*Words of Wisdom From The Elder

I recently built a new machine and when I built it I installed Windows Vista x64.  Windows 7 RC came out this past week and I wanted to install the RC release on my new machine but like everyone else I didn’t want to take the risk installing it only to have a hardware configuration problem.  Not only that but I’d have to reload the whole machine when Windows 7 RTM (release to manufacturer) came out.  But there is hope! 

For starters a new tool was released called the Windows 7 Upgrade Advisor that checks to see if a system is ready for Windows 7.  And then for those of us that have Home Server, upgrading and playing with the Windows 7 RC becomes a no brainer.  Here’s how.

Upgrade Advisor

Install the 6MB MSI file after you download it and press the start check button.

A few minutes will go by (depending on speed of your machine) presenting you with the ever popular green bar streaming from left to right.

The elapsed time on my machine was about 20 seconds or maybe a little longer, maybe 30.  Here’s my results:

Apparently I can upgrade but will have to download some newer versions of Live tools.  Not a big deal.  Upgrade instructions can be found here by the way.

I was curious about the “Passed 4 other system requirements”so here is what the “See all system requirements” looks like.

The good news is I can upgrade with confidence.  Now, how do I upgrade and then upgrade again when the real version comes out?  Answer: Home Server.

Using Home Server For Windows 7 Upgrade, Restore and then Upgrade

If you are like me and have Windows Home Server and want to upgrade your machine I say go for it!  Don’t even hesitate.  Why?  Because Home Server has your back.  Here’s what I did this morning to prepare for my Windows 7 RC upgrade this afternoon.

The first thing I did was go into the home server console and rename the last backup Home Server took of my machine.  After renaming it I told Home Server to “Keep this backup”.

Now I’m ready to install Windows 7 RC because I have a full backup of my current Vista x64 install.

What Happens when Windows 7 RTMs?

Simple.  I grab the restore CD for Home Server and restore the machine back to the “Pre-Windows 7 RC Backup” listed above.  After that is done, I’ll take the Windows 7 RTM disk and do another upgrade of the machine running Vista x64 again to Windows 7 (which is fully supported and has been fully tested). 

It may seem a little weird but trust me I don’t want to spend 2 days reloading all the software on my computer and I REALLY want to play with Windows 7 RC on the metal instead of a VM.  The way I figure it, I should be able to have Windows 7 RTM installed and working in about an 2 hours after it comes out.  And the best thing is I won’t miss a beat in productivity.

Don’t have Windows Home Server?  No?  Then I officially deduct 100 geek points from you if you are a reader of this blog.  There are tons of uses for Home Server.  Don’t walk, but run to the store and buy one.  Especially if you are a developer. 

I’ll see you on the other side running Windows 7 RC.

I just spent two hours trying to figure out why I couldn’t deploy a Windows Communications Service to my local IIS setup.  I kept getting the famous error:

503 – Service Unavailable

This error is about as helpful as a toothpick in a snow storm.

It turned out my problem was simple to solve, I just wasn’t paying attention. 

I had an application pool setup with my domain credentials so the service could run under my username and access the resources it needed to.  The problem was it had been so long since I  had worked on the application, my password for my domain account had expired.  Thus the application pool wouldn’t start.  I changed the password and things are working now. 

Hopefully this will help someone out there not waste a few hours of work.  I’m off to kick myself for not catching this earlier.

 Listen To This Episode 

http://deepfriedbytes.com/podcast/episode-20-windows-azure-the-overlord-in-the-cloud/

It isn’t everyday you get to talk to an Overlord but in this episode we did!  In this episode we talked to the Overlord of Windows Azure, Steve Marx.  Steve gives us the scoop on Windows Azure which we renamed to the Overlord in the Cloud.  We found it much more fitting. 

In this episode we break down Azure and discuss what it is, why you might want to use it, cost, availability and much more.

Enjoy.

