Why chkdsk in a Windows 7 and Windows 8 dual boot?!

In a PC with two main operating systems like Windows 8 and Windows 7, each one in a separate disk partition, there appears to be a problem when switching to Windows 7 (after having previously loaded Windows 8 and restarted the computer). This is a really annoying situation in which, just when you thought you were ready to start Windows 7, the basic black screen pops up with the message: "One of your disks need to be checked for consistency. You may cancel the disk check, but itis strongly recommended that you continue." Of course you can cancel the timed operation but it will show up the next time... and you are never really sure if there is an actual problem with your disk and/or each one of its partitions. I have not yet found the solution myself, but there are some options may be worth trying. The first one is to use the Bootrec.exe tool in the Windows Recovery Environment to troubleshoot and repair startup issues in Windows. Other options I will have to first find and then test, but I read somewhere that a Windows 8 not correctly shut down may affect starting other operating systems, like Windows 7. I'll post the solution when I find it.

It's not the economy, it's lousy customer service, stupid

You'd probably have thought about this more than once. Whenever you go to a "information age" store (the big IT supermakets, or any wireless phone service provider) or even call a 1-800 service, have you not left, or hung up, with a sensation that you deserved better attention and better information? Don't you find frustrating when you have a question or need something and there is nobody around to help you? And how about, when you finally get hold of someone and this person, who almost invariably never smiles, is either "cold" in a a rude sort of way or plain clueless, or both? I've experienced this more than once and throughout the years, and I do not believe, for  a moment, that it's because I live in a self-centered and in-your-face city like New York. I know this is a national phenomenon. Let's face it. Customer service in the U.S. sucks. I have one simple explanation, rooted in corporate greed: cheap labor. It's not, mainly, the economy. Cheap labor entails hiring low skilled people, paying them minimum wage (or less!), a work force ill-prepared to help people, with an attitude that says loud and clear "I don't care", and who most of the time are young people, who are longing to punch out the clock the minute they start their work shift. I don't blame them, they are nickled and dimed every day. Remember CompUSA? I witnessed their demise and how it was rare to find genuine help. The same fate befell Circuit City and it will continue to be like that for other giants. I believe, for example, that Apple stores have been successful also because their employees are focused and willing to help, in spite of low salaries... The root of this bad customer service situation, more a consequence than a cause, is corporate greed, where big selfish, self aggrandized honchos, refuse to share their wealth. What's a few million dollars to hire, train and retain, sterling customer service in the big scheme of things of a company that have even billions in profit? They're shooting themselves in the foot... Provide good customer service and expect repeat business. This simple truth apparently escapes many a CEO who thinks the bottom line is only about sophisticated "business models" and Excel charts and business jargon and Wall Street... Only in America?

Outlook.com: a modern email for the next billion mailboxes

Microsoft launched today its new web mail service, Outlook.com, as a personal e-mail service that aspires to be "a modern email for the next billion mailboxes." It is the same desktop application and service for business (Exchange server) that you are probably already used to, but with a new Metro interface, from within your Internet browser, with a neat interface and a nimble performance . You can subscribe to this free service either creating a new account or using one of your Hotmail or Live.com accounts. Outlook.com will replace Hotmail and its aimed, among other things, to attract users from Google's Gmail service as a very solid competitor. Microsoft thinks that the time is right to reimagine email, "we realized that we needed to take a bold step, break from the past and build you a brand new service from the ground up." Read more in the Outlook Blog.

Surface: a tablet to level the field

Yesterday, in LA, Microsoft launched new devices to go with the upcoming iteration of the Windows 8 operating system frenzy in the form of a new tablet, called Surface, and with Microsoft hardware. It happened during a secretive gathering of selected media representatives who never knew exactly what they were going to cover up until the last minute. There are two products that were introduced: Surface for Windows RT and the Surface for Windows 8 Pro with an Intel microprocessor, full HD display, both having specs that rival the finest ultrabooks. The live coverage was really poor and did not do justice to what was introduced, not because of lack of information, but I would say because of the preconceived notions about Microsoft products coming from die-hard Apple and Linux (Android) followers, some of them among the press corps. I was able to see the entire launch show late last night (length: 47 minutes) thanks to my Nokia Lumia and the super useful and fun app called I am a WP7, though I could not find it today. I was really astonished by the coolness of the product and the perfect coreography that started with a Steve Ballmer more focused than ever, almost as a real guru, followed by the rest of the team, including a trip down memory lane through 30 years of Microsoft hardware innovation and some actual pictures of the Surface being designed and built in a sophisticated environment. What the media saw in LA was not reflected in what I have read so far on the Web. When the show started with Ballmer, practically nobody gave him a welcome, but as the show rolled down, you could hear the audience more enthusiastic, cheering. No doubt. Surface is a compelling and impressive product.

Easybits, get off my computer now!

