Windows Vista Power Management
The hardware that makes up todays laptops has gotten quite efficient and we have worked hard to improve Windows' ability to manage that hardware. One of the biggest improvements in the mobile PC experience for Windows since the early 1990 is longer battery life.
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11.12.2006 Microsoft Enhances Power Management in Windows 7
Microsoft engineers are putting a number of new power management features into Windows 7 that are designed to help IT administrators reduce power consumption and cost while improving the user experience.
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14.6.2009 The Problem with Creative and Windows Vista
Don't get me wrong, they make great hardware, but Creative is not known for their efficiency in writing drivers for their hardware. Their Beta 1 drivers are relatively buggy compared to other Beta 1 drivers on the market for Graphics Cards, Network Cards etc, but with a big enough target market and enough technical staff I see no reason why they can't keep up.
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2.7.2006 Want To Upgrade Vista Without Visiting The Store? No Problem
Microsoft testers are getting an early look at new functionality designed to allow users to upgrade to more powerful and, presumably, more expensive versions of Vista.
Microsoft is testing a new Windows upgrade mechanism, known as Windows Anytime Upgrade. A first iteration of the technology is integrated into the February CTP (Community Technology Preview) releases of Vista that went to testers starting the week of Feb. 20.
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7.3.2006 Mythbusting Windows Vista - Memory Management
Windows Vista is well on it's way and everyday more and more information is released. A lot of this information is misunderstood, regurgitated and out of the ashes many a myth has risen on Vista. I'd like to welcome a special guest author, Ned Gnitchel, who will be presenting a number of articles over the next little while debunking some of these myths. Ned works for a large software company and is a specialist in OS Internals, Directory Services and Collaboration.
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13.3.2006 The Power in Power Users
Placing Windows user accounts in the Power Users security group is a common approach IT organizations take to get users into a least-privilege environment while avoiding the many pains of truly running as a limited user. The Power Users group is able to install software, manage power and time-zone settings, and install ActiveX controls, actions that limited Users are denied.
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2.5.2006 Advanced Disks and Drives Management in Windows Vista
Disks, partitions, drivers, FAT, NTFS, volumes... the fact of the matter is that it all comes down to storage. So, essentially, managing disks and drives via Windows Vista will allow users to control the storage space available on the local hard drive or even drives if that should be the case.
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5.8.2007 Windows Vista Client Monitoring Management Pack for Operations Manager 2007
The Windows Vista Client Monitoring Management Pack is built on the Windows Diagnostics Infrastructure in Windows Vista that detects, diagnoses and tries to resolve hardware and software problems.
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12.5.2007 Vista flexes its power
Companies have long known the benefits of making sure their workers get a good night's sleep--and they would be wise to let their PCs do the same, Microsoft says.
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17.10.2006 What would you like to see in Vista Power Toys?
Microsoft has a long tradition of releasing power toys for Windows. These are invariably unsupported (although the batch written for Windows XP were pretty polished) and generally pretty darn useful.
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19.3.2007 What would you like to see in Vista Power Toys?
Microsoft has a long tradition of releasing power toys for Windows. These are invariably unsupported (although the batch written for Windows XP were pretty polished) and generally pretty darn useful.
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21.3.2007 Power efficiency enhancements in Vista SP1
Most if not all the attention surrounding Windows Vista Service Pack 1 has been around performance, reliability and compatibility, but you probably didnt know SP1 also makes short strides in terms of Vistas power efficiency.
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23.2.2008 Do you have problem with concentration?
The Problem with Bundling
On Friday I spoke with two product executives from a major OEM about some forthcoming new PCs and notebooks. During the conversation, I asked about their Windows Media Center strategy. The OEM no longer has one, and Vista integration is the reason.
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10.12.2007 The Problem With Netbooks
The market for netbooks is an artificial construct, a subset of notebooks that isn't a sustainably distinct category.
