This post looks at how to share your printer between Windows 7 and Windows Vista when it is already attached to your Windows 7 PC. If you follow these steps closely you should be up and running quite quickly.

Set Windows 7′s Share Settings

To share you printer you should start in Windows 7′s Advanced Sharing Settings (Found in the Network and Sharing Centre, alternatively just type Advanced Sharing Settings in the Search Programs and Files box).

Once there make sure you turn on network discovery, file and printer sharing, and public folder sharing. Make sure these are enabled in both the Home or Work and Public profiles.

Depending on your setup, you might want to turn off password protected sharing. Otherwise you’ll need to enter the password for each machine in the network. Turning it off while you’re setting up printer sharing does make things a bit easier though by saving a step.

Set Windows Vista’s Share Settings

On the Vista machine we need to double check and make sure it’s sharing settings are ready to go. Right-click on Network and choose Properties. The Network and Sharing Center will then open up. Under Sharing and Discovery turn on File Sharing, Public Folder Sharing, and Network Discovery. Also on the Vista PC you might want to turn off password protected sharing, but it’s completely up to you.

Now that we have the correct settings on each machine, it’s time to put this to the test. Make sure all your computers are turned on and then open up Network on the Windows 7 machine. You should now see all the PC’s on the network.

Now on the Vista computer, double click on Network and you should see the Windows 7 machine. You should see the folders and devices that are now shared. And you should see the printer that’s already connected to the Windows 7 machine.

Test the Printer Sharing Set Up

As you can now see the printer connected to Windows 7 you should make sure that you can connect to it and print a test document.

In Windows Vista click on the Start menu and type Printers into the search box and hit Enter. Right-click on the shared printer and select Properties. Under the General tab click on the Print Test Page button. Another test you might want to perform is opening a text document and making sure you can print that to the printer that’s already attached to Windows 7.

Provided everything prints out successfully you might want to make the shared printer the default printer for your Vista PC.

Fixing any Problems that Crop Up

If your computers cannot see each other or the printer is not working, here are a few steps you might want to try to determine where the problem lies.

Double check to make sure that Network Discovery and File and Print Sharing are enabled on both PC’s.

If the printer isn’t working, double check to make sure you have the latest drivers for each OS installed.

You didn’t have to install any different drivers for this printer sharing, like you often have to when sharing a printer between XP and Windows 7.

Results with sharing printers will vary depending on the printer you own and the set up that’s needed. Older printers are in fact notorious for having issues with drivers that won’t work with either Windows Vista or Windows 7. So the only solution may be to buy a new printer.

You’ll be pleased to know that as long as network discovery is enabled on both the Windows Vista and Windows 7 machines, sharing printers is actually a straightforward process.

I hope this short post will get you started with sharing folders, files, and printers between your Vista and Windows 7 PC’s.

A collection of truly colourful laptops running Windows 7.

Windows 7′s Service Pack 1 was released to manufacturers on 9th February, with the announcement that it would arrive in consumers’ hands sometime this week. In fact, the Service Pack is set to hit Windows Update later today, with it already being posted as a 1.95GB download bundle for all versions on Microsoft’s Download Center.

TechNet subscribers and Microsoft volume license customers got access to the update last week.

Microsoft says the standalone update package should weigh in at 527MB for x86 users, about 903MB for x64 users, and 511MB for users on Itanium chips.

The service pack doesn’t bring any new features for consumers, but it includes two important back end additions that promise to improve performance in Windows 7′s server counterpart, Windows Server 2008 R2. The update adds Dynamic Memory and RemoteFX, technologies that increase, respectively, the density of virtual machines and the graphical prowess of thin-client hardware. The RemoteFX feature is also coming to the consumer version of Windows 7 in the form of client-side support.

Also included in SP1 are a number of fixes for bugs and security holes, which may be useful for those who don’t use the auto-update feature or are applying the update to machines that don’t have an active Internet connection.

Other small changes include improved HDMI audio-device performance, a fix for printing mixed-orientation XPS documents, and “improved support” for Advanced Format storage devices.

