SuperSite Blog

Microsoft's Windows 7 USB/DVD Download Tool Uses Open Source Code

2009-11-07T16:18:21Z

And apparently does so illegally. Rafael has written up a great post, with a side-by-side code comparison, about how Microsoft's Windows 7 USB/DVD Download Tool uses code that was obviously taken directly from open source code that is licensed under the GPL.

While poking through the UDF-related internals of the Windows 7 USB/DVD Download Tool, I had a weird feeling there was just wayyyyyyyyy too much code in there for such a simple tool. A simple search of some method names and properties, gleaned from Reflector’s output, revealed the source code was obviously lifted from the CodePlex-hosted (yikes) GPLv2-licensed ImageMaster project. (The author of the code was not contacted by Microsoft.)

I see two problems here. (I’m not a FSF professional, so there may be more.)

First, Microsoft did not offer or provide source code for their modifications to ImageMaster nor their tool. According to GPLv2.

Second, Microsoft glued in some of their own licensing terms, further restricting your rights to the software (TermsOfUse.rtf). According to their terms .... "You may not ... publish the software for others to copy."

I understand Microsoft is a big company and that this could have been externally contracted work, but someone dropped the ball during code review/licensing.

Yes, yes they did.

Zune HD Device Firmware 4.3

2009-11-06T23:12:23Z

When I synced my Zune HDs today, I got an alert about updating to a new device firmware version, 4.3. (The previous version was 4.1.) No word on what's changed, if anything, and I don't see anything about it online yet. Anyone?

Update: Microsoft later documented the update:

Today we released the v4.3 firmware update for Zune HD players; this update adds support for upcoming 3d games and applications, as well as an auto-suggest feature for better text input, and other minor improvements. Enjoy!

What’s new in Zune HD 4.3 Firmware

Support for the upcoming 3D games and applications.

Auto Suggest feature for text input.

Faster web browsing experience.

Landscape keyboard

Keyboard option has been added in the settings section.

New toggle between seek and presets under Radio.

Under the Internet in settings, you can now toggle to default mobile or desktop webpage layout.

Artists bios are updated; embedded links to other artists in text.

Other bug fixes.

Seven Perfectly Legal Ways to Get Windows 7 Cheap (or Even Free)

2009-11-06T17:03:57Z

Windows expert Ed Bott offers up an excellent guide to getting Windows 7 on the cheap, along with some great advice. It's a must-read:

Only suckers pay retail.

If you’ve read any reviews of Windows 7, you’ve seen references to its price list, which ranges from $120 for a Home Premium upgrade to $320 for a fully licensed copy of Windows 7 Ultimate.

Well, guess what? You don’t have to pay that much. Most people have much better options available, if you know where to look. As I’ve detailed here, the best deals go to PC manufacturers, which you benefit from if you buy a new PC.

But there are plenty of other discounts available as well. In this post, I’ve researched deals in three separate categories: upgrade offers available to anyone, special deals just for students, and subscriptions intended for technical professionals and developers.

My goal in this post is to point you to deals that customers legitimately qualify for. I am not trying to encourage attempts by anyone to get away with something you’re not entitled to. If there are restrictions for a specific offer, I’ve noted them here.

Go forth and save.

Get Tinker and Texas Hold 'Em ... For Free

2009-11-05T21:00:21Z

Microsoft will soon make the Vista-era Ultimate Extras games Tinker and Texas Hold 'Em available for one and all, for free, via Games for Windows Live:

Tinker and Hold 'Em are coming to Games for Windows!

Need a break? If you like classic platform puzzles, or just want to play a quick hand of cards, we have a couple of great new games coming soon to Games for Windows!

Tinker
Even robots get lost, sometimes! Help this one get home by solving puzzles that untangle a surreal and misleading world...but be careful! Tinker only has a limited amount of energy, so you'll have to use it wisely or he'll be lost forever! A classic mental challenge for the entire family, Tinker features an original score, compelling visuals, and 60 levels of classic puzzling fun!

Hold 'Em
Pit yourself against the computer for a high-stakes experience that won't empty your pocket! Play with up to five computer opponents, and customize the look of the card deck and playing table. Have fun and bet what you want — the computer can't make you pay up!

