A member of the Microsoft Product Quality Team has confirmed the problems and offered a bit of insight into what’s causing them, as well as some advice on what users can do to fix the glitch.
“Prior to the SP1 installation the system properly went into sleep mode and properly woke up. But, after installing Windows 7 SP1 you may not be able to properly put the system into sleep mode,” the Microsoft Product Quality Team representative said.
“You have to press the power button to force the system restart, and it will show an error that the machine was not shut down properly.”
Users that have a SCSIport miniport driver as the startup device driver on their machines and that started experiencing issues after SP1 RTM was deployed need to install KB 2495523.
This particular hotfix is designed to resolve problems related to hibernation according to the software giant, but it apparently also covers Sleep Mode.
“This issue occurs because the operating system cannot call the crash dump file creation and hibernation features correctly if the operating system starts from a device that uses a SCSIport miniport driver,” the software giant said.
There is an additional workaround, if the hotfix above does not work. Customers are required to customize the power options associated with their copy of Windows 7 SP1.
“Open “Power options” in the control panel. Change the active power plan by clicking the “Change plan settings”. Then click “Change the advanced power settings”. Scroll down the “Sleep” option and expand it. Change the option “Allow hyprid sleep” to off. Click “OK”,” the Microsoft Product Quality Team member added.
Windows 7 SP1 RTM and Windows Server 2008 R2 SP1 RTM are available for download here
However, with Windows 8 reportedly approaching the Beta development milestone sometime in the second half of 2011, the volume of information about of the operating system available in the wild has exploded.
Leaked screenshot and bits and pieces of unconfirmed information are widely available, and despite this Windows 7’s market share continues to grow unhindered.
According to the latest statistics from Net Applications, at the end of March 2011, Windows 7’s usage share had climbed to as much as 24.17% from 23.08% the previous month.
Meanwhile, the usual suspects continued to lose audience to Windows 7. Between February and March, Windows XP dropped from 55.09% to 54.39%, while Windows Vista’s usage share went down from 11.01% to 10.56%.
Overall, Windows’s share of the market eroded just a bit more in the past couple of months, from 89.69% to 89.58%.
March 2011 marked the general availability of Windows 7 Service Pack 1, the first upgrade to the client since launch.
Since SP1 did not introduce any new features and was just a standard service pack is no wonder that Windows 7’s growth kept somewhat steady.
But most importantly, at least for the time being, Windows 8 seems unable to grab the limelight from Windows 7.
Of course, the fact that the actual Windows 8 bits haven’t been leaked yet, certainly helps. It does appear that Microsoft has focused more than with previous Windows releases on keeping Windows vNext under a tight lid this time around.
With Windows 8 Milestone 3 now in the works and chatter about the new OS increasing in quantity and volume, it will be interesting to see Windows 7’s market evolution over the coming months.
Our readers might already know that this offering is nothing new, but apparently, although the Redmond company continues to claim that it’s limited by either supply or time of availability, fact is that it continues to be live.
It must be underlined that students can only get the upgrade edition to Windows 7 Professional. This means that they already need to own a genuine license for an older release of the operating system, such as Windows Vista or Windows XP.
“Are you still running Windows Vista? Have you been lusting after the sleeker, sexier Windows 7 Professional? Luckily for you it’s no longer a fantasy,” revealed Microsoft’s Kristina Libby.
“Windows 7 Pro is designed to make new technology, including advances in digital media, hardware and devices, really shine. For a limited time only, college students can upgrade from Windows Vista to Windows 7 Pro for just $29.99 by going here.”
In addition to the Windows 7 Professional upgrade SKU, students can also buy a copy of the Office 2010 productivity suite at a considerable discount.
The software giant is selling Office Professional Academic 2010 for as little as $79.95. Of course, the same requirements as for buying Windows 7 Professional upgrade apply.
Libby offered a few reasons for students to make the jump to Windows 7 Professional:
“1. Get quicker access to all of your stuff by using Pin and Jump Lists to keep programs and files at your fingertips.
2. Build your research and presentations faster and easier using Snap to have 2 side-by-side screens that you can easily share information between.
3. Share files and printers among multiple PCs- from one Windows 7-based PC to another you can share files, music, photos and even printers across your home network.
4. Easily create and share movies and post them on YouTube or Facebook with ease.”
Dell’s upcoming Windows 7 tablet might not hit store shelves until fall, a new report claims.
Citing an anonymous source, Forbes is reporting that Dell plans to launch its 10-inch Windows 7-based tablet as early as September.
Dell hasn’t confirmed exactly when it might launch its Windows 7 tablet. When the company unveiled the device in February, it said that the tablet would hit store shelves by the middle of 2011. That announcement preceded a leak of Dell’s reported “tablet roadmap,” which indicated that the company could launch its Windows 7 tablet as early as mid-May. The roadmap also included mention of a Windows 8 tablet that could hit store shelves in the first quarter of 2012.
The PC maker declined to comment on Forbes’ report.
According to Dell, its Windows 7 tablet is designed for those “who need greater mobility, as well as IT organizations that demand control, security, manageability, and integration with existing infrastructure investments.” It will feature an Intel processor.
Dell also said in February that it plans to launch a 10-inch Android-based tablet as well, though it didn’t provide many details on that device. The company currently sells the 5-inch and 7-inch Streak tablets. Both of those devices run Android.
