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Can someone tell me how to report bugs in Windows 7?

Click the Send Feedback link you see nearly everywhere.

"Can someone tell me how to report bugs in Windows 7?"

On almost every window is a "Send Feedback" link.

If you're a Connect user, you can file feedback on that website, or through the forums.

Thanks! I didn't know if the "Send Feedback" link was only for general feedback or for bugs. I am a Connect user too, although I've never reported bugs.

I filed an entry about the VHD support, and how Windows Setup incorrectly reports that Windows can't be installed to a mounted VHD, even if the host drive is set as a System drive.  System drives contain the bootloader and swap file, which are the two requirements for VHD boot access.  A Windows 7 attached VHD file only needs to have the Windows files in it.  Once the bootloader on the host drive mounts the VHD (VHD's can have an entry in the BCD), the files in the Windows folder take over from that point forward, and Windows will proceed to boot from a virtualized file system.

I tried extracting the VHD from an installation and running it directly in Virtual PC, and as I thought, it doesn't work for the reasons explained above (no bootloader code).

I'm still in the process of testing out whether or not a standard install in Virtual PC (in a VHD) can be imported and mounted as a VHD in a physical installation.  Some sites seem to say that you can't because of the Pentium 3 HAL, but they never mentioned about using SysPrep with the Generalize option, which is what I'm going to try.  SysPrep resets the HAL and other drivers that are required for bootup, so I'm thinking that you could potentially test out installations in Virtual PC, and then just attach the VHD's into a physical installation without hardly any effort.  I'm just not sure if having a bootloader in the VHD already will confuse Windows 7's host-drive bootloader....

This stuff brings the testing phase of deployment into a whole new level of integration with current deployment practises, as well as providing a very easy method of portability for hard drive images.

WIM's already offer a slight level of portability, but they don't contain detailed information of multiple hard drive partitions, as well as their partition types.  They only hold the logical volume file information.  VHD's can contain exact physical drive layouts, while still providing the option to compact them down to the actual size of data without needing to store the free space.

I just wish they would make a new file format for Windows 8 that combines the features of both formats so that deployment and virtualization are interchangeable.  When we get to that point, the tools should be made to be dead-simple, as in operating system deployment, from testing to production deployment, as a drag-and-drop operation with a single file.

The "Send Feedback" link is for general users for the public beta, or just to say "I like this" or "I hate this", etc.  If you're an IT guy and want to provide more technical information about a bug, then the beta group areas like Connect/MSDN/Technet are the channels to use.  The forums are a good way to find out if others have the same problem too, and gives you a personalized, 2-way mode of communication.

To each his own.

O/T:

Looking back:  www.linux.com/.../30873

It gives me a warm, fuzzy feeling all over.  ;)

Windows 7 has actually improve the connection of my main computer to the wireless N network I'm running in the house. The speeds are noticeably faster. I.E. 8 is incredibly intuitive. So far, I'm on day 3 running the beta and except for one issue with Flash, everything has been smooth. The troubleshooting and reporting to Microsoft has been seemless. I've been using Windows 7 before I head to bed or before the hours before head to work.

On startup I've noticed that Windows 7 boots up on my machine 18 seconds faster than Vista. Shutdown is around 8 to 10 seconds. From password to desktop is a full 15 seconds faster in Windows 7 than Vista.

I have more to check out and download. The haters definitely got it wrong. This is a damn good experience thus far.

I tried the IE8 beta briefly in Win7.  What's funny is that the MSN Canada page (which has content from Sympatico because of the exclusive partnership - the page is http://sympatico.msn.ca ) isn't laid out correctly.

Just out of curiosity....

Will Microsoft be giving out free licenses to Connect users that report bugs in Lucky 7, as they have with other products?

@sub - "The haters definitely got it wrong. "

That is the role that they are expected to play...on both sides. The Apple haters will be just as bad with the beta of iWork.com. It is to be expected and many of them on both sides seem to congregate on Paul's site. If only there was an ignore feature here...

--tayme

What did the haters say?