Here's the best part...both of these games will be absolutely FREE!!

Keep an eye out here on www.gamesforwindows.com, both here and in the forums...we will be sure to let you know when these games are released!

Thanks to Resplendent for the tip!

Talking Windows 7 Upgrade Media with Microsoft

2009-11-04T16:31:26Z

So I had an in-person discussion yesterday with Microsoft about how its Windows 7 Upgrade media does (or does not) work. I'm going to update my Clean Install Windows 7 with Upgrade Media article to include this information, but I wanted to communicate it to you as quickly as possible. So here are some data points to consider...

If you run Setup from an existing install of Windows ... Windows 7 will always activate.

If you boot your PC with Windows 7 Upgrade media ... and there is an existing install of Windows on the first partition, Windows 7 will always activate. If the existing install of Windows is on some other partition, Windows 7 should still activate. There are instances in which this won't work--especially when people really muck around with directory structures and so on, but it should activate.

There is one major and important change between Windows Vista and Windows 7 Setup with regards to compliance checking ... In Windows Vista, Setup did the compliance check (to see whether you have a valid prior version of Windows and thus qualify for the Upgrade version) after the phase where you can format the disk. This means you could actually format the disk, thus destroying your previous install, and then fail the compliance check. Microsoft fixed this in Windows 7. That means you can format the disk during Setup: Windows 7 will still activate because the compliance check occurred earlier.

A recovery partition will never qualify you for the Upgrade version. Setup does not understand or parse recovery partitions.

If you clean install Windows 7 with Upgrade media and it does not work for some reason, Microsoft's recommendation is that you call Microsoft Support immediately ... They will get you activated immediately, no questions asked, and the call is free. You're provided with free support calls as part of your purchase.

The Full and Upgrade media for Windows 7 are indeed identical. The only difference is the product key. The code on the discs is the same.

The double-install trick is documented and supported by Microsoft. It's dumb and slow, but Microsoft does support the double-install method (Method #3 in my Clean Install Windows 7 with Upgrade Media article) for clean installing Windows 7 with Upgrade media. They do not support the Registry hack (Method #2 in my Clean Install Windows 7 with Upgrade Media article) but couldn't think of a reason why it should be avoided otherwise. (I think they just don't like it.) The vibe I got was that if you ever had problems later, you could always call Microsoft support for free and they'd just fix it.

SkyDrive Explorer

2009-11-04T16:06:32Z

I've been hoping and looking for some kind of solution that would let people access their 25 GB of free storage space on Windows Live SkyDrive using simple, Explorer-based drag and drop. It's been kind of a tough slog all year, however, with only one solution, Gladinet, which is hard to configure and buggy in use. But now a new contender has arrived, and while it's not perfect, it's much better than Gladinet. It's called SkyDrive Explorer, and as promised, it does provide Explorer-based drag and drop access to your SkyDrive account. The only issue I've seen is that you can't drag and drop collections of folders into SkyDrive. Instead, you can only drag files (at least that I've seen), while manually creating folders on the cloud side.

Anyway, I was hoping to hold off on this one for the podcast, but I've easily gotten 100 emails about it already, so I guess the cat is out of the bag. Thanks to everyone that wrote in about this tool.

A Bit of Backpedaling and an Apology from Microsoft

2009-11-02T20:05:50Z

In a very long-winded post, Microsoft's Eric Ligman (he of the "you are probably a pirate" post) does some furious backpedalling from his previous position on doing clean installs with Windows 7 Upgrade media. That is, where he previously came off very strong about how people doing this could be pirates ("technically possible" does not always mean legal), he's apparently woken up to the fact that many of Microsoft's customers agree with me. ("technically possible" does not always mean illegal. In fact, in this case, it almost always means legal.) The issue here isn't just semantic. This is very much about how Microsoft communicates with his customers, and while Ligman tries to make the case that Microsoft cares very much about it's customers, this little episode is telling them otherwise. Sorry, Eric. There's a lot of ill will for you to get over now.

Anyway. To the relevant portions of his latest post.

"Conspiracy-theorism" (yes, I know theorism is not in the dictionary) is very present.

i.e. it's your fault, those Microsoft customers who misunderstood his first post, which was in fact innocent and not an attempt to scare anyone.