I have discovered on my desktop a shortcut icon to something called GameXN, a program which was installed unbeknownst to me. After some research I found out that this is the "game go organizer" or whatever that is called, a software product coming from Easybits (there is no link here, therefore no free publicity),  a Norwegian Company based in Oslo, developing the "Skype game channel". What in the world?! Who asked for games? This might have happened while I opened Skype the last time. Can we trust any messages or prompts that pop up in familiar applications any longer. No wonder Skype users are or were riled. My installation took place only a week ago. Look and see if you have a folder called C:\ProgramData\GameXN, then uninstall it, if you did not request that installation.

Mistery error 1310 when performing software installations

Apparently, many a vendor just test their software applications only in the Windows XP and below operating systems, leaving the Windows 7 users under the "buyer beware" policy and in the process they stick the product with the "Windows 7 compatible" label, regardless. Case in point, the T-Mobile webConnect Manager software installation. This particular installation process decides that in addition to unzipping the necessary files to a temp directory (C:\Users\UserName\AppData\Local\Temp, which is normal, though not necessarily into the Administrator folders) it also unzips them into the path shown in the attached picture above. After much tweaking, I was able to solve this problem but only after performing the installation logged in as Administrator, since the simple "run as" won't work, and the .inf file shown in the path above does not even exist. Only logged in as Administrator, and having started the installation process, you will be able to see that directory and that particularly file, BUT you still need to modify the access rights by giving all access to "Everyone" not just the Administrators group. Once I did that the installation continued and it was successful, both in Windows 7 and in the newest Windows 8 Release Preview. However, the whole process went not as smooth as it appears to be. Previously, I had to call T-Mobile tech support only to hear that they (three differents customer reps) don't know about "Error 1310" (but are they supposed to know about it?) and that this error was a problem with my computer, and (perhaps understandably so?)  they also did not even care to hear what the message read. The only "solution" they offered was that I have to get a wi-fi connection in order to set up my Internet connection with my broadband modem and that only under those circumstances it will work. It wouldn't. However, the actual problem ("error 1310") was "access rights" within a folder the installer has no business dealing with, in the first place. Who should we blame? Software vendors for substandard software? Tech support for not offering at least some hints? This situation of not well documented, at least consistently, error messages is what goes against a brand name and contributes to popular perceptions or misconceptions of a product (whether software application and/or operating system).

Another way to quickly access essential information about your PC

There are several ways to get information about your computer system. One of them is the "computer management" tool (right click on "My Computer" icon and choose "Manage") using an Administrator account. However, if all you need is to quickly access part of that information, like hardware components, open Devices and Printers (press the Windows Key and start typing "Devices and..." to get there) then localize your computer and right click to see the menu shown here. The menu choices are self-explanatory and from there you can control major PC settings but if you want to get a closer look at the hardware settings and drivers, select "Properties" and then the hardware tab. In general, the Devices and Printers utility can show you a bird's eye view of your entire computer ecosystem.

TurboTax 2011: Windows XP Mode to the rescue but problem persists under Windows 7

I had to resort to Windows XP Mode to be able to run TurboTax 2011 after one last attempt (one of many) to reinstall the program. Apparently, disabling the antivirus program, and modifying the Firewall inbound and outbound rules before installing did not help this time either. Same old story: I get a terse "TurboTax 2011 Is Installed" message with a "Done" button to click on. Then, the same frustration (see previous post) and the program does not start and does not even say whatever is wrong. Will I, or any of my readers, ever know what happened?On the other hand, Windows XP mode, which I like a lot, is not intended to run "new" software. "New" software should run well under Windows 7. No excuses. On the other hand, it is clear that Intuit, the company behind TurboTax, is aware of this problem, as indicated in their user forum here,  and also here, where other folks have complained too. It seems that this "old" problem apparently has not been taken care of. That is just unacceptable!

Waiting for TurboTax to get things ready... in time for tax season?

This year the TurboTax 2011 software has a serious problem which is basically that it does not start (!) All it does is showing the screen we see here and then, a few seconds later, it is gone with no message, no warning. Nothing. I have installed and reinstalled this software (I'm running Windows 7 Ultimate 64-bit) to no avail. Trust me, I have followed all the suggestions found in http://turbotax.intuit.com/support/, which, by the way, are mostly related to Windows XP, no matter what they say. I have even tried the "Repair" option (in the uninstall program), waited patiently to finish and see some sort of "successfully repaired" message. But that is not true. Finally, I applied the manual update, to no avail, in spite of the message shown below, a false positive, and not true either. This is the first year I get to have such a frustrating experience with one of my favorite software applications... Is this related to the version of the .NET Framework you are running, or to Java? Go figure! Intuit, please get ready asap! [FYI, I tried this, and this]

I can't ever stress this enough: Install Windows XP Mode

Windows XP Mode running under Windows 7. Click and learn how.

