Windows 7 Service Pack 1: To Install or Not to Install

First of all, the service pack is not mandatory. You can install it through Windows Update but it won't be pushed to you automatically; it's an optional update so you have to select to install it. Should you do that? It depends. This service pack doesn't add a lot of cool new features, but it does improve some behaviors and performance of the OS. Many of these only affect a limited number of users. If you need to print XPS documents that contain a mixture of pages in the landscape and portrait formats, you might have had problems getting them to print correctly before. The service pack fixes this problem. There's also a fix for problems some folks had with HDMI audio devices after a reboot. If you check the "restore previous folders at logon" option in Explorer's folder options, you might have noticed that the folders show up in a cascaded group when they're restored. That can be annoying - you want them to come back positioned as they were before. Well, the service pack fixes that. Finally, there's added support for a new processor extension called AVX and new hard drives that use 4KB sectors.

All in all, not terribly exciting. Of course, SP1 also contains all the security updates that have been released individually for Windows 7. If you've been installing those as they became available, you already have them and don't need SP1 for that. However, if you've had auto updates turned off and haven't been keeping up with the monthly patches, installing SP1 is an easy way to catch up and get your system security up to date.

I installed SP1 on one of my main computers. The other, which has had all incremental security fixes installed, I left alone. The full download from the Microsoft download site ranges from 538 MB for the 32 bit (X86) version to 903 MB for the 64 bit (X64) version, so it may not be a quick download, depending on the speed of your Internet connection. It took about four and a half minutes on my FiOS connection. The installation itself went smoothly on my Dell Inspiron (a.k.a. the Bedroom Computer) and took around half an hour. The Windows Update version may be smaller because it downloads only the files needed for your particular system, but if you prefer to download the service pack from the Microsoft Download Center, you'll find it here:
http://www.microsoft.com/downloads/en/details.aspx?familyId=c3202ce6-4056-4059-8a1b-3a9b77cdfdda&hash=xoX2ZJ0I%2FyoKQBxVNZdfZKYFuTWtotYEpPl4kQdR81siOU6XUGhyN2eAgEoA0qLDGMoBx6F5uWOhJCE5mgjLGQ%3D%3D

The file is an executable, so all you have to do is double click on it to start the process. You should be logged on as an administrator and make sure that no other users are logged on, and you'll need to close all your programs before you start installing. If you should happen to have installed the SP1 beta, uninstall it first. We'll tell you how to do that in this week's "How To" section below.

I had no problems with the SP1 installation and based on what I'm hearing from readers who have installed it, and from monitoring the web forums, it's going well for the vast majority of Windows 7 users. However, something could always go wrong. A service pack updates critical operating system files, and a power glitch or hardware failure during the installation could have a devastating effect. Thus I recommend you back up all important data to an external disk or network location before you proceed with the installation. I know most people probably won't do it, and most won't suffer any ill effects from that decision, but it stinks to be the one who loses irreplaceable data because you tried to save a little time. Also, if you're updating a portable computer (laptop or Windows 7 tablet), be sure you plug it into A/C power before you start the installation. Even if you have a full battery, it's best not to risk a power failure during installation. Finally, you might need to temporarily disable your anti-virus program. Some AV programs can interfere with the service pack installation. If you do, don't forget to turn it back on as soon as you finish installing the service pack.

Have you installed SP1 on your Windows 7 computer yet? Did you run into any problems? Were you disappointed that the service pack didn't really seem to change anything or add any noticeable new functionality? What changes were hoping for, that you'd like to see in SP2? Or is it a very good thing that Windows 7 is already so stable, fast and user-friendly that no dramatic changes were necessary? Should Microsoft have just skipped the service pack and waited until it had more to offer?

How to uninstall the SP1 beta

You need to uninstall the beta of Service Pack 1 before you install the final release. Here's how you do that:
Click Start | Control Panel | Programs and Features (if you're not in Classic view, this is in the Programs category).
Click View Installed Updates.
On the Uninstall an Update page, click "Service Pack for Microsoft Windows (KB 976932)
Click Uninstall.
Follow the instructions to remove the beta from your machine.

