Your Windows 7 migration problems solved

Windows Secrets Newsletter • Issue 222 • 2009-11-19 • Circulation: over 400,000

Table of contents

Bonus: How to get the most from your Windows 7 upgrade
Top Story: Your Windows 7 migration problems solved
Known Issues: Dumping Java cache improves browser performance
Wacky Web Week: New ‘Twilight’ movie gives a howl to cotton
LangaList Plus: Windows utility repairs corrupted system files
Best Software: Should you move to 64-bit Windows 7?
Patch Watch: XP update conflicts with popular video adapters

Bonus

How to get the most from your Windows 7 upgrade

This month’s free bonus to all is a three-chapter excerpt from Windows 7 Tweaks: A Comprehensive Guide on Customizing, Increasing Performance, and Securing Microsoft Windows 7 by Steve Sinchak. The book provides valuable information about making the most of Windows’ newest operating system.

The printed volume won’t be available until Dec. 9, but all subscribers can receive our exclusive excerpt of three full chapters through Dec. 2. Simply visit your preferences page, save any changes, and a download link will appear. Thanks! — Brian Livingston, editorial director

All subscribers: Set your preferences and download your bonus
Info on the printed book: United States / Canada / Elsewhere

Top Story

Your Windows 7 migration problems solved

By Woody Leonhard

The Windows 7 rollout has gone extraordinarily well, with millions of machines upgraded in just a few weeks.

But some Win7 upgraders have encountered problems ranging from installation headaches to missing games to confusing — boy howdy, really confusing — licensing questions.

Why does the Windows 7 installer freeze?

“I downloaded and ran the Windows 7 upgrade. I keep getting an error message saying, ‘We are unable to create or save new files in the folder in which this application was downloaded.’ I have all sorts of room on that hard drive. What’s happening?”

This is the most common installation error I’ve seen. If you downloaded your Windows 7 upgrade from Digital River, you have my sympathies. Digital River provided order fulfillment for Microsoft’s Windows 7 Academic Store. I don’t know why, but Digital River decided to offer the download in .box files instead of the more-common .iso format.

There was no end of problems with the .box files. Microsoft has a voluminous post on the problems — including resolutions — in its Answers forum. Ultimately, Digital River started offering .iso files. Go back to the Digital River site and download the Win7 upgrade again. Problem solved — after much wailing and gnashing of teeth.

“I tried to run an in-place upgrade from Vista Home Premium to Windows 7 Home Premium, but the installer gets stuck at 62%. I turn off the computer, turn it back on again, and Vista rolls itself back fine. But when I run the Win7 install again, it gets stuck at 62%. Again. Why?”

I mentioned in my Nov. 12 Top Story that running a Windows 7 in-place upgrade over Vista is like building a new house on an old landfill — there are reasons why I always recommend custom/clean installs, folks!

That said, it seems that 62 is Windows 7′s unlucky number. Lots and lots of in-place upgrade attempts stall at 62%, and there seem to be several causes for the problem.

Fortunately, the solution is easy — if you know where to find it. Microsoft provides an automated Fix-it button in Knowledge Base article 975253. This service reaches into your Vista machine and adds an “environment variable” called:

MIG_UPGRADE_IGNORE_PLUGINS

This variable instructs the upgrade installer to ignore a program called IphlpsvcMigPlugin.dll. (Remember Superman and Mr. Mxyzptlk? Must be related.) That does the trick.

“I’m trying an in-place upgrade from Vista to Windows 7, and the installer goes into endless reboots. I get an ‘installation failed’ message and the PC reboots, only to go back to the installation again, a failure, and another boot. Haaaaalp!”

There are myriad reasons why this is happening, but one in particular seems to come up fairly frequently. Jerry Ham was able to reproduce the error, as he explains in a blog post on the MS Answers forum. The glitch appears to be caused by a misdirected Documents folder.

Thankfully, Jerry’s post also provides a solution. Instead of redirecting the Documents folder to a subfolder of Documents also named Documents, Jerry points it to the primary Documents folder. After this change, the upgrade proceeds without a hitch.

