Forget XP SP3, and Vista SP1, Have a Taste of Windows 7

The third service pack for Windows XP and the first major refresh for Windows Vista, are not even out in final form, as Vista SP1 moved from pre-beta to fully fledged beta, followed by a preview of XP SP3, but the releases are already old news.
In parallel with the development of Windows Server 2008, formerly codenamed Longhorn, Vista SP1 and XP SP3, Microsoft is also focusing on building Windows 7, formerly codenamed Vienna. Windows 7 is designed to be the successor of Windows Vista, and is currently planned for 2010. Microsoft Distinguished Engineer Eric Traut gave a presentation of the kernel of Windows 7, the operating system's core, which is designed to have a minimal footprint.

MiniWin "is the core of Windows 7. It is a collection of components that we've taken out. A lot of people think of Windows as this really large, bloated operating system, that's maybe a fair characterization, I could admit. It is large, it contains a lot of stuff in it, but at its core, the kernel and the components that make up the very core of the operating system, actually its pretty streamlined. It's still bigger than I'd like it to be but we've taken a shot recently at really stripping out all of the layers above and making sure that we have a very clean architectural layer", Traut revealed.

MiniWin is an internal only product. Microsoft plans in no way to productize MiniWin; however, the bare-bone kernel will act as the core for a lot of the company's solutions. Traut gave a presentation of the Windows 7 source code base that occupies only 25 MG of disk space. The amount is virtually insignificant compared with the 4 GB that Windows Vista manages to take out.

Of course that the MiniWin stripped down kernel is an integer part of Microsoft's strategy to deliver a modular installation of its operating system, something already done with Windows Server 2008's core installation. MiniWin is composed of approximately 100 files and it will run with just 40 MB of RAM. But at the same time it does not come with a graphics subsystem and only brings to the table a rudimentary HTTP server. You can access a video of Traut's presentation of Windows 7, and MiniWin .

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Here’s step by step guide for install MySQL server on Windows 7Install MySQL on Windows 7

This  is another topic that I want to explain today. MySQL is common friend of Apache web server and PHP. Combination of those software powered many service and many website all over the world.

Download MySQL Binary

MSI Installer vs ZIP
MSI installer highly recommended for basic user, just click next and next for install and offer shortcut for access and configuring the option.
Zip file suitable for advance user who want to configure anything by themselves.
32 bit vs 64 bit
Check your Windows 7 first. Is it 32 bit or 64 bit. If your Windows 7 has 64 bit support I highly recommend 64 bit version specially if you have memory more than 4 GB. If you only have 1 GB of RAM then I recommend you to pick 32 bit version.


Save to My Document or other place.

Install MySQL on Windows 7

Start installation process by double click installer file.
Welcome to the setup wizard for MySQL Server 5.1
Click Next.

Choose Setup Type
MySQL installer provide 3 type of setup :

1. Typical; recommend for general use.
2. Complete; all program features will be installed.
3. Custom; I prefer this one because I want to specify installation folder

Choose Custom and Click Next.

Change install location to C:\mysql\ by click Change button and enter new path. Click Next when you’re ready.

Ready to install program
Examine current setting produced by wizard. click Install to start the process.

Little advertisement from MySQL click Next.

Click Next.

Click Finish to exit the wizard.
make sure to check “configure the MySQL server now“.

Configure MySQL server on Windows 7

MySQL Server Instance Configuration Wizard will start, it will help us to configure MySQL server in easy way.
Click Next.

Select “Detailed Configuration” and click Next.

Choose “Developer Machine” for server type. It will use minimal amount of memory.
Click Next.

Select “Multifunctional Database” for database usage.
Click Next.

Click Next.

Choose “Decision Support (DSS) / OLAP” and click Next.

Choose “Enable TCP/IP Networking” and “Enable Strict Mode“.
Click Next.

Select default character set “manual” and point to UTF 8.
click Next.

Set Windows Option
Choose “Install as Windows Service” and “Include Bin Directory in Windows PATH“.
Click Next.

Set Security Settings
Enter password twice for root account.
Click Next.

Click Execute to start the wizard work for :

• Prepare configuration
• Write configuration file
• Start service
• Apply security settings

Click Finish.

