes System Resources, and in any Windows version it consumes RAM, CPU cycles, and other commodities; it increases the change of having incompatible programs conflict with each other; and it complicates troubleshooting since there are more things to rule out. This post help you for check your computer health and provide computer support and troubleshooting tips to maintain computer health. Here below listed some PC health checkup tips

• Don’t Disable System Restore! Part of good health is the ability to recovery quickly when you do get sick — bouncing back quickly as your old healthy self! If you are using Windows ME, XP, or Vista you have available to you the finest “bounce-back” tool Microsoft has ever developed, System Restore. Sure, it has a few things wrong with it (especially in Win ME; the tool was significantly improved in Win XP). But in many cases it’s still pretty close to a “please go fix what I just screwed up a minute ago” miracle worker. I solve dozens of terribly frustrating problems for people every week by recommending they employ System Restore to step back just before they made a blunder. I appreciate it greatly!

• Do not have a computer with a no-name motherboard or the cheapest video card you can find. Name brands do matter. One of my lessons in this: I used to be of the same voice as those who heavily disparaged the “Winmodem” style of modem — those which do not have fully self-contained logic, and rely heavily on Windows itself to provide much of the “guts.” It’s true that we saw people all the time with serious Windows problems and bad modem performance because of this. Then I unwittingly bought one (not knowing that this is the type of modem I was buying). To my surprise, it was the best modem I’d ever owned! I tried a couple of other Winmodems on loan and they were truly the worst modems I had ever used. What made the difference? The one I had bought was made by U.S. Robotics. When you buy the best, you get the best.

• A clean install as a starting point can do wonders for your system! That means that you install the operating system on a freshly wiped hard drive, rather than “updating” atop an existing version of an older operating system. Update installs are just fine in many cases, and “good enough” in others; but for the best install, start clean! This isn’t an invariable rule. A recently-released version of Windows often installs better as an upgrade atop a working (eaerlier) Windows system system simply because manufacturers are sometimes slow at getting all the necesssary hardware drivers released at first — and an upgrade will inherit older drivers that usually will keep on working. Similarly, recent Windows versions replace so much Windows code that an upgrade is darn near a clean installs anyway! (The clean install recommendation is especially a guiding rule if you’re having performance problems with Windows. It’s too big of an issue to discuss here, but you will find it discussed on other pages of this site.)

• In Windows 98 or ME, periodically run SCANREG /OPT /FIX from a DOS prompt or Run box prompt. I also like to run, about once a week, Norton WinDoctor (part of the commercial products Norton Utilities and Norton System Works) as an additional layer of keeping things in tidy shape. If you have Windows 95, considering compacting your Registry every few months using this method. Windows 2000 and XP only rarely seem to require this step and have no native tool for it; however, on rare occasions it is thought to be a good idea to compact a Windows 2000/XP Registry also, especially if there has been a lot of program installation and removal and Windows has started to become unstable. In that case, this method is recommended.

• Always uninstall programs with the Control Panel’s Add/Remove Programs applet when possible. (In Windows Vista, it is renamed Programs & Features.) If an installed program isn’t listed there, see if it has its own uninstall routine, and use that. For 32-bit programs (those made especially for Windows 95 or later), do not just delete the program off the hard drive. (If you’ve already done this, reinstall the program, and then remove it correctly through the Control Panel or its own uninstaller.)

• Get off of the Windows 95/98/ME platform, and onto the NT-based platform of Windows XP or Vista, as soon as you reasonably can. Provided that hardware is adequate to and compatible with the operating system, there’s simply no way to make Windows 9x as stable as its NT-based siblings unless you just aren’t running very much stuff. If long-term stability and reliability are what you want, Windows XP and Vista are where you will find it.

• Rely on Windows Update — but judiciously! Do install all critical updates. Almost always, these provide important security elements or truly critical system patches. Only rarely do they cause new problems (though it does sometimes happen). Do equip yourself to handle any problems they may cause, keep track of what patches you apply when so that, if new problems appear, you can roll back the patches as one step in troubleshooting. Do not let Windows Update give you new device drivers, as a rule. Usually they are way out-of-date compared to the hardware manufacturer’s web site, so you usually will not get the best result.

• Periodically run ScanDisk in Windows 95/98/ME or ChkDsk in Windows 2000 /XP— say, once a month. This isn’t as important in newer versions of Windows as in older versions, but I definitely recommend doing it periodically in Windows 95. Even as early as Windows 98, I began doing this less often — primarily when Windows required it (due to a bad shutdown), but different computers and different usage patterns may need this more often.

• For Windows 95, 98, and ME, set the typical role of your computer to be a network server, provided you have at least 32 MB of RAM. But your computer is not a network server, you say? No matter. All this does is control how Windows handles disk performance and certain memory buffers. The default settings for “Desktop Computer” were created for hardware as it existed in 1995 — and things have changed! (Almost nobody had 32 MB of RAM in 1995. A minimum of 8 MB was still being recommended!) This change may not improve things — but it can’t hurt. And on some computers, it improves performance noticeably. To make this change, right-click on My Computer, and select Properties | Performance | File System | Hard Disk.

• Leave well enough alone! Do not be so compulsive about keeping things clean that you go in and mess with the Registry on your own. Similarly, do not delete files that you neither recognize nor understand just to free up a little disk room. If you need hard drive room that badly, you are long overdue for a new hard drive! My rule of thumb: Acquire more hard drive space if less than 10% of the hard drive’s capacity is free. Furthermore, any major partition with less than the smaller of 200 MB or 10% of its size needs to be made larger, either by repartitioning or by adding a larger drive.

• Floss. Wear sunscreen.

This should give you a good start to keeping your computer system in a spry, perky, healthy condition!