Hey, where did Windows 7 put my games?

“I encountered problems with XP, so I decided to upgrade to Windows 7. I had it installed by a professional. Now when I click Start, Games, I can’t see any games! I am a FreeCell addict. Looking on the Web for an answer only made me more frustrated. Who stole my games?”

Several people have asked me the same question. I have no idea why your games disappeared, but I do know how to bring them back. Click Start, Control Panel, Programs (in Category view), Programs and Features. Select Turn Windows features on or off in the left pane, make sure the box next to Games is checked, and click OK. The games will then appear on the Start menu, right where they belong.

How many upgrades am I allowed per install disc?

“I recently upgraded my desktop PC from Vista to Windows 7 and it works beautifully! I also have a laptop running Vista. My question is, can I use the same software to upgrade my laptop as well? Some people have said yes, and some absolutely not — could you help me out here?”

Technically, it’s possible to use the same DVD to upgrade any number of PCs. But when the time comes to enter the validation key, the second (or third or fourth) machine won’t pass muster. Microsoft makes its money by selling those keys, so you’ll have to buy one for each system you upgrade.

The exception is the Windows 7 Home Premium Upgrade Family Pack, which lists for US $150, but you can get it cheaper. The Family Pack lets you use a single key to upgrade three different PCs. Microsoft’s Family Pack page provides more information about this multiple-PC upgrade option.

“The Windows 7 upgrade box I bought has two DVDs in it — one for the 32-bit version and one for the 64-bit version. Does that mean I can install it on two PCs?”

Nope. You can install Windows 7 on as many systems as you like, but the key in the box will activate only one of them. The same key will activate either the 32-bit version or the 64-bit version, but not both.

Can I use the OEM version of Windows 7?

“I am about to buy a copy of Win7 Pro. I can get it from any number of places, but one in particular [name withheld to protect the guilty] offers it at a very reduced price. I was wondering if you have any info on the legitimacy of this site.”

A quick search brought up several warnings about the site and company you mentioned. In general, I recommend that people avoid buying OEM system-builder versions of Windows. They aren’t supported by Microsoft, and many online stores selling OEM versions are, ahem, less than trustworthy.

In spite of what you may have heard — indeed, in spite of what you may have read on the Microsoft site years ago — the OEM license allows you to install an OEM version only on PCs that you or your company sell and support. Confusing? You bet.

On Nov. 15, ZDNet blogger Ed Bott posted a very thorough analysis of the situation. Even though many reputable retailers are openly selling the OEM package to end users, the license stipulates that the OEM version may not be installed on a PC that you’ve built for your own use. Bott recommends in the conclusion to his post that you go ahead and do it anyway.

With the price of Win7 Home Premium upgrades running in the fire-sale range, why sweat it? Get an upgrade and don’t muck around in the OEM shenanigans. (I’ll go into more detail about the Windows 7 system-builder option in a future article.)

Why can’t I change Starter Edition’s wallpaper?

“Yes, I know you told me that I shouldn’t bother with Windows 7 Starter Edition, but I found a fantastic deal on a netbook with Starter Edition installed. I don’t want to pay for Win7 Home Premium. Why can’t I change the wallpaper (er, background) on my netbook?”

In my July 16 Top Story, I explained why I recommend that netbook users choose Windows 7 Home Premium over Starter Edition. I also discussed in my June 4 Top Story the restrictions Microsoft places on hardware vendors who want to preinstall Win7 Starter Edition.

The inability to change wallpaper amounts to little more than a marketing gimmick. It’s one of the features that differentiate Starter Edition from the other Windows 7 editions. It also represents one of the carrots Microsoft dangles in front of you to coerce you into paying another hundred smackers or so for a real version of Win7.

In fact, changing Starter Edition’s wallpaper is easy — if you know the trick.

Simply download and install the free MyColors utility from the Stardock Design download page. You’ll have to change the entire Win7 theme, because MyColors lets you change only the theme, not the specific wallpaper. MyColors lets you choose a built-in Win7 theme or any of several free themes that are bundled with MyColors. Alternatively, you can buy a theme from Stardock.