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5.3.2009 Building Windows Vista: A Podcast Interview with Microsoft's Sven Hallauer, Director of Windows Release Management
We were recently able to catch up with Sven Hallauer, Director of Release Management for Windows Vista, to ask him a few questions regarding the build process of Windows Vista. Sven is the master of all Windows builds.
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2.9.2006 Revision to Windows Vista retail licensing terms for PC power users!
Vista Blog: Im very pleased to let you know you this morning (or afternoon, or evening, depending on where you are when you read this) that the Windows division has revised the retail license terms for Windows Vista in a significant way.
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2.11.2006 Microsoft Works on Comcast E-Mail Problem
Microsoft said Friday that some people who use its Hotmail and MSN e-mail services are not receiving e-mail sent from Comcast accounts and other Internet service providers.
Brooke Richardson, a group product manager with Microsoft's MSN online division, said the problem appears to be due to an increase in e-mail volumes, which it is attributed in part to the Sober Internet worm.
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5.12.2005 Microsoft: Bots a Big Problem for Windows
Malicious bots are becoming quite common, with six out of every ten computers scanned by the Windows Malicious Software Removal Tool found to be infected, Microsoft said Monday. Altogether, the application has removed malicious bots from about 3.5 million PCs.
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13.6.2006 Windows 7: Problem Steps Recorder overview
Over the next few weeks we will be adding many more focus items on Windows 7 including Touch, Windows 7 networking and media enhancements. Stay tuned for the ultimate Windows 7 focus from Neowin.net. Here is an overview of Problem Steps Recorder.
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11.1.2009 Microsoft Management Console 3.0 Download
Microsoft Management Console 3.0 (MMC 3.0) is a framework that unifies and simplifies day-to-day system management tasks on Windows by providing common navigation, menus, toolbars, and workflow across diverse tools.
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14.3.2006 How can Microsoft overcome Vistas lingering image problem?
Mike Nash, Corporate Vice President of Windows Product Management, has a tough problem on his hands.
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2.5.2008 Workaround for HTC Hero Sync Problem in Windows 7
HTC latest masterpieces, HTC Hero, packs with the most coveted features in the modern mobile world, including powered by Googles famous Android operating system.
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23.8.2009 LockCrypt 1.50 - Secure Password Management
LockCrypt is a free account management program which uses high strength AES encryption to encrypt your data, so only you can access it.
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12.5.2008 Vista's Biggest Problem Remains Windows XP, Survey Says
Windows Vista biggest worry shouldn't be rival operating systems from Apple Inc. or Red Hat Inc., but competition from Microsoft's own Windows XP.
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15.11.2007 Vistas big problem: 92 percent of developers ignoring it
And to think Microsoft used to be popular with the developer crowd...
Not anymore. A recent report from Evans Data shows fewer than one in 10 software developers writing applications for Windows Vista this year. Eight percent.
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17.6.2008 Account Management Update for Zune.net Tomorrow
Cesar lets us know that tomorrow at 10am PDT the Zune Team will be going live with a Account Management Update for Zune.net.
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6.2.2007 New Window Management System for Windows 7 Pre-Beta
The window management system is one piece of the Windows 7 graphical user interface which will evolve starting with the pre-Beta version of the operating system.
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3.10.2008 Steve Ballmer talks about Microsoft Views on New Management and Security Solutions in The Netherlands
Schiphol-Rijk, the Netherlands, April 23, 2007 - Today, during a visit to the Netherlands, Steve Ballmer, CEO of Microsoft Corp., talked about Microsoft views on new, integrated management and security products for business users.
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23.4.2007 Microsoft: Code to the Power of Windows 7
Via the Code7 Contest Microsoft is inviting software developers to build an application tailored to Windows 7.
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15.7.2009Microsoft Enhances Power Management in Windows 7
Microsoft engineers are putting a number of new power management features into Windows 7 that are designed to help IT administrators reduce power
consumption and cost while improving the user experience. Some of the new features also are aimed at giving IT professionals more control and
flexibility over the managing of the energy-efficiency capabilities of the Windows 7 OS and the systems. The new features build off of the more than
30 power management enhancements in Microsoft made in Windows Vista, according to officials.
