I tried reinstalling VMware Tools, but nothing worked. Nothing, that is, until I tried this handy tip I found on Dave Taylor's Web site. The problem is in a VMware configuration file. Let me show you how to find and modify it to make your Ethernet work.
Shut down the virtual machine. Even if it's suspended, I recommend firing it up and shutting it all the way down.
Now you need to find the virtual image of Windows 7.
It's likely in Documents, in a folder called Virtual Machines.
The image for your Windows 7 is likely called something like Windows 7.
Whatever your image is called, if you're sure it's the right one, control or right click and choose "Show package contents."
Now find the file that ends in .vmx.
Right or control click on that file and choose "Open with." Then choose Text Edit, or whichever text editor you prefer.
Once the file opens in your editor, scroll down until you find these four lines that start ethernet0.
You're going to add a fifth line.
Type ethernet0.virtualDev = "e1000"
Now save that file and close it.
Go restart the virtual machine.
You should now have the ability to surf the Internet.
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.
Not everyone is rocking to the new iTunes 8 released Tuesday. An informal poll on ZDNet suggests that a problem with the latest edition of the Apple media player is affecting some, but not all, users of the software on Microsoft's Windows Vista. (You can download iTunes 8 for Windows from CNET Download.com.)
Users on an Apple forum reported seeing the so-called blue screen of death (BSOD) on their desktops running Windows Vista with iTunes 8 installed. The BSOD problem occurs shortly after connecting their iPods and iPhones.
A second, more subtle effect is that their CD/DVD drives "disappear."
ZDNet's Ed Bott offers a look at the upgrades or changes in iTunes 8.
Removing other USB devices, such as Webcams and printers, appears to resolve the problem, for the moment. Users on the forum speculate that there is an incompatibility between Apple and USB products from LogicTech and HP, as well as disc-burning software from Roxio.
We will update this post with further details, as they unfold.
Driver Magician Lite lacks frills and showmanship, but the simple layout makes backing up your device drivers much easier than pulling a rabbit out of a hat.
A quick install and the small memory footprint would lead you to hope that the rest of the program runs the same way. That's no sleight-of-hand: backing up every driver on my computer, from Bluetooth and tablet controllers to Intel chipsets, took less than 5 minutes. Users can select drivers individually or hit the Select All button at the bottom of the spreadsheet-style layout. Hitting the Start Backup button opens a directory window, so you can choose where the drivers will be saved to, and then another click begins the process.
We recommend creating a designated folder for backing up your drivers, since Driver Magician natively mimics your computer's folder tree and saves each driver to an appropriate folder. This, I found out the hard way, was easier than cleaning up the mess after saving them to my desktop--it was worse than trying to pick up a deck of cards splayed across a stage. The app doesn't do updating or reinstallation, unfortunately.
(Credit:
CNET Networks)
Have you ever been on the road for work and gone through the hassle of trying to use a local printer? Don't worry, you're not alone. When traveling on business, people often need a printout for the latest version of a project to have in the big meeting. The last thing we want to go through with 10 minutes until showtime is the struggle of installing new drivers, trying to locate a usable printer, and everything else associated with getting a hard copy of our work.
Fortunately Xerox came out with a universal access printer driver which solves the problem with no fuss. The Xerox Mobile Express Driver lets you automatically detect all available printers in your vicinity--even non-Xerox printers--and quickly downloads and installs the appropriate drivers so you can start printing immediately. Even better, the driver automatically detects unique options for newly installed printers which means you can use the fancy double-sided printing or color printing options if the printer offers them.
Quickly auto-detect all printers in your area
(Credit: CNET Networks)If you have an area which you visit regularly on business, the Xerox Mobile Express driver lets you create and save "Locations" so it automatically lists printers you've detected in the past. This makes it easy to choose the most recently used printer in that location so you can get the job done even faster.
To make the deal even sweeter, this newly released driver is absolutely free, so you'll never have to worry about printing away from the office again. Frankly, anyone who spends a lot of time on the road for work will appreciate this simple download to take the headache out of printing in remote locations.
Freeware driver back-up utility DriverMax gets a full point upgrade, but the big feature promised for this version doesn't seem to be quite ready for prime time. DriverMax Agent, which is supposed to bulk out the program with a customizable driver update check, currently only works on the Windows Vista 32-bit operating system. Sorry, XP users.
DriverMax Agent works well on Windows Vista--but not at all on Windows XP.
(Credit: CNET Networks)The irony of this product update coming during a week when Redmond has spectacularly backtracked on Vista isn't lost on me.
The agent does seem to work well on Vista, in so far as I can both manually check if my drivers are out of date and have the agent automatically scan for new ones. However, none of my Vista drivers were out of date, so I was unable to test the download and installation features.
(Credit:
CNET Networks)
Other than the agent, there's nothing new in the program. It feels like it runs a bit faster from when I last looked at it back in October, but that's empirical and hasn't been benchmarked. Without a doubt, DriverMax is a good program, with both driver backup and restoration features, and those work well. Until the Agent is extended to Windows XP users, though, there's not much that sets it apart from its freeware competitors.
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.
Driver Magician Lite lacks frills and showmanship, but the simple layout makes backing up device drivers much easier than pulling a rabbit out of a hat.
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A great tool for when you're mucking about with reinstalling an operating system or just want to have several fail safes going is DriverMax, which backs up your drivers one at a time, a few at a time, or all at once. From registration to implementation, DriverMax works fast, runs smooth, and even does more than mere safe-checking.
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