There appears to be a lot of reading through "pre-determined conclusion" lenses

Sorry, you're 0 for 2. I read through "customer" lenses. I look at what Microsoft did, and what you wrote, and, in this case, deemed it to be anti-customer, because Microsoft is punishing the many (almost 1 billion legit Windows users who qualify for Windows 7 Upgrade pricing) for the sins of the few (actual software pirates). This is, of course, the primary complaint about all anti-piracy controls, when you think about it.

Anyway.

Where in there did I state that the solutions proposed by either of these gentlemen cannot be used, are illegal to use, and/or should not be used? I flat out stated that if you own the right licenses, you can do the clean install, without calling out any procedure that can/cannot be used. Where did I state that either of them is not trying to help customers in their posted solutions?

If only you had said it like that. If only you had said, hey, in most cases, this is perfectly legal, but I would like to remind a tiny minority of our customers that the Upgrade versions of Windows 7--which we as a company pre-sold to you at bargain pricing without any warnings whatsoever--might not actually work and/or possibly (but not usually) violate our licensing rules, you know maybe you'd have a point. But you didn't. You said, "technically possible" does not always mean legal. That's a very strong statement, and you keep repeating it in this new post. It's a warning. It has intent.

Welcome to my life, Eric. I do this all the time. I can commiserate. Really, I can. But when you screw up--and you did--I've found it's best to just apologize. Sure, explain why you did what you did, but just leave it with the apology.

Also, I don't appreciate the way he mischaracterizes what I wrote by only referencing a quickie, heat-of-the-moment, throw-away blog post and not the full-fledged Upgrade with Clean Media article(s) I've written, where I've always clearly stated the rules. I don't like that. The losing side of an argument always takes things out of context. And changes the subject. (Witness the lengthy exploration of the word "hack".)

But he does apologize. Eventually.

It's too bad I never heard from him directly, as the volume of my email suggests others have figured out how to do so pretty easily. And it's too bad that I and others had to wade through a bunch of self-serving text to get to this apology I'd never have known about if a friend hadn't forwarded the link. But this isn't about me. The real shame here is that Microsoft is still not effectively communicating how this process works, explaining why it sometimes doesn't work, or apologizing to the many, many people it fooled into buying Upgrade versions with very special pricing--especially XP users--expecting it just to work. Based on my email, it's not working for a great many people. And that's why I do what I do, to help people. Not to help people pirate. Just to help people.

Again, I sort of assumed this was obvious.

Apology accepted. I'm sure you're a good guy and this was all well-intentioned.

Windows 7 Workaround Does Not Allow for Multiple Installs with One Product Key

2009-11-01T14:25:36Z

In the wake of Microsoft's illogical and wrong-headed attack on the so-called Windows 7 installation "hack"--really just a workaround designed to let legitimate Windows customers upgrade their activated copies of XP or Vista to Windows 7 in the manner they prefer--I've started wondering why Microsoft reacted so strongly. After all, their central argument is completely bogus: Most people out there already qualify for Upgrade pricing. And those who really do wish to just save money (by not paying for more expensive Full media) will simply buy OEM media, which costs less than Upgrade media. So it's not about money. Why bother? Why even bring attention to this, especially in such an idiotic, anti-customer fashion?

One theory that occurred to me was that perhaps this workaround would enable a user to install multiple copies of Windows 7 using a single product key. But after testing this, I've found that not to the be case: Each product key (with the exception of those supplied by the Windows 7 Family Pack, of course) allows for only one electronic, automatic activation. I'm not sure how I would have handled this had I somehow unearthed a way to activate multiple PCs on the same key (I probably would have simply told Microsoft about it). But that doesn't happen, thankfully.

So the question still remains. Why would Microsoft allege that many of its customers are thieves? And why would they accuse people like me, who were (and still are) very clear about the licensing requirements of being dishonest about that?

It just doesn't make sense.

Enough, Microsoft. No One Is Endorsing Piracy. Obviously.

2009-10-29T16:30:50Z

I love the self-righteous nature of this little Microsoft post, which quite clearly addresses the "hack" I published the other day without actually providing a link or naming names.

