Archive for October, 2010

Moving disks

Moving data disks from one computer to another is a task that should be carried out with caution. If a volume becomes corrupted in the process then you may not be able to recover you data, hence, treat such operation as sensitive and take the necessary precautions.

Follow these steps when moving disks form one computer to another:

1. Backup your critical data to another drive or external medium.
2. Make sure that the status of the volumes on the disk is healthy – check the Status column or disk layout from the Disk Management console, repair volumes before proceeding with the move!
3. From the Device Manager, open the disk drives node and select the disk you are removing, right-click the disk and click Uninstall, finally click Ok to the Confirm Device Removal dialog box – if you have multiple disks installed and some are of the same brand and model, then use the Location info ex: Location 1 (Channel 0, Target 1, Lun 0) to determine which disk is the right one                Read more…

IE 8, time zone and USB video driver updates fail to install

At the end of September ’10 Microsoft released two recommended and one important Windows 7 updates that may fail to install automatically on Windows 7 Enterprise editions.

The most important update – Update for Windows 7 for x64-based Systems (KB2158563) resolves issues caused by revised daylight saving time and time zone laws in several countries. This update enables your computer to automatically adjust the computer clock on the correct date in 2010. Microsoft recommends to deploy the most current Windows cumulative time zone update to guarantee the consistency of the time zone database on all systems.

Another failing update refers to the Compatibility View functionality of Windows Internet Explorer 8 – Update for Internet Explorer 8 Compatibility View List for Windows 7 for x64-based Systems (KB2362765)
This Compatibility View List update helps make Web sites that are designed for older browsers look better in Internet Explorer 8. When users install Internet Explorer 8, they will be given a choice about opting-in to a list of sites that should be displayed in Compatibility View. After you install this item, you may have to restart Internet Explorer.

While the third failing update refers to the prevention of unexpected shutdowns or blue screens when you are using a USB video device. After you install this item, you may have to restart your computer. – Update for Windows 7 for x64-based Systems (KB979538)

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Disk Partitions

In Windows 7 systems we find two different partitioning systems. These are the Master Boot Record (MBR) and the Globally Unique Identifier Partition Table (GPT) styles. While MBR is supported by all versions of Windows, GPT is only supported on Windows Vista, Windows 7, Windows Servers 2003 and 2008, and 64-bit versions of Windows XP. GPT offers several advantages over MBR such as, it can support up to 128 partitions while MBR supports only four, GPT is more reliable as it is aware of the modern disks geometries, GPT supports larger partitions – up to 18 Exabytes in theory and uses primary & backup partition tables for redundancy.

When using GPT partitions it is worth noting that larger partition sizes can have side-effects such as, take longer to check (running ChkDsk) and they are not compatible with all operating systems! Also, to boot from a GPT disk, the computer must support the Extensible Firmware Interface (EFI). Remember, that all BIOS based systems must boot from an MBR disk. Removable media cannot be partitioned with the GPT style.

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