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12.06.2009Power Management in Windows 7 Overview
Windows 7 power-management technologies provide platform and processor efficiencies that reduce power consumption, helping lower energy costs. Windows
7 also provides diagnostic tools that enable IT pros to better manage and troubleshoot power management on client computers and to extend the time
that users can work on their computers. This white paper describes power-management improvements in Windows 7, including power conservation, longer
battery life, and enhanced enterprise power manageability.
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30.04.2009Windows Vista Power Management Guide for Notebooks
Since the introduction of the Windows Vista operating system, there have been many rumours and complaints made about the way that the operating
system manages power settings and how this can impact the battery life and usage on notebook computers. Generally, Windows Vista manages power as well
as its predecessor, Windows XP, although in some configurations it can be a little more demanding on your battery.
This guide
will help you get the most out of your notebook battery when running Windows Vista.
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01.01.2008Unleashing Power Management Features in Windows Vista
Last week, Microsoft made two major announcements with respect to PC power management:
endorsing a free power management application for consumers and
la
unching a free ENERGY STAR solution for licensed System Center Configuration Manager 2007 users.
These announcements
generated a lot of interest in PC power management and led some of our blog readers to ask: "These new tools are great, but what power management
features does Windows Vista offer out-of-the-box?"
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11.08.2008Windows Vista is protecting the environment
Roger Halbheer, Chief Security Advisor of Microsoft EMEA: When we launched Windows Vista, one of the features which was pointed out to me was power
management and how it will lower the costs in the enterprise environment. Well, I put my focus on the security technologies (obviously) and ignored
the power management part - and I seem to be wrong. Read the following blog post and see that you should definitely look into this:
How green is your PC?
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01.12.2007Visual Studio Team System Management Model Designer Power Tool Feb. 2008 CTP
The Team System Management Model Designer Power Tool is a productivity tool that helps architects and system designers to generate models of an
application that contribute to minimized TCO. These models include configuration, instrumentation, health, and performance information. The Team
System Management Model Designer Power Tool also assists developers to implement the required instrumentation, and create management packs for
monitoring systems such as Microsoft System Center Operations Manager 2007.
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22.02.2008Windows 7 and Power Management
Francois Ajenstat: With the upcoming release of Windows 7 we wanted to provide you with more information on the new power management features in the
product and ways that were driving energy efficiency across the PC ecosystem.
Microsoft recognizes that software can play a
critical role in helping companies reduce operational costs and their carbon footprint. We also understand the importance of energy efficiency for our
customers and for the broader environment, and we are designing our products to minimize environmental impacts. We designed our latest operating
system, Windows 7, with a strong focus on reducing the overall power consumption by investing in key areas of the platform including performance
optimizations, idle resource utilization, device power management, and key end-user scenarios.
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16.06.2009Disk power-management is on Microsofts green agenda
Mary Jo Foley: Microsoft has been turning up the volume on its green initiatives across the company, as of late. I recently stumbled onto yet another
one: DiskEnergy.
DiskEnergy is a Microsoft
Research project headquartered at the companys Cambridge, U.K. research facility. So far, theres very little public information about it. But
heres a description of whats in the works, courtesy of the Microsoft Research site:
Power consumption is a major problem for data
centers of all sizes which impacts the density of servers and the total cost of ownership. This is causing changes in data center configuration and
management. Some components already support some power management features, for example server CPUs support dynamic clock and voltage scaling that
enables power requirements to be reduced significantly during idle periods. Storage subsystems do not have power management and are consume a
significant amount of power in the data center. Modern enterprise grade disks require approximately 10W when idle. As storage requirements generally
increase in data centers, the number of disks in data centers is increasing proportionally.
The DiskEnergy researchers just published a
white paper, entitled
Write Off-Loading: Practical Power
Management for Enterprise Storage. The team is planning to present its paper at the Usenix FAST conference in February 2008.
