Windows 7 SP 1 is out

[Mercutio]

Hey, I *like* making new sysprep images.

 

[Stereodude]

I finally let my HTPC update itself to Windows 7 SP1 via Windows Update. It installed in ~5 minute total including the reboot and the machine is pretty modest on the HW side. I have to say I was pretty surprised given some of the horror stories posted in this thread. I never played with Vista, so I can't speak to Service Pack'ing it, but XP never installed a Service Pack that quickly.

 

[Howell]

From the horror stories I thought my laptop would have had trouble as well.

 

[mubs]

What are people using to customize / update Win 7 install DVDs? nLite isn't for Win 7. This Wikipedia page says vLite is not fully compatible with Win 7 and lists two other tools: Win Toolkit and RT Se7en Lite. Anybody use them? Suggestions?

 

[Mercutio]

I build mine through the WAIK. It's only a total pain in the ass the first time you do it. Once you have an image, you can do all kinds of things to it. I can even run an image in VirtualPC and (un)install or update an app that isn't supported for direct upgrades.

 

[mubs]

Thanks Merc. Since I'm only going to do this once, I'll probably use the native iso.

 

[mubs]

Which jackass at MS decided to eliminate creation of extended partitions inside of Disk Manager? I had to google to learn that it can only be done from the command prompt or through a 3rd party tool. Castration time.

 

[mubs]

Not really an SP, but a roll-up of the last 5 years' updates in one file. Can be integrated into a W7 SP1 disc.

ARS Techinca report here.

MS' blog here; uses the archaic MS Update Catalog (IE only, need to install ActiveX control).

 

[Mercutio]

I tried it this morning and it turns out that the rollup hits the update servers the same way as any other process. I've been watching a Windows 7 machine not install updates using the update rollup for the last three hours.

I'm pretty sure you're better off using the Offline Windows Update downloader if you even remotely care how long it takes to get updates.

 

[Mercutio]

... and just to amplify my previous comment, since I remembered that the WSUS Offline downloader is a thing that exists, I used it to download all 2GB of Windows 7 x64 updates, which took about 15 minutes, and now I'm applying them to the machine that was trying to install the rollup. Which is actually sed's PC anyway.

 

[mubs]

Merc, I didn't have a chance to check roll-up thingy. My understanding was that you download all the updates into one bit SP-type file?

Sed is getting W7 and not W10?

EDIT: I just downloaded the rollup; 476 MB, creates an .msu file. No idea what it is or how to install it. Don't know why it's this size since you say your's is 2GB

 

[Mercutio]

I downloaded all of the Windows 7 updates. All 2GB of them. Rather than wait for multiple hours for the update servers to finally decide to offer a pathetic 476MB file. The offline updater will just apply whatever updates you don't have. It takes around 30 minutes to run.

A .MSU is a Microsoft update file. It's more or less the same thing as a .MSI.

 

[snowhiker]

Sed's not a dinosaur like us old farts, using an O/S that's 2 version behind the current one. LOL.






/snark

 

[Mercutio]

sed has licenses for 7, 8.1 and 10 on that machine. Now let's watch and see how many of them he loses.

 

[Howell]

Windows 7 SP2, the convenient upgrade to W10 .

 

[timwhit]

Will it run Arch or Gentoo?

 

[sedrosken]

Will it run Arch or Gentoo?

Gentoo is way beyond even me. Arch is a PITA like nothing else, so if (and that's a big if) I use Linux on it, it will likely be Xubuntu or some other Ubuntu variant.

No, despite my misgivings with Windows 10, I will be using it on this machine, with Anti-Beacon and Classic Shell of course.

 

[timwhit]

Gentoo is way beyond even me. Arch is a PITA like nothing else, so if (and that's a big if) I use Linux on it, it will likely be Xubuntu or some other Ubuntu variant.

No, despite my misgivings with Windows 10, I will be using it on this machine, with Anti-Beacon and Classic Shell of course.

If you're starting a CS program at University of Kentucky in the fall I'd go with an Ubuntu variant. The intro level courses I looked at are in Python and C++.

 

[sedrosken]

University of Louisville, and I'm sure they'd like Windows much better than Linux to be perfectly honest. I thought the first semester was spent doing core classes like English and some form of math?

 

[Mercutio]

You can always run whatever in a VM. Your Centos/Debian/Yggsdrasil install will probably fit nicely in 20GB with plenty of room to spare for all your projects.

 

[snowhiker]

I thought the first semester was spent doing core classes like English and some form of math?

For me, Political Science 6A, 6B, 6C (quarter system) taught by: A=Dean of Undergraduate Education, B=Dean of Political Science, C=Dean of Social Science; was more difficult than any lower-division 10-99, or upper-division 100-199 class. So watch out for the "basic" courses, especially if taught by a dean.

You'll probably have a year calculus and maybe 1-2 English classes and/or upper-division writing. Etc.

Don't procrastinate. Get your work done early to ease stress level.

Good times, and hard work ahead of you.

Edit: sorry for the OT.

 

[Mercutio]

You'll probably have a year calculus and maybe 1-2 English classes and/or upper-division writing. Etc. Don't procrastinate. Get your work done early to ease stress level.

I started with enough college credit to skip my entire freshman year, which wound up being the worst thing ever because I was placed in a calc class I didn't belong in (I should've retaken Calc I but I was too proud of my AP credit) and in O Chem, which is just not a good starting place since everyone else got the hand-holding of 100-level lab science courses that I missed out on.

Do not fuck up your first year. It sets the tone for everything else. I know so many people who just did one semester, or went one semester out of every four.

Also, don't be like me and go and actually make some friends while you're at college. That means leaving your room. Do that. It's important. And if you can't stand the assholes you go to school with, go to a different school and meet some different assholes. I spent four years at Purdue and I hated every minute I was there, but it never occurred to me in any of the time I was at that place that I could've just gone someplace else. That IS an option.

 

[Handruin]

I agree that the experience of being on-campus and getting out to meet people was a large help and a great part of the experience. Joining the concert band and jazz ensemble also helped with meeting people and staying active with the community in my school but that of course means you have some prior experiences in that area. I'm still friends with my college roommate and his wife and we still meet up once or twice a week to spend time together. If I were to do things differently in the beginning years of college I may have tried to spend more time being physically active. Not specifically with sports but maybe with a cross-country or maybe just on my own with running/hiking/etc. I would have also self-advocated more when I was unhappy with my professors and their ability in teaching their curriculum.