"What did the haters say?"

Just read InfoWorld.

Oh...they aren't haters.  They troll for eyeballs.

Robertsjoe is a hater.

In the last thread someone asked if Win7 could win back cobverts to Mac OS X.  Do you think MS might try to do something in the PC arena like what its doing to Windows Mobile, where it is hyper-focused on the PC 'experience'?

www.washingtonpost.com/.../AR2009010902692.html

"O/T:

Looking back:  www.linux.com/.../30873

It gives me a warm, fuzzy feeling all over.  ;)"

You just gave up any residual legitimacy you might have had left when you complain about "robertsjoe" or "ocean" doing the same thing you just did.

"Oh...they aren't haters."

Randy Kennedy is.  Microsoft booted him from the press room at PDC after all.  They don't count him as a "journalist".

Who really does?

Slightly OT:

What do you guys think of the new taskbar? Is it as confusing as Paul made it out to be in his series of "Simple v. Easy" posts? In my opinion, the new taskbar is a step in the right direction and might resolve consistency issues regarding clicking the "X" to close versus clicking it to minimize to tray and might also improve handling of multiple instance programs. It will probably take years to achieve that kind of consistency, but I still think this is a step in the right direction and actually like the new taskbar. It's not as radical a change as the "Ribbon" interface, but it might confuse some people.

>>Who really does?<<

Robertsjoe

@Ocean:

It's likely they'll focus their efforts on Windows Mobile to key licensees, such as HTC.

They'll probably require that handset makers make fewer models of phones at a time, and drop some of the low-key players.  It's unknown whether or not they'll let handset makers bundle custom front-ends for Windows Mobile though.  If they release something new at the mobile conference, it might spell the beginning of the end of OEM and/or carrier customizations so that only form factor and design changes will differentiate handsets - not the software that runs on it.

As far as how this relates to Windows on the PC, they're already doing that.  Have you seen how lean and modular Windows 7 is?  I noticed that there doesn't seem to be any OPK-style options that allow for front-end customizations by the OEM during the OOBE.  I do think they need to clean up the OOBE dialog boxes though.  They're a bit spartan looking, what with no graphics, and only a white background.

@sharky:

They should add Shift+Left Click to open new instances of a program.  I've gotten really used to using that with IE when clicking on hyperlinks, and it's more intuitive than clicking Right Click, and choosing the option to open a new instance from a Jump List.

"You just gave up any residual legitimacy you might have had left when you complain about "robertsjoe" or "ocean" doing the same thing you just did."

Ditto.

Only difference is, you never had any legitimate reason for being here in the first place.

Wae,

I agree. The process of opening new instances of a program is not intuitive at the moment. There are some applications like Windows Explorer, which are supposedly multiple instance programs, where it doesn't even work.

@sharky:

"Send Feedback"!!

Don't forget to mention my idea too.  Shift+Left Click seems very logical for anyone that's ever used IE.

A tip for anyone using VHD mount options in Windows 7:

Make sure you leave enough room on the host drive for a swap file.  Don't just fill it all with the VHD[s] that you create.

I'm not sure if you can move the swap file into a VHD after Windows is set up, but it's created by default on the host drive (only if you set it as Active first though, but then you wouldn't be able to install Windows 7 in a VHD without doing tha first anyway).

@shark

What is the problem you're having with explorer? I can certainly open up more than one instance using the right-click menu.

However, this only works if you have navigated away from the default location, otherwise it just pops up the as yet unused explorer window.

I believe this is by design, and has been the way explorer has functioned for quite some time.

However, I do think right clicking to open a new instance is a little "undiscoverable".

The example (or at least the ideal) of the mac in that everything should be do-able with one button to maximise this discoverability should be a good one to adhere to.

Just to let anyone know, installation of Windows 7 Ultimate 32-bit in a Vanilla install on a SysPrepped VHD takes about 6.7GB.  It's interesting that Windows 7 doesn't take 16GB of hard drive space during the install though.  The VHD that I have for Windows 7 in Virtual PC was a dynamically-sized one, and it only reached a maximum of 6.8GB.