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18.01.2008Power Management in Windows Vista
Eliot Graff: Stephen, a program manager on the Windows Kernal team, posted a response to a question in the
General Windows Vista Development Issues forum, and I thought it
could bear repeating here.
The original question was about how to control the processor
throttle in Windows Vista. Apparently, some of the calls that used to work in an application geared to Windows XP were not acting the same way in
Windows Vista. Here's Stephen's response...
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22.02.2008Intel Settles Transmeta Dispute, Granted License for Power Management
The company that years ago set out to become a legitimate alternative to Intel, and blazed the trail that AMD eventually followed, today announced it
is setting aside its patent infringement claim against Intel. The companies have reached an out-of-court settlement granting Intel perpetual license
to Transmeta's CPU power management technology, in exchange for $150 million in cash up front and $100 million more over the next five years...
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24.10.2007Vista Wireless Access Could Cause Laptop Battery Drain
Users running Windows Vista on
laptops may see batteries
draining faster than they
expect, Microsoft said in a
warning, because some wireless
access points aren't
configured to take advantage
of the new operating system's
Wi-Fi power-saving mode.
In a recent post to
Microsoft's official Vista
blog, senior product manager
Jason Leznek spelled out the
company's last-minute
decision to change the default
power setting of wireless
adapters to "maximum
performance."
"Test results from
Microsoft and our customers
show that some Windows Vista
beta users experienced
connectivity problems when
connecting to public Wi-Fi
hotspots," wrote Leznek in
his post. "In many cases, the
root cause of the problem is
access point or router
hardware which is not
compatible with the 802.11
power save protocol."
Rather than leave the
wireless access card in
"power save" mode -- which
reduces battery drain by
periodically putting the card
to sleep -- Microsoft switched
the default to a more
power-intensive mode, one
usually reserved for times
when the laptop is connected
to AC power, Leznek noted.
"However, this power
savings scheme for 802.11
wireless adapters depends on
cooperation of the access
point," Leznek wrote. "The
problem is that many access
points do not implement or
support the power save feature
correctly."
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10.12.2006How can Microsoft overcome Vistas lingering image problem?
Mike Nash, Corporate Vice President of Windows Product Management, has a tough problem on his hands.
Microsoft and its
hardware/software partners have done a lot in the past 16 months to make Windows Vista a better operating system. With Service Pack (SP) 1, Microsoft
has addressed some of the performance and reliability problems that has made Vista the butt of so much bad press when it launched.
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02.05.2008Windows Vista Power Savings help you save costs
A new report has recently been published demonstrating the hard savings available from Windows Vista's Power Saving functionality. If your company
has hard C02 reduction targets, or you would like to tell your management that you can save them $11 per desktop in direct costs then go ahead and
read this report.
The headlines are:
- Windows Vista can reduce electricity costs. Businesses can save up to
$11 per system, per year by switching to Windows Vista, due to the default power management settings. For a company with 5000 users, this means up
to $47,000 of bottom line dollars can be saved annually.
- The Vista Sleep state is more reliable than XP. Computers resume from Sleep in
two seconds, which is about the same time it takes a screen to resume from Idle mode in Windows XP.
- Power consumption reduction translates
into direct CO2 savings. Carbon dioxide emissions are reduced by up to 67 kg of carbon dioxide per desktop PC, per year. For a company with 5000
users, this is 288 tonnes of carbon dioxide emissions reduced.
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17.04.2008Windows Vista SP1 Will Uninstall Group Policy Management
Probably in response to a few users' bewilderment over the seemingly unrestricted accessibility of what had actually been one of Windows Vista's
most requested new security tools, Group Policy Management Console, Microsoft announced today that the act of installing Vista Service Pack 1 will
simply delete the tool altogether...
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29.08.2007How can Microsoft overcome Vista's lingering image problem?