Testing MySQL Server on Windows 7

Open command prompt

Issue these command to see if the server work as expected (BOLD)

Microsoft Windows [Version 6.1.7600]
Copyright (c) 2009 Microsoft Corporation. All rights reserved.
C:\Users\LAPTOP>mysql -V
mysql Ver 14.14 Distrib 5.1.52, for Win32 (ia32)
C:\Users\LAPTOP>mysql -uroot -p
Enter password: ******
Welcome to the MySQL monitor. Commands end with ; or \g.
Your MySQL connection id is 4
Server version: 5.1.52-community MySQL Community Server (GPL)
Copyright (c) 2000, 2010, Oracle and/or its affiliates. All rights reserved.
This software comes with ABSOLUTELY NO WARRANTY. This is free software,
and you are welcome to modify and redistribute it under the GPL v2 license
Type ‘help;’ or ‘\h’ for help. Type ‘\c’ to clear the current input statement.
mysql> SHOW ENGINES\G
*************************** 1. row ***************************
Engine: MyISAM
Support: YES
Comment: Default engine as of MySQL 3.23 with great performance
Transactions: NO
XA: NO
Savepoints: NO
*************************** 2. row ***************************
Engine: CSV
Support: YES
Comment: CSV storage engine
Transactions: NO
XA: NO
Savepoints: NO
*************************** 3. row ***************************
Engine: MRG_MYISAM
Support: YES
Comment: Collection of identical MyISAM tables
Transactions: NO
XA: NO
Savepoints: NO
*************************** 4. row ***************************
Engine: BLACKHOLE
Support: YES
Comment: /dev/null storage engine (anything you write to it disappears)
Transactions: NO
XA: NO
Savepoints: NO
*************************** 5. row ***************************
Engine: FEDERATED
Support: NO
Comment: Federated MySQL storage engine
Transactions: NULL
XA: NULL
Savepoints: NULL
*************************** 6. row ***************************
Engine: InnoDB
Support: DEFAULT
Comment: Supports transactions, row-level locking, and foreign keys
Transactions: YES
XA: YES
Savepoints: YES
*************************** 7. row ***************************
Engine: ARCHIVE
Support: YES
Comment: Archive storage engine
Transactions: NO
XA: NO
Savepoints: NO
*************************** 8. row ***************************
Engine: MEMORY
Support: YES
Comment: Hash based, stored in memory, useful for temporary tables
Transactions: NO
XA: NO
Savepoints: NO
8 rows in set (0.00 sec)
mysql>

Great. At this stage MySQL Server successfully installed with account root enabled with password. Access available via TCP/IP and optimized for developer setting.
I will cover integration of Apache, PHP and MySQL in other post.
Stay health.

Read more »

Here’s step by step guide for install MySQL server on Windows 7Install MySQL on Windows 7

This  is another topic that I want to explain today. MySQL is common friend of Apache web server and PHP. Combination of those software powered many service and many website all over the world.

Download MySQL Binary

MSI Installer vs ZIP
MSI installer highly recommended for basic user, just click next and next for install and offer shortcut for access and configuring the option.
Zip file suitable for advance user who want to configure anything by themselves.
32 bit vs 64 bit
Check your Windows 7 first. Is it 32 bit or 64 bit. If your Windows 7 has 64 bit support I highly recommend 64 bit version specially if you have memory more than 4 GB. If you only have 1 GB of RAM then I recommend you to pick 32 bit version.


Save to My Document or other place.

Install MySQL on Windows 7

Start installation process by double click installer file.
Welcome to the setup wizard for MySQL Server 5.1
Click Next.

Choose Setup Type
MySQL installer provide 3 type of setup :

1. Typical; recommend for general use.
2. Complete; all program features will be installed.
3. Custom; I prefer this one because I want to specify installation folder

Choose Custom and Click Next.

Change install location to C:\mysql\ by click Change button and enter new path. Click Next when you’re ready.

Ready to install program
Examine current setting produced by wizard. click Install to start the process.

Little advertisement from MySQL click Next.

Click Next.

Click Finish to exit the wizard.
make sure to check “configure the MySQL server now“.

Configure MySQL server on Windows 7

MySQL Server Instance Configuration Wizard will start, it will help us to configure MySQL server in easy way.
Click Next.

Select “Detailed Configuration” and click Next.