How To Listen To The Show

1. Directly From The Web Site (or click the link above)

When you visit the site look for this:

Clicking the triangle will launch the Yahoo! media player and automatically start playing the show for you. As long as you leave the browser window open the player will stay open. Clicking off the page WILL stop the player!

2. Subscribe via iTunes and Zune

If you have iTunes or Zune installed on your computer you can subscribe to our show. In iTunes open the Music Store and search for “Deep Fried Bytes”. In the Zune software, go to the MarketPlace select Podcast and search for “Deep Fried Bytes” to subscribe to the show. You can also click either of the two icons below to automatically subscribe to the show if you have iTunes or Zune installed.

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Since I upgraded my Blackjack II to Windows Mobile 6.1 I haven’t traveled anywhere where I needed Internet Connection Sharing to work.  Getting ready for a trip this week I decided to test ICS before I got to the airport.  I just assumed it would work but it wasn’t the case for me. 

First off props to Steve Harman for already posting how to get into the phone and unlock the connections on the phone.  Like Steve I figured the settings were not correct (I’ve gone down this road before with AT&T).   Here’s how to fix the Blackjack II with Windows Mobile 6.1 to tether to your computer using Internet Connection Sharing (ICS) that is built into the 6.1 upgrade.

Step 1:

Follow Steve’s outline on how to unlock the GPRS connections via the registry.

You’ll need to download a utility.  Here is the link for posterity sakes:

http://www.breaksoft.com/Blog/Utilities/2005/1/Mobile_Registry_Editor.aspx

Step 2:

Once the settings are unlocked try to connect and see if you can. I was unable to.  I kept getting:

The remote party has ended this connection.

I went back into the settings and added the following username and password to the AT&T ISP setting and then it connected.  Success!

Username:  WAP@CINGULARGPRS.COM
Password:  CINGULAR1

When connecting to wap.cingular as the access point, I’ve always had to enter the username and password to get things to work.  Maybe some don’t, I’m not sure what the rules are, maybe it is location based who knows.  Anyway, I hope this helps.  Cheers.

UPDATE 10/31/2008

When I was in Los Angeles, CA I had to change these settings.  The only thing I got to work was applying the same settings in step 2 to the AT&T MediaNet connection.

UPDATE 3/20/2009

The best way I’ve found to get ICS working on Mobile 6.1 is to install the previous fix.  You’ll find it on my other review of the Blackjack II here.

Listen To This Episode
http://deepfriedbytes.com/podcast/episode-12-going-home-with-the-home-server-team/

Do you have a Windows Home Server?  Have you even heard of Home Server?  If you don’t have one or haven’t heard of it before, take my advice and listen to this show.  You should get one if you have a Windows home network and networked PCs.  If you do have one, then you know how glorious it is.  It is the best technology to come out of Microsoft in years that solves a real world problem.  As you’ll learn in this episode, it took someone passionate four times to get this product off the ground.  In this episode you’ll learn what Home Server is, the new features in Power Pack 1, how to build your own Home Server if you are a do it yourself type of person, and how to write your own Home Server plug ins.

In this show we sit down with Home Server product team members Jonas and Brendan to get the scoop on Home Server. 

Ways To Listen To The Show

There are several ways to listen to Deep Fried Bytes.

1. Directly From The Web Site (or click the link above)

When you visit the site look for this:

Clicking the triangle will launch the Yahoo! media player and automatically start playing the show for you. As long as you leave the browser window open the player will stay open. Clicking off the page WILL stop the player!

2. Subscribe via iTunes and Zune

If you have iTunes or Zune installed on your computer you can subscribe to our show. In iTunes open the Music Store and search for “Deep Fried Bytes”. In the Zune software, go to the MarketPlace select Podcast and search for “Deep Fried Bytes” to subscribe to the show. You can also click either of the two icons below to automatically subscribe to the show if you have iTunes or Zune installed.

3. Subscribe to RSS Feed

To stay current and up to date with the show, subscribe to the site’s RSS Feed. If you don’t know about RSS feeds you can read more here: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/RSS_(file_format)

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