Mike Nash, Corporate Vice President of Windows Product Management, has a tough problem on his hands. Microsoft and its hardware/software partners have
done a lot in the past 16 months to make Windows Vista a better operating system. With Service Pack (SP) 1, Microsoft has addressed some of the
performance and reliability problems that has made Vista the butt of so much bad press when it launched.
But convincing the PC-buying
public that
Vista isn’t their worst nightmare has proven challenging — especially as the result of continued press reports,
comments on blogs and in forums (almost always from anonymous users who may or may not have actually tried using Vista in the past month or two) and
clever ads, especially by Apple, which disparage Vista and anyone dumb enough to install it. Ask the average consumer on the street about Windows and
many will insist XP is less annoying, more stable and works just fine, thanks.
If you were Nash & Co., what would you do to try to turn the
public tide?
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02.05.2008The Windows 7 Effect
First, there was the wait for Windows Vista. Then there was the wait for Windows Vista SP1. Now many pundits are claiming that enterprise users will
hold off migrating to Windows Vista and wait for the release of Windows 7.
How can Microsoft counter this? By leaking information
about Windows 7 of course!
Microsofts been having a tough time of late convincing people (important people, such as system admins
and those with their hand on the check book) that Windows Vista is the future. Part of the problem is that Windows Vista has been dogged by high
profile issues relating to compatibility, speed and reliability things that people consider important in an operating system.
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20.02.2008Microsoft details Windows Server 2008 power management features
Microsoft is building new processor power management features into Windows Server 2008, which are due out at the end of February. Stephen Berard,
program manager of the Windows Platform Architecture team, discusses how these new features will reduce server energy consumption in the data center
and how these features will be more widely adopted than they were in Windows Server 2003.
Is CPU throttling the most important
piece of server power management?
Stephen Berard: With in-state servers, the vast amount of power goes to the CPU. With today's hardware
and infrastructure, the CPUs are the biggest and best control we have. Also, we're putting more CPUs into a single box with multiple cores. Today, I
think that's the biggest bang for the buck.
Will servers take a performance hit?
Berard: That's largely a perception.
We do this so many times a second on a laptop; it's a mature technology. The transmission latencies are so small, and Intel and AMD have done
tremendous work to make sure the parts of the chips can be powered down seamlessly.
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23.08.2007Vista power consumption reduced with new product
Technology for reducing the energy consumption of computers running Windows Vista is hitting the market, with a product from power-management software
vendor
1E that centralises and automates the PC shutdown process.
The fifth
version of 1E's
NightWatchman adds support for Vista
and enhances reporting tools to give network administrators greater visibility into power consumption and energy savings. Previously, NightWatchman
supported Windows XP and Windows 2000, but not Vista.
On average, NightWatchman saves US$50 per PC, per year in energy costs,
according to London-based 1E. Just shutting every computer off each night can save a 10,000-PC enterprise more than $165,000 per year, the company
says. An organisation of the same size can also prevent 1,381 tons of carbon dioxide emissions per year with NightWatchman, according to 1E.
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30.10.2007Clearing up the confusion on Vista licensing and key management
Since Windows Vista has been released to the public, there has been a lot of confusion and hype surrounding some of the licensing decisions and
restrictions with which Microsoft Corp. saddled the operating system and its many versions. Additionally, there's a new type of product key and a
volume key management system that you might not know about. In this article, I'll take a look at five distinct points about Vista licensing and key
management and give you the most current answers to what I've found are the most common questions about those topics.
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02.11.2007Windows 7 Energy Efficiency
Steven Sinofsky: The following post continues our discussion of fundamentals with a focus on power management. Power Management (or energy
efficiency) is something that every contributor to the PC Ecosystem must always addressthe energy efficiency of a running PC is limited by the weakest
component. In engineering Windows 7 we had an explicit focus on the energy usage patterns of the running system and will continue to work with
hardware and software makers to realize the collective benefit of all of this work. While we talk about the balancing of needs in every area, energy
consumption is probably the most easily visualizedwhen we test running systems we connect them to power meters and watch a very clear number change as
we run tests.
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06.01.2009