Unfortunately, it looks like it is time to have this conversation again though. Over the past several days there have been various posts, etc. across a variety of social media engines stating that some “hack” (be it a person or a procedure) shows that a Windows 7 Upgrade disc can perform a “clean” installation of Windows 7 on a blank drive from a technical perspective. Of course, from the posts I saw, they often forgot to mention a very basic, yet very important piece of information… “Technically possible” does not always mean legal.

Hey, Microsoft. Duh.

Let's be very clear about something here: I'm not endorsing piracy. Obviously. I'm just trying to support the millions of people that Microsoft fooled into pre-ordering Windows 7 by offering steep discounts, only to discover later that the Upgrade version they purchased unknowingly might not actually install properly. I've gotten hundreds of emails about this. I suspect Microsoft has gotten many times that number. So you know what? I'm going to continue supporting Windows users. Even as Microsoft throws them to the wind with this kind of baloney.

What really cracks me up is that this post quotes the most relevant EULA-based part of this argument. Which is this:

To use upgrade software, you must first be licensed for the software that is eligible for the upgrade.

Exactly. That's who I'm supporting. Millions and millions of people. Many of which are discovering that their Upgrade version of Windows 7 will not install properly on their existing, Windows-based PCs. The PCs that are supposed to support upgrades.

This should be obvious. Please stop suggesting it's not, or that I am doing something else.

And for the nth time, you could (and should) have clearly documented how this works months ago. Or allowed myself and others to do so. You chose to ignore this need. So this is a problem of your own making. It's that simple. You make it too hard. And then you complain when someone else tries to make it easy.

Brilliant.

Microsoft Signature Software

2009-10-28T13:46:53Z

I was reading another great Todd Bishop article about Microsoft's attempts to sell crapware-less Windows 7-based PCs and came across an interesting bit. Sure, selling crapware-less PCs is great. But Microsoft is formally defining what it calls Microsoft Signature software, preinstalled Microsoft software and technologies that turn a stock Windows 7 PC into a "Signature PC."

This is interesting to me because, in the writing of Windows 7 Secrets this year, I decided it was important to not just cover what comes in the (increasingly irrelevant) box, so to speak, but to also include chapters and information about the "sticky" Microsoft products and technologies that I think are as key to the Windows experience as some of the stuff that does come in Windows itself. So I'm fascinated to see that the list of Microsoft Signature software is very close to the additional software I cover in Windows 7 Secrets. This includes:

Microsoft Security Essentials
Microsoft Silverlight
Bing 3D Maps
Zune 4.0
Windows Live Essentials - Windows Live Messenger, Windows Live Mail, Windows Live Photo Gallery and more
Some third party technologies like Adobe Flash and Adobe Reader

I would love to see Zune simply become part of Windows in the future and wouldn't be surprised to see that happen. But then, why not Security Essentials and Windows Live Essentials as well?

Finally, Some Answers to Windows 7 Upgrade Questions

2009-10-27T18:40:19Z

Ed Bott just uploaded a very timely post about the Windows 7 upgrade issues that have arisen this week. You may recall my previous posts and article in which I have tried to sort through the mess of how it is you can clean install Windows 7 with Upgrade media. Ed takes it further, however, and if you're wondering about what's going on or struggling with your own upgrade, this is a must-read:

What's the difference between the full and upgrade versions?

It’s all about the product key. When you enter the product key, the setup program checks to see whether you installed the product on a clean system that didn’t previously have any version of Windows installed. If the answer is yes, it blocks you from entering that key.

What happens if I try to do an install without a product key, then add the product key from my upgrade package later?

It fails.

How about 32-bit to 64-bit upgrades?

You can’t run the 64-bit installer from an existing 32-bit Windows installation (or vice-versa). Here’s how you have to do it instead. Start your computer using the 64-bit installation media. When prompted, choose the Custom installation option.

There is a lot more. Be sure to read this full post.

Microsoft Opens Up the PST Format

2009-10-26T16:14:10Z

From Microsoft:

As more and more information is stored and shared in digital formats, the ability for people to reuse their data across various applications and platforms has become increasing important. As part of an ongoing effort to enable this kind of data portability, Microsoft is announcing that it will be releasing documentation for the .pst file format – the format in which data is stored in Microsoft Outlook Personal Folders.