Can I upgrade 32-bit Win7 to the 64-bit version?

“I bought a PC with 32-bit Win7 Home Premium preinstalled. Can I do an in-place upgrade to 64-bit Home Premium?”

Nope. The Windows Anytime Upgrade is the collection of products that allow you to upgrade from one version of Windows 7 to another. Unfortunately, Anytime Upgrades don’t support a move from 32-bit to 64-bit. You can upgrade, say, Win7 Home Premium 32-bit to Win7 Pro 32-bit — but not to 64-bit. You can’t cross the bit divide via an in-place upgrade.

Similarly, the regular upgrade versions of Windows 7 don’t allow you to move between 32-bit and 64-bit. Your only option is to buy a Win7 Home Premium upgrade package and perform a custom (clean) install. That wipes out your programs and settings, but if you have CDs for all of your applications and you use Windows Easy Transfer (which is on the upgrade DVD), you shouldn’t have any problems.

It’s an expensive solution to a dubious problem, because right now very few people need 64-bit. I went into more detail on the question of 32-bit vs. 64-bit in my Nov. 12 Top Story. And in his Best Software column today (paid content), Ian “Gizmo” Richards provides an in-depth examination of the state of 64-bit desktop computing.

Windows 7 has taken the world by storm — rightfully so, in my opinion — but a certain percentage of new Win7 users will have problems no matter what. In upcoming articles, I’ll have more answers to your pressing Windows 7 questions.

Woody Leonhard‘s latest books — Windows 7 All-In-One For Dummies and Green Home Computing For Dummies — deliver the straight story — hold the sugar coating — in a way that won’t put you to sleep.

Known Issues

Dumping Java cache improves browser performance

By Dennis O’Reilly

If your browser takes forever to open, it could be due to an overloaded Java cache.

The Java Control Panel applet lets you clear Java’s temporary Internet cache and reset the default cache size to a more reasonable amount.

For many people, the most-important application on their PCs is their browser. But sometimes it seems to take forever for the program to open. Bruce Sobut discovered a fix for slow-as-molasses launches of Firefox:

“Whenever I loaded a Web page with Java the first time after rebooting, it would take an extremely long time (over a minute). After looking into it a little on Google, I found references to the Java cache. On two different computers, it was set to 2GB (default?).

“Since I had never done it before, I cleared the Java cache, which took over an hour. I then reduced the cache to 20MB (my understanding is some Java programs require the cache). Since doing this, Java pages load quickly and all is well.”

To clear your Java cache, click Start, Control Panel, Programs (if necessary), Java. In the Temporary Internet Files section under the General tab, choose the Settings button. In the Temporary Files Settings dialog, click Delete Files. (See Figure 1.) The process may have taken more than an hour for Bruce, but on my test Vista system, it took just a few seconds to delete the 790MB of files in the cache.

Java temporary internet files dialog

Figure 1. Improve your browser’s performance by clearing Java’s Temporary Internet Files cache.

The default size of the Java cache on three PCs I checked was 1GB (or “1000MB,” as shown in Figure 1). There’s no particular reason why the cache needs to be this large, though reducing the cache to 20MB as Bruce did may be too small for some users. A more reasonable cache size is between 100MB and 200MB.

Manually install network-discovery utility

In the Nov. 12 Known Issues column, Stuart Berg described Microsoft’s Link-Layer Topology Discovery (LLTD) Responder, a utility designed to facilitate finding XP systems on a home network. The program didn’t install automatically for reader Ian Journeaux, but he found a manual workaround:

“I have had trouble getting my Vista PC to play nice with the Win XP computers on my network. For some reason, the Vista machine would more often than not be unable to view the Win XP computers in Network Neighborhood.

“I saw your article on LLTD and thought it might be a solution. But even though I’m running Win XP SP3, the fix refused to install. A search led me to a [Windows Live Spaces blog] that describes the procedure for installing LLTD manually. This worked for me, and the missing computers now appear on my Vista computer.”