Source: CNET

Soluto can shorten the time your PC takes to start up, sometimes by a fairly substantial amount. If you have a lot of start up programs running on your computer Soluto can certainly help you to speed things up a bit. It contains a full database of well known boot up applications and gives simple and straightforward advice on whether they can be safe to remove from your computers start up process. Soluto can also defer certain applications that you might want to run at start-up that can afford to fire up a little later once your Windows desktop becomes fully responsive.

After you have decided what to remove and what can be deferred to a later start up, Soluto will show you how much time you have saved when booting up your computer

Soluto depends on its quickly growing user base to help develop database tips that are safe to delay or pause.

There are a few items for which Soluto doesn’t have any advice at the moment so you may not want to remove or defer these. In time, the database will contain more and more user tips and will be even more useful!

To download this free version of Soluto please follow this link to the developers website – http://www.soluto.com/.

Note – This post was an excerpt from the QBS PC Help Easy PC Repair Guide. See some of the other things this great eBook can do for your Windows computer.

Microsoft said today that it has sent the first service pack for Windows 7 and Windows Server 2008 R2 to original equipment manufacturers, with a consumer release to follow later this month on 22 February.

The news comes several weeks after Microsoft’s Russian Windows localization team had reported the update as being finalized from its first and only release candidate, and released to manufacturers.

Microsoft says the SP1 update will go out to consumers through Windows Update.

SP1 includes an updated version of Microsoft’s remote desktop client, alongside a round of hot fixes, and dynamic memory support for Hyper-V in Windows Server 2008 R2.

Source: CNET

Windows 7 has grabbed more than 20% of the Operating System market, only a year after its release.

As of last month, Microsoft’s latest Operating System has more than doubled its market share over 2010 and now sits on many more computers than its predecessor Vista, which holds only 12.11%, according to stats from Net Applications.

Long-standing favourite XP still has hold of 56.72% computers, however.

Overall, 90.29% of computers run a Windows OS around the world, down from 92% at the beginning of 2010.

Mac OS slid, from 5.16% in January 2010 to 5.02% last month, but Apple’s iOS – found on iPads and iPhones – gained from 0.59% to 1.69%, led by strong growth by the iPad.

Rival Android also had a strong year, growing from a 0.06% share at the start of the year to finish with 0.4% of all browsing devices.

Source: PC Pro

Computers running the 64-bit versions of Windows 7 or Windows Vista could be rendered unusable if you install the latest anti-virus software update from AVG.

The problem seems to affect the most recent free update for AVG 2011, which was made available to users on 1st Dec.

AVG has acknowledged that the patch can send some 64-bit Windows machines in to a crash cycle, forcing a reboot of the computer from which it never restarts. The anti-virus company has since withdrawn the update.

The problem is caused by one particular virus database update, which automatically forces the computer to reboot in order for the update to take affect. Upon restarting, the PC will register a “c0000135 error”, and will not complete the boot cycle.

The software update is no longer available to users, but AVG has released a guide for those customers who have already installed the update and are experiencing problems as a result.

The step-by-step instructions how the update can be disabled, by running an AVG “rescue CD”. AVG apologised to users for the software glitch. The company has also recommended an alternative recovery method for those users who no longer have, or cannot create, a “rescue CD”.

The first service packs for Windows 7 and Windows Server 2008 R2 will see a beta release in July, Microsoft announced at its TechEd 2010 conference on Monday.

The software maker did not disclose a date for final availability for the service packs at the conference, held in New Orleans, but it did go into detail about what customers can expect to see. The relatively minor updates add a few new features and concentrate on improving desktop virtualisation support for the server operating system. The beta’s will also provide a roll-up of hotfixes and updates for the desktop operating system.

Source: ZDNet

Microsoft announced Tuesday (27 April) it has finished the task of customizing Windows 7 to run on TV’s, set-top boxes, digital signs, and other devices.

Microsoft’s Kevin Dallas on Tuesday shows off an embedded version of Windows 7 designed to run on TVs, set-top boxes, and other devices.

Among other things, the new software could allow Windows Media Center on new types of devices, Microsoft said. The operating system, dubbed Windows Embedded Standard 7, was shown Tuesday at the ESC Silicon Valley conference in San Jose, Calif. “With the release of Windows Embedded Standard 7, Microsoft has furthered its commitment to the integration of Windows 7 technologies in the specialized consumer and enterprise device markets,” said Kevin Dallas, general manager of Microsoft’s Windows Embedded unit.

