Generally, I've been a big fan of Windows 7. From the beta to the release candidate to the release-to-manufacturing "official" release, upgrading has been a stable, sane experience. Except for two repeated problems, that is.
From the Devices and Printers window, you can see that double-clicking on a device does not guarantee that Device Stage supports it. Also, notice the lack of driver support for the Ericsson mobile broadband card.
(Credit: Screenshot by Seth Rosenblatt/CNET)In some cases, driver compatibility is still an issue. It's not as big as it was with the beta, which suffered from problems that everybody was expecting. However, as you can see from the error warning at the bottom of this image, Ericsson has yet to release a stable driver for the mobile broadband card in my Lenovo T400. The longer that Windows 7 is in the wild, the fewer of these compatibility issues are expected to crop up, but it is notable that there are still some holes that need plugging on the official release day.
Frustratingly, there's not much of a solution at this point. Always run your Windows Update first, and if that doesn't find a fix you can force a driver-specific update search through the Control Panel. Going to the manufacturer's Web site and looking to see if Windows just hasn't detected an official update is the next step, followed by looking for a potentially unstable beta version if you're comfortable with that. You should also check the manufacturer's user forums in case an update was linked to there.
The much-applauded Device Stage is the source of the second snag I've repeatedly encountered. Devices are always detected, but only devices made by manufacturers that have created the requisite XML image files will receive the visually-enhanced Device Stage treatment. Devices such as iPods, iPhones, Zunes, and Windows Mobile phones that have their own manufacturer-made interface experiences won't take advantage of the easy-to-see pictures in the Device Stage, nor will they appear on your taskbar. At least, in my experience they haven't.
Microsoft used to have a list of supported devices on its Web site, but that seems to have disappeared at some point before today. I can confirm that many HP printers are supported, as well as the Sansa Fuze, Clip, Clip+, and View Personal Media Players; the Canon Pixma MP990 Wireless Inkjet Photo All-in-One Printer; the Epson Artisan 800 Wireless Photo All-in-One Printer; and the Sony Walkman E Series and S Series video/MP3 players.
If you can confirm that a specific device works in Device Stage, or if you're having problems with one, please let us know in the comments below.
If you can't stand the native operating system on your portable MP3 player, you can make it rock out with Rockbox. Open-source Rockbox is firmware that represents the first step for audiophiles regaining control over how they interact with their portable devices.
Compatible with more than two dozen MP3 players, including most iPods, iRivers, and Archoses, Rockbox comes with a detailed and lengthy installation and usage guide. The last time I tried out the auto-installer I found it easier to install Rockbox by hand. Reading the manual thoroughly is a must, given the complexity and potential risk to your device. Once installed, though, Rockbox's features are impressive, from customizable skins to support for users with visual impairments to complicated sound equalizing.
Behind a slick interface, this program backs up all your PC's drivers in case you mess up something fierce. From registration to implementation, DriverMax works fast, runs smooth, and does even more than mere backing up.
The application is nearly flawless. Its slick button navigation takes users through the four main sections of the program: Driver Operations, Updates, Identification, and Popular Hardware. Mousing over one reveals more choices, so you can export your drivers, import drivers, or view an installed drivers report. Backing up and reinstalling an "accidentally" deleted driver was as pain-free as could be, and users can back up all drivers or compile a customized list. Automatically updating your drivers currently doesn't work, and the free registration key requires your e-mail address--annoying, but worth suffering through to get these must-have features.
Earlier this week, I described some Registry tweaks that force Windows to shut down faster. Another weapon in the fight against interminable shutdowns in XP is Microsoft's User Profile Hive Cleanup service, a free download written by Robin Caron.
Some programs and services don't release their connections to Registry keys when a user logs off. This can cause problems when the person tries to log onto another PC connected to the same company network, but mainly it just adds to the time it takes XP to shut down.