Choose “Developer Machine” for server type. It will use minimal amount of memory.
Click Next.

Select “Multifunctional Database” for database usage.
Click Next.

Click Next.

Choose “Decision Support (DSS) / OLAP” and click Next.

Choose “Enable TCP/IP Networking” and “Enable Strict Mode“.
Click Next.

Select default character set “manual” and point to UTF 8.
click Next.

Set Windows Option
Choose “Install as Windows Service” and “Include Bin Directory in Windows PATH“.
Click Next.

Set Security Settings
Enter password twice for root account.
Click Next.

Click Execute to start the wizard work for :

• Prepare configuration
• Write configuration file
• Start service
• Apply security settings

Click Finish.

Testing MySQL Server on Windows 7

Open command prompt

Issue these command to see if the server work as expected (BOLD)

Microsoft Windows [Version 6.1.7600]
Copyright (c) 2009 Microsoft Corporation. All rights reserved.
C:\Users\LAPTOP>mysql -V
mysql Ver 14.14 Distrib 5.1.52, for Win32 (ia32)
C:\Users\LAPTOP>mysql -uroot -p
Enter password: ******
Welcome to the MySQL monitor. Commands end with ; or \g.
Your MySQL connection id is 4
Server version: 5.1.52-community MySQL Community Server (GPL)
Copyright (c) 2000, 2010, Oracle and/or its affiliates. All rights reserved.
This software comes with ABSOLUTELY NO WARRANTY. This is free software,
and you are welcome to modify and redistribute it under the GPL v2 license
Type ‘help;’ or ‘\h’ for help. Type ‘\c’ to clear the current input statement.
mysql> SHOW ENGINES\G
*************************** 1. row ***************************
Engine: MyISAM
Support: YES
Comment: Default engine as of MySQL 3.23 with great performance
Transactions: NO
XA: NO
Savepoints: NO
*************************** 2. row ***************************
Engine: CSV
Support: YES
Comment: CSV storage engine
Transactions: NO
XA: NO
Savepoints: NO
*************************** 3. row ***************************
Engine: MRG_MYISAM
Support: YES
Comment: Collection of identical MyISAM tables
Transactions: NO
XA: NO
Savepoints: NO
*************************** 4. row ***************************
Engine: BLACKHOLE
Support: YES
Comment: /dev/null storage engine (anything you write to it disappears)
Transactions: NO
XA: NO
Savepoints: NO
*************************** 5. row ***************************
Engine: FEDERATED
Support: NO
Comment: Federated MySQL storage engine
Transactions: NULL
XA: NULL
Savepoints: NULL
*************************** 6. row ***************************
Engine: InnoDB
Support: DEFAULT
Comment: Supports transactions, row-level locking, and foreign keys
Transactions: YES
XA: YES
Savepoints: YES
*************************** 7. row ***************************
Engine: ARCHIVE
Support: YES
Comment: Archive storage engine
Transactions: NO
XA: NO
Savepoints: NO
*************************** 8. row ***************************
Engine: MEMORY
Support: YES
Comment: Hash based, stored in memory, useful for temporary tables
Transactions: NO
XA: NO
Savepoints: NO
8 rows in set (0.00 sec)
mysql>

Great. At this stage MySQL Server successfully installed with account root enabled with password. Access available via TCP/IP and optimized for developer setting.
I will cover integration of Apache, PHP and MySQL in other post.
Stay health.

Read more »