I want to come back to the subject of Windows XP Mode. This is an application you can download and install, for free, if you are running Windows 7. It serves basically one main purpose: to run your Windows XP and legacy applications, within Windows 7 simply as another Windows application. Another key use is to keep old versions of software which, it just happens, when installed in Windows 7, may mess up your nice set up, for instance: Office 2003 and Acrobat 8, to name only a few. Last, but not least, you can continue using your company's old custom applications without a problem. The video, a 29'08" complete course on Windows XP Mode, provides an in depth look at the features and capabilities, as well as guidance for IT pros, of this must-have tool for Windows 7. Windows XP mode works seamlessly within Windows 7 where you can run all desired applications under one virtual machine (one window) or individually in its own window.

Windows 8's newest competition: Windows 7

With the release today of the Windows 8 Consumer Preview (read "beta version"), and a final release scheduled for late 2012, the stage is now set for Windows 7 to become a competitor of Windows 8. While, on the other hand, millions of users will continue to use Windows XP arguably till their old computers give out, it is most likely they will have two choices when buying a new PC: either Windows 7 or Windows 8. However, if the goal is to get a tablet PC, then Windows 8 is the operating system to choose, if neither an iPad or an Android system will do for them.

Year of the Dragon as your Windows 7 theme

According to the Chinese (and Mongolian) zodiac this is the Year of the Dragon, and to top it off a leap year. So what luckiest could it get? I, for one, declare my inclination to believe in signs, stars, "angels" and the Universe. If you want to wear this sort of amulet in your PC you can download the Year of the Dragon theme, in the Windows 7 themes page. Good Luck. Buona Fortuna. Bonne Chance. Buena Suerte.

Troubleshooting BitLocker: damaged volume

It may happen. You are using a BitLocker-encrypted USB memory stick to create quick backups of your regular work and one day when you try to open it in Windows Explorer, though you are able to see the drive icon with a superimposed padlock and key, it cannot be opened and instead it gives you the option to format it. What happened? Basically, data is corrupted and therefore not accessible. The solution lies in a command-line utility called repair-bde, which is the repair tool for BitLocker Drive Encryption. First of all you must have the BitLocker Encryption Recovery Key of the drive. If you don't, this solution and any other solution will not work for you, and you will have to resort to format the drive and lose all your data. Second, you need an extra USB memory stick with the same size (or may be bigger) than the one you are having trouble with. Now, lets assume your troubled USB corresponds to drive I: and H: is your blank new USB. You are going to transfer all the data from input I: to output H: and the end result, if successful, will be an identical original I: drive copied into H: but your I: will have to be formatted, at any rate, to use it again. The command you have to enter, as an Administrator, is as follows, depending obviously on your settings:

repair-bde I: H: -rp [your BitLocker Encryption Recovery Key]

The -rp switch stands for -RecoveryPassword and your recovery key consists of 48 digits (8 groups of 6 digits each, separated by dashes). The process, for a 8GB USB stick will take about an hour but you will recover your data. Warning: All information in the output drive (H:) will always be overwritten. Finally, after the tool has reached "Decrypting: 100% complete", it is very important that, before you view the decrypted data, you run this command:

chkdsk H: /f

At any rate the system will prompt you to do that under ACTION REQUIRED. I hope this post saved your day.

A standard user can install Google Chrome: is that good?

Normally, in Windows 7, and previous Windows versions, in order to install any application you have to have elevated privileges but, for some reason unbeknownst to me (so far) Google Chrome allows a standard user (that is, as opposed to a user with elevated privileges such as the Administrator) to install this browser without any UAC prompts. How did I find out? Well, I downloaded the setup program called ChromeSetup.exe (717 KB) and then ran it, just by habit, as Administrator and installed Chrome. Then, in that particular session, this browser worked fine but the next time I used my PC I could not make it work and then I discovered that  it was installed in the Administrator folder (this is weird, ain't it?) like this: C:\Users\MyPCAdmin\AppData\Local\Google\Chrome\Application\. I tried to uninstall it but it was not listed and then I have to logoff and log back on as Administrator in order to do that. Later, logged in as a standard user, I ran  ChromeSetup.exe again and installed Chrome just like that, no UAC prompts. At any rate, it was installed here: C:\Users\MyStandardUser\AppData\Local\Google\Chrome\Application\ and always a folder named with the latest version (here: 17.0.963.46) will be added. My only hope is that I'm not running a hacked copy of the installer. Or maybe this installation follows best practices for Windows 7. Any thoughts?

Windows 7 will be there for the long haul, in spite of Windows 8

The launch of the newest iteration of the Windows Operation System, in the form of Windows 8 Consumer Preview ("beta"), is planned for this coming 29 February 2012, during the Mobile World Congress in Barcelona (talk about leap year and Dragon year, if you believe in auspicious events and good fortune). However, Windows 7 will continue to be the target of the enterprise when it comes to upgrading from, most likely, Windows XP. Here's a page featuring 61 case studies of small business success stories with Windows 7 Professional.