Before you can download the program, you have to let Microsoft validate your copy of Windows. (The program also works with Windows 2000 and Windows Server 2003.) To install the program automatically, you have to have a copy of Windows Installer 2.0 on your system. Otherwise you can install it manually: Open a command prompt (Start > All Programs > Accessories > Command Prompt), type cd \program files\uphclean, press Enter, type uphclean -install, and press Enter again. The program will start automatically the next time the system boots. Type exit and press Enter once more to close the command-prompt window.
Bonus shutdown-troubleshooting tip
The other day I decided for no good reason that it was time to update my 6-year-old XP system's video driver. I just happened to be visiting my display adapter's entry in Device Manager (right-click My Computer, choose Manage > Device Manager, double-click the entry under Display adapters, and select the Driver tab) and noticed that the driver was almost 5 years old. The fact that the adapter itself was 6 years old never crossed my mind.
(Quick aside: Is six years about as much useful life as you can expect from a PC? This system has been through the ringer since I use it as one of my test machines. But I've got two radios that are more than 20 years old, and they work just fine. Still, it may be time to retire this graybeard before it retires on me.)
I checked the vendor's download site and saw that the company recommended a replacement driver for that ancient model. The lure of free software was irresistible.
After I downloaded and installed the new driver, everything seemed to be working just fine, until I shut down Windows. That's when the PC restarted unexpectedly. I recognized this as a symptom of trouble, and sure enough, when Windows reloaded it ran a disk check. Though the check didn't indicate any disk errors, I was warned that Windows had recovered from a "serious error."
I started the troubleshooting process by stopping the automatic restarts: Right-click My Computer, choose Properties > Advanced, click Settings under Startup and Recovery, and uncheck Automatically restart. The next time I shut down I saw the blue screen displaying the error codes. A Web search of the code confirmed my suspicions, though a bad video driver was only one of several possibilities as the source of this error code.
Uncheck 'Automatically restart' in Windows XP's Startup and Recovery dialog box to view the error code causing the shutdown problem.
(Credit: Microsoft)Using XP's Roll Back Driver option didn't fix the problem, so I chose Uninstall instead. The next time I restarted XP, it started at the video adapter's lowest resolution, but after I readjusted it to the previous setting, the display appeared unchanged. When I reopened the display adapter's entry in Device Manager, it was back to the original driver version, but the shutdown error disappeared, and Disk Check didn't run the next time XP started.
Like they say, don't try fixing what ain't broke.
Monday: backup online for free.
While Windows Vista is slowly adopted, subsequent waves of users may make the mistake of downloading the latest version of ActiveSync to hook up their Windows Mobile device.
This is a bad idea. ActiveSync withers when it comes into contact with Vista's radiant style sheets. Instead of creating ActiveVista, or some similarly named offshoot, Microsoft opted for an overhaul. And lo, Windows Mobile Device Center was born.
Sadly, Windows Mobile Device Center (for 32-bit and 64-bit desktops) only syncs your cell with up to two computers; hard luck for someone with an office rig, a laptop, and a desktop (or two) at home. Other than that, the snappy Vistafied app cleans up ActiveSync's muddled interface with sliding tiles for tweaking settings, accessing files, downloading multimedia, and running utilities.
Windows Mobile Device Center + Vista = Usability.
There's no staging area for quick installations; however, you can transfer a file from the desktop into the device folder (which you can get to through the file management folder of Windows Mobile Device Center) and then run the file from the phone.
When Winamp 5.3 came out a year ago, it impressed many who had written it off, although that may have been simply because it hadn't died a quiet death of obsolescence. Long-needed steps to improve the old-school media player were implemented, with support for AAC encoding, CD burning, and a robust file-management system.
Thirteen months on, Winamp 5.5 ups the ante again with strong support for portable devices, including iPods, the ability to sync non-DRMed files to your PC from your device, an optional new interface layout, a built-in browser for media discovery, and other nifty tricks.
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