Blog du Tristank : Windows 7

Improve Hyper-V Performance With Standard VGA!

tristank — Wed, 05 Aug 2009 06:36:27 GMT

Yes, kids, if you’re finding that the Hyper-V performance ain’t what it used to be since installing that whizbang graphics card driver on your shiny new seven core hyperthread-and-a-halved megaturboserver thing, you might be suffering from flushes.

Read all about it here:

Video performance may decrease when a Windows Server 2008-based computer has the Hyper-V role enabled and an accelerated display adapter installed
http://support.microsoft.com/default.aspx/kb/961661

KB titles are getting ever more catchy, I think you’ll agree. So many words, and we still couldn’t find space for “is”. Ah well.

So, in short, get back to your standard VGA driver (just uninstalling the whizbang one is typically enough for that) and you’ll be sweet.

Windows 7 RC n-Trig multitouch drivers are out

tristank — Mon, 18 May 2009 12:04:02 GMT

Some love for my lil’ Dell Latitude XT! Dell won’t sell me a battery slice for it, but I can still glide my fingers across it creepily!

In this DuoSense Multi Touch RC Release: the pen should work as well as multitouch! No more having to pick one and stick with it! Yay!

All linked from the Download page – check the release notes (link in right hand column at top of page body) before you try them.

Old MPSReports

tristank — Tue, 12 May 2009 05:14:21 GMT

There’s a new MPS Reports version in town, with new features : new 64-bit friendliness, various forms of wizard-driven hotness for all the products the individual old tools used to support, etc, etc.

Call me old school if you want, but I typically prefer the convenience of “run this and send me the CAB file”, rather than “grab this, install the prerequisites, and choose the following options in the wizard, then send me the CAB file”. For newer OSs, that’s a non-issue as the pre-reqs (.Net 2.0 and Powershell) are built in; for older OSes, not so much.

A colleague sent me a set of direct download links to the old set, so I’m going to publish them here.

MPSRPT_Alliance.exe	MPSRPT_Alliance_Readme.txt
MPSRPT_Cluster.exe	MPSRPT_Cluster_Readme.txt
MPSRPT_DirSvc.exe	MPSRPT_DirSvc_Readme.txt
MPSRPT_Network.exe	MPSRPT_Network_Readme.txt
MPSRPT_SETUPPerf.exe	MPSRPT_SetupPerf_Readme.txt
MPSRPT_SUS.exe	MPSRPT_SUS_Readme.txt

For whatever reason, the download pages to these editions were removed when the new version was published; personally, I’d have suggested that the new was added alongside the old – the old, for all their limitations, are well-understood and widely used.

But the files are still there, at least for the time being.

Update: Looks like the PFE edition is still available in a not-through-the-back-door way (thanks, PFE, you rock! Hey, *I* work for that organization! Yay!), and it’s the core old-school goodness you’ve come to know and love from MPS Reporting.

http://www.microsoft.com/downloads/details.aspx?familyid=00AD0EAC-720F-4441-9EF6-EA9F657B5C2F&displaylang=en

Vista-Stylez File Management in Windows 7 Beta

tristank — Sun, 18 Jan 2009 16:07:24 GMT

If you’re finding file management frustrating because the folder pane seems strangely inactive in the Windows 7 beta, it’s probably because it is. It’s perfect for light filing use, but not so good for folder-stuffing and navigational acrobatics. Which I seem to do.

I filed a bug using Send Feedback on that just now, complaining it was harder to organize files en masse with the new system, especially with an extensive folder hierarchy, cos I had to use two windows, and while I love the Snap Left and Snap Right feature to a point, blah, blah blah, whine. (Hey, does anyone know how to tile vertically?)

Of course, seconds after filing the bug, I experimentally right-clicked in the folder area of the Win7 Explorer interface, and there are precisely the options to restore Vista-like behaviour:

It’s also in Folder Options. (oops). The trick to finding it in the Explorer pane is to right-click a blank area, not one of the items.

My bad. Sorry, Win7 team. I take it all back, and I’ll pay for any damage*.