Windows 7 – Watch Out For HomeGroup, Clean Installs From Upgrade Media and Setup A Network Printer
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I am going to be quick and to the point. This is from Neowins HomeGroup site:
Remember that HomeGroup works only with Windows 7 machines and it does not support Vista or XP.
If you try to use HomeGroup it will not work with other machines on the network. Unless of course they are W7 boxes.
How to do a clean install using a Windows 7 upgrade disk:
Here’s how to clean install Windows 7 using Upgrade media and a new or reformatted PC with no installed OS.
First, perform a normal clean install of the OS by booting the PC with the Upgrade Setup disc and stepping through Setup.
After performing the clean install, ensure that there are no Windows Updates pending that would require a system reboot. (You’ll see an orange shield icon next to Shutdown in the Start Menu if this is the case).
Then, open regedit.exe with Start Menu Search and navigate to:
HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE/Software/Microsoft/Windows/CurrentVersion/Setup/OOBE/
Change MediaBootInstall from “1″ to “0″.
Open the Start Menu again and type cmd to display a shortcut to the Command Line utility. Right-click this shortcut and choose “Run as administrator.” Handle the UAC prompt.
In the command line window, type: slmgr /rearm
Then tap ENTER, close the command line window and reboot. When Windows 7 reboots, run the Activate Windows utility, type in your product key and activate windows. It should just work.
Oh yeah. I learned this also this weekend. If you want to contact a printer through a print server via a wireless connection try this. Set the printer up as a local printer first. Next set it up as a network printer. Delete the local printer and viola. It worked for me.
Comments welcome.
2 Comments
the oracle
October 25th, 2009
at 3:11am
The more I do, the more little quirks I find with it. I have Windows 7 Enterprise installed on my test machine, and it was so much faster than the RC it was not funny.
On the other hand, trying to install the Windows 7 HLP file viewer, KB917607, stalls, and though it doesn’t hang the machine, it sits and sits, until I force it closed, which can only be done with a reboot of the machine. I’ve tried this 3 times with the same results.
When a Microsoft update, stated to be for Windows 7, won’t install properly, there are some big problems.
I like much of it, but things like this, and the lack of a sensible menu system, is really a problem for me.
Also, the problem with homegroup, unless they have changed since the RC, is that sometimes it will work with XP, and sometimes not. During the time I had the RC on the test machine, I could sometimes get file transfers, and view files on machines in both directions, but other times it simply would not work, no matter what.
Avoiding homegroup removes any problems, but the fact that it works sporadically is disconcerting and annoying.
I know many think I’m being anal retentive about this, but I think the lack of a hierarchical menu, and the Library constructs, are a means of excusing sloppy maintenance, and I’m a firm believer that cleanliness (including neatness and order) is next to godliness.
Ron Schenone
October 25th, 2009
at 5:02am
Hi Marc,
I hear you. Got one one W7 box able to use the network wireless print server. The new laptop I got for Jackie won’t play at all. I have to use the printer assigned to my Vista box to get it to print. Go figure.
I think we are going through the usual Microsoft BS and will have to wait for SP1, or SP2 or SP3 !!!! LOL
Another thought. My test box is running Ultimate while the laptop came with Home Premium. Makes one wonder if this is something reminiscence of XP where Pro seemed to work better than Home or Media in some networking situations.