Audio volume recorded by Sound Recorder is lower than in XP

Have you noticed that when you record audio through a microphone, using the Sound Recorder application in Windows 7 (or Vista), playback volume is lower than in XP using the same input volume settings? That's because the Sound Recorder now has different default settings. KB article 973446 tells you how to adjust the record volume.

The audio volume recorded by Sound Recorder in Windows Vista or in Windows 7 is lower than in Windows XP

What's new with handwriting recognition in Windows 7?

QUESTION:
I'm most comfortable with handwriting rather than typing on a regular or touchscreen keyboard (and I don't like voice recognition because you can't do it silently). I've been waiting for Windows to get good at handwriting recognition. I had an old XP Tablet PC but it didn't quite do the job. I've been hearing that there are going to be Windows 7 Tablets coming out soon to compete with the iPad. Does Windows 7 have a Tablet version and if so, is the handwriting recognition feature improved? - Edward S.

ANSWER:
Rather than releasing a separate Tablet PC edition, Microsoft built tablet functionality into all editions of Windows 7. To use handwriting recognition, you launch the TIP (Tablet Input Panel), where you write your text, and then it's converted to regular text. The handwriting recognition engine has been improved, and you can create personalized dictionaries. You can now can enter math expressions via the new Math Input Panel (MIP). The math expression is converted and can be sent directly to a spreadsheet or other application. When you use the onscreen soft keyboard, text prediction, which is based on the words you frequently enter, has been enhanced. Finally, support for more languages has been added. Find out more about that here:

What's New in Handwriting Recognition

Safer surfing with SmartScreen

The SmartScreen Filter is a feature in Internet Explorer 8 that helps you avoid socially engineered malware phishing websites and online fraud when you browse the web. The SmartScreen Filter checks websites against a dynamically updated list of reported phishing and malware sites, checks software downloads against a dynamically updated list of reported malicious software sites and helps prevent you from visiting phishing websites and other websites that contain malware that can lead to identity theft. Find out more about the SmartScreen filter and how to report phishing web sites here:

Surfing with SmartScreen

How to fix a problem where Windows Live Photo Gallery freezes up or won't start

Windows Live Photo Gallery is a handy free photo editing program, but several readers have reported a problem whereby the application either won't start at all, or freezes up and stops working after you open it. This happens when the database that's created by WLPG gets corrupted. Here's what you can do to fix it.
1. First be sure to back up pictures you have saved in WLPG.
2. Close Windows Live Photo Gallery.
3. Click Start and in the Search box, type %userprofile%\AppData\Local\Microsoft\Windows Live Photo Gallery
4. Click OK.
5. Look for the files OLD_pictures.pd4 and OLD_Pictures.pd5. Delete these.
6. Locate files called Pictures.pd4 and Pictures.pd5 and rename them to OLD_Pictures.pd4 and OLD_Pictures.pd5
7. Restart Windows Live Photo Gallery. The database will be regenerated and this should fix the problem.

Can I get rid of the "Scan and Fix" pop-up?

QUESTION:

Whenever I plug in my USB stick, Windows 7 wants to "scan and fix" it. I get a pop-up box saying "Do you want to scan and fix removable drive (J)?" I don't, and I always click "Continue without scanning." I've never had a problem with the drive but it always wants to do this. Can I get rid of it permanently?

The dialog box appears when Windows detects problems with the drive's file system or if you didn't dismount the drive (using the "safely remove hardware" function) when you took it out of the computer or reader. You can indeed disable this - but if you do, you'll also lose the Autoplay function, which pops up the box asking what you want to do when you insert a removable drive (for example, for graphics files, you're asked if you want to import the pictures, copy them to your computer and view them, just open the folder, or use the drive to speed up your system with ReadyBoost. That means you'll need to manually open Explorer and navigate to the drive to access its files.


If you don't mind that (or if Autoplay annoys you too and you'd love to get rid of it), here's how:

1. Log on as administrator.

2. Click Start and in the Search box, type msconfig

3. Click the Services tab.

4. Scroll down and find Shell Hardware Detection.

5. Uncheck the box.

6. Restart the computer.