The instructions for manually installing the LLTD utility — written by a blogger named “Felipe” — entail renaming the executable file and running a series of commands from a command prompt, so make sure you have your geek hat on before you attempt the procedure.

Who needs Quick Launch? Pinning’s simpler

The Nov. 12 Known Issues column also described how to enable Windows 7′s Quick Launch toolbar, which is disabled by default. Al Arntson was one of several readers who pointed out a simpler solution:

“There’s no need to use the ‘hidden’ Quick Launch toolbar in Windows 7. Just right-click any program and select Pin to Taskbar. This will create an icon for that program and place it on the left side of the taskbar. A single click launches it just like the old Quick Launch did in previous Windows versions.”

And with that tip, we close the book on Windows 7′s Quick Launch toolbar … at least until someone comes up with an even-more-elegant shortcut solution.

Readers Bruce, Ian, and Al will each receive a gift certificate for a book, CD, or DVD of their choice for sending tips we printed. Send us your tips via the Windows Secrets contact page.

The Known Issues column brings you readers’ comments on our recent articles. Dennis O’Reilly is technical editor of WindowsSecrets.com.

Wacky Web Week

New ‘Twilight’ movie gives a howl to cotton

By Stephanie Small

In anticipation of the new “Twilight” movie — which comes out this week — fans everywhere have been going overboard, creating life-size cutouts of the characters, buying “Twilight” jewelry, and wearing “Twilight” apparel.

A hilarious parody of the film actually turns a shirt — a cotton T-shirt at that — into the main cause of the supernatural conflict. Watch as Bella falls for the three wolves and confuses those around her. You’ll look twice the next time you see someone wearing a similar get-up! Play the video

LangaList Plus

Windows utility repairs corrupted system files

By Fred Langa

When system files go bad, Windows’ System File Checker can set things right.

Whether due to malware, botched updates, or some other glitch, mangled system files are rooted out and replaced with good copies.

Broken Control Panel indicates system corruption

Something futzed up one or more system files in Casey Jones’s PC. The problem presented itself in his Control Panel but could be present elsewhere, too:

“I was trying to delete a program for an upgrade and found that my Add/Remove button had stopped working. I have a Dell Dimension running Windows XP SP3. I’ve been searching for about two hours, looking for information on how to fix this problem. Can you direct me to where I can find a fix? I have third-party removal programs but want to fix the removal in the Control Panel.”

The Windows File Protection (WFP) system may be able to help. WFP is a group of related technologies and tools that try to protect all system files, including those in the Control Panel. WFP first appeared in Windows Me and has been refined with each succeeding version of Windows.

The WFP tool most likely to help with your problem is probably the System File Checker, sfc.exe. The program can determine which — if any — system files have been altered, not just those in the Control Panel. It will then either restore the correct versions or assist you in doing so yourself. (See Figure 1.)

Windows system file checker utility
Figure 1. The System File Checker utility can detect and replace corrupted system files with known-good copies.

To effect repairs, sfc.exe usually needs access to original system files on a Windows setup CD or some other similarly accessible location. Microsoft’s official sfc.exe documentation for XP is in Knowledge Base article 310747. If you prefer something less formal, Marc Liron’s UpdateXP.com offers a good sfc.exe tutorial.

This article is part of our paid content. Subscribe.

Already a paid subscriber? Click here to login.

Best Software

Should you move to 64-bit Windows 7?

By Ian “Gizmo” Richards

The difficulties experienced by users of the 64-bit version of Windows XP and Vista cause most users to believe it’s too early to make the shift from 32-bit to 64-bit.

However, the release of Windows 7 has convinced many people that this is the right time to change — but is it, really?

Understanding the switch to 64-bit computing

Most PC users are confused about 64-bit computing, and I don’t blame them. The main source of confusion is that the term “64-bit” applies to three separate computing components: the PC processor, the operating system, and the software that runs on the operating system. So let’s sort this out.

In order to run a 64-bit version of Windows, your PC must have a 64-bit processor. If your PC is less than two years old, there’s a good chance it has a 64-bit processor. Netbooks are an exception; most use Intel’s 32-bit Atom processor.

