This was posted on a Microsoft Blog then pulled. It’s somewhat cryptic but it sure looks like they say when we will see Windows 7:

There will be questions about the points for the launch of Windows 7

I asked Michael Bohlin, product manager, here are some dates more or less nailed.
February 26, TechNet and TrueSec with Microsoft Windows 7 Summit.
17-18 March, Tech Days in Västerås, our largest Windows 7 event in the spring.
May 31 Microsoft itself installed.
Early in April, after CeBIT, the RC.
June, July, August, Summer Koll with many presentations.
RTM, and business launch as it looks right now Q3 2009. The cut of all internal guesses here in the office right now is October 3 at 11.10.
February 2010 the board of trade.
Current information from Michael Bohlin the 7th of every month (many Saturday mail, it will be). The concept is developed based on the 7 Summits.
This is the business launch. Work with the consumer launch parallel.
/ Lotta Bath

No I’m not misspelling that game console but rather your “Windows Experience Index”, WEI, a tool in Windows Vista and Windows 7 which provides a scoring system for how your system stacks up. Overall this was probably a good idea however it would have been nice for Microsoft to be a little more open on how the scoring is done. Unfortunately if they had then vendors would have found how to rig the scores so we have to live with what we’ve got.

Now comes alone Windows 7 and multiple users have found their WEI scores dropped significantly. In reviewing the scores most are finding their Hard Drive scores have plummeted to numbers like 2.9 and 3.0 which in turn limits your overall WEI to the same score. So either Microsoft has reworked the WEI application and it’s scoring (which we know they did), it’s a Windows 7 Bug or there is something really wrong with the Hard Drive access speeds.

So what could be wrong or changed which takes the same hardware and scores it at 5 and above on Vista but 2’s and 3’s on Windows 7? Drivers are the obvious problem so let’s look there and see what is up. What I found is that even though Windows 7 found all my hardware I was able to manually install several updates using the Intel INF Chipset to both USB and ICH devices. To do this you have to go one step beyond just running the INF installer by manually going into Device Manager selecting each device and update the driver by pointing to the INF install point. The results on your WEI may or may not show up however I immediately found Windows 7 shutting down faster.

With no major change in my WEI I went looking deeper. Maybe it’s how Windows 7 and the drivers are working together. NCQ and ACHI came to mind so I went into my BIOS and did some digging. Reviewing my motherboard manual and BIOS settings I find that my ACHI mode is set correctly to enable NCQ. Is Windows 7 doing something to disable NCQ? Pulling up my Hard Drives in Device Manager I have a drive with NCQ and a drive without NCQ. It’s pretty clear which is which as within Device Manager the NCQ drive has “Enable write caching on the device” where the non-NCQ drive does not.

By default Windows 7 checks the “Enable write caching on the device” which obviously does something to either break disk performance or WEI scoring. Now I’ve not had time to fully benchmark the results by running a true HD bench however both my WEI scores as well as my perceived performance certainly changed by unchecking “Enable write caching on the device”. Below are my scores before and after the change, wow.

I’ve got an email into Seagate on their take however I am not hopeful of getting a response of any consequences. I am sure they will spout some “we don’t support beta” or “this appears to be an issue with your system” type of answer.

I found this will looking for something else and thought it just said it all when it comes to Windows Vista.

Now if your not catching the joke look closely. This is the Vista Solution Center and the top listed solution for Vista is to download Windows 7 BETA!

If your using Automatic Updates as most should you should be aware Microsoft will push Internet Explorer 8 out as a High Priority Update when it is released. If you do not want IE8 installed behind your back then Microsoft has released a Blocking Tool which will allow you to block IE8 until your ready.

Overview

To help our customers become more secure and up-to-date, Microsoft will distribute Windows Internet Explorer 8 as a high-priority update through Automatic Updates for Windows XP Service Pack 2 (SP2) and higher, Windows XP Professional x64 Edition, Windows Server 2003 SP2 for x64 and x86, Windows Vista for x64 and x86, Windows Vista SP1 for x64 and x86, and Windows Server 2008 for x64 and x86. This Blocker Toolkit is intended for organizations that would like to block automatic delivery of Internet Explorer 8 to machines in environments where Automatic Updates is enabled. The Blocker Toolkit will not expire.
Note:

• For computers running Windows XP or Windows Server 2003, the Blocker Toolkit prevents the machine from receiving Internet Explorer 8 as a high-priority update via Automatic Updates and the Express install option on the Windows Update and Microsoft Update sites; Internet Explorer 8 will be listed as an optional update with the Custom install option.
• For computers running Windows Vista or Windows Server 2008, the Blocker Toolkit prevents the machine from receiving Internet Explorer 8 as an important update via Automatic Updates on the Windows Update and Microsoft Update sites; Internet Explorer 8 will be listed as an optional update.
• The Blocker Toolkit will not prevent users from manually installing Internet Explorer 8 as a Recommended update from the Windows Update or Microsoft Update sites, from the Microsoft Download Center, or from external media.
• Organizations do not need to deploy the Blocker Toolkit in environments managed with an update management solution such as Windows Server Update Services or Systems Management Server 2003. Organizations can use those products to fully manage deployment of updates released through Windows Update and Microsoft Update, including Internet Explorer 8, within their environment.

If you used the Blocker Toolkit to block Internet Explorer 7 from being installed as a high-priority update, you need to use the Internet Explorer 8 version of the Blocker Toolkit to block Internet Explorer 8 from being installed. There are different registry keys used to block or unblock automatic delivery of Internet Explorer 7 and Internet Explorer 8.

Internet Explorer 8 Blocking Tool

Well it’s back apparently and is able to get around most malware protection. Prior versions had pretty much been dealt with by Microsoft’s Malicious Software Removal Tool as well as most antivirus vendors which detect a broad range of bugs instead of just viruses. This new release so far has infected a good half dozen machines that we have seen and all of these were all protected against the prior versions. The nice thing I guess is it’s pretty easy to spot that a machine is infected and what it’s infected with:

They are not shy about saying what has taken control of your machine so PLEASE do not click the link to purchasing Antivirus 2009!

Removal takes a bit of work and knowledge of Windows Safe Mode as well as how Windows loads programs at Boot. We of course suggest you contact your IT provider as it is possible your machine needs more in depth cleaning since if you got infected with one piece of Malware (Spyware/Adware) there may be more hiding on your system.

Meaning no disrespect to the poster of this ad in Craigslist however I want to ask would you have somebody who claims to be a PC Tech come work on your computer who uses a GMail account?

PC repair and Service

Have an old PC thats running slow or may not be working at all? Then contact me and let me know. I do repairs and service on almost all brands. From re-installing windows, to virus control, to full rebuilds. Don't throw out a good PC when you can get it running like new. I can come to you or pick-up for repair. Servicing Lexington, Salisbury and parts of Winston. My prices beat those other Geeks and their entire squad.
email me at bxxxbatman@gmail.com
Brad

I’m sorry but part of being a professional is having that business card and in today’s world your email is your business card. Considering you can register a domain for around $10 and get cheap or even free hosting from say Microsoft is it “professional” to use GMail as your primary form of contact?

So Brad I applaud you in taking the initiative in going out on your own but at least in my opinion you need to rethink a few things such as your email hosting provider and probably your email address, Mr. Batman.

Hey now here is something that may just be worth listening to. Steve Ballmere will keynote and all the rumors say he will introduce Windows 7 Beta. Check out the streams via the links below, 750K, screaming.

It will begin on Wednesday January 7 at 6.30pm PST:
100K CEO 2009 Live Stream
300K CEO 2009 Live Stream
750K CEO 2009 Live Stream