Hmm....

something interesting I found.

There's an inclusion of options mentioning Hypervisor settings in the Windows 7 config tools for the WinPE phase of setup.

Like the task bar. Start menu has more function, but seems changed only a little from Vista.

I would bet that you will see netbooks all over campuses, running 7. What student wants to carry a heavy laptop, or can afford an ultralight one? A half decent GPU would make it a killer for students. Throw in skype and campus life is complete [battery charger is also a keg cooler].

"Throw in skype and campus life is complete"

Not many people around here use Skype.  More people use Windows Live Messenger.  Bell Canada recently added Windows Live Call support to the new version of WL Messenger now though.

Ok so I just discovered that Virtual PC images of Windows 7 WILL NOT work as a mounted VHD in a Windows 7 filesystem.  Part of this has to do with the fact that a standard Windows 7 install moves the bootloader to that extra 200MB hidden partition.  A Virtual PC VHD will have that included.  Mounting that under an existing bootloader partition will cause conflicts immediately at boot (text-mode boot error).  Deleting the VM bootloader partition doesn't work to fix that either - it's just a different error code, which also references winload.exe.

Unless there is some way to install Windows 7 so that it doesn't create a separate bootloader partition, I don't see any way of getting bootable VHD's to be interoperable with Windows 7's bootloader, which is quite a shame.  VHD's can't be created on a volume level either, so that only leaves WIM's as a possible recourse.  The problem is, there are no options anywhere to boot WIM's, even though the bootloader and/or Windows has the fallback code to boot WinRE when WIndows fails to boot.  WinRE is contained within \Windows\System32\Recovery\WinRE.WIM.

Data partitions won't be affected by this though, and I haven't tried attaching a Vista VHD [yet].  It's possible that Windows Vista's bootloader will be overridden by Windows 7's, especially if Windows 7 is running on a host drive, and Vista is just a VHD.

Things to test....

gorath, you're right. It does work when I navigate away from the default folder. In XP at least, you can open multiple instances of Windows Explorer using the "Win key + E" shortcut. In 7, you cannot. I haven't seen how it works in Vista. It's funny that you can close an instance of a program with one click (navigate to the instance in the taskbar preview) but you cannot open a new instance without right clicking. Maybe there should be a better way of handling MIPs and a better way of differentiating SIPs from MIPs. :)

Wae, I will send the feedback.

Wae, this is interesting and all, but you're spamming a bit now aren't you?

Shark, I thought that's how explorer worked in XP as well? I'll check tomorrow.

There is a setting for XP "open new explorer windows in seperate process" which may alter that behaviour.

"Wae, this is interesting and all, but you're spamming a bit now aren't you?"

It's Windows 7, and it's troubleshooting.

How is that O/T or spam?

Vista works the same as XP BTW:  WinKey+E opens new windows on each key press.

"Not many people around here use Skype."

Everybody I know uses Skype.  Which just goes to show that for every anecdote there's an equal but opposite anecdote.

"how is that O/T or spam? because out of 36 posts, you're responsible for 20 of them.

And you're not authoring a troubleshooting pack, are you?

"And you're not authoring a troubleshooting pack, are you?"

Is anybody else here?

"Which just goes to show that for every anecdote there's an equal but opposite anecdote."

Last time I checked, SkypeIn and SkypeOut weren't available in Canada, so that's my reasoning.  Mac's also aren't nearly as popular here as they are in the US either, so the needs for a cross-platform IM client are slim.

You tell 'em Wae, because I like Canadian ham and used to watch Dudley Do-Right too.

@sharky:

The Shift+Left Click works in Windows 7, but only if you navigate away from the default folder (the default folder link is Libraries).

That's pretty acceptable though, considering you'd probably want to navigate to another folder anyway if you're planning on having multiple windows open.

"I like Canadian ham"

I think it's bacon you're talking about.  It's back bacon, or "peameal bacon" in most grocery stores, although it's actually cornmeal that they put on it.  "Regular" bacon is side bacon, and it's not nearly as lean.  There is no visible fat in back bacon, and it's not greasy when it cooks.  It's good with eggs.