Shell Commands Windows 7

The following are the Shell Commands available in Windows 7. These can be used for many things like launching paths from a command window or to create shortcuts to specific Windows 7 applications (enabling you to Pin Items to Windows 7 Taskbar). This complete list was stripped and converted from an exported FolderDescriptions registry folder found here: HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SOFTWARE\Microsoft\Windows\CurrentVersion\Explorer\FolderDescriptions Shell Commands List for Windows 7 Note: I did not bother to alphabetize the list. This is the order in which the registry entries originally appeared. shell:Common Programs shell:GameTasks shell:UserProfiles shell:MyComputerFolder shell:SyncSetupFolder shell:DpapiKeys shell:SamplePlaylists shell:Favorites shell:My Video shell:SearchHomeFolder shell:RecordedTVLibrary shell:System shell:Libraries shell:MusicLibrary shell:CommonVideo shell:SyncResultsFolder shell:LocalizedResourcesDir shell:Cookies shell:Original Images shell:CommonMusic shell:My Pictures shell:Cache shell:Downloads shell:CommonDownloads shell:AppData shell:SyncCenterFolder shell:PublicLibraries shell:VideosLibrary shell:My Music shell:ConflictFolder shell:SavedGames shell:InternetFolder shell:HomeGroupFolder shell:Quick Launch shell:SystemCertificates shell:Contacts shell:UserProgramFiles shell:Device Metadata Store shell:Profile shell:Start Menu shell:Common AppData shell:ProgramFilesCommonX64 shell:PhotoAlbums shell:ProgramFilesX64 shell:ConnectionsFolder shell:Administrative Tools shell:PrintersFolder shell:DocumentsLibrary shell:Default Gadgets shell:ProgramFilesX86 shell:Searches shell:Common Startup shell:ControlPanelFolder shell:SampleVideos shell:SendTo shell:ResourceDir shell:ProgramFiles shell:CredentialManager shell:PrintHood shell:MAPIFolder shell:User Pinned shell:CD Burning shell:UsersLibrariesFolder shell:AppUpdatesFolder shell:Common Start Menu shell:LocalAppDataLow shell:Templates shell:Gadgets shell:Programs shell:PicturesLibrary shell:Recent shell:SampleMusic shell:Desktop shell:CommonPictures shell:RecycleBinFolder shell:CryptoKeys shell:Common Templates shell:Startup shell:ImplicitAppShortcuts shell:UserProgramFilesCommon shell:Links shell:OEM Links shell:SamplePictures shell:Common Desktop shell:NetHood shell:Ringtones shell:Games shell:Common Administrative Tools shell:NetworkPlacesFolder shell:SystemX86 shell:History shell:AddNewProgramsFolder shell:Playlists shell:ProgramFilesCommonX86 shell:PublicGameTasks shell:ChangeRemoveProgramsFolder shell:Public shell:CommonRingtones shell:Common Documents shell:CSCFolder shell:Local AppData shell:Windows shell:UsersFilesFolder shell:ProgramFilesCommon shell:Fonts shell:Personal To use these Shell Commands for shortcuts, simply enter the following for the "location of the item" when you create a shortcut: %windir%\explorer.exe shell:Some Name You can also find most system icons in the following path: %SystemRoot%\system32\imageres.dll

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Shell Commands Windows 7

The following are the Shell Commands available in Windows 7. These can be used for many things like launching paths from a command window or to create shortcuts to specific Windows 7 applications (enabling you to Pin Items to Windows 7 Taskbar). This complete list was stripped and converted from an exported FolderDescriptions registry folder found here: HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SOFTWARE\Microsoft\Windows\CurrentVersion\Explorer\FolderDescriptions Shell Commands List for Windows 7 Note: I did not bother to alphabetize the list. This is the order in which the registry entries originally appeared. shell:Common Programs shell:GameTasks shell:UserProfiles shell:MyComputerFolder shell:SyncSetupFolder shell:DpapiKeys shell:SamplePlaylists shell:Favorites shell:My Video shell:SearchHomeFolder shell:RecordedTVLibrary shell:System shell:Libraries shell:MusicLibrary shell:CommonVideo shell:SyncResultsFolder shell:LocalizedResourcesDir shell:Cookies shell:Original Images shell:CommonMusic shell:My Pictures shell:Cache shell:Downloads shell:CommonDownloads shell:AppData shell:SyncCenterFolder shell:PublicLibraries shell:VideosLibrary shell:My Music shell:ConflictFolder shell:SavedGames shell:InternetFolder shell:HomeGroupFolder shell:Quick Launch shell:SystemCertificates shell:Contacts shell:UserProgramFiles shell:Device Metadata Store shell:Profile shell:Start Menu shell:Common AppData shell:ProgramFilesCommonX64 shell:PhotoAlbums shell:ProgramFilesX64 shell:ConnectionsFolder shell:Administrative Tools shell:PrintersFolder shell:DocumentsLibrary shell:Default Gadgets shell:ProgramFilesX86 shell:Searches shell:Common Startup shell:ControlPanelFolder shell:SampleVideos shell:SendTo shell:ResourceDir shell:ProgramFiles shell:CredentialManager shell:PrintHood shell:MAPIFolder shell:User Pinned shell:CD Burning shell:UsersLibrariesFolder shell:AppUpdatesFolder shell:Common Start Menu shell:LocalAppDataLow shell:Templates shell:Gadgets shell:Programs shell:PicturesLibrary shell:Recent shell:SampleMusic shell:Desktop shell:CommonPictures shell:RecycleBinFolder shell:CryptoKeys shell:Common Templates shell:Startup shell:ImplicitAppShortcuts shell:UserProgramFilesCommon shell:Links shell:OEM Links shell:SamplePictures shell:Common Desktop shell:NetHood shell:Ringtones shell:Games shell:Common Administrative Tools shell:NetworkPlacesFolder shell:SystemX86 shell:History shell:AddNewProgramsFolder shell:Playlists shell:ProgramFilesCommonX86 shell:PublicGameTasks shell:ChangeRemoveProgramsFolder shell:Public shell:CommonRingtones shell:Common Documents shell:CSCFolder shell:Local AppData shell:Windows shell:UsersFilesFolder shell:ProgramFilesCommon shell:Fonts shell:Personal To use these Shell Commands for shortcuts, simply enter the following for the "location of the item" when you create a shortcut: %windir%\explorer.exe shell:Some Name You can also find most system icons in the following path: %SystemRoot%\system32\imageres.dll