Microsoft first showed the embedded software, previously code-named Quebec, at ESC Boston in September. At that point, Microsoft was calling it Windows Embedded Standard 2011.

The PC version of Windows 7 is already running on more than 10 percent of computers worldwide, Microsoft said last week as it announced quarterly earnings.

Source: CNET News

Libraries are a new feature of Windows 7 and can sort all your media and files so that you can easily view them in one place. And the files that are pulled together by the Library can be located anywhere on your computer, even if they are scattered across multiple folders or multiple storage devices.

Windows 7 has 4 default Libraries – Documents – Music – Pictures and Videos (If you ever remove or change these Libraries, you can quickly restore them by right-clicking Libraries in Windows Explorer, and then clicking Restore default libraries).

In many ways, a Library is similar to a folder. When you open a Library, you will see one or more files or folders. However, unlike a folder, a Library can display files that are stored in several folders at the same time. This is an important, difference. Libraries don’t actually store items. They monitor folders that contain your files, images and videos, and provide a single access point.

Creating Libraries

You can create your own Libraries and add folder locations to them. You can create Libraries for any set of files that you don’t feel are well covered by the default Libraries. For example, you might create a new Work Documents Library to keep work-related documents separate from personal documents.

Creating a new Library is easy. Just right-click Libraries in the Navigation Pane on the left side of an Explorer window, point to New, and then click Library.

After creating a Library, it’s time to add your folder locations. Right-click a Library, and then click Properties to edit the folder locations that the Library includes, as well as other properties. You add folders to the Library view by clicking the Include a Folder button. You can then select the folders you want to add. Also choose how you want the Library to optimize your Library files. The choice is General Items – Documents – Music – Pictures or Videos.

By using the Library Properties dialog box you can include new folder locations or remove existing folder locations. Removing folder locations from Libraries or deleting entire Libraries doesn’t actually delete the files from where they’re stored; you are simply removing them from the overall view that the Library provides.

You will find that Libraries are used throughout Windows 7.

Breaking its silence on the first service pack for Windows 7, Microsoft said on Thursday (18/03) that it will include only minor updates, including many already released.

“For Windows 7, SP1 includes only minor updates, among which are previous updates that are already delivered through Windows Update,” Microsoft blogger Brandon LeBlanc said in a blog post.

LeBlanc said that Microsoft is not yet ready to announce a time frame for either the beta or final version of the service pack. But, he said that businesses should not wait for the update.

On the server side, the service pack for Windows Server 2008 R2 will include two new virtualization features – Microsoft RemoteFX and Dynamic Memory.

Windows 7 SP1 will include the client-side support for RemoteFX.

Once finished, Microsoft said it would make the Windows 7 service pack available for download and through Windows Update.

Microsoft has unveiled the release candidate of its Silverlight 4 browser plug-in and outlined its developer strategy for Windows Phone 7 Series, which puts Silverlight applications at the heart of the company’s mobile application marketplace.

Silverlight is installed on 60 percent of internet-connected devices, Scott Guthrie, head of Microsoft’s developer division, said in a keynote speech announcing the release at the company’s MIX user experience conference on Monday.

“As the browser, server, web, and devices evolve, a focus on delivering consistently great user experiences has become paramount,” Guthrie said. “By extending our familiar platform technologies and tools to phones, Microsoft is delivering the… application development experience across a variety of devices and form factors.”

The release candidate of Silverlight 4 adds a handful of new features, getting the platform ready for an April launch. The most significant addition is a version of the Pivot visualisation toolkit, originally a Live Labs research project. Pivot is designed to help users explore large amounts of data, including large graphical databases such as photo and stock image libraries.

Applications will also have access to Windows mobile features such as Microsoft Location Service (with user permission), as well as a Microsoft Notification Service. The latter can deliver information to a phone from inside applications or from the cloud, even when an application is not running. That capability is essential, as Silverlight applications for Windows Phone 7 Series are suspended when users switch to another tool.

Applications will only be available through Microsoft’s new Windows Phone Marketplace, and there is no option for developers to use any tool other than Silverlight or XNA.

Microsoft also confirmed that not all the hardware APIs will be available in the first release of Windows Phone 7 Series.

