windows 7

Touchscreen on Asus Eee 1005HA

Asus Eee 1005HA was release sometime last year, if I am not mistaken it’s around September in the Philippines. It came with Windows XP. Later in October, Windows 7 was released. Now, this new OS packs better touchscreen support and for the 1005HA to enjoy that service, one has to modify it and install a touchscreen panel. And someone has got it working with tutorials on how he did it.

Thanks, Alan.

Tutorial after this break.
:Click here for Tutorial

Windows 7’s God Mode

Someone has discovered another Windows secret they call GodMode. Basically, it is a folder you have to create and once created, it will contain all system configuration shortcuts that you will need when you think of changing some of your settings. It’s like a Control Panel with more controls.

Although its name suggests perhaps even grander capabilities, Windows enthusiasts are excited over the discovery of a hidden “GodMode” feature that lets users access all of the operating system’s control panels from within a single folder.
By creating a new folder in Windows 7 and renaming it with a certain text string at the end, users are able to have a single place to do everything from changing the look of the mouse pointer to making a new hard-drive partition.

The trick is also said to work in Windows Vista, although some are warning that although it works fine in 32-bit versions of Vista, it can cause 64-bit versions of that operating system to crash.
To enter “GodMode,” one need only create a new folder and then rename the folder to the following:
GodMode.{ED7BA470-8E54-465E-825C-99712043E01C}

Once that is done, the folder’s icon will change to resemble a control panel and will contain dozens of control options. I’m not sure it’s my idea of playing God, but it is a handy way to get to all kinds of controls.
I’ve asked Microsoft for more details on the feature and how it came to be. But so far, Redmond is silent on the topic. [CNET News]

1000HE ASUS EEE PC, Fixing Windows 7 Errors

I recently availed a copy of Windows 7 Ultimate Edition, and in case you don’t know, I own an Asus 1000HE. Now the thing is, earlier netbooks came with Windows XP, and direct upgrade to Windows 7 is not available. To take the new operating system to my netbook, I had to follow some special instructions, but in the end I still got errors with drivers. I realized I followed a wrong instruction.

If you are like me, upgrading 1000HE OS to Windows 7, I suggest you consider the following very strictly:

• Before you upgrade, as a precaution, backup your drive.
• Before you upgrade, update your BIOS to the latest version using the Asus Update that is pre-installed. You may download the latest BIOS update from Asus Support.
• After you have updated your BIOS, you can install Windows 7. Everything should go well when you install drivers.

Now, if you already installed Windows 7 but have not updated the BIOS, you may experience different issues regarding Asus Drivers for Windows 7. This is exactly what I experienced. But don’t worry because I have some tips that might help you.

If you have installed Windows 7 without updating the BIOS first, you may still update it using the Asus Update software. Based on my experience though, it’s quite a puzzle. It’s like, before I can install Asus Update, I have to install another utility that requires BIOS update. And BIOS update can only easily be done with Asus Update utility.

Here’s what I did as a workaround.

• I installed the old ACPI drivers for XP on Windows 7, and then installed Asus Update utility. This sounds crazy but it worked for me.
• After that, I updated my BIOS to the latest version. This requires restart.
• After it’s up again, I uninstalled all drivers I have installed already.
• Then installed the following in sequence: Chipset, SATA AHCI, VGA, Hotkey, KB Filter, LAN and Wireless, Super Hybrid Engine, Asus Update, Instant Key. On my experience, it has to go that way.

After that, the issues were fixed. Hotkeys worked perfectly and my netbook didn’t show up any error message regarding ACPI anymore when booted.

I hope this helps and if it’s quite unclear, please let me know specific questions and I will try to answer.

Merry Christmas!

How to install Windows 7 on Netbooks

October 22nd marks another day in the history of Windows Operating Systems. Windows 7, which I honestly haven’t tried yet, is officially released for everyone and available for purchase for as low as $199.99 for Windows 7 Home Premium Edition – the cheapest and most commendable version for your netbooks. Also available are the Windows 7 Professional and Windows 7 Ultimate Editions for $299.99 and $319.99 respectively. The Starter Edition is not on the list, sorry.

Windows 7 offers many improvements such as:

• Faster Performance
• Desktop Enhancements
• H0me Media Streaming
• Windows Search and
• Better Device Management

Microsoft understands the lack of Optical Disc Drive on Netbooks so they provided an option to download the ISO copy of the purchased version, and create a bootable USB flash drive. Tools to achieve this, which is the Windows 7 USB/DVD Download Tool {WUDT}, is also available for download. So basically, all you need to have to be able to install Windows 7 on your netbook is a copy of Windows 7, and the tool.

How to install Windows 7 on netbooks:

1. Purchase and download a copy of Windows 7, version of your choosing
2. Download the WUDT
3. Install the tool on your netbook
4. Click the Windows Start button, and click Windows 7 USB/DVD Download tool in the All Programs list to open the Windows 7 USB/DVD Download tool.
5. In the Source File box, type the name and path of your Windows 7 ISO file, or click Browse and select the file in the Open dialog box.
6. Select USB to create a copy on a USB flash drive or DVD to create a copy on a DVD disk, then click Next.
7. If you are copying the file to a USB flash drive, select your USB device in the dropdown list and click Begin copying. If you are copying the file up to a DVD, click Begin burning.
   {Microsoft}

System Requirements

• Windows XP SP2, Windows Vista, or Windows 7 (32-bit or 64-bit)
• Pentium 233-megahertz (MHz) processor or faster (300 MHz is recommended)
• 50MB of free space on your hard drive
• DVD-R drive or 4GB removable USB flash drive

Which Edition of Windows 7 Would you want netbooks to have?

Windows 7 is the latest OS from Microsoft which is currently planned to become available on June 2009. This is also the most awaited OS for Developers, Techies, and everyone else. Samsung and HP have expressed a little bit of hints that their upcoming netbooks will more likely include versions with Windows 7. Both are considering the cost of the new OS, which is likely going to be pricey for netbooks. And since one of the main reason why netbooks shares a big part on the market is its low cost, Windows 7 might significantly affect the new price, which might mean lesser consumers will buy netbooks with that OS, which might lead to significant decrease on market share as well.

But when fair negotiation between netbook makers and Microsoft bare the best deal, and let’s hope for it, which edition of Windows 7 would you want netbooks to have?

According to HP, which did some testing on different editions of Windows 7, their netbook will likely run only 3 versions. Windows 7 Starter, Windows 7 Home Premium and Windows 7 Professional are said to be the most suitable, although other editions also run pretty well on the minis. This might also be true for other netbooks since they are mostly powered by same CPU and chipsets.

Windows 7 Starter Edition

Most affordable edition
Runs well on netbooks
Limited to run 3 applications at a time only
No Aero Glass theme (not necessarily important)
Will only come in 32-bit edition

Windows 7 Home Premium

Likely the most suitable for netbooks
Comes with Aero Glass theme and Windows Media Center

Windows 7 Professional

Targets enthusiasts and small businesses
Includes all features in Home Premium Edition
Additional features include operating as a Remote Desktop server, location aware printing, Encrypting File System, and Presentation Mode

Now choose.