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How to Share Files and Printers between Windows 7 and XP

If you have a home network and are running Windows 7 and have XP on other PC(s) you might want to share files between them. Today we will look at the steps to share files and hardware devices like a printer.

Sharing Files In Windows 7 and XP

Sharing folders between two Windows 7 machines with the new HomeGroup feature is an easy process, but the HomeGroup feature is not compatible with Vista or XP. For this tutorial we are using Windows 7 x64 RC1 and XP Professional SP3 connected through a basic Linksys home wireless router.

First make sure both machines are members of the same Workgroup which by default is named Workgroup.

On the Windows 7 machine go into Control Panel \ All Control Panel Items \ Network and Sharing Center then click on Change advanced sharing settings.

You will want to verify the following settings under Advanced Sharing Settings for the Home or Work and Public profile.

If you want any user to have access the public shares turn off password protection. This is located in Advanced Sharing Settings toward the bottom of the list.

If you want to keep it enabled make sure there is a log in account for the other XP machines and they have a password.

Now if you go into Network in Windows 7 you should see your XP machine and the Windows 7 as well which in this case is Mysticgeek-PC.

To share the printer on the Windows 7 machine go into Devices and Printers from the Start menu and double click on the printer icon.

Next double click on “Customize your printer”.

In the Properties screen click on the Sharing Tab and check the box to share the printer and type in its share name.

If your XP machine is an x86 OS you can install Additional Drivers before setting up the XP machine.

To find the shared folders and devices double click on the Windows 7 machine icon under Network. Here you can see the printer connected to my Windows 7 machine is shared and also the Users Folder.

Continue into the Users folder and Public to see the shared folders, here I also created a folder called XP Share just to keep everything in central location.

Over on your XP machine open up My Network Places to find the Windows 7 (mysticgeek-pc) shared folder.

Double click on the Share folder to find a list of shared folders in the Public folder on Windows 7. If you have password protection enabled you will need to type in the username and password of the user account on the Windows 7 machine first.

Setup XP With Shared Printer

To set up the shared printer in XP you will need to go into Printers and Faxes from the Start menu and kick off the Add Printer Wizard.

Now select “A network printer, or a printer attached to another computer” then hit Next.

Next select “Connect to this printer…” and type in the path for the printer connected to the Windows 7 machine and click next.

Now click Yes to the confirmation message.

Then click Finish the printer to install and complete the Wizard.

In some cases you will need to install the x86 XP drivers for the shared printer because the Windows 7 drivers are not compatible with XP. When everything is installed open up Printers and Faxes to find the shared printer.

This should help you get started with sharing your files and other devices with your Windows 7 machine. When I first started I was able to see the printer on XP right away because I had a HomeGroup set up, but once I deleted it I needed to share the printer like you would for a workgroup. You might also have to do a couple restarts of the XP machine for it to see the shared resources on Windows 7. If you have had any experiences with sharing between Windows 7 and XP

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