Source: ZDNet

Microsoft could release the first Service Pack for Windows 7 by the end of the year, according to reports.

According to TechARP.com, Microsoft executives had internally scheduled a two-year development schedule for Windows 7 SP1, but have changed their mind in order to address “serious” performance problems.

The website reports that Microsoft will look to pump out the Service Pack in the last quarter of 2010, which would tally with the first Service Packs for its other operating systems. The software giant launched Windows XP SP1 around ten months after the release of XP, and Vista SP1 appeared 12 months after the Vista RTM. However, Windows 7 has proved a critical success for Microsoft and it’s difficult to identify the “serious” performance issues the Service Pack would target. Microsoft declined to comment on the report, or on a Windows 7 Service Pack in general, offering the standard “Microsoft has nothing new to announce at this time. We do not comment on rumour or speculation”.

Source: PC Pro

Microsoft has launched the latest iteration of its mobile phone operating system, called Windows phone 7 series.

The software has a redesigned user interface and incorporates many Microsoft services such as Xbox LIVE games and the Zune music service.

The software was introduced at an event at the Mobile World Congress in Barcelona.

According to research firm Canalys, Microsoft’s software currently has around 9% of the smartphone market. That puts it fourth in the global market behind Symbian, Rim (makers of the Blackberry) and  Apple’s iPhone OS.

The first multi-touch phones to use the operating system will be available before the end of the year.

Source: BBC Tech News

Microsoft said on Thursday that it is planning an update to Windows 7 that will close a number of loopholes that counterfeiters had used to thwart the operating system’s built-in antipiracy measures.

The Windows Activation Technologies Update for Windows 7, which will be released later in February, closes more than 70 “activation hacks”, according to Joe Williams, general manager of Microsoft’s Genuine Windows unit, responsible for anti-counterfeiting measures. The update will also check with a server periodically to see if there are further hacks that need to be addressed, though Williams said no personally identifiable information about the user will be sent to the server.

In an interview, Williams cautioned about the dangers that come with using illegitimate versions of the operating system, citing a German study which looked at several hundred copies of Windows 7 posted online, and found nearly a third had some type of malware.

Source ZDNet

Microsoft on Thursday reported net income of $6.66bn, or 74 cents a share, on revenue of $19.02bn. The results include $1.71bn in Windows 7 deferred revenue.

That added 14 cents a share to Microsoft’s bottom line.

The view of the quarter depends on whether the deferred revenue impact is discounted. The company was expected to report second-quarter earnings of 59 cents a share on revenue of $17.9bn (£11bn). If the deferred revenue is factored out, Microsoft’s earnings beat projections, but revenue could be seen as light.

In a statement, Microsoft said Windows 7 demand was “exceptional”. Microsoft said it sold more than 60 million Windows 7 licences.

At QBS PC Help we use Windows 7 on a daily basis and find it far more stable than Vista ever was!

Source: ZDNet News

Microsoft has sent a letter to its customers telling them to expect Windows 7 in 2010.

The letter from senior vice president Bill Veghte says “our plan is to deliver Windows 7 approximately three years after the January 2007 general availability launch date of Windows Vista.”

The letter slightly contradicts Steve Ballmer’s declaration last month that Windows 7 would arrive in 2009, although Microsoft’s press office has steadfastly stuck to the “three years after Vista” line ever since Ballmer’s speech.

Veghte’s letter is the second indication in as many days that Microsoft is keen to clarify its roadmap. Yesterday, the company insisted that it would stick to its plans to withdraw Windows XP on 30 June, albeit with a series of notable exceptions and workarounds.

Source: PC Pro

Reports are suggesting that Microsoft is considering pushing forward the release date of Windows 7, its successor to Vista.

APC Magazine claims to have seen Microsoft’s roadmap for the operating system, and reports that the software giant is gunning for a 2009 release to manufacturing, a year earlier than initially planned.

The roadmap apparently contains three distinct milestone builds for Windows 7, with the first build, M1, apparently already shipped to partners for code validation.

M1 is reported to be English language only, but is shipping in both 32-bit and 64-bit versions. M2 is slated to ship in April or May, while M3 is expected some time in the third quarter of 2008.

Source: PC Pro