Providing access to the documentation will facilitate interoperability, enabling customers and vendors to access their data in .pst files across a variety of platforms. This is important to organizations that need exchange key corporate data in and out of Outlook, upload to the cloud, or comply with corporate governance policies.

When it is complete, the documentation will be released under our Open Specification Promise, which will allow anyone to implement the .pst file format on any platform and in any tool, without concerns about patents, and without the need to contact Microsoft in any way.

Paul Lorimer, the Group Manager of Microsoft Office Interoperability has posted additional details on the Interoperability @ Microsoft blog.

Confirmed: Windows 7 Family Pack Disc is Identical to Upgrade Media

2009-10-26T13:26:32Z

Just in case this was a concern: I've done a file compare between the Windows 7 Home Premium Upgrade media and the Windows 7 Family Pack media and they are indeed identical. The weird thing is that you only get one product key with the Family Pack, so the only real difference is up in the cloud: The Family Pack product keys can be activated three times.

From a practical standpoint, this means that any discussion about Upgrade media applies equally well to Family Pack, I guess.

Clean Install Windows 7 with Upgrade Media: The Answer

2009-10-23T12:45:10Z

I was so hoping to have better news to share, but with all the conflicting reports and my own troubles testing this while on the road, it's been a messy 24 hours. However, after staying up late last night and working through a few different scenarios, I think I do have a (fairly) simple way to clean install Windows 7 with Upgrade media. That is, it should be easier than the old "install it twice" hack that I previously documented for Vista (though that should still work as well).

Put simply, the goal here is to clean install Windows 7 on a virgin, unused PC. You can boot and run Setup with the Upgrade media for Windows 7, but when you go to activate, it won't work.

Thanks to Kevin Fisher and a bit of testing, I have a simple workaround that does work.

After performing the clean install, ensure that there are no Windows Updates pending that would require a system reboot. (You'll see an orange shield icon next to Shutdown in the Start Menu if this is the case).

Then, open regedit.exe with Start Menu Search and navigate to:

HKLM/Software/Microsoft/Windows/CurrentVersion/Setup/OOBE/

Change MediaBootInstall from "1" to "0".

Open the Start Menu again and type cmd to display a shortcut to the Command Line utility. Right-click this shortcut and choose "Run as administrator." Handle the UAC prompt.

In the command line window, type: slmgr /rearm

Then tap ENTER, close the command line window and reboot. When Windows 7 reboots, run the Activate Windows utility, type in your product key and activate windows.

Voila!

A couple of notes here.

Others have reported that simply installing Windows 7 using Upgrade Media and then activating just works. It certainly doesn't hurt to try this, but my guess is that there was a version of Windows on the hard drive that Setup detected, thus making the install and activation work properly.

I have not tested this yet, but I assume if you launch Setup from within your previous version of Windows, choose Custom, reboot, and then wipe out the previous Windows version during Setup, that that will work as well.

And I'm just about positive that the old "install twice" hack from Vista will work too.

I will test all of this thoroughly when I get home. But for now I wanted to cut through the baloney and cut and paste jobs out there and give you something that really does work.

Again, thanks very much to Kevin for this information.

Windows 7 Question of the Year, Answered? (No. Updated.)

2009-10-22T18:47:29Z

I've gotten a number of emails from people who received an Upgrade version of Windows 7 in the mail and installed it on a new or formatted PC without having to resort to any tricks (like the Vista-era "install it twice" hack). If true, this does of course answer the number one remaining question about Windows 7: How do you do a clean install with Upgrade media? Apparently, with no effort at all. I will test this as soon as possible of course, but it's a very busy day so I'm not sure when I'll be able to get to it. In the meantime, it looks like we're getting some good news here.

If you have done a clean install with Windows 7 Upgrade media (i.e. there is no other OS installed on the PC at the time), please post here and let everyone know.

UPDATE: I tried this type of install in a VM and it did not work. Based on the error message I got, the Vista-era rules apply. That is, you'll have to do a stupid "install it twice" workaround as described above. Sigh.