....and beer.  Beer, eggs, and back bacon.  YUM-meee!  :P

Montreal smoked meat is also good too....  Next time you visit, get a fresh baked Montreal bagel and a half pound of smoked meat slathered on with some nice melted Oka.

@Doc:

I like this pic (for reasons that should be obvious):  img2.tfd.com/.../Canadian_Bacon.jpg

losta hates it though.

"Canadian Bacon" was also a crap movie made by Canadian-wannabe Michael Moore and starring Canadian John Candy in a role that perfectly represented that fine country.

You beat me to it, "waethorn". Obviously, you hold that movie in high regard. As I suspected.

"Obviously, you hold that movie in high regard. As I suspected."

You suspected wrong.  I never saw it.

I just like the poster.  :P

Just saw this on MSnbc:  www.msnbc.msn.com/.../28619965

mm, I like Canadian beer. and Canadian mountain bikes.

And, generally, Canadians. Every single one I've met has been very pleasant company.

I could use a beer tight now, Just waxed the wife's car.

How about this, Netbook running Windows 7 and Magicjack VoIP on campus, eh?

I meant right now, not tight now.

@gorath - That is constructive discussion, in my opinion. It is totally different than the normal "Windows sucks" - "Apple Sucks" conversations that tend to happen. I'd say keep on wit hthe discussion! But, its not my site...

--tayme

@Waethorn - "Beer, eggs, and back bacon.  YUM-meee!  :P"

Wait...didn't you tell us last week that you don't drink...LIAR!!! ;-)  <--wink, wink; nudge, nudge; say no more.

--tayme

"Just saw this on MSnbc:  www.msnbc.msn.com/.../28619965"

Now thats spamming!!!

--tayme

@DRWAM - "I meant right now, not tight now."

Because that has an entirely different meaning...

--tayme

"@gorath - That is constructive discussion, in my opinion. It is totally different than the normal "Windows sucks" - "Apple Sucks" conversations that tend to happen. I'd say keep on wit hthe discussion! But, its not my site..."

I agree, but I was one of the people who took it off topic, so I guess I have to agree.

BTW, doc, how about a tablet running 7? No one seems to talk about the multitouch features. Do they even work?

tayme, there are 7 kids here, tight now, I mean right now, all under 8 years old! Man, do I need a beer!

"Canadian Bacon" sounds a little like "Wag The Dog", which was released a couple of years later. That was a funny movie. I don't like Michael Moore, so I doubt I'll be watching this one.

tayme, considering that we are talking about everything from Windows to bacon, I don't think even Ocean's post is spamming at this point. :-)

"Wait...didn't you tell us last week that you don't drink...LIAR!!!"

I don't actually.  I cook with it!  Beer-fried bacon and eggs is DEE-lish!  ;)

@DRWAM - You, sir, are a glutton for punishment. I remember those days!!!

@sharky - You are probably right!!!

@wae - Hmmm, it sounds good. I might have to give it a go for dinner tonight. I think that I have all of the ingredients!!!

--tayme

Speaking of troubleshooting, has anyone thought about troubleshooting just how lame Microsoft is?

Seen the Songsmith ad? It is so horrendous that it makes people vomit. "So lame. No taste. Microsoft" (tm)

uk.youtube.com/watch

"Seen the Songsmith ad? It is so horrendous that it makes people vomit."

Glad to see that you're back, robertsjoe. How was school today? Get into any fights?

O/T:

Ques for Tayme: Have you managed to install Windows 64 bit on your MBP yet? If yes, are you getting random BSODs? I mean, the pc is just working normally and suddenly it bsods? No consistent pattern.. I imagine it might have to do with Apple drivers, but I sent a feedback report anyway.. Installed Windows 7 32 bit, and no BSODs there.. However sometimes explorer randomly freezes and have to do a hard reset.. Tayme, or any one who installed Windows 7 (64 bit/32 bit) on their Macs, did u have such problems, or is it just me? Thx!

