Unblock the upgrade path for your Windows 7 beta

Microsoft really doesn’t want you to install the Windows 7 Release Candidate code over an existing installation of the Windows 7 beta. The result is a beta-over-beta installation that could exhibit odd behaviors that a customer installing the final version of Windows 7 would never confront. Not only that, but any feedback you send in via the automated tools built into Windows 7 is mostly useless for identifying problems in the final build.

So, as a result, the RC blocks upgrades over any build earlier than 7077. If you’ve been running the original beta (Build 7000) and you try to upgrade, you’ll see an error message.

But if you insist on doing the upgrade anyway, there’s a workaround. Start by copying the entire contents of the Windows 7 DVD to a local folder (use a bootable USB drive, or create a folder in the root of the drive you’re planning to upgrade, and then run Setup from that location).

In the folder you just created, open the Sources subfolder and then open the file Cversion.ini in a text editor like Notepad.

Change the MinClient value (highlighted in yellow above) to 7000 and save the file in the same location with the same name.

You can now run Setup without being bothered by the version check.

Installing and Upgrading to Windows 7

Window 7 Beta and RC Expiration periods
You must rebuild your test machine with a valid version of your previous Windows operating system before the Windows 7 Beta and RC software expires. Windows will notify you that the expiration date is approaching. Two weeks after the expiration date, your PC will shut down every two hours.

The Beta will expire 1 August 2009 with two-hourly shutdowns beginning 1 July 2009.
The Windows RC will expire 1 June 2010 with two-hourly shutdowns beginning 1 March 2010.

In both cases, you will need to rebuild your test PC to install a new operating system and reinstall all your programmes and data.

Upgrading to Windows RC
If you are running Windows 7 Beta or Windows XP, you must backup your data (preferably to an external device) and then do a clean installation of Windows 7 RC. After installing Windows 7 RC, you must reinstall your applications and restore your files. If you are running Windows Vista, you can simply upgrade to Windows 7 RC with no required backup.

How to enable cached mode for Outlook when used inside Terminal Server

1. Open up Regedit

2. Navigate to [HKCU\Software\Microsoft\Windows NT\CurrentVersion\Windows Messaging Subsystem\Profiles\\13dbb0c8aa05101a9bb000aa002fc45a]

3. Find the key 00036601 (REG_BINARY) - note the number in it now so you can undo the changes if needed

4. Change the value to one of the following
* enabled value; 84 01 00 00 (Note that on my desktop system the enabled value is 84 19 00 00, so play around with this a little)
* enabled with Public Folders/Favorites: 84 05 00 00
* disabled value; 04 00 00 00

5. You will need to search for "00036601" and adjust ALL of them since each key is for a different user on your system.

Exchange 2007 cannot resolve certain top level domains (.co.uk etc.)

After one day, you may find your Windows 2008 DNS Server is unable to resolve names in certain top level domains (tld’s) like .co.uk, .cn, and .br when it is configured to use root hints. It may also occur with other tld’s. A network monitor trace shows the DNS Server does not send any DNS traffic out to the internet. The Windows 2008 DNS server returns SERVFAIL to the client or when using nslookup.

Workarounds include restarting DNS, clearing the DNS cache, setting maxcachettl to 2 days or greater, and using DNS Forwarders instead of root hints.

If you want to use root hints, you can set the maxcachettl registry value on the Windows 2008 DNS Server as follows:

1. Start Registry Editor (Regedit.exe).

2. Locate the following registry key:

HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SYSTEM\CurrentControlSet\Services\DNS\Parameters

3. On the Edit menu, click New, click DWORD (32-bit) Value , and then add the following value:

Value: MaxCacheTtl
Data Type: DWORD
Data value: 0x2A300 (172800 in decimal = 2 days)

4. Click OK .

5. Quit Registry Editor.

6. Restart the DNS server.

Data type Range
REG_DWORD 0x0 | 0x1 - 0xFFFFFFFF seconds Default value:0x15180 (86,400 seconds = 1 day)

You may see this behavior in Windows 2008, SBS 2008 and EBS 2008.