If you’re not sure whether your PC has a 64-bit processor, the easiest way to find out is to download and run the free standalone version of Gabriel Topala’s wonderful SIW system-information utility, which you can download from Gabriel’s site.

The program doesn’t require installing, so you can run it directly from the .exe file. Click the CPU Info link in the left sidebar to see in the top line of the right pane whether your processor is 32-bit or 64-bit. (See Figure 1.)

This article is part of our paid content. Subscribe.

Already a paid subscriber? Click here to login.

Patch Watch

XP update conflicts with popular video adapters

By Susan Bradley

The patch I identified last week as the most important of those released by Microsoft in November has been found to cause systems with certain ATI and Nvidia adapters to freeze.

You can fix the problem by removing the patch, installing an updated video driver, and reapplying the patch.

MS09-065 (969947)
XP kernel patch crashes some graphics cards

After Microsoft released the XP kernel patch in security bulletin MS09-065 (969947) last week, I tested it on the XP PCs in my office and everything went smoothly. Unfortunately, not everyone who applied this update was so fortunate.

Systems using an ATI Radeon HD 2400 series video adapter or Nvidia GeForce 7050/NForce 610i integrated video card may no longer be accessible via Remote Desktop Services. More seriously, the update may also cause the computer to freeze.

If you experience either problem, boot into XP’s Safe Mode and open the Add or Remove Programs Control Panel applet. Make sure Show Updates is checked at the top of the window, and then remove the patch. Next, download an updated video driver from either ATI’s support site or Nvidia’s driver download page.

I don’t recommend installing drivers offered by Windows Update, because I’ve had bad experiences with drivers obtained in this way. Whenever Windows Update offers one of my systems a driver update, I take it as a cue to visit the vendor’s own support site to get the latest driver possible.

This article is part of our paid content. Subscribe.

Already a paid subscriber? Click here to login.

YOUR SUBSCRIPTION

The Windows Secrets Newsletter is published weekly on the 1st through 4th Thursdays of each month, plus occasional news updates. We skip an issue on the 5th Thursday of any month, the week of Thanksgiving, and the last two weeks of August and December. Windows Secrets is a continuation of four merged publications: Brian's Buzz on Windows and Woody's Windows Watch in 2004, the LangaList in 2006, and the Support Alert Newsletter in 2008.

Publisher: WindowsSecrets.com, 1218 Third Ave., Suite 1515, Seattle, WA 98101 USA. Vendors, please send no unsolicited packages to this address (readers' letters are fine).

Editor in chief: Tracey Capen. Senior editors: Fred Langa, Woody Leonhard. Copyeditor: Roberta Scholz. Program director: Tony Johnston. Contributing editors: Yardena Arar, Susan Bradley, Scott Dunn, Michael Lasky, Scott Mace, Ryan Russell, Lincoln Spector, Robert Vamosi, Becky Waring. Product manager: Andy Boyd. Advertising director: Eric Gilley.

Trademarks: Microsoft and Windows are registered trademarks of Microsoft Corporation. The Windows Secrets series of books is published by Wiley Publishing Inc. The Windows Secrets Newsletter, WindowsSecrets.com, Support Alert, LangaList, LangaList Plus, WinFind, Security Baseline, Patch Watch, Perimeter Scan, Wacky Web Week, the Logo Design (W, S or road, and Star), and the slogan Everything Microsoft Forgot to Mention all are trademarks and service marks of WindowsSecrets.com. All other marks are the trademarks or service marks of their respective owners.

HOW TO SUBSCRIBE: Anyone may subscribe to this newsletter by visiting our free signup page.

WE GUARANTEE YOUR PRIVACY:

1. We will never sell, rent, or give away your address to any outside party, ever.
2. We will never send you any unrequested e-mail, besides newsletter updates.
3. All unsubscribe requests are honored immediately, period. Privacy policy

HOW TO UNSUBSCRIBE: To unsubscribe from the Windows Secrets Newsletter,

Visit our Unsubscribe page.

Table of contents

Top-scoring articles in the past 12 months

Internet Services

Web Development

Digital Marketing

Consumer Tech