Ballmer in an interview this week that "if there is a future for Zune, it lies in planting the software and online service linked to the player in other devices."

The Zune is dead.

Road trip to Wae's place! Bring your laptops.

@kanwaljt - I have not yet...It may be a day or 2 before I do.

--tayme

@robertsjoe - You'd better get going on your homework before Mom and Dad come down there and see what you are doing.

--tayme

For the LOVE OF GOD, that Song smith is real!!!!!!!!!!  I thought his link was some lame spoof.

Man that is funny!!

@lindy: No, it's real. Really shockingly bad.

Ok if you want a truly gut busting laugh so hard you stomach hurts just read the comments on this site.

i.gizmodo.com/.../microsoft-songsmiths-corny-musical-infomercial

Some of my favorites...

"Rope, please."

"Wow. That almost made me kill myself. Thanks Microsoft :) "

Mikey G get on the horn with one of our MS pals and please tell us they intentionally made that ad corny.

I guess we can let robertsjoe and robertsjoe sp2 play for a while before they go and do their homework.

@lindy: "Mikey G get on the horn with one of our MS pals and please tell us they intentionally made that ad corny."

You're not serious, right? Otherwise it's desperation. I bet they would say it was meant to be corny only after they realise that the whole world is laughing at them - even though that's not what they intended. Like some of the other lame videos Microsoft has released recently.

Shark I could give a rats @$$ what robert says and I think he is a troll 99% of the time.  That said call it what it is.  If that AD was NOT done like that intentionally then MS should fire everyone involved with it.

That was like some crazy SNL skit.  I thought it was fake, the ad and the product.

Robert I am serious.  If they made it that way to be funny, as in corny as hell then its funny.  Funny like the Bill and Jerry ads but better since you understand easily there is a product they are trying to push.  If that is just a ad to show off that product then they need help.

It has to be a corny, on purpose, ad to be funny and show what their research department is doing.

@lindy: It's not funny though. If that was their intention, they missed the mark by a million miles. It's horrendously bad.

kanwaljit

>O/T:

>Ques for Tayme: Have you managed to install Windows 64 bit on your MBP >yet? If yes, are you getting random BSODs? I mean, the pc is just working >normally and suddenly it bsods?

I have with Virtual Box -  No BSOD's yet, installed Safari and itunes 64 bit with no problems.  Safari 64 bit runs fine no driver for sound on 64 bit so no comment on itunes thought it does every thing else just fine.

Also running a 32 and 64 BIt on an HP with XP in Virtual Box with little problem..   The only problem I have had is after streaming TWIT-TV after an hour the 32bit version froze 2x's.  

Yawn!  

@Tayme,

Perhaps you are right, but I try to review anything important as an iWork, a Windows beta, an MS Office, or what have you with a completely different mindset. I try to empty my head of any preconcieved notions and view things objectively and as dispassionately as possible. I'm looking for pros and cons. I'm looking for surprises and disappointments. I'm looking to see if what the designers promised has actually manifested.

One such I reported to MIcrosoft is randomly in Windows 7 version of IE8, after you highlight something and click off the highlight, sometimes a random blue straight line remains above the words. I'm assuming this is a glitch that's typical with beta programs.

However tayme, I've also seen a lot of Mac users have an openly positive reception to the Windows 7 beta. At least those who are like you that multi-OS platforms are the norm and keep an open mind. I've read many blogs and reports that using Bootcamp you can load Windows 7. It works very well and I think those Mac users are satisfied and maybe a little shocked.

MS is well known for not taking themselves too seriously and making corny videos like this.  Of course this video will never see a TV set (well unless you are running Media Center and watching that, but I digress).  I read it was meant to be corny, as the idea of the software is a novelty in itself.

I do think that kids will get a kick out of the product.  I know my cousins would like it.  If they release it for the Wii it will do quite well, actually.

Dipsh I agree my 7 year old twins would like that software.  They love sitting in front of my wifes iMac and recording them selves in photo booth and playing it back.