Deploying Windows 7 Essential Guidance is a free eBook from the Windows 7 Resource Kit and Microsoft TechNet Magazine.

This book combines selected chapters written by industry experts Mitch Tulloch, Tony Northrup, Jerry Honeycutt, Ed Wilson, and the Windows 7 Team with select Windows 7 articles from TechNet Magazine.

Sample topics include: Deployment Platform, Planning Deployment, Testing Application Compatability, and 8 Common Issues in Windows 7 Migrations.

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Here’s a great news for all Windows 7 fans. Microsoft has now officially announced that Windows 7 has RTM’d! with Windows 7 Build 7600.16385 as final.

RTM officially happens only after sign-off occurs. Today after all the validation checks were met, we signed off and declared build 7600 as RTM.

Windows 7 Availability

IT Professionals with TechNet Subscriptions and Developers with MSDN Subscriptions will be able to download Windows 7 RTM in English on August 6th and remaining languages by October 1st.

The RTM code will be delivered to our partners within the next few days who will then start preparing to deliver some amazing new products timed to hit at General Availability (GA) of Windows 7 on October 22nd.

Windows 7 will be in retail stores and shipping on new PCs starting October 22nd.

Along with 7, Windows Server 2008 R2 has also RTM’d.

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Recently, the latest Windows 7 RC Build 7100 is leaked on the Internet for both x86 and x64 versions. This is the official RC build of Windows 7 that has leaked online on many torrent sites and available for download. Microsoft is expected to release Windows 7 RC Build to public on 5th May 2009.

As said previously, Microsoft asks to clean install upcoming Windows 7 RC. That’s why they have deliberately locked the option to upgrade to Release Candidate Build from previous Builds (Beta) of Windows 7.

But If you really want to upgrade to RC from previous Builds of Windows 7, then you need to follow the procedure described by the Windows team on their blog.

1. Download the ISO as you did previously and burn the ISO to a DVD.
2. Copy the whole image to a storage location you wish to run the upgrade from (a bootable flash drive or a directory on any partition on the machine running the pre-release build).
3. Browse to the sources directory.
4. Open the file cversion.ini in a text editor like Notepad.
5. Modify the MinClient build number to a value lower than the down-level build. For example, change 7100 to 7000.
6. Save the file in place with the same name.
7. Run setup like you would normally from this modified copy of the image and the version check will be bypassed. 

The same steps will be required when upgrading from RC to the RTM.

Windows 7 RC Update – By The Windows blog

I’m pleased to share that the RC is on track for April 30th for  download by MSDN and TechNet subscribers. Broader, public availability will begin on May 5th.

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TechNet Magazine is featuring Windows Vista Tips this month for Free in a new tip-of-the-day feature. You can stay up on all the latest Windows Vista tips – which will be updated Monday –   Friday all this month with new Windows Vista tips.

Below is the list of some useful Windows Vista tips:

Know the Tools You’ll Need to Deploy Windows Vista
Do you know what tools you’ll need to use to prepare and deploy Windows Vista to systems throughout your environment? Here’s an overview of the tools you’ll need, and the ones you can forget about.

Delete Files Permanently with SDelete
When you delete a file, Windows removes the index for the file, but the file’s contents are still on the disk until the data has been overwritten by another file. Learn how to delete files permanently so attackers can’t recover this data.

Use Msconfig to Disable and Enable UAC
To determine whether UAC is causing an application compatibility problem, you can temporarily disable UAC. This explains how to do it quickly.

New Command-Line Switches for Sc.exe
On Windows Vista, the sc.exe command has been enhanced with new command-line switches. Here’s a look at what’s new.

Create an Ad Hoc Wireless Network
If you want to share information stored on your computer with other nearby computers, you can set up an ad hoc wireless network. Learn how.

Troubleshoot Slow Start Ups with Windows Boot Performance Diagnostics
Find out how you can use Windows Boot Performance Diagnostics to identify the source of startup performance problems and automatically fix issues.

Prevent Users from Deleting Browsing History and Clearing Cookies
You may know how to easily clear your browsing history and delete your cookies in Internet Explorer 7. But did you know you can disable these options for users in your environment?

Remove Unwanted Toolbars and Fix Settings in Internet Explorer
Problematic add-ons. Changed browser settings. A new homepage. Find out how you can troubleshoot and fix persistent, unwanted changes.

Use the Snipping Tool to Capture Screen Shots
Windows Vista offers built-in support for more control over screenshots. Find out what you can do with the Snipping Tool.

>> See all of the tips @ TechNet Magazine

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